The reason Iyue did not return that night to the palace where the others were staying was the same as Milin’s guess—after her conversation with Senia ended, she took a boat back into the city.
“Did you really forget everything?”
But before that, she had first gone to see Waletidina, who had been standing guard outside the Royal Villa the entire time during their conversation.
“Did you call me all the way out here just to confirm something like that?” Waletidina’s gaze toward her was ice-cold. “This is a waste of my time. I’m going back to Her Majesty’s side.”
The two were now in an ancient grove not far from the Royal Bedchamber, a place with no palace structures.
To keep their conversation from being overheard by a third party, Iyue had deliberately pulled her to this secluded spot.
“Wait a moment—” Seeing Waletidina turn to leave, Iyue stepped forward and grabbed her arm.
“Let go of me!”
In that instant, Waletidina, as if triggered by something, violently flung her hand away, then turned back and glared at her fiercely.
“Don’t touch me! What exactly are you trying to do!”
Her eyes seemed to hold nothing but pure fury… but Iyue could see that beneath that rage lurked something—fear and wavering.
‘She truly remembers nothing.’
Waletidina’s behavior all pointed to this fact, and from what Iyue knew of her, she was not the type with a particular talent for acting, capable of feigning these reactions so convincingly.
“…Inside the Barrier, I saw some things about you.”
So Iyue told her everything she had seen in the Illusion Realm regarding her past… and throughout this, the expression on Waletidina’s face grew more and more terrified—
“…At the end, you asked me to do one thing—”
“Shut your mouth!”
By the time Iyue reached that point, Waletidina’s hand was already pressed against her own sword hilt.
“I am a monster who died and came back to life… and the Nereve Family Head is the one who turned me into a monster? You should know better than to slander someone like that!”
“Waletidina… you know very well what I’m talking about.”
Waletidina suddenly raised her face, and what she saw was Iyue’s incomparably serious expression.
In this woman’s eyes, there was not a trace of joking or pity.
“I am not a monster… I’m not…”
The hand gripping her sword hilt trembled, and unconsciously she took two steps back. But Iyue did not close the distance between them. She simply stood in place and stated calmly.
“Whether you remember or not, I have never once thought of you as a monster. Though it may be painful for you… I still want to ask you to recall—the person who formed the [Resurrection Contract] with you that day, was it truly that woman?”
“[Resurrection Contract]…” Upon hearing this word, Waletidina’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
“Waletidina…!”
Seeing her face change drastically as she collapsed to the ground, Iyue rushed forward to support her. But by now Waletidina did not even have the strength left to push her away, and merely clutched her own head, murmuring incessantly.
“[Resurrection Contract]… [Resurrection Contract]? Yes… my hands and feet were bitten off by those monsters. But why are my limbs still intact?”
“You…”
Iyue looked at Waletidina with some astonishment.
“I… you’re right… I should already be dead… I kept fighting… blood… pain… and the Demon Spirit Duke’s spell… Why am I still alive?”
Thump, thump. Thump, thump.
Iyue heard her heartbeat growing louder and louder… A strange yet powerful magic power began to permeate the surrounding atmosphere, causing her Soul Color to manifest.
That Soul Color was dark and profound, black as shadow and ink. When she had roared and charged at those Demon Army soldiers in the Illusion Realm, it was this very Soul Color that had manifested.
Then Iyue saw her armor swell and contract like some kind of living creature… with the range growing larger and larger.
“Waletidina… calm down! If you truly cannot remember, then don’t force yourself to!”
“Ugh… ahh…”
Waletidina opened her mouth as if trying to say something… but her neck, along with her face and head, also began to contract and swell, the violent bulging almost like a prelude to an imminent explosion—
“Relax! Relax! Don’t force yourself to think anymore… I’ll help you control the rampaging magic power, calm down!”
Iyue sat across from her and took her hand, channeling her own magic power into Waletidina’s body.
“This is…”
In this world, magic power flows and circulates within every living being and every person like blood. And when Iyue came into contact with the magic power circulating inside Waletidina’s body, she was startled.
‘What in the world is this?’
If the magic power normally flowing through a human body could be compared to a gently babbling stream or river, then the magic circulation within Waletidina at this moment was like a vast sea of roaring, crashing waves surging in all directions.
Iyue knew that Waletidina was different from herself… She was a true High Elf, and her upper limit of magic power was considerably higher than Iyue’s own. But the current speed of her magic circulation and its overall scale had clearly far surpassed the limit achievable by an Elf.
‘This oppressive pressure… it’s already approaching the level of those Magus!’
Iyue’s magic power was drawn into her magic circulation, like a lone boat about to capsize in a raging sea. She had to exert all her effort to control it, just to keep her own power from being devoured by that wild surge.
“Ugh…!”
The magic power within Iyue’s body churned in response… and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
An incomparably immense magic power and an extreme circulation speed—these were the reason Waletidina could survive attacks that should have pulverized her and regenerate rapidly.
But could a single ‘Resurrection Contract’ provided by the Family Head alone grant someone power nearly on par with a Magus? If that woman could do such a thing at will, then she could have annihilated the Demon Race all by herself—
“Ah…”
A faint purple glow suddenly caught Iyue’s attention. She saw that within her pocket, the last two remaining “Magic Bullets” were emitting light.
The light grew brighter and brighter… and one of the bullets even slowly floated up into the air, rising to a point between the two of them.
“Could this be… a resonance between [Relics]?”
Certain “Relics” resonate with each other—this was knowledge taught to them by the Sage, who had instructed those who used Relics. Lian En’s “Blazing Holy Sword” and Vera’s “Frosted Demon Sword,” her own Longbow “Flowing Wind” and her “Magic Bullets”… there existed some connection between these Relics that had yet to be fully studied.
And these connections had both benefits and drawbacks for Relics. For example, when the Demon Sword and Saint Sword were brought too close together, they would repel each other, causing the magic power released by both to become extremely unstable; yet her own Longbow, when firing Magic Bullets, would exponentially amplify the power of the arrows, allowing them to pierce the Demon Spirit Duke’s spell domain and the Demon King’s Mana Barrier.
Could it be… that the changes in Waletidina were brought about by some Relic?
Iyue gritted her teeth and stared at the “Magic Bullet” floating between them… At this moment, focused as she was on controlling the rampaging magic power within Waletidina’s body, she was utterly helpless against this Magic Bullet that had suddenly shown signs of resonance.
“This damned thing…!”