I will not die a Villainess's death

Elysia could feel their eyes on her body. Both Adam and Eve were looking at her with interest, which made Elysia feel shy.

To be honest, she did not mind being in that transparent robe in front of her childhood friends since they had seen her at her worse, but it was still a little embarrassing to be looked at like this.

"Elysia, are you sure you are alright? The temperature has gotten a little colder, so walking in should be uncomfortable only that."

"N-No, I'm alright."

Elysia assured Eve, knowing fully well that she would be killed by Lord Yohan if she caused any problem during this ceremony.

This was the last step toward Eve's pre-Sainthood training. The younger girl might not realize it, but she would be appointed as the Saintess after this ceremony.

She would also be engaged formally to the Crown prince and Elysia could finally end this twisted relationship with the pair.

As much as both Adam and Eve claimed to love her, she was sure that they would be faithful to each other.

'And maybe I can take Chrome up on his offer afterward to visit the Akatsuki empire. I always wanted to travel outside the empire.'

It had been impossible before because Elysia had been too worried about the future but it should be alright once things were back on track.

"Elysia, look out."

Elysia stumbled in her steps, not looking where she was going and both Adam and Eve reached out toward her.

They managed to catch her but Elysia felt a light squeeze on her breast as well as her hips. And the pair was also holding on to Elysia a little tighter than necessary.

"Y-You can let go of me now. I don't think I am going to fall again."

Elysia reminded, causing both of her companions to blush red. But the hold did not lighten. Instead of being let go of, both Adam and Eve circled her waist and stood on each side of hers.

Elysia had not realized it before but she had been left behind in the height department. Even Eve had managed to grow taller than Elysia, almost catching up to Adam and her body was well-built as well.

As she ran her hand all over Eve's firm stomach, Elysia could not help but marvel at the toughness she felt under her hands.

"Elysia, don't feel me up if you don't want anything unfortunate to happen right now. I won't be able to control myself if you tease me like this."

Eve warned and that husky and wet voice caused Elysia to let go instantly. She looked up to see a flushed face and wet eyes looking back at her.

"I…that was not my intention."

"I know but you better be careful. I am not the only one who finds you sexy and I don't think Adam will be able to hold himself back if you tease him like this."

Elysia jolted away from Eve's body as if she was on fire. She turned around to see Adam staring at the pair with hardened eyes.

But the fire of desire was burning inside his heart quite brightly. His eyes showed what he could not with his mouth or his body.

"I understand. W-We should get going now since the sun is about to set."

Elysia pointed out toward the sky and both Adam and Eve had no choice but to give up for now.

The ceremony could only be held as long as the sun had not set so they had to hurry up toward the pool space.

Elysia had not been here for some time but she felt the cold feeling of familiarity seeping into her bones.

Just by being near the water, she could feel the essence of the ceremonial pool surrounding her. It was the same source of water after all.

"Give me a break. Why did you have to choose the most revealing robe for Elysia? I cannot concentrate."

Eve complained before Elysia but it felt like Elysia was hearing her from behind a thin wall. The voice was not clear inside her ear.

"I know I made a mistake but I am not sorry for it. I always wanted to see Elysia in something like this, but I felt she would not comply with me under normal circumstances. You should be thanking me for this opportunity."

Adam's words caused Elysia's cheeks to flush. The fox quickly jumped out of Elysia's arms and touched the surface of the pool with his nose.

Both the sacrifice and the weapon that had been chosen were to be sent into the water where they would cross to the other side.

Elysia also took out the Dirac present that had been prepared by her brother and laid it out at the shore.

From here on it would be a matter of time before the gate opened up and swallowed the offerings. Then it would offer something in return and the ceremony would be over.

Elysia waited and the gate finally opened. The fox jumped through the gate at once and then the sword was dragged through.

It was time for the pendant in the end and Elysia waited with her breath held tight for it to be taken away.

And the waves of magic finally connected with the pendent and began dragging it away.

But then the magic changed course. It warped around Elysia's arm and yanked her into the pool as well.

She tried to fight against the waves that were swallowing her up but it was difficult to do. Her senses were being overtaken by a familiar sensation of a vision.

The ceremonial pool was trying to show her something as it connected to the god's realm and it made Elysia afraid. This had never happened during any ceremony before and Elysia had no idea what to do now.

Outside, she could faintly make out the people who were calling for her to come back. And Elysia did want to go back as well. But it was like a dream.

She did not even have enough energy to even be able to reach out to the surface of the lake right now.

'My lungs are burning. What happened to the fox? Did it die as soon as it drowned?'

Usually, those sacrifices were alright since they had the protection of the holy grail but who knew what would happen this time?

It was not the magic of the holy grail but the humans that had caused it to transform. Elysia knew she should have expected something to go wrong because of this change but she did not.

And so she sank even deeper.

She thought she heard a fox's purr in her ear before she was yanked through the water. Her lungs were burning as soft arms warped around her middle and brought her to safety.

The people who had been looking from the outside could tell the exact second Elysia disappeared from the pool along with the other sacrifices.

This was the first incidence of the ceremony picking a human as a sacrifice so no one knew what would happen next.

____________________

Outside the forest, Lucas's cup had a crack all of a sudden as he took a sip of his tea. The crack caused it to break apart and Lucas looked at it in shock.

He was not the only one who found that scene to be uneasy. Everyone looked toward Lucas with shocked faces.

"Lord Dirac, are you alright? It is unlike you to lose control of your magic like this."

Chrome was the one who came to the rescue, his eyes looking at the pale complexion Lord Dirac supported.

Anyone could tell that Lord Dirac was going through a hard time right now.

"Huh? Ah, this? I am alright. I was not feeling well today so I lost control of my magic for a second there. There is no need for you to panic like this."

Lucas assured as he picked up the broken cup fragments. Even if she said that he was alright, he knew that he was not alright.

His symptoms were coming back and he was losing the function of his body and magic. It would not be long before his end came but he had to keep on pushing until the very last moment.

"I think my cousin needs to go out for a walk. We will be back soon."

Seeing Lucas's bad state, Chrome made the decision all on his own. But Lucas was not feeling well enough to stop him or react to his selfish desires.

He just followed after Chrome with a detached expression.

Those who watched the leave could tell that something big was going to happen. They were also afraid of a possible betrayal by the Dirac house.

But no one was more suspicious than Head Priest Yohan was looking at the pair with his eyes narrowed. He did not like this new turn of events since they were a danger to Eve and her position.

He needed to do something about his new emerging power and soon.