Reincarnated With The Strongest System

Shannon slowly placed the brush to the side as a depressed sigh escaped her lips.

The image of a black-haired teenager, whose body was slowly dispersing into nothingness could be seen on her canvas. 

Although there were quite a few people inside the room, almost no sound could be heard, except Princess Aila's sobbing. The angelic Princess had already collapsed on the floor and was crying her eyes out the moment Conan died.

"I kept my promise, Aila. The rest is up to you."

Conan's last words were still fresh in her mind as the sadness she was feeling intensified. The Devil Familiar was her first real friend, and they had been together ever since William had asked Conan to take her on a tour of the academy.

Perhaps it was due to Conan being part of William's soul, or the Devil Familiar's kind nature, but Princess Aila found him to be true and genuine. Because of this, his death had left a heavy burden in her heart and mind, making her unable to stop the tears that were flowing due to heartache.

Zeph who was also inside the room sighed deeply in his heart. He and Joash had a hunch that William could become the Heir of Darkness. However, never in their wildest dreams did they think that the first son of the Demon Lord, Felix, was the one that was written in the prophecy.

'This is bad,' Zeph thought as a deep frown appeared on his face. 'This is very bad.'

Now that the identity of the Heir was known, they had to revise the plan they had made.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Vesta asked through gritted teeth. She was clenching her hand so hard that blood was already spilling from her palms. 

Chiffon had been her close playmate whenever she visited the Thousand Beast Domain. The pink-haired girl would often accompany her to the theme park, alongside Medusa, in order to ride the attractions and play games in the arcade.

Vesta had very few friends, so she held them very dear in her heart. No thanks to the Demon Lord, people always thought of her as nothing more than a tool they could use in order to further their ambitions and create a strong connection with her Demigod Father, Joash.

Now that her close friend had died, she wanted to avenge her. However, the opponents were simply far too strong for her to fight head-on. Perhaps, even her father would have a hard time facing them.

Afterall, the one that they were going to fight against were Pseudo-Gods. Existences that were between Demigods and Gods.

"You can't do anything," Shannon answered softly. "But, I can. However, I will need to make necessary preparations. Everyone in the room, please leave, except for Princess Aila. She can stay."

Kira and Athrun glanced at each other before decisively leaving the room together. Vesta gave Princess Aila a side-long glance before following the two of them. Zeph was the last one to leave the room.

The old Patriarch kept on shaking his head from side to side as if all hope was lost. 

Once everyone had left the room, except for Princess Aila, who was still sobbing on the floor. Shannon pressed her hands together, as if in a prayer.

"Mother, please, lend me strength," Shannon said with her eyes closed. A few seconds later, Conan's painting flew off the canvas, and it was instantly replaced by a white canvas that was in a blank state.

"Wait for me, My Prince," Shannon said with determination as she pressed her palms on the blank canvas in front of her. "I'm coming for you."

—---

A blood curdling scream escaped William's lips as he held his head with both hands. Lilith, who was supporting his body from behind, almost panicked because the Half-Elf had almost fallen off the Black Qilin's back, due to his thrashing.

Half a minute later, William's body went limp as he lost consciousness. Blood seeped out from the corner of his lips, and tears once again fell from the corners of his eyes. 

Celeste, who was flying alongside the Black Qilin also had a pained expression on her face. She had clearly felt Chloee's existence about to disappear. But, for some miraculous reason, her little fairy had survived. However, she could still feel a stinging pain deep inside her Sea of Consciousness, due to having her familiar's existence almost snuffed out.

'Conan has probably disappeared,' Claire's melancholic voice echoed from inside Celeste's head. 'This is the only explanation I can think of why we both felt that Chloee's life force almost disappeared completely.'

'I think you're right,' Celeste gave William a worried glance before shifting her attention back to what was ahead of them.

They had just passed through the two statues, and were now outside the Ancient Ruins. However, the corruption of the land was also affecting them. This was why their group continued to travel southwards, in order to break past the dark sky that was hovering above their heads, with the hope of finally leaving Ahriman and his forces behind.

'I'm worried,' Claire's anxious voice once again sounded inside her head. 'I have a feeling that Chloee's death was only delayed. It is possible that she might also disappear at any moment.'

Celeste didn't say anything because she also thought the same. However, she couldn't worry about her right now. Chloee had already made up her mind, and the only thing she could do was respect it.

'Let's get out of here first,' Celeste lightly clenched her fist. 'Let's worry about her condition later.'

Claire no longer said anything. However, Celeste could feel the sadness that was emanating from Chloee's twin, who had always been by her side through thick and thin.

'I will make them pay,' Claire made an oath in her heart. Although it didn't show on her face, she deeply cared about Chloee, and would stop at nothing to make her twin happy. 'I will make all of them pay.'