“Sybil, I have one question.”
“What is it? Trying to recover in the meantime?”
“You don't seem to understand the situation. You can't kill me. On the other hand, your Mana is constantly decreasing. You know very well which of us will die when that Mana runs out, right? You should be grateful that I'm trying to end this with a conversation.”
Sybil stared at Marco silently.
Indeed, Marco had already completely deactivated his Aura. Of course, he was still regenerating, but there was no point in continuing to cut a guy who wouldn't die anyway
. In fact, as Marco said, she was also worried about her remaining Mana.
“……Fine. What is it?”
“You're showing a completely different appearance from the information I received. I don't think the information could be that outdated, even if it is. There's only a difference of a few months at most. You've grown tremendously in that short period.”
Marco raised his regenerating arm. As if he had intended to do so, he stroked his beard once the regeneration was complete.
“Was there any involvement from Frondier?”
“Is the reason you're so strong now because of Frondier?”
Sybil knew what it meant.
‘The devils didn't have me on their radar. They might have judged my skills based on old standards, but they probably thought I didn't have much to do with Frondier.’
In reality, Sybil and Frondier didn't have that deep of an exchange. Frondier hadn't told her, but Sybil was originally a villain, and thus, Frondier had avoided her.
So Marco was reconfirming. About the relationship between Sybil and Frondier.
The answer she should give was already decided.
‘If he becomes certain that I have a connection with Frondier, I'll become a target for the devils too. That's dangerous.’
So she had to pretend not to know.
Although not as good as Selena, Sybil could act quite well. She was originally someone who used her looks and charm to get what she wanted.
Sybil said with a smirk.
“Thanks to Frondier, I'm here now.”
Sybil didn't lie. She couldn't.
For her own safety, she absolutely had to lie, but…
In the end, she couldn't say that the power she had now had nothing to do with Frondier.
For some reason, Marco frowned as if Sybil's answer was unpleasant.
“Humans who don't lie are disgusting.”
“It's better than a regenerating devil. So what? Did you change your mind?”
“Yes. I was just going to run away, but if you have that much connection with Frondier, I can't leave you behind.”
Slowly, Marco reactivated his Aura. In response, Sybil also took her stance again.
Aura∙Mana Combination
Sybil's blade once again blazed with flames.
As if finding it strange, Marco tilted his head.
“Hoo, flames? If it's not lightning, you won't be able to keep up with my speed.”
“Don't be ridiculous. It's better to burn a bastard like you.”
Sybil said with a provocative smile, but in fact, Marco was right.
To cut Marco down, lightning was better. It was the fastest magic Sybil possessed, and the only strike that Marco couldn't dodge.
However, lightning consumed much more Mana than flames.
‘He's a guy who won't die anyway. It's not about gaining the upper hand, but about delaying my Mana depletion as much as possible.’
If she could just buy some time for someone else to come as backup, that would be the best.
…However, Sybil didn't have high hopes for that possibility. Most of them would be in a similar situation to her. Above all, the possibility itself that someone would come to help her among so many people was low. 𝐑
Yet, Sybil still put on a provocative smile. Even though cold sweat was running down her back, her gaze towards Marco was defiant and fierce.
‘Even if I become a hostage, Frondier won't move because of me alone. He'll make a much colder judgment than if Aten were captured.’
Sybil had strong feelings for Frondier, and she clearly recognized them as affection. It had been that way for a long time.
But during that long time, Frondier had never looked at her.
Sybil envied Elodie. Because she was Frondier's childhood friend. Even though their relationship didn't seem that close, she knew that Frondier trusted Elodie when it really mattered.
She envied Aten. The beautiful pure white beauty, and a princess at that, Aten always followed Frondier, and Frondier always took it for granted that Aten would follow behind him.
She envied Selena. As Frondier's escort, she wasn't usually around, but she was by his side when it mattered. How dejected she had been when Frondier went on a date with Selena to buy her clothes.
To Frondier, I'm not worth becoming a hostage for.
Sybil provoked him. Marco's eyes twitched. Marchosias originally resembled a ‘wolf’. Sybil knew that too, and that's why she could make such a fitting provocation.
[T/N: Mongrel is a mixed/unknown breed dog, so kind of a racial slur to a Wolf ig].
“Indeed, I can't leave you behind.”
Marco raised his hand. From their fight so far, she was certain that Marco didn't have a weapon. Whether it was because he was confident in his Aura or if he was actually hiding a weapon, she didn't know.
Just as their tension reached its peak and they were about to clash…
A devil flew up behind Marco. The devil bowed its head before Marco and then reported something. Its mouth moved, but Sybil couldn't hear the words.
‘Whisper of the Wind!’
Sybil realized that the opponent had activated a soundproofing spell and created a formula to pierce through it.
However, his report must have been short, because after the spell was deactivated, Marco simply…
…uttered a disbelieving question.
Marco closed his mouth and looked at Sybil. A moment of contemplation flashed across his face, and then he spoke to Sybil again.
“Really, the timing is the worst in many ways today.”
“……Hee. You're going to leave me behind?”
“Yes. But I'll remember your courage. That answer, it was impressive.”
With those words, Marco spread his wings and flew away with the devil that had come to report to him.
Sybil considered giving him a parting blow, but ultimately realized it was pointless and relaxed her stance.
As she deactivated ‘Petal’, extreme fatigue washed over her. After the war, she had trained to get used to this technique, but it was still a burden. She could use it for a much longer time than back then, though.
‘Why did he suddenly run away?’
She wasn't sure if it could be called running away, but the situation had definitely changed.
Sybil bit her lip as a sense of unease washed over her.
Right after she deactivated Whisper of the Wind, she had faintly heard it.
The devil seemed to have uttered the word ‘success’.