If You Die, Don't Blame Me

At this moment, Yukino Yukinoshita had no idea that her sister and mother were already reeling from the shock of her performance.

She had no heart to think of anything else. With a grave expression, she watched the scene before her, her magic power fluctuating, betraying the turmoil within her.

Cold air surged around her, constantly firing ice in various shapes. She appeared extremely aggressive, yet Sharon easily shattered every attack with her hands and feet. Sharon even seized a few fleeting opportunities to close the distance, inching closer to her bit by bit.

Even though they were indoors, Sharon seemed completely unhindered by the environment. Her figure darted across the floor, leaped onto the ceiling to kick off in a flying dash, and rapidly bounced back and forth off the walls. Her silhouette flitted left and right like a shadow, dodging and shattering the incoming ice attacks one by one.

Thanks to this, the distance between her and Yukino Yukinoshita grew shorter and shorter. If not for the fact that the Yukinoshita family estate was a mansion with an absurdly spacious living room, she likely would have already reached Yukino Yukinoshita and unleashed a relentless close-quarters assault.

This left Yukino Yukinoshita unable to afford even the slightest carelessness.

I cannot let her get close, or I will be defeated in an instant.

Yukino Yukinoshita easily arrived at this conclusion.

She was not Leo. Although she had learned the magic detection of the Eligos clan, she lacked the Eligos bloodline and, ultimately, was missing those unique, innate talents.

With her detection ability, being able to sense Sharon's presence was already an outstanding feat. To imagine she could spy on Sharon's every move like Leo, and thereby rely on footwork to dodge her onslaught, was nothing more than a pipe dream.

She was, after all, a traditional devil and a peerage member of the bishop rank; utilizing magic power in combat was her true strength.

Once Sharon closed the distance, her meager proficiency in aikido would likely be crushed by Sharon in an instant.

Therefore, Yukino Yukinoshita decisively chose to change the battlefield.

"Swish!"

Bat-like devil wings unfurled behind her back. Yukino Yukinoshita took to the air, flying out of the living room through the balcony.

Sharon followed without hesitation, her charging figure kicking up a gust of wind that sent the living room into a state of turmoil.

Only when both of them had left the living room did Haruno Yukinoshita and Mrs. Yukinoshita finally snap out of their stupor.

"Yukino, she..."

Mrs. Yukinoshita watched Yukino Yukinoshita fly away with her devil wings unfurled, her lips trembling.

"A devil..."

Haruno Yukinoshita also stared at her sister's departing figure in a daze, her expression gradually becoming complex.

There was no longer a need to talk, nor was there a need to confront anything further.

Everything before their eyes was the best proof, the best evidence.

Her sister, Yukino Yukinoshita, had truly become a devil.

Devils and exorcists—they truly existed.

As this realization dawned on her, a sense of urgency welled up in the heart of Haruno Yukinoshita.

Yukino... could she be about to be exorcised by the church?

"Quick! Haruno! Stop them!"

What Haruno Yukinoshita could conceive, Mrs. Yukinoshita naturally realized as well. Her expression shifted drastically, and a flicker of anxiety appeared in her eyes.

There was one thing Yukino Yukinoshita had been wrong about from the very beginning.

That was the fact that her parents had never once treated her as a mere replacement for Haruno Yukinoshita.

They had intended to groom Haruno Yukinoshita as the spokesperson and successor of the Yukinoshita family, preparing to entrust everything to her. They also felt that compared to Haruno Yukinoshita, Yukino Yukinoshita was not yet mature enough and had many shortcomings. However, that did not mean they could sit idly by while their own daughter was harmed by others.

Even if that daughter had already turned into a devil, it made no difference.

The two women of the Yukinoshita family immediately ran out of the living room and headed outside.

Unfortunately, they were unable to stop the battle.

Because this place was about to become a forbidden zone that they could not even approach.

"Swish!"

Outside the Yukinoshita mansion, the silhouette of Yukino Yukinoshita soaring with wings spread appeared nimble and agile. She didn't look like a bat at all, but rather a snowbird darting through the cold wind.

As she flew, she shifted directions from time to time, dodging the incoming light bullets.

On the ground, Sharon, who was rushing toward her, drew her exorcism gun and pulled the trigger repeatedly, firing silent light bullets.

Compared to Sharon's physical movements, the threat posed by the light bullets was naturally greater; no devil could afford to ignore them.

In the past, being targeted by such a dense barrage of light bullets would have surely made Yukino Yukinoshita nervous, making the hair on her skin stand on end.

But after seeing the sacred gear of Asuna Yuuki and coming into close contact with the holy sword—the most terrifying thing for a devil—she suddenly felt that compared to the holy sword created by Asuna Yuuki, mere light weapons were nothing.

Light was indeed a poison, but poison could be countered.

The holy sword was different. Even touching it would cause one to be scorched, and being struck by it meant erasure. That was the most terrifying anti-devil weapon.

When the two reached an area with a wide field of vision, Yukino Yukinoshita finally stopped.

"Not planning to keep running?"

Sharon arrived before Yukino Yukinoshita, looked up at her as she hovered with wings spread, and let out a soft laugh.

Yukino Yukinoshita ignored Sharon's provocation, looking down at her from above with a face as cold as ice.

"I will make you regret plotting against my family."

Yukino Yukinoshita spoke these words, enunciating every single syllable.

"Shouldn't you be the one regretting it, having reincarnated from a human into a devil?" Sharon likewise ignored Yukino Yukinoshita's provocation, tilting her head as she said, "And a devil who has only been reincarnated for a month at that. Do you really think you can beat me?"

It had to be said that, in Sharon's eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita's performance was already enough to be called stunning.

Despite being a devil who had only reincarnated a month ago, she was already able to use demonic power with such proficiency. Various advanced techniques for manipulating demonic power, which were out of reach for ordinary devils, were used with incredible skill, fully deserving of the evaluation "brilliant."

Her demonic power was also far stronger than that of an average low-class devil who had recently reincarnated. Many devils who had been reincarnated for years could not even cultivate such a scale of power, which was enough to show just how great the talent and aptitude of this second young lady of the Yukinoshita family truly were.

Sharon had to admit that Yukino Yukinoshita made her want to exclaim in admiration.

Unfortunately, she was a devil.

"You have great talent; even now, you don't lose to some powerful middle-class devils." Sharon drew a pair of light sword daggers, slowly activating them as she said, "But compared to that person, you are still far behind."

"Even when I first met him, he was already much stronger than you are now."

The person Sharon was referring to was, naturally, Leo.

Three years ago, she had been transferred to Chiba Prefecture and had her first conflict with Leo. When they clashed, Leo's strength was already quite formidable.

Even though he hadn't reached the level of a high-class devil yet, he had already reached the peak combat power of a middle-class devil at that time. Within that rank, there shouldn't have been any devil stronger than him.

While Yukino Yukinoshita's performance was indeed astonishing, she had only just reincarnated, after all, and could not compare to Leo at that time.

As someone who had already firmly established herself as the strongest exorcist in Chiba Prefecture back then, Sharon had been able to hold her own even against the Leo of that era. She had kept him entangled, annoying him to no end while he remained unable to pose any substantial threat to her, which was how the so-called "ill-fated relationship" had come to be.

If she, Sharon Holygrail, hadn't been afraid of Leo back then, why would she fear Yukino Yukinoshita, who wasn't even at his level yet?

Not to mention, three years had passed. Leo had broken through to become a high-class devil, and Sharon had also become much stronger; at the very least, she wouldn't lose to Leo as he was when he first promoted.

In other words, Sharon already possessed strength vaguely comparable to a high-class devil.

If it weren't for the fact that Leo had become a high-class devil and awakened the "peerage transformation" trait after coming into contact with evil pieces—a cheat-like ability that allowed him to soar—the original Leo would have truly just continued to be entangled with Sharon.

Sharon had also thought she would be entangled with Leo forever. Who would have guessed that she would only be away for a few months, and that man would have made such leaps and bounds that she could no longer comprehend his strength?

As she was now, she was far from being a match for that person.

Thinking of this, Sharon couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of resentment.

And so, she had set her sights on Yukino Yukinoshita, who had become Leo's subordinate.

Of course, she also knew that Yukino Yukinoshita's strength did not end there.

"You haven't used your sacred gear yet, have you?" Sharon held a sword in one hand, walking slowly toward the direction where Yukino Yukinoshita stood. "Give it your all, otherwise, this will be your first time tasting the pain that light power inflicts upon you devils."

Yukino Yukinoshita watched Sharon quietly, her demonic power manifesting as an aura, burning continuously.

"Come forth, Absolute Demise."

At Yukino Yukinoshita's command, the princess of ice appeared.

The moment she manifested, the cold air surging around Yukino Yukinoshita surged dozens, if not hundreds of times over, causing ice crystals to condense in the air.

The moment she manifested, the temperature of the entire world seemed to plummet, instantly dropping below zero.

The moment she manifested, Sharon's breath turned into white mist; despite her constant exhaling, she could not stop her body from growing colder and colder.

The moment she manifested, the sky seemed to dim slightly, and snowflakes began to drift down from above.

"Hoo—"

The princess of ice exhaled gently, her breath transforming into a freezing wind that grew larger and larger, instantly turning into a blizzard-like cold wave.

"Crack, crack, crack, crack—"

The earth was freezing over, and a frozen land gradually took shape, preventing Haruno Yukinoshita and Mrs. Yukinoshita, who were rushing toward the scene, from daring to approach any further. They stood in place, shivering, just as they had on the day of the school opening.

Sharon's expression finally turned grave.

"So this is the Longinus—Absolute Demise?"

Just as Sharon's murmur faded, Yukino Yukinoshita's voice followed immediately after.

"If you die, don't blame me."