Ch.274274. Predator (4)

Victoria would need to go far back in time to recall all the memories she shared with her sister.

Long ago.

Serath and Victoria were known as the closest sisters in the werewolf tribe’s village.

Together since birth. Sisters who shared the same room for years.

Playing together, training together, practicing together.

Relying on each other, unable to live without one another, that’s how close they were as family.

Yes, family.

Allies who could trust and depend on each other more than anyone else in the world.

“Sister.”

Children have many fears.

Imagining monsters hiding under the bed, or simply being afraid of the dark.

She couldn’t remember the reason. But on a night when she was so terrified that her body trembled, Victoria’s question to her sister remained vivid in her memory.

“Will you never leave me, no matter what happens?”

“Yes.”

When she asked this while peeking up from the lower bunk, her sister’s smiling face from the upper bunk.

It’s still clear in her mind.

“I will never abandon you.”

Even on nights plagued by such fears, she remembered falling asleep peacefully after hearing that one sentence.

And afterward.

She believed those words.

Believed them until the end.

Even until the day when the entire village was dying, burning, being cut down, and bleeding.

Of course, there was never a time when persecution against non-humans wasn’t severe in the Empire, but the “purge” against the werewolf tribe was known to be particularly brutal.

The scene that greeted Serath and Victoria as they returned from training as usual would certainly have proven that assessment correct.

The sight of bright red flames lighting up the sky.

And the village, stained just as red as those flames.

Severed corpses, body parts scattered everywhere.

Blood. Blood. Blood.

Human blood spraying in all directions like a sea.

-Purge the survivors, and those who still remain alive… well.

She also remembered the human who stood at the forefront, uttering madman’s words with a languid face.

-Check if they have family.

-If they do, what should we do?

-Torture them before killing them, if possible. That way, whether they get angry, sad, or scared, they’ll come out.

-…Count. There are children among the survivors.

-So what?

-…

Days of hell.

She had managed to hide somehow, but as the entire village was being purged, she could only remain hidden, holding her breath.

Her family, acquaintances, and friends being murdered before her eyes.

Having to watch them die without being able to lift a finger.

From her helplessly open mouth.

Only an unidentifiable sound between a scream and a moan, devoid of any meaning, flowed out.

‘Sister…’

Protect me.

Stay by my side.

You said you would always be with me.

Why.

Why did you abandon me?

I needed you.

More than ever, I wanted you by my side then.

“…”

She couldn’t even hear an answer.

After that, she was continuously separated from her sister, never having the chance to ask such questions again.

By the time they met again, too much time had passed to ask such things.

‘…Why.’

Even then, such questions kept lingering near her vocal cords.

‘Why did you abandon me?’

Due to hesitation, it was a question she still couldn’t bring herself to ask out loud.

●

And now, in the present.

She was being asked by some guy to let him grope both her and her sister’s chests at the same time.

“…What?”

As Victoria’s expression hardened, Darwood didn’t respond to her words but instead glared at Count Nicholas, who was scattering chunks of flesh in all directions as he writhed at the front.

The sly look that had been on his face when he first spoke was long gone without a trace.

“Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, could you lend us your strength?”

“…I’ll say it again, you’re probably the only person who would ask such a thing of the Empire’s Emperor!”

With those words.

The dragon-person’s magical power pulsated throughout the room.

The ruler’s power. An overwhelming divine power that could erase any ordinary ability by its mere presence rose up in all directions.

“Instructions!”

“I’ll tell you which direction to intercept. Block the attacks coming from that side first!”

And seeing this scene.

Victoria realized one thing.

The current situation might be much more serious than she had thought.

“Victoria.”

And before her, Darwood, brushing back his hair, spoke in a calm voice.

“Please.”

“…”

“If you’re late, both the Emperor and I will die.”

If that’s the case, what she needs to do now is clear.

He said two minutes. Within that time, she somehow needs to find Serath and help that man.

“Go, quickly.”

And as if Darwood’s words were a signal.

With a howl that made her want to tear out her eardrums, Count Nicholas began charging toward them.

Seeing this, Victoria gritted her teeth and turned around.

She wondered if having Serath with her would make any difference, but this was what the man had requested. He probably didn’t give the instruction without reason.

“…I’ll be right back!”

Fortunately, thanks to her title as Grand Assassin, fulfilling such a promise wouldn’t be too difficult.

She launched herself with acrobatic movements toward the broken ceiling above.

Kicking off vertical walls, sprinting along thread-like supports that normal people would struggle even to step on, passing through completely collapsed areas filled with dense obstacles without any delay.

“…”

However, although her actions were swifter than ever.

Victoria’s mind was actually occupied with thoughts that didn’t quite match the urgency of the situation.

Doing these actions, as before, made her recall certain memories.

From long ago. It automatically reminded her of training she used to do with someone when she was young.

‘…Reconcile, he says. With my sister.’

Darwood Campbell had consistently insisted that she and Serath must reconcile.

And now, facing the “revived” Count Nicholas and being told to bring her sister.

It was clearly his intention to reap the fruits of his efforts to build a bridge between them.

While thinking this, she suddenly found herself face to face with Serath.

“…Oh, Victoria?”

Victoria bit her lip in displeasure as she looked at her sister, who was awkwardly opening her mouth.

In fact, she had recently initiated conversation herself.

But it’s true that hesitation still remained.

“…Follow me.”

But that was one thing.

The current situation was such that Darwood had explicitly stated it couldn’t be resolved without this person.

Going together wasn’t a choice.

“Huh? Where…”

“No time to explain, hurry!”

She roughly grabbed the wrist of the confused-looking Serath and pulled her along.

Like Victoria herself, Serath was also one of the continent’s top assassins. Retracing the path she had just taken wasn’t particularly difficult.

In fact, Serath was easily following behind her now, albeit in confusion.

‘…Reconcile, he says.’

Victoria bit down on her teeth until they bled.

She wasn’t ready yet.

The emotional rift that had formed over those long years couldn’t heal so easily.

The deeper one digs, the more sensitive the matter becomes.

That was the biggest mistake.

“-toria. Victoria!”

So much so.

Her nerves were so focused elsewhere that she momentarily reacted slowly even to something ‘obvious’.

“…!”

At the sound of Serath urgently calling her from behind, she suddenly came to her senses.

In a normal situation, she would undoubtedly have reacted properly and avoided it.

But the scattered concentration, the unexpectedness of the battlefield extending this far, and the opponent’s speed that defied common sense.

The combination of these factors resulted in.

Her entire body freezing stiff.

Her extremely developed sense of danger instantly compressed and conveyed the situation she was currently in.

And based on that diagnosis.

She was now on the verge of catastrophe.

“-!”

Before she could move her body, tentacles of flesh burst through the floor, walls, and ceiling all around.

Whether it was because some intelligence remained and it was using its head, or simply because they happened to be caught in an indiscriminate attack against all nearby living beings was uncertain.

But the timing was undoubtedly the worst.

A complete blind spot with no escape. No gap to slip through. Truly a fatal strike.

She felt death’s breath brushing her shoulder. Victoria’s expression hardened.

But the next moment.

“Danger-!”

Her body was flung away. Away from the ‘path’ of the attack that should have hit her.

“…Huh?”

Victoria uttered a dazed voice.

As she saw Serath’s body being pierced by the fleshy tentacles ‘instead’, after pushing her away.

“…Huh, huh?”

That was the only reaction she could manage to express outwardly.