After Sophia stepped into the illusion, everything before her eyes turned a murky gray.
“Is this inside the stone?”
“No, I suppose you could say we are inside the illusion…”
She looked around and finally gazed down at her own body, but she still couldn’t see anything, as if her eyes were closed.
Taking another step forward, she emerged from the stone illusion.
Light suddenly returned to Sophia’s vision.
Outside was a vast cave that felt curiously squared-off, much like the underground Mine Cave she had walked through last time.
It was likely excavated by hand.
The light came from glowing crystals that radiated in the presence of Magic Power; they were commonly used as materials to make Magic Lamps.
Beyond that, at the far end of the tunnel, golden light would flicker from time to time, followed by a low, rumbling sound.
Gravel and dust flew through this irregular space. At a glance, Sophia could see very few places where one could safely stand.
Through the dust and smoke, Sophia looked toward the direction of that golden light. At that exact moment, she felt a sense of approaching crisis, yet she could not tell where it originated.
She summoned her Staff and gripped it tightly, but before the airflow barrier around her could expand, a glint of cold light from the shadows closed in on her.
Screech!
A piercing sound exploded near Sophia’s ear. She hurriedly turned her head and saw Enya pinching the blade of a Black Blade.
Her wine-red nails had perfectly caught the path of the Strange Dagger. If not for Enya, this Strange Dagger would have pierced Sophia’s neck.
Although she still had her Blessing, it was better not to trigger it if possible.
Enya flicked away the Strange Dagger she held between her nails.
Her gaze shifted toward the darkness that was not illuminated by the fluorescent stones.
With a casual swipe of her hand, three fissures tore through the area where the darkness resided, as if a giant Magical Beast had lashed out with its claws.
Where the claw marks passed, clusters of blood mist erupted as if many mosquitoes had been struck, and only then did the dark shadows quickly scatter.
“Outlander woman, I will cut off your head!”
A menacing man with his head wrapped in black cloth flew out from the shadows, a pitch-black Longsword in his hand.
The newcomer was the Blade Head of Shadow Guards!
After he appeared, the scattered shadows behind him also returned to human form. They unsheathed their blades and attacked from different directions.
Enya remained as calm and composed as ever.
The silver-white aura on her body was not obvious, but dozens of silver threads rippled through the space. Everywhere these threads passed, everything was severed.
The Blade Head of Shadow Guards struck down with his blade, but it only stalled the Silver Thread Cut for a moment. A grave expression appeared on his face beneath the black cloth.
He twisted his body in mid-air to dodge the Silver Thread Cut’s attack. Upon landing, the black-gray aura surrounding him surged violently.
Enya let out a cold snort and pulled a Longsword from the Void. In an instant, she appeared before the Blade Head and swung her Sword downward.
The Blade Head of Shadow Guards raised his Black Blade to block.
Clang!
The Standard Longsword in Enya’s hand collided with the refined Black Blade in the Blade Head’s hand, erupting in a bright spark.
After the blades met, the strength in Enya’s wrist increased significantly.
When the Blade Head felt the strength on his wrist pressing down like a collapsing mountain, his face turned deathly pale.
With one hand pushing the hilt and the other pushing the back of the blade, he frantically reinforced his body with Magic Power.
However, in terms of pure strength, he was still forced down until his knees slammed into the ground.
As he knelt, the force traveled from Enya’s hand to the blade, then to his own sword, eventually reaching the Blade Head’s arms and passing through his knees into the earth.
Boom!
The ground instantly cracked. Stones as large as human heads were kicked into the air, and a violent gust of wind pushed everyone nearby away.
Enya looked down at the person beneath her Sword with cold eyes.
At this moment, the energy inside the Blade Head of Shadow Guards was extremely chaotic. That single press had not only forced him to his knees but had also caused his erupted Magic Power to flow backward, impacting his Magic Core.
The difference in physical strength alone was far too great!
The Blade Head struggled to support his Black Blade, but the restless Magic Power inside him was difficult to suppress. With a “gah,” bright red blood spilled from his mouth.
“Blade Head!”
Seeing this scene, the subordinates of the Blade Head of Shadow Guards ignored their attack on Sophia and hurried to reinforce the commander who looked after them so well.
But how could Sophia just watch?
In this dim environment, fire element Magic was not very effective; it was too conspicuous and easily dodged. Thus, Sophia utilized Wind Blades.
One after another, Wind Blades lunged toward the enemies clad in Black Cloaks with their faces wrapped in black cloth, immediately causing many wails of pain.
The Wind Blades were not always fatal; more often than not, they sliced into their bodies or even severed their arms and legs.
When Sophia saw them heading toward Enya, she began firing in rapid succession with “shhh-shhh-shhh” sounds, and another wave of people fell.
Seeing this, the Blade Head was consumed by a burning rage. He tried to rise from the ground, but Enya let out a light chuckle and pressed him back down.
“You… you outlander Monster!”
“…”
Enya kicked the Blade Head of Shadow Guards away.
She casually cut down several Shadow Guards who had managed to close the distance despite Sophia’s covering fire. She moved with the ease of someone chopping vegetables.
The Blade Head climbed up from the ground and looked at Enya standing not far away. His pupils trembled. Every one of these Shadow Guards was a skilled expert!
He stood with his blade raised, completely ignoring how the rampaging Magic Power inside him might cause irreversible damage to his body. He gathered all the remaining Magic Power from his Magic Core and poured it entirely into the Black Blade.
Come on, my full-strength strike…
Enya glanced into the distance. It seemed Nina was rushing back here. She chuckled lightly and looked at the Blade Head across from her.
Although she wore Armor, her movements of looking away and then turning back with a slight tilt of her head were all seen by the Blade Head.
Arrogance! Absolute disregard!
Just as he was about to swing his blade, the Blade Head suddenly lost sensation in his hands.
He looked down and found with horror that his forearms were gone. Only two clean stumps remained, gushing blood.
“Since when?”
The Blade Head’s hoarse voice let out a pained roar.
He endured the pain and looked at the blade and his hands lying on the ground. Then, with a thud, he fell to his knees on the rubble-strewn earth.
Enya walked over slowly and asked in a deep voice.
“What kind of benefits did Sharon or that Sylvia give you to make you willing to help her? Or is the Dark Hall originally a subsidiary of the Golden Town? I am quite full of Curiosity. If you satisfy my Curiosity, perhaps you can die a bit more cleanly.”
“…”
The Blade Head used Magic Power to seal the stumps of his arms. He chose silence regarding Enya’s questions, but his subordinates would not remain silent.
“Blade Head, I’ve come to save you!”
A man shouted as if he were seeking death. And indeed, he was. Enya turned and severed his head with one swing of her Sword. From the shadow beneath that man, another person lunged out.
Such petty tricks. Ridiculous!
Enya sneered. Her Dragon Tail whipped up, and with a Short Sword wrapped around it, she directly cut down the person jumping out of the shadow.
The two landed neatly, both separated from their heads. It happened right before the Blade Head’s eyes, yet he still remained silent.
“Sophia Sister, Dragon, Nina is back!”
The Gold Elf girl’s Grey Robe was now stained with many blood splatters. She had run out to fight a round, and there was no telling how many she had killed.
After Nina returned, the Double Swords in her hands were equally ruthless. With a “shshsh” sound, she blurred past, and the remaining black figures fell to the ground simultaneously.
Who would believe that such a cute and petite girl would take a life with every swing of her Double Swords?
Regardless, everyone present believed it.
Seeing Nina like this, the corner of Sophia’s mouth beneath her veil couldn’t help but twitch.
However, these people were enemies. To be merciful to the enemy was to show contempt for oneself and one’s partners. Sophia used Magic to blast those hiding in the shadows or those attempting to flee.
Enya took out that Black Water Ball and waved it in front of the Blade Head.
“Do you know what this is?”
“!!!”
The Blade Head certainly knew what it was; his eyes widened instantly.
A strand of Sword Qi flowed from Enya and fell upon the Blade Head’s face. The black cloth wrapping it was sliced into Fragments, revealing a disfigured face beneath.
Looking at that face whose original features could no longer be discerned, Enya frowned slightly.
The Blade Head was also stunned, and then he hung his head.
“I can tell you…”
“No need.”
Enya made a stroke in the air with her index finger, and the Blade Head’s head fell.
When his head dropped, that ruined face was filled with a hideous grin and wild laughter, though it quickly grew cold.
Enya was experienced; she knew that someone like this would definitely not confess and likely wanted to perform a self-destruct attack at the very end.
So, it was best to just end him directly.
Black threads drifted through the air and then flowed into Enya’s hand.
The Black Water Ball grew a bit fatter.
Seeing the item in Enya’s hand, Nina trotted over.
“Dragon, what is this? Is it tasty?”
“If you eat it, you’ll turn into a bad person.”
“Eh?”
“Anyway, it’s something that doesn’t taste good. If a cute girl like Nina eats it, she will become as ugly as that person just now.”
Once Enya said this, Nina ran a little further away, hiding by Sophia’s side. She then watched the Black Water Ball in Enya’s hand from a distance.
Sophia placed her hand on Nina’s head, gently stroking the smooth golden hair. Nina seemed to enjoy her touch very much.
Enya sealed the Black Water Ball into a Bottle and stored it back in the Library within her consciousness space. Then, she took out two bottles of glowing blue potion and tossed them to Nina.
Afterward, she pulled out a gray candle.
Enya walked over to Sophia and handed the candle to her.
Sophia took the candle and asked, “What is this?”
“This candle is called ‘World Unseen Under Light.’ As long as you light it, it allows the holder to leave the physical World.”
Enya explained the item’s function. It was essentially a stealth tool, but this candle was not a Magic Tool.
It was a crystallization of “Mystery and Miracle.”
A naturally occurring item with miraculous effects.
Sophia looked at the candle in her hand, deep in thought.
“But there is only one…”
“As long as you hold hands, you can share the effect together.”
Enya warned Sophia seriously.
“But you must remember, you must keep it within your line of sight at all times. Otherwise, it will burn very quickly. Extinguish it before it burns out on its own, or you will be trapped in that World.”
“I understand.”
Sophia looked down at the gray candle in her hand.
Enya reached out and patted her shoulder. After a slight pause, she said, “You and Nina just watch from the side when the time comes.”