Sylvia’s frantic, howling voice echoed through the temple, a mixture of heartbreak, rage, and the ultimate despair of watching her own precious vegetable be snatched away.
In short, she felt like she was being cuckolded.
***
If it weren’t for the fact that they were currently in two separate spaces, Keti had no doubt that this yandere elf would have pulled out a chopping knife and hacked Lynn into mincemeat.
“Waaaaah! Stop it! Sylvia, stop talking! I’m begging you, stop!”
Keti no longer cared about being a tsundere or maintaining her composure. She covered her blushing cheeks with both hands, and white steam could even be seen faintly rising from the top of her head.
Social death.
This was a complete, unreserved, ultimate social death — the kind that was enough to have her nailed to the pillar of shame and whipped for 10,000 years!
“Oh, Sylvia, don’t be so impulsive for now. You can’t do anything anyway, and you’ll just make Lynn more cautious…”
On the other side of the communication, the Jellyfish-Haired Lady spoke with a hint of helplessness.
However, the consolation didn’t seem right. Why did it sound to Keti as if the two of them had already set a trap, and Layla was just worried that Sylvia would alert the prey?
Was she in danger too?!
“Hmm… little cat, you have to protect me later.”
Seeing this, Lynn decided to stir the pot, laughing as he watched the chaos. Keti looked at him with a speechless expression.
‘I’m still hoping you’ll protect me… No, this won’t do. I need to consider whether I should defect on the spot once we get out. I don’t want to die with a fellow like my enemy!’
“All right, you two loud ones, can you let me talk business with Keti first?”
Celthina’s playful tone suddenly cut in. It sounded like a joke, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority. It acted like a cold current, instantly cooling down the boiling atmosphere.
“Huh? You annoying little sister, why are you bossing me around? Ahhh, I don’t care! Even if I have to start a war between elves and humans today, I will get my Keti back! Ow — !”
Before Sylvia could finish her outburst, a sudden pain hit the back of her head, and she fell fast asleep.
On the other side, the “culprit,” the annoying little sister and Elf Leader, Celthina, smiled as she turned her head to look at Layla.
The Jellyfish-Haired Lady was instantly shaken by this aura. Although she continued to bite her handkerchief and let out “uwu” sounds of protest, she ultimately kept her mouth shut.
Having successfully stopped the bickering that resembled two elementary schoolers — at least unilaterally — Celthina’s voice rang out in the temple hall once more.
“Miss Keti, and Lord Lynn, please stop flirting. What you are about to face is the final trial of this temple… and the reason I asked you to come here.”
“Fl-Flirting?! Who’s flirting with him! I… I’m just being bullied by this fellow!”
Keti sprang out of Lynn’s arms like she had been electrocuted.
She clumsily straightened her messy skirt in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, but her eyes instinctively followed Celthina’s instructions, landing on the beautiful elf statue in the center of the area.
“Lady Celthina…” Lynn also tucked away his cynical smile, narrowing his eyes slightly as he studied the mysterious elf statue. “You said this is the final trial? Is it another illusion?”
“No… that is not the entrance to an illusion… but a real statue that was not man-made.”
Celthina spoke calmly. Keti was stunned.
‘Not man-made… a statue?’
‘Could it be a masterpiece of nature?’
‘No, that’s impossible. While the forces of nature can shape rocks into strange forms, the craftsmanship of this statue is far too fine. This face… it couldn’t possibly have been shaped by natural forces.’
But looking at it from another angle — if it wasn’t physically sculpted, could it be magic?
At that thought, Keti immediately closed her eyes, using the strong perception of magic she had developed from years of refining potions to investigate.
The results were shocking.
When Keti extended her perception toward the statue, she discovered with horror that the interior of the seemingly gentle and harmless elf statue actually contained a terrifying fluctuation of Magical Power as vast as the ocean!
That Magical Power was compressed to the extreme, forming a perfect layer of camouflage on the surface that ordinary people could never detect.
“What… what is this thing?! Such a massive amount of Magical Power!” Keti cried out.
“This is the true mystery of this temple,” Celthina’s voice came through the communication with a hint of awe. “It is not a dead, sculpted object at all, but…”
“The history of the elf tribe is so long that when the first Elf Leader ordered the construction of this temple, they did not realize how much Magical Power the materials used could absorb in the future.”
“After gathering an infinite amount of Magical Power, this temple gradually formed countless twisted illusions, and… it gave birth to this conscious magic entity!”
“A conscious magic entity?” Keti blinked in confusion. So, the Final Boss was this thing?
“Correct. After this massive amount of Magical Power developed self-awareness, it instinctively shaped itself into the image of an elven priestess.”
Celthina paused, her tone becoming incredibly solemn.
“A monster condensed from pure, high-level Magical Power, one that is tireless and feels no pain. Although I do not know what the consequences might be, I want to resolve this hidden danger.”
“I see… this sounds quite dangerous…”
Lynn frowned. Before Celthina could even ask, he instinctively moved to refuse her.
After all, if he were alone or with Celthina, it would be one thing. But right now, Keti was following him.
“Please, Lynn, Keti. Because this belongs to the elf tribe’s own power, I cannot handle this monster. But one of you is powerful, and the other possesses such a unique Gift, so I thought…”
As Celthina explained her predicament, Lynn remained unmoved. He didn’t want to take the risk. “At least let me send Keti out first.”
“Good! Let’s do that! Quickly send my Keti out, and then I’ll wait to watch you die! Hehehe…”
Sylvia had woken up at some point. Scrambling up, she immediately caught the main point of the issue — even if her focus was a bit twisted.