A few days ago…

——

After the war with the cadets from the Bastion of the Somarian Pride a few days ago, things had begun to settle in the Grove.

It was during this time that Celeste went up to Levi. She found him eating a crust of bread outside a shelter in the barracks. Without a word of warning, she hit his food away, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him up.

"Tell me it's a lie!" she yelled.

"Huh? Wh… what is this? Have you gone nuts?" Levi stammered.

Celeste tightened her grip. "Did you guys really sell off Cedric to the cold merchants of the Royal Arena?"

"Hey, now, wait a minute…" Levi tried to pull her hands off.

"Answer me!"

At that moment, Levi's expression shifted, and a grin began to spread across his face. Then he muttered, "So he told you what happened, huh?"

A low, mocking laugh began to escape him. "Well, yes, we did. It sucks, you know? The bastard should have died, but for some reason, he's…"

He was still talking when Celeste punched him in the face. Levi's eyes widened as he crashed down. Before he could even register the pain or wipe the blood from his lip, she was on him again, and her eyes were burning with rage. She punched him, again and again.

Levi clenched his teeth and tried to free himself from her, but he couldn't. Of course, despite her delicate appearance, her level was higher than his, so it was no wonder that he was completely pinned.

Still, Levi's hand desperately tapped the ground beside them until his fingers wrapped around the bottle of beer he had been drinking earlier. He swung it with all his might and smashed it on her head.

Celeste winced as the glass shattered, and in that brief window, Levi kicked her in the gut. When she doubled over in pain, he stood and kicked her again in the face, causing her to slide across the dirt.

"You know what?" Levi yelled, pointing an angry finger at her. "I've had enough of your bullshit. Cedric, Cedric, Cedric! Is that all you ever think about? Why the hell are you so fixated on that bastard!"

He wiped the blood from his own mouth and his voice rose to a frantic, frustrated pitch. "That bastard is a curse to the Martini name and does not deserve to bear it. Why can't you see that, huh?! Why are you so blinded by your obsession! So much so that you are even willing to let the family treat you the same way they treat him! It's stupid! It's so fucken stupid!"

Levi stepped closer to her. "You want to hear the truth?" His voice dropped an octave. "Yes. I wish the bastard would just drop dead in some ditch and stay there. Believe me when I say that if I'm given the chance, I will not hesitate. I will kill that bastard myself."

For a moment, it was silent between them. Celeste did not speak. In fact, she had not gotten up from the ground and was still lying in the same position where she had fallen.

Levi arched a brow in confusion, and after a few more seconds spoke. "Sister?"

When he did not get a reply, he stepped a bit closer and that was when he could see blood seeping out from beneath her chest.

"Huh?"

Using his leg, he immediately nudged her over and that was when he could see that a small dagger was protruding from her chest.

…She was dead.

Levi's eyes widened, and he took a step back, stammering.

"Wh… what? She killed herself?"

He couldn't believe it. He knew how much his sister was afraid of taking her own life. But now, she killed herself? Just like that?

For a few brief seconds, he stood there, stunned. Then, his shock was replaced by pure panic. Celeste killing herself to activate her bonded ability meant that she really planned on killing him. Especially with the amount of rage she had shown just moments before. If he did not use his own bonded ability immediately, he really was going to die by her hand.

He looked toward his shelter and yelled in urgency. "Ifrit!"

Ifrit, who had been sleeping inside the tent, suddenly woke, and as he exited the tent, he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Ugh… I thought I told you to just let me sleep for a few..."

Levi cut him off, his voice trembling with terror. "Hurry and get over here! Or I'm going to die!"

Ifrit stopped mid-yawn, his gaze finally dropping to the blood-stained dirt and Celeste's motionless body.

"Fuck!"

Ifrit hurried over to Levi and, using one hand, grabbed his shoulder from the back. "Are you ready?" he asked, winding his other arm back.

Levi replied, "Just do it already."

In the next instant, Ifrit plunged his arm into Levi's chest and pulled out his heart. The boy coughed up a spray of blood as he dropped onto his knees, dead.

Just like that, both siblings lay lifeless. For a moment, the only noises were the distant murmurs of the cadets nearby. They had been watching, thinking the scene was nothing more than a common squabble between siblings, only to see it turn into a double suicide.

Then, Celeste's body suddenly caught on fire. Her form began to twist and elongate, the bones snapping and resetting with a sickening crunch, until the towering figure of a demon stood over Levi's dead body.

She reached out and grabbed Levi's body, then threw it effortlessly into a nearby shelter. The body crashed into the wooden building, and the impact splintered the supports, caving in the roof.

Celeste then reared back and let out a terrifying roar that drew the attention of even more cadets.

But then, the shelter into which she had thrown Levi suddenly exploded in flames, and from those flames, the massive claws of a creature emerged first. Then, its entire form slowly loomed out from the wreckage.

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