chapter 279 - This Isn’t a Challenge At All
Fortunately, Kaiser’s request wasn’t excessive. She just wanted to challenge Dorothy and didn’t want her to avoid the fight. It was a condition for peaceful coexistence between them. That’s why Adele agreed to act in this play. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be willing to deceive Dorothy, a member of her harem. But it wasn’t really deception. It could only be said that she was “coerced” by Kaiser. If it were Dorothy, she should understand, right~
Just like that, Hermione also joined this role-playing game in the Blood Secret Realm, making the play even more vivid. Edith felt a little regretful. Because when it came to role-playing… she really missed it. After experiencing it with Adele, she constantly longed to be Adele’s little beaker, messed up completely. Now there was a chance to experience it again, but she was just a supporting character defeated by Kaiser. Adele was still the protagonist of the role-playing. No matter how you looked at it, it was enviable.
In addition, during this process, many Bloodkin discovered their location. But none of them were Dorothy. So, they were all eliminated by Kaiser without discrimination. After all, they were in the way. The Bloodkin who were teleported out of the Blood Secret Realm for this reason could only lament their bad luck, having provoked the great demon Kaiser.
However, they did spread a piece of news. Although this news wasn’t entirely accurate. That was—
“Kaiser and Adele have formed an alliance.”
“And they didn’t choose to leave and explore other places, but stayed in a picturesque location, even setting up tents.”
“It seems… they are waiting for something to «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» appear!”
“Perhaps it’s the legendary treasure!”
This news alarmed the three True Ancestors guarding the underground palace outside. They went to investigate, and after receiving confirmation, even they, the True Ancestors, couldn’t help but gasp. Could it be… that among the Bloodkin who entered, someone really had a chance to obtain “it”?
The True Ancestors’ expressions made many Bloodkin girls speculate. But the only thing that was certain was that they were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, almost dying from the sourness.
Among them, two people were the most unable to accept this. The first was the audacious Rank Three Bloodkin girl who had attacked Adele. She was easily defeated by Adele’s Kitty Paw Strike. Now, hearing that Adele was cooperating with Kaiser, how could she not regret it? She had actually missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity due to her lack of foresight. If she hadn’t shown malice towards Adele, but goodwill, would she now have the chance to be among those who witnessed the Secret Realm’s treasure?
She didn’t know the answer. But if Adele were to answer, her reply would definitely be “No way!”
The second person who felt like their world was collapsing was Wen Xi. After being defeated by Adele and Wofoo, she had been waiting for news from the Secret Realm that Kaiser had avenged her. But the result… was news of Kaiser cooperating with Adele and Wofoo. And it wasn’t a rumor, but the truth.
She laughed in exasperation, but then tears fell like a clown. Perhaps the thing she shouldn’t have done the most was to pour so much self-righteous sincerity into a relationship that never had any hope. In this world, there was no such thing as “because I like you, you have to like me back.” If there was fate, liking each other was naturally a beautiful story. But if there was no fate, if it was just unrequited love, continuing to pester would only lead to a sad ending. And the person being liked would probably be very troubled.
Back in the Secret Realm, everyone was making a big fuss over this play. But since they had nothing better to do, and Adele wanted to protect Xiao Ai’s secret, she didn’t plan to do what the other Bloodkin girls were doing, exploring the Secret Realm and searching for Blood Essence. Then, spending her free time messing around with Kaiser wasn’t bad. It could be said that Kaiser was the strange one. Knowing that she probably couldn’t beat Dorothy, she still decided to provoke her in this way. Wouldn’t she lose face in front of Adele if she was beaten badly?
And the reason why everyone was keeping Dorothy in the dark, didn’t she bear some responsibility for it? Of course, she did. Who told her to be the last one to reach Adele? Everyone had agreed before entering the Secret Realm that the most important thing after entering was to find Adele first. Dorothy either didn’t follow through or was delayed by something. Or she was simply directionally challenged! Making a foolish mistake. Otherwise, it couldn’t be explained why she, the most powerful, was the last to arrive.
And because of this, she became the target of the prank.
………………
“She’s here!” Suddenly, Kaiser stood up from her sitting position, looking towards a certain part of the Secret Realm. Her eyes, usually lazy, became incredibly sharp. Even her body began to make some subtle adjustments. Her aura, blood, muscles, veins… even the breathing between her pores. Put simply, her entire being felt completely different. Not like her relaxed and confident attitude when confronting Hermione.
She was completely serious, because she knew she was about to face her strongest opponent in the entire Bloodkin race. The others also jolted at Kaiser’s warning. Especially Wofoo, who had been secretly competing with Kaiser, thinking that perhaps with her werewolf hearing and smell, she could sense Dorothy’s arrival in advance. To achieve this, she even specifically sought out Adele, smelling Dorothy’s scent. That could help her better identify the information carried by the wind, filtering out the direction Dorothy was coming from.
But in the end… she still lost. Lost to Kaiser, who had no werewolf bloodline, but whose physical senses completely surpassed her own. However, after losing, she smiled wryly and shook her head, feeling much more relaxed. Perhaps it was because everyone would go through this process, discovering their limits early on, and not stubbornly trying to achieve something. Perhaps then their entire life would suddenly become clear, without so much anxiety and irritability.
Adele also became instantly excited. Opportunities like this to prank Dorothy were rare. So, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Okay, makeup team, get ready!”
“Props ready!”
“Leading lady, ready!”
“Hero Saves Beauty, the Cheating Homewrecker is Hypnotized—Action!”
Adding tags like “NTR,” “Hypnosis,” “Yuri,” “Female Protagonist,” and so on. So, when Dorothy sensed Adele’s aura and hurried over excitedly, she saw a scene that made her freeze, completely shocked.
The campsite was a mess. The girls had various injuries, but the only thing that was certain was that they were all unable to fight back. Edith, Sharon, Celeste, and the werewolf girl Adele cared about. Hermione wasn’t among them; she was arranged to hide. Otherwise, if Kaiser single-handedly defeated everyone in the camp, including Hermione—this play would be a bit unrealistic! Adele understood the importance of plausibility.
So, the situation became like this. She was pushed down by Kaiser, who said with exaggerated words and expressions, “What a virtuous woman! Good thing I know how to hypnotize~” This line was specially added by Adele. It was a bit stiff, but it was effective, letting Dorothy know that Adele wasn’t willing to be pushed down, further fueling her anger.
“If Dorothy can have her, why can’t I!”
“My little Adele, next, let’s have some fun!”
And Adele, playing the hypnotized girl, stared blankly at Kaiser with empty eyes, completely unaware that Dorothy was approaching step by step.
“Yes, Master Kaiser…”
Dorothy witnessed all of this, filled with rage. And this was exactly what Kaiser wanted. The next moment, she pretended to just notice Dorothy, getting up from Adele in panic and getting into a fighting stance.
“Do-Dorothy…! Why are you here?”
“Don’t ruin my fun!”
“I don’t want to challenge you today!”
What a clever tactic. Seeing that Dorothy didn’t react, or perhaps she was accumulating anger, because she lowered her head, her face as dark as the sky before a storm, Kaiser felt a rare trace of fear, but she still adhered to her creed of “don’t court death.”
She continued to provoke, “Don’t look so ugly.”
“You are the future queen of the Bloodkin~”
“Then, Your Majesty, in order to win people’s hearts, why not bestow a ‘piece of clothing’ to me, your subject~”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Women were like clothes. If Dorothy really became the future Bloodkin Queen, she could have as many women as she wanted. Why care about just Adele? But Kaiser knew Dorothy’s feelings for Adele, just like the other girls’ feelings for Adele. That’s why she chose to say this, deliberately provoking her.
“Do you care about Adele that much?”
“She’s just a… you know.” Kaiser pretended, but she still didn’t want to belittle Adele, just like how she never discriminated against Wofoo’s werewolf bloodline like the other Bloodkin. But there was nothing wrong with saying this. Adele was just a lowly Rank Five bloodline. It was just that she gradually proved to others with her strength that Rank Five wasn’t the source of her weakness, but proof of her awesomeness.
Kaiser thought she had been sarcastic enough, even using Adele as the target of her mockery. Because most people wouldn’t tolerate their loved ones or things being belittled. Dorothy should be no exception. But she only looked gloomy, not yet losing her reason. Making one wonder… could it be that she had seen through something?
However, the next scene made Kaiser’s pupils shrink in terror. Then she instantly realized that it wasn’t that Dorothy hadn’t lost her reason. It was that her reason… had completely evaporated the moment she saw Adele being hypnotized and toyed with!
As everyone knew, Subordinate Bloodkin always had the lowest lower limit but the highest upper limit among the Bloodkin. This was because they could not only train their bodies and learn magic, but also gain bonuses and some special powerful abilities from their contracted subordinates. From low to high, these were roughly divided into “Blessing, Possession, Summoning, and Advent.”
The so-called Blessing referred to the different abilities a Bloodkin could gain depending on their subordinate. The subordinate’s form and power would greatly influence this Blessing. Spirit-type subordinates would mainly provide a boost to the Bloodkin’s mental power. Powerful subordinates would bestow their courage and physique upon the contracted Bloodkin. Contracting with a magically powerful subordinate could also grant the use of powerful magic through Blessing. There were many others… So, just in terms of “Blessing,” Subordinate Bloodkin encompassed the abilities of all the other three types of Bloodkin. Not to mention the three advanced abilities after Blessing: “Possession, Summoning, and Advent.”
When Hermione challenged Dorothy in Cromwell Academy, Dorothy only used the “Blessing” ability. Relying on the all-attribute bonus from her subordinate, she completely surpassed Hermione’s years of magic training. It was… a cheat-like ability. But one had to submit to the power of this ability. And the fact that Dorothy was chosen by that powerful otherworldly subordinate and signed a contract with it was enough to prove Dorothy’s uniqueness. So, rather than saying it was cheating, it was more like the subordinate willingly letting the contractor use their power.
And at this moment, in front of Kaiser, the reason why Dorothy’s displayed strength made even her feel fear and tremble was because Dorothy had already surpassed the Blessing stage, for the first time showing the advanced power of a Subordinate Bloodkin in front of others.
That was… “Possession”! She let Azathoth’s shadow cross the barrier of the other world and descend into her body.
At that moment, Dorothy’s reason evaporated, losing all consciousness. What remained was only instinctual action. And that instinct was called… killing!
This instinct wouldn’t stop until Kaiser before her was eliminated!
An incredibly powerful phantom enveloped Dorothy, appearing behind her.
At the same time, the entire world within the Secret Realm seemed to dim.
That image was indescribable, extremely distorted, and faintly, one could hear the roars and wails of countless ghosts or unknown monsters. In an instant, it planted formless fear and causeless madness in everyone’s minds. Even Edith and the others in the distance felt a splitting headache and screamed in pain.
Let alone Kaiser, who was close to Dorothy. She suddenly realized that all the time she had spent preparing, training her body to be stronger than before, and finding abilities through introspection, far more powerful than Wofoo’s “Berserk,” all seemed like childish toys, crushed into pieces the moment Dorothy revealed that phantom, losing consciousness and completely surrendering her body to her subordinate and instinct.
Feeling the immense gap and disheartened, Kaiser completely lost the desire to challenge. Or rather, facing such a terrifying opponent… Even her desire to escape, her survival instinct, instantly vanished. Therefore, every step Dorothy took towards her was a countdown to Kaiser’s life.
Dorothy quickly arrived in front of Kaiser, her gloomy, irrational face devoid of any expression. Then, she casually raised her hand. At the same time, the phantom behind her also extended an incredibly fierce and terrifying tentacle.
The tentacle swung out in another world, vowing to eliminate anything that stood in the contractor’s way. The power that swung towards the void was transmitted through “Possession” into Dorothy’s seemingly light palm. It was conceivable that under this palm, Kaiser would have no chance of survival. She wasn’t even sure if she would have the chance to teleport out of the Secret Realm using the magic power left by the True Ancestor. Or would she stay here forever…?
Kaiser’s disheartened eyes were resigned to fate. This wasn’t a challenge at all. It was just a one-sided massacre. She slowly closed her eyes. But just as Dorothy’s palm was about to touch her, a weak but real force pounced on her waist, pushing her to the ground, narrowly dodging Dorothy’s attack. Kaiser opened her eyes in a daze.
She saw a pair of teary, red eyes like a little rabbit.
…Adele.