"Mmph!"

Ciel's eyes bulge as she struggles to push me away, but with both of our hands occupied, there is no use.

She can't help but swallow the blood I am pouring down her throat.

My blood.

The same one that was poisoned by the Cadre 6 Magivore from earlier.

Amidst our struggle, she finally leans away, kicking me with her long legs and then flipping in the air.

She somersaults and swiftly evades my grasp. I try to pursue, but the overwhelming weakness stemming from poisoning and blood loss assails me.

I can only watch as she creates distance from me.

Her blade is still lodged in my flesh, but I make no effort to pull it out. Doing so would only open another wound, making me lose blood even faster.

"You bastard… What did you do that for?!"

Ciel grits her teeth as she glares at me.

For some strange reason, her cheeks turn pink, and her composure completely shatters.

"Since I've tasted you before… It's only right that you do the same, isn't that right, Ciel?" I double down, laughing merrily at the whole thing despite my excruciating pain.

"S-shut up!"

"Hehe…" I point my blade at her, almost staggering while laughing with sheer intensity.

"Now that you've ingested my blood, which is riddled with poison… we are in the same boat."

"So?" Ciel raises her brow. "Do you think I'll make a trade with you? Unlike you, I don't mind sacrificing my life to protect my people. Even if you and I die here today, I will have no regrets!"

I smile, shaking my head.

This is just like Ciel… so selfless and caring for people.

One could call it her greatest quality.

This devotion is what caused her to launch an attack on my comrades and me, tricking me and even giving up her body to stall for a perfect opportunity.

There's nothing she won't do for her people.

"Your loyalty to this Sanctuary is certainly your biggest strength, Ciel… but it is also your greatest weakness."

The moment I say this, her eyes narrow.

Her complexion pales, and her body begins to tremble. Before long, she coughs up blood and also falls to her knees.

"W-what is happening…?"

Her look of surprise tells me that she didn't expect to be affected by the Crimson Direwolf Emperor's poison.

At least… not so quickly.

I understand.

She was bonded to the beast, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she built up tolerance to its venom.

In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if she told me she was completely immune. I just needed her to believe that was my intention.

Even if she had used Prophecy to peer some seconds into the future, she would only see that I intended to poison her with the Cadre 6 Magivore's venom.

This would allow her to let her guard down and let the act take place, especially since she would inflict a near-fatal injury on me in return.

"You were using Prophecy in short bursts throughout our fight, weren't you? How else were you able to perfectly keep up with me and offer the best counter in every instance—and without training, for that matter."

The Vey'lithars are a peaceful race.

They have been segregated from the outside world for so long and rely on the protection of Magivores that I doubt their acumen for combat has been developed at all.

Hence, there's no way they learned Combat Arts or Martial Techniques.

Even if the chosen candidate for Leviathan is an exception, and Ciel indeed trained in combat by the will of her ancestors, there's no way she could react so perfectly to my Superior Aditi Martial Technique with its complex Cycles and multiple feints hidden inside.

No… she had to know them beforehand.

But if she had seen all my moves ahead of time, it wouldn't account for all the variations I would perform with every counter she made to each move.

For example…

If she had just used Prophecy to see how I would attack her for the next hour, it wouldn't be efficient.

Because the moment she starts countering my moves one minute into the fight, I will change my patterns immediately.

This will create another future which she has yet to perceive with her Conception.

But—

'By peering into the future a few seconds, at most a minute, at a time, she can take account of every little change and keep altering her reactions so they match mine.' I smile to myself after concluding my analysis.

Why is all of this relevant?

Because I had to rely on those short bursts of future sight to trick Ciel about her safety.

She thought the poison I was going to feed her was simply the Cadre 6 Magivore poison. That's why she let her guard down and even let it happen.

But… It's more than that.

"Black Heart Vow…" I let out a small chuckle. "Does that name ring a bell to you?"

Ciel glares at me, confused, as her face grows even paler. Beads of sweat continue to dot her features as she crouches, her breathing growing more and more ragged.

"What the hell… is that…?" She mutters.

"Figures you don't know about it. It's a special poison that the Dark Guild uses. As the manager of the Randalorion Kingdom Branch, I was given a supply of the stuff to use on those I deem fit."

Ciel's face grows paler as she stares blankly.

She still doesn't understand.

"Although it's called a poison, the true nature of Black Heart Vow is a Potion. It follows a set of commands and has mystical effects on the body once ingested. If anyone disobeys the rule of the commanding individual, they suffer the poisonous effects and die not too long after. I'm actually shocked that you are still hanging on despite the poison's lethality, but I guess it must be because of your different anatomy or resistance to poison."

"So why… aren't you being affected by the poison?" She mutters to me. "I never saw you take anything of the sort when you were in here, which means you took it before stepping into the Sanctuary."

I smile and nod. "Correct. It was my last insurance against you. I also had another vial among the Potions I brought with me, but that attack from your mutt destroyed everything."

"Y-you haven't answered… my question…"

"Ah, you mean why it's not effective on me? Well, my manager status means I have been given the right to control the poison in the Potion. You see, I already took another Potion that allows me to give orders to those who have ingested the Potion, and disobedience means the poison activates. I don't even have to outright mention the order to the receiver, and that's because the Potions within us communicate my intention. I can also stop the Potion's poison from spreading through your body, but you and I both know I won't do that. Hehe… your life is essentially in my hands."

"Y-you bastard…!"

I laugh bitterly, my tired gaze resting on her.

Although I have said all of these big words, it's not like I'm faring much better than Ciel.

After all, the Magivore's poison is also spreading through my body, and I have lost a lot of blood as well.

I may die soon.

But Ciel will definitely die before I do.

So, in a sense… This is my victory.

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