Sisters Reunited

“Sha sha sha!”

A shrill cry echoed—four sturdy skeletons appeared. Black-violet soul fire flickered in their eye sockets, and with black cloaks draped over their bodies and enormous scythes in hand, their appearance was the very embodiment of the Reaper as people imagined.

Level 25, silver elite, Reaper Guardsman!

“They’re underworld Undead!”

Manshir recognized the four skeletons at a glance. As soon as he shouted, the Holy Knights immediately assembled in formation—when facing these four underworld Undead, there was no room for carelessness.

“Kill them!”

Leklis, holding Julie in his arms, had a raging fire burning in his eyes. At his command, the Reaper Guardsmen charged at the Holy Knights.

“Sha sha sha!”

The charging Reaper Guardsmen became ethereal—the fusion of wailing spirits and Undead allowed them to possess some immunity to physical damage. Their immense attributes helped to offset the slight restraint exerted on them by holy light power.

“Form up and hold the line!”

The Holy Knights were well-trained. Facing the oncoming underworld Undead, the shield-bearing knights immediately braced themselves.

Clang!

A gigantic scythe swung down with unstoppable force, smashing the shields aside and staggering even the bearers themselves.

At that moment, lilith stepped forward. She clenched a handful of radiance in her hand, which burst out as a formless ring.

Holy Light Protection!

Those empowered by the holy light power reformed their ranks. The swings of their knight’s swords dealt significant damage to the Reaper Guardsmen, while others took turn tanking attacks when the enemies struck back.

Twenty Holy Knights split into four groups of five to engage the Reaper Guardsmen, while Lilith led the remaining members in a direct confrontation with Leklis.

“Surrender immediately—there is still hope for the woman in your arms.”

Lilith spoke, but her answer was countless wailing spirits gathering behind Leklis.

“Ahhhh!”

The wailing spirits unleashed a screeching howl. The Holy Knights instinctively covered their ears, and Leklis seized the opportunity to release the wailing spirits—if they hit, they would inflict severe spirit damage upon the enemy.

However, lilith never intended to give him the chance. With a flick of her knight’s sword, a layer of pure radiance enveloped the blade.

Holy Light Cross Slash!

Two beams of light—vertical and horizontal—burst forth, instantly purifying the oncoming wailing spirits. The few that remained were shattered by the holy light power wielded by those present.

“Damn it!”

Leklis cursed under his breath. While the power of the netherworld wasn’t as severely restrained as the power of death, it was still much weaker, and Lilith’s powers as a strong Holy Knight made victory almost impossible for him.

“Since you’ve chosen to resist, then I’ll hold nothing back.”

Lilith spoke as her Holy Knights raised their swords and shields. She was about to lead the charge straight for Leklis when, suddenly, two shadows rapidly coalesced in the sky above.

“Hmm?”

Lilith looked up in confusion. In the next instant, two Reaper Guardsmen plummeted from the heavens.

“Sha sha sha.”

“There’s more!”

Lilith looked in astonishment at the person strolling behind Leklis.

Examining the spent Nether Crystal in her hand, the cloaked, masked young woman spoke with a hint of regret.

“Only six left… I didn’t expect to have to waste them like this.”

That familiar voice caught Lilith’s attention. Staring intently, she bit her lip and gripped the sword in her hand even tighter.

“Serea!”

Lilith cried out that name, but at the same time, the Reaper Guardsmen Serea had summoned with the Nether Crystal joined the fray.

“Protect Lady Lilith!”

The Holy Knights rushed forward to block the Reaper Guardsmen, who managed to knock one aside at the start but were quickly bogged down. Although they were strong as elite units, they suffered when outnumbered.

But it didn’t matter—as long as they could be delayed.

“My lady, you—”

“Don’t just dump all this mess on me. It’s troublesome enough!”

After reprimanding Leklis, Serea produced a blood crystal.

Blood Frenzy!

Activating Blood Frenzy, she reached toward Julie. Her blood-control ability activated, and Serea manipulated Julie’s blood to extract the broken sword from her abdomen, using Bloodthirst to give a simple repair to her wound.

“Fortunately, she only fainted from blood loss. We can have someone treat her properly once we get back.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

“It’s too soon to be saying thanks.”

Serea said, then turned to Lilith.

“We meet again, miss Holy Knight.”

“Serea, it really is you!”

Lilith’s tone was laced with anger. Hearing this, Serea understood that her identity had been exposed, so she discarded all attempts at concealment and removed her mask.

With a flip of her head, her golden hair fluttered in the breeze—when it fell, a breathtakingly beautiful face was revealed to Lilith and those with her.

Seeing that face, lilith felt delirious. For a moment, her eyes reddened, but she soon demanded loudly:

“If you’re still alive, why didn’t you come home? Why keep hiding?”

“I have my reasons, sister Lilith!”

Serea replied, glancing at the Reaper Guardsmen entangled with the Holy Knights. Even though they were powerful, facing the numerous Holy Knights, they would last no more than five minutes.

She needed to find a way to stall for more time. Little Black’s group wasn’t far off, out hunting nearby—if she could hold out until reinforcements arrived, she’d stand a fighting chance.

When Manshir, Astor, and the others saw Lilith and Serea together, they were dumbfounded—two identical Lady Liliths, sisters nonetheless!

“Lady Lilith, this…”

“Reasons? You’re just running away! Back then, you spoke so beautifully of marrying far away in Ina’s stead, but now? You left Ina, you left mother, making them cry day after day. In the end, ina had to bear the burden alone—”

“You’re no different! Leaving Ina and mother to become a Holy Maiden! For three years, did you even think how we’d fare? You only learned I’d gone to marry in Ina’s place after returning, didn’t you? What right do you have to judge what I’ve done?”

Serea retorted, unwilling to back down from Lilith.

“I…”

“What, no comeback?”

“……”

Facing the sister she once knew, lilith’s heart was wracked with guilt—yet anger overwhelmed her. It was Serea who’d taken everything from her: the throne’s inheritance, their father’s love, the adoration of the people.

It was all her! All because of that beautiful face!

For a moment, something seemed to erupt within Lilith. Golden markings crawled across her skin as turbulent negative emotions seized her mind.

Noticing the change in Lilith, Serea frowned—she couldn’t help but feel that something about Lilith was off.

“You’re right—I can’t refute it. But today, you must come back with me!”

As Lilith spoke, she met Serea’s eyes. Her once pale blue irises now shone golden, as if her entire soul had been replaced.

“But I don’t want to go back.”

“You have no choice!”

As Lilith spoke, she swung her knight’s sword. This time, her weapon transformed into a blade of pure light—gripping the radiant sword, her resolve was set.

(To be continued…)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep