The World Is Mine For The Taking

Lucielle’s POV

I shifted my gaze between Levi and Morsea, carefully watching both of them without letting my guard slip for even a moment. Just standing across from the two of them was enough to remind me of every previous battle we had fought together, and none of those memories were exactly comforting.

I had fought both of them before, and even when it was only Morsea standing against me, I already knew my strength wasn’t enough to surpass hers. Among all of the Seven Deadly Sins, Morsea was recognized as the strongest after Satania herself, and that wasn’t a title someone earned through empty rumors or exaggerated stories.

The gap between us had always been obvious.

Trying to defeat her alone had never sounded realistic to me, even if I somehow managed to fight at my absolute best from beginning to end. She was simply too experienced, too powerful, and far too calm during battle to leave many openings behind.

Levi joining her side certainly didn’t improve my chances either.

Instead, it made everything considerably worse.

Fighting one of them already demanded my full attention, but fighting both of them together was something else entirely. They had worked together for a long time, understood each other’s habits, and could naturally cover one another without needing to say a single word.

This battle wasn’t going to be easy for me.

That much was painfully obvious already.

Still, I had absolutely no intention of letting Leon die here.

Whatever happened during this battle, I had to make sure he survived until the very end. Mother had to return someday, and Leon was the vessel chosen for her resurrection. Everything depended on him remaining alive long enough for Mother’s plan to be completed.

That was the only thing that mattered.

Nothing else held any importance.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

I wasn’t protecting him because I wanted to.

Everything I was doing was for Mother.

That had always been my reason.

Nothing had changed.

Or at least, that was what I wanted to believe.

"You’ve really lost it, Lucielle," Levi said as she looked straight into my eyes with an expression full of disappointment. "You’ve completely forgotten your place. Tell me something. Have you actually fallen in love with Mother’s vessel? Is that why you’ve started acting like this?"

"Wha...?!"

The moment those words reached my ears, my face immediately grew warmer before I could even stop myself. My thoughts completely froze for a brief second as I stared back at her.

In love?

What in the world was she talking about?

Me?

Falling in love?

With Leon?

Just thinking about it made my brain stumble over itself.

"Wait," Levi said while squinting at me with growing suspicion. "Hold on a second. Are you actually embarrassed?"

"O-Of course not!" I answered almost immediately, probably a little louder than I intended. "Don’t be ridiculous. Everything I’m doing is for Mother. I want Mother to come back. That’s all there is to it. You’re reading way too much into this."

Levi raised an eyebrow.

"For some reason, I have a hard time believing that explanation."

Morsea quietly let out a small sigh before speaking.

"To be fair," she said, "you’ve been doing things like this long before any of this happened. From what I’ve heard, you even took care of one of Lilith’s fragments yourself. That doesn’t exactly sound like someone acting on impulse."

"I won’t deny any of that," I replied without looking away from either of them. "I simply did what had to be done. Mother has to be resurrected. Everything else comes after that."

"You’re completely devoted to Mother," Morsea answered calmly. "Calling it devotion almost feels too generous. It looks more like you’ve been completely brainwashed."

She slowly raised her weapon.

"I suppose this is where our paths finally split."

Levi followed her example and lifted her own weapon without another word. The atmosphere instantly became much heavier than before. Whatever conversation we had been having ended right then and there.

This was the real beginning.

The fight had finally started.

I quietly steadied my breathing while adjusting my stance, carefully creating just enough distance between us to react to whatever came first. My heartbeat remained steady despite the pressure weighing down on me from both sides.

Then both of them disappeared.

Levi and Morsea burst forward at nearly the exact same moment with incredible speed. They approached from opposite directions without hesitating for even an instant, clearly intending to trap me between them before I could react.

Their coordination was as terrifying as ever.

Against most opponents, that strategy probably would’ve ended the battle almost immediately.

Unfortunately for them, my eyes could still follow their movements without much difficulty. Their speed was impressive, but it wasn’t enough to disappear from my sight.

Everything around me seemed to slow down.

Within a single heartbeat, both of them had already reached striking distance.

Levi’s blade swung directly toward my neck while Morsea’s weapon aimed for my side, leaving almost no room to escape if I reacted even slightly too late.

A clean execution.

That was probably what they were aiming for.

Before either attack could land, I had already moved away from the center of their assault.

My body slipped backward just in time.

Their blades completely missed me.

Instead, both swords slammed into each other with a sharp metallic crash that echoed throughout the battlefield.

"Huh?!"

"W-What?!"

The confusion on both of their faces was impossible to miss.

They had expected me to still be standing between them.

While they were still trying to understand what had happened, I immediately stretched one hand forward without wasting the opportunity they had accidentally given me.

Dark mana rapidly gathered inside my palm.

The surrounding air twisted slightly as the energy condensed into a dense sphere of dark matter. Even I could feel the incredible weight packed inside something so small.

Without giving them another chance to recover, I fired it directly toward them.

The sphere crossed the distance almost instantly.

The moment it reached them, it expanded outward before erupting into an enormous explosion. Strangely enough, despite the sheer destruction it caused, the blast itself was almost completely silent.

Silence somehow made explosions feel even more threatening.

After several long moments, the dark energy slowly dispersed.

The smoke gradually cleared from the battlefield.

Morsea was still standing.

Just before the explosion reached them, she had activated a powerful barrier around herself and Levi. Most of the blast had been absorbed by that barrier, allowing both of them to escape without suffering any serious injuries.

Even so, they weren’t completely unharmed.

The remaining force of the dark matter had still reached them, leaving visible damage behind despite their successful defense.

Levi stared at me with obvious frustration.

"You..."

Her grip around her weapon tightened.

"What exactly was that attack?"

Morsea continued watching me carefully.

"This must be the power Beelzebub mentioned before," she said in a calm voice. "Where exactly did you obtain something like this?"

I chose to remain silent.

Explaining the truth would only create an even bigger headache.

If I admitted that this power came from Leon because I had sex with him, those two would probably never let me hear the end of it.

Some secrets were better left alone.

At least for now.

Instead of answering, I simply raised my hand again.

Mana immediately gathered around my palm once more before another sphere of dark matter quickly took shape. Its familiar weight settled into my hand as I aimed straight at the two of them again.

I launched the attack without hesitation.

This time, both of them reacted much faster.

After witnessing the first explosion, they wisely chose to dodge instead of trying to block the attack again. Their movements were noticeably more cautious than before, showing they had already recognized how dangerous those attacks really were.

That didn’t bother me in the slightest.

I simply created another sphere.

Then another one immediately afterward.

After that came another.

Dark matter continued forming one after another inside my hands as I relentlessly hurled each attack toward Levi and Morsea, refusing to give either of them even the smallest chance to catch their breath or regain control of the fight. If they wanted to survive, they were going to keep moving, because standing still for even a second would be a terrible idea. Honestly, I almost felt a little bad for them.

Almost.