Both my sister and I were raised strictly. Although we were still kids, our father forced us to learn an unhealthy amount of materials every day without ever showing much care for us. At first I thought he just didn´t see me much because I wasn´t his real daughter, but after talking with Elie about it I found out it was the same for her too. It wasn´t uncommon for us to catch a mere glimpse of him every two weeks or so, I couldn´t remember the last time when I actually talked to him.

But it didn´t really matter because sis and I had one another. Our bond developed quickly and more deeply each time we spent time together. We talked together, ate together, played together and laughed together. Sometimes she even asked me to study with her in the evenings. I hated even having the thought of it, but it was a fact that I was more talented and a quicker learner than my sister. I was worried our relationship would´ve been ruined by disgusting emotions like jealousy or guilt, but my worries turned out to be needless. Sis wasn´t such a shallow person to hold it against me. No, quite the contrary, she seemed to be proud of me. She looked truly happy when I was teaching her. It warmed my heart which was covered in an icy wall from my life so far. Slowly but steadily, I felt it melting. Each day the thing I was looking forward to, the thing that kept me pushing through the study-hell that was day, was seeing my sister later in the evening.

--

Years had passed. Years of laughter and happiness, years that I wished could continue forever. But nothing stays forever, especially happiness. I was the one to know that best.

One day, my sister fell sick. A slow, progressive disease that couldn´t be cured with modern technology. Or maybe it could, but father didn´t care enough about his daughter to go to such lengths. I begged him, I cried before him and said I would do anything even if it meant enslaving my life. I didn´t want to see the one I loved being taken away from me again. But he wouldn´t budge. ´It´s impossible,´ he just said.

Before long, Elie wasn´t able to partake in daily studies anymore. I remember rushing through my own workload to spend more time at my sister´s bed, doing everything I could for her. It broke my heart to see her body weaken over the months. Yet, she herself would never cry, or at least I never saw her do so. She would always ask me to tell her about my day, what I had learned and how I was. She would always have time for me, always have the energy to talk to me. Not once did she send me away.

I saw that her life was slowly coming to an end. I desperately tried to do everything I could. I went to father every day, I went to all medics and doctors I knew of every day, I even went through all research that was done on the disease and took making a cure into my own hands. But it never led anywhere.

One evening, when I was sitting at Eli´s bed, her mood was different from usual. She was quieter, we hadn´t really talked much. It was only me sitting there and holding her hand that became frail and scraggy with both my healthy hands, when she suddenly turned around to face me.

"Sis," she said "You know, you being here is the best thing to ever happen to me"

"No, stop that right now. Shut up, don't talk"

I knew where this was leading, I knew and I hated it. Maybe it wouldn't lead there if I just stopped her. I hoped that, in vain, because there was no stopping what she needed to say. So she continued

"You know, it may not seem that way, but before Father brought you here my days were dull and gruesome. I wanted them to end just so another could begin. I was just like you when we first met"

"I know... I know that already," I struggled to say in a steady voice

"But then I wanted things to change, I was sick of it all and so I called out to you. I didn't think you would ever accept me after I left your room that first evening. But I was wrong, because you did. You had answered my call. Suddenly there was something I could look forward to each day. I began seeing the colors in life, the bright side. It made me so unbelievably happy. I´m so grateful to you, M̵d̷a̴e̴l̷i̷e̸n̸e̶. I know it´s going to be hard once I´m gone-

"Don´t say that!" I shouted. My head was down, and I remember breathing heavily. Yet, Elie waited until I had calmed down, only then did she go on

"But you´re strong, M̶a̶d̶e̶l̷e̵i̸n̶e̵. Stronger than anyone I have ever met. Yet you are the kindest and most caring person in the world. That´s why... I´m sorry that there´s something selfish that I have to ask of you"

Sis had to take a break before she could continue speaking. She was too weak. Her breathing was roughening, yet she resisted it.

"I want you to live, for my sake and for yours. Fight for it. Fight until the very end, even if everybody is against you, I will always be by your side"

I could hear the tears in her voice as she put her hand to my heart "Because I love you, from the bottom of my heart" She smiled, the saddest smile I have ever seen

"I *hick* I will live… and be happy… For you *hick* I promise. So please, don´t go"

"Madeleine… Could you please smile for me"

"But..."

"Please… I want to see your smile"

"Ugh *hick* Is that... okay like this?"

Her hand fell out of my own as I asked her that.

I would never get to hear her reply.

--

I had cried all my tears out this evening. It was hard, very hard. And no matter what I did, I couldn´t stop the river that flowed down my face. A memory from long ago surfaced in my mind: I had decided to never love anyone again, and yet I did, and now I was once more reminded of how much it hurt.

Why? Why is it that everything I have gets taken away? Gets taken away by cruel, cold Death. Maybe I should give Death one more offering tonight?

...

No, I can´t. Because I promised. I promised Elie, I promised her that I would live and achieve happiness. No, not just mere happiness. I will claim the greatest happiness, for Sis... and for myself

-- -- --

That is what Madeleine had decided, what values her life had led her to. Yes, the Demon reminded her of her deceased sister, she wanted to continue laughing, eating, playing, talking and being together with her. So much that she couldn´t help it. This is why she needed to go against her father now, he who tied her down and stood between her and her wish.

Madeleine knows he wouldn´t understand if she just tried to explain. If Vienessa being a Demon were to be revealed, he would hunt her down. The only option would be to take over the role of Guild Master herself, but it is impossible to hide Vienessa until then. That´s why she needed to flee, cut ties with him and just escape his cold fangs.

Madeleine looks at the door in front of her that separates her and the Guild Master. A deep breath. Mustering all her courage, she takes the door handle and pushes it down.

"Father, I´ve come today to discuss-"

"Madeleine" he interrupts without looking up from his paperwork "I´m not in the mood to continue this farce. Your efforts are wasted, this is not a matter which you are free to debate with me. Go to your room and finish the tasks I´ve assigned you for today"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"But father-"

"Didn´t you hear me? Enough. Leave my office, now."

Madeleine´s hands ball into fists. He seems to be in a worse mood than usual, maybe this was a bad time to come? But... does it even matter? Would he listen to her even if he were in a good mood?

No, e wouldn´t. No matter how many times she comes, no matter what she tries. This can´t go on like that...

Madeleine musters all of her courage:

"No" she then responds

The Guild Master abruptly stops his hand which was moving a pen along the paper on his desk. He looks up at her, his gaze dark.

"Do not test my mood right now"

"Father, I won´t leave here until you hear me out! I just want-"

"Madeleine!" he raises his voice, standing up

It´s as if the temperature in the room sunk. Madeleine has never felt her father exude such an aura before. It´s scary. She retreats a few steps, but he already stands in front of her and grabs her by her collar.

"Since when did you get so haughty?"

It hurts.

"Fa...ther... can´t... breathe"

"You were nothing but a street rat until I picked you up. Dirty, worthless, a plague that should be eliminated, by me no less. Yet I thought I saw potential in your eyes that day, in those eyes that deeply despised this world. But... where did they go now?" He looks somewhat disappointed, not in Madeleine but by his own judgment being poor. Then the emotion disappears from his face as if it were a lie "Let me bring those eyes back so you won´t end up a failure like Elena"

Madeleine flinches "Don´t you... dare... speak her name" she struggles for air

"You see, this kid was no good. She couldn´t keep up the pace, she was slow and stupid. But the worst was that she held you back as well"

"What... the fuck... are you talking about?"

He locks eyes with his ´daughter´ "You were helping her, tutoring her. You threw away valuable time that you could have used to attain greater heights. She was a parasite sucking away at your potential. So there was no other way"

Madeleine stops struggling. She looks him dead in the face

"Unfortunately, this society doesn´t allow us to easily do as we please. It took longer than I thought for the poison to take effect-"

"YouuuUU!!" Madeleine shouts. She punches, kicks, bites at his arm. But his grip won´t loosen

"Yes, that´s it. Show me your eyes from that day again" An evil grin appears on his face as he puts more strength into his arm. Madeleine squeals, but doesn´t stop struggling "You won´t ever lead a normal life because it belongs to me. When you took my hand that day, you knew that. The pact was formed. I fulfilled my part, so now you will keep-"

Before he can finish his sentence, an attack hits his outstretched arm. Not Madeleine´s, an attack that actually hurts. He releases the girl and jumps back, only to see that his ´daughter´ is caught by a strange figure.

"You... Who are you? How did you get in here?" he demands to know in a low, deep voice. He takes another look at the girl who appeared out of nowhere and his eyes go wide "No, I can´t believe it, a Demon? What is this cursed species doing here?" His prior demeanor seems to have disappeared entirely. He didn´t sense the presence of the Demon girl; he, one of the strongest Humans. This is not an opponent he has the leeway to underestimate.

Though, the Demon couldn´t care less about his worries: "You know, if there´s one thing that I hate most, it´s when people treat me as a tool and think they can do anything they want with my life." The Guild Master gives her a confused look, she snarls at him "The same goes for my friends and family"

"Demon, I don´t know why you would care about that, but this is not a matter you should stick your nose into-"

"Shut up! Madeleine´s life is her own and her own alone! She is free to do whatever she wants and if you try to take that away from her, then you will have to go through me first!"

"No, Vienessa! What are you doing here!" Madeleine panics in her arms "You need to run, now! You can´t fight him!"

"Madeleine, I won´t run"

"But you will die! I´m begging you, you can´t do that!" she lets her head sink "I... I won´t be able to take it again..."

Suddenly, the Guild Master suddenly loudly laughs "I see now". Both girls turn their heads toward him "Did you finally go crazy, Madeleine? You truly have disappointed me. This Demon may look similar to her, but she is not her. She is dead, she is dead and nothing will bring her back."

Vienessa turns to Madeleine "Who is he talking about?" But the receptionist doesn´t seem to be able to respond.

"I will give you one final chance, Madeleine. If you step away from the Demon now, I will let you live. If not, die together."

Madeleine doesn´t budge, even if she wanted to she can´t.

"So be it"

´-!´

Too fast, Vienessa couldn´t even see how the Guild Master drew his sword and closed the distance between them. ´Fuck! I can´t dodge!´

Maybe Madeleine was right, maybe she should´ve just fled. His Level is so high that she can´t see his |Status| at all. Vienessa prepares for the impact to rip her body in two, tightly closing her eyes.

...

One second passes, two, then three. The attack seems to have not reached her. Slightly confused, she realizes that Aria had jumped in front of her and stopped the attack with her bare hand

´-?!´

"Now now, no need to get so violent all of a sudden. I still need this girl to live, you know?" she says calmly

The Guild Master´s expression visibly freezes "Sara?! What... How?!" he struggles to move the sword that the receptionist caught with two fingers, he lets it go while creating some distance between them.

"Ah yes, that´s right," Aria snaps her finger and changes to her Demon form, it takes but a second this time. She slightly leans her upper body backward and strikes a weird pose. "You thought it was Sara." she says "But it was me! Aria!"

...

Silence, and afterward some confused faces

Aria pouts "Oh come on! Do you get how perfect that setup was?"

*Clang*

"I was in the middle of something here. It´s not nice to attack out of nowhere, don´t you think?" Aria says, having blocked another of the Guild Master´s strikes.

"You´re stronger than I thought. Were you the one who cast the concealment spell earlier? Well, no matter, I worked on some countermeasures for situations like these." He rolls up his sleeve to reveal an exceedingly ornamented golden bracelet with a large ocean-blue sapphire. He destroys the stone.

A physically perceptible amount of Mana surges from within. It destroys the roof of the building and penetrates the sky, a brilliant crystal barrier envelops the city

"Did you just activate the |Unlimited Cover|? I didn´t see the barrier active since the war a few eons ago"

"You´re quick on the uptake" he says while debating if the words of her longevity are a bluff or the truth "I was able to manipulate the |Artifacts| circuits to reverse the effects, now you´re trapped here Demon"

"You thought I´d flee? Are you that confident?"

"Oh that´s not all"

A portion of the released Mana reverses in mid-air and flows into the Guild Master´s body. A radiant barrier covers him and his aura rises in intensity. Then, loud sirens sound through the city. The Guild Master smirks

"Soon, all Adventurers in the capital will gather. Though now that I´m powered up, let´s see if I need them"

The Guild Master raises his hand as a completely white sword manifests there, but Aria doesn´t look concerned about it at all. No, there´s not even a single sign of worry on her face. Only... a wicked smile appears

She laughs

"This really couldn´t have gone better! You even manifested it for me, I really have to thank you! You prepared everything perfectly and handed it to me on a silver platter!"

She snaps her finger as a void appears beneath the Guild Master´s feet. From it, countless pitch-black hands pour forth and completely incapacitate him. He struggles to free himself, but he´s unable to budge even with his current power-up.

"Now, let´s get to the real fun"

Aria´s darkness swallows the sword

She clasps her hands together and focuses, reciting an unintelligible incantation. Throughout, her voice changes to something that can only be called an incarnation of hell. The Mana that powers the barrier seems to be sucked inside of her. She then turns to Vienessa who is on the floor, the girl is struggling to breathe through this concentration of pure energy

"Vienessa, listen. You´re not strong enough yet, far from it. I would´ve liked to give you some more time here, but I know that he wants to move events forward." She sighs and puts her hands on Vienessa´s shoulders "Listen, I need you to focus on yourself for now, and by that I mean you will be entirely by yourself. You may feel different at first, but there will be nothing holding you back anymore. Don´t worry about anything here, I´ll take care of it." Her eyes trail to Madeleine lying on the ground "Leave everything to your big Sis, I´ll show you that you can rely on me" Aria smiles

With these words, she teleports the Demon girl away and...

She teleports her... away?

What? Wait, this isn´t in the script

"That should do the trick. Hey, big guy, you listening?"

Why can´t I... I can´t follow her. What is this? What´s going on?!

"Anyways, you probably already figured out what´s happening. You´re not stupid after all"

Aria! What the fuck did you do?!

"You´re probably cursing at me, but remember I can´t hear you from this side? Hahaha"

Are you... You dare to betray me?! You stupid brat unseal Ṯ̶̈Ẇ̷̫F̶̛͙p̶̙̿b̸͉̓ȋ̴̭B̷͙͊D̵͕͊ȧ̶̫G̶̱͘F̷͚̉y̸̱̒Ȳ̴̢W̷͕͛N̷̻̎0̴̣̅Z̷̪̾X̵͕͑Ỉ̴͖=̴̭͊

Do it now! Without me, this world will die! You will diE t0o!

Ah, no n0 no wha̵t´̵s̸ ̴ha̶Ppe̴ni̵n̴g̸ ̵?̵

"Oh wow, it´s working already? I knew you´d Z̶̭̑͒G̷̨̱̼̓l̸̛̥͐l̴͍̒̎͒ without the Ṯ̶̈Ẇ̷̫F̶̛͙p̶̙̿b̸͉̓ȋ̴̭B̷͙͊D̵͕͊ȧ̶̫G̶̱͘F̷͚̉y̸̱̒Ȳ̴̢W̷͕͛N̷̻̎0̴̣̅Z̷̪̾X̵͕͑Ỉ̴͖=̴̭͊ to leach off as a power source, but I didn´t expect it to be so soon"

W̶h̴a̷t̶ ̶t̴h̶e̴ ̶h̵e̸c̸k̵ ̸a̴r̴e̷ ̷y̸o̵u̴–̷ ̴W̸h̷y̴ ̴c̵a̷n̶´̶t̴ ̷I̴…̴ ̴D̷a̶m̷m̵i̵t̷ ̵l̸e̸t̴ ̸m̸e̸ ̵t̶h̴r̸o̵u̵g̸h̴ ̸y̷o̵u̶ ̶f̴u̶c̴k̴i̷n̷g̵–̸!̸

"Ahh, you can´t believe how happy I am to finally be rid of you! I´ve waited so so so so so so so SO long for this! I wonder if I´ll get a |Godslayer| Title or something? Fufufu, well, be useful to boost my strength at least, I´ll need it for the next step, okay~?”

Y̷o̸u̷ ̷f̸u̴C̷k̸I̵n̶G̶!̸ N̵o̸ ̶N̸o̸ ̵N̴o̸ ̸̗͋N̴̈́õ̸̮ ̸̀N̵̿Ò̶̡ ̴̟̔N̵̪̅O̵̺͐N̴̍Ó̶̪Ń̵̹O̸͐

A̸͝R̷͗I̴͊A̶A̴̒!A̷Á̸A̷͠0A̷͈͌!!a-̸̗̾!-̵͙̆-̶