Fates Parallel Chapter 392 - Grudge (Patreon)

Yu Meiren staggered back, clutching the wound on her belly. Though the cut was deep, Yoshika could tell that she’d barely scratched the surface where it really counted—just a flesh wound. But it was a wound. The demon was no longer an unassailable foe—she could be hurt.

Unfortunately, Yoshika wasn’t sure she could actually do it again. Master Ienaga’s Soul Severing Strike was a work of art—a display of perfect mastery that made incredibly efficient use of her limited resources. Or at least, it was when she used it. For Yoshika, it had taken everything she had, and the tiny trickle from Chou’s realm wasn’t enough to replenish her.

“You little bitch! How dare you?! Do you have any idea what—?”

Yu Meiren cut herself off, her eyes widening as she came to a realization. She immediately tried to reassert her domain, to rebuild the connections that Yoshika had just severed, but Yoshika clamped down on it with her own, refusing to allow the demon to gain any ground.

Meiren narrowed her eyes dangerously at Yoshika.

“Really? You’re going to pit your pitiful essence against me?! You are not strong enough.”

She redoubled her efforts, but Yoshika’s domain held firm. Normally, Yu Meiren would have been right—but the academy belonged to Yoshika. All of her strongest bonds were linked to this place. The demon couldn’t take it without a fight.

“Tsk, how annoying.”

Yu Meiren raised her arm in Kaede’s direction, but hesitated as she readied her blade. Yoshika could see the faint hint of fear in her eyes. The same technique that had robbed her of her arm, used by the disciples of the woman who’d done it. She hadn’t considered Ienaga to be a threat either.

The demon had a tendency to ‘play with her food’ as Yang Qiu put it, but she was still an ancient immortal from the divine realm. She hadn’t survived as long as she had by being incautious.

The moment of hesitation cost her. Across the battlefield, the demons were breaking. Many fled for the shield, while some just abandoned the field entirely, and those that remained turned on each other as readily as the army facing them.

One of the xiantian demons quit the battlefield almost as soon as Meiren’s thread was broken, and Lin Xiulan wasted no time rushing to Yoshika’s aid.

Meiren grimaced as she sensed the approaching foe.

“You’ll pay for this...”

She turned to smoke and vanished, her presence rushing towards Yoshika’s camp. Yoshika could sense her malice—she wanted to deal a parting blow.

Kaede tried to chase after her, but she was barely keeping her body together. She didn’t have any hope of catching up. There was only one option, then. Meili had projected her soul into Yoshika’s spirit form avatar, but that didn’t matter anymore.

Whether it was Yoshika, Meili, Jia, Eui, or even Kaede—they were all Yoshika now.

Meili rose from her meditation and flew out of her tent as quickly as she could. Her body was unscathed, but she was still just as depleted spiritually. She could only hope that she managed to delay Yu Meiren enough for Dae to complete the spell he was using to evacuate her family.

They arrived at Jung’s tent at the same time. Within, Yoshika could sense Dae frantically trying to complete the formation—a teleportation circle. Clever of him not to try running normally—they’d never escape that way—but it was still too slow. He wouldn’t finish in time.

Meiren scoffed as Meili stood in her way.

“Another one?! Fucking dao companions—just how many of you are there?”

“Enough to stop you.”

The demon rolled her eyes.

“I can tell that body is weaker than the others. What’s to stop me from obliterating you and everything behind you?”

Meili swallowed her nerves, trying to project more confidence than she actually had.

“I only need to hold you long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Maybe you manage to kill me, maybe you manage to kill them, but can you do it before the real threats arrive? Is that a risk you’re willing to take just to hurt me?”

“Yes.”

Yu Meiren hurled a ball of concentrated Miasma essence, aiming directly for the tent. Meili didn’t have any other option—she threw herself in the way of the attack, taking the full brunt of the attack and immediately collapsing as the infectious essence began worming its way into her.

The demon advanced on her with a look of utter contempt.

“You don’t understand, do you, little girl? This isn’t about the sect’s enclave, or the Tear, or Chou’s tomb. This isn’t about the battle, or the war, or about victory or defeat. You’ve stepped into the world of immortals, blissfully clueless about what that truly means.”

Meili writhed in pain. Meiren’s poison was so much worse than Yang Qiu’s—she could feel it burning at her essence, spreading through her meridians and latching onto her soul like a tumor. Yu Meiren stepped on her throat and glared down at her, heedless of Lin Xiulan being only moments away.

“Not only have you wounded me, you worthless little upstart, but you did so with the same technique as the horrid bitch that took my arm. I will remember you, Yoshika. I will make sure that a piece of you capable of suffering survives long enough to see everyone you know and love scream your name.

“First in pleas for help, then mercy, then curses as they come to know that their suffering is your fault. I will make you watch your world burn, until everything you know is ash. I will not grant you death until you come to love the suffering, until you beg me to hurt you more just because it’s the only thing you have left. Then I will take that from you as well. That’s what it means to make an enemy of Yu Meiren.

“It’s personal now.”

Yoshika could feel the bond forming in the depths of her soul. A horrible, vile thing that squirmed and writhed within her. It wasn’t her bond, it was Meiren’s, and as much as Yoshika wanted to reject it—wanted to deny anything that would give her enemy power—she couldn’t. The feeling was mutual.

“I’m so glad you understand. Let’s start with the mommy, shall we? Two birds with one stone.”

Yu Meiren raised her arm towards the tent, and Meili’s body refused to move to stop her.

Sacred Art: Sapphire Tomb of Eternal Rest

An enormous sphere of ice snapped into existence where Yu Meiren stood as Lin Xiulan descended from the sky. The demon reformed above the sphere, that damnable purple mist of hers somehow escaping the technique.

“How lucky! Don’t worry, Yoshika—we’ll meet again. I promise you this isn’t over.”

She took off into the horizon, narrowly dodging another attack from Xiulan.

Rather than give chase, Lin Xiulan rushed to Yoshika’s side, stopping just shy of touching her.

“Yoshika! What’s happened? You feel—no, nevermind, we need to stop this poison.”

Meili shook her head.

“N-no. Forget me—you need—need to stop...”

“There’s no point in chasing her now. You did well enough just stalling her, now stay still.”

Yoshika could feel Xiulan’s essence washing over her, but though it slowed the spread of the venomous essence, she couldn’t do anything about the roots that had latched onto Meili.

To make matters worse, Pan Jiaying chose that exact moment to leave the tent, despite Dae’s protests.

“Meili!”

She rushed over, but Xiulan stopped her.

“Don’t touch her—the demon’s poison will spread to you.”

“What’s happening?! Is she going to be okay?”

Xiulan didn’t answer, but her grim expression spoke volumes. Yoshika could feel the poison creeping along her soul, trying to find more ways to spread. It wasn’t as powerful as Heartrender had been, but shared a common base. Perhaps it was simply the same technique without divine essence behind it.

“J-Jiaying...”

“Meili! I’m here, Meili, you’re going to be fine! Promise me you’re going to be okay!”

Meili chuckled weakly.

“Are you reassuring me, or asking for reassurance?”

“Both!”

Tears welled in Jiaying’s eyes as she fought the urge to rush forward and embrace Meili.

“I’ll be okay. I already beat a stronger version of this technique once.”

Of course, she’d done that in a moment of extreme duress and at the height of her post-ascension power, but Jiaying didn’t need to know that.

“Miss—Lady—um, Grandmistress Lin?”

Lin Xiulan smiled at Jiaying.

“Xiulan is fine, dear.”

“You’re a healer, right? You can fix this? Like you saved Jung.”

“I’m afraid not. This is different from a normal injury or illness. The poison within her carries the intent of a xiantian demon. It’s a malicious toxin that will fight against any attempt to cure it.”

Jiaying’s hopeless expression hurt more than the poison. Meili groaned, fighting to sit up.

“Xiulan, what do I need to do?”

She pursed her lips.

“The poison is like a cancer—an affliction that plagues older mortals. It feeds on your essence, using it to grow and spread. Normally, I would suggest cutting out the tumor but...these roots run deep, Yoshika.”

Yoshika sighed—she’d been afraid of that.

“I can do that. I can cut off the part that’s poisoned.”

Jiaying’s eyes widened.

“Wait—no! Don’t you dare!”

“Jiaying, this is the only way. Trust me—it’s not what it looks like. You told me to promise, right? I’ll be okay, I promise.”

“Don’t lie to me! You’re not the same if Yoshika reforms you! You’ll still be Meili, but you won’t be my Meili!”

Yoshika winced. This wasn’t the sort of thing she wanted to discuss in front of others. Xiulan, bless her, caught on and stepped back forming a shell of ice around Jiaying and Meili.

“Remember, don’t touch her.”

With Xiulan’s last warning, the shell closed, giving the two of them privacy. Meili sighed, trying her best to fight the pain of Yu Meiren’s poison.

“Jiaying, it’s not like that anymore. I—it’s going to take a lot of explaining, but I’m more than just a part of Yoshika now. Even if this body disappears, I’ll still be here. All of me—not just a memory or an image.”

“What? How? Is your soul still in the avatar?”

“Yes, and in me, and in Hayakawa, and in what’s left of Jia and Eui in the Sovereign’s Tomb. They—I ascended. We’re all one, now.”

Jiaying’s confusion turned to fear.

“Then...no matter what, if I’m talking to you, I’m always talking to Jia and Eui. Always talking to Yoshika. Meili...my Meili is already gone, isn’t she?”

“No! That’s not how it works! I—agh!”

A pang of pain tore through Meili’s body, and Jiaying reflexively reached forward to support her. Yoshika recoiled from her, pressing herself against the icy shell.

“Don’t touch me!”

Jiaying’s hurt expression was something Yoshika would never forget. She winced.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that—the poison—”

“I know. You’ve already made your decision, haven’t you? The only reason you’re even still here is for my sake—trying to explain it for me. You’re hurting just to spare my selfish feelings.”

Meili grimaced.

“I don’t want you to get hurt, Jiaying.”

“That doesn’t mean you should hurt for my sake! I’ve been the idiot this entire time, chasing after some fantasy that was never real. My Meili never existed—it was just a selfish creation that I forced on you. You don’t have to entertain my stupidity anymore.”

“No, Jiaying I—”

Meili winced again. The poison was starting to spread, and she was running out of time.

“Jiaying, I’m sorry for not responding before. I was scared. I didn’t know what to think about my own feelings, but if there’s one reason I’m still forcing myself through all this pain, it’s because I need you to know—”

She was out of time. The roots were threatening to dig deeper than she could stop.

“I love you too, Jiaying. I’m sorry!”

Yoshika severed the link to her avatar and destroyed it. The homunculus that had been Li Meili dissolved into loose essence, taking a painful chunk of Yoshika’s essence with it—along with Yu Meiren’s poison.

Jiaying covered her face and fell to her knees sobbing. For the second time, she’d had to watch Li Meili disappear right in front of her. As she wept, the shell of ice melted around her.

There, standing just outside, was Yoshika. Kaede’s face was bright red, and she pointedly refused to look at Jiaying, while Yoshika’s spirit avatar had an awkward cross between a smile and a grimace.

“Uh, so anyway, like I said, I’ll be fine. I’m still me. I’m really sorry there wasn’t a better way to prepare you for that. Xiantian cultivators are pretty hard to kill.”

Jiaying looked up at her in utter bewilderment, her face turning red. She stood up, strode over to Yoshika, and slapped her across the face.

“Ow! Okay I deserved that—oof!”

Jiaying interrupted her with a hug so forceful it threatened to bowl her over.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again!”

Meili hesitated, then returned Jiaying’s embrace.

“I’m not sure I can keep that promise, but I’ll do my best.”