"Surprisingly more pleasant to the eyes," Ryuk mused under his breath—but it was still easily picked up by her.
"Your two original bloodlines just got reduced to nothing by me, and you find me pleasant to the eyes?" the girl asked, her tone now fully feminine, but her eyes knitted at Ryuk.
She tried to decipher if he was bluffing with his unruffled aura.
After all, while she might be a blank slate right now, guided only by instinct, but that same instinct told her that no one should remain this calm after what had just occurred.
"You heard what they said," Ryuk replied, thoughts and memories co-swirling in his eyes.
"They’re never truly gone... and will be coming back soon."
He could still hear the words of the Knull Ryuk, and they made sense.
Ryuk’s bloodline was held in large concentrated amounts in his other body parts.
If he obtained any of his lost body parts, the bloodline concentration would increase, and they would more than likely return.
"And when they come back, I’ll get into another big fight with them," she added.
"And while I’m confident I could kill them off a second time... that would make you weaker—and hence, get you killed, no?"
She watched as Ryuk turned to her, a smile crawling up his lips.
"So, you really were in Draco’s head all that time, listening to our conversations... even though, if I remember well, I didn’t summon you out during those times, yet, somehow, you know everything we discussed."
Ryuk narrowed his eyes, confirming to himself what he had long suspected.
When he had those conversations with Draco and Knullic, he had felt there was a third presence—watching, silently, from within Draco’s eyes.
Somehow, even if Draco himself was oblivious to it, he could feel it.
And now, his knowing smile told her all she needed to know—he was aware.
Something she had tried to keep secret.
The truth was, ever since Ryuk had activated Beyonder Dragon and she had gotten a chance to invade Draco’s bloodline—due to their similar origin— and even when the skill was deactivated, she hadn’t fully left.
Instead, she had taken part of Draco’s consciousness... and remained.
Her aim was simple.
"You were trying to see what relationship we all had together?" Ryuk probed.
"Checking how safe or comfortable the home was before you decided to lodge in?"
He watched the gleam in her eyes.
’Is he reading my thoughts?’ she thought, bewildered.
"I wasn’t checking how safe or comfortable it was," she responded, her voice clear and firm.
"The ability and power of Bloodline Manifestations are based on two things: One, their bloodline’s power, and two, how strong their relationship is with the one they inhabit."
"If either of these two things weaken, then their power weakens in turn, making them easier to be killed and replaced," she explained, revealing her true aim to Ryuk.
And it wasn’t that difficult to understand.
"So when you slashed Knullic the first time, your attack only left a scar on his chest."
"You could’ve tried to defeat him then, but it would’ve been harder—and once I deactivated the art, you would’ve grown even weaker, probably making it impossible to overtake them both."
"So instead of continuing, you waited—hoping to see the relationship between me and them get sour," Ryuk said, finishing the rest of her thoughts aloud.
"Once you saw it fracture, you knew it was your best chance—and you came out at the last second, instantly moving to end it all."
"Your claw attack, which only made a scar on Knullic’s chest when you fought him previously, was enough to cleave off his head after our relationship soured."
"A sign that a sour relationship really makes a bloodline manifestation weaker, and easier to kill."
"Seems like our skirmish enriched you the most," Ryuk added, but she scoffed at that.
"That’s wrong. You were the one who got enriched the most," she said, drawing Ryuk’s attention.
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"That’s interesting. How so?"
"As you said previously, you were already hoping to get rid of both your bloodlines a long time ago."
"But you never acted on it."
"Firstly, most likely because—even though you might hate them—you still couldn’t bring yourself to do it."
"Secondly, maybe because you were too weak to do it."
"And thirdly, because you feared that if you erased them, you would be left with no bloodline at all... hence, falling in power."
"When they told you about me—and you saw I could hurt them—you realized something dark. That I was the one you needed."
"You unleashed me to kill them both."
"This is clear, because you don’t even know if I will listen to your commands or not—yet you instantly continued to get rid of both of them without putting in much thought."
"You saw a chance... and you desperately took it."
"In the end, you got what you wanted: both your bloodlines gone."
"And even though you have no idea whether I will be under your command or better or worse than your previous bloodlines, you at least got rid of the fear of having no bloodline at all."
"Your moves were risky... but you were the one who got the best of the fight."
Her words were clear, and most of them were true.
It led to a smile crossing Ryuk’s face as he replied,
"You’re not as naïve as you look."
"You, of all people, should already know not to judge me by my looks by now," she said.
"After all, this cute little feminine form just got rid of two masculine-looking manifestations." Ryuk nodded.
"Fair point."
"So... what will it be then?" Ryuk asked, turning as he walked forward toward her.
"Now that you’ve gotten rid of the original bloodlines and now possess my soul space for yourself..."
"Are you here to own the space... or to listen to every one of my whims? Or will you pretend to, like the others did—and fail?"
"What exactly is your aim?"
She replied clearly—and coldly:
"Firstly, you have no business in what my aim is..."
------
A/N:
If you’re enjoying the novel, consider voting the novel with Golden Tickets and Power stones. It helps I, the author, with visibility on the NovelFire app.
In and Out_SnowySmoos