Advent of the Three Calamities

Pebble's strategy was great.

Play through the wyvern's pride, and use it against it in order to convince it to form a Will. It was great and all, with Pebble picking up a few things here and there from me, but...

'Did you seriously have to throw shots at me like that?'

I understand that Delilah was exceptional. She was likely among the top ten strongest people in the world. Only a few individuals were probably stronger than her, and most of them were old monsters on the verge of death or had lived for more than a human's natural lifespan.

She was young and had an entire future ahead.

She was great…

"Kh."

'It's frustrating that I can't even argue back.'

Indeed, if the wyvern signed a pact with Delilah, it would have something that Pebble didn't have, which was… a better host.

'…Damn, cat.'

In spite of my inner turmoil, I didn't show anything on the outside. I merely looked at Pebble with eyes slightly more narrowed than usual.

Pebble didn't seem bothered by my stare and kept its attention fixed on the wyvern, which shifted its gaze between me and Delilah.

Feeling the wyvern's judgemental gaze, I found myself licking my lips.

I could practically read its thoughts aloud.

'My bloodline is weaker, my future is worse, my pride is insignificant, but if I...'

Soon enough, what I expected to happen happened, with Pebble successfully manipulating the poor wyvern.

"Keh…"

It even started to wear a smug expression as it eyed Pebble, gradually shifting its body toward Delilah. At the same time, it cast a glance in my direction, as if to say, I may not have a pure bloodline, but at least I'm not the Will of a weak human.

"Tsk."

My tongue unconsciously clicked.

'I should've just let Delilah kill it when she had the chance.'

"Human."

Arriving before Delilah, the wyvern bent down, its move facing her direction.

"Consider yourself fortunate; I'm willing to become your Will. In return, you must vow to help me acquire a new body once you break free from your current restraints. If you do so, I'll follow you and help you for the remaining years to come."

"…."

Delilah didn't say anything at first.

She seemed a bit taken aback by the turn of events, but after shooting me a quick look, she placed her hand gently on the wyvern's muzzle.

The instant her hand touched the wyvern, a blinding black glow erupted from her, engulfing everything around us, including me.

It all happened so fast that I didn't have the time to react.

By the time I reacted, it was already too late—the world around me plunged into complete darkness. Luckily, the darkness didn't linger for long.

Within seconds, the darkness began to dissipate, and before I knew it, I found myself back in the vast room Delilah had brought me to earlier.

The wyvern's massive body lay motionless behind the large glass window, a black bone hovering above it. Delilah swiftly reached out, claiming the bone and seamlessly integrating it with herself.

Regaining my composure, I glanced around quickly, finally locking my gaze on her.

"Deli—Chancellor."

I moved toward her, but to my surprise, her attention was fixed elsewhere. She didn't seem to notice me at all, her focus locked on something before her.

When I reached her, I tilted my head to the side and saw a small black crow on the ground. Its figure was slightly chubby, and it sat there, bruises scattered across its body.

That…

When I tilted my head to look at Delilah, I saw her wear a weird expression as her lips squeezed together.

As it gently patted its body, the crow managed to lift itself up and was about to speak when Delilah's lips finally parted.

"Hum—"

"….I don't want it."

"Uh?"

Be it the crow or me, we both looked at her in surprise.

Her next words froze both of our expressions.

"It's ugly. I don't want it."

*

A few hours later.

"Honestly, I think you're exaggerating," I said.

"The only reason it looks like that is because of how much you beat it up. Once it recovers, it'll start looking better."

I tried my best to calm Delilah down. As we headed back to her office, she sat down, her expression neutral, but the dissatisfaction was unmistakable.

She wasn't happy with her Will.

I never took her for someone who cared much about aesthetics.

But more than anything…

"…."

I turned my head, my gaze falling on the corner of the room where a solitary figure stood. Its back was hunched, and its wing twisted in circles against the floor.

"….What does it mean to be alive…?"

For a moment, I thought the area it was in had turned completely gray.

Honestly, this wasn't the reaction I'd expected from the fearsome, powerful creature Delilah had been battling just moments ago.

That… I couldn't even associate the two.

I get that Delilah's words were hurtful, but I didn't expect them to induce depression. Then again, thinking about my own Wills and Aoife's Will, I came to the realization that all Wills were just weird.

Staring at the crow, I even started to feel bad.

Scratching the side of my neck and seeing that Delilah still seemed unsatisfied by the crow, I found myself moving next to it.

"Hey…"

"Oh."

The crow merely acknowledged my presence before going back to twirling its wing on the ground. It then started to spew its own gibberish.

"Life is more than aesthetics. It's about the soul…"

"Uh…"

The situation looked worse than I had imagined. I hadn't even seen Pebble be this depressed in the times it got bullied by Owl-Mighty.

Thinking for a moment, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small chocolate bar, carefully opening it. At the same time, I made sure Delilah couldn't see or smell it. Catching a glimpse of her, I saw she hadn't noticed a thing, so I lowered my voice and whispered,

"Here, eat this."

"Uh…?"

Smelling the chocolate, the crow turned its head to look at it. Cocking its head a little, it reached forward with its beak and took a small bite of it.

"….!"

Almost immediately, its eyes widened in surprise!

"What intense flavor?!"

"Uh, wait…!"

The crow's eyes sparkled as it locked onto the chocolate. Before I even had a chance to process what was happening, it lunged at the bar, swallowing it all in one swift gulp.

I didn't even have the time to react before all the chocolate was gone.

I lowered my head, staring at the empty wrapper, then at the crow covered in chocolate. I pursed my lips, unsure whether to be amused or annoyed.

'Who said they weren't a match?'

…This crow really took after its master.

But at the same time I thought this, I started to have a terrible feeling.

A really terrible one.

If—

"What's this?"

A voice whispered in my ear, and before I could react, a figure appeared beside me. She was so quick that I barely had time to process it, and when she glanced over, her eyes immediately locked onto the crow and the wrapper in my hand.

Her previously indifferent expression shifted as her eyes slowly widened, her gaze flicking back and forth between the crow and me.

She had an expression that screamed 'Why did you betray me? Again...?'

No, I didn't…

Unfortunately, whatever word I said would go on deaf ears with her as her foot slung towards the crow, sending it flying away.

Dank!

"Ukeh!"

The crow let out a pained groan as it tumbled across the room. By the time it hit the ground again, Delilah's cold eyes were fixed on it.

"You fat pig."

So she called the crow…

"…You took what's mine!"

Realistically speaking, it's mine.

With a pale face, she pointed at the crow.

"As expected, I need to get rid of you. A monster will always be a monster."

"No, wait—!"

She raised her foot and kicked the crow again.

"Ukeh—!"

The sight was both disturbing and comical. Seeing Delilah so aggrieved was a rather interesting sight. In any case, I wasn't too worried about the crow. It was in the form of a Will, so regardless of what Delilah did to it, it wouldn't die or suffer any real pain.

"Disgusting pig."

….At least physically.

Mentally, I wasn't so sure.

But…

"Lard of fat."

'This is a new side of Delilah.'

Seeing her cold yet disgusted gaze as she kicked the crow… I won't lie; I found myself unable to look away from her. There was something about the way she carried herself—so... commanding.

Gulp.

'Wait, wait, wait.'

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts as I pressed my hand against my chest. I felt a disturbing beat in there, and my lips twisted. Slapping the sides of my cheeks, I quickly snapped out of my state as I took a step back.

That…

'What sort of thoughts was I just having?'

Did all the pain I previously suffered turn me into a…

"No, it can't be."

I quickly shook my head and dismissed those thoughts.

Such dangerous thoughts…

"Hmm? Is something wrong?"

It was as if she had some kind of sensor. Delilah's head snapped to face me, her face only a few inches from mine. I took a step back, startled.

"Ah…"

I was caught off-guard, and as I stared at her face—her perfectly shaped features, long silky black hair, and those deep eyes—I couldn't help but feel myself growing flustered.

This is bad.

"Julien? Did something happen?" Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire

"Oh, ah, no…"

Yes, something did happen.

But not in a good way.

Fuck, get away.

"Then?"

"Er…"

I licked my lips, doing my best to keep a straight face as a mix of thoughts flooded my mind. In the end, I decided to bluff my way out of the situation.

Only that...

"I just thought you were... ehr, very pretty."

"…."

"Ah."

"...."

I fucked up.