-This chapter is written using Catherine's POV-
I can never find anything in this place...
Hmph... Why does it have to be so unnecessarily big?
When I ruled my own castle, I could tolerate such things.
I didn't have any obligations to someone else, so I could remain in the throne room and have others serve me.
The number of rooms I had to navigate through a day was quite low.
However, now that I can't afford to keep others waiting, all these rooms seem to do is get in my way.
It truly bothers me to no end...
Lapis: "Ohh~ A vampire's bloodlust! Good thing I came prepared!"
Catherine: "Hm? What's that supposed to-"
Upon the snap of her fingers, an immense concentration of mana left her body.
I was worried for a moment, but thankfully, it wasn't directed at me, just the area around her.
As for all that mana's purpose, well... It was to destroy a spell, more specifically, an illusion she herself had cast.
A waste to be sure, but she seemed to place far more importance on the theatrics.
Lapis: "I never saw Cathy eating, so I arranged the ultimate meal!"
Once the illusion broke, a woman appeared where before there was only empty space.
Catherine: "I'm not particularly hungry... And humans hardly make for a good snack..."
Not to mention, I'd like to avoid being in her debt as much as possible.
Lapis: "Silly... Of course I didn't bring a normal human! This one is a legendary hero! From one of my favorite worlds to boot! I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it~"
...A hero...
She certainly didn't look like one.
Throughout the years, many of such came to claim my head. Although a troublesome bunch, battling them was always entertaining.
They all shared this incomparable determination. Even against despair itself and impossible odds... They tend to push ahead of everyone.
Their bravery inspires even their enemies, and their will cannot be broken.
The only thing I know to rival their determination is a Devil's stubbornness.
When challenged, both will fight until their last breath.
Thanks to that, I had never seen a hero truly defeated.
Until now.
The girl standing in front of me... There wasn't even the faintest trace of hope in her eyes.
If she was truly a hero, it was the first broken one I have ever seen.
Connecting this image to what I've always seen of heroes felt wrong. This was completely out of place.
However, it would be unfair of me to expect otherwise.
Surrounded by beings who grow stronger by absorbing the power of entire worlds every day throughout their lives...
Without any limbs...
In a completely unknown world...
I can only imagine how much she must've suffered until today...
To such a poor thing... I suppose death would be an act of kindness.
Lapis: "There you go!"
Hah...
Unfortunately, I became part of her show.
I suppose it must be truly entertaining for her. I myself never expect to return to such a savage way of drinking blood after becoming a God.
Even back then, I had already outgrown such necessities.
I'd only do something like this if it was a matter of survival...
Especially with such delectable blood.
So hot and pure... Strong...
Every sip feels divine, the flavor invades my mouth like nothing else has ever done...
How I wish I could enjoy it properly...
Lapis: "Did you like it? Am I forgiven? Will you stop avoiding me now? Please?~"
Catherine: "Yes..."
Oh...
For a second, I was intoxicated by it.
With my current standing, this shouldn't be possible.
I drained her completely dry in seconds... I even tasted the skin...
How barbaric...
But the worst was agreeing with Lapis.
I hope she doesn't think this is a promise. I have no desire to be close to her.
No matter how she tries to approach me, I know better than to trust this woman.
Lapis: "And you two? Didn't you bring anything for Cathy?"
Felix: "...Why should we?"
Lapis: "You know why! For cheating! Teaming up against her! Being in cahoots!"
Julie: "Ah... S-sorry Miss Catherine..."
...The two Gods who have ascended together, Felix and Julie... It was pretty obvious they wouldn't attack each other.
However, I'd appreciate it if they at least focused on Lapis' world instead of mine.
Lapis specified a bunch of reasons, which she wasn't bothering to do for most deaths.
Her list included death by fire...
Death by suffocation...
Death by... poison...
And...
Felix: "What do you mean by 'Death by side effects'?"
Lapis: "Hm... Well, it's hard to explain... You certainly know those very strong spells, right? The ones that even if you evade, can sometimes destroy the body from within."
Julie: "Eh? But that's... Not possible for their levels... R-Right...?"
Lapis: "It shouldn't be. Unless they somehow managed to create a system that used the mana of hundreds of thousands... However, you can see for yourselves."
She grabbed a small quartz tablet.
Images started to appear in it. We were seeing through the eyes of a weapons merchant, traveling to a port city to supply another invasion.
Then, he saw a few black spots in the sky.
The next moment, a gigantic explosion destroyed everything in sight.
...Lapis wasn't lying.
The magic barrier didn't do anything. It was destroyed almost instantly.
The ships, the port, the castle, and the walls... Everything was pulverized.
Including the people... Even the warriors with high levels that she brought died without putting up a fight.
As for the merchant whose eyes we were seeing from... Even though he had yet to reach the city, moments after the explosion, his body was launched away with incredible power.
His skin burned completely, and even his bones seemed to have suffered as well.
He died without even reaching the city.
However, it was very intriguing.
Even if they had someone at level 100. With a powerful Gift... And being pushed to their limits...
I find it hard to believe they would be capable of doing something like that.
Their world is simply not versed enough in the ways of magic. They lack spells, control, and everything else.
A blast like that... Capable of reaching so far away...
I couldn't imagine anyone in that world being capable of doing something like that.
It was likely that magic wasn't responsible for this.
Lapis: "And that's not all. The sudden twist made me super interested, so I tried to look at some people close to the cities... However, I couldn't take the eyes of anyone for too long..."
She decided to show us a few examples...
And suddenly, it made sense why she slipped up earlier.
Why she was genuinely happy.
And why she seemed to like me a little bit more now.
The hero she brought... It was not meant as an apology gift.
It was congratulatory.
She was happy with what she saw...
And she probably wanted to see even more of it...
It's probably the reason why she was being so meticulous.
As for me...
Julie: "Ugh..."
I shared Julie's reaction.
It was an utterly disgusting sight.
I couldn't bear to look at it for long.
I didn't want to imagine the same fate.
Dying like that... It would be horrible.
But still... I couldn't help but get a little excited.
So this was the power they were hiding, huh?
Lapis: "Isn't it amazing? I knew Cathy had a trick up her sleeve, but I wasn't expecting this!"
Catherine: "Yeah..."
She was keeping an eye on me...
I imagined this might have been the case since she was quite forceful with her approach, but thankfully, it seems like her opinion of me has genuinely changed a little after this.
It would've been a good thing before, but since I already decided to get as far away from her as possible, it's just more trouble.
I suppose I should have expected this from that world.
They don't give me anything without caveats...
However, this time... Good job, little ones.
Please, be sure to show me even more of your pathetic, disgusting selves.
Prove your usefulness, and I'll be sure to use you properly from now on.
Lapis: "A vampire's bloodlust! Was it not enough? Do you feel like going for another meal?"
With the snap of her finger, dozens of people appeared in the room.
Their blood felt as strong as the girl from before...
Catherine: "...I'll bring wine and glass."
I hate that this place is so unnecessarily big.
My appetite had grown so much that every second felt like an eternity.
Curse this girl... She should've started with this show instead.