The Shackles of Freedom

"Elder sister!!"

Barely dodging the blade that slashed down from the darkness, Fina called out hopelessly. Before her, Mina, her face cold, held a longsword, aiming it at her sister.

"Why, why..."

Fina couldn't understand why Mina would suddenly attack her. They had been walking peacefully, but in the blink of an eye, Mina had drawn her weapon and was attacking her. Unable to defend herself in time, Fina had no choice but to flee, but even so, Mina severed one of her arms. After all, that terrifying swordsmanship could even annihilate ordinary protective shields; it was simply beyond the capabilities of a low-level mage like Fina.

"What's wrong, sister? Why did you do this...?"

A sharp pain shot through her shoulder. Although the vampire's healing power allowed Fina's wound to heal quickly after she was injured, Mina's weapon was, after all, a magical weapon crafted by Li Lin, and naturally possessed special abilities.

"Fina."

Just then, Mina finally stopped what she was doing and stared coldly at her younger sister. In her eyes was a gentle look that Fina recognized.

"This is for our own good."

"I... I don't understand..."

Fina gripped the staff tightly in her hand, a gift also made by Li Lin for her. With a single thought, Fina could unleash powerful magic stored within it to attack. However, she was unwilling to do so. After all, that was her sister... Fina did not want to draw her sword against her.

Don't you understand?

Mina suddenly took a step forward, startling Fina involuntarily stepped back. However, she quickly realized that her action was too cowardly, struggled to stop, and mustered her courage to look at Mina.

"Fina, think about it carefully. What were we once? We were priests, spokespeople for the God of Justice. We brought hope, peace, and justice to the world. We soothed their suffering and made the world a more peaceful place. We were proud of our responsibilities, and we were proud of them. But what have we become now? Evil, terrifying undead monsters. Sustaining our false lives by relying on the blood of others. Is this really the right decision for us?"

"..."

"No!!"

Mina suddenly screamed, startling Fina.

"I absolutely will not allow it! We are not dolls; we are human beings. We have our own thoughts and our own will! I don't want to live like this anymore!"

"But, sister... we've already..."

"I know, I know very well..."

Mina's hand, gripping the sword hilt, trembled slightly.

"We are no longer human; we have even been deprived of the freedom of our souls. But are you willing to be controlled by that little girl forever? Are you willing to sink into this forever? We shouldn't have ended like this. Now, I have made my decision. I don't need anyone else to manipulate my body and soul. Even in death, I want to die with dignity!"

With that, Mina raised her longsword and pointed it at Fina.

"Take up your weapon, sister. What will you do? Kill me, or let me kill you?"

"Sister, this, this is so strange...!!"

Mina's words startled Fina. Although she felt Mina wasn't wrong, Angela's long-term brainwashing had suppressed the little girl's independent thinking to a minimum. She didn't believe Angela had done anything wrong; in fact, it was Angela who saved them, sparing the sisters from death, wasn't it?

Why must it be...?

"I know I can't fight them. Miss Angela could take control of my body with a single command. But at least I can decide our deaths. Come on, do it! Fina, if you don't kill me, then I'll kill you. This is for your own good; even if only you are saved, it will be enough for me."

"No, sister, I absolutely will not do it."

Fina gripped the staff in her left hand tightly and tried to retreat, but there was nowhere left to go. Although Angela's "brainwashing" was very successful, she had not been able to instill a violent temperament into the mind of this naturally gentle girl.

"You shouldn't do that anymore. You should know very well that the master is very powerful. There's nothing good in disobeying him. Besides, they're the ones who saved us from the clutches of the God of Justice. Sister, no matter what, I will never believe in a god who tried to kill my sister and take over her body. You're wrong."

"..."

Mina stared at Fina in silence, then let out a long sigh.

"It seems we have nothing more to say. Then let me see you on your way."

"..."

As Mina drew closer, Fina closed her eyes. She offered no resistance, but instead prayed... or rather, even Fina herself didn't know what she was praying for.

"Hiss..."

Gazing at the closed-eyed girl before him, the Mind Flayer let out a low, excited growl. In fact, he had already unleashed his power upon discovering the sisters, attempting to bewitch and control these foolish humans. However, to the Mind Flayer's surprise, while the sword-wielding girl seemed easily controlled, the mage girl beside her appeared completely unaffected by his mental attacks. This alarmed the Mind Flayer, but he quickly regained his composure and used the already possessed older sister to launch his attacks. Sure enough, after repeated attacks, the mage girl's resolve finally wavered. Excellent. If this continued, she would become his most delicious meal...

Thinking of this, the Mind Flayer couldn't help but excitedly shake its mandibles.

Just then, a sweet yet icy voice came from behind him.

"Take your filthy hands away from my kitten, you drool-covered octopus head."

Enemy attack!!

The Mind Flayer was startled and hurriedly floated forward. At the same time, he thought for a moment, and a solid, hard mental barrier immediately unfolded, enveloping the Mind Flayer's body.

"Madness!"

Angela chuckled softly, her velvet folding fan transforming into blue lightning that pierced the mind barrier in front of the Mind Flayer. A crisp shattering sound rang out as the barrier, which could even withstand powerful magic, was easily broken. The unstoppable blue flash continued forward, striking the Mind Flayer's body hard.

"----!"

As a race that uses psychic powers, Mind Flayer naturally know how to protect their bodies. However, Angela's attacks are completely unreasonable and reckless, obliterating any obstacle in their path. Therefore, even though the Mind Flayer strengthened their bodies with their psychic abilities in the face of Angela's attacks, they ultimately could not escape being sent flying.

"Miss Angela?!"

Fina opened her eyes in surprise and looked at Angela standing beside her, completely at a loss for words.

"I thought you were up to something, but I never expected to fall for such a low-level illusion."

Looking at Mina, who was slumped on the ground, and the Mind Flayer, who was lying in the corner, Angela snapped open her fan and complained with dissatisfaction.

"It seems there's nothing wrong."

Just then, Li Lin arrived. Because the Mind Flayer had been knocked unconscious by Angela, the previously omnipresent mental fog gradually dissipated. After the fog disappeared, everyone could clearly see the ground beneath their feet and the scattered bones. Obviously, these must have been the victims of the previous Mind Flayer.

"However, on another note, I just overheard you saying something quite interesting."

Angela narrowed her eyes, a fierce killing intent instantly filling the entire cave. She looked at Mina, who had woken up from her coma but couldn't move an inch, and Fina was curled up in the corner, trembling slightly.

"If I heard correctly, you all want to rebel against me, don't you?"

"Angela."

Seeing that things were going badly, Li Lin had no choice but to speak up, but Angela did not obey his orders as usual.

"Master, please don't interrupt. This is my problem. It's for me to resolve."

"... Then, it's up to you."

Hearing this, Li Lin was somewhat surprised, but he remained silent for a moment before making his decision. Angela nodded slightly, then slowly walked to Mina's side and looked down at her. Despite enduring this gaze filled with murderous intent and brutality, Mina still insisted on raising her head and looking at Angela's face.

"Foolish thing, how dare you defy me? Try to escape me?"

Angela said coldly, then reached out and grabbed at the air.

Mina's longsword was instantly pulled away by a powerful suction force, falling into Angela's hand. Sensing it was being controlled by someone who wasn't its master, the magic sword immediately put up a strong resistance, but Angela gripped the sword tightly, a faint Black Mist enveloping it, forcefully suppressing the Weapon Spirit's rebound. Then, with a casual flick of her wrist, she pointed the sword at her maid with a movement dozens of times more elegant and agile than Mina's.

"Miss Angela!!"

"Fina, don't be so talkative!"

Angela didn't listen to Fina's words; she kept staring at Mina with an unusually serious and cold expression.

"I am also a practitioner of mind manipulation, so naturally I understand how to control others. Are you suggesting that your sister's words were all just the drooling octopus-headed nonsense? I don't think so. The best way to manipulate others is to make them believe that your thoughts are absolutely correct... Isn't that right? Mina, do you have this thought—or is it just my delusion?"

Silence.

"It seems that it was not just my wishful thinking."

As Angela spoke, Fina covered her mouth, unable to imagine what would happen next. Li Lin, standing not far away, frowned, but ultimately said nothing.

"Then, I will give you a chance."

As she spoke, Angela suddenly stretched out her beautiful, slender, and white fingers and lightly traced them across the sharp blade. Bright red blood flowed from the wound on her fingers and dripped to the ground.

"I will give you one chance."

Angela, who would normally fly into a rage at the mere sight of dirty clothes, was remarkably calm this time. She held her finger out to Mina, letting her precious blood drip onto the ground.

This is the blood of the True Ancestor, one of the oldest and most powerful Vampire Species.

"Drink my blood, Mina."

Angela's eyes grew even redder and brighter.

"Once you drink my blood, you will no longer be lowly servants, but will be transformed into independent Vampire Species. From then on, nothing I say will affect your thoughts, bodies, or souls. This is my chance for you—drink it, then leave my sight and never appear again. As independent Vampire Species, strive to live a good life in this world."

Is this the choice you've given us?

Mina gazed at Angela's fingers and slowly asked.

You only have one choice.

Angela's expression was cold and calm, but no one knew what she was really thinking.

Mina's expression was momentarily confused, but she quickly regained her composure. She turned her head, glanced at Fina, then took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and met the dripping blood.

Clearly, she has made her decision.