Laxana stared at the Goddess Veil her mother had handed her.
The pure white teardrop-shaped gemstone lay quietly in Layana’s palm, radiating a soft, holy aura. It resembled a frozen star—pure, noble, and brooking no flaw.
But in Laxana’s eyes, this thing felt more repulsive than the most venomous cursed artifact.
Sever her link with Wendy?
That would be no different from killing her!
No, it would be worse than death!
It meant she would have to watch helplessly as Wendy was embraced and kissed by Astreia and other women, without even the right to feel it through the link.
She would completely revert to being that background character who could only clap from the sidelines and offer “sincere” blessings for her best friend’s happiness.
Never.
Absolutely not!
The flames of rage and resistance blazed wildly in the depths of her heart, nearly breaking through the cage of reason. But Laxana’s face perfectly maintained that expression of despair and submission, as if she had been crushed by reality.
“Mom… this… will this really work?”
“What if… what if there are side effects…”
As she spoke, she instinctively took half a step back, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her robe.
Buy time.
There had to be a way to escape, a way to wake herself up.
Pretend to be overwhelmed by the power and faint? No, Mom would never fall for that.
Directly oppose her? Even worse—that would mean burning all bridges, and she was definitely no match for her mother.
What to do? What to do!
Laxana’s mind raced, thinking of a hundred ways to pretend she couldn’t bear it.
But Layana, seeing her daughter’s “love-struck” expression, felt the last shred of tenderness in her heart replaced by impatience.
“Shut up!”
The Dean barked, not giving Laxana any chance to continue her act.
She stepped forward and swung the necklace toward Laxana’s throat!
“You have no choice!”
The moment the cold chain touched her skin, Laxana’s body trembled violently!
Almost simultaneously, a sudden change occurred!
—!
The Goddess Veil, as if sensing the evil on its host, erupted in a blinding white radiance!
The holy white light, like a blazing sun, surged into Laxana’s limbs and bones, attempting to burn away the soul thread connecting her to Wendy—to erase it completely!
But before the holy power could fully unfold,
another force, diametrically opposed—cold, evil, and terrifying, originating from the Abyss—burst forth from beneath Laxana’s robe!
The handwritten notebook she had kept close to her body floated out from her bosom on its own, hovering in midair!
Rustle, rustle—
The black cover turned by itself, pages flipping wildly, and streams of thick black qi surged out, colliding instantly with the holy white light!
In that moment, the magic within the office went completely berserk!
White holy radiance and purple black qi intertwined, clashed, and tore at each other!
Crackle—!
The two diametrically opposed forces refused to yield, using Laxana’s body as a battlefield for the most primal and savage struggle.
In an instant, the entire Dean’s office became a small eye of an energy storm!
Precious tomes on the bookshelves were swept up by the gale, pages flying everywhere!
The expensive magic vessels on the alchemy table, battered by the stray energy, creaked under the strain, then shattered and exploded one after another!
“Aaaaah—!”
Laxana stood at the very center of the storm, letting out a scream so piercing it barely sounded human!
Her body had become the battlefield for two extremes of power!
An indescribable tearing sensation came from the depths of her soul.
Countless chaotic, mad thoughts—filled with jealousy and possessiveness—burrowed into her mind like venomous snakes.
‘Kill Astreia!’
‘Wendy is yours! Only yours!’
‘What makes her worthy of the Prince’s kiss?’
‘Make her a sacrifice! Then you can be together forever!’
Laxana fell to her knees, clutching her head with both hands.
But amid the endless pain and chaos, she suddenly realized that the Goddess Veil was gradually gaining the upper hand!
If this “purification” succeeded, the link between her and Wendy would be severed forever!
No!
Never!
Laxana’s reason snapped completely at that moment.
‘Mine… that’s mine!’
‘Give it back!’
Instead of passively enduring, she actively opened her mind, no longer resisting the black qi from the Abyss, and let it take full possession of her body!
“Get out!”
With a manic roar, the black qi erupting from Laxana’s body swelled violently!
“What?!”
Layana, who had been standing nearby, stunned by the scene, stared at her daughter in horror.
From that black qi, she sensed an evil, chaotic demonic presence far beyond her understanding!
No, this wasn’t even ordinary demonic power!
The force was older, stranger, carrying a pressure that made even her, a Master Mage, tremble with fear.
How could her own daughter be hiding something like this?
Layana didn’t have time to think.
She immediately began chanting a spell.
“Space Imprisonment!”
She tried to use her strongest control magic to suppress the rampaging energy.
But the magic runes had barely formed before the purple-black current washed over them, corroding them away.
They didn’t even last a second!
How was that possible?!
Her magic was completely ineffective?!
Just as Layana’s shock peaked, the clash between the two forces reached a critical point.
The holy light and black qi inside Laxana had achieved a terrifying balance.
Then…
It exploded!
Boom—!
A deafening roar.
A destructive energy shockwave radiated outward in all directions, centered on Laxana!
Layana, caught completely off guard, managed to throw up a magic barrier in front of her, only to be blasted back by the violent energy.
She slammed heavily into the office wall with a dull thud, then slid weakly to the floor, unconscious.
The Goddess Veil that had started it all was shaken loose from Laxana’s neck by the force of the explosion, arcing through the air before clattering to the ground beside Layana’s feet.
The pure white gemstone had dimmed.
The energy storm came and went as quickly as it had begun.
After the terrifying explosion, the wrecked office fell into dead silence.
Laxana knelt in the center of the shattered floor, covered in blood, panting heavily.
The black handwritten notebook hovered silently before her, its pages turning by themselves, emitting an eerie purple glow.
A long time passed.
Laxana slowly stood up.
The wounds on her body healed at a visible rate under the lingering black qi—a sight eerily similar to how Astreia controlled her magic to mend injuries.
She walked step by step to her unconscious mother, looking down at the continent’s foremost magic scholar, now lying pathetically at her feet.
A smile mixed with pain, satisfaction, and cruelty slowly bloomed on her face.
“Mother, you were always right…”
“Short pain is better than long pain.”
She didn’t spare her mother another glance.
Instead, she turned and walked step by step toward the long sofa where Astreia lay.
Those beautiful violet eyes no longer held any pretense, any trace of weakness.
Only burning jealousy and undisguised greed remained.
The handwritten notebook floating beside her turned to a certain page on its own.
At the top of the page, the words Eternal Bond glowed with an eerie purple light, as if silently urging her on.
Laxana reached the long sofa and stopped.
She looked at Astreia’s sleeping face—still spirited even in slumber—at those golden strands of hair, at the curves of her full, reclining body.
“I…”
“Astreia, my dearest friend…”
Laxana reached out, her icy fingertips brushing across Astreia’s warm cheek with a pathological fascination.
“…Becoming everything to me… you should… feel happy, shouldn’t you?”