Purple-black flames raged like a violent Abyss beast, roaring wantonly in the ancient hall.
The heat distorted the air, and even space itself seemed ready to melt and snap under this power that could incinerate everything.
Yet at the center of this sea of fire, which resembled a hellish purgatory, there was an absolutely silent absolute domain.
“Ah…” Annabell let out a soft breath. Her silver-white hair fluttered slightly in the heatwave, but on her doll-like, delicate face, there was not a single trace of panic.
A war of attrition.
A pale blue halo, like an upside-down glass bowl, wrapped tightly around her.
This was the Absolute Defense barrier.
Under this halo, even the Demon God’s soulfire, which could instantly reduce a dragon to ashes, could not cross the line by half a step.
But this barrier had a time limit!
And Annabell was very aware of her current situation.
‘My mana is almost gone. Even with the bloodline of the First Magus King, I can’t sustain a war of attrition against this monster without mana support.’
She calculated rapidly in her mind, a rational and cool light flickering in her heterochromatic red and blue eyes.
The monster before her was an ancient magical beast with one foot already in the realm of gods.
A direct confrontation? That was a stupid idea that wasn’t even worth considering.
She had to use another method.
Without making a sound, Annabell summoned the system panel that only she could see.
On this translucent interface shimmering with fluorescent blue light, aside from the string of red negative status warnings about her own condition, the most eye-catching thing was a bar displayed above the head of the huge fire demon in front of her.
That was the system’s Affection Mechanism.
The corner of Annabell’s mouth lifted slightly, curving into a cold smile tinged with mockery.
Based on her exploration over this period of time, this system had an extremely absurd yet very useful setting—the higher the rarity of the target character, the more generous the treasure chest reward the system gave when the affection level changed (whether extreme like or extreme disgust).
The one before her was a remnant soul of a Demon God that had survived from ancient times. In terms of rarity, it was definitely the highest level SSR!
‘Since I can’t beat you, I’ll just have to milk you for all you’re worth.’ Annabell made up her mind.
She slightly raised her chin, looking at the surging purple-black flames that were trying to find a weakness in the barrier with an almost condescending, arrogant gaze.
“What’s the matter? Is this all you’ve got?”
Annabell’s clear voice, amplified by magic, pierced through the roar of the fire sea.
“The so-called ancient Demon God, the existence said to be able to burn through the Abyss, can’t even break the defense of an ordinary mage whose mana is almost depleted? Truly laughable.”
The Demon God’s soul had no facial features, but the mass of flames twisted violently, clearly understanding Annabell’s mockery.
However, the affection level progress bar on the system panel only flickered slightly, with no substantial change.
‘As expected, for a monster that has lived for who knows how many tens of thousands of years and has long lost human emotions, simple verbal provocation has little effect.’ Annabell narrowed her eyes.
In that case, it was time to add some firepower.
Annabell dispersed a tiny part of the defensive range around her, deliberately allowing a wisp of purple-black demonic fire to lick at the hem of her clothes.
Miraculously, the demonic fire, which should have burned anything, instantly extinguished the moment it touched Annabell’s clothing, as if it had encountered an insulator.
Not only that, but Annabell herself was bathed in high temperatures that could vaporize steel, yet there wasn’t even a drop of sweat on her skin.
Immunity! Complete and utter immunity!
This time, the Demon God let out an extremely furious roar.
A mere human could remain completely unharmed within its demonic godly flames?
[Ding! The target’s affection toward you has decreased. Current status: Extreme Suspicion!]
Before Annabell’s eyes, the affection level progress bar on the system panel plummeted a large chunk, directly turning red.
‘Now!’
Without hesitation, Annabell clicked on a bronze treasure chest that had newly appeared on the panel.
[Chest opened successfully! Obtained: Frost Spring!]
With a flash of light, a small crystal bottle appeared in Annabell’s palm, containing a liquid that emitted a bone-chilling cold and appeared deep blue.
The moment this bottle appeared, the surrounding purple-black fire sea recoiled involuntarily, as if it had encountered a natural enemy.
“Oh? Looks like you hate this?” Annabell keenly noticed the Demon God’s reaction. She shook the crystal bottle and deliberately said in an exaggerated tone, “That’s right, after all, rotten fire like you, hiding in a sewer, is most afraid of clean water, isn’t it?”
The Demon God’s soulfire boiled violently, and two massive claws vaguely condensed within the flames, as if wanting to crush Annabell and the crystal bottle together.
[Ding! The target’s affection toward you has decreased significantly. Current status: Deep Hatred!]
Along with the system prompt sound, a silver treasure chest emitting a silvery glow popped up.
Annabell tapped her finger on it.
[Chest opened successfully! Obtained: Glacial Holy Water!]
If the Frost Spring just now had only made the Demon God uncomfortable, then when the Glacial Holy Water appeared, it was an absolute life-and-death enemy!
Glacial Holy Water was a creation left behind by the Holy Gods of ancient times, a sacred water specifically used to restrain Abyss demonic fire.
Even a single drop was enough to purify large swaths of evil magic.
A pure white droplet of water floated on Annabell’s fingertip, its sacred light cutting through the purple-black fire sea, cleaving a clean space like a sharp sword.
Dead.
“Aaaaah—!!! The aura of a Holy God! Damn human, how do you have something like this?!”
The Demon God finally couldn’t hold back and let out a piercing shriek. This shriek acted directly on the soul; if it were an ordinary person, they would already be bleeding from all seven orifices and dying.
But Annabell only furrowed her brows slightly, the mockery on her face growing thicker.
“Can’t take this anymore? Lord Demon God, your tolerance is truly pitifully narrow.”
As she spoke, she brought the Glacial Holy Water and the Frost Spring closer together.
The two extremes of ice-type origin resonated, and the surrounding temperature dropped at a terrifying speed, so much so that even the mana in the air froze into ice crystals, falling profusely.
“I’m going to kill you! I’ll pull out your despicable soul and torment it in the Abyss’s infernal fire for ten thousand years!” The Demon God completely lost control, swinging a fist capable of destroying heaven and earth, smashing it down hard toward Annabell.
[Ding! The target’s affection toward you has broken the bottom line. Current status: No Turning Back (Affection dropped to absolute freezing point)!]
Before Annabell’s eyes, a dazzling golden treasure chest slowly materialized.
Her heartbeat quickened a beat, and she chose to open it without hesitation.
[Golden chest opened successfully! Received the final grand prize: Abyssal Weak Water!]
[Bonus reward: Legendary spellbook Winter Codex!]
‘Yes!’
Annabell praised silently in her heart, her eyes shining.
Abyssal Weak Water was an extremely contradictory existence.
It was born in the deepest part of the Abyss, yet it possessed the absolute property of devouring all mana and extinguishing all flames.
Whether it was the Holy God’s sacred flame or the Demon God’s demonic flame, before Abyssal Weak Water, they could only be mercilessly swallowed.
And that Winter Codex happened to record the ancient magic for controlling and fusing these extreme icy waters.
‘It came just in time.’
Annabell took a deep breath, and a brilliant, unprecedented light burst from her heterochromatic eyes.
She did not retreat; instead, she actively dispelled the last Absolute Defense barrier.
“She’s insane! This human has gone mad!” That was the Demon God’s only thought at that moment.
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