Ishid was laughing his lungs out seeing the pale face of Evelyn and the angry look of the heir of the Emsworth Duchy, Allan.

"I want to go easy on you, Lady Evelyn but… I think it would be better to push you further."

​​

The goal of Ishid is to make Evelyn reach her limit and awaken her other blood. Her demon blood.

So, he raised both of his arms this time. And the mana gathering above them was much more condense and powerful than the first dark spears that came from the magic circle.

"Ugh…"

Evelyn whose knees have given up and is slumped on the floor heard about what Ishid said. She also feels the mana gathering again at the spot that the magic circle just disappeared earlier.

'Ugh… How much mana does he have?!' She complained to herself.

Swoosh!

Whoosh!

Evelyn raised her limp hand.

"Ugghh!!"

A barrier that was much wider than what she did in the previous attack was placed again but this time, it was concentrated to herself and Allan.

However, Allan seems to have a different opinion than her.

"Don't go…"

Evelyn held her brother's pants and tried to persuade him not to attack Ishid. She knew full well that her brother would not stand watching a person vomiting blood to sacrifice more than her capacity.

But seeing the hands of his sister clinging to him with blood stains was more than enough for Allan to do something.

With a determined face, Allan slowly leaned in and patted his sister's head. The pat feels like he was reassuring his sister that everything would be fine.

Evelyn could only silently watch as she saw her brother walk away and draw his sword.

Shing!

The hand that was clinging to him, slowly let go.

"No… Allan!"

Evelyn could only watch her brother run towards Ishid.

"No… please"

She begged, recalling the memories of her cruel fast. But then, the magic circle activated which garnered her attention.

Looking up, her blurry vision and tired self could only prepare to defend. So, again, she conditioned herself to strengthen her barrier even if she vomited blood.

"Ugh… Ppuuuk"

Blood stains the ground while Evelyn couldn't even wipe the red liquid in the corner of her mouth because of the sudden energy that she felt from the magic circle.

Thud!

Swoosh!

Crash!

Dark thunder rains down from the above without a moment's notice and Evelyn was left to defend for herself.

"Aaahhh!!!"

She poured all the mana that she could get from her body. This time, she knew that after this, she would be unconscious.

Actually, even right now, Evelyn felt her whole body giving up but the sense of protecting her brother who was fighting with Ishid is much stronger.

Bang!

"Ack!"

Crash!

"Ugh!"

Thud!

"Ahh!"

Evelyn almost hit her body to the ground as the severity of the attack was on another scale. She saw her barrier show crack and she knew that it would not last.

Crack!

The barrier didn't last and Evelyn lied on the ground.

"Evelyn…!"

Her brother, Allan, ran to her while he and Ishid were still fighting.

"No…" Evelyn mumbled.

Allan who saw the next lightning bolt rain down to where Evelyn is lying was more worried than his well being.

And at that moment, Evelyn's sunset eyes dyed red because of the mana shortage in her body.

Whoosh!

It was the last wave of Ishid's attack. So, Evelyn kind of felt relieved that she endured that last attack. Though, she was confused if her barrier lasted because she heard a crack sound. But because her mind was already tired from everything, thinking about the things that happened already made Evelyn ignore it all. Besides, she felt that her whole body and consciousness would leave her at any moment.

Evelyn, who blinked for a moment, saw blood rain down from above which made her think that it must come from herself.

"Ugh… Puuk!"

However, the voice that she heard was different from what she expected.

The next thing she knew, a body slumped on the floor with a loud bang.

Evelyn, whose body was tired all over and her eyes that couldn't help but to be heavily closed, quickly opened as soon as she saw the body that just fell on the ground. The shock in her eyes and the scene in front of her made her fatigue in her body ignored.

It was Allan. His white uniform became soaked with blood as his back was full of stabs that came from the dark magic of Ishid.

"Huh?"

As if it was all an illusion, Evelyn was confused if what she was seeing right now was real or just a ploy that Ishid made for him.

Whatever it might be, it's a nightmare that she doesn't want to participate in.

"...eve, are you… ugh… alright?"

But the struggles in Allan's voice, and the hot air that came from his mouth as he tried to speak for Evelyn made her consciousness wake.

"Allan…?"

Still, Evelyn doesn't want to believe it.

Until the moment that her brother, Allan, reached out for her face. The warmth in his hands spread across her face along with the smell of blood.

Allan tears up as he sees his worried sister's eyes. He can't believe that the sister he bullied for as long as he remembers still has compassion for him.

"I'm sorry… I-I always wanted to…"

Allan vomited blood as he tried to tell his sister what he always wanted to say to her.

"Wh- what is it, Allan?"

Evelyn, now aware of the situation that her brother was in, became emotional as she tried to talk with her brother trying to make him stay awake for her.

"I-I'll call for help… Please, Allan, just stay with me."

"...Ugh! Eve… please he-hear me out..."

"No! I won't hear you out! I will after you get treatment! I-I'll call for the medics! Father was accompanied by them earlier!"

Evelyn shouted her lungs through her tears. She knew what Allan was trying to tell her but she would rather call for people that would help her brother.

"Wait here… Allan!"

"...Eve… stay with me. Please!"

Evelyn still tried to stand up but because her body had reached its limits, once she stood up, she quickly fell down to her knees.

"Why…! Get up! Get up! Please!!!"

She punched her legs with her little energy left but still, her body won't listen to her. Her voice also gets weaker as her throat runs dry.

"... Eve… ugh! I-I always wanted to… puuuk!"

Allan vomited blood again, and this time, the blood from his back was oozing with red liquid that made a pool in the ground.

"Please, Allan. Not now. I can't… don't do this to me, please."

Evelyn pleaded, her mind stopped working after she got shocked at the sudden turn of events but Allan was determined to tell her what he always wanted to say.

"...I'm sorry for everything… I was a bad brother to you. I don't even deserve to be called a brother."

"Don't apologize like this!!! Who told you to save me?! You should have fought diligently! Why do you need to save me?!!"

Allan, wiped down the tears that came from Evelyn. Seeing her like this, she was bloody messed and Allan couldn't help but to feel guilty.

He knew that he was taking advantage of the situation, but Allan thought that he would not be able to say this again if not for now.

"I'm sorry… I was not there again. You face everything by yourself again this time…"

Allan puked a lot of blood, and this time, his face was paler than earlier. And the light in his sunset eyes was getting dim.

Evelyn was now bawling her eyes out. She thought that she still hated Allan but now that she learned that

"Can… I request something, Eve…?"

"I'll do anything… Just please, stay with me Allan! Please!"

"Can you call me brother again?"

With tears in her eyes, Evelyn opened her mouth and talked softly.

"Brother… Please don't do this to me."

Allan smiled softly and genuinely. Hearing what she said made him realize something.

"I-I'm glad I got here in time. Thank you… thank you for becoming my sister…"

With that, Allan's last breath was heard by Evelyn.

"No… No! Not again! Allan! Please! Don't leave me like mom! No!!!"

However Evelyn pleaded, her words didn't reach him.

***

Duke Keene arrived with her light legion knights at the center plaza after they fought a swarm of monsters that appeared out of nowhere.

It seems it was summoned and as soon as they finished their work, he immediately left to help her daughter when he felt a mana that sent him shivers.

His red eyes opened wide.

"Aaaaahhh!"

A voice too familiar to him was heard screaming. The despair in her cry made Duke Keene halt in his tracks.

"Gasp!" The Knights' shocked reaction seems to wake Duke Keene who belatedly opened his mouth as if to confirm.

"Eve… lyn?"

Duke Keene's oldest daughter was up in the air with a dark aura surrounding her. The pupil in her eyes was nowhere to be seen as all the whites were visible. It seems to be a berserk happening to his daughter.

"Tsk! Evelyn!!!"

He didn't know what was happening and could only click his tongue, it was something that he only heard before, but never saw in person. It is the moment when the person loses his/her reasoning and the mana in her/his body is already depleted so, the life force will be burned and turned into a mana in exchange.

"I need to stop this!"

The mana that she's leaking out was so heavy and dark that Duke Keene almost got suffocated from his daughter's mana.

Then, he noticed something different. The silver blue hair that was a symbol of the Emsworth family was nowhere to be found as if the black color that she inherited from her mother seems to have swallowed the remaining color in her hair.

That's when Duke Keene noticed a color similar to his hair lying on the ground. His crimson eyes shook and lost their focus. He could only blindly run towards the body that was soaked in blood.

"...Allan?! Allan! Medic!"

Duke Keene held Allan in his arms as he tried to shake him off to wake him up. But as if his dream shattered, Allan was unresponsive and Evelyn was still up in the air losing herself.

"He..hehahaha!"

Then Duke Keene heard the voice that he hated the most for the past days.

"Ahahaha!!! That's right! Lose your senses! Awaken your demon blood! Ha-hahaha!"

Ishid was gladly cheering for Evelyn's demon evolution.

Duke Keene then looked up.

"What… should I do, Monica?!"