Since a new kin could no longer be born, Luo Shuangyue might as well claim the inheritance left behind.
The lingering power here would surely help Luo Shuangyue take a big step forward on her path to becoming a Demon Emperor.
Receiving Anxing’s nod, Luo Shuangyue didn’t hesitate, heading straight for the place where the Silver Butterflies were thickest.
Passing through their purifying formation, she saw a lump of pitch-black Magic Essence Mud, more than half already gone.
This was the unformed core magic of that demon; thanks to the Holy Sovereign’s intervention during its formation, it would never get the chance to become whole.
Most of the silver dust scattered by the butterflies had fallen on this lump of power, but its vitality was astonishingly tenacious—somehow, it had managed to resist being tainted at all.
It remained so black, so revolting.
But it was, undeniably, valuable to absorb. Luo Shuangyue even felt this was the final puzzle piece to truly becoming a Demon Emperor.
She extended her hand, dark Thorn Roots snaking from her arm to pierce the Magic Essence Mud, slowly devouring its power.
Chaos, madness, destruction—all sorts of negative emotions poured into her body with the magic, forcing Luo Shuangyue to concentrate to suppress the demon’s inherent nature.
The Holy Sovereign’s light had destroyed the Demon Emperor’s body, but not the turbulent, dreadful spirit.
She’d have to overcome this trial on her own.
Luo Shuangyue focused all her attention on absorbing the magic, ignoring the muffled sounds of battle behind her.
Right now, her mind held only one thing—suppress the negative emotions, fully absorb the energy within this mud, and become a more perfect self.
Her consciousness gradually sank into darkness, and she lost all sense of her body.
The enemy she would face next was completely unlike any she’d encountered before.
The black aura took the form of a girl, appearing before Luo Shuangyue—a face she knew all too well, the one she saw in the mirror each morning.
Only, this face was marked with jagged red lines, and wore an expression Luo Shuangyue herself never would.
Mania. Unending madness.
This was a pure killing machine.
If she lost, Luo Shuangyue had no doubt she’d become just another mindless demon, bent only on destruction.
“Come to think of it, I thought I’d see little butterflies here, but it’s this instead?”
The black Luo Shuangyue tilted her head, grinned, and lunged straight at Luo Shuangyue.
Come.
Luo Shuangyue would never just sit and wait for death. She had so many promises to keep—there was no way she could break them here!
“Don’t make a fuss, don’t make a fuss. I know you’re anxious, but don’t be. If you go help now, you’ll only get in the way, you know that?” Youji, holding the little butterfly’s wings, advised helplessly.
When Luo Shuangyue’s consciousness plunged into darkness, the little butterfly could barely resist the urge to go help.
She really didn’t like Luo Shuangyue all that much, but she didn’t want her other half turning into something disgusting either.
But truly, she couldn’t interfere in this battle—she was the embodiment of Luo Shuangyue’s malice, and her presence would only hasten Luo Shuangyue’s fall.
The little butterfly beat her wings in anger. Then what was she supposed to do?
“Why don’t you try pulling out all that malice and tossing it out of your body?” Youji suggested to the little butterfly.
Luo Shuangyue’s demonic aura seemed to have a special effect. Before Zheng was born, her demonic aura absorbed Zheng’s innate urge for destruction, making Zheng an oddity among the demonic creatures.
So now, could the little butterfly try the same approach to cleanse Luo Shuangyue’s own urge for destruction?
“Luo Shuangyue is currently absorbing the power left behind by this Demon Emperor, but from another angle, isn’t this her way of mending this Black Calamity?” Youji gripped her own hair, knowing her idea was bold, but it was possible.
This Black Calamity wasn’t over yet. If Luo Shuangyue threw herself into the fray and replaced the stillborn Demon Emperor, could she use this calamity to be reborn?
Just like right now—Luo Shuangyue, locked in combat with the urge for destruction, was acting just like other demonic creatures fighting their instincts before birth.
The only difference was that normal demons didn’t have such clear consciousness at this stage, and couldn’t fight back against the urge for destruction.
But Luo Shuangyue was different. Her will was strong—strong enough to withstand these surges of desire for long stretches of time.
The shattered vortex of demonic aura began to spin again, funneling terrifying amounts of demonic energy into her core, as if nothing had ever happened, as if that flash of silver light had never appeared at all.
“She actually wants to…” Manzhu stared, stunned, at the core of the Black Calamity where the chaos had revived, her eyes full of shock.
The shock was so great she momentarily forgot to defend against Anxing’s attacks.
Starlight transformed into a spear and lunged toward her, forcing Manzhu—distracted—to dodge clumsily.
Not long after Luo Shuangyue left, she had ambushed Anxing, wanting to shut that annoying mouth for good.
Because she had the element of surprise, Manzhu dominated the fight at first. But unfortunately, Anxing had always been on guard, making Manzhu’s ambush less effective than it could have been.
The moment Manzhu’s attention faltered, Anxing managed to tip the scales a bit. Now, if Anxing wanted to escape, Manzhu couldn’t stop her.
But Anxing didn’t flee.
She had already watched one of her kin die in front of her. She would not stand by as another suffered the same fate!
If she left now, what would Manzhu do to Luo Shuangyue, who was absorbing demonic energy in the core? No doubt, Manzhu would strike without hesitation to kill Luo Shuangyue.
The remaining power here would also fall into Manzhu’s hands.
That was something Anxing absolutely could not accept. So, she would stay and hold Manzhu back, waiting for Luo Shuangyue to succeed.
“Heh, you’re not running now? You’ll have no chance at all to escape soon enough.” Manzhu shot Anxing a cold look, unsurprised at her choice. This fool who valued her own kin above all else—there was no way she’d leave now.
That was exactly why she’d sent Luo Shuangyue to absorb the demonic energy. As long as Luo Shuangyue couldn’t leave for the time being, Anxing would have no choice but to fight her to the death.
And in a fight to the death, Manzhu was confident she wouldn’t lose to Anxing.
“So this was all within your expectations?”
“—About half a meter.”
Grey fingers swept over the turbulent 3D map. The black vortex, which had just stilled, started spinning again, and at its heart, two surges of energy flared brightly.
No doubt about it—the organization’s two Demon Emperors were locked in a death match at the heart of the Black Calamity.
Perhaps this was just the scene the organization’s founder wanted to see.
So many Demon Emperors could have been sent, but why send Manzhu, who clashed so badly with Anxing? The predecessor wasn’t ignorant of human nature—she was deliberately stoking conflict.
The grey butterfly wings slowly unfurled. Staring at the swirling black vortex, she murmured, “This is our only chance.”
“At this distance, the two Demon Emperors’ infighting will definitely draw the Sanctuary’s attention. I don’t believe they’ll resist the bait.”
To wipe out both Demon Emperors in one move—this was a deal the Sanctuary couldn’t refuse, worth taking a risk to deploy extra forces.
And with those forces moved out, the Sanctuary’s defenses would be weakened, giving the predecessor’s plan more chance of success.
“Is everyone ready?”
She asked softly to the person at her side.
“Everything’s ready. I need to prepare as well.”
“Mm.” The predecessor nodded slightly.
“Then, goodbye.”
“…Goodbye.”
Her companion left silently, but the predecessor didn’t look back.
Even though she knew, this would be the last time she saw the partner who had been with her for years.
“Hoo… After preparing so long, it’s finally time.” Her fingers tapped the biomatter console softly, and in the empty room, she let out a long sigh.
“Let’s hope you can handle this gift.”
Whoosh!
A vine lashed down heavily on Anxing’s arm, leaving a pitch-black scar.
Anxing stiffened, her arm clutching the starlight spear trembling violently.
This battle had drained her too much. Even in the core of the Black Calamity, she was burning through demonic energy far faster than she could replenish it.
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