Chapter 59 - Strategic Retreat

A look of panic planted itself on Cebrail's face as she turned her attention to her shadow.

Cebrail's face distorted in such a fashion that one might not even recognize her at all.

One of her eyes was half closed, her brows formed a deep valley, and her teeth were gritted in a frown.

"You…" Cebrail wanted to say something to her aunt but staring at the sword she decided against it.

Flicking her wrist she pulled a small ball out of her Dimensional Storage and threw it.

"I won't let this go, family or not." Cebrail warned her aunt in an icy tone, her anger barely being restrained.

"I see." Marilyn didn't care about threats from her niece all that much however at the very least she could tell the girl would be more serious, which meant her data would no doubt be more accurate.

The small ball which was thrown by Cebrail landed on the ground and instantly exploded into a thick cloud of smoke.

"Earlier with what you said I was a bit confused. Those subordinates of yours, it seems as though you think they'd be better off on their own yet you still take them in." Marilyn looked around in the smoke, oddly she sensed multiple objects around her now in the Church. When it came to Cebrail however she couldn't even hear the slightest rustling of the girls' clothes much less the sound of her footsteps or breathing.

It was like she had simply vanished into thin air. So Marilyn was going for provoking tactics.

"If you know being with you hurts them, shouldn't an Angel like yourself be more selfless? You could always just create a shelter or something." Marilyn took a few steps forward through the smoke when it suddenly dissipated letting the mage regain her vision.

"Oh." Marilyn looked to the left and saw various swords embedded into the wall.

"Oh…" Marilyn looked right and once again saw a multitude of swords stuck into the wall.

"Perhaps I may have gone a little too far…" Marilyn mumbled looking at her own sword which she had thrown embedded into the ground and glowing. She only had enough time to snap her fingers to produce a barrier around Jeanne before the entire church was enveloped and evaporated by an explosion of magical holy water.

"AHHHHH! HUH! HUH! HUHHHH!?!?!?!!" Jeanne floated in the air flailing wildly but unharmed she stared at the ground which was once a church and was now a crater.

Floating gently she landed next to her master who was on the only piece of land left standing as she had put up a magic barrier around herself.

"She's gone…" Marilyn observed as she looked around at the destroyed area.

"She ran away!?!" Jeanne yelled in disbelief then she thought about it again. "Actually that makes sense, you're really scary teacher!"

Marilyn grabs the up-and-coming saint by the face and lifts her up so her feet were no longer touching the ground.

"OWWW! OW! OW! OW! OWWWWW! TEACHER, PLEASE STOP! I'M SORRRRYYYY!!!!!" Jeanne pleaded for her life while desperately grabbing Marilyn's arm. Unfortunately like always her teacher's arms and grip were as sturdy as an old man after downing an entire bottle of Viagra.

(She retreated the moment she felt her ally was injured. After using this much power she likely went to Heaven.) Marilyn could go to Heaven after her but attacking Cebrail there is the same as asking to be executed by Gabriel. Marilyn was under no illusion of defeating Gabriel, especially not in Heaven. It would be like trying to defeat Zeus on Mount Olympus or in Greece.

"You shouldn't have lost so easily to that girl Jeanne."

"B-But she's your niece right? AND AND She's like the daughter of GABRIEL! Of course, she'd be a mon-"

"No excuses, I'll increase your training regiment from here on out." Marilyn says ominously while looking down on Jeanne with a dark look in her eyes and a shadow covering the upper half of her face.

"NOOOOOO!" Jeanne screamed to the sky in despair.

–

Cebrail sitting in a nearby house was against the wall.

Quickly Elmenhilde popped out of the Angel's shadow and frantically went to her side.

After interacting with her for a few days and seeing her fight before she was a bit guilty of thinking of Cebrail as someone that couldn't lose, but seeing her so exhausted this perception was shattered.

Her already pale skin was almost translucent, her school uniform was drenched in sweat, and even her yellow eyes looked a bit duller. Though her cute little frown and her furrowed brows still showed that she had quite a bit of life still left in her.

"You. Emmy. Are you hurt?" Cebrail asked the Vampire in concern.

"No I'm fine, it was just an iron sword so healing the damage is easy." Elmenhilde was a bit touched by the Angel worrying about her.

"Muu… Sorry."

"Huh? What are you apologizing for?" Elmenhilde was both surprised and confused by Cebrail's sudden apology.

"I usually fight alone so protecting people isn't one of my strong suits."

Elmenhilde scratched her head a bit as she looked at Cebrail's downcast expression.

(She's completely ready to take responsibility, such a good girl! Though perhaps She was a bit too quick to apologize for not being able to account for every little possibility…) Elmenhilde thought that it was perfectly reasonable for Cebrail to think her aunt wouldn't target her in their fight.

"It's really fine I'm telling you. Though if you really want to repent you can always just give me a gift in exchange~" Elmenhilde though she didn't think it was necessary to apologize over it couldn't help but try and take advantage of this rare opportunity.

Looking at the Vampire with determined eyes Cebrail nodded her head and said "If you want a city I'll buy it. If you want a lover I'll kidnap one. If you need power I'll provide it."

Hearing the resolve in Cebrail's voice Elmenhilde felt a bit guilty but she continued on her quest anyways.

"Could you wear a school swimsuit?" An utterly "pure" wish from an utterly "pure" Vampire.

"…?…" Cebrail looked at Elmenhilde with such a deep confusion that she just sat there silently for a few minutes. It was enough time for her to catch her breath and gather her thoughts. "I see. So you have that kind of hobby...?"

Though Cebrail's face had returned to its normal thousand-yard stare Elmenhilde could feel that she was being judged.

"Only for you!" Elmenhilde winked and stuck out her tongue while making a cute gesture.

"I see. So long as you aren't sexually harassing other people I guess that's fine." Cebrail seemed noticeably relieved by the Vampires' words and even agreed to wear the swimsuit. However now Elmenhilde didn't care so much about that.

"Wait. Wha-What's that supposed to mean?" She was a bit flustered as her mind contorted Cebrail's words into various meanings.

"Y-Y-You'd better not be flirting with any other girls B-Baka!" Tsundere Cebrail.

"If you look at other girls in swimsuits I'll be forced to get rid of them, darling~" Yandere Cebrail

"You should only lay those filthy MONGREL eyes of yours on me peasant!" Himedere Cebrail.

Of course, these were just delusions and Cebrail didn't mean what she said in any romantic sense. Truthfully she just didn't want Elmenhilde to end up on any lists if she was perving on any little girls besides Cebrail herself as while Cebrail may not mind the authorities very much would if a bunch of parents saw Elmenhilde drooling over their kids.

(Though I guess I don't actually know her age… she looks like a little kid but as a Vampire… she could pull out the classic trope. The 1000-year-old loli technique.) Cebrail didn't know if it would be better for Elmenhilde to prey on kids if she herself was one, but Elmenhilde very much had the mind of a teenager at least…

(What is she thinking about?) Elmenhilde wondered as she stared at Cebrail who was just staring at her blankly clearly off in her own world. (Maybe she's admiring my beauty?)

Though Elmenhilde had such a thought it was more like a joke, why would Cebrail find anyone beautiful when she can just look in the mirror?

Blinking a few times Cebrail seemed to snap out of it.

(Questions for later.)

Standing up the Seraphim Princess seemed to have regained enough of her strength to continue on with her fight against her aunt.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! You need to rest more! Let's just call it a day!" Elmenhilde stood up and tried to settle Cebrail down but the Seraphim Princess wasn't having it all.

"No, when an Angel gives their word they must see it through. That's what my mother taught me. I have to go step on that cold-blooded aunt of mine and make her piss herself while begging for mercy."

"Eh?" Elmenhilde blinked a few times. Cebrail really didn't think before she spoke huh?

"I won't stop after that either!" Cebrail pulled out her Rance and made for the door, but tripped and slammed her head directly into the doorknob before falling to the floor.

Soon a puddle of blood was beginning to form on the floor under her.

"Ugh!" Elmenhilde seeing the blood had to cover her mouth, she hadn't gotten to eat earlier due to Cebrail interrupting her.

It was so delicious looking though.

A perfectly healthy shade of red filled with life.

And the way it flowed! Oh, the way it flowed! Elmenhilde could practically taste it already~

Standing back up and holding her head slightly dazed Cebrail staggered for a moment.

(That shouldn't have damaged me like that…) Her Light Power reserves were basically empty but her Magic Power was still at least half full. (Do I need to keep focus and separate the two if I want to use Magic while low on Light Power?)

"Ughh…" Cebrail couldn't help but groan at such an exhausting thought. She could barely do that consistently when she was full of stamina and only using Light Power. She had never tried to use pure Magic Power before.

"Cheep! Cheep!" Epis erupted from Cebrail's hair and head-butted Elmenhilde who had just been walking with a dizzying look in her eyes towards Cebrail. Her claws were outstretched and her fangs showed dangerously. The look she was giving Cebrail was like she wanted to eat her up literally and figuratively.

"Ouch!" Elmenhilde snapped out of her daze and Epis, feeling like she did a good job, stood proudly on the vampire's head with its own little nose held high.

"Does my blood really look that tasty?" Cebrail made a point of ignoring her Sacred Gears posturing.

"YES!" Elmenhilde answered instantly with utmost seriousness. She even got all up in Cebrail's face backing her into the wall.

"Alright…"

"Anyway, this proves that you can't fight her right now!" Elmenhilde was steadfast in her stance. Cebrail was already far weaker than Marilyn when she was in tip-top shape and now she looked like she was running on empty.

"..."

"The most logical choice would be a strategic retreat!" Elmenhilde exclaimed, making a gutsy pose. "There's no shame in using strategy!"

"Logical huh…" Cebrail knew that it was true but at the same time she really didn't want to back down. "It's not like I'm out of options… I can just nuke the entire town."

"Wait wha?"

"If I just wipe this whole place off the face of the Earth even if it doesn't put my aunt out of commission it'll still damage her a lot. Then I'll have the last laugh."

"I'm preeetttyyyy sure you already got the last laugh by blowing up the church."

"Mmm…"

"Come on~"

"I'm not a child…" Cebrail pouted with an annoyed expression on her face. "We're leaving."

She stated this simply. Though the reason for her leaving wasn't simply due to her wanting to pick the most ration option. No, because she definitely did want to throw down here and now. It was because she sensed that her aunt had left along with her Junior Saint Apprentice.

"Yayy~ such a good girl!" Elmenhilde praised Cebrail and patted her head affectionately. "Whoaaaa~ what shampoo do you use to get your hair so soft?"

Elmenhilde praised Cebrail some more, leading to the girl turning soft her pout vanishing.

"It's not often people besides my maids get to touch my hair. I don't really know what shampoo they use however." Cebrail flicked her hair with her hand and though her expression didn't change Elmenhilde could tell that she had struck gold.

(Hehehe~ as long as I compliment her I can touch her all I want huh?) Elmenhilde snickered at the idea, she was starting to get that Cebrail was a bit more simple than her cold exterior might have one believe. (At least she isn't trying to step on her aunt and make her wet herself… It'd be bad if I awakened some kind of taboo fetish…)