Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 80

A magical beast's instinct is to kill humans.

It needs no reason. Just as humans crave honor and achievement without cause, beasts simply kill.

No one understood this better than Sirine herself.

She'd long known that losing control meant killing people. By the time she noticed everyone treating her as a monster, she'd already abandoned human life.

Disgust at her monstrous blood, lamenting this meaningless existence... Such simplistic emotional games had ended ages ago.

Had she ever controlled that instinct, she might have glimpsed hope.

But no one would stake their life trying to control someone whose limits were unknown. People like Sullivan were rare.

Even her family gave up. What noble magic instructor would risk their career?

Countless tutors'surrenders only emphasized Sirine's imperfection.

No one remained who'd risk death to fix her.

Then only endless darkness remained.

Slowly sinking like the deep sea until even her father couldn't handle her, then quietly ending it all.

Just a brief visit to this world.

Killing fewer people along the way would be fortunate. Just tell those trembling in fear: I'm a monster, stay away.

The only mercy was that monstrous blood didn't always hinder.

Occasionally, the world contained those who deserved death.

Humans who harmed others, exploited the weak, assaulted women, and dragged innocents to ruin for selfish gain.

Seeing such people, Sirine often thought: Many called humans don't act human.

At least killing them brought no guilt.

Like the bastard before her now.

- Kwaaaaang!

Rocheste Mansion's outer wall collapsed as Derek emerged through the dust.

A beast in a pretty dress chased him, firing spells wildly to kill. Soon she followed inside, unleashing elemental magic.

'Not good.'

Derek frowned as dodging Sirine's spells led them back to the mansion. He'd hoped to finish this in the snowfields.

- Thud

- Crunch

Sirine stood atop rubble in moonlight, drenched in sinister mana blades, her eyes devoid of reason - hardly human.

"Eek! Lady Sirine's rampaging!"

"Call the family head! Now! We can't stop her!"

"Please spare me... please!"

The servants fleeing the garden had clearly seen this before.

Derek wiped blood from his shoulder, studying the blood-mad Sirine.

'Feels more like fighting high-level labyrinth monsters than a person. Magic-wielding beasts are troublesome, but this is worse.'

Creatures like Banshees, Liches, and Reapers specialized in slaughter magic and taboos.

Though rare, Sirine matched or surpassed their difficulty.

But he couldn't kill her. Or seriously injure her.

Yet holding back meant instant decapitation. Few could walk that tightrope against a 3-Star mage.

It required risking death. Teaching Sirine meant exactly that.

Derek wiped his face and took a deep breath.

- Whoosh!

- Bang!

Sirine moved like wind through the shattered wall into the garden.

Even rational, her speed strained eyesight. Now it required near-prescience to follow.

Derek calmly tracked mana flow, intercepting her 1-Star"Fire Arrows."

- Pababak! Pak!

He swung his staff, deflecting Sirine's claws.

- Kagakang! Kaang!

She shattered his sword with transformation magic, but the 4-Star staff held firm.

No prodigy her age could break it.

Derek kicked her away.

- Pabak! Kaaak!

Sirine tumbled across the garden into flower beds.

Servants hiding inside gulped seeing a noble lady treated so roughly.

Laying hands on nobility meant death for commoners. Yet Derek showed no hesitation, accustomed to wielding his"Rod of Love."

Head Butler Leighton shivered watching Derek's expression - eerily calm, devoid of emotion.

"Stand up."

Derek flicked dust from his staff near the flowerbed.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

Silence.

No movement from the ruined garden.

"Would this kill me?"

Derek's oppressive tone deliberately provoked. Though already mad, he pushed Sirine to her limits.

He understood.

Beasts kill by instinct.

But as Aiselin said, not all creatures live by instinct alone.

Humans suppress hunger, sleep, lust. They lie before injustice, act against self-interest from conscience.

Creatures defying instinct always existed. Even beasts and monsters weren't exceptions.

Many beasts had tried killing Derek.

But facing overwhelming power, they often abandoned killing instinct for survival.

Fear alone wasn't enough.

Only by regaining reason amidst instinctive rage could she overcome her bloodlust.

Killing urges came like waves.

Surviving small waves didn't mean controlling the sea.

Only overcoming the greatest wave mattered.

So Derek pushed Sirine to the absolute limit.

Until her entire being burned with the need to kill him.

Only then could she claim victory over instinct.

That first success would change everything.

- Whoosh!

- Clang!

The beast leapt from dust.

Her claws met his staff, but deflecting the mana blades following proved difficult.

- Pababak!

A 3-Star equivalent attacking solely to kill.

Derek intercepted most blades, but some cut his shoulder and collarbone.

Blood dripped down his arm, yet his expression remained unchanged.

- Flick!

He yanked his staff back.

Sirine stumbled forward as he twisted her wrist, slamming her face-first into snow.

- Kwadangtang! Bang!

He fired a mana arrow, forcing her to instinctively shield with defensive magic.

She grabbed his ankle, drawing blood, but Derek flung her away.

- Kwadangtang! Bang!

Close combat, ranged spells, psychological warfare, speed battles, firepower clashes... Derek surpassed her in all.

Though his wounds multiplied, Sirine began panting heavily.

Her limit should've come sooner.

The spells she wielded required veteran mages'concentration.

Spamming them guaranteed exhaustion, but the maddened Sirine didn't care.

- Thud!

Suddenly Derek grabbed her collar.

"Eek!"

She struggled, but his grip held firm despite bleeding wounds.

The strength difference was absurd - a trained man versus a magic-reliant girl.

"Kaaah!"

"..."

Seeing brute force wouldn't work, Sirine channeled more mana.

Despite nearing her limit, it kept flowing strangely.

- Hwaaaah!

Finally, she unleashed 3-Star Combat Magic"Freeze."

- Jjeojeojeojeojek!

- Kwadeudeuk!

- Hwiiiiik! Kadeudeuk!

3-Star"Freeze"encased everything within 10 meters in ice.

A decisive close-range spell even veteran mages avoided for its complexity.

Pushed to her limit, Sirine managed it.

- Hwaaaah!

As the mana faded, an icy world emerged - gazebo, trees, even leaves frozen solid.

Yet Derek's grip remained.

"..!"

Sirine's eyes widened sensing his move.

He'd predicted her spell and fired flame arrows at himself, preventing ice formation.

Burns and cuts covered him instead.

"Huh... heuk..."

Sirine gasped as Derek tightened his grip.

"Finished?"

"Huh... heuk..."

"Impressive spellcasting speed. I'll reference that Freeze magic."

"...You... heuk..."

"Seems you're out of mana."

Skilled in swordsmanship and hand-to-hand, Derek's raw strength was overwhelming.

Without magic, she couldn't win.

Even a blood-mad beast wouldn't charge certain death.

"Huh... heuk... heuk..."

Panting heavily, Sirine stared at Derek's bleeding form - unmovable as a mountain.

Slowly, reason returned to her eyes.

"Right..."

"..."

"I... can't kill you..."

- Pat!

- Kwadangtang!

Released, Sirine tumbled across snow.

"Rather... failing despite my all... feels relieving..."

"..."

"Kill me. This miserable death suits me. Never accomplishing anything... just living as a monster..."

Tears fell as she bowed her head.

Her dirtied dress and battered form seemed fitting.

"You're right. Living like this... I'll just kill again."

Clenching teeth, she screamed:

"Kill me!"

Derek's cold eyes gleamed as he pulled a small vial from his coat.

- Thud

It landed before her in snow.

"Floranen flower extract. Drink it."

"Ha..."

She'd heard from Aiselin about Derek's poison plan.

Perhaps making her end her own life was his idea of judgment.

She wanted final words:

"Tell father... I never resented him... for loving this monster as his daughter..."

"...Understood."

"Good. That's enough."

She drank.

- Tock

The empty vial dropped as she slumped.

Memories surfaced - her first killing, her father finding her amidst wolf corpses, leading her home silently.

She'd never turned her bloodlust on him. Perhaps her last boundary.

Despite everything, she'd felt loved.

She closed her eyes.

A tragic life. No right to play victim.

Born a monster, die a monster. If reborn... just be human.

The blizzard's cold embraced her.

The end.

"..."

Yet life continued.

Opening her eyes, Sirine expected poison effects. Instead, warmth spread through her body, restoring some mana.

"...What...?"

"Floranen flowers temporarily boost mana recovery. Enough to withstand cold."

"W-what...? Not poison?"

"If such poison existed, mercenaries wouldn't die clearing labyrinths."

"Then... this..."

Sirine gaped as Derek put away his staff, treating wounds indifferently.

"You regained reason at your limit."

"...W-what?"

"Well done."

Her jaw dropped.

For the first time, she'd killed no one during her rampage.

More from Derek's strength than her will, but she'd truly reclaimed reason from instinct's edge.

"Remember that feeling."

Blood dripped from Derek's wounds - all from their fight.

Yet he casually draped his cloak over her.

"Enough for today."

"......."

"You'll catch cold. Go inside."

He turned away, footsteps fading into the blizzard.

Sirine could only stare blankly.

- Step, step

"Ugh... heuk..."

Climbing the spire's stairs, Sirine groaned.

Her once-pristine dress was ruined, hair matted with dirt.

Servants should assist a noble lady in such state, but none dared approach uncertain of her sanity.

Alone in cold and solitude, she pondered:

'What... was that man...? Trying to teach me... to regain reason?'

He could've killed her, yet walked away casually as if completing a task.

'Was it all an act? Pushing me to overcome instinct...?'

Renowned as a magic instructor.

His skill in countering her mad assaults was extraordinary.

Unlike scholarly past tutors, he was thoroughly pragmatic.

If his every action aimed solely at fixing her...

If he'd risked his life to restore humanity to someone called monster...

- Step, step

Each stair step brought more confusion.

"Even so... even so... that doesn't justify his actions...!"

Gritting teeth, she recalled the noble girl dying in snow.

That sublime figure Derek had killed for interfering.

Too noble for a monster like her.

She couldn't forgive him for that.

"..."

Yet cold realization settled in her chest.

Who was she to speak of life's value?

She had no right.

Thus she couldn't blame Derek.

This truth gnawed at her further.

Still, Aiselin's death haunted her. Derek's cruelty in killing her made Sirine shake her head stubbornly.

Struggling to organize chaotic thoughts, she reached her room.

She needed rest.

- Creak

Opening the door, she found Aiselin setting down a teacup in surprise.

"..."

"Eek! L-Lady Sirine! A-are you hurt badly?"

"......"

'Now I'm hallucinating. Need to calm my mind.'

Staggering to bed, she collapsed onto soft sheets, tension melting away.

Then came overwhelming loss.

The death of someone who'd tried helping her, and her own powerlessness.

Familiar misery - sorrow, despair, loneliness, pain.

Covering her eyes, she sniffled involuntarily.

"Um... you must be exhausted. I should've given you space first..."

- Sniff sniff

"I'll leave this calming tea. Drink it when you're ready."

- Sniff sniff

"I'm sorry for intruding..."

- Jerk!

Sirine suddenly sat up.

"...Huh?"

She'd already held Aiselin's funeral in her heart.

Yet here she was, fidgeting awkwardly.

There's one thing you must never do before someone mourning you.

That's coming back to life.