Chapter 247: Tragedy vs Despair
"..." Eve thrusts her sword at me repeatedly. I dodge each blow by a hair’s breadth and try to hit her with a punch. She reacts by leaping to the side and launching a lightning bolt at me.
I defend by crossing my arms, holding back a groan of pain. The burning sensation is intense. Even though she’s injured, I’m in worse shape.
She charges again—this seems to be the core of her fighting style. I kick the ground, breaking off a chunk of earth, and kick it at her. She cuts through the stone like a hot knife through butter.
But using that as cover, I close in and land a kick to her stomach, hearing the crack of something breaking. I try to reach for her sword, but she spins and kicks me in the face, sending me flying backward.
"...Tsk..." I spit out blood, feeling the force of that blow. She appears behind me, incredibly fast, and hits me in the back with a punch. The strength behind it feels three times greater, and I’m slammed into the ground.
I roll to the side, dodging a thrust aimed at the ground, and leap up, using my back for momentum to land a double flying kick to Eve’s chin. Her chin cracks like a broken toy.
"...!!" I spin around to block an attack, but it’s just a rock. I see Evelyn give a little wave, distracting me. Before I can turn to defend, I feel the blade pierce my back, pass through my stomach, and exit out the front.
Not wanting to take more damage, I kick backward, pushing Eve away. She pulls the sword with her, unable to worsen the wound.
"Gonna cheat right to my face, Evelyn?" I mutter, clenching my muscles to close the wound while slowing my heartbeat to reduce the internal bleeding.
’I don’t have any useful backup weapons for this...’ I didn’t expect my spear to break. It was a powerful relic, but it took the damage because of the compressed Domain that forced all the Hikishin in the area into a small space.
"..." Eve, at a distance, assumes a stance. It looks like a different kind of thrusting attack, and I can feel the danger of this strike.
’Her martial art is pretty basic. Strong, but simple...’ I predict the point of impact. As she lunges forward, I twist my entire body, using what strength I have left, and kick down from the side, slamming Eve’s head into the ground and stopping her attack. I hear the crack of her puppet-like joints.
I leap back, dodging a swing from her sword, now coated in purple electricity. There’s a strange smell in the air, the one that happens when intense electricity contacts the air.
’My blood... it feels like it’s boiling... getting so hot...’
I dodge an upward swing, and a massive wave of red and black electricity violently erupts sideways. An undoubtedly critical hit.
’Lucky...’ I’ve only landed three critical hits in my entire life. It’s immense luck when they occur, and the power becomes overwhelming. That blow would have killed me.
"Looks like you wasted your cha-...!!" I lean my entire body back, dodging a horizontal slash. The strike releases another wave of black and red lightning that spreads violently, heating the air until it’s hard to breathe.
’Another critical hit?’ Eve pants as if she’s getting exhausted.
’I see...’ It seems like an ability to force critical hits, but the cost is obvious. Two of them have her gasping for air.
"Evelyn did a great job on you, you broken doll." I punch her hard in the stomach, and before she’s pushed away, I grab her arm. I use a martial arts technique, spinning my body using hers as a lever, and throw her down while dislocating her arm.
I immediately spin and violently break whatever holds it together, then pull. I hear her scream as the arm is torn off with a nauseating sound of ripping flesh and a crack. I leap forward to gain distance and turn to face her, grabbing the sword the severed hand still grips tightly.
’What a great sword... Evelyn modified it, didn’t she...’ I swing the sword and realize it’s been perfectly adjusted for Eve’s physique. My large breasts completely ruin the weapon’s balance if I try to use it.
Considering my injuries, using this sword would only slow me down and create openings. I use what strength I have to hurl the sword far away. Neither of us will use this weapon now.
"AAAHHHH!!!" Eve charges at me with a scream. I get into position, but she spins her body, flinging the blood streaming from her missing arm into my face. For an instant, my eyes close reflexively.
Then I only feel the pain of a powerful punch to my stomach. The punch makes me vomit blood as my organs feel like they’re being crushed. A critical punch that nearly ruptured vital organs inside me.
"!!!" Eve, not letting the chance pass, lands a punch to my jaw, sending me stumbling back, followed by a kick to my chest. Another critical hit. I feel my ribs break, my heart and lungs violently compressed.
I also smell blood invading my breath. It seems a bone fragment has pierced my lung, which is starting to fill with blood.
If I weren’t a ghoul who practically feels no pain, I’d be crying in agony. I’m only alive because I’m a ghoul and less dependent on an intact body to stay alive.
"...You bitch." Veins bulge in my eyes, the red marks on my black sclera becoming visible. My vision is tinted red from the adrenaline and a ghoul’s instincts.
Being a hybrid reduced the full advantages of the ghoul race. It’s a misfortune I’m feeling perfectly now.
"..." I look at Eve, who’s barely moving, too exhausted to continue. But I’m also too exhausted to go on. Without Hikishin to strengthen my body and with such severe internal damage, this fight is being driven largely by rage and survival instinct.
"Eve, stand down. You’re too hurt because of the compressed Domain. Thank you for pushing Esther to her limit. I’ll take it from here." The moment Evelyn says this, Eve collapses to the ground, utterly exhausted, but starts crawling away to gain distance. I’m still on my feet but can barely move.
’The wound is too deep...’ I can barely clench my muscles to keep the wound closed. It hurts so much just to keep them tensed.
"Is this what you wanted, Evelyn? Look at me." I say, spreading my arms so Evelyn can see me covered in blood, despite the pain the movement causes.
"...Yes. This is what I wanted." She pulls something from her storage ring. A spare weapon.
"!!?"
"Now you’re not only a coward, but a thief?" She’s holding that knife. The knife I had taken from her. The same knife that has so much history between us. It’s truly ironic how this knife always appears whenever the subject and situation of us killing each other comes up.
"Thief? That knife was mine. You gave it to me, then took it back when you saw I might kill you. I’m just taking it back!" She points the knife at me.
"You’re going to fight me?" I ask incredulously that this weakling wants to engage in close combat.
"Yes. You can barely move. How many punches can you land before you create a puddle of blood on the ground because you can’t close that wound anymore?!"
"You really plan to kill me?" I ask, tasting blood as she twirls the knife in her hand.
"...I’m not obligated to answer that." She starts walking toward me as I take a deep breath.
’She has cracks all over her body, and her step is unsteady. She might be putting on this whole act, but she’s hurt too.’ I get into a fighting stance despite the pain. I don’t think she expected to take this much damage when she compressed the Domain. Probably a miscalculation.
"!!?"
BOOM
She throws a metal sphere at my face. It explodes, slamming me to the ground. When I realize what’s happening, Evelyn jumps on top of me, aiming the knife at my heart. I grab her hands as she uses both to try and force the knife down.
"Hahaha, what a spirited wife I have!" I say, spitting blood, feeling the immense pain of her weight on my stomach. Blood flows from the wound I can no longer keep completely closed.
"Just give up, Esther!!" She’s so weak. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but with all these injuries, she’s now a real threat to my life.
"Are you really going to kill me? I’m your wife, Evelyn!" I speak, half-desperate. My hands tremble with weakness as she looks at me with determination.
"Shut up!! Isn’t this what you wanted, Esther?! I’m giving you my best!! So be quiet and just die already!" She leans down, using her weight to try and push the knife in.
"..." Her hands are trembling too, though I don’t know if it’s from weakness or fear. But I won’t let her kill me so easily.
"Huh? Kyaaaa!!!" She screams in pain when I release one hand and grab her horn, pulling and squeezing with what little magic I have left to break it. A horrible cracking sound occurs, and it shatters. Blood flows from inside the horn’s nerve endings, dripping onto my face as she cries and pants in pain.
"So there really was blood in there." I lick my lips, savoring her taste. Despite this, she maintains constant pressure, but with her blood, my adrenaline surges back fully, and I manage to push her away with one hand.
When she loses her balance, I kick her in the stomach. Although it sends a searing pain through my own abdominal wound, she falls to the ground as I grab the knife she dropped.
"Hahahahahaha..." I laugh despite the blood streaming from my mouth, staring at Evelyn groaning in pain on the ground. Blood flows from her horn, painting the purple streaks of her hair a deep shade of red.
"I like your attitude." I speak like a lunatic, pointing the knife at her. She fought so bravely for her goals.
"Yes, I love it when you do that. You look sexy. Unfortunately, you played your hand too well." I can’t kill her, and she knows it.
’I need to defeat her before I pass out from pain...’ I need to knock her out. That way, I’ll emerge the victor and claim the title of Demon Queen. Although... I feel... hurt... she really tried to kill me.
Something about it is sexy, but also uncomfortable. This is the first time I’ve truly felt I could die. It makes me angry, a cold fury towards her for betraying me like this.