The Fight of Bloodline

16 Hours Ago...

The desolate underground prison is so dark that it almost stains everything, even the air, a pitch black. Heavy, sharp footsteps echo from the spiral staircase leading downwards. The appearance of one of the Seven Deadly Sins in this place is usually unfamiliar to the demon soldiers, but he senses the other party's higher rank and shows respect by bowing his head.

"Lord Superia, Sin of Pride, may I ask what brings you to this prisoner?" he asks in a low, deep voice, his eyes fixed on the ground. Then, a large pouch of coins is extended. He immediately understands what to do, takes the brown pouch, and walks away without a word. Superia removes the ornate red wooden mask, revealing her true face. Anya sits with her eyes closed beside a tray of untouched food, her body still as if lifeless. However, the young girl's vital signs remain, so she sits down on the floor, facing her. Looking closely, their faces bear a striking resemblance in certain features.

"S-Senior Fongbeer...?" Anya asks in a hoarse voice, her throat so dry it feels like dust, with no saliva left to swallow. Her lips are cracked as if she's been in a desert. "W-Why are you here? Senior should be at school..."

"So this is the one born from the Grand Charm Spell," Fongbeer says with a still expression, her eyes fixed on the listless body. "Why is it? We share the same father, yet we are so different."

"What are you talking about, Senior?" The young girl's head is filled with questions, her dark eyebrows furrowing in curiosity. "I don't understand."

"Let's not beat around the bush. The Demon Emperor is your father, and he's my father too." The air in the young girl's cell is thick with a swirling distortion. Her body and fingertips turn numb, her breathing becomes erratic, and her heart pounds with confusion. She can't believe the other girl would 'joke' to this extent.

"That's not true, Senior..." Anya avoids the other's gaze, but pale white fingers grasp her chin, forcing her to look up. It makes her realize that their eyes are almost mirrors reflecting each other's true selves. "It's not true..."

"I'm not lying. I saw that you haven't eaten anything for days. Your stomach was rumbling loudly throughout the tower, so I brought you this." Fongbeer takes a red apple from her cloak pocket. She wipes it on her sleeve before offering it to her younger sister.

Anya looks at the red fruit, then at the still, expressionless face, with a mixture of fear and hesitation. Fongbeer sighs before decisively taking a large bite of the apple, swallowing it quickly, and then offering it to her younger sister again. This time, Anya accepts it with more trust in her 'older sister'.

Even though her heart is still confused, she has only met the other girl once before, and that encounter was far from memorable. The young girl slowly bites into the red fruit. The sweet, juicy taste spreads across her tongue. Her lips regain a rosy hue, and her eyes regain their sparkle. Her heavy eyelids feel strangely light. The feeling of being reborn becomes a precious experience, and this kindness is something she will never forget.

"Feels good to be alive again after teetering on the brink of death every minute, doesn't it?" the older girl says before taking another large bite of an apple from her cloak pocket. "There aren't fruits like this in this hellish land. You have to secretly warp to the beetle market to get them." Anya doesn't reply. She eats the apple quickly, driven by hunger, until only the core remains beside her.

"I can't believe you're really my sister," Anya says with a disappointed tone, her eyes shining like a sad kitten's. "Why didn't Mom or... the Demon Emperor ever tell me about this?"

"Adult matters are not for children to know," Fongbeer says before reaching out to stroke her younger sister's head. Anya bites her lip until it turns white, her fingers clenching tightly into her palm, drawing blood with bitter resentment towards her father. She hates his blood within her, along with all the secrets that have suddenly come crashing down like a raging flood. She never knew that after thirteen years of life, she would have to learn something like this.

"I know you're still struggling to accept this, but believe me, as time passes, you'll gradually come to terms with it. I guarantee it. Before Father had you, he had fleeting relationships with other women too." Fongbeer reaches out to stroke her head with affection, but Anya, still in thick iron shackles, swats her hand away and looks at her with a hardened gaze filled with unstable emotional turmoil, her dark eyes darting around wildly.

Fongbeer stands up, picks up her mask, and puts it on, becoming once again one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Superia.

"This is all I can do. The rest is up to your dog to help you," she says in a low voice. "After that, let's finish our duel."

Then, she turns and walks away, leaving Anya to grapple with her confusion alone.

...

"Your eyes look better than the last time we met,"

Fongbeer smiles knowingly. "That sentence just now subtly implied that you accept me as your older sister, right?"

"Let's just finish this duel," Anya says, pointing her wand at the other girl in challenge, taking a ready stance. Her eyes are unwavering, ready to face whatever comes. This makes Fongbeer's instincts tingle, whispering that this duel will not be like the one several months ago.

"Most impressive." The Sin of Pride smirks, clapping her hands lightly as if teasing and trying to break the other's concentration, but it doesn't faze Anya in the slightest. "Three days of starving in prison really can change a person."

Anya ignores the other's words and initiates the attack by unleashing several magic bullets. The other girl nimbly dodges them as if seeing them move in slow motion. With a single flick of her wand, without incantation, she conjures a large shield for defense and then retaliates with magic bullets. Anya stares intently, focusing her concentration, quickly raising her own shield to block and deflect.

Then, the two exchange blows, offense and defense, with Cher-Tam providing support. However, she makes a mistake and is struck by a silencing spell, sending her crashing to the ground. Anya grits her teeth, firing spells until her arm muscles weaken, then switches to her non-dominant hand to continue fighting.

Naturally, Fongbeer can only defend more than attack because her younger sister begins unleashing a relentless barrage of magic bullets. This makes her body heat up. The sound of colliding magic bullets reverberates loudly, so much so that no demon minion or magic soldier dares to approach. They clearly sense the ferocity of the duel.

Fongbeer glances at Sola, who is clashing with a demon minion not far away. She sees her daughter in danger and quickly finishes her fight, rushing to help. This makes the half-sister bite her lip until it turns white.

"Believe me, Father never loved me or Mom," she says, deflecting Anya's magic bullets as her shield dissipates, tears welling up in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. "I was born because Mom impulsively seduced him first. After I was born, I was used as a pawn to infiltrate the school and find a way to attack... After the attack succeeded, I immediately became worthless in both of their eyes."

Hearing this, Anya stops attacking, understanding the other's feelings as a 'sibling'. She rushes forward and embraces Fongbeer. Warmth spreads amidst the brutal battlefield. The young girl thinks of the days her mother had to work tirelessly to support them both. Although the monthly allowance from the headmaster was sufficient, the ever-fluctuating economy made saving money for two lives difficult.

On some nights, she had to stay home alone. She understands how cold and lonely it is to be alone. Even though Anya's and her sister's statuses are polar opposites, one thing they both received equally is... They were estranged by their father for his own important goals.

"I understand how you feel, sister... I know how lonely and cold it is... Ugh!"

An orange light slams into the young girl's back, tearing her clothes. A gaping wound opens on her back, and blood flows profusely. Pain spreads throughout her body, and her knees buckle, forcing Fongbeer to support her. When she looks over her younger sister's shoulder, she sees a demon minion smirking. Suddenly, the young girl's eyes burn with a heat that almost boils through zero degrees Celsius. Her hand grips her wand tightly. Sola, who is rushing to join them, thinks her daughter has been defeated and quickens her pace despite the numerous demon minions blocking her way.

"Anya!!" Her mother's voice roars her daughter's name with a broken heart, causing me, who is heavily engaged in fighting a demon minion, to turn my head sharply. Naturally, Jack and Cher-Tam, who have just recovered, do the same. The four of us decide to charge at Fongbeer immediately, thinking Anya has been defeated.

In my heart, I think that if anything fatal happens to Anya, I will never forgive myself.

"You son-of-a-bitch demon!!" Fongbeer raises her wand, pointing it at the demon minion who dared to harm her younger sister. In that instant, I follow the direction of the wand's tip and see the demon minion momentarily freeze. But then... a miracle occurs. "Semma Binaza Maximus!!"

A large beam of purple light pierces through the demon's body like a donut, sending it to the deepest pits of hell in an instant. The state of war comes to a standstill as everyone stares at 'Superia' or 'Fongbeer', who has just betrayed her dark arts allies by killing one of their own. The wand in her hand trembles.

The tattooed script on her body slowly crawls up her neck. She feels nauseous while still embracing her younger sister. Soon after, black liquid gushes from her mouth and onto the ground until her stomach is empty. Each demon minion stares wide-eyed. The Demon Emperor, seeing this, can only clench his fist, his red eyes hardening with rage as he curses the one of the Seven Deadly Sins who has defected.

"Superia! You dare betray me and the demon race!?" the Demon Emperor roars. Instead of being afraid, Fongbeer glares back at him without hesitation.

"I'm not Superia... I'm Fongbeer."

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To Be Continue Ep.39