Love Letter From The Future

The vampire finally noticed something strange. At first, she thought the “time stop” was merely the imagination of a “brat,” meaning that monster, not the person behind it.

Thus, it would be normal for the man to be unable to handle the power of that imagination. After all, an imagination is simply a landscape of the mind; it was only natural for one mind to have its own landscape.

But what was this spectacle?

The whole world hadn’t suddenly lost its momentum. It was just that slowly but surely, with an overwhelming sense of pressure, it was gnawing away at everything.

Sizzle, as the scenery shattered. Through the gaps, the endless Barren Land stretched out, and when thousands of corpses hinted at a grand funeral, the vampire burst into a laugh, her blue eyes burning with madness.

“I was mistaken. That brat’s imagination was not a ‘time stop’… It was merely a byproduct borrowed from your imagination. Just like you stuffed the visions of the entire continent into your soul… But how is that possible?”

“……Raise your magical power.”

The man’s voice responding to the woman’s curiosity was cold.

A cold sword edge was slowly pointing at the opposite side.

“Unless you want to die.”

“Pfft, ha, ah ha ha ha ha!”

At that blatant provocation, the vampire laughed as if genuinely amused.

It had been quite a while.

Hundreds of years ago, she had sacrificed her soul and the members of her clan to occupy one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Since then, she thought there had only been one rival who could excite her.

Now, she found herself confronted with an utterly unexpected presence, cornered, and her plans thrown into disarray.

It couldn’t be more enjoyable.

A foe she had to fight with all her might always provided stimulation.

Rumble!

The trembling earth split, and rocks levitated in the air. It was evidence that it couldn’t withstand the massive magical pressure the vampire was unleashing.

Those beings, who could be called absolute beings capable of creating miracles just by existing.

The mere fact that two of them were about to collide was enough to put an entire world on edge.

“Very well, ‘Pride’… If you’re going that far, I must also respond with everything I have… Even if it’s only half of my true strength, it should be enough to handle rags like you.”

“I’ll give you just one piece of advice.”

In a monotone voice with no hint of timbre, the man spoke.

His expression bore no trace of tension.

“It will be hard to save your life even if your true self comes. So, it would be better for you to finish it before I take seven steps.”

“Very confident, aren’t you? With such a significance, you must have a name, right?”

“Seven Steps, Seven Techniques.”

The vampire scoffed and adjusted her attire.

Noble duels must exude dignity.

No matter how much the opponent resembled a tattered human with no grace, she planned to give due respect as long as she fought with all her might.

“Indeed, a name fitting for ‘Pride’… Seven techniques to embody seven steps?”

And then, a sound like grinding bones echoed.

With a voice filled with provocation, the woman shouted.

“…Let’s see you try!”

The man was not one to turn down such a rare goodwill.

At the edge of a precarious balance, like a droplet of water on a leaf’s edge.

The man took a step, and the landscape of the entire world shifted.

Just a single step.

It was merely a gesture signaling the start. However, at the moment the vampire faced that step, she instinctively realized.

The man’s warning was not an empty threat.

She was going to die.

At that instant, filled with thoughts of the inevitable future, the vampire was about to unleash her magical power.

Boom.

A small beam of light pierced through the vampire’s chest. It happened in the blink of an eye.

The vampire’s gaze gradually turned behind her. There stood a being she had completely forgotten, gasping for breath.

The Archmage.

Though she merely pointed her finger at the vampire, that slender beam concealed the principles of the five elements. It was enough to shatter the delicate balance of the small barrier she had barely maintained.

The monster’s eyes widened in shock.

“You, bitch…!”

That was the end.

The terrifying pressure that had emanated from the man vanished without a trace. In its place, the man’s sword swung like a bludgeon against the ground.

Crash!

With a massive explosion, the woman’s body was shot away into the distance. Since she could no longer twist the causality, allowing an effective strike was inevitable.

Hastily encasing herself in a crimson barrier, the vampire thought.

I was deceived.

From the start, the opponent had no intention of revealing his full power. Even during a fight with the vampire, ‘Pride’ operated under the condition that he wouldn’t kill.

For such a powerful being to intervene, a corresponding price was required.

Naturally, he would not recklessly reveal the ultimate technique he had honed over a lifetime.

The greater the power, the greater the price that had to be paid!

From the beginning, it had all been a mere ruse to concentrate the vampire’s full attention. Realizing this, the vampire rolled on the ground, screaming.

“You, you thieving bitch…!”

As her bloodshot eyes narrowed towards the Archmage, crimson mist began to waft from the vampire’s fingertips.

As seen before, her speed was astonishing, almost light-speed, leaving no room for reaction. Even the man himself was likely taking a breath after canceling his grand technique.

What she targeted was nothing short of a fatal wound.

Despite her efforts to save the last of her wrath for this long-standing grudge, could it really come to this?

The vampire lamented, grounding her feet into the earth for support as she rolled backward.

Just then.

With a puff, a sound came as blood surged upward.

It should have been the sound of the Archmage’s body being pierced, but for some reason.

The vampire stared in astonishment at the bolt of lightning piercing her own calf. Literally unable to comprehend the situation, she was left responding to the chaotic noise.

Thud, as her knees sank into the ground.

It was nothing more than a minor injury. The vampire was a mage, and such wounds could be healed in the blink of an eye.

There was only one problem.

Who on earth?

Before long, the crimson mist was bound by chains of lightning and couldn’t move an inch. Looking back, she seemed to recall hearing of a clan that used such magic while wandering the world.

Her doubts did not last long.

Swish, thwack.

On the suddenly quiet earth, rhythmic noises began to echo. A stick whirled in the air, then fell back into a grasp, making a sound.

Eyes of the vampire, Archmage, and the man naturally turned to that source.

“What’s going on? I wake up after a long time, and the surroundings are a complete mess… One guy I recognize, a little girl I’ve never seen before, and a monster handling blood… sigh.”

A small girl was slowly making her way.

With a hooded hat almost covering her whole head, her drooping shoulders made her appear delicate to the point of being feeble. Her sighing lament continued.

“Really, messing up because of just one wrong guy… what a sight.”

“…You, who are you?”

It was a question uttered on behalf of everyone.

As the vampire let slip a bewildered voice, the girl’s gaze finally turned towards the woman.

Not even the brim of her hat could hide those enchanting eyes. The blue irises glimmered with a deep, tranquil light.

Radiating a faint glow.

This was a characteristic phenomenon visible only to those who had reached a certain level.

“Me? My name is Elsi Rainelle.”

Just then, the girl unexpectedly thrust her onyx wand forward.

The sky split open. It was a moment too late for anyone to even respond.

Hundreds of lightning bolts crashed down from the fissures. A calamity indiscriminately struck the earth like a torrential downpour, and amidst the black smoke, the vampire witnessed a singular sight.

A giant made of lightning.

No, was it a ‘whale’?

That massive form was constantly changing its appearance. The strongest, largest, and most overwhelming being.

The vampire raised her magical power against the sudden ambush.

“The great Archmage, Raymond Rainelle’s niece and….”

And then, boom!

A storm of overwhelming magical energy sufficient to quell the pouring rain turned the earth upside down. Hundreds, thousands of bolts of lightning aimed single-mindedly at one target was almost mesmerizing.

The ground sank around the epicenter. The vampire could only watch the entire sequence in astonishment.

There was only one reason.

Thud.

With that brief sound, the man’s body fell to the earth like dried straw.

Indeed, the girl hadn’t aimed her magic at the vampire.

The target had been solely the man.

As a result, the man laid helplessly on the cold ground.

It was the desolate finale of one who seemed absolutely incapable of falling. Naturally, the vampire could do nothing but turn away in dismay, and at the end, the girl wore a playful smile.

Once more adjusting her hat tightly over her head.

“Ian Fercurus’s fiancée and pet… woof!”

Seeing the girl even kindly imitate a puppy, the vampire thought to herself.

A dog raised by the Rainelle Clan should never be adopted.

A dog that bites its owner, no matter how cute, was to be avoided.

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