“Angelina?”
Looking at this scene, everyone was stumped. Rhode stood up instantly to shield his younger sister. Almost at the same time, he felt a burst of invisible blade airwaves striking him. In an instant, he raised his arm and a pitch-black sword appeared in his hand, slashing at the air. Clang! A green blade ray flickered in the empty air before him. At the sight of this blade ray, Rhode’s eyes glinted. He flicked his wrist and spots of light erupted from his blade like a wild storm that flooded the entire space.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of rasps reverberated. It was apparent that the invisible sword failed to resist the violent attack from him. Rhode was relentless. He had no intention of stopping his assault. The brilliance emanating from his blade glared and the invisible sword couldn’t retaliate at all. But at the next moment, Rhode withdrew his blade and retreated all of a sudden. Along with this action, the scattered blade rays coalesced on his blade as though they were attracted by an unknown force. Then, everyone witnessed a glaring, lightning blade ray.
Clang~
This time, the rasp didn’t sound as crisp and even trembled in vibrato. However, the bystanders clearly witnessed that the battle had ended. Among the crowd were experts in swordsmanship. The moment they heard the vibrating echo, they knew it was the sound of that enemy failing to grasp and defend against Rhode’s attack. If the enemy still had some energy left in it, it would have some ways to resist the assault. But since it couldn’t, it would be struck away like this. It was apparent that this ambush by the invisible sword was completely countered.
Clink.
Along with this sound, something seemed to fall onto the ground. But when everyone turned toward the sound, they couldn’t see any weapon. At that moment, Rhode’s younger sister chuckled, stood to her feet, and waved her hand gently.
“Alright, everyone calm down. That isn’t our enemy.”
“I sure hope so…”
Upon hearing the young lady’s comment, Angelina reattached her severed head to her body and let out a long, helpless sigh. Angelina didn’t care if the sword was a foe or ally since this wasn’t the first time she was beheaded by it. Be it whether the sword was an enemy or not, she would be attacked no matter what. However, Angelina had to admit that the moment the sword was deflected by Rhode, she felt elated. The thought of that bast*rd who forced her to do things against her will landing in trouble now instantly delighted Angelina. It was especially so after seeing Rhode standing up for her. Deep down, Angelina had a much better impression of him now…
Angelina thought she didn’t have any status in Rhode’s heart, but now it seemed like he did care about her enough to deal with that ridiculous thing personally…
Fortunately, Angelina wasn’t aware of Rhode’s true thoughts. A beautiful misunderstanding was great at times, wasn’t it?
“Phew…”
At that moment, a green radiance flickered on the empty ground. As the radiance emanated, everyone felt a chilly burst of air proliferating the space around them. Shortly after, a translucent, specter-like presence appeared.
“Hmm?”
Gazing at the specter young lady, Angelina widened her eyes in shock. She had met this specter young lady in the underground earlier. In her memories, the young lady should be around 15 to 16 years old. But now, she seemed even younger than Gracier and Madaras. Besides, her expression also appeared really weak as though she were seriously-ill. Moreover, perhaps no one would oppose the thought of her being a lonely spirit on the verge of disappearance based on that fading, translucent body of hers. But even so, the young lady—or perhaps little girl—bit her lip tightly and seemingly decided to fight to the end. She stared at Rhode and her hands were as though clenching onto something. Even though one couldn’t determine what she was grabbing, based on the battle observed earlier, that should be the sword in her hands… Yes, should be…
“Ugh…”
While Rhode sized up the young lady, he heard Celestina’s voice all of a sudden.
“It’s Fifth Big Sister… I thought something felt strange when I clashed with her sword earlier. I didn’t expect it to be her… This is trouble.”
Fifth Big Sister?
Upon hearing Celestina’s comment, Rhode was taken aback for a split second. He stared at the specter young lady.
In this case, this specter young lady is also part of the holy sword card deck? Since Celestina calls her Fifth Big Sister, does that mean she’s in the fifth seat?
Currently, the tenth seat was Celia, the ninth seat was Celestina, the eighth and seventh seats were Gracier and Madaras respectively, the sixth was Shira, and the fourth was Karin. Rhode found only six out of ten of the holy sword card deck. And now, it seemed like he was about to obtain the fifth seat.
“What is your name?”
At this thought, Rhode raised his sword and pointed its blade at the specter. Facing his question, the specter cocked her head slightly and didn’t respond. But shortly after, Celestina’s voice sounded beside his ear once again.
“You don’t need to waste your effort, Master. Fifth Big Sister doesn’t like to speak. I have never heard her speak a word in over a thousand years. It’s more likely to get Big Sister Gracier and Big Sister Madaras to sing a song for you instead of hoping that Fifth Big Sister would say something.”
I see. Come to think of it, Gracier and Madaras could actually sing? Seems like I must find an opportunity in the future to get those two princesses perform a duet for me.
At this thought, Rhode shook his head and threw this thought to the back of his head. Then, he turned to Angelina, who had reattached her head and was rotating her neck to ensure it was securely in place.
“What exactly is going on?”
The background of that specter wasn’t complicated and could be said to be really simple. In less than 10 minutes of explanation, Rhode learned everything about the specter. Of course, Angelina didn’t forget to use this chance to complain about her tragic encounters. If it were others, perhaps they would laugh, thinking that Angelina was exaggerating. But after witnessing Angelina’s plight earlier, no one believed that she was kidding just now.
“I see…”
After hearing Angelina’s narration, Rhode nodded. He knitted his brows and gazed at the silent specter young lady, before turning and exchanging looks with his younger sister. Rhode almost figured out why the specter young lady followed Angelina around. Even though Angelina wasn’t an official card spirit of his, she had a contract with him, after all, which was why she possessed some of his aura. On the other hand, Rhode was the Void Dragon, so naturally there was the scent of the Void Dragon in his aura. It was apparent that this was the reason that triggered the specter young lady, forcing her to awake from her slumber and follow Angelina around. As for why the specter young lady severed Angelina with no rhyme or reason, perhaps this specter young lady who disliked speaking was using her unique way to spur Angelina to bring her back to her master.
Just that… this method was somewhat too bizarre… Frankly speaking, this was the first time Rhode was so hesitant in recovering a holy sword card. He wasn’t willing to accept a maniac who would lay hands on anyone randomly.
“Don’t worry, Master. Fifth Big Sister isn’t that much of a troublemaker.”
Upon detecting Rhode’s hesitation, Celestina consoled him.
“Even though I don’t deny the fact that Fifth Big Sister is peculiar, she is respectful toward ordinary lives. The reason why that little vampire, Angelina, was severed was thatbecauseshe is an undead creature, that’s all. That is the way Fifth Big Sister interacts with undead creatures… You may not know it, but Fifth Big Sister and Big Sister Shira are a perfect match… Big Sister Shira also loves being… So… You know it, Master.”
“…”
Upon hearing Celestina’s words, the corners of Rhode’s eyes twitched slightly. He instantly recalled how the Undead Puppet, Shira, craved for agony… Shira was indeed abnormally-dedicated to pain. If it were her, she would be excited to be severed into chunks. According to Celestina, the specter young lady had a favorable relationship with Shira, which meant that the former was also pleased to cleave Shira…
After imagining the scene of that specter young lady wielding a sword, slashing Shira into chunks, and them looking into each other’s eyes lovingly, Rhode couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down his spine. Suddenly, he felt like as a holder of the holy sword card deck, he had a responsibility to correct the outrageous moral values of his card spirits.
That strange, eerie thought dwindled from his mind. Rhode sheathed his sword and sauntered toward the specter young lady. Upon witnessing his approach, the specter young lady raised her guard. She clutched her sword and stared at him, before shifting her gaze to the young lady behind him and revealed an obvious, dazed look on her beautiful face. Rhode wasn’t mindful of her reaction. He extended his right arm and gazed at her white eyes.
“I think you’ve sensed my power. So, it is time for you to make a decision. Are you willing to become my card spirit and fight for me?”
“…”
Facing Rhode’s question, the specter young lady pondered for a few moments. She continued to look at him and laid down the sword gradually. Then, she loosened her right hand’s grip on the hilt and extended her arm forward.
