What answered him was nothing but the unbroken, endless silence of reality.
Was it contempt, or simply disdain?
He couldn’t tell…
Not even a single glance was spared for him.
That utterly dismissive attitude toward his words made Blaineau’s smile stiffen, quickly icing over completely.
“The childish games end here…”
And just as he was about to give the order for his men to launch another assault on the two figures on the deck—
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!”
Though she’d used up every ounce of strength, red blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she reached her limit, XÄ«’s eyes were filled with unyielding resolve.
She used the last of her magic power, raising her hand to reinforce her latest paper technique.
This was her best answer.
Cheap imitations weren’t worthy of any response.
She only wanted to prove to the Noble Young Master.
She, too, had chosen to trust him unreservedly.
At that moment, concealed entirely by drifting scraps of paper, Lin Nuo finished transforming and gathering his magic power, and suddenly opened his eyes.
Within his body, the Corrosive Black Qi carrying danger and rot was, under the effect of two Magic Arrays—Reversal and Attraction—continuously converted into magic he could absorb.
XÄ«’s magic, too, at first seized by the Magic-Devouring Ring, was filling Lin Nuo’s body.
It felt as though his organs and viscera were under tremendous pressure.
His body seemed on the verge of exploding from the surge of magic he could barely withstand.
A metallic taste rose in his throat, and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
Enduring the discomfort that ran through every inch of his body, inside and out—though wracked by the pain and cold of the Black Qi’s invasion—his face managed to form a smile of surprise at the Magic Array above the Illusory Realm.
He could use the Annihilation Magic Array now, too!
The shouts and howls of the Cultists rang in his ears again.
But Lin Nuo didn’t turn this Annihilation Magic Array—which, with his own strength, couldn’t even harm the four or five hundred Cultists present—on his enemy.
Instead, he raised his hand.
Holding his breath, focusing intently, he used the Probe Magic Array to assist his aim, pointing upward.
He aimed at the other, larger Annihilation Magic Array now appearing overhead in this Illusory Realm, the one the fake Lin Nuo had conjured to counter XÄ«’s Paper Crane.
The Annihilation Magic Array was autonomously released, meaning it was beyond the master’s control or alteration.
The brand-new Annihilation Magic Array he condensed could perfectly replicate the original, sharing the same source, so their magic elements wouldn’t repel each other.
Under the transforming power of the Attraction Magic Array, it could convert that magic with ease and absorb it.
Theoretically, it would be absorbed into a new, even larger Annihilation Magic Array.
Visually, nothing would seem to change because this technique was specially designed to counter XÄ«’s paper arts, his act was simply exchanging one vessel for another identical vessel to hold the same magic.
But the new vessel he swapped in was much weaker.
Lin Nuo remembered reading on a scroll while studying Magic Arrays that the transmission of magic in an array essentially shared the same properties as the mage themself…
It came to him suddenly:
When XÄ«’s magic was in her own body, she handled it with ease.
But the day she transferred it into him, he was still too inexperienced, not strong enough to bear it.
If you can’t withstand it, you feel as though the magic is about to burst your body apart…
He was feeling that now.
‘If that’s the case, if my own Magic Array vessel can’t handle the pure magic from the opponent’s array, then maybe…’
“The theory checks out. Though it’s my first time absorbing a magic array with the same attribute, this experiment seems—”
Lin Nuo looked up, “—also viable.”
The books also said: there are many elements in a Magic Array, and to master them with precision is an art.
Lin Nuo suddenly felt enlightened.
Do you know what art is?
Art, damn it, is explosion!
As for the scope of the explosion…
The array that could erase all the Paper Cranes in the sky in a second must have cost the enemy a great deal of effort.
Its destructive range wouldn’t be small…
Countless scraps of paper filled the air, almost entirely blocking everyone’s vision.
Yet XÄ« could sense, down to the smallest thread, every action of the Noble Young Master hidden within her technique.
From the very beginning of the battle, he’d worn a faint smile.
Even knowing he was in dire straits, his eyes had never shown the slightest change.
In this instant, she was dazzled beyond words.
Now she could fully guess what the Young Master intended.
“He knows that, with just his own magic and what he’s drawn from me, he can only form the embryonic stage of the Annihilation Magic Array, and can’t use it as an attack.”
“But I should’ve realized…”
“Our somewhat weak Young Master can’t even handle my magic.”
“His equally fragile Magic Array—how could it possibly contain an enormous surge of energy being forced into it…”
Moreover, the source runes of a Magic Array, compared to a simple magic technique, held far more magical elements; the blast would only be wider, more powerful.
There was an emotion in XÄ«’s eyes that would not fade.
“He always manages to create new surprises in the most desperate situations…”
Would this be enough to destroy all the Cultists here?
Knowing these annoying pests weren’t truly powerful, XÄ« was too lazy to care.
Her heartbeat quickened, not for that, but because what mattered most was that she knew:
She had been trusted, embraced, and accepted by the Noble Young Master in his heart…
“Buzz—”
From amidst the drifting scraps of paper, as Lin Nuo continued pouring in magic, the expanding Annihilation Magic Array manifested with source runes of a different hue, as if casting a dome over the boundless night.
The rustle of paper and the crashing waves mingled together.
Two torrents of magic collided; as the old current was being transformed and devoured, there was first a deep resonant hum.
Then came a blast louder than any other sound—a thunderclap splitting the sky.
“Boom—!!”
Those Cultists, weapons raised, now less than ten meters from XÄ« and about to kill her, suddenly froze in panic and began to scatter in terror.
But it was far too late.
As if countless invisible strings snapped at once, the explosion of magic spread in ripples of light, suddenly descending from the sky to cover the entire sea!
All the Cultists, far out on the water with feeble bodies, under the wave of power, crumbled like rot, turning to ashes and falling wretchedly to the ground; distant ships were obliterated to dust.
Then that shockwave of the explosion began sweeping toward those nearby—
“What… When did this happen?!” With his sight completely blocked by XÄ«’s white paper, Blaineau hadn’t known what was happening.
His smile vanished and he cried out in alarm.
After the sound of glass being crushed under a heavy wheel—
In the Illusory Realm, now littered with floating paper that made it impossible to see, cracks appeared along the edge!
“What did you do?!”
“You? You… It wasn’t you!”
“It’s him? But he couldn’t even use Water Magic Arrow properly just now… How is this possible?!”
He had kept all his attention on Xī, who had nearly lost all ability to move, her weakness at its peak—then, as if realizing something in an instant, his expression froze, and he looked toward where Lin Nuo should have been.
When he saw that with the falling scraps of paper, the place once hidden by countless sheets was now empty—Lin Nuo was gone—his face was gripped by shock upon shock.
“Whoosh!”
A streak of lightning flashed before his eyes.
Only now did Blaineau, looking down, see that a bolt of lightning, fired from a Crossbow Gauntlet behind him, had pierced straight through his body.
The collapsing Illusory Realm finally aligned with reality, and agony and tearing pain crashed into him all at once.
He couldn’t help but let out a howl of utter torment.
Under the shifting cover of XÄ«’s paper, Lin Nuo had quietly changed position and launched his true sneak attack.
He moved to XÄ«’s side, slid an arm around her waist and behind her knees, scooping her up, letting her entire limp form lean against him at this crucial moment, as if trusting him with everything.
Following the route already cleared by the Water Tornado, carefully calculated in advance, he turned and stepped into the Paper Blossoms XÄ« had released at the start, the safe space she’d made for them.
The pure explosion caused by the clash of Magic Arrays descended in full force the very next second after they entered…
“Rumble—”
***
Meanwhile, outside.
“They’re fighting!”
“Noble Young Master Lin Nuo is battling that nun!”
“They both used every magic technique they had—at first, the Young Master hid his magic, and then it looked like he gained some kind of boost. He was in control the whole time…”
“The nun tried another large-scale spell… and failed again!”
“She’s lost the ability to move.” The probe scout, sweating, reported hesitantly: “…It looks like, my lord… it’s already over.”
“Well, nothing more to say.”
At the door, the knight captain let out a sigh and a helpless, bitter smile.
Inside the water sphere, Yosena clung to herself even tighter, her eyes hollow and vacant.
Faced with such a scene, it was obvious to everyone what the conclusion would be.
That nun—would be killed by Noble Young Master Lin Nuo.
Yosena’s eyes were empty, as if she knew: no matter who it was trapped inside with XÄ«-jie, in such circumstances, they would end up making a desperate choice—fighting each other so at least one might survive…
Dax Migludia said nothing.
The atmosphere in the chamber suddenly became heavy as lead.
And when Dax waited a long while, then sighed deeply and disappointedly, gesturing for the chief healer to prepare to treat Lin Nuo—who seemed destined to emerge alone—
“Bang!”
Just as the probe scout’s mental strength tried to pierce the Illusory Realm, it was suddenly repelled by a fierce shock.
The sound of glass shattering—signaling the collapse of the illusion—rang in everyone’s ears.
“It’s cracking! The illusion, for the first time, is being—”
“Broken from inside!”
“Buzz!”
With those words, a moment of stunned silence fell.
“Did you see that right?” Dax’s brows shot up, “Who did it? How?”
“I don’t know, but it definitely wasn’t the nun…”
“She’s lost the ability to move…” Even the probe scout’s face showed disbelief and terror.
“Then that means…”
Yosena’s head snapped up: “Lin Nuo did it?!”
“Buzz—”
Suddenly, several beams of magic condensed into a human form.
The knight captain gripped his sword in alert, narrowing his eyes for a closer look.
The figure—holding the stunning nun in his arms, carrying her like a triumphant noble knight—appeared right before Yosena’s water sphere in the corner.
Still curled up in shock, Yosena and Lin Nuo locked eyes for over three seconds.
“Damn it…” Lin Nuo coughed before scolding her, “Did your brain get soaked with water?”
“Hurry up and come help!”
‘Your sister’s really holding on tight… And I’m exhausted, still carrying her like this… She’s really heavy!’