[Gamble]

"See?" asked Mori toward Aura.

She was crying, staring at the ground.

"You're weak, I can tell. I sensed the negative energy earlier, you might have a few spells up your sleeves but none that can deal with me," said Griswald.

Mori was about to answer, but the maid entered his field of view. She was walking fast, panicked.

Griswald frowned while Mori smiled.

As she got closer, she slowed down, trying to catch her breath.

"Please... don't... kill the young mistress," she said.

As she got closer, she lifted her fist toward Mori, opening it.

As soon as she did, he raised his hand toward her, a smaller chain quickly exited his palm and went through the ring she had.

"And now, I have it," said Mori.

"You pathetic... Betraying..." said Griswald.

"Seems like she's the only one who cares about you," said Mori to Aura.

"And what now?" said Griswald raising both hands toward the sky. "You're forcing me to kill you? How are you winning, here? That ring has no powers useful in combat."

He put the ring in his pocket and threw the stake on the ground.

"Don't need this, anymore," he said to himself.

He walked a few steps forward, then turned sideways, raising a hand toward Aura.

"[Cursed Chains]"

Aura's stomach was pierced by a new chain that went cleanly through her and the tree behind.

Along the chain ran her blood, before falling to the ground, evaporating.

She barely reacted, staring down at her new wound.

The chain was glowing purple. 

He closed his eyes for a second while holding it.

His lips moved as if he was saying something, but no words made it out.

Griswald raised both arms, he used his nails to slash both his wrists. 

Blood started flowing from them, and as it did, he started moving his arm, his blood fluidly following his movements like whips were attached.

Griswald exhaled loudly, "Like I said..." He had a disappointed tone. "All you're doing is prolonging the process by a short amount."

He started whipping his blood around, making the trees on both sides of Mori and Aura fall to the ground. 

The maid's body split in half before them, as well as everything else around.

He didn't look even look at her.

He was flailing his arms around, not a care in the world, as he slowly walked forward.

"You've achieved nothing," said Griswald.

Every time his whip cracked on the ground, it made it vibrate more intensely than an earthquake.

How powerful is he?! The game described him as weakened but if that's him weak, I'm glad I'm not facing him at full strength.

He did his best to keep his balance, calmly watching as Griswald approached.

He eventually got rid of every tree in a hundred meters, besides the one Aura was hanging from.

Griswald kept walking, dragging his whips behind him until he was finally in arm's reach of Mori.

"All of this for that? Do you not have any fight in you? After your whole speech?"

Surprise struck Griswald's face, as he heard laughter.

Not Mori's, nor his: Aura's.

It was like a low rumbling, but she quickly started laughing loudly as she looked up, tears falling from her cheeks.

She kept laughing, slowly playing on Griswald's patience.

"So that's how it was, Father," she said between chuckles. "You just kept drinking my blood and hoped to find your old powers through me. You then gave me those potions because I was growing too strong? Or maybe it was to keep me here, protected by you?"

She kept chuckling while spitting blood at the same time. 

"No matter, you've already lost. I just realized it."

Griswald's expression hardened. 

He grabbed Mori by the throat, raising him a foot above the ground.

Mori was still holding the chain going through Aura's body.

"Once I kill him, you're going into the dungeon, and you'll remain there until the day you die. I'll make it painful, I assure you."

Her chuckles were now extremely soft, barely audible nose exhales.

"Do you know what he is, Father? A sovereign."

She looked down, staring at her father.

"He knew when you broke half my body and that I wasn't healing, that something was wrong. He guessed you were drinking my blood, and he was right."

She was smiling.

"What does it matter?!"

"He's the Cursed Sovereign, Father."

Griswald looked down, shaking his head, "Why should I care? He could be the Sun Sovereign for all I know, at his level-"

"-Father, don't you know how curses work?" she asked.

"It's the worst kind of magic. If you think that scares me... Do you think he'll curse me as he dies? He won't even have a moment to do that much."

"You drank my blood, Father. The moment he pierced me with his chain, you lost."

Griswald's heart started pumping harder as he rapidly started recalling everything he knew about curses.

"I had a lot of time to think, as I was harvesting energy."

Mori breaking the silence made Griswald Jump.

"I'll admit, curses are the weakest magic. If you know it's happening, that is. I know this world, and I've fallen for some nasty curses myself while exploring it... Surprisingly, most of them while low level packed quite a punch."

Griswald's eyes followed the chain Mori was holding, up to Aura's body, still bleeding from it.

"Resonance... You'll resonate the curse through her blood, and since I've been drinking it..." whispered Griswald.

"See, he's not that dumb after all," said Mori while looking at Aura. "Ah, she passed out."

A chain rapidly cut through the ground, piercing Griswald's wrist. 

It rapidly reeled in, bringing him down to one knee and forcing him to let go of Mori's neck.

He raised his other hand, but it was also quickly pierced, bringing Griswald down on both knees.

The tension in the chains was strong, he fought to keep balance.

"You pathetic coward!" Yelled Griswald.

Two other chains appeared, piercing both his shoulders and reeling him backward, laying him flat on the ground.

"Curse users! All a bunch of cowards!"

"Ironic." 

Both his ankles were also perforated, holding him tightly to the ground.

Griswald bit his tongue, blood quickly rose from his mouth but after half a second fell back into it. 

He turned his head sideways, spitting it out.

"Fuck!"

Mori slowly walked toward the stake he had made earlier, picking it up and going back toward Griswald.

"Don't you dare! If you kill me I'll curse you from the other side! You'll never be rid of me, you hear me?! I'll come back! And I'll get you..."

"You're not going to the other side."

Mori raised the stake above his head, and quickly brought it down, piercing Griswald's body.

Griswald screamed while insulting Mori with all his being.

Once it was cleanly in, Mori started stomping on it with his foot, pushing it further down.

I should probably mark him beforehand...

He raised his arm above the stake, cut his wrist with a chain, and let his blood drip down.

He noticed his blood had grown into a darker shade of red. 

Probably their fault, thought Mori recalling the hexes crawling into his body.

"You're lucky. This branded curse is stronger than the one I used on your daughter. I don't even need a drop of your blood. All you need is mine."

"You piece of-"

"Shut up."

He stopped talking.

"You'll now be working for me, take good care of me, alright?" said Mori, smiling.

From under him, bands of white cloth started wrapping him tightly, starting from his feet.

Griswald repeatedly looked down, struggling, but the chains were tightly holding him down.

His angered gaze, at the end, was a scared one, before his eyes disappeared behind the white cloth.

A mummy-wrapped Griswald was all that remained, with a stake poking out of his chest.

Mori slowly turned around.

He was looking at Aura, her still body dangling from a tree, with dried blood and withering skin.