Chapter 12: The Blood Nymph 2

The cold rain was pouring down so hard, covering the whole city in thick mists made from water.

"Shit! What did I do to deserve this!?"

A young man in his early 20's was running through the dark alley. The ground was muddy and with each step his feet went deeper into the ground. His lungs felt like they were burning since he hadn't even stopped running for a while now. But he knew, if he stopped running even for a moment he would lose his life.

"Run all you want. You're only making this harder for yourself."

His pursuer whispered gently. He then turned his head slightly and what he saw there was a girl running at high speed while holding a gigantic broadsword in her right hand. The black cloak she was wearing covered a portion of her light auburn colored hair. Her bluish azure eyes were darkened by the shadow of her cloak.

"Ugh! Take this!"

The man reached for his pocket and threw a pair of small daggers towards the girl chasing him. But strangely enough, the daggers were reflected by something like an invisible barrier.

"It's futile."

Right after saying that, the girl slashed the air in front of her, making a thin dimensional rift. She ran through the rift and her body vanished to nothingness. The man who was turning his head to look behind was dumbfounded.

"W-What…? Where did she go?"

A moment later, the girl was already in front of the man she was chasing. The man flinched and stopped his legs in a panic.

"Any last words?"

The girl pointed her gigantic broadsword while slowly approaching him and it caused the man to fall on his back to the muddy ground. He was trembling in fear and cold sweat ran through his body. His eyes reflected only one kind of emotion, terror.

"M-Monster…!"

The girl stopped her legs for a moment, and there, she smiled slightly.

"A monster, huh?", the girl pulled her cloak, revealing a beautiful face yet full of sadness. "Yes, as of now, I'm a monster."

Without making any useless movement, the girl slashed the man in two, starting from his head until his crotch. The cut was so clean and warm red liquid squirted from the remains, causing the girl to be drenched in red. The man didn't even get the chance to react nor scream. Truly, a seemingly painful death. Not long after, she heard a clapping sound and a figure of a man appeared from the dark.

"Good job, Ann! I knew you'd do this finely!"

The man had a sinister smile and was wearing something white like a pastor's robe and veil. A pair of ornamental daggers were hanging from his belt.

"Lord Siegfried!", the girl kneeled down immediately.

"Oh c'mon don't call me that…", Sieg lifted the girl's chin. "Didn't I tell you to call me Sieg when we're alone?"

The girl didn't respond to him. Instead, she looked away from him.

"Tsk! What a boring girl… Anyway…", Sieg turned his body and threw a piece of paper to her. "That's your next target."

The girl took the paper and started looking at it. There was a young man's portrait in the paper. He had a black hair and golden eyes, a quite handsome young man. The girl thought of the same thing but she refrained herself from saying anything unnecessary.

"Do I need to kill him or only extract information from him?", the girl asked in a flat tone.

"Let's see…", Sieg stopped for a brief moment. "It's up to you but… Killing him would be troublesome, you see?"

"What do you mean by troublesome?", the girl tilted her head slightly.

"Well, you'll see it when you meet him in person.", Sieg slowly walked away. "He has quite the personality, much more than I do."

Sieg's figure vanished to the dark with no trace. The girl, Ann, was so confused. She then took a look at the portrait once again. There she found a small inscribed text.

"The bastard son of Inferi Household…", she squinted her eyes. "Fayre di Inferi…"

***

A little girl was laying down on her back in the Abyss. The scorching ground didn't seem to be a problem to her. If someone ever saw that scene, they would be thinking that the little girl was probably suicidal. But in fact, she wasn't feeling hot or whatever.

The little girl was wearing a dress made of gold and silver, with a strange binding of chains on her right hand. It was only a matter of time that her beauty would be known worldwide. By all means, my beauty. Yes, I was that little girl!

[Now, why don't I give you some advice regarding how to control your racial traits then?]

I listened to the voice, Goddess Bona Dea's voice, closely.

[No, before that, did you just depict yourself as a beautiful little girl?]

"N-No… What are you talking about?", I rolled my eyes frantically.

[Are you really thinking you can lie to me with that kind of face? How many years do you think I've been watching over you?]

With those sentences, I started to realize that she was the real deal. I had my suspicions whether she was the real one or not. Well, it was better to be safe, right?

[Anyway, let's continue. You're probably asking why you suddenly berserked like that, aren't you?]

That was actually true. I never expected to be enraged like that. I felt like my chest was burning at that time, but it didn't stop there. There was a certain feeling of joy when I mercilessly stabbed the poor Behemoth over and over again.

[The Blood Nymph tribe is really unique, you see? They're not known from their reddish appearance nor the dark red haze they emit whenever they fight, but from their unique way of fighting.]

She stopped for a moment.

[The more blood their enemy sheds, the stronger they get in a fight. But it comes with a cost, their logic. Nothing can compare to them when they're in that state.]

I was rendered speechless by her explanation. That should be a lie, right? Why would she give me this kind of insanely rubbish of a trait?

[You can call it rubbish since you cannot control it. But once you're able to do so, you'll know why I altered your race personally.]

A churning sensation ran through my whole nerves. I also felt chills down my spine.

[Can you imagine where you get stronger each time you chip the life away from your enemy while still being able to reason and think properly?]

"..."

Wait, was that appropriate for a deity to say such things?

[Listen, Farenna. I'm trying to help you here, okay?]

I knew it. I knew it too well. When someone said they wanted to help you, they also hid something from you. The thoughts of it made me lose my temper.

"But how could you say such things when you're the Goddess of Purity and Chastity!?"

I raised my voice loudly.

[Even a kind Goddess has her limits, you know? I used to keep everything by myself and now I have reached my limit.]

She sounded a little bit sad. I never knew she was like this. The Bona Dea I knew was a kind and serene Goddess without much expression in her face and tone. But after listening to her grief, I realized she was always putting a front to mask her real feelings. At least that was what I thought.

[I'm not blaming you but can you at least listen to me just this once?]

"... I'm sorry?"

[You know what? This puts a lot of pressure on me. No one knows that I'm contacting you now and I have to hide it no matter what.]

"Huh? What do you mean by that?", I raised my body in shock.

[Didn't I tell you I was being confined in my own domain by other deities? They found out I gave you one of my incarnations.]

Wait, I didn't even understand what she was saying the whole time.

[The Romans think that humanity isn't ready for incarnations. Haaahh…]

She sighed so hard.

[So once they knew I gave one to you, they accused me for betrayals or whatevers. I honestly want to see you grow, you know?]

Damn, she was actually talking so much. I felt like I was forced to listen to a girl's ranting. Somehow I could picture her laying her head on a table while making a troubled face. That was kinda cute…

[You're just thinking something weird, aren't you? This is why men are like this…]

Bullseye.

[They also stripped me from my titles and you know what? That actually made me feel relieved. I just can't continue putting up a good girl vibe… Ugh… Now I feel nauseous just by recalling that…]

"I don't know what to say to this…"

[When I said I was disappointed in you, it was actually true. A little.]

"Ehh!?"

[You going ham like that while using my appearance was quite a scene to watch. That was why the other deities blamed me… Ugh…]

"Didn't you say you feel relieved!?"

[I did feel relieved! And that's what makes it worse!]

"Why did you even give me one of your incarnations then!?"

[I didn't know it would turn out like this!]

We bickered for almost an hour after that.

***

[Ahem! Let me continue then.]

She cleared her throat and started explaining again.

[The only way to control your racial traits is by evolving to a higher being, and with the current you, you will only lose your sanity each time you fight.]

"What should I do to control it then?

[Easy. Just don't let them shed any blood.]

What?

[You must level your [Weaponize] skill up until you can make a weapon that can one-shot your target.]

"Okay?"

[And for that sole purpose, a long spear will be the best choice.]

I nodded my head in agreement.