"It seems I am already dead."
These words reached Spinel's ears as she was still walking to her seat. She missed a step, barely stopping herself from falling. She turned to her father, hoping to see one of those playful smiles he sometimes had.
He was smiling, indeed, but there was nothing amusing about it.
"Bring a mirror," he said, striking his sword against the floor.
Übelbarth complied, relaying the message to the servants outside. Quickly, a large mirror was rolled into the room.
After dismissing the staff, the king stood before the mirror for a moment before motioning for his children to approach.
"What you are about to see is confidential. I trust your discretion."
The children nodded. All of them instinctively realized the gravity of the situation—if their father was ready to show them his status, then something was very wrong.
They all agreed. All except Spinel, who stood frozen behind them.
"Here I am, exposed," said their father. "You can see for yourselves."
"What... How?" Uzalil asked, his brows furrowed in an expression of horror.
"Well, well, this is quite an interesting situation. I must say, you never fail to impress me, Father," Padparadscha said, her eyes gleaming strangely as she stared at the mirror with interest.
"How long have you been in this state?" Übelbarth asked, cutting straight to the point.
"A few months now. Heh, not exactly good for the heart, is it?"
Their father laughed, but the expression on his eldest son's face was anything but amused.
"..."
Swallowing her nerves, Spinel decided to step toward the mirror. With each step, her heart pounded faster… or was it louder? She couldn't tell. What she did know was that she did not want to see what was written on that mirror. She didn't. Not at all.
But she had to.
If she didn't look, she would probably regret it for the rest of her life.
That's why she kept moving forward, pushing her elder siblings aside without showing them the slightest respect or offering any apology. She had to know. She had to see.
"...!"
[Status]
Path: Violet
Level: 16
Health Points: 1/1↓↓↓
Name: Silva
Age: 61
Gender: Y
Class: King of Berattelse
Rank: Black
...
Equipment: Cursed Sword Tyrfing; null; Gentle Crystal Armor; Gentle Crystal Greaves; Ava's Necklace;
...
Effects: Human, Immunity to [Poison], Immunity to [Toxic], Immunity to [Paralysis], Immunity to [Cantarella], Snowdrop 999/999, Perseverance, Gentle Crystal, Smile, Nightless, Fatigue x5
…
*Snowdrop:
Unique poison. Fuse Path with Red. Inflicts 999 damage every second for 999 seconds. Transfers the target's experience to the caster upon the target's death. If the affected target is [Dead], inflicts [Flower of Renewal]. Cannot be dispelled.
[/Status]
On her father's status screen, a strange condition appeared under a familiar name—it was the nickname her older sister, Alpis, used to call him.
A unique poison she had never heard of? And with her name? What was going on? Was it because of her that he was down to 1 HP?
"As you can see," their father continued, "my life hangs by a thread."
"By a thread?" Padparadscha repeated. "Father, you don't even have the [Living] status anymore. In a sense, you're already dead... Oh, you're talking about that."
She pointed to the word [Perseverance] on the mirror.
"A condition that allows you to survive fatal blows with 1 HP. You've been maintaining it for months?"
"As you can see! So, impressed?"
"Hm..."
Padparadscha seemed to ponder her response for a second, but her conversation with her father was quickly interrupted.
"Long live the King of Berattelse! Triumphing over death as over his enemies! Our father and our pride!"
It was Uzalil who had stepped forward, slapping his father heartily on the shoulder as he would a classmate.
"U-Uzalil!"
Spinel couldn't help but shout.
She knew her brother was tactless and lacked grace, but to this extent? How could he react like this when their father was in such a state? Slapping his shoulder when he was at 1 HP? Was he trying to finish him off?
All these questions remained stuck in her throat, as she was unaccustomed to expressing her thoughts clearly. There was at least one thing she wanted to tell him clearly: he should be executed on the spot!
"What are you doing?!" she yelled, clenching her fists. "Let go of Father, or else—"
Her sentence was cut off by Padparadscha, who stepped in front of her so abruptly that she almost fell.
"Very impressive, Father!" she exclaimed, spreading her arms. "I knew you were talented, but to this extent? You impress me a little more every day! May I embrace you as I tried to earlier?"
"... Eh?"
Her older sister's reaction greatly surprised Spinel. She had always been eccentric, but was this really the time to react this way?
"Hmhmhm... Did you doubt it, dear sister?" Übelbarth added with a smile. "Our father is the greatest warrior of Berattelse. Maintaining himself like this for months was child's play for him!"
"B-Bell?"
It was now Übelbarth's turn to congratulate his father. He, who never smiled, now displayed unrestrained joviality at his father's "accomplishment."
"Come now, my sons, you're almost making me blush like a young man in his prime! And you, Padpa, do you really need to ask permission to hug your father? Come here!"
"Yeah!"
Padparadscha let out a small cry of satisfaction before embracing her father under Spinel's stunned gaze.
"Pfft, still Daddy's girl, big sister? I know he's exceptional, but you're overdoing it!" Uzalil said.
"You'll see Father excuse her by saying she takes after Mother," Übelbarth added.
"Hehehe, ah, she does indeed take after her mother in that regard," their father replied.
"You see?" Übelbarth said with a smirk.
"I confirm," Uzalil added, visibly amused.
"You're just jealous, admit it!" Padparadscha replied, sticking her tongue out at her brothers.
"Who? Us?" one asked.
"Not at all!" added the other.
The tone of the last line made the king laugh, quickly followed by his sons and daughter. Only Spinel watched the situation, mouth agape, eyes wide open, recording every second of this insane spectacle unfolding before her.
Uzalil and Bell acting like best friends. Bell smiling and cracking jokes. Even Padparadscha was behaving more bizarrely than usual.
"Who are these people?"
She couldn't help but ask herself. Who were these things moving and speaking like her family? Homunculi? Was this some grand test of Padparadscha for her?
No.
No, no, no.
It wasn't possible.
These things were too detailed to be mere low-quality copies. And then there was her father's status—Padparadscha was talented, but not to the point of falsifying such a thing.
But that would mean... that would mean her father was truly afflicted by this strange condition that was killing him every second.
Looking at the mirror, her doubt was confirmed. Every passing second, her father's HP dropped to 0 for a moment before returning to 1. This, over and over, drowned out by her siblings' laughter.
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Spinel screamed at the top of her lungs, covering her ears to block out those horrible laughs. Those impious mockeries. Those counterfeit howls.
Then she realized. Alpis. Among these lunatics who only cast her a glance before returning to their nonsensical banter, her older sister Alpis was missing.
After Übelbarth, she was the most reasonable of them. Surely she could bring them back to their senses!
"Big sister! Alpis!" she called out.
She looked left and right, searching for the distinct golden braid. But Alpis was nowhere to be found.
Spinel tried to shout her sister's name again, but her throat felt tight. Beneath her health bar, she noticed the [Silence] status for a moment before it disappeared. Someone had cast a spell on her.
Her breathing quickened, and Spinel frantically scratched at her throat until it bled. Fortunately, when she looked up, she finally spotted Alpis.
She had simply stayed behind at the table.
"Alpis!" she tried to call, but no sound came from her lips.
It didn't matter. She just had to approach her sister, and she would understand. Surely, she would bring the others to reason!
Step by step, she advanced, an odd chewing sound resonating in her ears and a foul odor wafting toward her. Her feet, initially quick in their movements, gradually slowed until they completely stopped.
Alpis had turned around, revealing black sclerae and glowing red eyes. Her skin was pale and marked with blue veins, and in her hands was a strange bloody mass connected by an odd thread of flesh to the gaping hole in her stomach.