Ailia and Osha refused to yield to each other.
Their clash gradually escalated from a war of words into a white-hot confrontation.
A sudden, familiar voice pulled both their attention at once.
They turned their heads almost simultaneously and murmured, “Ed?”
Amid the raging flames, Zhe Zilin stepped across the scorching scorched earth, about to be swallowed by the sea of fire.
He did not care in the slightest. He simply watched the two of them in silence.
Ailia and Osha’s hearts clenched.
Afraid that even a single second’s delay would let the extreme heat harm Zhe Zilin, both of them moved at the same time.
Osha flung the bent dagger in her hand.
A fierce gale whipped up and carved out an empty path through the flames.
Ailia recited an incantation.
Water magic extinguished the blaze surrounding Zhe Zilin at once.
The two of them landed beside him almost in the same instant.
Facing Ailia at her side, a flash of killing intent passed through Osha’s eyes.
“Anyone who harms Ed has no right to stand before him!”
Ailia offered no defense.
She only looked coldly at Osha, though her peripheral vision could not help but keep checking on Zhe Zilin’s condition.
That brief distraction was all Osha needed. Her surging attack crashed in.
At such close range, Ailia had no time to chant. She was certain to take a heavy wound.
Zhe Zilin took two steps forward, as if he had already predicted it, and placed himself squarely in front of Ailia.
Osha’s expression jolted.
Even though she had pulled back with everything she had, the residual force still forced Zhe Zilin to cough up a mouthful of black blood.
“Ed!”
Zhe Zilin’s steps faltered. He staggered back several paces and was caught by Ailia.
“You said you would never harm Ed. And now?!”
For the first time in front of Zhe Zilin, Ailia’s face twisted with extreme rage.
She glared at Osha, then immediately began examining his injuries.
Osha stood frozen where she was, staring at the scene in disbelief.
Then she suddenly laughed.
Her body trembled as the laughter burst out of her.
“Ed, you actually risked your life to block for this woman. As expected… you betrayed me…”
“Hehehe… then die. Let’s die together. Only when you’re dead will you belong to me forever!”
The mad laughter shook the very air of the Northern Territory.
In her eyes there was nothing left but obsession and the madness of destruction.
“Hehe… die with me, Ed. You are mine.”
Ailia’s voice was already hoarse as she spat, “Crazy woman! Ed is about to die. Can you shut up for even one second?!”
Tears kept sliding from the corners of her eyes. The girl’s face was a mess of tears.
This was not the ending she wanted.
If she could, she would rather die herself than let Zhe Zilin take the blow for her.
The murderous aura boiling around Osha collapsed like a punctured balloon.
Shock filled her eyes.
The attack she had just unleashed should never have been fatal.
What’s going on? Ed isn’t that fragile.
“You’re lying to me?!”
The moment the words left her mouth, Osha smelled the scent of death.
She could clearly see the faint light of life on Zhe Zilin’s body draining away, bit by bit.
“No… Ed, only I am allowed to kill you. Who injured you? I won’t allow it. I won’t allow it!”
Zhe Zilin coughed up another mouthful of blood. Afraid Osha would finish him off, he forced the words out quickly.
“I only came here hoping to settle this conflict… but I’m afraid I only have time for one or two sentences now.”
The argument between Osha and Ailia had already wasted far too much time.
Zhe Zilin closed his eyes and waited for the reload. He murmured, “I hope that after I die, the two of you won’t keep trying to kill each other. In the end, only the Ice Demon will benefit.”
After the reload, the system would show him what happened next.
He only hoped the two of them would finally speak their true feelings beside his corpse, so he could understand what the real conflict was.
Zhe Zilin prepared himself for death and began a three-second countdown in his heart.
This death should be the gentlest one yet.
Osha’s voice reached his ears.
“I am Lucifer, King of Hell. I forbid you to die!”
Just because you forbid it, I won’t die? You’re not planning to kill me with your own hands, are you? Zhe Zilin thought dryly.
Unfortunately, there was no chance for a finishing blow either.
One second. Two seconds.
Three seconds. More than ten seconds passed.
Zhe Zilin’s eyes snapped open. He was still alive!
The duration of the skill [Drug Resistance] had already ended—he had even gone several dozen seconds past it.
He stared at Osha in shock. She had collapsed onto the ground, sweat soaking her hair.
It looked as though she had just performed a ritual that drained nearly every last bit of her strength.
“Ed… you are mine. Only I can kill you.”
Zhe Zilin could clearly hear her ragged breathing. The princess who was far tougher than she appeared was now as weak as a rain-soaked kitten, exhaustion heavy in her eyes.
“Osha…”
He still did not understand what had just happened.
Another wave of crushing pain tore through his stomach, and a mouthful of warm blood spilled from his lips.
“Osha paid with her own body to make a deal with Lucifer and called your soul back. Right now, she is nothing more than an ordinary princess of the kingdom.”
Ailia explained quietly from the side.
“She brought your soul back, but she cannot heal the damage to your internal organs.”
Zhe Zilin turned his head.
Ailia had already lowered hers and begun to chant.
“In the name of the Witch God, I offer myself as sacrifice.”
A blood-red mark suddenly appeared on Ailia’s forehead—a bizarre face.
The face opened its eyes, parted its mouth, and actually spoke.
“Accepted!”
Zhe Zilin realized what was happening and tried to stop her at once.
Ailia only smiled and shook her head.
“It’s all right, Ed. I’m willing to give my life for you. As long as you live, everything is worth it.”
Why has it come to this!
Zhe Zilin opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Osha had called back his soul. Ailia was healing his wounds. Both of them had paid a terrible price.
But this was not the ending he wanted.
“No—stop! It can still be fixed.”
“Have you forgotten… I…” Zhe Zilin fell silent for a moment.
“I can come back to life!”
Ailia shook her head. The gentle smile never left her face.
“Resurrection always demands a heavy price. I don’t know what you’ve paid, Ed, but it cannot be as casual as you claim.”
“From the very first moment I met you, I was already prepared to die for you at any time.”
Zhe Zilin froze. He kept shaking his head.
The missing pieces of his memory left him unable to understand why Ailia would go this far for him.
He slammed his fist against his own head, trying to force the past back into place.
Ailia’s figure was already beginning to fade. She gently stopped his hand.
“When the medicine’s effects finally disappear completely one day, Ed, you will remember everything.”
“When that time comes, the Ailia in your memories will greet you again.”
Zhe Zilin’s expression twisted. He reached out, wanting to touch her face one last time. In the instant his fingers were about to brush her cheek—
Ailia turned into a fragment of light and vanished.
[Main Character of the Northern Territory “Ailia” has died]
[Evaluating… the value of this character]
[Everything she did was only to create a world that belonged to the two of you alone]
[If there is a next life, she hopes you will belong only to her]
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