Gabriella led the three Oracle Envoys through the narrow pass.
Not far ahead stood a semi-transparent dark barrier.
It looked like a black soap bubble; when touched, it felt somewhat like an eggshell…
Before Philina forcefully broke through it with a magic arrow, Gabriella awkwardly stepped back a few paces.
The shadow barrier automatically opened as she approached, as if welcoming her inside.
The dark creatures showed no intention of attacking her at all.
Some of the monsters even ignored Gabriella during battle, choosing instead to attack the knights behind her.
They were not living beings, but shadows deliberately controlled by the Evil God.
“Elsa, I remember… you didn’t used to have this name,” Philina said as she looked at her younger sister.
“Mm… I don’t remember either…”
“I never expected you to become the younger sister of the Divine Lady.”
Philina gave Elsa a deep look.
In Elsa’s eyes still lingered the gentleness and reserved sweetness from her time in the Residential Palace.
Though the knight uniform made her appear more imposing and awe-inspiring, traces of the maid she once was could still be faintly seen.
The maid sisters had treated her warmly; they were all kind and understanding people.
That period of time was indeed worth reminiscing about.
Thinking carefully, she even felt that the fallen Elsa had taken good care of her.
Demons were far more human than she had imagined.
She and Olivia had merely been influenced by darkness, yet had not truly become evil beings… perhaps.
She had once thought about it — even hesitated — if she had stayed in the Residential Palace and turned into a demon alongside them, perhaps none of this disaster would have happened.
Philina felt especially tense.
Her original intention had been to take Gabriella away from the palace and restore her holy body.
But she had not expected everything to be seen through by the Evil God.
If they failed this battle, she would be trapped in failure and guilt forever.
“Miss Simona… I’m sorry…”
A sense of guilt welled up in her heart.
“Those shadow constructs… they didn’t follow us, did they?” Morphis’s voice pulled Philina back to reality.
At the mention of those shadow monsters, lingering fear silenced them all.
Since those creatures were puppets controlled by the Evil God, it meant that if they failed to escape, there would be no good ending awaiting them.
“There may be other traps. Stay cautious.”
“Let’s keep moving. The Holy Queen is at the top floor.”
Inside the castle, among its brick and stone walls, Morphis, the Shining Saint, lit a light to illuminate the path ahead, lifting everyone’s spirits.
This place was like the inside of a colossal black beast.
Gabriella stopped walking.
She simply stood there.
Then, after the three figures disappeared from her sight, she looked at a black vine-like creature slowly crawling beside her, stepped forward, and gently patted its head.
The black creature seemed to understand something, wriggling slightly.
“If Master uses too much force, the humans outside won’t last very long, you know.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Sorry~”
After saying that, the small creature rubbed against her fingers, even making her feel a slight tickle.
This was a monster, the same kind as the black tentacles and shadow creatures outside.
With Isabella’s personality, she wouldn’t need something this complicated to eliminate the human Evil God.
The Evil God only needed to control the Curse Ring and command her to attack the Oracle Envoys.
Gabriella felt like she had become strange…
This place, eroded by shadows, felt like her true home.
Sinking into this sticky substance felt as comforting as being wrapped in a warm silk blanket.
At that moment, several tendrils suddenly crawled out from the shadows beneath her feet, climbed up her legs, and after wrapping around a few times, transformed into a metallic leg ring that coiled around her thigh covered in white stockings.
“Ah… mm, Master~?”
Gabriella’s cheeks burned hot.
Of course, she wanted to explain that hurting her earlier had not been intentional.
But since she was also inside the castle, there would be time to explain later.
To avoid arousing suspicion, she followed after the Oracle Envoys.
Noticing Gabriella catching up, the Envoys slowed their pace slightly, though they continued to stay alert to their surroundings, guarding against any danger.
“Haa…”
Gabriella let out a soft breath.
“Big Sister, are you alright?” Elsa noticed Gabriella’s weakened state and moved closer to ask.
Gabriella nodded.
Earlier, cutting down that black mass had consumed too much of her magic power.
This Holy Body had yet to fully recover, and she had only absorbed one of the crystals.
Thus, without using her true power, Gabriella was at best at the upper level of King-class strength, unable to compare to her former self.
However, due to her mastery over her body and her swordsmanship, she could still unleash tremendous power in short bursts.
“I’m just a little tired. Don’t worry.”
Right now, the most important thing was to find a path leading to the top floor and rescue the Holy Queen.
Ordinary magic had difficulty purifying shadows.
Even Oracle Envoys rarely acted at the bottom of the abyss.
Perhaps only Lady Olivia and the Divine Lady at her peak could directly confront shadows of this scale.
Following the stairs, the group reached the second floor, where the space became much more expansive.
The previously uneven path seemed to flatten as Gabriella walked at the front, with very few shadows stirring on the ground.
However, the path ahead remained pitch black.
It felt as if they were exploring a tomb.
No one dared to speak, afraid of awakening the abyssal monsters hidden beneath the shadows, as they proceeded cautiously.
Suddenly, a change erupted ahead.
The shadows within the vast space churned like boiling water in an iron pot, surging violently as a suffocating aura swept toward them.
A young girl slowly rose from within the shadows, like a sculpture emerging from the depths of water.
But this was not water, and she was no sculpture.
She was a maid.
Dressed in a light maid outfit, her pale teal stockings outlined her full, slender legs.
A heart-shaped tail swayed back and forth, seemingly reflecting her excitement.
A pair of deep-blue, diamond-like wings slowly unfurled as her steps seemed to deliberately display her alluring figure.
A black triangular mark on her forehead and within her pupils emitted a strange, ominous aura.
The overwhelming demonic presence made the three of them inhale sharply.
If it were merely a powerful demon, they would not have been so shocked.
After all, they were Oracle Envoys — night walkers among humanity.
What they could not accept was that this girl…
Was Miss Tina, once known as the Ice Saint.
At this moment, Tina’s eyes had long since lost their human light.
“Tina…”
Elsa’s voice trembled.
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