Chapter 97: The Broken Man
After Katarina emerged from the Green Gate ten years ago and became one of the Five Rulers, she changed significantly from the person Tobias had once known.
Katarina first dedicated her life to creating the BloodRaven guild and she expanded its influence across the whole of America and made it into one of the most powerful guilds in the world before finally hiding away in this mansion and refusing to leave anymore.
The only interaction Katarina had with the outside world was through her Gift, which she used to support all the members of the guild, and through the vice-captains who sometimes came to give her reports of what was happening. She never left this building and had no means of communication with the outside world.
Tobias knew that Katarina’s fear of the outside world had something to do with the Primordial she met inside the Green Gate. That experience changed Katarina for the worse and made her lose interest in anything that had to do with the world outside these walls! It was for this reason that Tobias decided not to tell Katarina about many of the things he did for the guild — like the assassinations he carried out to stop the King from emerging.
Tobias was one of the only people Katarina had told the truth about the Primordial that was coming for them. She told him that there was someone who would be hailed as the King — the strongest member of their race and that killing this person and preventing their rise to power was the only way they could ensure they weren’t completely wiped out.
Immediately after the revelation, Tobias began to kill anyone and everyone who seemed like they could grow powerful enough to become the King. Katarina never asked how Tobias was handling things, and Tobias never told her the details of his actions and it was only after he was done with the assassination that he would tell her, so she could bless him with more of her support.
In a way, Katarina believed that by allowing her brother to do her dirty work for her, she was somehow keeping her hand free from blood.
Katarina stared up at the statue of Christ looming over her. She felt a knife of guilt stab into her heart as she felt the statue judge her actions, and she closed her eyes tightly and said a prayer for forgiveness. There was nothing she could do. Nothing at all! Before becoming a Superhuman, Katarina had been studying to become a nun in the church. She dedicated her life to daily prayer and servitude and it was her desire to help others that made her go into the Green Gate with the other Rulers, even though she knew it was dangerous. But she now knew that she had no right to become a nun anymore. Not after everything she had done. Katarina still prayed every day out of habit, and it was always for forgiveness.
"Thank you for coming to inform me about the guild’s activities, Tobias. My heart melts with gratitude for your continued loyalty."
"To make you happy is my life’s mission, my goddess."
Tobias bowed his head deeper to give his goddess the utmost respect, and Katarina came forward and took him by the shoulder. Tobias looked up at her in surprise as she pulled him to his feet, and he felt his entire body lock up when she suddenly hugged him tightly! Tobias hadn’t touched his goddess in years, and this small contact was enough to make his brain go into overdrive!
Katarina released her Gift from her body, and Tobias grunted in bliss as he felt her mana course through his body like pure cocaine! Tobias’s eyes widened as he felt stronger than ever in his life! His brain felt lighter than air, and a silly, stupid smile spread on his face as his faith in his goddess grew to new heights!
Katarina closed her eyes as a tear dropped down her cheek, and she buried her face in Tobias’ shoulder and grieved for the brother that she had broken.
"Thank you for everything, brother. I am so sorry."
Katarina spoke from between her falling tears, and Tobias exclaimed happily.
"I’ll do anything for you, my goddess. Anything at all!"
...
[Jason’s Apartment.]
[With Jason and Gina.]
Jason carried the unconscious Dragonborn princess into his apartment, with Gina coming in behind him and shutting the door. Jason walked to his room and dropped the princess on his bed, and he heard Gina sigh from behind him while looking at the body with a curious glance. Now that Jason had taken off the face mask, Gina could finally see the scales on her cheeks and hands, and Gina couldn’t deny anymore that this was real. This woman was definitely not human.
The princess was dressed in a strange long coat that was woven from thick black threads. She was also wearing a necklace, but there was nothing else on her. Gina couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for the woman even though she didn’t know her personally. The Dragonborn princess looked younger than her, so Gina almost felt like she could be her older sister.
"Are you sure she’ll wake up soon?"
Gina spoke to Jason as she watched him move towards the window at the side of the room. Jason opened the window and looked outside into the night as his eyes bled red. Far away in the distance, the agent who had been spying on Jason all this time was sitting on a roof, eating a bar of chocolate while using a pair of binoculars to keep an eye on the house. Jason made sure to keep his eyes away from her so that she wouldn’t know he was watching her, but he could still see her clearly through Fenrir’s eyes.
Jason looked around and made sure that this stalker was the only one there before he finally answered Gina.
"She just suffered some shock. If she rests for a while, she should wake up in a day or two. She had some injuries when I found her, but they’re all gone now."
Jason remembered that there were injuries on the woman’s body when he found her in the forest earlier. The blue flames had been trying to heal her back then, but she didn’t have enough mana to do anything significant. But now that she had rested for a while, all her injuries had already been healed, so Jason was sure that she would wake up soon.
Jason put his hand to the side and called on two of his subordinates. Two large Pawn Rank II wolves appeared at Jason’s side, and Gina took a step back as she saw them while preparing her magic. Gina was still not used to the fact that Jason had so many monsters obeying him, and it was her natural reaction to immediately be on guard when facing monsters!
The wolves yipped and went over to Jason to nuzzle his face with their noses, and Jason grinned as he petted them. He saw Gina looking at them funny and told her to pet them if she wanted. They won’t bite. Gina gave Jason a hesitant look at first, but she eventually took steps forward and petted one of the wolves on the side. The wolf turned to Gina and pushed its nose into her face, and Gina couldn’t help but laugh as she felt it tickle her.
"They feel so real... and cold."
Gina spoke up in awe of the monster as she scratched it behind the ear. The wolf’s skin felt just as real as any other monster, but she could tell that they weren’t alive anymore from how cold they were to the touch. She couldn’t feel any heart beating in them and there was a strange purple aura surrounding them like a cloak. Jason grinned before ordering the wolves to watch over the princess. The wolves both yipped in understanding, and Jason sighed and started walking out of the room with Gina following him a few seconds later.