A whisper that no one else could hear sounded directly in Laxana’s mind.
[Love……]
[Little girl…… look at you…… how pitiful……]
[So close…… so close, you could have obtained eternal love……]
The voice was filled with beguilement.
[Don’t listen to them…… They will only take your beloved away from you……]
[Try once more…… Just try once more……]
[Pull out this hateful spear…… I’ll help you…… help you have him…… forever……]
“No… don’t…”
Laxana’s struggle grew increasingly intense, her gaze frantically switching between Layana and that notebook.
Aurelia took all of this in, her expression drastically changing.
She immediately realized that as long as this notebook continued to exist, Laxana would never be free of its influence!
To eliminate the weeds, one must pull out the roots!
“Layana, move out of the way!”
Aurelia raised the scepter in her hand once again, the gemstone at its tip gathering a Sacred Light even more dazzling than before.
“This thing is alive! It must be completely purified, right here, right now!”
She had already made up her mind—even if she accidentally hurt Laxana, she absolutely could not give this evil entity any chance to turn things around!
Layana also sensed the notebook’s abnormal movement and her daughter’s strange behavior, her heart torn in fierce conflict.
The struggle and hesitation in her eyes turned in an instant into reckless madness.
But before she could make a decision, Laxana had already made it for her.
Seeing Aurelia’s movement, Laxana let out a scream.
“No—!!!”
She violently shoved Layana, who was still holding her, then used the last ounce of strength in her body, stumbling and crawling toward the notebook pinned to the altar.
Not to protect it, nor to pull out the Holy Spear.
But in the second before Aurelia’s Radiance of Purification was about to fall, she used her own body to stand in front of that black notebook!
Laxana spread her arms wide, as if welcoming something, or as if guarding something, a sick, satisfied smile on her face, facing head-on the holy judgment capable of purifying all evil spirits in the world.
Using her own life to stop Aurelia’s purification!
She would use her own soul to bind herself completely to this evil book, to this twisted love!
“No—! Laxana—!!!”
Seeing her daughter’s actions, Layana’s entire world collapsed in that moment.
She let out the most heart-rending scream of her life, charging forward like a madwoman, trying to stop all of this.
But it was too late.
Aurelia’s holy purification was a judgment, a Divine Punishment—once unleashed, there was absolutely no taking it back.
The Radiance of Purification, bright enough to illuminate the entire Dream Demon Graveyard like daylight, came crashing down.
There was no explosion, no shockwave.
That pure Sacred Energy, gentle yet tyrannical, completely engulfed Laxana with her arms spread wide, along with the evil notebook behind her.
Time stood still in that moment.
The hand Layana extended hung frozen in midair.
The resoluteness on Aurelia’s face turned into disbelief and shock.
Wendy, who had just woken up, was stunned speechless.
The dazzling White Radiance lasted for a good ten-plus seconds before slowly fading.
On the Bone Altar, there was nothing left.
Laxana’s figure had vanished.
The black notebook had vanished too.
In their place was a colossal gemstone floating in midair, over one person tall.
The gemstone took on a perfect prismatic form, crystal clear throughout, yet within it swirled seven completely different colors.
Holy white. Destructive black. Blazing crimson. Frozen deep blue. Surging bright yellow. Rampant emerald green. Wild violet lightning.
Light, darkness, fire, frost, earth, storm, thunder…
Seven completely opposing forces that should have annihilated one another had, at this moment, achieved an inconceivable perfect balance within this bizarre gemstone, cycling endlessly, living without end.
An indescribable oppressive pressure radiated from within the gemstone, causing even the two strongest beings on the continent to feel their hearts tremble.
The world had never seen such a contradictory, yet such a perfect, existence.
thump…
A dull pulse came from within that enormous, bizarre Seven-Colored Crystal.
The sound was soft, yet it clearly struck the heart of everyone present.
The hand Layana had extended in midair froze.
She stared blankly at the gemstone.
The Seven-Colored Radiance swirling inside it was like the most magnificent cage in the world, imprisoning her daughter, her Laxana, forever.
“No… that can’t be…”
She collapsed powerlessly onto the ground covered in bone fragments.
Tears of despair slid from the corners of her eyes, falling among the white bones scattered everywhere.
“Laxana… come back… Mom is begging you…”
Like a gambler who had lost everything, she murmured to herself, completely losing the ability to think.
“That’s enough! Layana!”
A sharp shout pulled her back from the brink of collapse.
Aurelia leaned on her scepter, forcing herself to stand straight.
She stared at the gemstone, her face bearing only unprecedented gravity.
“Haven’t you realized it yet? That’s not a seal at all!”
thump! thump-thump!
The heartbeat quickened, growing more powerful.
The entire Bone Altar, and the whole Dream Demon Graveyard, began to tremble slightly with the rhythm of that heartbeat.
“That’s an evolution! Or rather… an aberration!”
Aurelia gritted her teeth, golden Holy Energy gathering again at the tip of her scepter, though this time its light was far dimmer than before.
“Everything we just did didn’t purify that evil thing at all—it was like… providing it with the final, most crucial nourishment!”
The sacred Purification Power and the evil Abyssal Notebook, using Laxana’s soul as a crucible, had undergone an inconceivable fusion!
Aurelia’s voice carried the desperation of one who would succeed or die trying.
She knew very well that the Holy Power within her was nearly depleted.
“We have to do it again—before it ‘hatches’!”
If this strike failed again, neither of them would be getting out of this godforsaken place alive today.
But just as she prepared to risk her life and unleash the final Divine Punishment, a weak male voice abruptly rang out in the deathly still and grim atmosphere.
“Um… sorry to interrupt…”
Layana and Aurelia froze at the same time, mechanically turning their heads.
There, on the other side of the altar, the prince who should have been unconscious—Prince Wendy—had somehow sat up, staring at them in utter confusion, even politely raising his hand.
Wendy was in despair too.
The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself teleported from a comfortable couch to some godforsaken place that looked like the Demon King’s lair.
A Blood Moon, twisted Withered Trees, Scrap Metal strewn everywhere.
The air was filled with a strange smell like Roast Meat burnt, with too much Sulfur sprinkled on top.
And not far away, the two strongest deans of the Central Academy were putting on a show like a Stage Play.
One was crying her heart out.
The other had adopted the stance of someone about to take everyone down with her.
In front of them hung a massive Seven-Colored Crystal comparable to a Disco Ball.
And inside it was Lady Laxana…
‘What on earth is going on?’
‘What happened while I was unconscious?’