". . ." Alice clenched her fist. Her fingers tightened around the blade in her hand. As the two collided, she could clearly sense that the power of Oblivion was not targeted towards her. No, it was simply focused on offsetting the damage she would do with Void Axis. He didn’t have the intent to harm her. Even if it came at the cost of himself. She stared at the man with his back against the ground. A giant diagonal slash across his chest, blood pouring from his wounds and staining the floor. His eyes were on the verge of losing their light as his chest slowly heaved up and down. As a nine Sigil Lord, killing her should’ve been easy. But Theron held back till the end. "Is your life really worth hers? Is the life of someone who does good for this world worth the wench that takes the life of others?!?!" Alice shouted, demanding an answer. It was illogical to her in every way. She couldn’t accept it. She’s seen what kind of person Theron is. What he wants to do for the people even if it’s at his own expense. Which is why she couldn’t understand why he gave so much for Bella. Why would he accept such a vile woman who did nothing but harm those around her. Two rights don’t justify a wrong. No matter how much he tries to do, unless he stops Bella from doing more, the number of victims will only grow. His good deeds don’t erase the lives that have been lost. Theron opened his mouth with a bitter smile. "Because... I owe her too much. This... Life of mine... Would not come to be had it not been for her. My achievements... My everything... At the source, at the foundation, it begins with her." He hated it but he couldn’t deny her existence. Had it not been for her, this world would’ve never seen the current Slayer. Theron Merias would not exist. It is because of this sole reason that he will continue to protect her, cover for her. Yet... Despite saying this, he has turned a blind eye to her actions. Everything she had done, he thought doing more good would cover for it. But when faced with a demon of her own making, the vengeful girl who’s come to avenge the life of her friend, no amount of good would be able to appease that anger. The burning fire roaring in her heart. "This life of mine... I will give back to her. Take it... But should you do... Leave her be." Alice gritted her teeth. Anger flooding her veins. "You... Stupid! Stupid! Why would I want your life?! Why!? She’s the one who killed Lilia!" Alice grabbed him by the collar. Dismissing her sword, she balled her hand into a fist and punched him across the face. "Why do you keep covering for her! You’re a Lord dammit!" Alice punched again. Seeing Theron give her no reaction, not intending to explain himself, Alice glared towards Bella. Flicking her finger, blood grabbed her by the ankles and tossed her over. Lifting Bella up by the throat, Alice glared back at Theron. "What’s stopping me from killing you both?! What’s stopping me from killing her and ignoring your plea? What’s stopping me from ignoring everything you just said that ending this right now!? So why are you still offering your life in place of her’s?!" "Because you’re a good person. Even now... You’re still talking rather than acting." Theron smiled. Gritting her teeth, Alice tightened her grip around Bella’s throat. Theron simply stared at her without another word. Even if he wanted to stop her, he lacked the strength to do so right now. There was something strange about Alice’s attack. One that penetrated deep into the core of his being. Hindering the gathering of Abyssal energy while also burning away his regeneration. The biggest issue one has when facing her is to be hit. Once she lands a single attack, a countdown to defeat begins. Theron’s body was desperately trying to piece together the wounded flesh but Alice’s flames continued to burn. Alice continued to tighten her hand around Bella’s neck as she struggled to break free from her grasp. Her eyes rolling back as tears formed on the edges. "You said I am a good person. But... what proof do you have?" Alice glanced down. "We have only just met. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I value... You don’t know my morals. You don’t know how far I would go to drench this world in the blood of my enemies." Alice bit her lip. Glancing up at the sky, she took a deep breath and sighed. As though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. For a moment, Theron felt hope. But that hope was quickly extinguished as he saw the cold merciless light in her eyes. She brought Bella’s head to her eye level and smiled. Bella widened her eyes... Alice wasn’t going to let her go. Before Theron could even finish his shout, Alice dug her finger deep into Bella’s eye sockets, hooking her finger against the skull and twisted Bella’s head from her body. The spine followed suit as organs hooked against the vertebrae. Blood and innards spilled out, drenching Theron’s body as his mouth was filled by blood. He watched as Alice showered herself in Bella’s blood, a sad yet relieved smile on her face. "Ah~ You would’ve made a great ally. You said that I was a good person because I was talking rather than acting. That was simply because losing you as an ally would’ve been a waste." Alice sighed regretfully, tossing Bella’s head into the air. From her blood, lilies began to bloom as Alice closed her eyes. Her revenge for Lilia was finally over. While it wouldn’t bring her back... Her killer would no longer roam free in this world. "But since you wanted to protect her till the end, I have no use for you." Alice shook her head. Standing up, she stomped her foot and activated her sixth Sigil. While Bella may be dead, her soul would still remain. But Alice refused to let such a thing happen. Alice didn’t care about Bella’s redemption, she didn’t care about Theron’s sob story. Right now, right here, what she wanted was blood! "Gotcha." Alice grinned. Pinching the air in front of her, she pulled back and ripped out a single strand of luminescent white. Before the soul could even form into an orb, violet flames violently erupted around her hand, burning the strand until there was nothing left. Bella will never get a second chance. Not on Alice’s watch. Theron gritted his teeth. He forced himself to stand up as he glared at Alice. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩 "Why... WHY?! Aren’t you Allura’s disciple?!" Theron shouted as Alice threw her head back and let out a laugh. "Calm down~ Let’s talk about this shall we?" Alice twisted her lips into a smile. "Remember my words? Let’s see you be calm when I rip out her spine. Ohya? Oh my~ Seems like there’s a lot of pent up rage right now? Hard isn’t it? Seeing the killer of someone you treasure in front of you." Alice taunted. "You want to kill me don’t you? Rip me to shreds, tear me limb from limb." She grinned before losing her smile. "Go f*ck yourself. Don’t use your rules with me. I’m not a good person. I’m selfish and vengeful. This life of mine, I set out to do two things. First is freedom, second is revenge." Alice glared at Theron with a mix of disgust and anger. "This life of yours I’ll spare. Only because you know Allura and Gin. It might be a mistake but that’s my courtesy towards a ’good natured person’. But next time..." Alice narrowed her gaze. "Just like Bella, no one would be able to save you." Snapping her finger, Alice retrieved all of the blood she spilled and summoned before walking away. She could sense city guards rushing over but that’s only because of the large commotion. The people with a lot of Sigils stood by and did nothing. This battle wasn’t one they could interfere with. Including the City Lord. "And here I thought you would’ve spared her. Quite the brutal girl aren’t you?" A voice rang out as Alice furrowed her brows and glanced towards the walls of this estate. Atop the walls sat a single man with a large umbrella. Beneath the umbrella, Alice could see a deep crimson coat contrasting the dull monotone colours of the city. Short black hair and a pair of black eyes hidden behind round tinted glasses. A confident smile was worn on his face, exposing the sharp teeth behind his lips. "And you are?" Alice asked. He was using a trick similar to what she would use against Gwen when hiding her presence. But now that Alice had laid her eyes on him, his signature was memorised. Hiding again would be difficult for the man. "I’m the healer that everyone has been scrambling to find. I thought it would’ve been good to curry a favour with an esteemed Lord by treating his wife." He chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Yet the moment I make that decision, I come to the scene and see you brutally rip off her head. What a shame. A favour of a Lord is priceless, don’t you agree?" "I disagree. I have no use for the favour of a Lord like that when my enemy is right in front of me. But if you’re going to lie, at least make it believable. You’re just here to see what kind of blood was f*cking her up aren’t you?" "!!!" The healer widened his eyes. Alice had used Void Step and in that split second, she was already standing next to him. "Hah! Seems like I’m busted. Yeah there’s no way I would’ve healed the Lord’s wife." The Healer laughed, spinning himself around and standing up. "But out of all the people who’ve tried to find me, you’re not looking for me because you need healing." He grinned. "Oh?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "You want to know how I do it... right?"