Transmigration: I Made A Deal With A Man in Yellow

Liliane was the first to move.

She rushed toward Elfriede and swung her rapier at her neck.

Elfriede, who was still stunned by everything that had happened, reacted a little too slowly. She pulled her head back, but the tip of the rapier still grazed her left cheek, leaving a thin cut behind.

"Can this girl focus? She’s going to die if she doesn’t," I muttered.

Liliane didn’t stop. She stepped forward and thrust her rapier toward Elfriede’s stomach.

This time, Elfriede reacted quickly enough. She sidestepped to the right and brought her sword down, parrying the attack.

Clang!

Both blades collided.

Liliane used the momentum from the parry to spin on her heel before driving a roundhouse kick toward Elfriede’s chest.

Thwack!

Elfriede managed to cross her arms over her chest just in time, but the force behind the kick still lifted her feet off the ground and sent her flying backward.

Bam!

Her back slammed hard against the wall.

"Argh..."

She barely had time to recover before the silver blade of Liliane’s rapier was already closing in on her face.

Elfriede’s eyes widened as she sensed the danger. She immediately threw herself to the ground, rolled away, and quickly came back to her feet.

But Liliane was already there.

She swung her rapier diagonally toward Elfriede’s stomach.

Elfriede shifted her stance and gripped her sword with both hands before blocking the attack.

Clang!

The impact was so strong that it sent Elfriede skidding backward across the wooden floor.

"Such strength..." Elfriede murmured in disbelief as she looked down at her trembling hands.

Liliane didn’t immediately attack again. Instead, she stood there with her rapier lowered slightly and smiled.

"You see how powerful I am now?" she asked. "Even you, who was always considered one of the strongest among us, are struggling against me."

She extended her free hand toward Elfriede.

"If you just join me, I believe you’ll become even stronger than I am. You’ve always been the strongest out of the three of us, after all. Just think about it, we could leave this place and live somewhere else happily."

Elfriede didn’t answer.

For some reason, I could suddenly feel something strange.

Her emotions.

I didn’t know how or why. Maybe it had something to do with being inside her memories, but somehow, I could clearly feel everything going through Elfriede’s heart at that moment.

Anger, sadness, fear, hesitation, confusion.

And...

Temptation?

I raised an eyebrow.

Temptation...

I guess Liliane’s words really had gotten to her.

Then again, it wasn’t that surprising. This was her own sister offering her power—the kind of power that had turned Liliane from one of the weakest among them into someone capable of pushing Elfriede back.

And more importantly, everyone wanted power.

Some wanted it to protect themselves. Others wanted it to protect the people they cared about.

And some simply wanted to be strong.

No matter the reason, the temptation was still there.

"If you don’t focus now, everyone will die because of her."

I had only muttered those words under my breath when Elfriede’s head suddenly snapped in my direction.

The hell?

What was she looking at?

I frowned as her amethyst eyes remained fixed on the exact spot where I stood.

Did she hear me?

Nah. I must be tripping or something.

I quickly shook my head. There was no way. This was just a memory. I had already tested it before—no one could see me, hear me, or even touch me.

"Where are you looking, Sister?" Liliane asked. "I’m right here."

Elfriede slowly turned her attention back to Liliane.

At that moment, something began to change within her.

Her emotions, to be exact.

The confusion I had felt from her began to disappear. The temptation from earlier vanished along with most of the anger and sadness. A little fear remained, but other emotions began to take their place.

Confidence.

Hope.

And... faith?

The hell?

Why could I describe her emotions so clearly?

It wasn’t like I was guessing from her expression either. I could actually feel them somehow, almost as if they were my own. Was it perhaps I was inside her memories and seeing her point of view?

I didn’t understand what was happening.

"No, Lily. I can’t accept that." Elfriede tightened her grip around her sword. "That power goes against everything we believe in."

Liliane’s expression remained unchanged.

"What is the point of having power if you can only grow stronger by harming others?" Elfriede continued. "What worth is there in gaining power if the price is losing your own soul?"

She shook her head.

"Such power is nothing but evil. Our God warned us about it."

Liliane stared at her silently for a moment before scoffing.

"Hah. Sister, everything in this world comes with a price. Nothing is free."

"Then I don’t want such power if that’s the price I have to pay," Elfriede replied firmly.

Liliane pinched the bridge of her nose, leaving small streaks of blood on her skin.

"You keep saying that our God warned us about it, but do you actually believe he’s real?"

"Yes, I do." Elfriede nodded without hesitation. "I’ve heard him in my dreams. He even sent me a vision about you being in danger. That’s how I knew I had to come here tonight."

Liliane rested her rapier against her shoulder.

"If he’s real, then why did he allow our parents to be killed?"

Elfriede fell silent.

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out. I could feel her confidence waver for a moment, and the look in her eyes changed.

Liliane noticed it too.

"If this so-called Almighty God of Stories really is our God, then why the hell is there so much suffering in this world?"

"I don’t think we can blame all the suffering in the world on him," Elfriede replied after a moment. "He’s not responsible for every terrible thing that happens."

"He isn’t?"

Liliane shook her head.

"Then who created those monsters? He’s supposed to be the creator of every living being, isn’t he? There’s no way he didn’t create those abominations that hunt us down for food and kill us for sport."

Her voice gradually grew louder.

"If he really is God, then we wouldn’t be suffering this much! He would’ve intervened when those monsters killed Mama and Papa. Hell, he would’ve intervened for everyone who went through what we did!"

Crack!

Liliane stomped her boot against the wooden floor, breaking the boards beneath her foot.

"If he really had so much compassion for his creations, he would’ve come down himself and killed all those things! He could’ve made this world safe for us. He could’ve made a paradise where children like us didn’t have to train every day just so we wouldn’t be eaten alive!"

Dark red energy slowly began gathering around her body.

"But he didn’t."

Liliane’s glowing red eyes remained fixed on her sister.

"So no, Sister. That God of yours is no different from a monster."

Elfriede’s grip around her sword tightened.

"Don’t say that."

"Why? Because it’s true?"

"No." Elfriede shook her head. "Because I believe there’s a reason for everything, even if we don’t understand that reason."

Liliane raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

A mocking smile slowly appeared on her bloody lips.

"So there’s a good reason why Mama and Papa died?"

Elfriede’s lips trembled.

For several seconds, she couldn’t answer.

I could feel it again.

Sadness.

Pain.

Doubt.

But beneath all of them, her faith remained.

Elfriede slowly nodded.

"I believe there is."

Liliane stared at her for a few seconds before suddenly laughing.

"Haha... I’m done listening to your delusions."

She lowered the rapier from her shoulder.

"Let’s just get this over with."

The atmosphere inside the room changed instantly.

A wave of bloodlust erupted from Liliane’s body, causing Elfriede to flinch. Dark red energy crawled along Liliane’s arm before wrapping itself around the silver blade of her rapier.

Elfriede took a small step back.

"Please don’t do this, Lily..." she pleaded as she raised her sword.

Liliane’s glowing red eyes narrowed.

"Don’t call me that."

Her voice was strangely soft.

"We aren’t sisters anymore."

Liliane vanished from where she stood, leaving only a dark red streak behind.

In the next instant, she materialised directly in front of Elfriede.

Her rapier shot forward with frightening speed, the dark red energy around its blade screaming through the air as it headed straight for the left side of Elfriede’s chest.

Her heart.

That should’ve been the end.

That should’ve been how Elfriede died.

After all, she was still unawakened. Liliane might have also been unawakened, but she was possessed by a demon and had gained strength far beyond what someone their age should’ve possessed.

For Elfriede to fight her in her current state was nothing short of suicide.

There was no way for her to win.

At least, that’s what I thought.

Because in the next moment, Elfriede proved me completely wrong.

She showed me something phenomenal.