The biting cold wind howled in her ears, carrying an extreme cold magic capable of twisting steel. But Charlotte did not retreat.
She held tightly, desperately, the girl before her who was drenched in blood and radiating murderous intent. Azure flames and icy blue frost crazily intertwined and clashed around them, emitting a grating “sizzling” sound.
“I’ve got you… Miss Annabell.”
Charlotte’s voice was soft, but filled with unshakable determination.
The irrational Annabell’s crimson heterochromatic eyes flashed with a trace of rage at being provoked. The killing instinct of the First Magus King took over at this moment. Any living thing that dared to intrude upon her domain would only face death.
Annabell stiffly raised her arms, casting aside her staff. Those slender hands, which should have been used for casting elegant magic, now clamped down on Charlotte’s back and neck like iron pincers.
Icy magic surged into Charlotte’s body along her fingertips, trying to freeze the reckless girl in her arms.
Charlotte let out a pained grunt. The bones in her back let out a creak of strain, and the excruciating pain of being almost broken made tears instantly spill from her eyes.
Blood continuously dripped from the corner of her mouth onto Annabell’s snow-white collar.
She would die.
If she didn’t let go, she really would be killed by Miss Annabell’s own hands.
At that moment between life and death, this clear thought flashed through Charlotte’s mind. But when she looked up and met Annabell’s hollow, pain-filled crimson eyes, the fear on her face miraculously disappeared. In its place was a gentle, even somewhat relieved and happy smile.
“No matter what you become… I will never let you go.”
Charlotte took a deep breath, and against the suffocation that could tear her throat apart, she yelled with all her remaining strength into Annabell’s ear.
“I love you! Miss Annabell!”
Her cracked voice pierced through the roar of magic, echoing in the main hall.
“It’s not because you’re a lofty genius mage, nor because of the family behind you! I just love you as a person! I love the happy you, the tsundere you, and even this unreasonable, raging version of you now… I love it all!”
Annabell’s hand on Charlotte’s neck suddenly stiffened, her fingers pausing in disbelief.
While spitting blood and crying, Charlotte’s smile grew even brighter. She pressed her cheek against Annabell’s cold face without hesitation, her voice trembling with sobs.
“I know we’re both girls! In the eyes of the world, this might be heretical, might be criticized and mocked by everyone… might even be condemned as heresy by the Church! But so what?!”
“I don’t care! Even if the whole world spurns me, even if I fall into the Abyss, I want to be your life partner! I only have you in this life! So… please, wake up quickly! Don’t leave me alone!”
This confession, full of resolve and deep affection, was unreserved and without a shred of falsehood.
The Azure soulfire, driven by this pure emotion, turned into the warmest current, surging through their closely pressed skin, breaking through the cold magical barrier without resistance. That was a power stronger than any high-level magic—the truest heart of a human being.
“Ah——!!!”
Like a ray of miraculous light piercing through the crimson nightmare, Annabell suddenly threw back her head and let out an extremely shrill scream.
She abruptly released Charlotte and clutched her head with both hands. The chaotic magic of black and blue raging within her began to collapse and dissipate on a large scale, like snow under the blazing sun.
“Get out… get out of my head!” Annabell struggled in midair in agony, her beautiful face twisted in pain.
“Miss Annabell!”
Charlotte lost her support and fell sharply, but she immediately stabilized and spread her arms to rush at the struggling Annabell again.
“Get away! Don’t touch me!”
Reason and madness clashed fiercely within her. Annabell painfully swung a stream of magical energy, roughly pushing Charlotte away.
With a “bang,” Charlotte was thrown hard onto the ice, rolling several times before stopping. Her knees were scraped, and her clothes were tattered.
But without a second’s hesitation, she gritted her teeth, got up, limped toward Annabell again, and threw herself at her, wrapping her arms around her waist with all her might.
“I’m not leaving! Even if you beat me to death, I won’t leave!” Charlotte clung to her shamelessly.
Another magical blast sent her flying. She fell, got up, and hugged again. Pushed away, got up, hugged again.
No matter how rough Annabell’s movements were, no matter how many wounds the residual magic cut into her, Charlotte was like an unshakable burr, persistently and stubbornly throwing herself at the girl on the brink of collapse.
“You promised me… to protect me…” Charlotte held Annabell tightly by the shoulders, burying her face in her neck, her scalding tears soaking Annabell’s cold skin. “Now it’s my turn to hold on to you.”
Finally, under Charlotte’s relentless, almost clingy embraces, under the continuous soothing of her pure emotions, Annabell’s struggles grew weaker and weaker.
The ancient, obscure dark magic patterns on her cheeks receded like a tide, revealing her originally snow-white skin. In her crimson tyrannical eyes, the madness gradually faded, and the familiar clarity and pride slowly returned to those clear red-blue heterochromatic eyes.
’Miracle… this is a miracle…’ The voice of Lao Nainai echoed in Charlotte’s mind, weak but shocked. ’To suppress the mental pollution of the First Magus King with just a newly refined Azure lotus and a few sappy words… Just how pure are this girl’s emotions…’
Meanwhile, Rosalind, standing on the ice not far away, stared blankly at this scene. She covered her bleeding wound and watched the two girls holding each other recklessly.
Instead of the joy of surviving a disaster, her heart welled up with an indescribable bitterness and a strong sense of loss.
Why does it hurt so much?
Rosalind bit her lower lip, replaying the moment when Annabell released the [Dimensional Wind Blade] earlier in her mind.
As the Saintess of the Church of Holy Light, she knew better than anyone the precision of high-level mages. Even when Annabell had lost her mind and was acting on instinct, her magic could never have missed.
’Was it because of my [Great Purification Spell] that I chanted at the critical moment?’
’It was my divine spell that allowed Annabell to retain the last, most crucial shred of sanity before her complete fall!’
’That instinctive deviation was her inner self desperately trying not to hurt me!’
’So… the first anchor that truly awakened her consciousness was actually me!’
Rosalind’s fingers clenched the hem of her clothes tightly. She stared longingly.
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