It was only that her reputation had died down after becoming a mother and receding to the backline of the family to raise her child in peace. Yet looking at her now, it seemed as if the tempered edge she possessed had never actually diminished, only been hidden away.
Isabella glanced at everyone calmly before tickling baby Draco's nose, who laughed as he recognized his aunt. Draco did not have his guard up like when he was held by Matteo and the four opposite visibly relaxed, even Dominic, while Lingtian looked distraught.
"I do not have a good impression of you, Clan Leader, and I especially despise you, Madam Lilith," Isabella said suddenly, making the four tense up and Lingtian have a light of hope in his eyes.
"However, I am not stupid like Matteo. Killing infants is not what I came here for and I certainly have no plans to harm my innocent nephew. Not only is he the only one who can save my Gremory, but he is also the hope of our lineage," Isabella added.
Before anyone could relax, Isabella grabbed one of the swords floating beside her and pointed it at Dante and Lilith. "However, I will not relinquish this child until I have my revenge on you two. My foolish husband has already punished his brother, so I don't care about you, Dante."
Isabella then narrowed her eyes. "Rather it is you, Lilith, who must make a sacrifice today if you want baby Draco to return to your hands."
Fyre's face changed as she propped up her sister and was about to argue that Lilith had already been severely wounded by the Primogenitor Giant, and her abilities would never be the same.
However, before she could even speak, Lilith pushed Fyre away and stood upright forcefully, her expression firm as blood leaked from her ears still after the previous wound. She then glanced at Isabella with seriousness and spoke solemnly.
"For what happened to Gremory, no words shall be able to rectify it, so I will use actions instead," Lilith said slowly as she raised her hands and covered them with a blue outline before driving them into her own eye sockets and ripping out her eyeballs.
No one had a chance to stop her because no one expected her to do this. Dominic's face changed to one of shock while Dante closed his eyes with pain and lament. Fyre reacted the strongest, grabbing Lilith's bloodied hands with tears in her eyes, her whole body shaking.
"Sister... why?" Fyre asked deeply.
After all, even if Isabella said so, with Dominic here it was entirely possible to negotiate with the woman. Yet to go so far, not just for Draco's safety but also to atone for Gremory's ailment, was it necessary?
Lilith, despite the pain of taking her own eyes out, smiled. "When my darling Draco was first afflicted with his condition, I was driven near mad from pain, fear, and despair, willing to do anything to save him. In my eyes at the time, there was nothing else that mattered and anyone who treated the issue with not enough gravitas was marked as an enemy in my mind."
Whether it was him, Matteo, or even the entire situation from beginning to end, it seemed that this would have been the inevitable conclusion in the end. If all-out war was so easy to do, they would have long been at it and not mere skirmishes using sub-humans as a shield.
Lilith smiled and turned to Isabella, her ability to find people uncanny since her eyes were gone, but Lilith was well-known for her Telesthesia out of all her psychic abilities. In the previous war, all their on-site intel came from her using her abilities to scan the area, causing many victories and preventing the loss of much life along with Fyre who was extremely strong.
"Use my eyes as a medium to cast the seal." Was all she said, to Isabella it contained much meaning.
She hesitated greatly. When she came here, she wanted revenge and considered nothing else, but she had gotten it right? If so, then why did she not feel satisfied at all, rather feeling petty and disgusting?
She initially pictured that Lilith would try to use morality or some other tactics to try and coerce her into giving Draco back, and she had ways to deal with that. She, however, did not expect Lilith to take responsibility immediately and even go so far as to gouge out her own eyes.
It wasn't even the physical pain of the act, but rather the fact that henceforth, Lilith would never be able to behold her son ever again with her own eyes. Those eyes were, in fact, sent over to be used to seal her son's bloodline so that he would be no different from a normal person for the rest of his life.
However, what about Gremory?
Yet even thinking about this, Isabella felt even more depressed. Lilith had made a grand sacrifice in saving the lineage and preventing more deaths by giving up her own son, yet she was hesitating because she was unwilling to accept that the only thing that could save her daughter was about to be crippled.
In the end, Isabella could only close her eye painfully and perform the sealing in front of everyone, which was forcibly made strict by the threats from Lingtian who was watching, making everyone frown.
Still, the process was carried out. When Lingtian suggested with a crooked smile that he would send the infant out, Fyre stepped forth and took the responsibility on herself, making Lilith feel relieved for there was no one she could trust more.
A lot occurred in the aftermath of this, but it was no longer relevant to the set of memories that Draco had been given by Dominic, as the recollection came to an end at this point.
Within the clan hall of the Lucifer Lineage, Draco opened his eyes, their green glow shining with intensity as he finally saw the whole story for himself.
Now, what was he going to do about it?