“Sophie… what… what should I do…”
The Staff of Life had finished charging, but she lacked the mana to activate the magic. This seemingly final path had been cut off.
The subordinates of the King Marsh Croc, a swarm of crocodiles, slowly closed their encirclement around her.
Eris’s thoughts drifted far away. Like a revolving lantern, memories of the twenty years she had spent with Sophie flashed through her mind.
***
“Al, why don’t you recognize me now that I’m grown up? It’s only been a few years since elementary school. I’ve always been a girl, you know. Look, you’re taller than me now. Shouldn’t you be protecting me? Tee-hee.”
“Little Sophie… uh, you’re a girl? I’m sorry—no, wait! We’re still best buds. I’ll be the one covering you from now on! But I have to say, girls really do change as they grow up…”
***
“Al, you’ve done enough over the years. Don’t always try to be so tough. It’s not a bad thing to try relying on others once in a while~”
“Yes, yes, my lady. I’m in my twenties now; stop nagging me all day. Otherwise, people will mistake you for my mother.”
***
“Sophie, you still love these plants and flowers so much. The house is small enough as it is, yet the windowsill is packed with potted plants. Sigh~”
“This pot of white violets is named Monica, this cactus is Sally, and this chamomile is Martha. They’re family, just like us, Al.”
“Al, did you know? The flower language of the white violet is ‘seize the chance for happiness.’ For the cactus, it’s ‘strong and unyielding, a warm protector.’ And for the chamomile, it’s ‘love hidden deep in the heart.’ That’s why I…”
***
The King Marsh Croc gradually approached the unconscious Sophie. Its massive, abyss-like maw opened wide, prepared to swallow her whole.
Things weren’t looking any better on Eris’s side. Several large crocodiles that had remained stationary before now surrounded her. Among the pack, a small, one-meter-long crocodile immediately launched a bite.
The sound of shattering glass rang out as her **[Holy Prayer: Shield]** was destroyed. Her tender left arm was instantly mangled into a bloody mess. She smelled the metallic scent of blood in the air, and the white-haired girl let out a heart-wrenching scream.
“Aaaaaagh!!…”
Her small face was etched with despair, tears flowing freely from her dull, lifeless eyes.
A moment later, Eris’s expression shifted abnormally, settling into an innocent yet eerie smile.
“Haha… ha… hahaha!”
Facing the disaster before her, her eyes lost their focus. She had completely snapped.
‘Is this where it ends?’
‘But at the very least, I have to let Sophie live.’
‘If I can… I would willingly become a devil.’
‘If only…’
—
The witch sisters had lost their ability to resist, but the divine marks on their foreheads began to emit a brilliance more dazzling than ever before.
Deep in the swamp, the young red dragon—who had been trapped by a mass of poisonous vines—had been watching helplessly as her two little masters fell behind in the battle. Now that they were in a life-or-death crisis, Ann’s heart was filled with struggle.
The warm energy radiating from the divine marks stimulated the young red dragon’s mind. The beautiful figure of High Priestess Felicitara, radiating with motherly brilliance, seemed to stand right before her eyes.
No one could have expected it, but a continuous stream of power surged into the young red dragon’s body. She instantly tore through the constraints of the poisonous vines, her body expanding into a majestic dragon tens of meters long.
This energy allowed her to exert her full power from her prime for a short duration.
‘Yes, this feeling.’
‘It’s time to end this.’
[Dragon’s Pressure]!
Every crocodile in the marsh froze. It was as if antelopes on the savanna had encountered a proud, towering lion; they trembled, their instincts screaming at them to scatter and flee.
It was a fear rooted in their very genes. It felt as though what stood before them was not just a giant red dragon, but a mountain peak piercing the clouds. To them, the crocodiles were mere insects that couldn’t even reach the foot of the mountain.
The lethal pressure made even the King Marsh Croc want to flee. It realized it had provoked something it never should have. As it tried to escape to the center of the swamp, it was pinned down by an even stronger pressure, its internal organs vibrating with fear.
The dragon’s posture was cold and proud. There was no disdain in her gaze, only a calm indifference that viewed everything in the world as nothing. She looked down at the two heavily injured sisters, then at the crocodiles fleeing in all directions.
“Unforgivable.”
The King Marsh Croc was stiff, paralyzed by the dragon’s pressure. The red dragon did not miss the opening. Her scale-covered neck rose slowly, and her golden vertical pupils, which had been narrowed, suddenly snapped open.
With a roar that echoed through the mountain forests, her chest heaved violently. In an instant, the surrounding air turned scorching, thick with the scent of sulfur.
BOOM!!
A dazzling pillar of fire erupted from the red dragon’s mouth, roaring like a volcanic explosion.
The breath spread into a fan-shaped torrent of flames in mid-air, consuming every living creature across the entire marshland.
Two orbs of warm light shielded the witch sisters, protecting them from harm.
The King Marsh Croc bulged its blood-red eyes in agony. Before such an absolute gap in strength, its pathetic stats were worthless.
The earth trembled. The powerful, dense mana influenced the area for miles around, sending the small animals of the Arden Forest fleeing in terror.
Angelica had deliberately restrained her breath to ensure the flames didn’t destroy the forest, but the disaster within the marsh was unavoidable.
The air at the center of the swamp twisted from the heat. A massive amount of water evaporated instantly. Nothing remained where the King Marsh Croc had stood; there were only charred, blackened craters.
Sophie had long since lost consciousness, but Eris—whose jaw was nearly on the floor—witnessed the entire event.
She saw her and Sophie’s status windows. Both of their levels had increased by 8.
‘Is it really this easy?!’
She then used **[Appraisal]** on the dragon in the sky.
[Status Window]
Name: Angelica Vermillion
Level: 110
(Active Buff: Faith of Felicitara Omnia—Strength temporarily restored to peak condition. Duration: 7 hours 58 minutes 26 seconds)
HP: 367,435/367,435
MP: 124,665/124,665
STR: 24,375
VIT: 42,620
AGI: 8,756
INT: 12,955
SPR: 11,063
LCK: 300
Personal Talents:
[Dragon’s Pressure]: Applies a Banish effect to ordinary/elite units below own level. Applies a Freeze effect to boss units below own level. Reduces ATK/DEF of all affected units by 30% and resistances by 20%.
[Red Dragon Queen’s Blessing]: As a legitimate descendant of Calitrix, she possesses natural life-force healing abilities beyond imagination. Rumored to be able to bring back the dead.
[Supreme Dragon Scales]: Reduces physical damage by 85% and magic damage by 75% (excluding Necromancy and Dark magic).
[Barrier Master]: Resonates with Felicitara’s barriers; capable of constructing the strongest barriers on the continent.
Weakness: Negligible resistance to Necromancy and Dark magic.
***
‘So, Ann was a top-tier dragon after all? What exactly is the connection between her and the voice in my dreams?’
The red dragon landed beside the sisters. Her massive body shrank within a flash of light. In Eris’s sight appeared a dragon-kin beauty with golden eyes and long, flowing hair that faded from black to red.
The golden-eyed beauty wore a white halter top paired with a long red skirt. Beneath her ample chest was a slender, enticing waist, her overall curves rivaling the golden ratio. Her long, charming legs were encased in black tights.
The dragon beauty extended her palm. A dense surge of natural energy, like a warm spring, began to heal the two sisters. Eris’s horrific injuries vanished instantly. All of Sophie’s negative status effects were cleared, and her health returned to normal; she was now simply in a deep sleep due to exhaustion.
“I am Angelica Vermillion, the last descendant of the Red Dragons. I am the most loyal guardian of Lady Felicitara and now, the most loyal servant to Lady Felicitara’s children, Lady Eris and Lady Sophie.”
“There is no need for surprise, my little master. The Red Dragon Clan is the most skilled race when it comes to utilizing the power of natural life. Even the Elves, who specialize in nature magic, would sigh in inferiority before us.”
Eris recalled her Staff of Life. The system’s equipment notes mentioned it could eventually evolve into the [Life Staff of Calitrix]. Calitrix was the Red Dragon Queen of the old era.
Brushing the dust off her clothes, Eris held the hem of her skirt and performed a slight curtsy toward Angelica. “Thank you for saving us, Auntie Angelica~”
“Pfft… cough… ‘Auntie’ Angelica…?”
Angelica felt a sweetness in her throat as if she were about to cough up blood. Her little master’s words felt like a deliberate attempt to distance them. She felt as if she had taken a critical hit.
However, Eris’s next words hit her even harder.
“Alright, Sister Ann. Uh, we just lost all the fun of a boss raid. We didn’t even get a chance to make it drop any loot because you burned it until not even ashes remain.”
…
Why did she have to bully her savior right from the start? What a shameless witch Eris was!