(This chapter is still best enjoyed with “Judgment Day” as background music~)
Rumble, rumble, rumble… Crack!
In the dead of night, thunder exploded, wild winds whipped up a torrential downpour, pounding the earth with relentless fury.
A blinding flash of lightning split the sky, illuminating three tangled figures like a hellish bas-relief.
“Astreia, you can’t stop the will of the gods!”
At that moment, the White-robed Priestess shielded Wendy in front of her, brazenly pressing close to his neck, inhaling deeply the scent of his hair, her face awash in undisguised intoxication and obsession.
“Even if you can defeat me, so what? Your beloved, in the end, will still be under my control~”
The newborn witch standing in the curtain of night truly paused in her tracks, gazing silently forward through the torrential rain.
Yet within those eerie eyes, endless darkness seemed to churn violently—no one knew what she was thinking.
Seeing Princess Astreia suddenly stop, the White-robed Priestess grew even more pleased, her voice sharpening to a piercing shriek: “I want you to taste this… the pain of loving but never attaining, attaining but never loyal, loyal but never destined! Well?!”
“Now, swear a Soul Oath of submission to me, and together, let’s restore the world to its rightful order—you can’t win~”
Raindrops streamed down Astreia’s cheeks, her features growing indistinct in the gloom.
But she neither agreed nor refused. Instead, she suddenly began to speak of the past.
“My father told me since I was young, the world is unfair, and everyone’s Destiny is set from birth. Only by going with the flow can one find belonging and value.”
Her voice was calm, without a ripple, as if recounting a story that had nothing to do with herself.
“He once told me privately… Running away is shameful but useful. There are no Heroines in this world, only reality. So, if you encounter danger, don’t force yourself.”
At these words, the madness faded slightly from the White-robed Priestess’s face, replaced by a trace of surprise. “Your father was quite the wise man. Then swear—”
But before she could finish, a harsh declaration cut her off.
“But I refuse!”
At that instant, as lightning flashed, the corners of Astreia’s mouth curled into an icy, razor-sharp smile.
“Because I’ve never listened to my father’s words!”
The moment her words fell, darkness moved.
That menacing Abyssal Armor, with bone spurs as sharp as blades jutting from every joint, each plate etched with ominous Magic Patterns, made the Princess appear as a Bloodthirsty Demon God just emerged from the abyss.
She lifted her foot.
One step.
Another.
Slowly, inexorably, she advanced.
Her footsteps echoed in the rain, resolute and heavy, each one landing as if on the heart of the White-robed Priestess, making her breath catch.
“W-wait! Don’t you care about the Little Prince’s life?”
The White-robed Priestess was truly panicked now. She hadn’t expected even this level of threat to shake her foe.
Her sharp nails instantly drew a bloody line across Wendy’s pale neck, crimson beads mixing with the rain and dripping down.
“What, are you scared?”
Faced with the threat, Astreia merely sneered with contempt.
“To be honest, I really ought to thank you.”
She lifted her gaze, those eyes now turned wholly deep purple, flickering with a chilling darkness.
“But not because you awakened this invincible power in me, but because you made me realize that being a knight has its limits.”
“Don’t come any closer! Stop!”
The White-robed Priestess kept threatening, but her voice had begun to tremble uncontrollably.
The Princess paid her no heed, still closing in step by step, her terrifying presence nearly freezing the very air.
“The more upright you are, the more you’re bound by morals and law; the more you’re threatened by scoundrels using your loved ones; the more you’ll be trapped in endless worldly strife…”
When Astreia was only a step away from Wendy and the White-robed Priestess, the indifference on her face suddenly vanished, replaced by a chilling, twisted grin.
“So, I will become King! Become the Queen of the World!”
“Conquer! And then…”
“Rule!!!”
The next moment.
Splurt!
The Giant War Spear that had been knocked aside during the battle suddenly rose from the muddy ground, transformed into a black bolt of lightning that tore through space, and with unstoppable force, pierced through the White-robed Priestess’s back, bursting out through Wendy’s chest!
One spear, two kills!
The cold spear tip, carrying the warmth of two hearts, sent bloody steam curling into the torrential rain.
Astreia languidly extended her tongue, curling the red liquid splattered on her lips into her mouth, savoring it.
A hint of intoxication flickered in her violet eyes.
“So this is Wendy’s blood. It’s delicious~”
“You! You! You actually—”
The White-robed Priestess’s pupils shrank to pinpoints, her threatening hand frozen helplessly in midair, her whole body convulsing uncontrollably.
She had imagined countless possibilities, but never that this foolish woman, who had just been ready to die for a man, would actually strike to kill!
How could this be?!
“What? Did you think I cared so much about his life or death?”
Astreia slowly opened her eyes, her gaze now filled with nothing but pure mockery and cruelty.
“As long as I’m strong enough, aren’t all the beauties of the continent mine to choose?”
Though she said this, before her words had even faded, she moved like lightning, snatching Wendy’s limp body off the spear and into her arms, her movements as gentle as if cradling a priceless treasure.
Dark Magic surged from her palm, flowing like water to the gaping wound on Wendy’s chest.
An unbelievable scene unfolded.
The torn flesh began to squirm, grow, and heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a few breaths, the gaping hole vanished completely, replaced by smooth, unblemished skin, not even a scar remaining.
Seeing Wendy’s wounds healed, his breathing steady once more, Astreia finally turned her head to regard the White-robed Priestess, still pinned to the ground by the war spear.
“Though I don’t know who you are, your skills aren’t bad. So, I’ll give you a chance—a chance to survive…”
“Submit to me now, become the vanguard of my conquest of the continent. What do you say?”
But at that moment, the White-robed Priestess’s face twisted into an eerily strange smile.
“Heh heh… Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!”
She laughed.
Even with the war spear piercing her, she threw her head back and laughed, doubled over, coughing up mouthfuls of blood as she did.
At the same time, the distant horizon suddenly blazed with light.
The radiance outshone the lightning, turning night instantly to day!
Next, a giant mushroom cloud rose on the far horizon, breaking through the heavy rain clouds.
Half the sky was painted an ominous orange-red.
Several seconds later, the deafening roar of an explosion finally arrived, as if the very earth were howling.
“BOOM!!!”
Astreia narrowed her eyes, an intense sense of foreboding welling up inside her.
That direction is…
“Looks like… it worked~”
The White-robed Priestess forced out a battered, triumphant smile, using the last of her strength to declare, word by word.
“That’s right, that’s the exit of the Corrupted Marsh, the very Cement Defensive Line you were so proud of…”
“The place where you stored the Alchemical Explosive Packs~”
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What the hell is even happening anymore…