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Chapter 19
The vast Imperial Palace was a labyrinth, but Raiden, born and raised within its walls, could find Kanan’s room even with his eyes closed.
“Nothing must happen… please.”
Sweat beaded on Seiri’s forehead as she ran at full speed. The image of Kanan’s chubby, freshly baked-bread-like cheeks curling into a smile hovered before her eyes.
The memory of being held in her arms and called “Mom” made her chest tighten, a feeling like she had plunged into water. It was similar to the incomprehensible emotion she had felt when the Emperor first called her “Seiri.” That must be why she was searching for Kanan so desperately now.
“What the hell is going on?”
The Emperor, Kanan… there was something here. Something she had never noticed when consumed by revenge. It was something that clearly pointed in a direction different from the life she had lived so intensely, yet it connected to her in some way.
Normally, she would have dismissed it as trivial, or found it annoying, but now she couldn’t. She needed to know, even if she didn’t understand it yet.
“So please… please avoid the worst-case scenario.”
It was then.
“Kyaaaah!”
As she and Raiden reached near the end of the hallway, a woman’s screaming tore through the air. Seiri smashed the door of the room with a single kick.
Bang!!
The sight inside, flooded with sunlight through the windows, was horrifying.
Two maidens lay collapsed on a crimson carpet, their necks and torsos fatally wounded—blood so red it was hard to tell if it was real or dyed.
Between them writhed something black and squirming, which had stopped attacking another woman to turn its attention toward them.
“…This is the worst.”
Grrr…
It looked like a rotting corpse, or a dark-red octopus, covering Kanan’s left side and her entire face.
“So all five seeds… gathered here?”
Otherwise, there was no way such a massive form could have been created in such a short time.
It was possible that Kanan’s body and mind had already been completely overtaken. Seiri could not be certain if she could return to her normal self.
What if it’s too late…?
“Kruk!”
A crimson tentacle shot toward Seiri with a sharp whish.
She barely dodged to the side, but the tentacle struck the wall, leaving a deep, gaping hole. Pieces of the wall crumbled with a crash.
Instinctively, Seiri knew. This was a power far stronger than her own.
“Is… is that His Highness the Prince? Ugh!”
Bang! The tentacle reacted to Reno’s voice as he tried to enter. It struck above his head, but Raiden’s quick kick to his rear saved him from being pierced.
“Don’t provoke it! Staying still helps!”
Whoosh!
As Seiri shouted, the tentacle turned back toward her, slashing with a sharp, whip-like swish as it hunted her.
Bang, thud, bang!
Damn it… what do I do? I can’t see a solution.
Seiri hesitated. She knew fleeing alone wouldn’t solve anything, but attacking the tentacle created by the demon seeds could put Kanan in grave danger.
Half of Kanan’s form still remained. If more than half of her body and mind had already been overtaken, striking the tentacle might kill her too.
Even so, there’s no other choice now.
There was no time to hesitate. This was a race against the clock.
“Throw the sword this way!”
Jumping in a half-circle to avoid the tentacle, Seiri called out. With no wings and no magic left, all she could do was run and strike.
Every second counted; severing the tentacle’s life quickly was her best and only option.
Clang!!
Raiden, seeing the horror of the mutated form, pulled a sword from a nearby knight and threw it toward Seiri. Despite the distance, the sword landed precisely in front of her.
Seiri quickly grabbed the sword, dodging the tentacles, and charged forward.
“Krrk!”
As she closed the distance, a new tentacle lashed out at her side.
She avoided the vital strike but couldn’t evade completely; blood gushed from a deep cut.
Damn. I keep forgetting my body isn’t the same as before.
Before, she wouldn’t have needed to get this close to finish it. Ducking under a sweeping strike, she simultaneously swung the sword upward, slicing the tentacle above her head.
“Grrr…!”
Seeing the tentacle writhe in pain, Seiri didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward and aimed for the center of its head.
Thud! The sword hit the center of the creature’s forehead, but her side wound prevented it from going deep. The remaining tentacle pierced her shoulder the instant her sword landed.
“Aah!”
She had anticipated the risk, but the pain of torn flesh was unbearable, worsened by her weakened body.
Hngh…
Blood from her wounds soaked the floor, yet Seiri’s eyes stayed fixed on the writhing mutated form and Kanan. She prayed that Kanan would awaken, whole, as the monster fell.
Please…
A surge of desperate emotion rose up, catching Seiri off guard. She realized she had never longed for anything this intensely.
Revenge for Ferdinando had been obsession, but this—this willingness to risk her life for another—was entirely different.
Why do I feel like this?
Despite her heart, reality was grim.
The mutated creature moved slightly, its body pierced by the sword. Worse, new flesh grew from the severed tentacle. Her wounds were not healing; she had no strength left to flee.
It was over.
All this… against a mere mutated creature…
Despair, regret, helplessness. Seiri recalled feelings she had long buried since becoming Aides. She remembered the bitter pain of being powerless to protect what she loved.
!
A sudden flash came to her mind—a brief but vivid image: a blood-soaked white dress, hands pressed desperately against a bleeding stomach, despair shattering the world.
What… is this?
But reality gave her no time to dwell.
Two fully formed tentacles lunged for her head. Weakened, she could do nothing but watch.
Then.
Tap, tap…
Swords scattered around her. The two tentacles fell to the ground simultaneously. The mutated creature’s scream echoed louder than before.
“Why do you always try to handle everything alone?”
A large, firm hand gripped her shoulder, revealing a pair of piercing blue eyes. There was both reproach and reassurance in them.
“I didn’t expect you to use the sword better than my chief knight. But alone, it’s impossible.”
Raiden wiped the blood from his blade, expression calm.
Grrr…!
The mutant staggered, and the severed tentacles lay on the floor, cleanly cut. The skill was astonishing.
One strike? How is this humanly possible?
Without strength, speed, and decisive judgment, it would have been impossible.
“Now tell me—how do we save Kanan?”
Raiden’s low voice snapped Seiri back to reality.
Kanan! Seiri’s gaze shot to the poor child clinging to the mutated form. Through gritted teeth came a hiss.
“The chances are fifty-fifty. But there’s no other way. We have to strike the creature’s head before it’s too late… hngh!”
Pain tore through her shoulder, forcing her to the ground. Dazed, she bit her lip to stay conscious.
Raiden noticed and shouted,
“Reno! Cast a barrier around Seiri!”
“Y-Yes!!”
Reno rushed over, placing a protective, multicolored barrier over Seiri and himself.
“Just what… are you thinking?”
The severed tentacles regenerated, and the disturbed creature grew more agitated. Humans could never overcome a mutant formed from five demon seeds. In strength, speed, and combat instincts, the creature had the upper hand in every way.
