Li strolled into view, sword in hand. "What exactly do you think you're going to accomplish in that state?"
Illya's face contorted as her sense locked onto Li, recognizing her as a sufficient source of shi to replenish what she had lost.
Callisto stood defensively in front of Illya, blocking her from Li's view. "Don't play dumb Li. You knew this was bound to happen eventually. Where's Sana?"
"He doesn't have time to deal with the likes of you."
Illya placed a hand on Callisto's shoulder and pulled him back. "You're lying. The effects of your black magic are finally starting to backfire isn't it?"
Li fell silent, her poker face betrayed only by the slight twitch of her fingers.
"Did you think we wouldn't notice? I was suspicious but I didn't have any proof at the time, but it makes sense now. I can smell it on you...the desire for revenge. You never forgot how my parents took power from your allies in Aruma An. That's why you tried to take it back, isn't it? That's why you started that hundred-year war, but when that failed and you ended up here...well...you had to start from scratch again."
Li scoffed. "What foolishness. Is this the petty arrogance of some bottom-tier goddess talking? Don't presume to know my goals just because you dabble in deals of vengeance."
Illya shrugged, her eyes looking significantly more sunken than they had when she arrived. "I'm weak, not stupid. Anyone with eyes can see how frustrated you are. The people you sought to take revenge on are gone and you no longer have any power. So you tried to bring back that old power that plagued the place you once called home. You hoped that you could go back to the time before you realized what it meant to betray your God—"
"Don't speak of that—"
"So you found a pawn and gave him power, all while weakening him so that old Arunian tyrant could take control of him and start a new reign here, but you didn't expect it to take this long did you? He's a stubborn one, that Sana."
Illya snapped forward, coughing violently into her hand. A unsettling black clump of dried blood and corrupted shi pooled in her palm as she drew it away from her lips.
"Go find Sana..." she heaved the words.
A look of apprehension flashed across Callisto's face before he finally broke away from her.
"I don't think so!" Li unsheathed her sword and in one swing, sent a flurry of corrupted shi towards Callisto.
Illya threw her spear. When it lodged into the ground between Callisto and Li, it erupted with Illya's shi, blocking Li's attack and allowing Callisto to pass through. Li cursed, turning back to face Illya.
"Are you just trying to kill yourself faster? Be my guest then, just don't get in the way!"
Knowing that she was running on fumes, Illya summoned the power of one of her contracted demons. Zagan's mark glowed on her back as thick vines erupted from the ground, creating a barrier that shielded Illya from Li's attack. The glow from the pact mark on Illya's back faded the moment she released the barrier. His command over plant life had always been a good match for her control of shi but she couldn't sustain the barrier for long without using up her shi so as quickly as it sprouted, it was reduced to a mere tangle of weeds beneath Li's feet. Seeing her condition progressively worsen, Li knew it was just a matter of time before Illya ran out of stamina.
"Why are you trying so hard to fight back? Is it some pathetic loyalty to a family you never knew? Do you think that by opposing me, you'll be making your parents proud or something?"
Illya ducked backwards, sliding through Li's legs and coming up behind her. She used her spear to pin Li's cloak to the ground before tackling Li entirely.
"Please, I couldn't care less what my bastard father thinks of me. Mother on the other hand deserves some revenge don't you think? But you and I both know that this is beyond them at this point."
Li reached back and yanked Illya off of her. As soon as Illya was beneath her, she raised her sword and deigned to deliver a killing blow. Before she could, the unmistakable blue glow of hellfire began to glow brightly beneath Illya's skin. The light of its flames travelled from Illya's stomach to her throat, where she let loose the breath of fire, causing Li to drop her sword and stumble back in a panic.
With Li having been forced off of her, she reached out for the sword. As soon as she grabbed onto the hilt the enchantment Li had on her sword activated and Illya's arm was immediately covered in corrupted shi. It sunk into her skin, dissolving into her system and attacking what was left of her shi supply.
Illya screamed in agony. She felt the last threads of rationality anchoring her consciousness slip away as she was consumed by pain and overwhelming hunger. Li managed to untangle herself just in time to see Illya's human features crumble as her skin became covered in scales and her eyes rolled back, replaced by a familiar golden-violet glaze.
A beastly roar ripped itself from Illya's throat as she threw the sword to the ground and pushed herself up. Her now visible tail and horns painted a truly monstrous scene against the thick black veins that pulsed against the exposed skin of her chest and face. With Illya now running on autopilot, Li knew that Illya would be of no use anymore, not as a hostage and certainly not as a reservoir of shi considering that she no longer had enough to even remain coherent.
If she didn't kill Illya now, she would surely be the one to be greeting the inside of a coffin instead. 98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgnkwVC2j2
