Siersha now stood naked.
Her back was to .
My heart skipped a beat.
Steam curled around her bare skin, droplets tracing the curve of her spine, slipping over her hips, down—
Don't look. Don't look. Don't—
I looked.
Shit. Even though I could only see her back, it was still too much.
Siersha had an amazing figure—I'd never deny that.
She quickly crossed her arms, covering herself as she turned slightly.
"Close your eyes," she mouthed, barely moving her lips.
I forced them shut, but the heat crawling up my neck betrayed .
'Inna!' []
'I will tell you later, first can you please mask my presence?' []
'Just do it.' []
The sound of her shifting echoed in my ears.
"You're being weirdly quiet," Zenith called over the rush of water.
Siersha turned on her shower, and the cold spray hit first.
I clenched my jaw, barely holding back a curse as the icy water soaked my hair.
"Just tired," Siersha replied, her voice steady, even as her fingers dug into my shoulder for support.
Zenith humd. "You should sleep after this. Might help."
"I will."
With my eyes closed, my other senses sharpened—too much.
The warmth of her body.
Her ragged breath.
Her soft touch.
All of it made it worse.
"Zenith."
Siersha called her.
I cracked my eyes open slightly.
Her arm was still across her chest and private part that was—right in front of my face.
"..."
Why am I disappointed? "Hm? Yeah?" Zenith replied, while I closed my eyes.
"Do you like Himl?"
Siersha asked, making my lips twitch.
Zenith choked on air. "W-what kind of question is that!?"
Siersha humd, shifting slightly.
Her thigh brushed against mine, bare and warm.
"I was just curious," she said casually, as if she wasn't pressed up against in a space far too damn small.
"I don't like him," Zenith muttered. "Maybe."
That should've been the end of it.
But Siersha wasn't done.
Her fingers twitched against my shoulder. "I think he likes you, you know."
Silence.
For a long mont, Zenith said nothing.
Then—
A barely audible voice. "Really?"
"No," Siersha chuckled. "Just kidding."
She shifted again, her hip brushing against my arm.
I clenched my fists.
Why is this happening?
"I hate you." Zenith muttered, and this ti, her voice held genuine irritation.
Siersha's body pressed against again as she adjusted her stance.
I tensed, fighting the urge to move—not that I could in this cramped space.
"How are your dreams going?" Siersha asked, her tone turning curious.
I opened my eyes slightly—
And imdiately shut them as crimson eyes stared right into mine.
Fuck.
She must have noticed.
Because a mont later, she lingered.
Not moving away.
Not shifting forward.
Just staying there, like she was waiting for sothing.
Her fingers curled slightly—just enough for her nails to drag against my skin.
I nearly jerked back.
She was doing this on purpose.
"I saw another girl," Zenith said, her voice doubtful. "Avilea called her 'mother' too."
"Huh?"
The word slipped from my lips before I could stop it.
"What was that!?" Zenith's startled voice made freeze.
Panic crept through my body.
My eyes snapped open.
And the first thing I saw—
Was her hips.
'....'
She has small moles on her left side.
"Nothing," Siersha answered quickly, covering for . "Anyway, do you rember who she was?"
A pause.
"I don't think I've seen her before," Zenith murmured. "But it felt weird. Familiar, almost."
Siersha sighed. "Maybe you'll dream of her again."
"Yeah," Zenith mumbled. "Anyway… what are you doing?"
"Uh, nothing?"
"...I see."
A mont later, Zenith turned off her shower. "I'm done. et inside."
"Sure," Siersha replied, letting out a small sigh of relief.
Then—
She turned off the shower.
I still had my eyes shut.
My clothes, completely soaked, clung to my skin.
"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked.
No reply.
Instead—
I felt her hands on my legs.
My eyes snapped open as I felt her weight on .
Siersha was on my lap.
Her bare chest pressed against mine, her breath warm against my ear.
"If you protest," she whispered, "I'll scream."
Her arms looped around my shoulders, nails grazing my back.
"Move." I said, my voice ca cold.
"No," she murmured, dragging her body closer. "Let drink first."
I inhaled sharply.
She undid my top button, her fingers ghosting over my neck.
Then—
Her fangs sank into my skin.
I stiffened.
My hands twitched at my sides, unsure whether to push her away or—
Warmth spread through my veins, a tingling numbness following.
Fuck her. A slow pull at my neck.
Then another.
The sound of her swallowing sent an unsettling shiver down my spine.
My grip tightened into fists.
She was taking too much.
"Siersha," I warned, my voice hoarse.
She didn't stop.
Didn't even pause.
Her fangs sank deeper, her body pressing even closer.
I cursed under my breath.
She was completely bare, completely exposed—yet sohow, I felt more vulnerable.
Fucking bitch. Instinctively, my hand moved.
I grabbed her left breast—
And squeezed.
Soft. Like crushing a marshmallow.
She groaned but still didn't let go.
Her grip on only tightened.
She wasn't stopping.
I squeezed again, harder this ti.
She whimpered.
Then—
She grinded against my lap.
Pain shot through in more than one way.
Baam! We both flinched as the door slamd open.
"What are you doing!?"
Before Zenith could process what she was seeing—
I whispered.
"Rejection of Ti."
The world turned grey.
El's blessing did exactly as its na suggested.
It rejected the concept of ti.
aning—
The flow of ti within a few ters around was mine to control.
I slowed ti to my limits.
With a sigh, I stood, pushing Siersha away.
Stopping the urge to just admire her figure—.
I walked towards Zenith.
She wore only a towel.
A very short one.
Her entire thighs were visible.
I grinned.
Undid the knot of her towel.
And then—
I walked out.
As I stepped past the banner, ti resud its natural flow.
"Khyaaa!"
Zenith's shrieking voice echoed through the bathhouse.
I exhaled slowly, rubbing my neck which had already started healing.
Fuck that bitch. One day, I'd kill her. []
'Yeah, I noticed it as well.' I shoved my hand into my pocket.
The flow of mana had changed.
Soone was watching .
Soone powerful.
[]
'...Hm.' There was only one demigod in the Uzu family.
Coretta Kurai Uzu.
The Head of Uzu Highbloods.
The hallway ahead of blurred.
Mist thickened, swirling around —
Until a single path remained.
I kept walking.
Until I reached an open space beneath the night sky.
A table sat beneath the stars.
At it, a middle-aged woman with long, pristine white hair.
Her slightly wrinkled face was unreadable, her apathetic white eyes locked onto .
Her lips curled slightly.
"Would you like to have a talk with , Azariah?"
*******
Being the head of a forsaken family is a feat few can claim.
Coretta, despite being the youngest of her siblings, was chosen to lead.
Not because she was the most capable.
Not because she was the wisest choice.
But because she killed every last one of them.
Ruthless. Cunning. Unhinged. A woman who cared for nothing but power.
Even in the ga, she survived until the end of the second core.
Until—
I killed her.
A soft hum pulled from my thoughts.
Across the table, Coretta sat with an air of elegance, her expression unreadable.
"Isn't it fascinating?" she murmured, tilting her head slightly. "Nothing escapes a demigod's eyes."
I leaned back in my chair, masking my thoughts behind a neutral expression.
'Is she talking about my life energy?' Truthfully, demigods don't intimidate as much as they used to.
Maybe it's because of that vision—the Asura Massacre.
Or maybe, at the end of the day, she just doesn't scare .
"Were you spying on ?" I asked, eting her gaze.
She smiled, utterly unfazed.
"I only looked when I sensed a disturbance in mana." A slight pause, then, "Care to explain what that was?"
She must an El's blessing.
I shrugged. "No idea."
Coretta chuckled, resting her chin on her interlaced fingers. "What were you doing in the won's bathhouse?"
"Had soone to et."
"In the bathhouse?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Zenith." I lied without hesitation. "She called ."
She humd, as if considering.
"Edel's granddaughter? Well, I don't care." A pause, then her voice cooled slightly. "Things would be different if it were Siersha."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"
"She is the daughter-in-law of the Uzu Highbloods," Coretta replied matter-of-factly. "And I don't want soone who fawns over other n in my family."
A dry chuckle escaped as I casually adjusted my collar, hiding the faint mark on my neck.
Not that it mattered—my body had already healed.
"You seem to forget that Siersha is engaged to ." I tilted my head. "Wouldn't that make her unfit to marry into your family?"
She let out a quiet laugh. "That engagent ans nothing. Edwin arranged it purely for his own benefit."
The words hit a nerve.
A flash of anger surged through , but I swallowed it down.
"How are you so sure nothing will happen between and Siersha?" I asked, leaning back in the chair.
"She wouldn't dare."
Her tone was different now—colder, absolute.
"A puppet does not move without its puppeteer's permission."
'Is she calling Edwin the puppeteer?' I frowned.
'Was this in the ga?' I rembered Siersha's forced engagent to the heir of the Uzu Highbloods.
Edwin orchestrated the entire thing for power.
Siersha… she hadn't been in a state to refuse.
"And I'm sure Siersha won't even let you touch her." She continued. "She is smart enough not to break Edwin's and my trust in her."
"..."
Touch her?
'Glad I took precautions and asked Inna to mask my presence.' Anyway, sothing doesn't add up.
Was Siersha always that trustful to Edwin?
'And Carson—did she really kill him?' The ga began with her cradling his corpse, but his actual death had never been explained.
Had sothing else happened? Sothing I wasn't aware of?
I pushed the thoughts aside.
"Why did you call ?" I finally asked.
Coretta smiled again, as if regaining amusent. "Just wanted to compare you to my grandson."
I arched a brow. "And?"
"Pathetic." She gave an unimpressed look. "I was worried for nothing. You could never be better than him."
I smiled.
"He's held in high regard, huh?"
"Don't be upset." She tilted her head. "You're not entirely worthless."
I shrugged. "Thanks, I guess."
She shifted slightly, her gaze turning colder. "Before I forget—"
Sothing about her tone set on edge.
"—you shouldn't have saved that worthless child."
My mind buzzed.
"What?"
"Because of you, a thousand-year-old practice has been broken." She said, her voice annoyed.
"It would have been better for her to die than to risk angering Goddess Amaterasu."
I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to stay composed.
"Isn't Arianell your granddaughter?" I asked, clenching my jaw.
Coretta barely blinked.
"Boy, she was born for one purpose." Her voice was devoid of warmth. "To beco the next Sword Maiden. Nothing more. Nothing less."
"...."
Right.
That was her destiny.
A fate written by her own family.
"But don't worry." Coretta's smile returned, too sweet to be real. "She'll die eventually. Just for being associated with you."
"I think we have nothing else to talk about."
I quietly stood up.
Coretta leaned back, unbothered.
I turned to leave—
"Just a warning." Her voice made pause. "Don't think you can fight your fate."
I glanced back.
"Two demigods have already decided it." She t my eyes, hers glinting with amusent. "I promise, you'll be granted a swift death."
A slow smile tugged at my lips.
"How generous."
"Don't ntion it."
She smiled back.
"We will et again soon."
I walked away without another glance, my expression turning stoic.
Taking out the spectra glass and wore it.
The docunt on the first Valentine Head's ritual appeared before .
An unethical thod to gain life energy.
But.
I don't have the luxury of hesitating anymore.
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