The current situation was two choices out of twenty-one, a probability far smaller than the five out of twenty-nine when Shade had made his selection.
Regardless, the girls had to continue choosing.
The elder sister in the white dress told her worried younger sister not to be afraid. Just as she was about to speak, Shade tapped the tabletop, signaling her to remain silent for now.
He frowned again and took a sip of the liquid in his glass. This blood-brew of the demon wasn't particularly harmful to the body; it was simply that the bitterness was difficult to accept.
"Saint, you said that if I brought more blood, I could exchange it for a better blessing at the end."
"Yes."
The blood-drinking deity knew what Shade wanted to say. He gazed at the outsider at the other end of the long table.
"So, you wish to discard the blessing I granted you to help these twins?"
Shade glanced at the two girls from the corner of his eye.
"Yes."
It wasn't just out of sympathy for them, but also because Shade was truly unwilling to accept a blessing from the deity before him. After all, the other party was an Evil God; accepting the power of an Evil God haphazardly was not a choice a sane person should make.
Of course, if the other party were willing to give him a drop of Divinity directly, Shade would not refuse no matter what. But that was clearly impossible now, so Shade chose to exchange the opportunity for the Evil God's blessing for an opportunity to help the girls.
"I can grant your request, but think carefully. I originally intended to give you some power related to the 'Blood Moon'."
The Saint's eyes seemed to convey another meaning.
"Yes, the Blood Moon, one of the three moons."
Shade hesitated for only a moment before shaking his head.
"Power can be obtained at any time, but I still want to help them... Could it be Divinity?"
He asked greedily, but the Saint did not get angry; instead, He laughed.
"If the collection you brought were delicious enough, I would certainly not be stingy with that power. Unfortunately, it is interesting enough, but not delicious enough."
"Then, may I ask a question?"
Shade was direct.
"Why, strictly speaking, is this not the Sixth Epoch?"
The twin girls could not understand these two exchanges.
The blood-drinking deity simply shook His head.
"I cannot tell you that. After all, it is currently the Fifth Epoch; how could I possibly know things regarding the Sixth Epoch?"
He spoke in the Drarion language.
"Very well. Then I voluntarily discard the blessing you wished to give me, to make the remaining choices simpler for them."
Shade didn't ask for the twin girls to simply pass the final stage of the party, as the deity hosting the event would certainly not let them go so easily.
"Sir..."
The girl in the black dress spoke softly. This was the first time during the party that anyone had dared to interrupt while the deity was speaking.
"Actually, you don't have to—"
"No need to say more. I am willing to help you simply because I encountered you. Just remember to be grateful in your hearts."
Shade looked at the girls. The two young girls, appearing to be thirteen or fourteen, were even younger than the youngest girl Shade was familiar with, Angelina Cavendish.
"I don't know what kind of people you will become or what things you will do in the future. But if you can retain the memory of me, remember to find Miss Mana Felianna after you become witches. That would be a way of helping me."
The two girls nodded together. The deity then spoke
"Since you voluntarily discard the blessing, let us play one last game."
With a snap of fingers, a copper-colored six-sided die spun wildly to the right of Shade's hand. When it stopped, the number facing up was six.
"Try your luck; you throw it. The number multiplied by two will be the number of remaining wine bottles."
This meant that even in the worst-case scenario, the girls would only need to choose two bottles out of twelve.
Shade picked up the die and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"God, I do not doubt your fairness, but will you manipulate the result of this die?"
"Oh, unexpected guest, I haven't even mentioned that you possess the blessing of the God of Gambling, yet you dare doubt my impartiality?"
Shade nodded, thinking that what He said made perfect sense.
He tossed the die onto the tabletop. After a few *clink-clink-clink* bounces, it spun and stopped on the number 1. That meant only two bottles remained. Two out of two; the party was over.
Shade knew his luck was very good, but he still found it hard to believe that the deity opposite him had let the girls go so easily. He looked up to speak, but the Saint had already started.
"Look, girls, the luck of the gentleman before you is truly remarkable."
The deity accepted the result, as if it were expected.
As He revealed a meaningful smile, the blood of the lightning-struck unfortunate and the blood of Priest Augustus automatically flew up, filling their glasses.
These two types of blood were essentially human blood; drinking them had no side effects other than being somewhat disgusting.
The girls solemnly raised their glasses to Shade. Shade also raised his glass, which contained only the last sip, and toasted the twin girls from across the distance before they all drank their respective blood-brews.
"Your wish is to sever that ancient contract, to be free from the obligation of the seal, and thus be together forever."
The deity spoke softly.
"Although the blood you brought is precious, it is not enough for me to realize such a complex wish. However, I can give you power so that you may seek help from other deities."
A blood mist rose and gradually converged before the twin girls. The scattered mist gathered, eventually transforming into a fluttering red butterfly before the girls.
Shade frowned. He had just recently investigated red butterflies in his own timeline; he hadn't expected to encounter one again in the past.
The red butterfly composed of blood mist eventually landed on the table before the girls, transforming from something that looked alive into a completely dead object. The red butterfly split down the center, becoming two halves, left and right.
"Each of you hold one half; it can temporarily delay the fate destined to fall upon you. Before the red butterfly disappears, you can seek the [Twin Gods]—the deity who masters balance, opposition, and the power of the twin guardians. Here is information regarding Him; I believe finding Him will not be difficult, and for the sake of this blood butterfly, He will help you."
A scroll of parchment landed beside the split red butterfly. Shade had no intention of checking it. After all, in the era he lived in, the Twin Gods had already departed, and since this was knowledge granted by a god to the girls, he would likely only see a blank page if he tried to look.
"However, I must warn you."
The deity revealed that meaningful smile again.
"If you only wish for the Twin God to help you sever the responsibility of the ancient contract, that will likely be very simple. But if you seek the power to be together forever, then He may give you some interesting choices. After all, that Twin God is two-in-one, not two-in-two like you. The true form of twins in His eyes is different from yours."
When saying "two-in-one," He glanced at Shade.
The double doors of the hall, which had turned blood-red, opened. The girl in the black dress and the girl in the white dress each took half of the red butterfly, and the parchment was collected by the elder sister in white.
They stood up holding hands and bowed slightly to the deity in gratitude.
"Thank you for your generous gift, but regardless, we must try. God, please allow us to offer sacrifices to you in the future to repay this kindness."
After thanking the deity, the girls did not leave immediately, but bowed to Shade in the same manner.
"I am Grace," the girl in the white dress introduced herself.
"I am Helen," the girl in the black dress introduced herself.
"These are our names, and we have decided to discard the surnames given by our family to live only for ourselves, so please forgive us for being unable to tell you our surnames. Thank you again, truly thank you very much, sir."
Shade shook his head slightly. He neither approved nor disapproved of the girls discarding their responsibility to guard the seal, so he offered no judgment.
"I helped you simply because I encountered you, girls. This is your own good luck; live well. Also..."
He suddenly frowned.
"The place your family is responsible for sealing... it wouldn't happen to be the boundary between life and death, would it?"
【You certainly have a vivid imagination.】
"She" whispered with a laugh in Shade's ear.
"No, it's not," the girls shook their heads together. "It is an evil entity from a sub-space."
Shade nodded.
"That's good. It seems I was mistaken... I cannot judge the actions of others, but if you have power in the future, remember to find a way to resolve the place that needs sealing. You have escaped your own fate; if possible, do not let more twins repeat that terrible fate in the future."
The girls nodded, looked at each other, and then each untied the ribbons from their hair. Grace's ribbon was white, and Helen's was black, each adorned with a black-and-white butterfly decoration.
They tied the two ribbons together, letting the black and white butterflies overlap, and handed them to Shade.
"Sir, I know you would not want a gift that is too precious."
This was evident from Shade's refusal of the [Demon Hunter's Seal] from the old man who had already departed.
"These are accessories we have carried with us since childhood. We hope they can accompany you. We wish you luck."
Shade hesitated for a moment and accepted the inexpensive gift.
"Alright, leave this place quickly."
"Farewell."
Grace and Helen held hands and walked quickly through the door behind Shade. The door closed with a jarring sound, though Shade noticed that every time he arrived, opening the door made very little noise.
Only Shade and the Saint remained in the hall, looking at each other.
"So, can the party end now?" Shade asked softly, holding the entwined ribbons.
All the blood-brews had been consumed, but Shade could only leave once the deity opposite him declared the party over. Although this key to the year 3014 of the Fifth Epoch hadn't brought Shade great gains, he had obtained many interesting stories.
If it ended peacefully like this, it seemed quite good.
"There is no need to rush; I can answer one question for you."
The blood-drinking deity said with a smile
"No need to ask; I will answer directly.
I will tell you a basic rule: when you come to a time that does not belong to you, the power of the Father of the Infinite Tree has been protecting you. Therefore, no matter who you face, as long as you do not actively provoke them, a god like me cannot act to kill you. Although the Ancient Gods have departed, they are also forever present."
Shade suddenly understood. That was why the Evil God before him had been using him for amusement without causing any substantial harm.
"I was indeed puzzled by that, but why tell me this at the end?"
"Because you are leaving, and knowing this, won't your future journey be more interesting?"
The deity smiled.
"Although you refused my blessing, this party indeed became more interesting because of your existence. Therefore, I shall give you a small gift."
He gave Shade no time to refuse; a red light entered Shade's right eye directly.
"When you use your oddity [Blood Echo], you will be able to clearly distinguish any vampiric race; they will be unable to hide before you."
This served as a new property added to [Blood Echo].
"Thank you for your generosity. However, are you truly not interested in my blood at all?"
"Yes."
The Saint spoke seriously.
"Perhaps you do not understand it yourself yet, but the moment you do, you will realize that while I am interested in the blood of any mortal, I am uniquely uninterested in yours."
Shade nodded and stood up to leave. It was now the 23rd minute since entering Nightfall Manor; this was the first time he had left without exhausting all his time.
"Also."
As Shade stood up, he couldn't help but ask again
"Do you happen to know the endings of the other four people who attended the party?"
This pertained to the future.
"Of course I know."
"Then..."
"They all died."
"I see..."
"All mortals must die, and all things must end. Did you think you could still meet them in the distant future?"
The deity asked. Shade stood by the chair, thought for a moment, and shook his head.
"Yes, all things end and will die... Speaking of which, in that blood of the magma colony you tasted, there was phoenix blood, wasn't there?"
"Yes."
"It seems the [Spirit Cult] indeed has a connection with the phoenixes of Mount Sicar. The so-called Ancient One sealing the mountaintop passage is most likely an ancient phoenix. Oh, this also explains why that relic-level flame in Sister Daphne's hand could guide me in the Interstice. I wondered why that flame felt so familiar (Chapter 598); now that I think about it, I saw a similar fire in the Dark Realm (Chapter 522)."
He thought this in his heart, but said aloud
"Then, once aga—"
He almost said "farewell," but fortunately, Shade focused his attention in time. He didn't want to encounter this Evil God again.
"Then, we bid farewell. Your party was very nice, and very tasteful."
He bowed to the deity by the table.
"Thank you for the compliment. Now leave, unexpected guest."
He then watched as Shade walked into the white mist behind the double doors, until the mist vanished.
The deity sat alone in the blood-red party hall. In this ancient Nightfall Manor, a triumphant expression appeared on His face. Fangs slightly peeked from the corners of His mouth. Tapping the tabletop, He smiled and said
"Well then, until we meet again."