Glacia’s consciousness was sucked into a different space in an instant. Inside, there was a silver-haired kid munching on some unfamiliar snacks.
“Ah, is it your turn this time?”
“You are…”
“Is that really important right now? If you keep going like this, you’re gonna die. Do you know how strong they are? They were really going easy on you. If you fight like this, you’ll just lose your head.”
The young lady in front of Glacia smiled brightly and poked her forehead.
“Honestly, how pathetic. Trying to empathize with someone who’s lived through real tragedy just because you’ve faced some discrimination while living a comfortable life? Do you know how pissed off they’d be? If it were me, I’d chop your head off.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… their face was different from the villains I’ve seen before, so I couldn’t help but want to reach out. But no matter what their circumstances are… if they harm others…”
“Ah, this naive fool… You’re exactly the type who goes on a rampage with a sword after losing a loved one.”
Glacia felt like the girl in front of her looked familiar. She resembled one of the portraits of past gods she had seen on the walls of the cathedral, led there by her devout father.
[“I am the 4th generation god. Unlike my predecessors, I deny nothing. Children who live under my reign, if you hold resentment toward me, feel free to challenge me. My proud apostles will always accept your challenges.”]
“Could it be… the 4th generation god? The one who rules the world now?”
“Wow… I’ve never met someone so polite before. Everyone just tells me to shut up and show my strength, not caring about my existence, calling me a brat…”
“How could I possibly speak disrespectfully to someone as great as you, who rules this world?”
“You’re a bit of a boring fool… but out of all the kids I’ve met, I like you the most. You’ve just taken the top spot. So, I’ll give you a little reward.”
“A reward…?”
“I’ll let you use that sword of yours without any risks.”
Glacia wanted to ask why this sword mattered to her and what her relationship with Werner was. But just as the question reached her throat, her consciousness began to return to normal.
“Tell that kid you’re fighting… I’m sorry.”
==============================================
The moment Glacia’s consciousness returned, what stood before her was Kay, charging forward with enough electricity coursing through his body to overturn the world.
If she blocked with her magic sword, the electricity would flow through and kill her. So, she swung her second sword instead.
The Ice Sword, a blade so cold it could freeze the earth. Originally, it would freeze even its wielder, but thanks to the god’s special favor, that risk had long disappeared.
A collision that shook the heavens and earth occurred. The impact caused significant damage to both sides, freezing Kay’s right arm and leaving burn marks on Glacia’s left leg from the electricity.
“Haha… not a bad sword.”
“Well, it was bestowed by a noble figure, and a very high-ranking one blessed it.”
“Yeah, you guys always rely on things like that. Noble bloodlines, things gained because of that bloodline, things the unfortunate can never obtain… It really makes me sick.”
Kay discarded his shattered rapier and picked up one of the discarded swords nearby. It wasn’t a good sword. Just a poorly made piece of iron, a shoddy product from an unskilled blacksmith. But even such a sword could become a weapon capable of killing a dragon in Kay’s hands.
“That rapier was also something I picked up from the trash. I never wield so-called ‘legendary swords.’ It’s disgusting, giving weapons a class. Giving people a class based on their birth… humans are already disgusting enough.”
Even with his left arm frozen, Kay’s skills were still a threat. His attack speed far surpassed the speed of sound, his resilience allowed him to keep fighting even with a slash to his abdomen, and his sense allowed him to dodge most attacks… In every aspect, he was superior to Glacia.
“That guy, and even me… I’ll deny it all. Talent, bloodlines, inheritance… things I never worked to obtain, I’ll deny them all. That sorcerer Werner, and even you… I’ll kill you all and deny it. And I’ll create a world where even the worthless can live with a smile…”
Kay finally spoke of killing Werner. If it were the old Glacia, she would have lost her temper and charged in, only to be defeated.
But now, instead of losing her temper, she sighed and expressed pity.
“What a pitiful person. You, and that person named Tristan.”
“…What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“Well, I admit there are people who boast about their talent and bloodlines. And I understand the desire to deny that. But…”
Glacia’s expression showed no other emotion. Only pure pity and compassion remained.
“Do you think you can’t deny it unless you kill those people? Is that the only way you can think of?”
“Shut up.”
“You, and that Tristan guy… you can’t endure unless you kill those people, can you? You’ve lived a life where you’d go mad if you didn’t… I ‘pity’ you.”
The deep compassion in Glacia’s expression, and the word “pity” she uttered, were things Kay couldn’t stand.
The moments when she was sold to a brothel by her parents because of her unwanted appearance, the moments when she was imprisoned and subjected to unspeakable acts by the guards after accidentally killing someone due to her unexpected constitution, the moments when she was dragged to the execution ground like a dog… she endured all of it.
But what she couldn’t endure were the pitying glances and words of compassion from the other women in the brothel, the guards who didn’t touch her, and the citizens who watched her being dragged like a dog. Those emotions, meant to satisfy their own shallow morals without offering any real help… those glances and words from people who were no better than her but born into slightly better circumstances… they disgusted her to the point of being unbearable.
“Die!!!”
“Unfortunately, that’s not possible.”
Glacia deliberately cut her right arm slightly with her magic sword. Hot, noble blood spurted out like a fountain.
“Hah, trying to kill yourself? You won’t die from just that…”
“My mother is a vampire.”
As Kay charged forward, red ice arrows pierced his body.
“Huh…?”
“And controlling blood is a vampire’s unique ability.”
Although she hadn’t reached the level of her mother, who could manipulate blood density to create spears, she could mimic it by freezing blood with her Ice Sword. Even if it froze, the blood was still hers.
Even if she was ashamed of being only half-vampire, that noble bloodline was something that symbolized her.
“Don’t make me laugh!!!”
What Kay couldn’t stand wasn’t the pity directed at her. It was the pity and compassion directed at her friend, Tristan.
The pity directed at the one who saved her from the execution ground, who reached out to her with eyes that saw her as an equal, not out of pity… she couldn’t stand it.
“You insignificant bug! A lowborn wretch! A prostitute from the back alleys! Laugh at me for rebelling without knowing my place! I don’t care!!!”
Kay, who wouldn’t get angry over pity or compassion directed at herself, would go all out to tear apart anyone who dared to pity her friend.
That day, when her friend saved her, she had sworn it.
Everything she had was for her friend.
“I never called you that. It’s just that you define yourself that way.”
Glacia took the basic swordsmanship stance her father had taught her.
Even if she was discriminated against for being only half-human, the love and denial her father had shown her were enough to overcome that discrimination.
“From the moment you define yourself so negatively…”
The northern swordsmanship her father taught her, the vampire blood her mother passed down, and the cold of the sword Werner gifted her.
These three things allowed her to exist, and her unique technique,
The frozen vampire blood turned into countless spears, dancing beautifully alongside her sword. And the target of those spears and sword was clear.
“You never stood a chance.”
Because she had once hated herself more than anything, she could say it. But she had Werner, who accepted her without shame, allowing her to move forward. Leaving Kay, who had fallen into darkness and stopped moving, behind.
If she hadn’t moved forward, she would have surely lost to Kay.
“You, and your friend Tristan… in the end, you chose to cling to each other and stop, never thinking of escaping the darkness. More than anything else… that’s what I pity the most.”
Glacia herself seemed a bit tired, perhaps from losing too much blood.
“Sigh… I hope Lord Werner is safe. And that kid… I’m a little worried too. She’s such a fool.”