Chapter 182: The Night of the Full Moon – Middle (7)

Sion tried.

She tried so hard that no one could deny it.

She unleashed every bit of magic she could use, swinging her sword without pause.

In a space shrouded in pitch-black darkness, she fought with all her might against a vampire who was darkness itself.

She even went so far as to borrow the power of Exia—something she normally wouldn’t even consider using.

Although she wasn’t the true Hero, and all Exia could offer was the ability to emit light, it was still helpful in illuminating her surroundings.

But despite all that, she was no match for the awakened Raizein.

The only way to defeat an endlessly regenerating opponent is if your destructive power can continuously surpass their regeneration.

If it doesn’t, then all attacks lose meaning.

The same went for Sion.

There was no point in attacking if it had no effect.

All she could do was defend—just hang on.

But simply holding out with defense alone was no easy feat against Raizein’s relentless attacks.

From the start, she was no ordinary legion commander.

Long ago, Sion herself had acknowledged Raizein’s talent as being on par with her own.

She had risen to the rank of True Ancestor—a level extremely rare even in the long history of vampires.

With power like hers, she should have become the Demon King long ago.

The only reason she hadn’t was because of her own stubbornness—a vow that she would never call herself Demon King until she defeated her father.

Even if both fighters had similar strength, a fragile girl who could die from a bit of blood loss was no match for a top-tier demon who could endlessly regenerate.

Everyone would bet on the latter’s victory. The only question would be: how long would it take?

In the end, it took exactly 30 minutes.

“You lasted shorter than I expected, Father,” Raizein chuckled, her body regenerating from the last blow.

Everything about her—her clothes, her form—returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened.

Sion, on the other hand, was already a bloodied, broken mess, long past the point of being able to fight.

“If you still had your old body, things might’ve been different. Back then, even without magic, your body itself was a deadly weapon.

But there’s no point in lamenting what’s lost, right?”

“Huff… huff… ngh…!”

Sion gasped for air, clutching her chest.

Blood from her wound mixed with sweat and dripped onto the floor.

Raizein looked down at her with a blissful expression before speaking again.

“Aaah, how can you still be this attractive even after your appearance has changed?

I used to love that cool and sexy look of yours…But now, this fragile and delicate version of you—

It’s so unbearably cute, I think I’m going insane. I want to make you mine completely.
I want to take you to bed and violate you until you scream and scream♥”

“………”

Sion glared at her silently, eyes full of seething hostility.

But to Raizein—now fully awakened in her yandere madness—even that only added to her charm.

She slowly bent down to meet Sion’s gaze and gently lifted her injured chin with her hand.

“Now then, Father. You can guess how I’ll treat you from now on, can’t you?

First, I’ll bite you and feed you my blood, turning you into my thrall. Then, you’ll become my beloved, precious doll.

My eternal companion who will never leave my side.

Maybe for about a week, the new blood will clash with your old will and cause some inner turmoil. But it’s okay.

Soon, you’ll be at peace. You’ll accept everything.”

Her sharp fangs gleamed ominously as she smiled.

“So, before that happens, is there anything you’d like to say? A final word before your free will is taken away.

It’ll basically be your last will and testament, so I’ll let you say anything—even the worst insults.
I’m generous like that, you know? Ufufu…”

She covered her mouth and let out a dark laugh, eager to see what her “father’s” reaction would be.

At this point, the idea of her losing wasn’t even within the realm of imagination.

Sion was so exhausted she could barely lift her sword, while Raizein was completely unharmed.

Resistance was meaningless.

Fate was sealed.

But.

Precisely because of all that.

Sion lifted the corners of her mouth, forcing a twisted, distorted grin.

“Heh… heh heh… Final words, huh?

Not quite that dramatic, but yeah—there is something I want to say.”

“Oh? What is it?”

Sion took a deep breath, then looked up at Raizein and spoke.

“Raizein. Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Even a lion uses all its strength to catch a rabbit’?”

“…?”

Raizein tilted her head.

What was that supposed to mean? A proverb, out of nowhere?

“I’ve heard it, sure. Isn’t it one of those dumb and pitiful little sayings passed down among humans?

That tired, old moral about how you should give your best in everything you do?”

“Tired and old, you say… And why do you think that?”

“Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?
Wasting your strength to catch prey that isn’t even worth a bite is hardly the behavior of a proper ruler.

Doing something like that only undermines your dignity as someone who reigns above others. In the long run, it’s a loss.”

Not entirely wrong.

Among demons, where loyalty is a foreign concept, subordinates are always looking for an opening to overthrow those above them.

To suppress that kind of ambition, a ruler must appear lofty, flawless, and untouchable at all times.

Showing too much concern over something like small fry could itself become an act that incites rebellion.

It was for a similar reason that the Demon King’s army hadn’t sent a commander early on to eliminate the Hero’s party, even as they gradually grew stronger from the bottom up.

Even so, Sion chuckled softly.

As if Raizein’s reasoning was amusing.

“A dumb and pitiful saying, huh…”

She repeated Raizein’s words with a faint smile.

“You’re not wrong. It is dumb and pitiful. But the reason why—it’s probably the exact opposite of what you think.

At the very least, it has nothing to do with appearances or pride.”

Still smiling, Sion continued.

“A lion is a wild animal that hunts with its claws and fangs. Those are the only tools it has. It has nothing else to rely on.

It can’t strike from a distance. It doesn’t have some flashy area-of-effect attack to wipe things out.

It has to approach its prey directly and engage in close-quarters combat—biting and tearing with its own body.

On the other hand, a rabbit—while it lacks strength or killing power anywhere near that of a lion—has agility that’s second to none.

And with those big ears, it’s got incredible hearing, too.

It’s not the kind of prey you can catch by half-assing it.

Regardless of the power gap between the two, if a lion truly wants to catch a rabbit, it must run with everything it’s got.”

As she said this, Sion raised her index finger and waved it side to side, mockingly.

As if saying, “Don’t you know even that much?”

“The correct version of that saying isn’t ‘A lion does use all its strength to catch a rabbit.’
It’s—‘A lion must use all its strength to catch even a rabbit.’

That is the truth of it. Understand now, Raizein?”

“……???”

Raizein’s expression twisted with even more confusion.

She got the point—but she couldn’t figure out why Sion was bringing this up now.

Her father wasn’t the rabbit in this situation, was she?

If anything, it was more like a lion and a bear clashing—and Raizein had fought at full strength.
The metaphor didn’t fit the current situation at all.

So why?

Why was she saying this now?

“Is she… mocking herself for losing without landing a hit? No… but that’s not her style…”

Just as Raizein’s doubts began to swirl—

–BOOM!!