NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40: Equal Pain
After Sivis' strike, Conning and Flora wore expressions of excitement and bloodlust, their faces filled with smug satisfaction.
"Sivis, haven't you always thought you were smarter and stronger than us? Now, haven't you just been played by us?"
"This is your trump card, the Church's magic scroll!"
"It's used up now, isn't it?"
"This is your death sentence, you're done for!"
Conning and Flora, initially ecstatic, quickly shifted to preparing to taunt and threaten him.
Meanwhile, a large number of Blood Servants slowly closed in, intent on tearing Sivis apart.
However...
Swish, swish, swish! Sivis released Holy Swordsmanship twice in quick succession.
He didn't wait for the Blood Servants to attack; he struck first.
In an instant, the enemies around him were shredded to pieces.
He had no patience for Conning and Flora's useless chatter, nor did he want to listen to their loud, arrogant taunts as they acted as if victory was already in their grasp.
Unfortunately for them, the two strikes of Holy Swordsmanship didn't hit Conning and Flora—though they boasted loudly, they were actually quite cowardly, staying at the back, avoiding the battle.
"This... this can't be happening! Stop him! Stop him! Quickly!" Sivis moved too fast, and before Conning and Flora could go from smug to shocked, they looked around at the dead and wounded Blood Servants, their faces instantly filled with intense fear.
They instinctively began to flee.
This time, Conning and Flora threw everything into their speed, running for their lives!
In an instant, the two of them were completely terrified!
Failing the mission would mean punishment from the shadowy figure, but being hit by Sivis' holy light would result in instant death!
After four consecutive strikes of Holy Swordsmanship, they dared not hold onto any hope that Sivis' magic scrolls were running out.
Conning and Flora now had only one thought: stay alive as long as possible!
Unfortunately, they didn't have a chance!
Sivis switched up his attack style. He no longer condensed Holy Swordsmanship into a massive sword but instead conjured a slender knight's sword and held it in his hand, dashing forward like a streak of light.
With every swipe of his sword...
Horizontal slashes! Vertical cleaves! Diagonal strikes! Downward chops!
Against the Blood Servants, he moved with elegance and efficiency, massacring them.
Each time the blade passed through them, the Blood Servants were sliced in two, turning into light smoke and disappearing.
Conning and Flora, struggling to escape, dared to glance back in fear.
The terrifying scene of slaughter made their blood run cold!
They were no longer able to utter any threats, instead wishing they had been born with two extra legs, running for their lives with everything they had.
However, the speed granted by the Blood Servants couldn't compare to Sivis, whose magic-enhanced speed was far superior.
As the gap between them closed, Conning and Flora's hearts filled with despair, and they were ultimately forced to make a decision that went against their very nature.
"Wait! Sivis! Don't chase us anymore!" Conning's face was plastered with a sycophantic smile, his voice trembling with a hint of desperation. "We're family! We're brothers! We're the last surviving members of the Daister family! We were infected by the Blood Clan, we had no choice but to act against you, we didn't mean it!"
"Think of our brotherhood, please let us go!"
"Don't you remember? We used to play together when we were kids. Those were the good times!"
"We really had no choice, it's all the Blood Clan's fault!"
"Think about it, we were only after money, how could we harm Reina? We're all family, we're victims too!"
"The Daister family only has us left with a clear mind! Didn't you say you weren't interested in continuing the family line? Then you should keep us alive! This is the family that raised you, can you really bear to see it completely destroyed?"
The two of them babbled on, pleading and stammering incoherently.
"Let's make peace!"
"Let's reconcile!"
Sivis almost laughed in anger. "You don't want to hurt anyone? For the family?"
He sneered loudly, his eyes full of mockery.
The two Blood Servants, still with their full consciousness, could only act according to their true desires. If not, why would they have tortured and mocked Reina with such hysteria earlier?
Now, they were suddenly claiming they were controlled by the Blood Clan? It was absurd.
Moreover, how could the grudge between Sivis and them be settled in a single moment?
Their history of animosity went back much further.
From the disagreements over factory management to the later embezzlement of resources, to the persecution of Reina—each of these incidents had formed a deep knot in Sivis' heart.
"Make peace?" His voice was as cold as ice, his grip tightening around the knight's sword still glowing with holy light. "Do you think that now, at this moment, saying such things is a joke?"
His words fell like a death sentence. With a swift motion, Sivis swung his sword. Conning and Flora immediately screamed out in agony, their cries echoing in the air.
But then, something strange happened. The scene they had expected—being turned to ash by holy light—didn't occur. The intense pain was real, but their consciousness remained intact.
"Could it be that Sivis is truly out of energy? Has he lost the ability to deliver a fatal blow?" A faint glimmer of hope began to rise in their hearts.
As Blood Servants, they possessed far superior regeneration and combat abilities compared to normal humans. If Sivis was truly at his limit, then perhaps there was a chance for a turnaround!
A bloodthirsty, twisted smile crept back onto their faces. But before they could act on their thoughts, their bodies froze in place. Conning desperately tried to move, but his legs refused to obey him. Looking down in horror, he realized his lower body had been neatly severed at the waist—his lower half was completely cut off, and the severed edges were glowing with blinding holy light.
Flora was in the same dire situation.
Earlier, Sivis had intentionally restrained the holy light's corrosive effect, using only the blade to sever their bodies. This exquisite control of Holy Swordsmanship, far beyond the understanding of ordinary people, was the result of the extreme mastery he had gained through the system's enhancements.
The two of them, lying on the ground, could only watch as Sivis slowly walked toward them, holding Reina in his arms.
The pale and weak face of the young maid rested against his chest, while Sivis, as he walked, gently infused her with holy light.
Conning and Flora instantly felt as though they had fallen into an ice-cold abyss!
They recalled their previous actions, and fear overwhelmed them like a tidal wave.
Sivis smiled and crouched down, his voice gentle but carrying the coldest words: "Didn't you two say that you wanted me to suffer a fate worse than death, to endure endless torment? Does that still hold true?"
Conning and Flora's faces turned ashen. The smile of flattery that had once been on their faces instantly froze, and their lips trembled uncontrollably, unable to form a single coherent defense.
Their lips kept trembling, their faces as gray as death, while Sivis slowly crouched down. His fingers casually brushed over the holy light still lingering on his sword, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "Actually, I know…"
He dragged out the last word, watching their faces twist with fear, and softly scoffed. "I know what true pain is, becoming a Blood Servant—if fresh blood isn't supplied, every inch of your skin burns like fire, and the bones are infested with bone-eating insects. This is what you wanted me to endure, right?"
He paused for a moment, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "It certainly fits the description of 'pain beyond bearing'."
"I've heard that during the battle against the Evil Ones, the most devout knights of the Church, after being infected with the blood poison, couldn't last more than three days. In the end, they could only kneel and beg for mercy, drinking blood and falling into corruption..."
Before he could finish, Conning suddenly let out a desperate scream: "What do you want from us?!"
Sivis lifted his finger slightly, and a beam of holy light gently touched the wound on Conning's broken body.
Conning's scream was abruptly cut off, his entire body spasming violently—the holy light didn't heal his wound; instead, it burrowed into his flesh like a living thing, scorching the wound and making it sizzle and crackle.
This was a fundamental clash of energies.
Conning and Flora screamed in agony as the holy light burned through their bodies, their forms twitching violently.
Throughout this process, Conning and Flora let out heart-wrenching howls, unable to endure the immense pain.
Sivis, still smiling, said, "The holy light should give you about the same level of pain."
"Fair enough, right?"
"What you intend to do to me, I'll do to you."
At first, Conning and Flora were still desperately begging for mercy: "Wait, we were wrong, we'll never provoke you again! Sivis, we were forced into this!"
"Please, give us a chance, spare us, let us go!"
A few seconds later...
"No! No, kill us! Just kill us!" They had the energy to beg for their lives at first, but as the holy light continued to pour into them, their bodies were burned and broken, like ragged dolls.
In the end, they fell into desperate howls, feeling their life force gradually fading.
In their final moments, they roared, "Sivis, this is all your fault!"
"You're the freak and the outcast! I don't understand, if you have the power, why didn't you fully support the family?"
"You say we don't understand business? But isn't this how all other businesses operate? You're just throwing money away on the common people—what else is that if not waste? What's wrong with the family being dissatisfied with you?"
"Why do you think you can act so recklessly all the time? Always with this attitude as though everyone else is ignorant and you're the only one who sees clearly—what gives you the right?!" In their final moments, Conning and Flora couldn't help but yell in anger.
They knew that if they didn't speak now, they would have no chance left...
Sivis' expression remained unchanged. With a flick of his hand, he conjured two weakened versions of Holy Swordsmanship, thrusting them forcefully into the bodies of his two family members. He coldly stated, "The pain you spoke of... I've given it to you."
The holy light coursed through Conning and Flora's bodies, relentlessly cleansing them, dissolving what little flesh they had left at an astonishing speed.
In an instant, they lost the ability to speak, only able to make hoarse sounds in their throats as they silently awaited the endless terror of death.
Sivis watched as Conning and Flora's final expressions and movements conveyed a strange message through their eyes...