Chapter 399: Cockroaches

’what do you really expect me to do?’

[Nothing, just give up like you’re doing and die. That’s for the best. We’re already so different that I can’t sympathize with you at all. I feel like you’re a spoiled child, whom I really want to hit, but I know that won’t solve anything. It won’t make you see reason.]

’So you just came here to look down on me and screw me over because I don’t have your mindset or something? Because I wasn’t forged by the desperation of losing everything—because I didn’t experience it firsthand?’

[So what if that’s the only reason I came? I may sound like an old woman, but in my time, nothing could stop me if I wanted the heads of all those bastards who had been fucking me over, who had taken everything from me. You, on the other hand, are here foolishly embracing death. Fuck you!. As if I’d let you die in peace. I hope you become an evil spirit for throwing away everything valuable I gave you and not even making it beyond this miserable continent.]

’…’

[And don’t think I’m provoking you or anything to make you act out of anger. Your weak resolve is no match for mine. All that’s left for you is to die miserably, knowing that you may have given the girls you got involved with a much worse fate.]

’For someone who supposedly didn’t come here to provoke me, you’re really pissing me off, you son of a bitch. Do you think my resolve, what I’m fighting for, is nonsense compared to your desire for revenge?’

[Yes, I do, bastard, and it’s been proven beyond a doubt. …Look how far you’ve gotten as a nobody. Elena, Alice, Selene, Eira, Leyla, Astrid, and all the others are just distractions. They should only be turning points, stepping stones.]

’Who wants a fate like yours? They’re not stepping stones. Besides, you were the one who told me to do what I wanted, to make my own decisions, and to live for myself.’

[Yes, you bastard, but what good is that if you only make it this far? Your decisions, your way of life, were so insignificant that even all the support and faith I had in you went to hell. You didn’t prove anything…You’re not worth it].

’Do you want to— are you going to—’

[Enough of this nonsense!… I’m not here to fight, I’m just stating facts, and as I told you, it’s better that you die here with your half-hearted determination and your half-assed way of doing things. You’d have been better off pretending to be dead, but because of all the insignificant women, you went and…]

’Who are you calling insignificant? Listen, bastard, maybe to you most of them were just annoying girls who died early in your life, who didn’t get very far, who you just used as fuel for your useless revenge, but to me it’s not the same—.’

[Again, so what? Everyone lives and fights for what they want, like I told you. Yes, you were doing what I always wanted to do and couldn’t, but you showed me that in the end it was nothing more than meaningless nonsense. Supposedly now you have much more to move forward than I do, but those are the very obstacles that drag you down,]

’…’

[They are what makes you weak.]

Seraphina really wanted to refute it, to contradict what he was saying, but… it was true. Her alternate self had proven what she was capable of; she, on the other hand, as he said, was about to die uselessly.

It really pissed her off, and in fact, she felt her berserker skill growing stronger, but even that wasn’t enough in her current state.

There seemed to be no way out, at least not within her knowledge. That’s why, when she saw her alternate self appear, she hoped for outside help, but again there was nothing but harsh words that, even though they pissed her off, she couldn’t contradict… even so—

She wanted to prove, she wanted to prove to her alternate self that the path she chose was not fragile, that the path she chose, on behalf of both of them, was not something that would simply end here.

’Move.’

She really fought against her body. She wanted to move in this stagnant moment; she wanted to deflect that attack and go for Noha and Oryx’s heads.

[Useless. It’s too late. Even at your best, you couldn’t move at the speed you’re seeing the outside world now. All that’s left is to die. The moment you failed was when you hesitated whether you would die, instead of doing something.]

’Shut up! Old woman, I’m trying to concentrate here.’

Seraphina was trying to put her focus and will into it. Continuing to talk was useless; she had to move her body even if she couldn’t, she had to do it.

[Tsk! You should learn to respect your elders. Hmm… The truth is, I don’t want to do it anymore, and it’s really useless… but since I’ve already done it… do you want the help you asked me for?]

’…’

[Well, I’ll take that as a yes. Ah, but it will take some time; if this goes on, we’ll never get to the point].

The elderly Seraphina suddenly moved her hand, and what looked like a transparent clock made of light appeared.

Seraphina saw many runes there, many of light, but also others she didn’t recognize. She saw the old woman turn her hand clockwise and…

In the blink of an eye, everything changed. The attack was closer, just a few meters away, but more importantly, at least for Seraphina, it wasn’t that death was closer, but that there was another person being devoured by that ray of light without resistance…

[Oops, I think I jumped the gun…. Hmmm, but even though it was the best I could do, getting a six-metamorphosis doppelgänger out of the dimensional stone is no big deal. I think the original would have lasted longer…]

’…’

[Oh! Come to think of it, there’s Euphrosyne. Why didn’t I think of that? It’s your lucky day with her rank, and being an ojalata, she’ll make a good shield.]

’…’

[Ah!, come to think of it, her Skill… Wait, don’t tell me that’s why I’m here—was it her? Well, never mind, hmm(￣へ￣)…. It’s nothing personal, but just in case, I’ll throw that bastard Zaph-]

Seraphina didn’t hear what her alternate self was saying; she just stared at Alice slowly evaporating from the attack, unable to do anything.

She watched helplessly as someone important to her slowly died.

Yes, she knew it was the doppelgänger, but…

~Crr!

Still, something…

~Crra

Something inside her stopped working…

CRACK!!

Something inside her finally broke .

Berserk (B) >>> Berserk (A)

Yes, there was anger, immeasurable anger…

But more importantly:

Corruption (F) >>> Corruption (E)

That thing she had been fighting wildly finally broke free from its bonds. At that moment, a thick, dark aura spread.

It wasn’t just murderous intent; it was something more advanced than that, more real.

Perhaps it was just the atmosphere, but Seraphina’s face seemed dark, and it was impossible to describe her expressions, let alone what she was thinking.

[Ohh!, but look what we have here.]

Seeing this, the elderly Seraphina looked on calmly. Not because of Seraphina’s change in expression or aura—although she was impressed—but what caught her attention most was how the dark aura emanating from her began to converge in her chest.

This was happening as if they weren’t stuck in that moment. The interest was very evident on her face, until, after a while, she saw Seraphina’s hand contract… there was movement.

[Hahaha~, that’s what I was talking about.]

The elderly Seraphina began to laugh as if she found it funny.

[Well, after all, if we are the same person. Actions always speak louder than words, louder than any excuse or superior argument].

[Right or wrong? It doesn’t matter… You don’t have to listen to what this old woman says if you can prove that what drives you is not worthless nonsense; that what you are fighting for is no less than anything else; that you will rise above everyone else and get where you want to go.]

It was unclear whether Seraphina was listening to what the old woman was saying, but the movement in her was becoming more and more evident, as if she were breaking free from her restraints, as if even time itself could not bind her.

More and more dark aura accumulated in his chest.

[[Yes, that’s right. There’s always someone stronger in this fucking world; and in every world there are always powerful bastards with unfair skill… don’t even get me started on those guys who always look down on us.]]

The more the old woman spoke, the more excited and excited she seemed to be, watching Seraphina do the impossible.

[Yes, we may not be the strong ones. In fact, I never was… but that never mattered, because as Elena used to say, we’re cockroaches.]

[We’ll lose, of course we will, they’ll probably beat the shit out of us. But… even if we have to crawl, we’ll survive, because that’s what matters. The real winner is the one who survives to the end, and no one can beat us at that: we’re fucking cockroaches that adapt and survive.]

The blackness heading toward her chest finally seemed to condense into something physical: a black orb that replaced the previous demonic core.

[If I don’t want to die, I won’t. If I want something, I’ll get it—no matter what, no matter the price, no matter how many times I fail—because that’s the kind of beings we are. So go ahead and prove me right about you; prove that your way is better than mine… that I’m not cheering like an idiot, in vain.]

’…’

There was no response, but, as the elderly Seraphina said, actions spoke louder than words.

In that place illuminated by the colossal attack, where there were no shadows, a thick darkness began to form around Seraphina’s feet, expanding and advancing toward the attack, which continued to destroy Alice’s doppelgänger in slow motion.

This blackness enveloped her.

On the other hand, Seraphina’s appearance began to change, as if she were using ’demonization’; but this time her appearance was different.

Her eyes turned black and her pupils white. The horns that sprouted, instead of pink, took on a more jet-black color.

Her tail grew back, but now it was more beastly, with thick fur that also appeared in other places, such as her chest, waist, and wrists.

She even seemed to have grown a little.

However, for some reason, her hair remained platinum white and her skin became very pale, while a large amount of chaotic energy began to emanate from her.

[Haaah~ Looks like you’re going to survive, huh? I’ll give you five points out of ten, since you pulled off a power you didn’t know you had. Seriously, that nonsense isn’t my thing, but what works, works].

The elderly Seraphina, upon seeing Seraphina’s change, seemed to suddenly calm down. She just watched this and, for some reason, sighed and turned her gaze toward the sky, as if lost in thought.

Her actions were truly as incomprehensible as her next words.

[Yes, I would have preferred the other option, but I suppose this was inevitable anyway; things are taking a peculiar turn. Is it a coincidence?… Haaah~, well, it doesn’t matter…. I think I’ve done my part… well, a little insurance… Okay, all set. Now, my dear Qetesh, I leave it in your capable hands.]

Click!.

At that moment, the old woman snapped her fingers and then simply disappeared.

Art of Lust, Eighth Stance: Erupting Reverberation

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