Duchess Seraphina swiftly turned around.
Varian raised a brow at the drastic changes in her appearance in a short span of six months.
The old lady's sparse gray had fallen further, almost showing her scalp. The sagging blue skin had grown even more loose and lifeless, like the bark of a dying tree and her eyes were no longer as sharp as they once were.
Something inside her died.
"Y-You…are you really…" Seraphina's eyes watered and she sniffed back her tears. "Is this an illusion before my death?"
Varian opened his mouth in surprise and rubbed his forehead, as he shook his head. In an amused tone, he said. "If you're that happy to see me, you shouldn't have tried to kill me. Your granddaughter wouldn't have died."
"Xeola! Ahhh, my Xeola! The little girl! Xeola!!!" Like she had gone mad, Seraphina called out her dead granddaughter's name and sobbed.
"Cry me a river." Varian crossed his arms with an unforgiving face, not feeling the slightest guilt for making an old lady cry by killing her granddaughter.
If the positions were reversed, not only would Seraphina not feel any guilt, she would not even consider her action as wrong. No, she would've long forgotten Varian.
"You've come to court death, my boy."
A hand broke through layers of space and passed through Varian's chest. But no blood was spilled. Not even a drop.
Tap! Tap!
A hand tapped on Archduke Micheal's shoulder. With a stiff expression, he turned around.
What greeted him was a fist that magnified so quickly that he wasn't able to dodge.
Boom!
The world in his vision spun around and then something hard struck him in the abdomen.
A foot? A knee?
Whatever it was, Micheal was clutching his stomach and frothing, tears spilling out of his eyes and wetting his cheeks.
"Arghh! Arghh! Aaaa!"
Were these screams his?
No, no, it couldn't be!
He, Archduke Micheal, a strong high rank 9, the pillar of Pala couldn't possibly make such pathetic noises. Definitely not due to a weakling he could casually swat into dea—
"Gaaaa!"
When his arm was twisted back and a strong kick landed on his palm, Micheal realized he was indeed screaming loudly.
The flowing sweat that drenched his armor shirt, the shivering of his body under the horrendous pain and the undeniable fear that had risen.
All the defenses he prepared were futile.
"Scream! Scream more! Let me listen to your screams as I break your bones and treat you like an animal!"
Varian's vicious voice showed no mercy as he slammed his back with a glowing white palm.
The 'Order' governing Micheal's body changed and his legs began to twitch violently as the vitality, that's supposed to help his heal injuries began to oppose it.
Then Varian's death power drilled into his body and the injuries on him began to skyrocket.
Micheal's skin split all over his body like cobwebs and then blood began to spill out like some dam was burst.
The muscles inside were pushed through those cracks and then even bone began to break out.
"You treated her lover like this, didn't you? What were the words?" Varian caught Micheal in a chokehold with his arm and pressed against the duke's neck hard to the point the fragile bones began to break.
"Ah, see, how these useless a Spiritless is. He breaks when you torture him relentlessly. Then what about you bastard?"
Varian raised his other fist and punched down on the duke's head. Blood spilled out like he broke a coconut and splashed on his face.
Unchanged in the slightest, he kept slamming, even as the skull cracked and the brain turned into mush. At some point, the whole head had but disappeared, leaving him punching the neck.
Kicking away the body to leave it for regeneration, Varian turned around and pulled out the dozen swords and spears lodged in his body.
Blood gushed out of those wounds and the foreign aura inside him tried to wreck his vitality.
Dukes Kriad and Corinthian as well as Duchess Seraphina floated in front, their eyes brimming with killing intent, particularly the duchess'.
While he took great care to dodge as many attacks as he could, he still suffered significant injuries.
They must've realized that he had grown much stronger. So, the three decided to sacrifice Micheal to keep Varian engaged and use that opportunity to injure him as much as they could.
He seemed stronger than them if injured enough, he wouldn't be able to win. Now, the plan had bore fruit. Perhaps that's why, there's a confident smile on the lips of the dukes.
"No, no, no. Don't have hope." Varian raised his hand and the power of death pulled something from Micheal's twitching, regenerating body.
A burst of vitality filled Varian and his injuries began to heal at a rapid pace. More than 50% of what they inflicted on him was gone before they could open their mouths.
The last 50% was healing slowly but by the time they could exchange ten blows, they would have healed.
Kriad and Corinthian looked at each other before swiftly using their powers and flying away.
Only Duchess Seraphina remained, a big smile on the old lady's face.
"Why did you stay?" Varian waved his hand and Micheal's spasming body floated in front of him.
He grabbed a sword and then pierced it through the spine of the duke. The power of death and soul inside Requiem flooded the man and he began to twitch like he's a fish out of water.
"Why did I stay?" The old lady smiled through her wrinkles, a creepy expression dawning on her face. "Because I can kill you all by myself. No one gets a share."
Varian narrowed his eyes.
Her vengeance had gone so far that she didn't even care about the risk to her life.
Perhaps she had a method to kill him. Even then, it'd be much more safe if she attacked him with several others after proper planning and resource gathering.
But no. She didn't even seem to even consider that line of thought.
"I raised her with these hands." Seraphina showed a soft smile for the first time in six months. "The girl was cute, clever than her peers. She looked at me with those big, gem-like eyes.
Oh dear, you should've seen her when she started speaking. Children usually say 'Mama or Baba' first.
But did you know what she said? She said granma! Granma! Hahaha! She couldn't even say Grandma!"
Tears rolled down Seraphina's eyes as the memories of a young girl flashed in her mind.
For a person envisioning his death bed, the one thing they'd definitely want to see would be their children and grandchildren. It'd be the happiest death for the common man.
Conversely, the worst way death a person could face was not his own but of his child's.
Any father and any mother would want to be buried by their children. They would not want a life where they would have to bury their offspring.
It's perhaps the most cruel punishment for a parent.
"I buried her with these hands." Seraphina pointed to the red soil on her palms. "This soil will stay on me until I kill you."
A cyrstal wheel materialized behind Seraphina and began to spin. Her natal treasure created a field covering a radius of entire light year.
A huge pressure fell on Varian as the vitality in his body began to flow in reverse.
Even though he looked young, his body was like that of an old man in his twilight, incredibly weak and fragile.
In contrast, Duchess Seraphina turned into a beautiful young lady. Her voice now sweet but was laced with the same hatred.
"After I kill you, I will bury myself next to her and kill myself. So, please die!"
