Chapter 96: Darkness and Light
There was always serious competition between the guild members to become one of Katarina’s retainers because she was the only one capable of giving them such ’Mana Jolts.’
Katarina treated all her guild members with kindness and love, and she saw these ’Mana Jolts’ as a way to reward them for the acts of servitude that they carried out. It was because of this kindness paired with the unending support from Katarina that all the members of the guild began to treat her like she was their goddess!
The woman bowed once more before she finally turned around to leave Katarina alone with Tobias.
Katarina’s mellow golden eyes settled on Tobias, and Tobias felt an intense heat swelling from somewhere in his lower stomach once he laid eyes on the extraordinarily beautiful woman! Beauty like this should be a crime against chastity! It was impossible not to feel immediately attracted to Katarina once you laid eyes on her!
"Brother. It has been a while."
Katarina’s lips curled up into a small smile when she set her eyes on her brother. Her voice came out in a smooth, gentle tone that felt like caramel massaging the eardrums, and Tobias fell to one knee and bowed his head to her. He was still overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of this woman, but he knew that he had come here for something important, so he had to focus.
"My Goddess, it is an honor to be in your presence once more. I hope you have been well."
Katarina felt her smile strain slightly when she heard the devotion present in her brother’s voice. Katarina was a kind woman who treated everyone around her with as much care and love as possible. But in truth, she was a tired woman who hadn’t left this mansion in years due to the intense emotions that had been plaguing her for so long. Emotions of guilt, hatred, and fear had been in her heart ever since the first time she received her powers, and it was only by surrounding herself with numerous loyal servants that she felt even the smallest amount of safety.
That was the entire reason why she created this guild. It was also the reason why she gave her support to every member of the guild and granted her most loyal servants ’Mana Jolts’ whenever they did something good for her. It was all to ensure her own safety. But even though Katarina did not regret enslaving so many people through the use of her powers, she could never get used to the fact that her own brother had fallen under her spell as well.
Tobias Grant hadn’t always been known as Tobias Grant. There was a time when he also held the Ford family name, but somewhere along the line in the past ten years, Tobias had decided that he didn’t deserve to stand on the same level as Katarina.
Tobias disowned their parents and changed his last name to Grant in order to be removed from the family tree before he dedicated himself to Katarina like a loyal servant dedicating themselves to a goddess. It had gotten so bad that Katarina didn’t know if Tobias even remembered that she was his sister anymore. He never spoke about her like a brother would speak to his sister, and from the things Katarina had heard from other guild members, she knew that Tobias’ attraction to her was not an innocent one. Tobias actually held romantic feelings for her!
Katarina closed her eyes for a moment as she felt an intense surge of guilt rise from inside her, but she didn’t allow it to consume her as she took in a deep breath and opened her eyes once more. Everything that she did was for her own safety. The rest of the world didn’t know what was coming for them. No one knew anything, and Katarina refused to be unprepared for the moment when they finally learned the truth.
Humanity lavished in their ignorance and they celebrated any win that they had against the Gates like it was something that would make humanity grow stronger. But they didn’t know that all of that was pointless! It was all vanity! It didn’t matter how strong they grew! It didn’t matter how many more superhumans they were! They were nothing but sheep! Cattle that were being reared for the slaughter!
’The Primordial is coming and there is nothing we can do about it. All we can do is lay down and accept our fate.’
If sacrificing her own brother would give her one more layer of protection against the fate she was destined to face when the truth is revealed, then that is what she would do! She had no right to feel guilty for anything that her actions caused with all the blood she would soon have on her hands!
Katarina forced the smile on her face to remain in place and she put her hand out to her brother and activated her abilities.
"Ngh!"
Tobias felt a surge of power flow through him as his sister’s mana washed over him like a wave! A feeling of lightheadedness overtook his entire body and he could feel the heat in his stomach become even more intense! This was it! This is the power of his goddess! It was a divine blessing!
"T-Thank you, my goddess."
Tobias praised Katarina with a voice of complete servitude, and Katarina shook her head and told him that it was no problem. It was her job to bless those who had dedicated their lives to serving her.
"I hope things are going well with the guild. The recent surge in Gates has been taxing on the weaker fighters, but the other vice captains assured me that my blessing was sufficient to sustain their fighting spirit."
Katarina spoke up kindly and Tobias nodded along. Katarina was providing her blessing to every single member of the BloodRaven guild in different measures. Those that were going into Orange Gates were being blessed more than those that were going into Red Gates, but just a small amount of her blessing would give such a significant boost that it would easily tip the odds in their favor.
Tobias spoke up in adoration.
"Yes, your blessing has been sufficient. Every guild branch has grown significantly compared to the previous year and there is word from the government that there will be more Gates assigned to our branches due to the success rate of our guild."
Tobias felt happiness rising in him when he saw the way Katarina smiled at these words. This meant that she was happy, and only that thought was enough to make him happy as well! Tobias wasn’t telling Katarina everything about the guild because he knew there were some things that he had to keep hidden in the dark. Like the fact that he had killed more than ten guild members in the past month who were trying to leave the guild and abandon Katarina.
The goddess was a pure creature and her soul was untainted by evil, so he would be the darkness to her light. The evil to her kindness. He was the one who would soak his hands in blood to make sure she didn’t have to! That was his life’s calling! A sense of accomplishment overcame Tobias at that moment, but his smile faded slightly as he remembered something and spoke.
"There was a small incident when one of our eastern branches was audited by the SMD for Magic Crystal laundering. We were able to cover the tracks and pin it on the branch head, but –"
"No... I don’t want to know more than that. Just... please handle it yourself."
Katarina looked away from Tobias with downcast eyes once she heard him speaking about more serious issues between the guild and the SMD, and Tobias nodded in understanding. This was the one thing that shackled the ever-perfect Katarina Ford and prevented her from achieving the true potential that Tobias knew she could!
Katarina Ford was terrified of the outside world.