“It’s over.”
Via suspended the tip of Starfall Flame in front of Sophie. This battle between Mythical-tier powerhouses had already decided a victor.
The angel looked at the weapon before her, fell silent for a moment, then gripped the tip of the blade with her hand as her expression turned ferocious.
“No. It is not over yet.”
“What are you trying to do?!”
Via was startled.
She could sense that the angel had begun circulating her remaining divine power, intending to detonate herself along with it.
However, from the result, the angel’s action would not be able to harm her much. After all, she still had residual divine power that was more than enough to form a shield.
“No outsider is permitted to lay hands on the Theia Continent. I will carry out the great will left behind by the Lord and, at any cost, expel every outsider!”
The angel seized the sharp blade with both hands. Golden blood seeped out through her palms and fell onto the ground.
She clung to the weapon as if possessed, refusing to let go.
“You…”
Via frowned.
She discovered that the angel was completely incapable of communication. The other party would only obey the commands issued by the god. This kind of behavior was nothing more than meaningless struggle.
Did that mean she had to act here and now and completely cut down the angel?
But if the angel had occupied Sophie’s body, doing so would be no different from taking Sophie’s life.
“You had better possess the resolve to kill me. As long as you spare me today, I will survive and purge every demonkin from this world.”
The angel’s expression grew increasingly ferocious. The divine power within her body continuously surged toward the center of her brows, forming an unstable, minute light sphere that was about to erupt.
She had to make a decision here.
Was she to kill the angel and eliminate the future threat forever, or, out of a moment of mercy, spare this enormous danger?
If she spared the angel once, quite a few demonkin would likely die because of her actions.
Yet if she completely eliminated the angel here, she would also lose Sophie.
What should she do?
Via revealed a pained expression.
Time passed bit by bit. She did not continue to delay. The consequences of either choice were things she did not wish to see. She had to make a decision.
“Don’t be afraid, my daughter.”
A gentle voice rang out.
Via froze. This familiar and nostalgic voice was something she had heard when she was very young—something she would never forget for the rest of her life.
In an instant, surging emotions welled up from the depths of her heart, causing her eyes to grow moist.
“Who… who is it?!”
The angel revealed a rather surprised reaction. Clearly, this lofty existence did not understand the weight of that voice.
“Is it you…”
Via lowered her head and saw that the saintess pendant on Sophie’s body was emitting a soft glow.
That was the relic left behind by Via and Sophie’s mother, the former Perfect Saintess Sylvia, for the two sisters.
Back when Via had been assassinated at Avalon Academy, it had been precisely the pendant left by her mother that had saved her life.
Sylvia’s blurry figure appeared. The red-haired saintess embraced Sophie from behind, her voice whispering softly by her ear.
“Mother…!”
Sophie’s eyes lost their golden radiance and returned to their original red. Upon hearing her mother’s voice, her own will was clearly awakened.
“No, no! Of all times, you interfere when I am at my weakest!”
The angel was greatly alarmed. Two different expressions continuously alternated across Sophie’s face.
“You… get out…!”
Under Sylvia’s protection, Sophie also desperately resisted the incomplete angel’s will. She did not want to become the angel’s puppet in front of her mother.
She bit her own lip and, bit by bit, withdrew her hands from Starfall Flame, attempting to disperse the self-destructive divine power.
“I cannot continue making mistakes. I must protect Via. I can no longer harm her…!”
“Stop! You are a believer of the Lord. You must, like me, fulfill the will left behind by the Lord!!”
“That is the wrong path. I should not… submit to any god. I should stand together with my own family…!”
Sophie used everything she had to reject the angel.
The incomplete angel’s will gradually separated from her body. A sacred shadow twisted unstably.
Via watched everything unfolding before her eyes. She discarded all distracting thoughts, focused her attention, and searched for an opportunity.
In the end, she successfully seized the timing. At the moment when the sacred shadow and Sophie’s body shifted to their greatest degree of separation, she swung Starfall Flame and severed the link between the incomplete angel’s will and Sophie.
“Disappear completely!”
Via swung the finishing slash, driving Starfall Flame into the angel’s shadow. Without the slightest mercy, she destroyed the incomplete angel’s will.
Having obtained liberation, Sophie collapsed. However, before she could hit the ground, Sylvia’s blurry shadow caught her, allowing her to fall into her mother’s embrace.
“Mom… is it you…”
Via asked in a voice carrying a sob.
Sylvia’s shadow nodded and extended a hand toward Via as well.
Via set down her weapon, walked over, and after a long time once again felt the embrace of her mother. Although it lasted only a short while, it still soothed the wounds within her heart.
In less than ten seconds, Sylvia’s figure disappeared. At the same time, the saintess pendant that had lost its light fell to the ground and shattered.
Just like before, after protecting her daughters, Sylvia’s residual aura completely dissipated.
“Via…”
Sophie raised her head and looked at her younger sister, her expression extremely complicated.
There was the joy of reunion, as well as guilt and self-reproach—emotions that could not be clearly described in just a few words.
Countless thoughts ultimately condensed into three words.
“I’m sorry.”
Via’s eyes widened.
She also did not quite know how she should respond. She truly had never thought about how she should face Sophie after the latter recovered her self.
She could feel the regret emanating from the other party.
“Whatever you have to say can wait until later. Now is not the time.”
“Mm.”
Sophie indicated that she understood. She lowered her head, clearly aware of just how outrageous the things she had done were. Receiving a cold attitude in front of Via was only natural.
“The civil war is not over yet. I need to find Soren as soon as possible.”
Via walked forward, passing by Sophie’s side.
“Overturning the current Saint Luo Empire is the decision I made. If you want to stop me, you can try.”
“He should still be remaining inside the palace and has not gone out. You will be able to find Soren if you go inside, Via.”
Sophie stood in place without moving, already making her own stance clear.
“I will not stand on the side of the Holy Land. The Holy Land has always been doing the wrong things… I also intend to abandon the identity of Saintess.”
“Mm.”
Via stopped in her tracks and smiled.
“Then, Elder Sister, see you later.”