Angel Monarch-Chapter 369: Coward or Survivor

"…then do the world a favor and kill yourself!"

Thea's words were harsh, but she showed no malice while speaking. Her voice stayed even and without emotion.

Vicky didn't take offense either. Instead, she turned towards her mother's statue, while thinking through the meaning behind Thea's words. It took only a few minutes for her to fully grasp its meaning.

If you kill too much, then life itself will become worthless. At that point, each death caused by your hand will lose its significance. No matter how many lives will stand in your way, it's a price you are willing to pay!

When you're so far gone, it's better to die, then live on causing misery to others!

They stayed standing near the statue for a few more minutes, before silently moving onto the next.

Along the way, though, a pair of footsteps approached them from behind, and Thea's worst fears came true as the newcomer's voice reached their ears.

"Good morning, Little Sis! Good morning, Princess Victoria! How are the lessons going?"

The two girls turned around quickly. Vicky held a small, calm smile, while Thea seemed more annoyed than happy.

The newcomer was none other than Thea's only sister, Yvonne!

Her mid-back length metallic gray hair stayed in a neat ponytail, so only a few loose locks danced in the morning breeze.

A pair of similar colored eyes gazed into the Princess's own. The tall woman held the same smile as Vicky, while waiting for her answer.

She wore nothing but a black tank top with long skintight pants and a pair of running boots. Her outfit left nothing to the imagination, showcasing all her beautiful assets and powerful body.

Thea wore training clothes too, but she had much more layers to keep out the morning's cold. While staring up at her sister, she really didn't understand how she wasn't freezing!

However, then she recalled what Vicky was wearing. A long, flowing dress colored like the night sky… To Thea's knowledge, there was nothing below the dress, and she could clearly see that the Princess wore no shoes!

A shiver went down Thea's spine, just by thinking of these two warm-blooded idiots!

"Pretty good, we already talked about the first three Principles! Now Thea planned on explaining the Fourth! Want to join us? You might provide some insight into her teachings!"

Yvonne narrowed her eyes at Vicky's generous offer. She couldn't decide if the Princess only invited her to be polite, or if she actually wanted to hear her opinion.

The young girl just held her kind smile, which hid all her emotions perfectly!

Thea stood a step behind Vicky and shook her head from side-to-side. Her communications had the opposite effect on Yvonne, though!

When she saw her little sister desperately trying to send her away, the tall woman grinned, which instantly deflated Thea.

"Well, if the Princess asks, I will graciously accept the invitation!" She said, while bowing deeply from the waist. She placed one hand on her voluptuous chest and she held the other straight on the side.

The three of them soon walked on towards the fourth statue. It depicted Sera wearing her usual golden armor.

With her glaive, she gracefully beheaded multiple opponents at once, making a perfect cut through their neck.

Thea took a deep breath while looking at the statue, then, with hidden annoyance, she continued their conversation.

"So, the Fourth Principle: 'While fighting aim for precision and speed, brutality is forbidden'! Strangely enough, this Principle is what most Evolved struggle with, including you Vicky and even my Big Sister here!"

Yvonne just shrugged with a sly smile. She felt not even a hint of shame when hearing her sister's words.

"What can I say? I like to destroy! When you kill someone with enough bravado, all their comrades give up fighting entirely!…"

The tall woman grinned widely. Then, impossibly fast, her expression became somber as she stared into Vicky's white, curious eyes.

"This doesn't mean you should do the same, Princess. I can fight both with extreme precision and devastating brutality! They are both tools, which I use when the situation requires it!"

Thea looked at her sister with a raised eyebrow. She didn't expect her to say anything productive during the conversation, however, her words had great merit!

"I actually agree with Yvonne! Our mother taught us that brutality is overkill when fighting, but it has its usage!… Not for you though, Vicky! First, you'll learn to fight with a chosen weapon, then we'll work on techniques to use with your ability!"

Suddenly, a wide grin spread across Vicky's face, which surprised Thea. She hadn't even noticed how big of a mistake she made!

"Can I choose my weapon? Really?"

The younger sister facepalmed, while the elder happily derailed their previous conversation, to the topic she excelled in… Weapons!

"Of course you can! I'll even help you! I don't know if you've heard, but one of my abilities is that I'm a master of every type of weapon!… The only limiting factor is your own ability to make them!"

Yvonne used a mocking voice, as if doubting Vicky's ability to create weapons.

She herself, however, only grew curious. Never before did she try creating weapons or armor from her power, since she never needed to.

Also, after Evolving into a Transcended, and changing into an Unknown, her watch stopped showing ability descriptions.

Maya—the green-haired teenager who knew a lot about watch coding—rigged her up with a makeshift watch made with her mother's silvery metal. It displayed basic information, like her name and essence count, but nothing else!

As Vicky's curiosity grew, she held out her hand and imagined summoning a sword.

A bright light appeared in her palm, but instead of a sword, only a beautiful, intricate dagger appeared. It was longer than any usual daggers, with its blade about twenty-five centimeters long, plus a ten centimeter handle.

The dagger felt extremely light, and with each small move it seemed to disturb the space surrounding its heavenly blade, which resembled the night sky in color, just like her dress.

Both Yvonne and even Thea stared down at the blade, full of intrigue. The elder sister reached forward to touch its surface, however, before her finger could've reached it, the younger one stopped her.

She said nothing, just reached down and plucked a flower out of the ground. Thea then carefully dropped it on the blade.

The flower fell on the dagger's flat area and entered the night-sky-like blade. It fell out on the other side, cut to tiny pieces.

"Well, I'm glad you stopped me from touching it, Little Sis… I think… I think for now, you should put the dagger away Princess! You should focus on the last Principle, since that's important even in my opinion!"

Vicky nodded and dismissed her strange dagger.

Together they walked on in silence, towards the fifth and last statue!

This one depicted Sera flying away from a horde of monsters, her body covered in wounds, yet her face remained serene and beautiful.

"I know these statues are depicting scenarios made up by mom, however this one is simply ridiculous! The Angel Monarch never ran from any battle and even died while fighting multiple times!"

Yvonne's outrage was met by a curt nod from her younger sister.

"Yeah, I do agree that choosing our Goddess for representing the last Principle wasn't the best choice by mom… She never ran from any battles! In fact, she did the opposite, fighting even when the situation was hopeless!"

Before they could've ridiculed the statue more, Vicky glanced at them with a grin.

"Actually, you're both wrong! My mom did run away once! It was on New Year's Eve, two years ago!…"

Vicky began telling them the story, while explaining Sera's split soul and the fight between them. Upon reaching the end, both siblings stared at her with a pale face and wide eyes.

"Wait! What happened to the Scarred Seraphine? Did she die when the Angel Monarch Evolved into a Transcended?"

The young Princess just snorted at Yvonne's words, but didn't explain more. She didn't trust them enough to reveal everything, and both girls understood that as well.

After a momentary silence, Thea stepped forward and introduced the Fifth Principle.

"So even our Goddess knew the merit in the Fifth Principle... Interesting! 'Running away is better than dying for no reason'! That's the last Principle!"

Compared to the previous four, the last one needed no elaborate explanation. It simply meant that often times surviving was better than dying without purpose.

Vicky nodded in understanding, however Yvonne had her own opinions about the last Principle!

"I think anyone who runs away from a fight is a coward! The strongest steel is forged in the hottest of flames, so you have to suffer in order to achieve greatness!" freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Thea pursed her lips and stared into her sister's metallic gray eyes with annoyance.

"You're an idiot, Yvonne, and your analogy is stupid. Metal might be forged in hot temperatures, however constantly increasing the heat will melt any weapon! You need to periodically cool the weapon in order to make the best steel!"

The older sister just snorted at her sibling's well-thought out argument. She then turned towards Vicky and asked, "What do you think, Princess?"

Vicky glanced between the two sisters, their silver and gray eyes full of curiosity.

"I think circumstance dictates action! There are times when you can't run, and there are times when self preservation is your only option! You could be either a coward or a survivor, depending on the reason for your retreat!"