Chapter 115: Disaster comes in pairs...
Just as Blade teleported to Sara’s location, she realized something wrong...
What awaited her on the other side of the spatial tear was not Sara and Night, but rows upon rows of magic circles with the sole purpose of sealing whatever was caught inside.
Blade knew she had fallen for a trap.
Unlike the Devil who had ambushed them earlier, this enemy was clearly prepared beforehand, and their target was her, not Sara or Night.
With her remaining yellow eye, she looked at the culprit. It was a woman wearing a witch’s robe similar to Sara’s, she had a mature appearance with dark black hair and piercing black eyes.
Diana chuckled, covering her mouth. "Fufufu... finally caught you..."
"Who are you?" Blade asked coldly.
This was her first time seeing the woman, but somehow the stranger seemed to know her quite well.
It was not easy to deceive Blade; on a normal day, something like this would have been impossible. But after facing the Devil today, she had been in a hurry and slipped up, leading straight into this situation.
"Fufufu, so Sara didn’t tell you about me?" Diana looked a little disappointed.
"Why would she tell me about you?" Blade asked as she scanned the area, trying to find a way to escape. The sealing circles made it impossible to summon her blades.
"I guess you deserve to know your killer, at least. I am Diana." After introducing herself, Diana looked at Blade with intense interest.
"So you are the one after Sara," Blade stated.
Diana laughed when she heard it. "You really think I would go through all this trouble just to kill a cripple?"
Blade narrowed her remaining eye. So the Devil was bluffing?
"What I was really after was you..." Diana said, her gaze mirroring how a greedy merchant looked at merchandise. "It’s not every day you come across a Unique Being."
It irked Blade, but her situation left her no room to respond in kind.
"To let that pest of a Devil eat a specimen like you would have been a crime," Diana continued.
Blade realized she was likely not getting out alive.
It was time to use that. It was a last resort, because after using it, she would truly die.
The only thing that saddened her was that Night would be left with no real family after this.
Just like she had been, before meeting him. Such was the fate of a Unique Being.
And Sara too... she was a good friend. A friend worth dying for. But she was pretty sure Sara would follow her in death today anyway.
As for why she wasn’t as worried about Night: unless he stupidly disabled his Nightmare Fire, she had no doubt he would survive.
There was also that God who had picked him as his Chosen. Blade was sure he would descend to protect Night if needed.
Diana gave an eerie smile. "If you are worried about your colleagues, don’t worry. They will follow you soon enough..."
Blade shook her head. "Sara, I understand. With her injury, her chances of surviving are less than mine. But Night? Impossible."
Diana raised her eyebrows. "Really? That weakling? I don’t understand why a Primordial God would choose a boy so weak."
Blade didn’t say anything; she simply glared.
Internally, she was preparing herself for what she was about to do next. With her finally move, she should have enough strength to break the sealing magic circles, kill the Witch, and maybe even travel to the other battlefield.
Her eye told her it was possible, though defeating the Devil was questionable. But before she could start the process, she paused. What Diana said next stunned her, and all her calm composure vanished in an instant.
"It doesn’t matter why," Diana said, "but he will be dealt with. Lord [Zethe-thoth] will be moving against him personally."
All Blade could say was, "Why would a Void God..."
Diana shrugged. "Though we have already severed the boy’s connection with the God, it’s still too risky. What if the Primordial God still managed to descend? If that happened, there is a good chance he would kill us off. I don’t like to leave my life to chances."
Blade blankly repeated, "Already severed the connection..."
She realized now there was a high chance Night would not survive today either.
He is just a baby... and he finally managed to awaken to his true race, too...
In her mind, Night was indeed like a toddler.
I can’t burn my Origin Energy now and fight.
Even if I do, then if the Void God personally makes a move, all of us will still die...
At least Night must survive...
think... think...
Blade’s eye brightened. What if I don’t use the Origin Energy to fight? If I do that instead, then...
If luck is on our side, then Night might survive.
Blade smiled bitterly. He will probably be very sad with what I am about to do...
She shook her head. At least he will be alive this way. Alone, but alive.
He really likes to use axes. I don’t know how he will feel about this, though... Will he use it in the future, or let it collect dust in some corner?
Diana, who was watching the Unique Being intently, saw her expression change from calm, to stunned, to despair, and finally... to resolve.
She knew the Unique Being probably had a trump card, and it was about time she used it.
From what Diana had divined, the trump card would probably make the Unique Being explosively strong for a short period of time.
She had already prepared for such circumstances, the Devil’s other incarnation was nearby, along with another surprise.
But even Diana didn’t expect that her unnecessary babbling had made Blade completely change her plans.
The next moment, a blade appeared in the Unique Being’s hand.
Somehow, despite being trapped in a magic circle that could fully seal a Demigod, she had managed to summon a weapon.
This blade looked strange. It felt like it was another Unique Being, or probably the same Unique Being in a different form.
The weapon looked like a masterpiece. It was entirely black, with a white tassel attached to the bottom of the hilt. The hilt had an eye embedded within it, and it looked remarkably similar to the Unique Being’s own eye.
It gave Diana an ominous feeling, as if it would do far more than just cut her if the blade ever managed to touch her skin.
Now fully serious with a cold expression, Diana got ready for a fight. But what happened next made her rage.
"How dare you..."
The lowly Unique Being was burning its own body, leaving nothing behind for her research.
Diana was about to attack, but it was already too late. It only took a moment for it to happen.
Blade had a serene expression on her face as her body, her mind, her soul, her records, her very being; melted and merged with the blade.
First it was her fingers, then her arms, her legs, her tail, her torso, and finally, her head.
She didn’t know what would happen next. She didn’t know what the blade would do after she disappeared, but with the last of her remaining strength, she gave it a single command.
Protect Night.
It was a simple command, but on it hinged whether Night would survive today.
Before Diana could do anything, the blade moved. It slashed through the air, a spatial tear ripped open, and the weapon flew through the rift as if the sealing circles didn’t even exist.
Diana screamed. "Get that blade! I want it, no matter the cost!"
Alze-beus’s incarnation appeared beside her. "Tsk. If you had just let me eat her, none of this would have happened." Still, he followed it through the rift without delay.
Alze-beus had never eaten something as exotic as a Unique Being.
Had he known the creature was not just some rare monster but a genuine Unique Being, he might never have left her to Diana, choosing to eat her himself.
....
Near the Dream City
"NOOOOOOOOO!" Night screamed as he caught Sara, or what remained of her.
He immediately canceled his Nightmare Fire afraid it might hurt you her.
Right now, he couldn’t care less about his own safety.
The body in his arms felt impossibly light. Blood leaked from Sara like a broken dam... His white clothes from the waist down turned red in an instant.
Holding her body, Night’s mind went blank.
Her body was unmoving, and it was already growing cold.
Though he could hear Alze-beus stepping closer to him, he only looked at Sara.
Just as he thought the worst had happened, a black blade shot out from a small slit in space. It made Alze-beus back away immediately, sensing mortal danger radiating from the weapon.
The Devil realized this blade could cause permanent damage to his very being, just like [Zethe-thoth].
The blade didn’t stop; it reached Night and phased directly into his forehead.
But it didn’t cause him any harm.
Yet, tears started flowing freely from his pupilless eyes.
Because there was a message attached to the blade... and the moment he read it, it broke him completely.
Take care, Night. No matter what, live. This is my final request. - Blade.
Alze-beus saw the blade disappear into the boy.
He grew restless and decided he would finish him off with the next attack. But before he could try anything, everything around him turned pitch black as blackish-purple mist filled his vision.
The next thing he heard was a distorted voice that came from everywhere, and nowhere at all.
"I WILL KILL YOU ALL..."