I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

She was….high.

 

She was happy, she was ecstatic, she was feeling so much pleasure that she felt as if her brain would turn into pudding, she was melting, she was trembling, she was…she was… she…

 

She was going to die.

 

But even so, she was okay with it. She had done her best, casting and channeling as much magic as possible into Elizabeth before losing consciousness.

 

She wasn’t sure what had happened. One second, they were happily strolling across the streets of Germania, searching for a clue about Elizabeth’s former [Shift]. The idea of a couple of Elizabeths roaming around Germania was silly.

 

But Rossaline didn’t mind that at all, the mere thought of having an extra pair of Elizabeths to spare was…enticing, if she could link their minds to [Her Elizabeth] then the things she could do…The things she could attempt to do to three Elizabeths simultaneously…

 

The mere thought of it was enough to send shivers across her body and make her legs lose their strength. And yet…

 

Something had happened, something that she hadn’t seen or felt. Something had…irritated Elizabeth. She wasn’t sure what, but she knew something was wrong.

 

For one second, one instant, was all it took for everything to turn into madness. Elizabeth started pouring mana out from her [Heart]. She knew it was a different type of mana that Elizabeth only used in bursts. It was heavier, and it…was bad.

 

Rossaline wasn’t sure why, but her [True Self] recoiled at the back of her [Soul] each time that [Mana] came around, all the mana that Elizabeth sent her way with that attribute always got taken by her [True Self] and turned into their own type of [Mana]. So she assumed it was some kind of [Sin Mana], like the one she had.

 

But Elizabeth was too…Pure. To have [Sin Mana], she was too innocent to have [Lust], at least naturally that is, this does not take into account the [lust] Rossaline was feeding her.

 

She didn’t indulge in consumption to have [Gluttony], she didn’t rage enough to have [Wrath], she didn’t wish to take what others had enough to develop [Envy], she was lazy, but not enough to ignore her duties, so that took away [Sloth].

 

She didn’t desire more than she deserved (Even if she deserved everything this world had to offer), nor did she think of herself above others, meaning she didn’t have [Greed] or [Pride].

 

She may have access to three of those types with what she was feeding her:

 

[Gluttony] from Nyctophagia.

[Wrath] from Rena.

[Lust] from what she sent her way.

 

But this? This [Mana] didn’t smell like anything of those three, she had gotten a sample from [Gluttony] thanks to Beatrice her always loyal daughter. Taking a sample from Rena was easy enough. And of course, Rossaline knew what she smelled like….

 

No, this mana was different.

 

It wasn’t Elizabeth at all, it wasn’t [Her Elizabeth].

 

“AGHHHHH!!!” She had screamed in pain when Elizabeth broke her hand, her first reaction had been to channel [Healing Mana] into her hand and to Elizabeth.

 

But Elizabeth had either felt or seen something, as she had then thrown her away to a wall.

 

*Crack*

 

At impact her [Diagnosis] spell told her all she needed to know, her spine had been broken at the base of her neck. She would need to regenerate it and reconnect the nerve endings, doing so would bedridden her for at least a week and give her enough pain to wish for death.

 

So she didn’t. She used the [Skill] that Elizabeth had embedded into her body to manipulate the body [Shadow Puppeteer]. She used that to make herself crawl towards Elizabeth.

 

“Rossy!” Rena screamed as she jumped away from Elizabeth. “Something is wrong! We need to run! That is not Elizabeth!”

 

Hah!

 

The bitch.

 

“No…we….need…to…help… Elizabeth…” She had said back at her, all the while her [Diagnosis] spell told her about how the [Mana] was poisoning her, rupturing her [Mana Circuits], breaking her body away.

 

“Rossaline!” Rena screamed as her muscles seemed to war against her body, her [Instincts] probably were screaming at the girl to run away, while her brain seemed to want to walk forward Elizabeth. “ We need to knock Elizabeth down! My [Instincts] are screaming at me, if we remain here we will die!”

 

Tears had started forming in the eyes of the red-haired girl, she was probably suffering too, Rossaline hadn’t put the [Diagnosis] spells on that one yet. She needed to get her either drunk first, either in pleasure or alcohol so she wouldn’t notice.

 

Her [Mana] wasn’t as pure or dense as Elizabeth, so she wouldn’t notice, nor would wash away her wards like Elizabeth did almost naturally.

 

“Almost…there…” Rossaline had continued to crawl towards Elizabeth of course, and when she managed to arrive at the love of her life… she couldn’t see anymore.

 

She knew that she had made it because she had preprogrammed her actions so her good hand would latch onto the blonde girl’s ankle. She started feeding her [Healing Mana] as soon as she made it.

 

If Rena ran away or not…she knew not. The next time she regained consciousness she had been here in this empty void.

 

Darkness all around, not the same darkness she had seen when she stared at her [Soulscape] window the first time she found it. Not the same darkness that enshrouded the [Shadow Haven]...

 

Not even the same one she had found when she evolved her [Job] and tied herself to Elizabeth. No, this was…cold darkness. The same coldness she feared Elizabeth would give her when she found the type of woman Rossaline Singh was, the coldness of indifference.

 

“Hello?” Rossaline asked the emptiness, hoping someone would pop up and tell her about a contract with a new deity.

 

For someone to come up and tell her how she had messed up her life choices, how she was going to be punished for her crimes, for only healing people that could pay, for how she had ignored hundreds of wounded and only healed the rich.

 

For someone to come and judge for her more dubious acts, for how she had spied on all the blonde girls while waiting for Elizabeth to wake up, for what she had done to those girls whose body size matched Elizabeth…

 

For someone to judge for the ones she had killed, Aura, the guy that almost raped Elizabeth, the men who dared to try to hit up on her in a particularly bad day, the girls who came crying to her for love after she slept with her one night.

 

The ones that came crying for her to change them back, to return them to normal. Those that came crying to her for ruining their life…

 

So many sins…all fueled by her [Lust], and all in an attempt to quench her [Thirst]. It had become more bearable after Elizabeth woke up, after she could indulge in the blonde’s care. And of course now with Rena at hand it was even more manageable, she didn’t need to even drug the girl!

 

She was a kitten starved for [Love], and they both loved Elizabeth, so it was even easier. No, she didn’t need to fear that the girl would turn at her door asking for more. They both knew, that ultimately the other was an add-on to their relationship. Their [Love] was to Elizabeth, what they felt between each other was… fondness at best, and lust at worst.

 

But this?

 

This emptiness? This [Nothing]...This pressure she was feeling at her heart…

 

“Is this…Hell?” Rossaline said aloud.

 

“No, I may be able to squish there, but there is no way you will earn that right.” A voice finally spoke in this emptiness.

 

Rossaline turned quickly to see who it was…and slumped at her find.

 

“Hoped for someone else?” Asked the girl back at her.

 

“You didn’t fix that hole? What is this, Michelle?” Rossaline asked the girl. She still had a hole on her chest, the same one from the mana discharge when she tiered up her job.

 

“Heh, why bother? It's not like someone else will ever see it. I would care about it if I had a future…I don’t, not anymore,” the girl sighed.

 

“...what? What do you mean? Why won’t you have a future?” Rossaline asked back confused.

 

“...Did your girlfriend’s birdbrain stick to you?” Michele deadpanned at Rossaline, “I was a part of you. My future hinged in you joining the circle of transmigration and hoping that after the sublimation a part of me could resurge again when all your trauma got washed away. Your identity is founded upon trauma, lust and hatred, your [Sin] would be washed away and I was hoping most of you got thrown into either the trash can or into a new [Lust Demon].”

 

….Michelle Campbell was a bitch, definitely the past life of Rossaline Singh.

 

“And?” Rossaline asked, not angry at that. To be honest she would have done the same.

 

“Well, first of all this.” Michelle pointed at her chest, “My [Soul structure] is barely hanging there, I had doubted anything of me would remain after your last job tier up. I was thinking that after whatever you did for level 50 I would vanish away…But now? Yeah, we are sharing the same boat.”

 

The other girl laughed at the situation.

 

“Share the same boat? Why? Even if we die this time, our soul will not burst away, Elizabeth will be able to call us back. We joined her [Domain] and are guaranteed to return.” Rossaline said back.

 

“That we are…well you are, I was already dead.” Michelle nodded, “But that is the thing…You stuck us to Elizabeth Starbright. Tell me, is Rossaline Singh the same as [The Lust Temptress]?”

 

“....No. That one is a detached bitch in heat that only wants to suck the life force of anything that is blonde and has the same body type as Elizabeth.” Rossaline answered, she had been lucky that no student at the arena had that body type. And that Akira’s lust was aimed at her. It annoyed her [Lust Temptress], which was enough to satisfy her. “That one only wants to drown in Elizabeth’s body with no regard to her desires, she is not to be trusted.”

 

“Exactly, you can’t trust someone who can’t control their desires, or what they call it in your new world. You can’t trust someone who can’t control their [Sin].” Michelle nodded. “So, what [Sin] do you think your girlfriend has?”

 

“Nothing, she is innocent. Elizabeth is too pure, not even after being exposed at my [Lust] was she enticed to indulge in my body. Not even after Rena joined and added her [Wrath] did she change, she is too [Pure] I suspect she isn’t wielding a [Sin] but a [Virtue].” Rossaline answered, that was the only explanation she could come up. Elizabeth shouldn’t be able to withstand them otherwise.

 

“That is your hubris. You see only the good in your girlfriend and expect her to be better than everyone else.” Michelle shook her head, “You are wrong.”

 

“False, I know better than anyone that Elizabeth makes mistakes, she is a little silly. She is too lazy, she often decides to ignore her problems even if she should be able to solve them. She is too innocent, and she easily trusts others.” Rossaline couldn’t stand this, she knew Elizabeth better than anyone, “She took me in, she took Beatrice in, she took Rena in. She took the [Shadow Armada], those that she had no reason to take in, and all it would take was for her to evict them from her [Soulscape]. The whole fight against Akira wasn’t needed, all she needed to do was ignore Rena. When she woke up, she didn’t need to take me in either. If she had asked me to leave I would have.”

 

Tears had started raining down from Rossaline’s face as she remembered that night.

 

“She told me you know, that she had relived the whole first year in a second, and that she noticed all the little things I did to make sure she would love me. She didn’t find them ugly, she didn’t find them disgusting, Elizabeth said that she loved them. That she was embarrassed for not noticing them!” Rossaline had lost a few years of her lifespan that night, “She told me that if I had told her the first day about going out… that she would probably have accepted to test the waters. That she would probably not love me at the moment, but that with my dedication I would have won her over anyway.”

 

“That was a lie.” Michelle said, “Elizabeth wouldn’t have loved you if you hadn’t tampered with her outlook of the world.”

 

“I KNOW!” Rossaline screamed back, “But…but… I couldn’t point that out, that I had engineered her perception of me so she would love me, that I had poisoned her mind using dirty tricks…That our relationship… isn’t normal.”

 

“And yet…you are still missing the point.” Michelle mocked her. “Tell me Rossaline Singh…. what [Sin] do you think Elizabeth has?”

 

“None, she trusts. The closest thing would be... greed? Since she wants to take us all? Envy? Since she doesn’t want to share us?” Rossaline answered, half guessing.

 

“Wrong, she didn’t mind sharing Rena with you. Nor did she mind sharing you with Rena. She doesn’t want to take them all either, she didn’t invite Aura into your relationship did she? Nor did she invite Beatrice.” Michelle said back, “And let me tell you, the previous body of Beatrice is quite the looker, I wouldn’t mind hitting that one…”

 

“That is my daughter you are speaking of,” Rossaline said with a weird expression on her face, “Or your daughter too now that I think about it.”

 

“I mean…I don’t mind the incest tag, but fine. Whatever, we are digressing. It’s [Pride].” Michelle sighed, “Elizabeth is too Pridefull that is her [Sin].”

 

“Pride? Are you hearing yourself? Elizabeth has no need to be prideful. She earned everything she has, she studied and practiced her magic and skills. She got to where she is with effort and talent. Her Pride isn’t unfound, there hasn’t been a single time [Pride] spoke for Elizabeth.” Rossaline defended her girlfriend.

 

“Not a single time? The hubris…” Michelle laughed back, “Was it like this…?”

 

Michelle said as she snapped her fingers and a screen manifested behind them.

 

“...Nice.” The girl seemed surprised that it had worked, at all. “First…let’s go easy, when you traveled back to the MPI and the Teleportation was offline, what did Elizabeth do?”

 

“She…helped fix the Magic Circle? How is that pride?” Rossaline asked as the screen showed a memory from her POV about the event.

 

“Firsts, let’s take off the [Love Lens],” Michelle said. As the video rewound and the image lost a few extra colors, Elizabeth's face morphed from one of smile and amusement with some extra makeup to one of a blonde girl who vaguely resembled Elizabeth…with a scowl.

 

“What is that? What happened to Elizabeth?” Rossaline asked as the video showed her with her hand on that girl.

 

“That is how I see Elizabeth from your eyes, I mean she has nice assets but besides that…she is kinda average to be honest. I was more of a brunette and red-haired kind of girl.” Michelle said as the video moved once more, “See here, Elizabeth got annoyed at the delay. Then instead of waiting like a normal person for the qualified staff she moved everyone away and fixed the problem. And when asked for more help? She refused! Girl you are already getting people into trouble!”

 

The image indeed showed the blonde getting annoyed and huffing as she mumbled something about useless people messing with some simple stuff. Elizabeth didn’t seem to notice it, and Rossaline could only pick up on these because she knew how to read lips…

 

“...that…” Rossaline was not sure what to say…Her Elizabeth had done this while grumbling? She remembered a happy Elizabeth helping others!

 

“Is not the only example.” Michelle spoke as the image paused when they used the reformed magic circle, just as she could see the mocking smile of the blonde girl. “There is more.”

 

“More? How…that was the only time Elizabeth did something like that!” Rossaline spoke back against the accusations. “She never overshadowed anyone’s authority like this again!”

 

“Ah the hubris of Love…This is why I only did one-night stands.” Michelle said shaking her head, “Tell me this then, what is if not her hubris the fact that she didn’t call out Akira’s attempts at manipulating people? She thought that all that they needed to solve the case was her. She dared to walk to your parents and ask for your hand in marriage? She has nothing! Nothing to stand! No money, no house, nothing! And yet she asks for marriage? As if she was good enough to compensate? What is this if not hubris? We don’t live in a movie! Romance, love and care will not feed a couple. Money will.”

 

…That….”That is such a cold way to see the world.” Rossaline said, surprised that those words had come out of her mouth.

 

“That is the truth of the situation, she is lucky that her parents are literal [Gods] and that your mother knows this fact. If not for that, she would have either been kicked out or you would have abandoned your name…Nah who are we kidding? Your parents love you and they would still feed you both. And Elizabeth would think that as natural.” Michelle mocked her.

 

“Why do you hate Elizabeth? Why do you care?!?” Rossaline replied, “We are dying, right? Why does it matter if Elizabeth is wielding [Pride] or not?!?!?”

 

“Because, you lovestruck psycho stalker…We are tied to her remember? Well not we, I am toast. You are stuck to her.” Michelle said as she snapped her fingers once more, this time with the snap her arm turned into dust, “Agh, damned hell, couldn’t you start with my ponytail?”

 

The image behind her changed to Elizabeth once more, this time it was Elizabeth screaming in suffering, the same one that had happened a few moments ago.

 

“Oh no, you won't.” Michelle snarled as she raised her other arm and snapped her fingers. A crack formed in her legs, but….she didn’t break, not yet anyway. “This is the real Elizabeth right at this moment.”

 

The image slowly lost lustre, only to gain other colors. The image of the blonde girl slowly shifts from a pained expression…to a furious one.

 

“...[Wrath]?” Rossaline asked as the image of Rena…changed somewhat too, the girl seemed not like someone braving tides of doubt, to one that looked scared and yet didn’t seem to give up.

 

“You wish, but no. Also if you end up breaking with Elizabeth, hit up Rena in my honor okay? That girl is the right type of broken that I liked to mess around with,” Michelle said as she licked her lips while enhancing Rena’s image. “But no, what you are seeing in this picture isn’t [Wrath] but someone’s whose [Pride] was hurt.”

 

The image started moving and she saw…Elizabeth hitting her chest as she screamed for it to beat…she saw tides of corrupted mana flooding the area, she saw the image of the civilians all around falling to the floor, and she saw the image of her own bloodied arm as it struggled to carry her towards….

 

[Death]

 

“No….” Rossaline Singh said as the image of Elizabeth froze. The snarl on the girl’s face was obvious. The lovely blue eyes had been replaced by snake-like eyes tinged with azure flame.

 

The color that usually was a sign of hope and warmth…

 

“Yes, that is [The Pride of a Dragon]. Hurt because she couldn’t do something for the first time in her life.” Michelle spoke as her body started crumbling. “That is who you tied us to, that is what will kill us unless a miracle like those that come in Light Novels happens.”

 

“...That is…Elizabeth?” Rossaline asked as Michelle's image started crumbling more and more.

 

“No, that is who you tied us to. I don’t know how much of that girl remains, or how her [Pride] will manifest, if it is like you or Rena then you will probably have a chance, the girl is good with [Mana Manipulation]right ? If she wakes up then maybe you can be saved? If not…Well you will be turned into a [Dragon Spawn] in the best case, your [Soul] will probably be overwritten by the impulses like it was with Elizabeth and you too will be erased, no future. Like I will be overwritten by your [Lust].” Michelle didn’t seem sad at all for her imminent death.

 

So Rossaline had to ask, even if it was probably something the other girl didn’t want to think about, “Don’t you regret it? Your future in oblivion?”

 

“Of course I do, but at least I know that a part of me will continue living a life of lesbian sex 24/7. Even if it is with a dragon, it will be a female one. And besides, the dragons are known for polymorph magic right? Maybe your tastes and mine will reflect whatever form of dragon we become? If so our dragon self will end up making a Harem. Perhaps a version of me will hatch from one of the eggs? I will look forward to waking up in a new body, with some hope the new one will be better.” Those were the last words that Michelle Brown said before her body disappeared.

 

Leaving Rossaline alone in the darkness once more.

 

“...I refuse to believe it.” Rossaline said as she stared at the empty space.

 

“Are you there?” She spoke to no one. “I know you are, Michelle was around. I have heard Rena mumble while half asleep after I tire her out. Come out or I will fish you myself if needed.”

 

“What do you want?” A new figure showed up. This one was dressed in a nun outfit that showed plenty of her legs. A high cut on her habit showed most of her breasts, and she didn’t even have anything covering her arms or head. “I have nothing to say to someone who won’t even take me in.”

 

“Shut it you bitch.” Rossaline spoke back to her past life, the woman that had endured the endless loop in Aetheria. “If I take you in… will I be able to bring back Elizabeth?”

 

“...No. If it was [Greed] or [Envy] perhaps, but [Lust] isn’t enough. At best she will want to keep us alive, at worst she will mate with us till we are dead.” The Saint of Healing from Aetheria spoke. “Either way your girlfriend is…oh, never mind.”

 

“What? What is…oh…” Rossaline asked as the world around them started crumbling as a new wave of [Mana] rushed in, it was…warmth…it embraced and soothed her, it took her in how she was…it even danced around the spot that Michelle had been, as it did to her life from Aetheria, “Elizabeth?”

 

“Yeah, your girlfriend managed to pull something out of her ass again. Remind her for me okay? She will not be as lucky as this always. Her hubris will be her undoing, the moment she runs out of idiots to die for her…she …. will …. die….” Her past life said as she melded into the wave of mana.

 

The [Mana] rushed into Rossaline Singh’s [Soul], and so, she started changing. She felt her body change, and her [Soul], which had been aching, started healing again. Her crumbling body was becoming stronger, she was becoming more…Her.

 

She first felt this when her [Soul] evolved as she took her job as a [Saintess of Healing] for Elizabeth’s Pantheon. Now this time it wasn’t her [Soul] that was changing but her [Body], she was becoming more.

 

And she couldn’t wait to see her girlfriend again. She would actually see her and prove to Michelle that she didn’t love Elizabeth only because of her [Lust].... well okay a significant part of it was because of [Lust], but she could love other people too!

 

She loved Rena too!

 

… and it wasn’t because she could release some pent-up tension on her… promise.