Kapitel 10: Accept it with grace
The sudden change in Tristan's attitude startled Lily. She was unsure if this was a trick but decided to play along and see where it went. She nodded slightly and replied, "I'd love to learn what you mean."
While releasing her wrists, Tristan firmly held onto her waist with his hands. At that point, they were just inches away as he drew her closer to him. With his eyes fixed on Lily's, he leaned forward gradually. His breath lightly tickled her neck before he softly commanded, "Then close your eyes," with authority.
With her eyes tightly shut and her mind focused on what was coming next, Lily promptly and unquestioningly followed the instructions. She held her breath as she anticipated something unusual and intriguing to occur.
Tristan took this as his cue to lean in even closer, his lips hovering just above hers. He teased her by brushing his lips lightly against hers, tracing a feather-like trail across her lips.
Lily felt a wave of excitement flood through her body as her heart thumped in her chest. After everything that had happened between them, she couldn't believe Tristan was now expressing interest in her.
However, something unexpected occurred just as Tristan was going to kiss her to make things definitive. He cocked his head to the side to avoid an arrow that flew past his face.
Tristan swiftly moved away from Lily as he searched the area for the arrow's origin. His instincts kicked in at that precise moment. At that point, he noticed Lyla, who was ready to draw her bow and was perched high on a nearby branch of a tree.
Tristan had known about Lyla for a short while now, but he had never expected her to take a shot at him like this. He quickly realized that he had let down his guard, and that was something he could never afford to do again.
With her eyes fixed on Tristan's, Lyla wasted no time in retaking aim. He was prepared for her this time, though. Lyla was effectively forced to blow a gust of air toward the arrowhead so that it would entirely miss its target by his use of his influence to make Lily move in front of him as a shield.
As they both observed the arrow fall harmlessly to the ground, Tristan whispered in Lily's ear, "Good girl. You're learning quickly."
Lily was taken aback when she experienced an unconscious movement in her body. She stumbled a little but quickly got her bearings again to find Lyla's arrow lodged in the tree behind her.
As he observed Lyla's expression shift from shock to rage, Tristan grinned. He was aware that he now had the upper hand and that Lyla was exactly where he wanted her to be.
Lily was devastated to learn that Tristan had only used her as a protective barrier. She found it hard to understand that he would act in such a heartless manner, especially because her sister was involved.
Nevertheless, Lyla had already started to strike before she could say anything to Tristan.
She leaped off the branch and descended smoothly to her feet, charging at Tristan with her bow drawn.
While watching her approach, Tristan didn't give a damn. He was not afraid of anyone, certainly not someone as inexperienced as Lyla, because he was too sure of his skills.
Tristan utilized his ability of persuasion to once again move Lily in front of him as Lyla drew near. He had a different strategy in mind this time.
Lyla was caught off guard as Lily abruptly whirled and swung at her sister with a force that sent Lyla flying backward.
Lyla fell to the ground with a thud, and Tristan laughed as he saw it happen. He had underestimated Lily's strength, but what he had just witnessed moved him.
Tristan approached her, his eyes gleaming with amusement, as Lyla fought to stand up. He mocked, fully aware that he had the upper hand. "I guess you're not as tough as you thought you were."
Lyla's face twisted into a furious glare as she faced him. She watched him kick the bow out of her reach and screamed between gritted teeth, "You'll pay for this!!"
Tristan simply shrugged, demonstrating that he was unconcerned by Lyla's threats. He smirked and said, "I doubt it. But feel free to attempt it again at any moment. Besides, I didn't punch you; she did."
Lyla then stood and prepared herself for another round of combat against this man, who seemed unstoppable.
"You know I'm going to have a blast dismantling you piece by piece." Lyla could not attack Tristan with a wind attack without risking hurting Lily, so Tristan laughed evilly and made sure to maintain a safe distance between them.
Tristan was aware of Lyla's intense dislike of losing in a fight and realized that if he could destroy her spirit first, he would be better able to exploit the situation later on after he had her under his control. He knew he could win the battle, but he wasn't going to relax until the fight was over and done with.
Lily approaches Tristan and turns to face Lyla with her arms extended. She gives a headshake and gives a weak smile before stating, "This is not how you can win, Lyla! Kindly accept your loss with grace!" While Tristan carefully observed their conversation, she begged her sister.
Lily's sentiments were mocked by Lyla, who retorted, "I don't need anyone's assistance or counsel. You're supporting him, so he must have done something to you." She responded aggressively before turning to face Tristan again, saying, "I will not lose here today."
Lyla began preparing herself for yet another attack as Tristan nodded in agreement.
"It's better to pay attention to your sister now than to regret it later." Tristan gave Lyla a stern warning. "I'd rather have both of you than lose one of you," he said.
Lyla paused briefly as she heard the edge in his voice. She was a little taken aback, and although her eyes briefly widened, she soon regained her composure. Yet Tristan got what he wanted—a tiny window of opportunity—when the expression of astonishment lingered on her face for a while.
Tristan took advantage of the situation, rushed forward, grabbed Lyla by the neck, and branded the taming mark on her.
Lyla fought against his hold, but when she felt her body become limp from lack of air, she realized that she was powerless to break free. He could have crushed her windpipe shut, but his hand was still around her throat, and it was the only thing keeping her awake.
Looking up into Tristan's steely blue eyes, she anxiously struggled to breathe through her nose as they locked eyes. She was more frightened by his expressionless gaze than anything else in the world could ever be, since it gave her no indication of how much longer he would permit her life to go on.
He felt a tug from Lily as she moved in closer. As she saw her sister battle for breath, she pleaded with him, tears welling up in her eyes, "Please stop!"
Tristan released Lyla and stepped away from her as he sighed in disappointment. With uncertainty written all over his face, he turned to face Lily. He had always taken great pleasure in inflicting fear, anguish, and death on others. The image of Lily's tearful begging appeared to completely shatter his idea that he could ever feel regret or remorse for doing it.
Tristan whispered under his breath, "You two are lucky this isn't before my imprisonment, and I need to tame you two to complete the task. If I could have, I would have probably killed you both right now."
Tristan once again glanced up at the timer that had appeared above them as it came to a stop at thirty-nine hours and twenty-six minutes.
[Level One-ENIGMA has now concluded!]
[Level completion bonus: $10,000,000,000]
When Tristan discovered that he had earned the $10 billion prize for successfully finishing the level, he grinned triumphantly.
'Not a scam, I guess.' He exhaled a breath of satisfaction and a sense of relief.
Lily and Lyla waited eagerly for Tristan to speak as they obediently stood behind him.
Then he caught a brief message on his screen that he had never seen before, just as he was going to question if this meant he had the opportunity to treat the twins however he wanted.
[Would you like to report the bug?]
For a little while, Tristan mused on whether or not to report the bug that had transformed the girls into Yandere. He was aware that this bug-reporting mechanism would be accessible to the agency outside of the game and that all of his personally chosen activities would be recorded once he had finished them.
He ultimately chose to file a bug report since he didn't want to finish the game while still having a potentially harmful anomaly.
When he cautiously commanded in a low tone about his desire to leave the game, a dazzling light suddenly surrounded him and the twins, and a gateway appeared in front of them.
Tristan was in awe of the gateway and unsure of whether it would be wise to enter it. But before he had a chance to formulate a strategy, he felt a tug toward the gateway, and without warning, he was swept in.
"Tristan!" As they see him leave their line of sight, the twins yell out his name.
A short while later, they experienced a similar, inexplicable portal-like tug on them. The events were horrifying to them both, but they were powerless to stop themselves from following along like puppets on invisible strings.
*****
Tristan felt disoriented and lightheaded as he tumbled into the gateway. He couldn't place himself or understand what was going on as his surroundings blurred around him. Despite his attempts to maintain his balance, the portal's strength sweeps him away.
He finds himself suddenly in front of a massive door. It has intricate carvings all over it, and the polished wood has a small inscription engraved into it. 'Level Two: TEMPEST,' it states, and a countdown timer starts to run for one hundred and sixty-eight hours before completely vanishing from view.
"I shouldn't be on the next level right now, for fuck's sake!" Tristan yells in frustration.
*****
A/N
¶ Any idea on why Tristan is in self denial?
¶ How do you see level 1?
I would really appreciate your comments and support of this novel with your power stones. Your active comments would motivate me to write more chapters.
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein