Chapter 72: Xiaoli’s Flying Knife

“What?”

Cynthia doubted her ears.
“You’re saying this thing is your brother?”

Before Prim could respond, the monster reacted first.
Its advance paused noticeably at Prim’s words, its body trembling as it muttered incoherent syllables.
“Pu…ri… you… are… quick…”

It clutched its head as if in pain, but the sounds soon dissolved into a meaningless roar.
“Roar—!!!”
It lunged at them again.

“Careful!”

Though Cynthia had lost both arms, she hadn’t lost her fighting ability.
She couldn’t fight with her usual ease, but she could still defend.
A scarlet blood shield materialized before them, blocking the monster’s assault.

Cynthia took a deep breath, locking eyes with the creature, and spoke to Prim.
“Prim… even if he was once your brother, he’s a monster now. You know what we have to do.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Prim fell silent for a moment, the monster’s image reflected in her eyes.
A bitter, self-mocking smile curved her lips.
“I’ve imagined competing with my brother for the throne, but never like this.”

As a princess, Prim didn’t lose her composure, even in this dire situation.
She quickly grasped what needed to be done.
She’d planned to escape with Rustia, but this crisis changed everything.
Even a fool could see escape was no longer an option.
‘Hand the Kingdom of Barlia to a monster crown prince? Impossible.’

As for her father…
Given the circumstances, Prim could only pray he was still alive.

Seeing its attack fail, the monster dove back into the blood mist, circling them as if searching for a weak point.

“Everyone, my current state… isn’t suited for fighting, so I’ll focus on defense. The counterattack is up to you.”

Cynthia seized the moment to outline a plan, her gaze settling on Lilith.
“Lilith… I’m leaving the monster to you.”

“I will follow your instructions.”

[Wait, Cynthia… listen to me…]

The Blood Demon’s voice interrupted, feeble compared to its usual vigor.
[They can’t defeat the Blood Crown’s bearer… Only your power can.]

‘My power?’

Cynthia froze at the Blood Demon’s words, but she quickly realized now wasn’t the time for questions.
[What do I do?]

[My consciousness won’t last much longer… You must remember, you carry the Blood Crown’s power. Only you can strip it from them.]
[Until it’s removed, that thing’s power will keep growing. You must seize the Blood Crown and absorb its power…]

The Blood Demon’s voice grew faint, barely audible.
With its last strength, it transferred what little power it had left to Cynthia.
[Sorry… I was careless…]

Its voice cut off abruptly, and no matter how Cynthia called out, it didn’t respond.

The Blood Demon’s final surge restored much of her magic, but not her vitality.
Her arms still wouldn’t regenerate.

Seeing Cynthia fall silent, Lilith, about to act, paused and glanced at her.
“Anything else to say?”

“…Haa, sorry, we need to change the plan.”

Cynthia snapped back, lifting her head to address the group, excluding Prim, who couldn’t fight.
“Please hold that monster off… I’ll find a way to kill it.”

“But Cynthia-chan, in your condition…”

Ina started to protest, but her eyes met Cynthia’s, brimming with determination.
She swallowed the rest of her words.

“Ina, trust me. Only I can end this.”

Cynthia’s gaze burned as she spoke.
At that moment, the blood shield floating in the air seemed to move with a will of its own, speeding past them to collide with the monster attempting a sneak attack from the side.

Though the shield looked light, it struck with enough force to knock the monster back.
The impact echoed dully through the corridor.

“Roar…”

The monster, thwarted repeatedly, grew more ferocious.
Instead of retreating, it steadied itself and charged again without pause.

“Please, everyone.”

As Cynthia maintained the blood shield, a blood-red sword slowly formed.
The shield and sword acted as her missing hands, engaging the monster.

“If Cynthia-chan says so…”

Ina tore her gaze from Cynthia, muttering softly.
“Then I’ll try a little harder.”

As the monster tangled with Cynthia’s sword and shield, black lights appeared around it.
Ina seized the chance, controlling the lights to wrap around the monster like vines.

“Roar!!!”

The moment the black lights ensnared it, the monster staggered back, frantically clawing at them.
But the lights, formed of pure dark magic, had no physical substance.
No matter how it struggled, it couldn’t break free.

Ina’s dark magic continued to erode the monster, but it soon realized the futility and turned its attention to her.
Before it could act, Cynthia’s sword and shield closed in again.
Simultaneously, Rustia raised her staff, summoning a barrage of ice spikes from the ground that stabbed at the monster relentlessly.

But the Blood Demon’s final words proved true.
Despite Ina and Rustia’s efforts, the monster showed little real damage.
Still, they succeeded in containing it.

Then Lilith made her move.
As a vampire, she lacked Cynthia or Alicia’s raw power, but her ability to catch Cynthia dozens of times spoke to her unique combat style.

Swish, swish—

Silver throwing knives, gleaming even in the thick fog, sliced through the mist at lightning speed, embedding into the monster’s body in the blink of an eye.

“ROAR!!!!”

To Cynthia’s surprise, the monster howled in agony the moment the knives struck.
The cry was louder than when she’d impaled it earlier.

Lilith calmly drew more knives, aiming at the monster, and spoke lightly.
“I wonder if you’re satisfied with the taste of these specially crafted Demon-Breaking Blades?”