The royal guards staggered back while the remaining mages started another chant to stop Sera from leaving the Tower of Penance, and the clergy scampered to apprehend the tainted priest. They hadn't expected that the demons had already infiltrated them. It would surely cause them a lot of trouble once they return to the church.
Sera met Sir Lawrence's gaze amongst the crowd. His face had a conflicted expression, as if he couldn't believe the extent of her cruelty. Sera knew that he was mistaking her for the kind and gentle Anna. Anna had helped greatly when he hit rock bottom, yet when she was accused of poisoning the saintess, the knight didn't make an effort to clear her name.
So there was no reason for Sera to spare him? In her eyes, he was nothing but an opportunist who wouldn't mind abusing one's kindness in his favor.
[VP: 550/10,000]
[NEW TARGET: Knight Captain Lawrence. VP EST: 400. Weakness: Unrequited love for Lilian.]
But Sera had other ideas than using his affection for the saintess. She wanted him to regret the betrayal he committed against Anna. She wanted him to bear the guilt of allowing her to do the heinous crimes she was about to commit.
'I want to deal with him in my own way. I'll let him beg on his knees before I end him.'
[Objective Logged: "Break Lawrence's Pride"]
[VP Bonus: +100 (if humiliation is public)]
[Warning: Delay must serve vengeance. Inactivity penalty still applies after 24h.]
Sera remained silent. How could she possibly forget that if the system sensed a hint of sympathy or mercy from her, she would be penalized? She needed to be careful with her words. If she had worded her statement like 'I would deal with him later,' the system would surely deem it as a weakness on her part.
[Clarification: Delay is permitted if it increases suffering. State intent clearly.]
[Example: "I'll break him at the royal banquet." No penalty.]
Those statements only proved her assumptions. It maintained the system's ruthless logic while allowing her to do it with strategic cruelty. As long as the outcome was more vicious than the original plan, the corrupted system would allow it. She had to start phrasing her words as "maximizing the vengeance" to avoid penalties.
"Lady Sera, please surrender. You are only adding more offense under your name." Lawrence told her, while the rest of the royal guards were on the edge, waiting for his command.
Sera chuckled. Even now, he was still pretending that he cared about her. How foolish.
"Sir Lawrence is too kind," She said with a mocking tone. "I didn't hear anything from you when the crown prince tortured me. You misplaced your kindness, good sir. I do not need it anymore."
The knight captain was taken aback upon hearing her scathing words. He looked away, knowing what she had said was right. Seraphine de Lys was the reason why his career as a knight went smoothly until he became the captain of his own squad. Her words felt like a direct slap on his face, and he couldn't even deny it.
"Using blood with magic? Lady de Lys, are you aware of the crime you just committed?" One of the mage-knights of the church.
"Crime, you say? You are only saying that because you can't comprehend the potential of using blood with magic. You are trapped with your self-imposed limitations."
The three major factions in Soloma forbade using blood-induced magic. The church claimed that it defiles Solmora's gift, as the goddess supposedly granted magic as a pure force. Meanwhile, the nobility deemed the blood-induced magic as unstable and unpredictable, making it harder to regulate than wand-based, academy-approved spells.
The Magic Tower enforced standardized magic to maintain its authority. Blood magic required no wands, no chants—just pain and willpower. This undermines the academy's rigid curriculum.
But Sera thought otherwise. She believed the church opposed blood magic because it might expose the possibility that the soul wasn't the sole source of magic. They claim blood magic "shatters the soul" by tying magic to mortality. It also didn't help that the church owned all magic academies and artificer guilds. Blood magic casters also didn't need expensive tools.
As for the royal family and the nobles, they would deem Sera's ability a threat to the crown. Since it was unpredictable, it would be hard for anyone to replicate or control it.
"You're threading the path of no return, Lady de Lys," the mage-knight continued, "If you continue this abomination, even your father, the duke, cannot save you."
"Who said I need saving?" Sera retorted. "I was unfairly accused without a fair trial, tortured to admit a crime I didn't commit. If you have an ounce of fairness, you would have investigated all the servants and guests during the banquet and informed my father at once of the problem. You are not qualified to lecture me on what is right and wrong when all of you are brimming with hypocrisy."
Another barrier was established in no time, trapping Sera for the second time. The system remained silent, and Sera was left trying to figure out if she still had enough mana to use. Her body hadn't fully recovered from the injuries she sustained from the torture, and asking the corrupted system for help would surely cost her a hefty price.
Obviously, using blood magic meant having physical constraints. Blood doesn't create mana, but it converts life force into mana at a terrible exchange rate. Also, her veins turn black when overusing Bloodfire. It also didn't help that Anna's soul still had lingering effects on her body.
Sera thought she could still fight, but she would need a quick escape because engaging in yet another fight would put her at a disadvantage. Though Blood magic was more powerful, it consumes twice as much as normal magic. Every spell pays a double cost—mana and life force, which can cause exhaustion on Sera whenever she uses it with complex spells.
Although conflicted, Lawrence drew his sword. His loyalty towards the crown was more important than his guilt towards Anna.
"Strike me. Prove you're the crown's loyal dog." Sera taunted him.
The royal guards and clergy regroup, surrounding Sera. Bloodfire flickers at Sera's fingertips as she prepares to fight—until a horn blast echoes outside the tower.
Two royal guards pushed the massive doors open, shouting, "The Duke arrived! The duke arrived!"
Everyone stopped. Their attention moved to the armed warhorses arriving in a massive group, with their banners bearing the crest of the kingdom of Somola and the de Lys family. They watched as the duke dismounted from his horse and removed the helmet from his head. His armor was still smeared with ash from the northern war.
Sera watched as her father marched towards the tower, with a familiar face following him. An eyebrow arched upon seeing Rowan Ashgrove accompanying her father. Many things changed since Anna took over her body six years ago, and one of them was her relationship with Rowan.
Her eyes shifted back to her father, a person she hadn't seen for a long time. Lysander de Lys still had the same dark hair and cerulean eyes. Despite his age, he looked like a man in his thirties. He and Sera could pass as siblings rather than father and daughter.
Sera inherited his dark hair and striking appearance, but not his calm personality. She did her best to ruffle his feathers in her past life, trying to see the extent of his patience towards her. However, the man always found a way to turn the tables in his favor, much to her annoyance.
Oddly, Sera didn't feel any attachment or filial piety towards him. Perhaps because her father had mainly been away fighting the demons trying to invade the kingdom, his absence had become a norm in her life. Whenever he was home, she only spoke to him about business matters and nothing else.
Growing up without a parent by her side, Sera was left to find other ways to entertain herself. However, Anna had made a massive change and got a close relationship with her father, much to Sera's annoyance.
Duke de Lys stopped at the threshold of the tower, his gaze sweeping around until he found Sera trapped inside a barrier. His jaw clenched, eyes ablaze as he turned his attention to Lawrence and the mage-knights.
"You will not touch my daughter. The next man who dares to touch my daughter loses his head!"