“Lilith?”
The young woman’s face bloomed with one of the brightest expressions I’d ever seen from someone else. Her lips rose so high that they seemed to touch her ears, and her gorgeous vale eyes started to mist. Unable to hold back her emotions anymore, the woman leapt into my chest and gently grabbed hold of my arms.
“Jin… Jin… Jin!!!”
The beauty’s tears stained my newly washed shirt as her face connected with my heart. She seemed a little shorter than Irina, probably about 1.71 metres tall, and thus she could only snuggle up below my neck. However, that gave me a unique vantage point to observe her from above.
My arms naturally moved and stroked the young woman from the crown of her head down to her neck. Luscious wasn’t enough to describe the beauty’s hair. If anything, her golden, silky head was softer than mink’s fur, and the gentle fragrance that escaped from her pores was far more feminine than anything I’d ever encountered.
She was welcoming… warm… gentle… and…
Comfortable.
“Lilith… That’s your name, right?”
The young woman looked up at my face with a tinge of shock at my words. However, as our eyes were interlocked, she could see the innocence and genuine confusion in my expression. And that made her face turn rapidly. This time there was sadness in her eyes.
“… As expected, your memory hasn’t fully returned yet.”
“How did you know that?”
“Of course, I would! Who do you think conducted the ritual to save your soul in the first place? I know your condition better than anyone else in the world!”
Hold on a minute… So Irina wasn’t the person who conducted the ritual? No, that actually made a lot of sense. Ever since the day we got together, I’ve been observing Irina, notably how she trained. Irina, while talented, never struck me as the scholarly type. She was far more of a practical genius than someone who would study complicated magical rituals or theories. However, now that I think back on it, Irina never said that she was the one who initiated and conducted the ritual. She could have just been a participant in the ritual, which explained why she didn’t know anything about my soul’s problem.
Wait… So if this girl was the one who performed the ritual… Maybe she could answer all of my burning questions!
However, before I could even breathe out my first word, the girl in my arms looked up at my face with a scrunched up nose.
“… You stink.”-.
“W-What?”
That can’t be true. I just took a shower for god’s sake! Did I miss a spot? No, I clearly remember using soap and shampoo for every part of my body as I felt filthy after days on the bed with Irina. Wait, does that mean…
“That fucking minx… Has she sunken her claws on you already?!”
“Ermmm…”
How was I supposed to answer that?
“She did… She did, didn’t she?! Of course, she did! That brat has always been that way! I should have noticed it on that day when we passed over the observation rights to her! When we were busy with our own problems, that fucking bimbo snatched and hid you from our eyes!”
The young lady instantly broke out in a fury, her voice cursing my precious little sister. If it were any other person, I might have sliced her throat for saying such things to Irina. However, I felt like I couldn’t get mad at her for some odd reason. It was the same feeling I had whenever I was around Irina.
It must have been the connection that we had in the past. Since our souls have been bound for so long, I likely won’t be able to feel any disgust or anger towards either of the four women who were with me back then.
And, what the hell was observation rights? Did they take turns spying on me throughout my entire life? I guess that explains the numerous photos that Irina had of me.
“Where is she?! Where is that thieving harlot?!”
“Don’t get mad… Why don’t you calm down and let’s have a conversation?”
“IRINA!!! I know that you’re here! How long are you going to keep hiding?!”
“Calm down… We should talk things-…”
Before I could reason with the raging girl, an explosion ripped the door to my room as multiple icy swords rushed straight at the blonde beauty. My hand moved immediately as I prepared to stop the sharp weapons from piercing into the woman’s tender flesh. However, it seemed like my actions weren’t needed.
The woman waved her hand calmly, creating a warped distortion of reality. A dimensional mirror protected both of us, shattering in the process as the ice swords made contact with it. And as the dimensional mirror broke away, so did the ice swords and all of their momentum.
“Space magic? No, it seems a little different…”
I couldn’t help but think out loud. Since my first power was related to Space, I was acutely sensitive to the changes in the fabric of Space. That defensive manoeuvre was something that bypassed the laws of Space in its entirety. Rather than using Space to her benefit, it seemed like the girl created a new dimension and bent it to her will.
Alas, I wasn’t given enough time to fully admire the technicalities behind the complex magic that the woman just cast. Irina, who had already changed into a new nightgown, emerged from the other side of the door, fuming from ear to ear as her face turned steaming hot.
“Irina… You finally show your face!!!”
“… Get away from my Brother!”
“Hmph! You are the one who broke our agreement! I have the right to take him away!”
“What did you say?!”
The two girls glared at each other, neither of them wishing to lose their position as the alpha. It felt like I was watching an evening soap opera, where the wife confronted the mistress that her husband was sleeping with. However, I couldn’t enjoy this scene in the slightest. Why? Because I was the husband who was supposedly cheating.
No, that wasn’t right! I’m completely innocent in all of this!
Fortunately for me, the two women weren’t focused on my stumped face at all. Rather, they were shooting daggers at one another, both of them just waiting to pull the trigger. Ultimately, it was Lilith who struck first.
“Let’s take this outside!!!”
“I couldn’t agree more!!!”
Lilith punched the air, which somehow created cracks on the dimensional wall. And as a consequence, the rear wall of the room shattered into pieces, revealing the snowy lands of the Everwinter Estate. Both women leapt out from the room, not caring that it was on the second floor and landed softly on Irina’s garden.
The two beauties stared at each other, neither willing to show a millisecond of weakness. Irina’s white hair fluttered with the Winter winds as a chilling gale breezed through the space between them. Lilith, on the other hand, had numerous sparks emitting out from her body as if she were Nikola Tesla demonstrating the power of electricity.
And the stalemate wouldn’t last for long.
“HAH!!!”
Irina created three glaciers, each one easily surpassing the size of the bungalow, and launched them right at Lilith’s defenceless body. Hey… That was going too far, wasn’t it? Even if you’re angry, you shouldn’t start a battle with such a killer technique, right?
However, before I could even think of intervening, the blonde woman moved her hands in a circular motion, creating a distortion in the dimensions. The three glaciers didn’t even get within ten metres of Lilith before it was swallowed up by a mysterious vortex and disappeared as if they didn’t exist in the first place.
And as if the positions had switched, Lilith snapped her fingers, this time summoning out the three glaciers that had disappeared. This time, however, they preyed on Irina’s precious flesh. Furthermore, the glaciers seemed to move at a much faster pace this time.
“Did you really think that you could beat me, Irina? Do you even remember who trained you when we were children?”
“That was ages ago!”
Irina’s Winter Sovereign Aspect glowed brightly, and with a wave of her hand, the glaciers turned into Winter mist, avoiding the gruesome scene that was expected. With control over the mist, Irina willed the crystal dust onto Lilith, hoping to choke her out instantly.
Alas, Lilith didn’t seem like an amateur that could be caught by such a simple trick. With a flick of her finger, the woman’s body disappeared like an astral image before reappearing fifty metres in the air.
At that distance, the blonde beauty looked like a divine Goddess who stared down upon the world as she passed judgement on the ignorant mortals who dared to defy her.
“Irina, you have crossed the line! I shall punish you for kidnapping Jin and hiding him away from me!”
Lilith’s breathtaking vale eyes turned crimson red, and a vague pressure mounted on all who laid eyes upon her. Spreading her arms wide like the Buddha incarnate, the girl’s Vampiric aspect shone brightly on her chest as an image of the Blood Moon appeared in the sky. No, it wasn’t just the Blood Moon. The stars of the night, the crackles of thunder and lightning in the sky, the divine presence of the world… They were all reflected in Lilith’s mysterious illusion.
At that moment, I felt empowered, just like a Vampire would on the night of the Blood Moon. However, Irina was clearly feeling a different emotion.
Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, and her teeth began to chatter. I could feel her apprehension about Lilith’s sudden rise in power, but that didn’t pour cold water on her confidence. Not a single bit.
Clenching her fist, Irina’s Winter Sovereign Aspect glimmered ever so brightly, creating a surge of magical power that I’d never experienced from Irina before. Wings of an Ice Dragon bloomed from the pure maiden’s back as she defiantly took to the air like a Seraphim from the highest heavens. A raging blizzard fell on Irina’s side, roaring right at the Blood Moon illusion.
It was a clash of two titans. The magical power being emitted was so dense that cracks began to form on the bungalow, and weaker structures like my chairs and desk had already crumbled into pieces. Even a natural disaster couldn’t compare to the destruction the two were about to unleash upon each other.
It felt like a battle between two gods. Well, if not for the words that were coming out of their mouths.
“Hmph! Punish me?! Who do you think you are?!”
“I’m Jin’s Bloodmate! The fact that you’ve plastered your smell all over him is a violation of every international law!”
“What kind of stupid international law is that?!” Irina bellowed out in anger. “Besides, I did way more than plaster my smell all over him.”
“… Don’t tell me, you’ve sucked his blood?”
“HAHA!!! That’s why you’re still a virgin! I did wayyyy more than that! I took all of his firsts away! I’m his rightful Bloodmate now!”
“…”
Silence dropped on the battlefield. Lilith’s face was dropped, and so I couldn’t tell what emotions were going through her head. However, one thing was for certain… The tension was winding up to a dangerous point.
“Unforgivable… Unforgivable! Unforgivable! UNFORGIVABLE!!!”
Lilith directed her finger to the sky, and the stars of the Blood Moon began to move. Starlight dazzled the sky of the Everwinter Estate with plenty of lunar light falling straight at Irina. Even as an outsider, I could tell that even one of those blobs of light was deadly. Let alone a few thousand of them striking Irina all at once.
“I’LL KILL YOU!!!”
“Not a chance!!!”
Irina retaliated with her own use of Winter magic. The icy blizzard tackled Lilith’s power, and almost in support of her claim, the entire snowy fields of the Everwinter Estate rose up in defiance to the illusion of the Blood Moon that hung over the sky.
Shit! If they continue like this, they will heavily injure each other. And as the cheating hus- ahem! Man, that they were fighting over, I couldn’t let that happen.
My Soul Armament appeared in a hurry as I rapidly attempted to separate them with my control over space. However, before my magic could activate, the magic power from the two sides instantly dissipated into nothingness as if the whole thing had been an illusion from the beginning.
“W-Wha-…!”
“Tsk!!!”
Lilith expressed her astonishment, while Irina seemed to know what had happened. And as if she were there from the start, a woman appeared between the two raging girls, her effortless and smiling face betraying the years of experience that she had accrued.
“I was wondering which little mouse had broken through our spatial barriers and defence system. Princess of the Moonreaver House, do you plan on wrecking my home?”
“Matriarch Innocence…”
Lilith instantly calmed down, and her fighting posture quickly turned into one of reservation. Evidently, even with a hot head, the girl knew her limits.
“Forgive my trespass; I’ve just come to settle an account with my friend.”
“It sure was a friendly greeting that you gave Irina.”
“That was just our way of saying hello. We wouldn’t have harmed each other, even if you didn’t intervene.”
“Hmmm, I guess that’s true.”
That was just a greeting?! God damn, what would happen if they were genuinely going for the kill? Hold on a second; if the two of them are going to fight in the future, am I supposed to take care of it? Shit, now I REALLY needed a reason to become stronger quickly.
“But still, you will have to give me a good explanation on how you breached our defences, young lady. Even though the Moonreaver House monopolises the trade on teleportation gates, I don’t recall allowing you guys to come into my property as and when you wish.”
“Don’t worry about that Matriarch; the Moonreaver House will never set up backdoors in our products. There was a special reason why I could perform teleportation…”
At her words, Lilith’s eyes unwittingly fell upon me. However, that was all it took for the Matriarch to connect the dots. The five-thousand-year-old Vampire flashed a glance at me before breaking out into laughter.
“Interesting… Haha, this sure is interesting! Come, let’s discuss this over some tea, shall we? Irina, bring that boy as well!”
“… Yes, honoured grandmother.”
Unknowingly, my morning began with a literal bang. And now, I had to face that monster of a Matriarch once again.
God damn it… I just wanted a shower…
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