Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 304: Chapter 304: Opening Ceremony [11]

Chapter 304 – Opening Ceremony [11]

Rokia clenched her fist, testing her power, examining the body she now inhabited. Without even acting, faint blue cracks began spreading slowly across it.

She didn’t need to be told that her power, even suppressed this heavily by her Commander’s Skill level and rank, would destroy the body if the fight dragged on too long.

Knowing that, she focused first on what her Commander needed most urgently. She turned her head left, spotting both Love and Klaus kneeling on the ground, straining to contain their own urges.

She swung her sword toward them, a blue arc bursting from the blade.

The arc reached them, transforming into a stream of white snow. Heavy and dense enough, it propelled both Love and Klaus clean out of the Whore’s domain.

The instant they were clear, a wall of frost rose, sealing off the domain, trapping Rokia and the Whore inside together.

Klaus and Love, meanwhile, sprawled across the ground, tangled together, rolling until they finally came to a stop.

Klaus ended up on his back, and Love, somehow, found herself on top of him.

Escaping the domain did wonders for their minds, finally freeing them from the relentless whispers of temptation that would have shaken even a saint.

Still, the effects lingered in their bodies. Though no longer strong enough to compel them into anything they didn’t want.

Yet why did resisting suddenly feel harder than before?

"Vorn take you, get off me." Klaus said breathlessly, chest heaving, as Love looked down at him, her pink eyes shaped like stacked hearts.

"Do you honestly expect me to move? Right now?" Love said, her voice low, eyes still wet, heart pounding. She clenched her jaw and let her head fall against his chest with a weak thud, "I know you’re a bastard, but surely you’re not heartless enough to let everyone see the state I’m in."

"State?"

"And you’re in the same one." Love said, "I can feel it hardening beneath me. So don’t move."

Klaus didn’t know what to say. The sounds of battle boomed nearby, just outside the frosted dome, yet here he lay, utterly helpless.

Every time he thought back to what had happened, an intense wave of regret and self-loathing bloomed inside him.

Klaus had never realized he could be this weak in the face of temptation. He’d never had the chance to know, having never been placed in a situation that truly tested it.

And given that the only women he was close to were Natalia, Keisha, her mother, and her maid — people he saw as either close friends or family — he’d never been particularly stimulated before either.

No untrained boxer wins a fight against a professional.

Today had been his first time facing something like this. And he’d failed spectacularly, humiliating himself in front of the entire class and every teacher present.

"Fuck." Klaus cursed, jaw clenched, anger burning so hot he wanted to slam his head against a wall.

Love said nothing, though she understood exactly what Klaus was feeling, for once.

She hated the situation more than anyone. But more than that, she hated what she’d noticed about herself.

Because if the Whore’s domain simply exposed what already existed within a person...did that mean she’d already wanted to kiss Klaus, even before this?

No. That part she’d already known. But what she felt in that moment went far beyond a simple urge to "kiss."

It was more. And that "more" left Love shuddering with hidden dread and fear.

’What...what is happening to me?’

She didn’t know, but whatever it was, she didn’t like it.

Slowly, ignoring the battle still echoing behind her, Love lifted her head, staring at Klaus, eyes closed, his right arm draped over them.

"Nothing happened." She said, jaw clenched, "You hear me? Nothing fucking happened. It changes nothing. I’ll still challenge you in three days, and I will win, and make you my slave."

"Shut up, Love. I’m not in the mood for your bullshit."

"I’m not going to shut up." She shoved his arm aside, forcing their eyes to meet, "I’m warning you before you get any ridiculous ideas, you pathetic man."

"If I were you, I’d be more worried about what excuse you’ll give Emrys." Klaus smiled coldly, though there was no true cruelty in it. He was tired, disappointed. "After what just happened here, what will you tell him? That you were manipulated? Good one, might even work, given how gullible he is."

"At this point, I have nothing left to lose." Love’s eyes hardened, "He’s already abandoned me. And he did it in a way that couldn’t have been more obvious. It’s not official yet, but here’s the news you’ve been waiting to hear all along."

Love smiled, and Klaus could see fear, desperation, anger, and hatred all tangled together into an expression so wrong it made him shiver inwardly.

"I’m no longer with Emrys Stormblessed." Love declared, and the world seemed to still around them, "I’ve been discarded, just like he discarded Anesthesia. Now here I am, wet and shaking, sitting on top of a man I hate and loathe with every fiber of my being, while he still can’t get his damn thing to go down."

Love’s eyes shimmered with tears, and she bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, swallowing them back.

"I hate this. I hate all of it. You should have left me alone when I turned you down. Why did you attack me at the Entrance Test? Why did you have to force your way into my life? If you didn’t attack me, I wouldn’t be here seeking revenge! You should have just ignored me, damn it!"

Klaus’s face twisted, "After everything you did? In front of everyone, you treated me like garbage! You openly gave yourself to a man who wanted nothing but a good time, while there stood a man who actually wanted to marry you! And you have the nerve to ask why I didn’t leave you alone? Fuck you, Love."

"You didn’t even know me before wanting to marry me!"

"Are you seriously that stupid? That’s exactly why I wanted to get to know you first. You—! Vorn take me, why am I even having this conversation right now? Just fuck off."

He tried to push her off him, but his strength gave out.

Love didn’t budge, her expression hardening, spiteful, though pain, fear, and despair lurked just beneath the surface. "All I wanted was to be like my mother. All I wanted was to be a..." She trailed off, not even finishing the thought, her eyes suddenly glazing over, her mind going blank. Love’s head slumped onto Klaus’s chest.

Klaus stared ahead blankly, confused. Then, just like Love, his own eyes began to glaze, his mind fading into darkness.

’W-What’s happening?’

’P-Poison!’ Windy said, ’That woman’s domain carried a sleeping poison. It’s finally taking effect, after all this time!’

Klaus barely had time to curse before he lost consciousness alongside Love, both of them sleeping in that dangerous place.

Windy vanished shortly after, but not before setting the necklace holding their crystal beside Klaus, disappearing into a puff of wind.

At the same moment, the icy dome surrounding the domain shattered into countless pieces.

The scene inside became visible, the ground frozen and torn apart, Omm standing, gripping the sword with a shaking, half-frozen hand.

The Whore lay on the ground beneath him, bloodied, a deep wound at her left leg and gut. Her foxes lay beside her, equally injured.

"Ah...ahh..." Omm breathed heavily, his mind spinning. He looked down at his own body, seeing faint blue cracks still spreading, Rokia’s voice apologizing over and over.

"No...no need to apologize. You helped me. Thank you, Rokia." Omm whispered, before his knees buckled, his body collapsing beside the Whore’s.

Her eyelids fluttered weakly, sensing his fall, before cracking open, finding Omm’s exhausted, weary face.

A faint, trembling smile touched her bleeding lips.

"S-sleeping with...me, already, my love?" Her voice was hoarse and faint, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

Omm gave her a tired glance and offered a nervous, shy smile, "I’m sorry...I can’t really move right now."

Georgina was stunned for a heartbeat before letting out a short, wheezing laugh,

"Georgina." She whispered, "My...my name is Georgina Lovebird. Second year. 8th ranker. I’m a virgin."

"Omm." He replied slowly, "Mine’s Omm Min Jambar. First year. 16th ranker. And I..."

He paused, lips twitching slightly, "...am a virgin too."

Georgina tried to laugh again, only to cough up blood instead. But before Omm could react, the sound of shattering glass rang out all around them.

He gathered what strength he had left to turn his head and saw their crystal returning to the physical world.

And if it had returned, that could only mean...

’...Natalia...lost?’

...

Emerging from the cracked mirror, Natalia and Keisha collapsed onto the ground, unconscious, bodies riddled with wounds and blood.

Joykiller appeared soon after, barely recognizable.

Her face was studded with shards of glass, still bleeding, while the poison from her own weapon had finally caught up with her, freezing her body completely.

She let out a cackle before collapsing on top of Natalia and Keisha, mind and body utterly spent.

’Ah...strong. These girls are strong.’ Joykiller thought one last time, gazing at Keisha’s innocent face, cackling again before her mind went blank.

...

Back where Klaus, Love, Omm, and Georgina lay, Cassius suddenly appeared, standing beside the crystal.

Atop it sat a blue lotus mark. One he’d placed before Natalia stored the crystal inside her mirror, knowing he’d sense it the moment it returned to the physical world.

He’d been right.

His body bore wounds, blood staining his clothes, though nothing too severe. His flame continued healing him steadily. With his refined command over essence, he could keep going far longer than most.

Shortly after his arrival, Copycat followed, stopping a couple of meters away.

He surveyed the fallen around them,

"Seems like...we’re the only ones left." He looked back at Cassius, standing before the crystal, his blind eye glowing with a black light, "Time to finish this, Cassius."

The Last Born of the Desdemona smiled, glancing at his friend with visible amusement, given Love draped across him,

"Yeah, Bishop." He said, his left eye finally shifting draconic, "Let’s finish this."

—End of Chapter 304—