The woman in front of us had white hair that fell loosely around her shoulders, but that wasn’t the first thing anyone would notice.
It was her eyes.
There was sothing deeply wrong with them.
They weren’t just sharp or intense. They were unstable and twisted. The kind of gaze that didn’t just look at you but felt like it was peeling sothing off your skin, or trying to get under it. There was a kind of excitent in them too, like she was enjoying this far more than she should.
She looked completely deranged.
"You..." I muttered under my breath.
There was no mistaking it.
This woman was the sister of Sesillian. The one who had always been described as unhinged, even among people who were already far from normal. She was also the one Moriarty had freed.
The Mad Woman.
Sara.
"Kukuku... well, it seems my reputation precedes ," she said, her lips curling into a grin as she slowly licked the edge of her blade.
That sound alone was enough to make anyone uncomfortable.
"What have you done to my mother?" Myrcella demanded, her voice shaking slightly, though she was clearly trying to keep it under control.
"Oh, you don’t have to worry about her," Sara replied casually. "She’s fine."
She tilted her head slightly, almost like she was thinking about her own words.
"Well... saying she’s fine isn’t exactly accurate," she added with a small laugh. "I did make her bleed a little. I couldn’t copy her appearance without tasting her blood, after all."
"You...!"
Myrcella stepped forward, anger flashing across her face, but I imdiately raised my hand and stopped her.
"Myrcella," I said firmly. "She’s trying to lure you in. Don’t take the bait."
Right now, Sara’s focus was clearly on her.
Which wasn’t surprising.
"I-I know, but my mother is..." Myrcella’s voice wavered.
Of course she was shaken.
Anyone would be.
Hearing that your mother had been hurt, even if the damage wasn’t severe, wasn’t sothing you could just brush off. It wasn’t sothing you could stay calm about, no matter how much you tried to keep your composure.
"You don’t have to worry," I told her. "I’ll make sure I capture her."
I stepped forward slightly, adjusting my stance.
Sara mirrored , her posture shifting as well.
"I’ve heard you’re quite strong," she said, her grin widening. "But whether that’s actually true... I’ll decide that myself."
The mont she finished speaking, she moved.
She was fast.
Ridiculously fast.
Her body shot forward like a blur, closing the distance in an instant. The speed alone would’ve been enough to overwhelm most people. It was probably on par with Tilde... maybe even Shredica.
But that wasn’t enough.
Not for .
I planted my foot and kicked straight into her stomach.
"Fuaaaakkkkh?!"
The impact landed clean.
She didn’t block it.
Her body bent around the force before she was sent flying backward, crashing hard into the wall behind her. The sound echoed through the room.
For a mont, she stayed there.
She was still.
Like her body needed a second to catch up with what just happened.
Then she started laughing.
"Kekeke... ahhh... is that so~? Is that so~?" she muttered, her voice shaking with amusent. "Now I get it. You’re the real deal. Sothing actually worth playing with. Now I see why those bastards are too scared to face you head-on."
She slowly pushed herself up.
"Though... maybe it’s still not enough, huh...?"
There was blood on her blade.
I hadn’t noticed it before.
She raised it slightly, then dragged her tongue across it with a slow, deliberate motion.
That’s when I felt it.
A faint sting.
I glanced down at my arm.
There was a cut.
It was small and was already healing.
Still, it had been there.
So she managed to land sothing after all.
"Now then..." she said.
Her body began to shift.
It wasn’t subtle.
Her form twisted, muscles shifting, bones adjusting, with her entire appearance warping in a way that didn’t look natural at all.
"It’s ti for to get serious."
When the transformation finished, I was staring at... myself.
Sa face.
Sa build.
Sa presence.
It was like looking into a mirror, except the reflection was smiling like a complete maniac.
Then she moved again.
And this ti, her speed increased even more.
It wasn’t just faster.
There was weight behind it now.
It has power.
Did she copy that too?
For a split second, the thought crossed my mind.
Still, it didn’t matter.
Even if she copied sothing from , it wouldn’t be complete. Not from a single drop of blood.
She lunged forward.
I stepped in.
Another kick.
Straight to the stomach again.
But I didn’t stop there.
Before she could even be sent flying properly, I moved.
I pushed myself off the ground, lifting into the air just enough to reposition. My body spun midair, montum building naturally, and then I brought my foot down hard against her back.
"Guaaaaaaaaah!"
The impact drove her straight into the ground.
"Even with the power you copied from , it’s still not enough," I said. "Did you really think sothing that cheap would work on ?"
I grabbed her by the back of her head, gripping tightly as I lifted her slightly off the ground.
Her face turned toward .
That madness was still there.
Still burning in her eyes like it had been carved into her.
Like it wasn’t sothing that could ever disappear.
I let my bloodlust spill out.
At first, it wasn’t even directed.
It just flooded the space around us.
"L-Leon...?" I heard Myrcella’s voice from behind .
Lilia and Veronica felt it too.
Anyone nearby would.
When I focused it on Sara, her expression shifted slightly.
Just a little.
"Now tell ..." I said, my voice low. "Where is the Queen?"
"I-I don’t know..."
I slamd her head into the floor.
Hard.
The ground cracked beneath the impact.
I pulled her up again.
The madness was still there, but it wasn’t as strong now.
Sothing else had crept in.
"Tell ... where is the Queen?"
"I-I said I don’t—"
I slamd her head down again.
Harder this ti.
The sound echoed.
At this point, I wasn’t even trying to hide how pissed I was.
She was involved back then.
When Sesillian summoned that thing in the capital.
She was there.
And she almost killed Gabrielle.
Did she seriously think I’d go easy on her?
I lifted her head again.
This ti, I looked straight into her eyes.
"Tell ..." I said, my voice colder than before. "Where is the Queen?"
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