Chapter 39: Magic Replenishment

Lilisah felt strange.

Her mana was clearly depleted, yet a wave of heat surged from deep within her, making her breathing even heavier.

In her dazed heterochromatic eyes, Irene’s face appeared—mysteriously alluring and temptingly close.

I want to get closer… taste it…

No! What are you thinking, Lilisah! You can’t think like that!

But… but—

Her consciousness was slipping away, while some kind of yearning in her heart grew more intense, pushing the doll-like girl to act.

Lilisah tilted her face up and slowly leaned in. Because they were already embracing, she could clearly feel Irene’s heartbeat growing more erratic.

“Lilisah?”

Just as Irene’s confused voice fell, Lilisah pressed her lips against Irene’s.

Irene’s golden pupils shrank in shock. A sweet, citrus-like flavor bloomed between their lips. She could feel something—something warm and soft—transmitting into Lilisah’s body through that contact.

Unable to resist, Irene responded instinctively. She felt Lilisah’s tongue slip past her lips, bypassing her porcelain-like teeth and beginning to greedily seek more.

With such intimate contact, Irene could see the raw emotion flickering in those heterochromatic eyes—yearning, and something more.

So this… is how you replenish mana?

Lilisah was acting entirely on instinct. When mana was depleted, it would forcibly trigger a mana absorption mechanism.

After drawing Irene’s mana, Lilisah’s mind cleared slightly. When she realized what she had just done, her already blushing face grew even redder.

And yet… she didn’t dislike it. In fact, she might have even liked it.

She didn’t want to pull away. She could feel something warm continuously flowing into her body, surging through her bloodstream, awakening every fiber of her being.

Her entire body grew hotter.

The crest on Lilisah’s forehead radiated an intense, dazzling light. And not just her forehead—her arms, legs, and back—every area marked with magical glyphs began to glow brightly all at once.

A storm swept through the area, lifting both girls’ long hair into the air.

A roar echoed— the magic beast lunged, gaping maw wide enough to swallow both of them whole!

But in the very next moment, golden light tore through the darkness.

With the magic beast’s pained shriek ringing out, Lilisah burst from its back, cradling Irene in her arms.

The surface of the doll-girl’s body was inscribed with magical arrays left behind by her creator, but due to chronic mana depletion, those glyphs had never been activated.

Now, after absorbing Irene’s immense mana, every vein-like magical rune coursing across her body lit up with brilliance.

Especially the magic circle on her back—it gleamed so brightly it resembled a pair of wings, making Lilisah look like an angel descending upon the mortal world.

The scene from earlier, when she burst out of the magical creature’s body, was more like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.

Lilisah felt incredibly strange. It was the first time she had ever experienced such a surging, overwhelming wave of power. A first for her.

Scorching mana surged through her body—it was Irene’s mana, and it felt unbelievably good.

“Miss Irene, this has to be a miracle! A miracle we created together!!”

In stark contrast to Lilisah’s excitement, Irene looked utterly drained, her eyelids drooping like she’d been hollowed out.

Though she couldn’t use magic, Irene had always possessed a decent amount of mana. But Lilisah—this girl had a monstrous appetite. She had nearly drained Irene dry, leaving her barely able to move. Irene felt like her soul had been wrung out along with her mana.

Clearly, Lilisah hadn’t replenished her mana even once since her long slumber—likely hundreds of years ago!

Otherwise, how could she need this much?

“…Whatever, it’s fine. Lilisah, can you beat that monster now?”

Lilisah nodded, her mismatched eyes gleaming with confidence. “I can win! I didn’t expect Miss Irene to be right—turns out, I really am a battle doll created by Lady Karoline.”

She could feel it—mana flowing freely through her body, reactivating long-dormant magical circuits. The sensation was like rebirth.

‘It’s all thanks to Miss Irene. I love her the most!’

Remembering her bold actions just now, a blush crept up her delicate face.

She let out a soft breath and suddenly the world around her seemed crystal clear. Holding onto Irene, she stood atop the roof by the roadside, looking down at the magical creature that had overwhelmed her just moments ago. And now, it didn’t seem so fearsome anymore.

The magical creature, sensing Lilisah’s presence locking onto it, shivered involuntarily. The wound on its back wasn’t fatal—it would heal in a few days. The real problem… was this doll girl, another magical being like itself.

“What the hell? Her energy just spiked—was she hiding her strength before?”

“No way. Who hides their strength that much? She was on the verge of death just now! What the hell happened?!”

The creature couldn’t make sense of it—but one thing was clear: it was not a match for this girl anymore.

So what to do?

Run, obviously.

Thankfully, it had a special ability—slipping into shadows to hide. As long as it entered the shadow realm, it would be completely undetectable.

It didn’t bear any real grudge against outsiders anyway. It had just thought messing with them might be fun. If the outsiders died, that just meant they were too weak to play with.

Its figure began to melt into the shadows. Once inside, it would be completely safe. It was time to run—wait… why wasn’t it moving?

It turned its head—and nearly died of fright.

That doll girl had leapt into the shadows with it and grabbed its tail. Her little fist, clad in armored gauntlets, was rapidly enlarging in its field of view.

“Wait—!”

Irene’s voice rang out—but it was too late.

The crocodile-like magical creature was already smashed into a suspicious-looking mosaic by Lilisah’s punch.

Only then did Lilisah seem to notice Irene’s voice. She turned around and asked, “Irene, what were you trying to say just now?”

“No… it’s fine now.”

Irene let out a soft sigh.

Just now, she had been hoping to interrogate the magical creature for information about the city. Though she had been here once before, it was still better to proceed cautiously—after all, this was a living city.

But on second thought, these magical creatures were so full of hatred for outsiders—there was no way they’d tell the truth. Asking would’ve been pointless.

Now that the formidable enemy had been driven away and she had survived the ordeal, a wave of dizziness finally washed over her. It must be the symptoms of mana depletion.

“Irene?! Are you okay?”

What do you mean ‘okay’? This is all your fault!

With that thought, Irene’s vision went dark.

*****

“Irene… why?”

In a corner of Endymion City, Serena was lifted by the throat—by Irene.

Her face twisted into a terrifying, manic expression that sent a chill down Serena’s spine.

She looked like a soulless killing machine.

All the other companions lay in pools of blood nearby—their fates unknown.