Volume 1, Chapter 47 – Pure and Supreme

‘…S-Sister?’

Cheryl’s words left Stella utterly bewildered, filling her with an inexplicable sense of absurdity.

Weren’t they in the middle of a duel right now? Why was she suddenly saying something like that out of nowhere?

Surely she wasn’t trying to become sworn sisters with her.

‘Cheryl has just been mocking me, right?’

‘Mm… She has to be mocking me.’

Stella immediately became certain of it.

As expected of the eldest young lady of the Valentine family. Even after getting beaten up, she still didn’t forget to throw out a taunt. Was this what they called the look of a sore loser?

Stella lowered her eyes, her gaze settling on Cheryl’s bloodstained sleeve.

Crimson blood spread across the white lace, glaringly conspicuous.

Truthfully, Stella couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her.

Although she was in the Demon Realm, doing the perilous work of a spy, deep down she was still the same candidate Saintess from the rural monastery who liked sneaking offerings to eat, listening to the believers’ gossip, and worrying about the potato harvest in the backyard.

Even when facing a succubus, thoughts rooted this deeply in her bones were difficult to erase.

“Let’s stop here. You’re hurt.” She said softly.

They were words of concern, yet the moment they reached Cheryl’s ears, their meaning changed completely.

‘Stella, you already think this duel is over?’

You’ve only made me bleed a little, and you already think you’ve won?’

‘How arrogant.’

‘How exactly like me.’

‘The arrogance of Valentine.’

Cheryl straightened her disheveled hair ornament, then casually wiped the blood from her arm with her white sleeve. Even though she was already injured, she still yearned for the warmth that would splash back onto her.

“Not enough. It’s still not enough.”

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Cheryl wore a fearless sneer.

“Stella, if you think something of this level is enough to make me hand it over willingly…”

“???”

‘Hand over what?’

Stella’s head filled with question marks.

‘No, seriously, what nonsense are you talking about?’

For the time being, Stella decided to interpret Cheryl’s words as some sort of pursuit of honor in a duel.

She began thinking back to how she used to deal with situations like this at the monastery. Whenever she ran into some drunken man who refused to let something go, usually all she had to do was go along with whatever he was saying, and there was a good chance he would settle down.

Besides, she had been forced into participating in this duel. She needed to make that clear.

“No. I have absolutely no interest in anything you care about. I’m standing here purely because of you. That’s all.”

Stella’s gaze met Cheryl’s crimson eyes.

“…Because of me?”

Cheryl’s mind was completely filled with those words.

‘Because of me… because of me… because of me…’

‘So that’s how it is…’

‘Stella, as expected… you’re angry with me, hate me, resent me, curse me?’

Stella hated her. Hated the way she stood so high above everyone else, hated her privileged life, hated that her own luck had been insufficient and she could only struggle in the mud.

Stella had taken all her hatred toward fate and turned it into hatred for her, using every last bit of it to hate her.

Stella wanted to humiliate her, wanted to trample her beneath her feet, wanted her sins and shame to sink deep into the roots buried beneath the soil.

Cheryl’s heart filled with an unprecedented delight.

‘This feeling… is simply too wonderful.’

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“I understand,” Cheryl said.

Stella finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed Cheryl had finally understood that she had been forced into this duel. In that case, there should be no need to keep making a fuss, right?

And yet…

“Prove it. Prove your blood to me.”

Cheryl stepped forward, her undiminished momentum proclaiming her determination.

If Stella was a stray dog cast out by the family, if she was an illegitimate daughter who had come seeking revenge, then Cheryl, the first heir, would see for herself just how pure the Valentine blood flowing through Stella’s veins truly was.

“Huh?”

The moment she heard those words, Stella knew there was no point in trying to persuade her anymore.

The thought process of a prestigious family’s eldest young lady really was impossible to understand. Hadn’t Stella already said she didn’t want to fight?

“…Let’s just forget it.”

The corner of Stella’s mouth twitched as she decisively refused.

Bleeding hurt.

She didn’t have a masochistic fetish. Besides, cleaning wounds was a hassle, and if she dirtied her clothes, she would have to wash them herself. Laundry detergent cost money too.

“…You aren’t even willing to show me your bloodline?”

Cheryl lowered her eyes, her voice sinking.

Unwilling to reveal it.

Was it disdain?

Did she simply not want the noble blood of Valentine spilled upon such a boring dueling ground?

Or did she simply look down on Cheryl?

“Since that’s the case, I’ll do it myself.”

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If she couldn’t understand something, then she would put it aside. Since noble spellcraft was ineffective, since her blood had betrayed her, then she would return to the most primitive savagery.

A succubus’ body itself was a weapon. Fingernails could tear open throats, teeth could bite through arteries.

As long as she could touch Stella, she could tear that body apart, or be torn apart alive by the other party.

Scrapes, burns, frostbite, bruises, crush injuries, sprains, even internal injuries…

She didn’t want intactness. She only wanted tearing.

Cheryl exhaled and instantly turned into an afterimage as she swept toward Stella.

Stella stood where she was.

She was still immersed in bewilderment when a red blur rapidly enlarged before her eyes.

‘Too fast!’

Stella retreated several steps, but her movements were already half a beat too slow. Cheryl had already closed in on her, her sharp fingertips flashing with cold light.

‘I couldn’t keep spacing out.’

‘I have to make Cheryl stop.’

There was no longer enough time to use the dark cursecraft Remedios had taught her.

Stella took a deep breath.

She had no choice but to do what she had done before in the Forbidden Forest, drawing upon the restless magical power belonging to Valentine within her body and imitating from memory the way Cheryl manipulated blood.

Her fingernails scraped across her arm, and blood welled out.

No matter what method she used.

As long as she could make Cheryl lose the ability to move.

Stella thought instinctively.

The droplets of blood did not turn into spikes like Cheryl’s had before. Instead, they burst into flames in midair. Nearly golden-crimson, violent flames ignited and clustered around Stella, protecting her.

“Hey… did you see that? What kind of fire is that?”

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“No idea, but this has really opened my eyes. Really opened my eyes. Skipping class was worth it after all.”

“Keep fighting, keep fighting! I want to see rivers of blood!”

The succubi in the audience began chattering noisily. Even the professors all looked astonished, but only Vice Principal Mara proudly raised her head at that moment.

“Golden-crimson bloodflame?” Remedios murmured to herself. “A blood art that even Cheryl herself has never performed. Stella, is this the bloodline talent Vice Principal Mara helped you unearth? A bloodline talent possessing sacredness…”

But why did she feel that this bloodflame looked so strangely familiar?

It seemed she had once read about it somewhere in some collection of documents.

‘I’ll look it up later.’

Cheryl had not even had time to react before she crashed directly into Stella’s bloodflame shield.

“Ugh…”

She was scorched and staggered backward.

Cheryl clutched her arm, staring in startled suspicion at the flames burning around Stella.

It was a form she had never seen anywhere throughout the history of the Valentine family.

Not dark crimson, but golden-crimson.

Pure, supreme.

Even nobler than her.

Translator Note

That flame is not a mix of blood manipulation and Holy Light, right?

It’s purely from her blood manipulation…?