So this is her choice, huh. I would have killed him but I suppose this works too. She doesn't seem to have realized that he would commit suicide if someone told him to die, but I'll keep quiet about that.
'I guess I should try to find the rest of her family, though it could be hopeless.'
With her father dealt with, it was about time we returned to the objective of escaping, but luckily they finally got here.
"Wait, our job here is already over."
"What do you mean?"
I was glad that she got the chance to sort things out with her father, so I wasn't upset about these guys showing up to take the good part.
"Help has arrived."
From here it just sounded like a commotion at their rear, but I could sense their numbers dropping at a swift pace.
'As expected of her people. Naturally thugs like these can't compare. Still, I hope that she doesn't let the boss get away. Then again, what am I worried for? How could Queen commit a blunder like that when I'm here helping?'
Meanwhile, at the bottommost floor of the underground facility where the commotion was happening, there was a single delicate figure trying to escape.
She wasn't the least bit frightened when she heard that a group of brats had managed to break out of their cell. After all, the moment she heard about it she activated a spatial lock mechanism so that they couldn't teleport out easily. In her mind their struggle would be fruitless in the end so there was nothing to worry about. But her face instantly went pale when she received notice that that woman had found this place.
She didn't doubt that her identity had been discovered, which was exactly why she couldn't allow herself to get caught.
The blue-haired woman quickly made her way to an elevator and had only one motion left before it would open for her. At that moment, she heard the echoes of heartwrenching taps approaching.
'Damn it! Already?!'
She didn't dare turn around and only rushed to open the elevator.
She repeatedly pressed the icon that lit up on its control panel, but nothing happened. Overcome by anxiety caused by the incoming presence, the woman smashed her fist into the panel, cracking its screen, before attempting to open the elevator manually.
"Why are you in such a rush to leave? It hurts my heart to see you trying to run away from me."
The woman didn't even bother to respond to the words of the one slowly closing the distance between them. However, when a dagger of ice was thrown through the gap right between her ear and her temple, the woman froze.
"I won't miss the next one, Katherine."
As her name was called in such a cold voice, the woman flinched before reluctantly turning around to face Queen who twirled another ice dagger in her right hand.
If Jeanne was here, she would have recognized that this woman was the same one who was singing at that music hall. She was the musical genius comparable to the finest sirens and mermaids, as well as a beauty who could confidently be put among the top in the Demon Lands. Nonetheless, her face still could not get more than a passing mark when compared to Queen's.
"I didn't expect to see you personally, Queen."
Katherine tried to act cordial before the ruler of Night City, so she responded with a similar level of class.
"Well, even I didn't want to believe that one of my own would betray me like this. I always knew you had radical ideas like succubus superiority, but I didn't expect this."
"This is a necessary evil. For the sake of our kind, we can't afford not to take what we can from those we can exploit. Besides, the people here are basically our property, what problem is there in selling them?"
"I have to correct you there, Katherine. The citizens of Night City are not our property, they're mine. And I do not remember giving you permission to treat them as yours."
As Queen confronted Katherine, the one was in a weaker position was quickly revealed. Although her voice was still soothing, rather than a gentle lullaby it was like an ominous sleeping potion.
"Is that so. So you'll take this from me as well, just like my right to succeed your position."
"Hmm? What are you talking about, Katherine?"
Queen seemed genuinely confused, but Katherine wouldn't buy it. After all, the number of men that had been fooled by her act was too many to count.
"Don't play dumb. I know you're planning on making that little girl your successor. I can't say there's anything wrong with that decision either. She's sweet, obedient, and most importantly she has the same aptitude as you, doesn't she Queen?"
"..."
Queen faced her with a difficult expression, neither admitting not denying her claim.
"As I thought. But! I can't accept that, Queen. I worked my hardest so that I could follow your footsteps, so that I could uphold the prestige of our race. So I can't just let you treat me like this."
Queen stared at Katherine for a couple more seconds before sighing in exasperation.
"I won't even bother to address your misunderstanding. The fact that you went against my rules is proof that you weren't fit to succeed me from the beginning."
"Hmph, say what you will. I don't need to beg for your forgiveness. Just like you've always done, if I want something, I'll take it."
As Queen sensed the magic power rising in Katherine, for a brief moment, disappointment flashed through her eyes, before she threw the ice dagger she had at her. In response, Katherine blocked the dagger with a barrier of wind which she then directed at Queen.
It was a swift and sharp attack that would easily take care of most demons, but Queen wasn't just a pretty face.
Queen took care of 90% of her enemies with just her charm, but that didn't mean she was weak to the few who could resist her beauty.
Instead of a weapon, she created a handfan of ice and waved it in the direction of the incoming gust. The breeze that came from her fan cancelled out Katherine's attack, making it as if nothing had happened.
As Queen then leisurely waved the fan at her own face, Katherine couldn't stop the irritation threatening to overflow.
'This woman...! She's always been the same, arrogant before both enemy and ally. She was my role model, and she still is, but I can't stay in her shadow any longer.'
"La~, la-la la~, lala la-la, la~"
Suddenly, Katherine fixed her posture and started singing. To literally anyone else, this would just be a mysterious action, but as the one who had watched her mature, Queen instantly saw through this secret technique that she had kept hidden.
The encroachment had already begun, but thanks to her quick response of blocking sound from reaching her, Queen managed to protect herself.
"I didn't expect that you would have learnt this lost magic. I wish you had told me."
"I was going to, but I chose to surprise you instead."
Sound was no longer exchanged between them, but it was simple for them to read each other's lips. Smiling faces were worn by both, but it was clear that surprisingly, Queen's expression was more relaxed.
Katherine's trump card was something so powerful that even Queen could be dragged from her throne if she was careless, but exactly because she managed to push her so far Queen's eyes showed that she was ready to fight in earnest.
*Tap*
Queen took one step, and then all of a sudden she had appeared behind Katherine with a confident smirk.
"I hope you didn't think that spatial lock applied to Blink as well."
However, she wasn't the only one feeling confident.
"I didn't."
Right as Queen swung her fan towards Katherine's neck, she vanished.
"Hmm, oh my, it seems that I was the careless one."
She didn't know when she had done it, but the spatial lock had been removed, allowing Katherine to teleport away. Queen caught a glimpse of her pressing some sort of button before disappearing so it was likely the effect of a magic item. Which meant if she had kept a strict watch on her then she wouldn't have had the chance to use it.
"Really, though I'm glad that she's grown I'm embarrassed that I couldn't make the best of Crow's help."
"And you should be."