Chapter 1197 The Sooner You Go The Better!
"Uhh…"
Invidia groaned before opening her eyes.
William's deadly punch scared her witless and, before she knew it, she had lost consciousness.
"That bastard…," Invidia muttered. "I'll make sure to take revenge after I–"
Invidia wasn't able to finish her words because the first thing she saw was the black-haired teenager who was looking at her with an amused expression on her face.
"H-Hiiii!"
Invidia's first thought was to back away, but then she found herself unable to move. The Half-Elf was firmly holding onto her waist, preventing her from moving, which made her feel anxious.
"Ha… hahaha. I was just joking earlier," Invidia said as she tried to pry William's hand from her waist. "You know, Superbia and I were just testing you if you are worthy to become our leader. I wasn't really trying to kill you or anything."
"Right," William replied. "Anything else?"
"Um… I, I was just a bit annoyed because you kept on ignoring me. So, I decided to p-play a little prank by copying the faces of your women?"
"Hoh~ so it was just a prank?"
"Y-Yes! Just a prank. A prank between friends, right?"
"I see…," William replied and gave Invidia a dazzling smile that made her heart skip a beat, not out of love, but of fear.
No matter how hard she tried to pry away William's hands from her waist, his vice-grip on her remained.
"S-Superbia, a little help, please?" Invidia pleaded after she saw her friend seated on a chair across from William. "W-Why don't the two of you talk first, while I take a stroll? This place looks so beautiful, that it just makes me want to appreciate the surroundings."
Invidia's words made the corner of Astrape's, Bronte's, and Titania's lips twitch.
The surroundings had been destroyed due to William's rage, and there was nothing beautiful around them that deserved appreciation.
Even so, William still held the girl who currently had Ella's appearance firmly to prevent her from escaping. Invidia had only lost consciousness for half an hour, so she still retained Ella's appearance.
"Our talks ended just a minute ago, but William has attached a few conditions," Superbia replied as she looked at her friend with a complicated look on her face.
"Um, what conditions?" Invidia asked. For some reason, she was feeling a cold chill running down on her spine, as if her life was in danger.
"Um, William planned to torture you–"
"No torture! Torture is not allowed!"
Superbia cleared her throat before continuing her words. "I knew that you would say that, so I negotiated on your behalf. Since you have the power to take on the appearance of others, you will spend at least an hour or two with William, while wearing the faces of the people he wants to see."
"That's all?"
"Well, he will also drink your blood on a regular basis."
"E-Eh? Could we skip that part?"
William, who was holding Invidia in place, chuckled. "Of course we can skip that part. We can just go straight to torture instead."
"Isn't it just letting him drink some of my blood? That's no big deal," Invidia immediately backpedaled in order to prevent herself from being tortured. "I am fine with this. You should have said this sooner. My blood tastes really good, you know? I'm sure you will get addicted after taking a mouthful."
Although she was doing her best to promote her blood as if she was a salesman planning to sell her items in bulk, she was cursing William internally for being shameless. Her first thought was to escape the moment the black-haired teenager allowed her to go and leave the Silvermoon Continent.
She would look for an uninhabited island to stay on and wait until the war was over.
'Just you wait!' Invidia vowed in her heart. 'Who would want to get sucked by you?'
Invidia smiled as best as she could, while cursing William, and his mother for being shameless.
But, what Invidia didn't know was that the more she tried to look happy the more William's gaze focused on her. He had only seen Ella's smile a few times in the past, and all of them were just fleeting moments.
Now that Ella was gone, the Half-Elf realized how much he really missed her. Although they hadn't seen each other for years when he was in the Central Continent, knowing that she was still alive somewhere put his heart at peace.
But now, things were different.
Ella was dead, and she used her artifact to protect the remaining part of his soul from being corrupted by Darkness.
'Astrape, Bronte, Titania, we will leave for Atlantis tomorrow,' William informed his subordinates through telepathy as he stood from his throne. 'Feel free to do anything for the time being. We will challenge Atlantis tomorrow afternoon.'
'''Yes, Master!'''
Invidia panicked because William still carried her even though the discussion was over.
"W-Where are you taking me?" Invidia felt alarmed because William was taking her away from Superbia.
"We're just going to start the deal we made today," William replied. "I'll be leaving for a while, and I don't know when I will return."
"You don't know how long it will be until you return?" Invidia felt reinvigorated after hearing William's words. Since the Half-Elf was going to leave, she could make her escape without anyone's notice.
"Yes," William replied. "Since that is the case, our first session of drinking your blood will start now. I will not be seeing you for a few days, so I'll take this opportunity to get a down payment from you."
"Good! Very well then, let's start this blood drinking session, shall we?" Invidia nodded her head happily. 'The sooner you go the better! I hope I never see you again!'
William chuckled internally because although he couldn't read Invidia's thoughts, he could assume what she was thinking.
Because of this, he decided to teach the Sin of Envy, what it was like to mess with him.
Superbia watched as William disappeared while carrying her friend in his arms. William had promised that he would not corrupt either of them in return for their services.
However, for some reason, she felt as if her friend, Invidia, would experience something that would make her wish that she hadn't stepped foot on the Silvermoon Continent.