Blood Lotus spoke in a very quiet voice, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear. Of course, what she didn't know was that four other magical beasts were locked in a nearby room. Each of them was incredibly dangerous, but due to the current situation, they couldn't be let out... that was just how things were.
“Miss Dragon Magical Beast... what exactly is your plan?” Blood Lotus did not look as timid as she had last time, getting straight to the point.
After all, not many humans were willing to associate with magical beasts, as miasma was a deadly threat to humans, comparable to poison gas.
It seemed Blood Lotus hadn't told anyone about the Dragon Magical Beast—meaning Tina herself—being in the palace. One could easily tell just by looking at her expression.
—An expression of helplessness, yet longing.
As long as this remained true, what came next would be much easier.
“Blood Lotus, if I don't know what your problem is, how am I supposed to solve it? In my eyes, you're just a cute little girl, and a Cardinal at that~” Tina said, reaching out to pat the seat beside her. She swept her tail aside, gesturing for the girl to sit next to her.
But Blood Lotus was clearly unwilling to accept, even though she and Black Lotus did not fear the presence of miasma.
She sat on the sofa opposite Tina, watching her with vigilant eyes.
Blood Lotus seemed a bit off today.
Just as Tina had thought, there was no fear on her face right now.
“Let me make this clear first. I don't know about magical beasts, but please don't try to entice me into doing anything. I will never agree.”
“Let's at least establish some basic mutual trust. If you can trust me, the likelihood of me solving your sister's problem will be much higher.”
“You're clearly just someone who was defeated by the Saintess...” Blood Lotus clenched her fists, a hint of hatred actually surfacing in her eyes.
It was as if she were treating the person sitting before her as the culprit—though, in fact, Tina indeed was.
However, Tina now had an idea of what Blood Lotus had been told. Most likely, Sathya had told her something like, “The Dragon Magical Beast can no longer use her power, so there is no need to be afraid.”
“Then just call me Tina. That's my name. I used to be a student at the Holy Academy too~”
“A student... that place only breeds puppets. You should feel sorrow for Ulrich's death. At least she tried to resist.”
“Mm-hmm, I really was quite sad.”
Tina said with a smile, her calm composure making Blood Lotus feel even more tense.
But soon, Blood Lotus got straight to the point instead of dragging things out.
“Have you ever heard of cultists? Also known as... the Abyss Order.”
“Please go on.”
“Black Lotus and I both came from that place. It's an organization commonly referred to as a cult. That was I don't know how many years ago.”
The scenes of that time seemed to play out before Blood Lotus's eyes again.
“They were a bunch of scumbags who committed every imaginable evil. They used those methods to brainwash commoners, and then selected many of them for sacrifice. On the surface, the sacrificed people died, but they were actually taken away and sent to a laboratory...”
“A laboratory?”
“Yes, the kind of laboratory specifically used for human experimentation. Up until then, there hadn't been a single success.”
Tina recalled the memories she had seen in Black Lotus's mind.
Blood Lotus's words quickly confirmed this. “It was an inhumane experiment. I don't mind telling you. You might think humans are foolish, but those people actually achieved some results... and that was making humans adapt to chaos energy.”
“Mhm,” Tina nodded, gesturing for her to continue.
“But out of thousands of people, only three succeeded in the end.”
“Is that so? I thought only you and Black Lotus were special. There is indeed something in your bodies that humans don't normally have.”
At this point, Blood Lotus stared at Tina with vigilant eyes and let out a long sigh.
“In the end, only Sister Black Lotus and I were left... The experiment succeeded because our internal organs now not only generate life energy and gather magic power, but also gather chaos energy. We can't actually use those things, so Sister Black Lotus and I would often find a time to 'release' this energy.”
“We would always find a specialized absorption device, store the chaos energy inside it, and then find a way to destroy it. But last time...”
For the first time, hesitation and fear appeared in Blood Lotus's eyes.
“This time, she didn't use the device. She directly absorbed the chaos energy inside my body. Her behavior like that...”
“Was just like a magical beast, right?” Tina smiled.
It took a long time for Blood Lotus to calm down before she raised her head and looked into Tina's eyes. “Yes, Dragon Magical Beast. My sister might have... evolved. I think that's the right way to describe it.”
“Isn't that good news?”
“For you magical beasts, of course it is!” Blood Lotus's voice suddenly grew louder as she spoke in anger, but her pride quickly vanished, replaced by sorrow. “How could my sister turn into something as impure as a magical beast? It's impossible. But... I don't know what to do.”
“I feel like my sister is drifting further and further away from me. I don't know, I really don't know what to do anymore...”
As she spoke, she covered her face again, her petite body trembling as tears flowed.
“Why are you afraid?” Tina asked.
“We've lived together for so long. I can't live without her...”
“So you've been actively distanced by her. How pitiful.”
“...”
At this point, Blood Lotus's tears subsided quite a bit.
She wiped her tears and did not continue rambling, seemingly hesitating.
Tina had said that on purpose.
Because in reality, it was Blood Lotus who had actively distanced herself from her sister after seeing her abnormal state.
The inseparable duo had suddenly parted ways, and the frightened younger sister felt even more responsible for her own actions.
“Even though your sister complained to me, she didn't cry, you know.”
“Then why should I...”
Thinking of this, Blood Lotus began wiping her tears again.
Tina gave her some time to cry. After all, there were some things she needed to figure out on her own.
She just had to wait quietly.
Come to think of it, did Sathya let this idiot in just so I could comfort her?
But right then, a voice rang out from within her heart once more.
【Master Host~ This young girl is in a lot of pain.】
【Just like Krulu, they are both suffering~】
【Why not grant them salvation?】
The strange System had appeared again.
But this time, Tina simply touched her own horns, and the annoying voice vanished completely.
Come to think of it, she had similar thoughts herself.
Or rather, this so-called System... seemed to share her thoughts most of the time.
What on earth was it?
Rate on N.U.
