Seeing the blood-red Cross Sword, Margaret did not show any fear; instead, she continued to sneer.
She mocked Rosalia’s immaturity—even after twenty thousand years, Rosalia was still so easily provoked by her, always revealing such helpless fury.
What Margaret enjoyed most was seeing others show that very expression.
Such emotions and expressions were the most delicious nourishment for her otherwise boring life.
“Do you still remember what I told you back when we invoked our bloodlines and identities with that forbidden spell?”
“With your hot-headed nature, even if you achieve immortality, you might never get the heart of the one you desire.”
“You spent two thousand years trying to keep that person by your side forever, yet all you got was to witness her death hundreds of times.”
“Burned at the stake by the Church, embracing the Holy Light to commit suicide, using her powers to hide in a place you could never find—only for you to discover nothing but a shriveled corpse when you finally caught up…”
“You tried so many times. Honestly, you’d have been better off ignoring Lyle altogether, letting him live as an ordinary human. He’d just be a puppet, manipulated by others, but at least he could have accompanied you to the end.”
Margaret pinched the Cross Sword pressed against her throat between her index finger and thumb.
Faint golden light glimmered between her fingers, and with a slight force, the Cross Sword dissolved into droplets of blood, falling onto the dark green grass, staining it a brilliant red.
“Shut up!”
In that instant, Rosalia reverted to a primal beast’s posture, her hoarse roar like a predator’s snarl. The hand that once gave Liliya comfort now became a weapon, gripping Margaret’s neck.
The power of a blood clan originator lifted the girl, who had reincarnated countless times, into the air, her toes suspended above the steady ground.
But Margaret showed not the slightest hint of fear. She simply kept her mocking smile, looking at Rosalia and uttering words sharp enough to make Rosalia abandon everything in that moment.
“If you don’t want to bring Liliya back from the Church, then by all means—kill me right now.”
Rosalia felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head, washing away all her anger in an instant.
She stared silently at the girl who had exchanged identities with her two thousand years ago, then let go of her hand.
Two thousand years ago, Rosalia had not been a blood clan originator. Back then, the originator’s name was Margaret.
And she… was just an ordinary girl, swept up in disaster, saved by a silver-tongued stranger from another world. They survived a bitter, freezing winter together.
After reaching a big city, they caught the attention of the Church—one becoming the Saintess, the other the Sword Saint.
***
Later, history recorded it thus:
The fallen Saintess summoned the vile vampires. Overnight, the headquarters of the Church became their feast. A blood-red moon hung over the night sky for three days.
The faith in the True God was shaken. At last, the entire city prayed as one, summoning an Archangel to drive away the fiends.
The Church’s strength waned as a result, unable to protect the world. The Abyssal Fiends seized the opportunity to launch a massive assault on the human realm.
“You’d better say something useful.”
Margaret, sprawled on the ground, paid no mind to the bruises on her neck. This body was the cheapest avatar she owned; she had hundreds more stored away, ready to be replaced at any time.
She rose unhurriedly, straightening her clothes with elegance. In that moment, she seemed more like a noble than Rosalia herself.
“I’ve told you before—human souls aren’t meant to last for millennia. After a thousand years, your soul will either become numb, Margaret didn’t finish her sentence, for she sensed the killing intent Rosalia could no longer hide.”
The teasing could only end here.
She couldn’t risk missing out on something more interesting because of her own mischief.
“All right, then let me ask you something. Do you know why, even though Lyle has entered the Soul River so many times and every soul you fabricated for her is reset each time, she always ends up joining the Church?”
In this life, just like her first, Liliya was a Sword Saint. In her previous life, she had been an Archbishop. Before that, merely an ordinary priest.
Before that, an inconspicuous missionary…
Every life was different, but in each one, before Rosalia could find her, she would always become a member of the Church, branded with the Soul Brand.
“Because Liliya’s Soul Brand is the most special of all.”
If Liliya left in the normal way, the Soul Brand would be too far away, separated by two worlds, to take effect.
But Rosalia had bound Liliya to this world again and again, so the Soul Brand activated every time.
Rosalia had thoroughly investigated this in her first thousand years.
If that was all Margaret wanted to say, then Rosalia felt she could kill Margaret on the spot.
“Don’t let your killing intent get the better of you.”
Margaret chuckled lightly.
“So why is the Soul Brand so special? Even you can barely erase it.”
That was the true key today.
“Do you know, when the first Church discovered Lyle’s uniqueness, they sliced off a piece of her soul to use for control.”
The Church.
“Who has it?”
Rosalia was no fool; she already understood what Margaret meant.
Because that soul fragment still existed, the Church’s Soul Brand was still active after two thousand years, still drawing Liliya back.
This matter was probably known to only a handful within the Church.
The blood moon two thousand years ago had annihilated almost all of the Church’s high-ranking members. Very few had survived.
“I don’t know how many fragments there are. With my current clearance, I can’t find out, but there’s one thing I do know.”
“In three days, an Archbishop will be coming to Rone Town to perform a blessing and purification ceremony. To draw out that soul fragment, Liliya herself must be present.”
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“You want me to take Liliya outside?”
Rosalia’s face turned icy cold.
In this life, she had no desire to let Liliya leave the City of Evernight, not even to step outside this castle.
She wanted to keep Liliya locked forever in the cage she’d built, singing only for her for a lifetime.
Once Liliya left the City of Evernight and encountered humans, there would be too many unpredictable variables.
“Do as you wish.”
Margaret had no intention of pressing the matter.
She knew that even if she spoke a lie, Rosalia—the thousand-year madwoman—would agree to it.
What had supported her all this time was Liliya alone.
When a madwoman’s only support is threatened, she can destroy the world.