Chapter 1242: A New Enemy?
In the middle of the Void Empire, the surroundings were utterly destroyed, covered in deep craters, and flickered with endless black flames. Shards of ice clung to the husks of broken buildings, and what once had been streets were now drowned beneath a red sea of blood that flowed endlessly across the ruins.
It’s not as if innocent people had died in their fight... well, Void People were not innocent to begin with. Still, Victor’s puppets had managed to clear the area before the true destruction began.
Yes, many had died at the start... that was an unfortunate event. They could blame him all they wanted, yet he knew the truth.
He knew just how much his puppets had done behind the scenes to lessen the carnage.
In the depths of three shattered craters, three figures lay sprawled across the broken earth, half-buried in dust and blood, and—
"Huff—Huff—Huff..."
Victor, Mary, and Morgana panted heavily.
They had been fighting for so long... none of them even knew how long.
Yet no matter what happened, none of them had ever surrendered.
Each time their bodies faltered, they had dragged themselves back up.
Victor’s body was torn with countless wounds, his clothes shredded, his mask cracked.
Mary... well, she was grinning, her lips curved into a satisfied smirk as if the battle were nothing more than entertainment. Of course, not a single scratch marred her body.
And Morgana... she was far worse than either of them, her body broken and bleeding, bones shattered, her twin blades trembling in her hands.
"Arhh!"
Victor groaned as his knees buckled, his gaze drifting toward the gray sky overhead. He rubbed at his stomach and shoulder, ’Fuck...’ He couldn’t even remember how many times he had been a hair’s breadth from death.
The only reason he was still standing was because of his teleportation and Phantom Steps—Skills that had dragged him away from death more times than he could count.
These two... they were on a completely different level.
Victor clenched his stomach tighter, ’Does that mean... Dora went easy on me before?’ he thought bitterly before slowly forcing himself upright.
From the edge of the crater, he saw the other two struggling to rise as well.
The trio stood up almost in unison, dragging their battered bodies closer and closer until they halted, a few steps apart.
Their breaths fogged in the ash-filled air, and their eyes locked with faint glares—eyes that still burned with fire even after all this.
Victor muttered under his breath, voice rough, "Look at the destruction..."
Mary only shrugged, her smirk widening. "So? Does it scare you?"
Victor shook his head slowly, ’This woman...’ he groaned inwardly, before forcing his voice out through gritted teeth.
"Tell me... just one thing." His hand pressed harder against his stomach, and he could feel the blood still leaking inside him.
If only he had the ability to heal himself like Mary, to shrug off wounds as if they were nothing.
"Why do you hate me?"
Yes... This was the question that had echoed in his mind for so long.
Mary blinked once, her eyes narrowing slightly before she let out a sharp laugh. She stared at him with a strangely obvious expression and said, "Of course, my daught—"
"Lies!" Victor roared, cutting her off. He shook his head furiously,
"No! No matter how I look at this... your hatred for me... It’s twisted, it’s wrong. Do you remember the moment we met? That time, you looked at me... You stared as if you recognised something. As if you saw something in me you couldn’t explain." His voice dropped to a growl,
"Tell me, Mary... What is it that makes you burn every time you look at me?"
Mary’s lips just curled up wickedly, but she didn’t say a single word.
Victor groaned, ’Fuck... so killing her is the only option? But I can’t do it now... everybody’s watching, everybody knows what’s happening here. And if the news ever gets to Lia...’ His jaw clenched, ’It sucks, man... at this rate, I’ve got no other choice than seduc—’
Victor’s eyes suddenly widened in horror.
What the hell was he even thinking?
Seducing her?
That insane woman?
That was the very last thing he would ever do!
No way in hell!
Victor forced the thought out of his mind and turned his gaze toward Morgana. She was trembling, her hands clenched so tightly around her blades that her palms bled, crimson dripping down the hilts.
Victor sighed, "Woman... if you want to kill me, then just fucking kill me already. Why the hell are you hesitating?"
The truth was... most of the time, he’d nearly died in this fight, it was Morgana’s hesitation that spared him. Even if it was only for a fraction of a second, that falter had saved his life more than once.
But it annoyed him... really, it annoyed him.
If she had been on his side instead of against him, he would’ve already kicked her ass for that kind of sloppy, half-assed fighting.
Mary, on the other hand, blinked in surprise. She turned her gaze on Morgana, "I knew it. You fucking like him!!"
Victor blinked, his mind grinding to a halt. Morgana flinched violently, her cheeks flushing red, mixing with the blood smeared across her face. Her eyes blazed as she snapped back at Mary. "What the hell are you talking about, sis!!"
’Fuck... what the fuck is going on here?’ Victor groaned inwardly.
He was tired.... too tired for this madness.
If there was one lesson carved into his skull by now, it was this: he could never, ever hope to understand women.
Morgana suddenly whipped her glare back at him and barked, "Oi! Don’t get the wrong idea! I don’t fucking like you, like she says. If anything, I hate you to my core!"
Victor sighed heavily, shaking his head as if trying to knock some sense back into his skull. "Miss Morgana, I don’t care if you like me or not—"
Sssll~
A sword whistled past his cheek, so close he could feel the heat of it graze his skin. He barely dodged in time, his eyes snapping toward Morgana, who looked even more pissed for some incomprehensible reason.
’Fuck you!!’ Victor screamed inwardly, grinding his teeth before exhaling sharply. Out loud, he muttered,
"So what the hell are we even fighting for again?"
Honestly... he had kind of forgotten.
Mary blinked at him, arms folding across her chest as she tilted her head. "Yeah... what are we fighting for again?" she admitted, as if she too had forgotten what the hell had driven them this far.
Victor’s lips twitched uncontrollably.
This was beyond ridiculous.
Morgana snorted, "Because he’s trying to take your daughter, idiot sis!!"
"OH?"
Mary’s entire body stiffened. In an instant, her face twisted with fury as if a switch had been thrown inside her. Her eyes blazed like firestorms as she snapped her head toward Victor, teeth bared.
"I will fucking kill you, bastard!!" she growled, her voice deep and feral, like a furious dog protecting its puppy.
’Sigh... oh goodness, here we go again,’ Victor thought with a pained expression as he twisted aside, narrowly dodging Mary’s strike.
Honestly, his plans were kind of messed up after the revelation—the truth about them had shattered every bit of careful preparation he thought he had.
His plans were totally fucked up... just like they were.
Totally fucked up!!
And the reason they were fighting... it wasn’t even real anymore. Both sides were just trying to survive, each imagining the other had some grand scheme prepared to destroy them.
Victor had convinced himself that these two had plans to kill him, to stop him from getting anywhere near Lia...
Meanwhile, Mary and Morgana believed he had some hidden move, some secret plot to snatch Lia right out of their hands.
It was all imagination.
All paranoia.
They were each fighting against ghosts of their own making, thinking the other side had tricks hidden up their sleeves when, in truth, none of them had anything at all.
As their fists blurred and their blades clashed, Victor gritted his teeth and suddenly barked a question mid-dodge. "So, the one who kidnapped... Raven was... you?" He slipped past Mary’s strike, the shockwave of her hand tearing the air beside his ear.
Mary clicked her tongue, "Tsk. It was Morgana who took the play... it was supposed to be my play!! Hmph, I’m still angry about that, you know!" And without hesitation, she swung—not at Victor, but at Morgana, her fist snapping across her sister’s face.
Morgana stumbled, eyes blazing, and roared, "The fuck, bitch!!" She shot her fist back, smashing against Mary’s nose with a crunch.
Victor blinked, momentarily stunned, his gaze flicking toward Morgana.
Something was off about her.
But what? He couldn’t place it.
Mary, furious, spun and slammed her fist into Victor’s gut. He coughed blood, doubling over, but he responded on instinct, driving his knee upward into her jaw with brutal force.
Morgana took the chance, flames roaring across her palms, and hurled a storm of black fire straight at him.
Just then—
"..."
"..."
"..."
All three of them froze.
Their fists, their strikes, their flames—stopped just inches away from each other’s faces.
Something in the air had shifted.
They frowned, not at each other, but as their eyes turned outward.
"Something is wrong," Victor muttered, his voice low and cautious. His skin prickled, every nerve screaming as if the very atmosphere had been rewritten.
Mary’s wicked grin faltered into a frown, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the horizon. Morgana too stopped, her chest heaving, her bloodied face tense as she slowly lowered her blades.
And then—
Ssshhh~
A golden shimmer tore through the air before them, spiralling like liquid light until a vast portal opened.
Mary and Morgana flinched back at the sudden radiance. Victor’s eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed.
From the glowing gateway, a figure stepped out—metallic, armoured, heavy footsteps cracking the ruined ground.
Its form was humanoid!
The being stood tall, its gaze covered in a metal helmet as it stared at the trio.
Victor frowned, "What’s this? Another trick up your sleeve?" His eyes darted between Mary and Morgana, but to his surprise...
They frowned too.
Mary barked sharply, "Don’t look at me, this isn’t my doing!"
Morgana snarled, her flames igniting again, "Nor mine!"
The three of them, for the first time since the battle began, stood together as they looked at the newcomer.