Night in Stormveil Castle was far livelier than most places in the Lands Between.
There were many living people here, people who could actually talk and interact with one another. Because of that, the city had developed a fairly bustling nightlife, mostly concentrated along the streets that catered to Tarnished travelers.
For Lucian, however, none of this was particularly appealing.
Before he was transported to this world, he would play gas until midnight, then lie in bed scrolling through his phone until who-knew-what hour. Compared to the entertainnt of his previous life, the amusents of the Lands Between simply couldn't compete.
So Lucian usually went to bed early, letting sleep wash away the fatigue in his mind.
Join the glorious Church of Sleep!
But tonight, Lucian probably wouldn't be enjoying a peaceful night's rest like usual.
lina quietly pushed open the door to Lucian's room and slipped inside through the narrow gap.
Her movents were extrely light, so light that her footsteps made no sound at all.
Even though she had barely used such techniques in the mories she had recovered, the skills belonging to the sa tradition as the Black Knife Assassins ca naturally to her.
This sort of unseen movent suited soone like a ghost perfectly.
Perhaps because she had been hidden during her life, and had spent so long existing as a specter afterward, lina's presence even now remained strangely faint.
She walked to Lucian's bedside and looked down at his sleeping face, just as she had countless tis before.
It felt nostalgic.
It seed like it had been a long ti since she had quietly watched him like this.
lina stood there for a while, still hesitating.
After so ti passed, she finally made up her mind.
She had already co this far. Running away now would be far too embarrassing.
Slowly, she leaned down, brushing aside the strands of hair falling before her face as she moved closer to Lucian.
She reached out and gently placed a hand against his cheek.
The mont lina touched him, Lucian woke up imdiately.
'Oh… it's just lina…'
Lucian had assud sothing unexpected had happened. When he realized it was lina, he relaxed almost instantly.
After traveling together for so long, this wasn't the first ti she had woken him up…
'Wait.'
'lina?!'
Lucian opened his eyes and looked at the figure in front of him. He snapped fully awake.
Sothing wasn't right.
lina had regained her physical body now. She wasn't sleeping in the sa room as him anymore.
If this wasn't a dream… then why had she suddenly appeared in his room?
And her face…
…was really close.
Before Lucian could even process the situation, lina's lips pressed against his. The hand resting on his cheek slid beneath his head, cradling it.
Lucian's mind went completely blank.
He didn't even know what he was supposed to do anymore.
Now he finally understood what was happening—
He had been ambushed in the night by lina.
Unfortunately, neither of them had any real experience. Everything felt awkward and clumsy.
Their teeth knocked together.
They accidentally bit each other's lips.
Neither of their tongues moved.
They nearly forgot to breathe.
Yet the soft warmth of her lips was enough to leave Lucian completely unable to think.
His heart was pounding at an absurd rate. No battle he had ever fought could compare to what he was feeling right now.
But after only a short while, Lucian was forced to start thinking again.
Because as he woke up, Asimi, who resided within his body, also stirred and drowsily asked:
"Mm… my lord, what's going on?"
At that mont, Lucian had absolutely no ti to answer her.
No, if he responded to Asimi right now…
Seeing that Lucian wasn't replying at all, Asimi quickly realized sothing was wrong. Her "gaze" sharpened.
That wasn't like her lord at all.
Could it be that he had encountered a situation so dangerous he couldn't spare even a mont of attention?
No.
Asimi imdiately decided to extend her consciousness outside Lucian's body and check the surroundings.
If her lord was facing a powerful enemy, she could definitely easily help him!
But when Asimi extended her awareness and grasped the current situation…
She fell into confusion.
What was this?
What were they doing?
Why were her Lord and Miss lina pressing their mouths together?
After a brief mont of ntal shutdown, Asimi began rummaging through her mories, trying to understand the situation.
Right.
Yesterday her lord had said that Miss lina was his lover.
She seed to recall that when she was in the Eternal City, soone had once explained that term to her…
Asimi quickly found the relevant fragnt of mory.
At the ti, it had been a Night Maiden responsible for taking care of her, teaching her various things about humans.
Humans were drawn to one another, forming bonds, eventually falling in love and becoming partners.
And there were certain things that humans would only do with the person they loved…
The rest of that lesson had turned into a sort of biological education about how life was continued.
After piecing together those scattered mories, Asimi finally understood that this wasn't a life-or-death crisis at all.
This was sothing worth celebrating!
A crucial ritual between lovers for continuing their species!
Feeling rather proud of herself, Asimi excitedly shared the knowledge she had just rediscovered:
"Ah! My lord, I know this!"
"This is mating, right?! Seggs!"
Hearing Asimi shouting excitedly inside his body, Lucian felt absolute despair.
No, wait—who the hell taught you that?!
And putting that aside, it was already bad enough that Asimi was still inside his body at a mont like this. If she kept yelling like this inside his head, he was going to lose his mind.
At that mont, lina suddenly lifted her head, and their lips parted briefly.
Lucian barely had ti to catch his breath before lina climbed onto the bed.
Lucian looked at her.
Tonight she was wearing a perfectly fitted white dress.
The design wasn't particularly special, it was just ordinary clothing.
But the bare shoulders and collarbone revealed by the dress… the pale neck and arms that were usually hidden beneath her cloak…
These were sights Lucian had almost never seen before.
lina knelt on the bed, but her skirt caught beneath her knees as she awkwardly shifted forward.
She pinned one of Lucian's legs between hers and moved closer.
The hem of her dress brushed across his body, and he imdiately felt as though electricity had run through him.
The room was dim, lit only by a few candles. Even so, Lucian could clearly see that lina's face was completely red, and her golden eyes were filled with emotions that were difficult to describe.
When she noticed Lucian staring at her, she shyly turned her head away and covered his eyes with her hand.
"Don't look…"
She had barely gathered the courage to do this. If Lucian kept watching her, she might not be able to continue.
Hearing her soft voice, Lucian felt his remaining rationality beginning to crumble.
But…
Asimi was still inside his body!
Lucian hadn't even told lina about Asimi yet. His original plan had been to let lina discover her later and give her a little surprise.
But now, thanks to lina's sudden nightti ambush, that plan had turned into a ticking ti bomb.
lina leaned down again and kissed him, but her hand still covered his eyes.
So Lucian could only focus on the sensations between their lips, including the sharp sting when his tongue was accidentally bitten and began to bleed.
Inside his body, Asimi stared at their movents in shock.
Although she didn't quite understand why they were exchanging saliva, it must have been an important step between lovers.
And…
It looked really interesting!
Wow! Even if she didn't understand it, she still wanted to keep watching!
If she had a body right now, she might already be rolling around excitedly on the bed.
Suddenly, Asimi rembered sothing.
There had been additional etiquette lessons related to this topic.
"Ah! My lord, I just rembered sothing about etiquette…"
"If this is a ritual between lovers, then being here probably isn't appropriate!"
"My lord, I should leave right away!"
Lucian's heart nearly burst out of his chest.
'No! Don't do that, Asimi—wait a mont!'
'If you co out right now… it'll be a disaster!'
If she appeared at a mont like this, it would absolutely traumatize lina!
But Asimi, who didn't fully understand human emotions, insisted.
"Sorry, my lord. If I stay here, you two probably won't be able to continue."
"Besides, you shouldn't hide things from your lover."
Without giving Lucian any chance to react, Asimi floated straight out of his body.
Lucian closed his eyes in despair, unwilling to face what would happen next.
Human emotions were still far too complicated for you, Asimi…
You really hadn't beco human yet.
"Eeeh!?"
lina jumped when Asimi suddenly condensed into form beside the bed, completely freezing.
She quickly scrambled off Lucian and stared blankly as Asimi materialized beside the bed.
Looking at the beautiful face that resembled Lucian by nearly seventy percent, lina couldn't understand it, but she was deeply shocked.
Lucian looked toward lina, but suddenly noticed sothing alarming.
Her left eye had opened, revealing a gloam-colored eye glowing faintly in the darkness.
Lucian sucked in a sharp breath.
It's over.
Everything is over.
If the Gloam Eye is open… is the next step going to be the Destined Death phase?
Lucian suddenly had a terrifying thought.
Was lina about to say she wanted to try so kind of S&M and then beat him half to death?
Asimi fully manifested her body and bowed deeply to lina.
"I sincerely apologize for interrupting you and the lord!"
"But I believe it is necessary for to leave before things progress any further!"
"Please rest assured, although my core remains within the lord, once my consciousness leaves, it truly leaves!"
"Please don't mind . Continue mating!"
With that, Asimi jumped out the window and disappeared.
lina's intentions had just been stated aloud in the most blunt way possible.
Her face flushed bright red.
She covered her face and collapsed backward onto the bed, her mind clearly shutting down.
Lucian swallowed.
His mouth tasted sweet.
"She… she's a special Mimic Tear that resides in my body…"
"Uh… she's basically my little sister."
"She doesn't have much common sense, so the way she speaks—"
Before he could finish, lina interrupted him.
"You… you even take her with you when you sleep?"
"And why would you put her inside your body?! That's basically parasitism!"
lina's Gloam Eye was open, allowing her to imdiately recognize that Asimi's origin was exactly as Lucian described.
Under normal circumstances, lina might have happily greeted Asimi and made a new friend.
But in the current situation…
Soone had seen everything.
Right now, lina's only thought was how to silence Asimi permanently.
Cold sweat ford on Lucian's forehead.
He hadn't expected sothing like this either!
"Well… it's a long story…"
lina wasn't actually planning to interrogate him right now. That discussion could wait.
Lucian and lina stared at each other awkwardly.
lina took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
Just as she was preparing to pretend nothing had happened and continue—
Lucian asked:
"…Shall we continue?"
The fragile thread of lina's composure finally snapped.
"Idiot! Don't ask that!"
"You should've just kept quiet!"
"Go die! Go die, go die!"
Blushing furiously, lina clenched her teeth and began pounding Lucian's chest with her fists.
anwhile, Asimi, who had left Lucian's body, wandered alone through the streets of Stormveil.
It wasn't particularly late yet, midnight hadn't arrived.
The streets where Tarnished gathered were still lively.
Most other creatures in the Lands Between, however, had already gone to sleep after sunset.
Except for so demihumans, who occasionally grew energetic at night and joined the revelry.
Lost in thought about what had just happened, Asimi slowly drifted into one of the busier streets.
She didn't even know why she had co here.
But clearly, compared to empty alleys, this place was a bit more interesting.
Asimi's appearance imdiately drew the attention of the Tarnished nearby.
At an open-air tavern, several Tarnished sat drinking together.
One of them spotted Asimi and tapped his companion excitedly.
"Hey, hey, look at that woman over there…"
"She looks a lot like Lord Lucian, and that armor looks almost identical too!"
His companion had just downed a cup of extrely crude liquor. Hearing this, he wiped his mouth and turned to look.
"Ha, what nonsense are you talking ab—"
"Holy shit! She really does look like him!"
Once the first comnt was made, the news spread through the crowd like a wave.
Soon, a large number of Tarnished began sneaking glances in her direction.
When they got a clear look at Asimi's face, the entire crowd stirred with surprise.
"Damn! That armor set is almost identical to Lord Lucian's! Custom-made like that must've cost a fortune. I'm so jealous!"
"Is she trying to imitate Lord Lucian? You know what, she actually pulls it off."
"Where did she get that armor made? I want one too!"
"No, sothing's off, this is seriously off. The texture of that armor isn't so cheaply made imitation. I've seen Lord Lucian before, and that armor is definitely crafted by the sa master who made his."
"Huh? What's going on then?"
"Hey! Look closely at her face. Doesn't she look way too similar to Lord Lucian?"
"Yeah… now that you ntion it. Her hair color and so of her facial features look extrely similar once you compare them to Lord Lucian."
"Wait, don't tell Lord Lucian actually has a sister?"
"You know… that might not be impossible. We don't really know much about Lord Lucian's past anyway."
As more and more people voiced similar opinions, the crowd quickly accepted the theory that this woman must be Lucian's younger sister.
After a mont, however, soone in the crowd voiced a rather unusual thought.
"Holy crap… if soone managed to marry this lady, wouldn't that basically an reaching the peak of life instantly?"
The mont those words were spoken, the speaker was imdiately t with criticism and disdain from the others.
But deep down, it wasn't as though none of them had entertained the sa thought.
After all, relying on soone else's power was generally looked down upon. Even Radagon, who had essentially "married upward" twice, was still mocked after becoming the second Elden Lord, which showed how the Lands Between viewed such matters.
But…
That was the attitude of people who didn't have the opportunity.
If soone really had the chance to live comfortably by relying on soone powerful, very few people would truly refuse.
A small number of the more clear-headed Tarnished simply shook their heads.
If soone approached Lord Lucian with that kind of mindset, he would probably see through them instantly and then beat them senseless.
Besides, this lady didn't look weak at all. And if she really was Lucian's sister, her standards would surely be extrely high.
The Tarnished were chatting noisily among themselves, but Asimi paid absolutely no attention to them.
Her thoughts were still lingering on Lucian and lina as she wandered aimlessly down the street.
At that mont, Mohg also noticed the situation nearby.
Listening to the discussions among the Tarnished, Mohg initially didn't believe a word of it.
Just resembling soone ant nothing.
If soone deliberately tried to imitate another person's appearance, that could easily be done.
Even so, Mohg still fixed his gaze on the young woman walking alone in the distance and began observing her carefully.
Gradually, a smile crept onto his lips.
After carefully probing her just now, he had unexpectedly gained so useful information.
Without a doubt, this person had a deep connection to Lucian.
In that case, the idea that they were siblings might actually be true.
Perfect.
This was a very good target.
Mohg had been searching throughout Stormveil Castle for soone suitable to strike at.
Unfortunately, most people were heavily guarded and impossible to approach casually.
Even attempting a simple test would likely cost him this avatar.
Mohg intended to remain in Stormveil for quite so ti, so there was no need to act so hastily.
Earlier, he had already visited Boc.
Boc was the easiest person to approach and also Lucian's personal tailor.
But Mohg had been disappointed.
A demihuman.
Even if Boc was close to Lucian, killing him wouldn't have much of an impact.
What Mohg needed was soone important, soone whose death would deal Lucian a devastating blow.
A demihuman clearly didn't qualify.
To be honest, Mohg had previously thought that Lancelot was the only suitable target. Killing him would disrupt Stormveil's operations.
But now…
He had changed his mind.
After all, outsiders could never compare to the bond between siblings.
Yesterday, Mohg had deliberately paid attention to lina as well.
He had never heard of her before, but since she was Lucian's lover, killing her would certainly cause Lucian imnse pain.
However, Mohg didn't dare test Lucian's perception with this avatar, so he hadn't personally observed them yesterday.
As a result, he didn't know lina's appearance or movents.
But now that this so-called sister of Lucian had appeared, targeting her would work just as well.
Mohg removed the Gold Sewing Needle he had been holding between his teeth like a toothpick. After picking at his fangs with it, he flicked it upward and pinned it into the ceiling with his fingernail.
Then he licked his lips, lifted the elegant wine glass in front of him, and drained the finest drink in the tavern in a single gulp.
After finishing, he stood up and walked straight toward Asimi.
The surrounding crowd was stunned.
Most of them had only been joking.
They never expected soone to actually go through with it.
Recently, Mohg, who spent lavishly and behaved nothing like ordinary Tarnished, had already beco a sowhat famous figure in Stormveil.
After all, even Tarnished from noble families couldn't afford to spend so extravagantly.
Most noble families had vast holdings overseas, and they rarely sent their most important mbers to the Lands Between.
Those who ca here were usually minor branches of their families.
So even among the noble-born Tarnished in the city, none of them could match Mohg's level of wealth.
Nearby, two lackeys Mohg had recruited for entertainnt, one playing the straight man and the other the hype man, clenched their fists and shouted enthusiastically:
"As expected of Lord Gammon! He easily did what we would never dare to do!"
"That's exactly why we admire him!"
Gammon was the alias Mohg used in Stormveil, a na that concealed certain thoughts lurking in his heart.
Mohg walked up to Asimi and blocked her path.
Asimi was still lost in thought. She assud she had simply failed to watch where she was going and tried to walk around him.
But Mohg shifted his position again, blocking her once more.
Only then did Asimi raise her head and look at him.
She didn't know what he wanted, but it was clear now that he had approached her intentionally.
Mohg smiled.
"Miss, you're quite beautiful. May I have the honor of getting to know you?"
All the Tarnished who had been watching held their breath, waiting for Asimi's response.
They hadn't expected anyone to actually dare approach her like this.
Asimi felt puzzled.
Getting to know her?
Did that an he wanted to be friends?
Her mind quickly processed the situation, and suddenly a hint of pity appeared in her eyes.
So he was soone who had no friends, wandering around late at night trying to find soone to talk to.
How pitiful.
She decided to humor him.
"Get to know …? My na is Asimi. Now we know each other."
Mohg raised an eyebrow, sowhat confused.
Was her way of thinking… different from a normal human's?
Did she not understand his aning?
Well… that worked too.
He decided to be more direct.
"I see… pleased to et you. My na is Gammon."
"There's sothing I'd like to discuss with you. Could you co with for a mont?"
"There are too many people here."
Asimi thought about it for a mont, then agreed and followed him.
When the Tarnished saw Mohg lead Asimi into a deserted alley, they were so shocked they couldn't even speak.
Was he insane?!
Did he really dare to do this?
Wasn't he afraid Lord Lucian would skin him alive?
Once they reached the empty alley, Mohg stopped walking.
Asimi looked confused.
"What is it? If you have sothing to say, say it clearly."
Mohg turned around with a sinister smile.
"Hehehe… you're really easy to trick."
"You probably have no idea what's about to happen, right? HAHAHAHA!"
In a mont, Mohg intended to kill Asimi in the most brutal way possible, and then implant the curse of accursed blood into her corpse.
If Lucian dared to touch the body, he would imdiately be infected by the cursed blood.
Asimi looked at him, not quite understanding what he ant.
But the clever Asimi quickly figured it out.
Suddenly enlightened, she clapped her hands and exclaid loudly:
"Oh! I get it now! You want to mate with , right?"
Mohg froze as if struck by lightning.
He stood there completely stunned.
Just monts ago she had seed completely clueless, so why was she suddenly blurting out sothing like that?!
Even Mohg himself panicked for a mont.
He quickly looked around to make sure no one was nearby.
Still, he had no idea whether Asimi's shout might have woken soone up.
It felt as though his reputation was about to be ruined by her.
Furious, Mohg snapped:
"Of course not! What nonsense are you shouting about?! You're too loud!"
Asimi beca equally annoyed.
"What do you an 'nonsense'? What exactly do you want? Didn't I tell you to explain clearly?"
"Besides, even if you did want that, I would never do it with you anyway."
"That's sothing you only do with the one you love."
"I believe in pure love!"
Now Mohg was truly enraged.
All he wanted was to lure her here and kill her!
"Idiot! Who would want to do sothing like that with soone wearing that face?!"
Seeing a face that resembled Lucian by seventy percent made him want to tear her apart, not anything else.
Mohg strode forward angrily and grabbed Asimi's shoulder.
In the next mont, he squeezed hard, intending to crush her shoulder and subdue her imdiately.
But once again…
Nothing happened.
Mohg frowned in confusion.
This was the second ti his attempt to crush soone's shoulder had failed.
The first ti it had been his older brother.
And now, what the hell was this?!
Seeing Mohg's increasingly unstable behavior, Asimi found him completely baffling.
She assud he had beco angry out of embarrassnt.
So she casually slapped him.
Mohg's attack had already failed, and now he was struck by a slap that sent him flying onto the ground.
Lying there, Mohg stared blankly at the sky.
What the hell?!
Why does this woman have such ridiculous strength?!
Lucian was one thing, but even his sister was this strong?!
Did their entire family inherit power like demigods from birth or sothing?!
That made no sense!
Where was the justice in this world?!
Where were the laws?!
Mohg quickly descended into rage.
Damn it!
I will never forgive you today!
Not even his own brother had ever slapped him like that!
He was the Lord of Blood, yet he had just been knocked flat onto the ground by a girl, his clothes stained with dirt.
Fine.
He admitted he had been careless earlier.
But now things would be different.
Mohg rose to his feet.
A blade ford from blood appeared in his hand.
Without another word, he swung it toward Asimi.
"nihil! nihil! nihil! "
Another blood blade ford in his other hand as he attacked wildly with both.
"Co on! Co on!"
"You filthy creature! Die beneath my accursed blood blades!"
Asimi's expression shifted from casual indifference to seriousness.
What?
Because she refused to cooperate, he wanted to force it?
That wasn't acceptable!
She had already said it, mating was sothing only done with soone you loved!
The champion of pure love, Asimi, was now angry!
A weapon ford in her hand as well, her most familiar one.
The Sword of Night and Fla.
She raised the blade and t Mohg's blood weapon head-on.
Although she felt sowhat offended, Asimi still decided to spare him, intending only to punish him lightly.
So she deliberately held back her strength.
However, this avatar Mohg had created was much stronger than the one he had previously used against Lucian.
For a brief mont, Asimi and Mohg's full-force attack actually clashed evenly.
Ashmi was surprised.
Even if she wasn't using her full strength, she still possessed seventy percent of her lord's power.
Mohg, on the other hand, was utterly stunned.
This avatar couldn't use the power granted by the Formless Mother, nor could it wield his true weapon. It relied solely on his physical attributes and personal abilities.
Previously, even an avatar with half his strength had been able to easily overwhelm the inexperienced Lucian, though Lucian had eventually defeated him with so mysterious thod.
So this ti Mohg had created an avatar with far greater power.
This one possessed eighty percent of his strength, approaching the level of a demigod.
And yet…
It was being suppressed head-on.
And not by Lucian—
but by Lucian's sister.
Impossible!
This made no sense!
Mohg felt as if his mind was collapsing.
Of course, he had no idea what kind of monstrous attributes Asimi actually possessed.
Mohg himself wasn't known for physical strength. Much of his power ca from the Formless Mother and his weapon.
In raw physical attributes, Lucian had already surpassed him long ago.
So against Asimi, this avatar had no real advantage.
Mohg's gaze toward Asimi turned sharp.
Soone capable of displaying this level of strength could not possibly be ordinary.
The power she was currently showing already placed her among the top-tier heroes of the Lands Between.
"Who exactly… are you?"
—
[T/N: I chose to use the na "Gammon" for Mohg since as a given na, it is of English-Arican origin and ans "one who enjoys playing gas". Whilst in Australian Aboriginal English, "Gammon" refers to sothing fake, cheap, or broken and is associated with playful deception or "put-ons". I hope it doesn't sound too bad for you guys.]
User Comments
0 comments from readers