Seraphina’s consciousness was still not very clear. She could clearly feel that curse seal continuing to spread inside her body. Just then, a hand pressed down on her shoulder.
It was warm, like the sunlight in spring. A gentle yet domineering Battle Qi surged in from that hand, rushing straight into her meridians.
“Purify it for me!”
This was a voice she was very familiar with. The purple-black curse seal writhed frantically on the surface of her skin, like snowflakes caught in a blazing fire, and then emitted a sizzling corrosive sound.
The patterns twisted, convulsed, and curled into a ball, then vanished like smoke in an instant.
“…!” Seraphina let out a long sigh of relief. Her pale face finally slowly regained a bit of color. Though her lips were still white, at least her eyes once again had focus.
She raised her head. That red-haired girl stood amidst the swirling smoke, like a burning flag.
Her face still bore the flush left from battle, and there was a smile at the corner of her mouth that Seraphina was very familiar with.
“Thank you…!”
“You’re here. Now I can finally rest assured.”
Ailiya did not reply. She directly pulled Seraphina up from the ground with one hand. She settled Seraphina behind a rock that could block the wind, and only after confirming she was seated steadily did she release her hand.
“It’s a good thing you held out for so long.” Though there was a hint of reproach in Ailiya’s voice, the underlying concern was unmistakable.
“If you had been even a few seconds later, even if I rushed over, I’d only be able to collect your corpse.”
Seraphina leaned against the rock and smiled weakly, not bothering to retort. Ailiya stood up and turned around. The smile vanished completely the moment she turned her face.
Her crimson red eyes stared at the deep pit—a scorched black pit still emitting green smoke, blasted open by the blazing skyfall.
“That’s enough. Stop playing dead in there.” Ailiya twirled a rusty long sword she had picked up from the roadside, pointing the tip straight at the bottom of the pit. “Since you’re not completely dead yet, get the hell out and face your death.”
In the deep pit, a cluster of dark ghost fire flickered dimly a few times. Then, the massive body encased in pitch-black heavy armor slowly stood up.
A large part of the undead knight’s armor had been shattered. Its left arm was completely missing below the elbow, and the broken end was still smoking; several ribs on its chest were also broken.
“What a pity!” The undead knight’s voice no longer carried the oppressive force it had before, instead tinged with hoarseness and regret.
“So close! My mission would have been completed. Just three more seconds, and I would have completely shattered this Holy Vessel and refined her into my master’s most perfect puppet.”
Its hollow eye sockets stared fixedly at Seraphina, as if looking at a treasure that had slipped through its fingers.
“As long as I’m here, your mission ends right here.” Ailiya stepped forward, blocking Seraphina.
“I don’t know what you rats hiding in the gutter are trying to do by ambushing a saint and trying to refine her into some kind of puppet! But since I, Ailiya Lieyan, have appeared here, you can all hit the road now.”
The undead knight was silent for a moment. Then, it laughed.
“ROAR——!!”
With that laugh, the shadows among the ruins suddenly lit up with blood-red beast pupils. Five platinum-tier magical beasts slowly emerged from behind the broken walls.
Their fur was covered in ash, their eyes burning with bloodlust. They had been intimidated by Ailiya’s pressure when she first appeared and had hidden in the ruins.
Now, the undead knight’s command brought them together again.
“Perfect timing!” Facing the siege of five platinum-tier magical beasts, Ailiya did not take a single step back. Instead, a wild, arrogant smile curled at the corners of her mouth.
The rusty long sword in her hand began to emit a humming vibration. “Even though this sword is a piece of junk, it should be more than enough to deal with you!”
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