Chapter 90: Frostbound Vows: The Serpent’s Offer and the Witch’s Grief
"I am not. I rarely jest without purpose." Coriel’s lips curled up wider, as if promising more politeness. It held an opposite meaning to Manasseh’s eyes.
"Jest? Then did that bout when you manipulated me into action, sent the whole town into a frenzy, your purposeful jest as well?" Manasseh’s brows furrowed, frustrated, pained that the scientist hung her corpse dry for a mere ’jest’.
"Oh, I do not take you for a person who refused to let go of...such minor perturbation." Coriel tilted her head further, amused by her subject’s retort.
"And do not forget. I merely present you with a path that you will partake in. Do you not agree that, in the end, it is your choice, not mine, that matters?"
"You knew full well my mind was cornered at the time, Dragon. I am far from stupid, having to deal with your partnership for the last fifteen years, Coriel."
A blood-tinged hue coiled through Manasseh’s veins. If not for the strength’s difference, she would wish no more than to tear apart the woman and spray her flesh as an offering of gratitude for her ancestor.
"Then allow us to take a step back and focus on another matter." Coriel’s smile never left, as she nailed the vampire with her final suggestion. "Remember 556? The puppet child whose mind I broke?"
"You!" Manasseh’s eyes shook, her steps ever wavering to gorge through the iced ground and kick the daring vampire in the shin.
"Indeed. 556 seems to have a more peculiar... relationship with you than I thought." The serpent’s eyes remain steady, now even more ensured that her venom has entrapped her prey. "Do you perhaps wish to know how to bring a <Drowned> android back to life?"
"If you think that can be used as a weakness against me..."
"I do. I sincerely do." Coriel merely nodded, her satisfactory grin never leaving her face. "It is extremely rare for an opportunity after all. 556’s <Drowned> symptoms have been accelerated by me, and I can confirm personally."