‘If only Lilisah were here…’
She couldn’t fight herself, but Eileen had no shortage of mana. Moreover, for some reason, her mind was filled with knowledge about puppet repair.
Most likely, it was something she had absorbed from books she’d read in the past, memorized without even realizing it.
“Come back to life, Lilisah.”
Eileen stepped forward and took out the necessary materials for the repair from her backpack. Clearing her mind of distractions, she began working on the broken body of the puppet girl. This was a masterpiece by Master Caroline—at full capacity, Lilisah was a combat puppet whose strength surpassed even that of an S-rank adventurer!
Restoring the magical engravings was relatively easy. The real difficulty lay in the puppet’s core—its heart-like central crystal had completely shattered and was beyond repair. Fortunately, Eileen just happened to have a substitute magic crystal that could act as a replacement ‘heart’!
The knowledge in her mind told her clearly: she could fix Lilisah.
As the new magic crystal was placed inside Lilisah’s chest, every magical engraving on her body lit up in a brilliant red glow, blazing like fire.
Under Eileen’s watchful eyes, the once ‘dead’ puppet girl opened her eyes again.
But the very first thing she said left Eileen dumbfounded.
“Are you my master?”
Lilisah’s heterochromatic eyes curiously examined Eileen as she spoke.
“Lilisah, don’t you remember me?”
Lilisah shook her head and replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “Master, this must be our first meeting, right? Lilisah? If that’s my name, then I will accept it if you so command. Master, why are you crying?”
“No, it’s nothing…” Eileen stood up and turned her back to Lilisah. “Let’s go, Lilisah.”
“As you wish, my master.” Lilisah nodded with a serious expression. “Lilisah is your knight. Whatever you need, you can leave it to me!”
She stepped forward and gently embraced Eileen from behind, whispering softly, “So please, Master, don’t cry.”
In that moment, Eileen suddenly remembered that night by the campfire, the conversation she had with Lilisah. Back then, Lilisah had said she had no memories of her previous life fighting alongside her creator, Caroline. So that’s how it is—every time she was damaged, it was like a ‘death’ to her.
Even if repaired, she would never be the same ‘her’ again. Her memories wouldn’t pass on through rebirth.
“…Then fight for me, Lilisah.”
Although she had gotten Lilisah back, Eileen didn’t feel happy at all.
Lilisah nodded firmly. “Anyone who makes my master cry is my enemy! Just give the order! Lilisah is the strongest! But before that, I need to restore my mana to full capacity. Master, pardon my rudeness…”
Wait, what!?
Her face flushed as she leaned in close, and began eagerly absorbing mana directly from Eileen.
Fortunately, now that Irene had equipped the divine gear, her mana reserves were exceptionally high—no longer was she plagued by that dreadful sensation of dying from magical exhaustion! But… could they maybe find a different way to replenish mana?
After fully restoring Irene’s mana, Lilisah lifted her into a princess carry, then smashed through a window of the Shadow Tower and leapt from the great height, plummeting straight toward the Shadow King below.
The Shadow King, who had taken over Froya’s body, seemed to realize something. She looked up, and upon seeing the ‘revived’ Lilisah, her golden eyes—identical to Irene’s—flickered slightly.
It was as if Froya’s memories still lingered. The Shadow King whispered softly, “Lilisah…”
Surging mana swirled around Lilisah as she descended like a burning meteor.
The Shadow King immediately tossed the dying Helga aside like discarded trash and raised a hand to conjure a magic shield. In the next instant, an explosive shockwave burst forth, flames roaring in its wake.
The Shadow King had assumed it would be easy to block an attack from a mere combat puppet. But to her surprise, the hastily cast shield let out a sharp crack, shattering like a fragile eggshell. Light fragments scattered in all directions.
“…No way.”
Her golden eyes narrowed slightly as she murmured, “Lilisah, for you to become this strong… I’m honestly impressed.”
Just as she spoke, Lilisah’s punch struck her full in the face. The Shadow King flew back like a kite with a cut string, crashing through several buildings before her figure vanished into the swirling dust.
Irene didn’t think that was enough to defeat the Shadow King—but managing to push her back at all was already beyond expectations.
The situation at the base of the tower was worse than Irene had imagined. Helga’s mana had been completely drained, and she was on the brink of death. Even though Rosvisser was healing her, she’d be in no condition to help in the battle to come.
The cultists of the Crimson Flame were all dead.
Layla and Ansel were nowhere to be seen, and in this perilous city of Endymion, Irene couldn’t be certain they’d arrive in time to help.
As for Clarette, while her life wasn’t in danger, she was unconscious. Against enemies of this caliber, a mere D-rank adventurer like her wouldn’t be much help anyway.
In the end, aside from Lilisah, the only ones Irene could count on now… were Serena and her group, despite their falling out.
That thought made Irene bite her lip in frustration. But putting personal grievances aside, she dutifully pulled a potion from her backpack.
“Time’s short. Hurry and recover as much as you can. Lilisah will hold them off…”
“Irene?”
Serena accepted the potion Irene handed her, visibly moved.
Just moments ago, she had been certain they were finished. Facing a final boss with nowhere left to run—there was no scenario where they’d survive that!
But just as despair hit its peak… Irene had fallen from the sky like a miracle.
Hope had returned.
“That person… is that the Holy Archmage King? Why does she look exactly like you?”
Irene snapped, “How would I know? Just don’t hit the wrong person later, okay? My HP bar is paper-thin. One swing from you and I’ll be dead.”
There was some truth and some bluff in her words—Irene herself didn’t quite know how to explain her connection to the “Shadow.”
It couldn’t simply be a case of them looking alike. Someone who would entrust her divine gear without hesitation and ask her to stop the Shadow’s madness… There had to be some deep bond between them.
And Irene couldn’t ignore what the Shadow was doing. It felt like, as the Archmage King’s younger sister, she bore some responsibility for the way things had turned out.
It was a vague, indescribable feeling—but Irene knew she had to act.
Serena nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ve known each other for years—I won’t mix you up.”
“Hmph.” Irene turned her head with a snort, muttering, “Don’t get the wrong idea. Our friendship ended the moment you chose to spread those lies. This is just temporary cooperation! If that woman escapes to the continent, you guys will be in deep trouble too, won’t you?”
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