“……”
Vyea couldn’t help but feel that the black-dressed girl across from her possessed that peculiar aesthetic unique to middle schoolers—a sense of “I’ve fallen into darkness.”
Speaking of which.
Was I like that at her age too?
I can’t remember. Well, if I can’t remember, then I guess not.
But the defection of the former second-seat Brave can’t simply be explained away by something like “falling into darkness.”
Sigh.
Vyea suddenly realized that this world was becoming unfamiliar to her once again. From the initial mindset of playing a game and pushing through the main storyline, to dating the Demon King, gradually delving deeper into the land, and now to this point…
It’s only been a little over three years, and yet so much has changed, as if mountains and seas have shifted, as if everything is unrecognizable.
Not just time, but also people’s hearts, reality—everything.
It’s all changed…
Vyea quietly shook her head in her heart and softly asked, “Xiaolu, how old is she? Any records in the information stream?”
“Who?”
Xiaolu, who had been distractedly thinking about what to do tomorrow, froze for a moment, but quickly realized who the “she” referred to. She immediately looked up at the black-dressed girl across from them and, word by word, spoke with the precision of an unboxing expert:
“Anna Elvis. Born in Tanzo’erbai, known as ‘Beneath the King’s Feet’. According to the Elvis Family records, there have been four Braves in their lineage; Anna is the fifth. Whew… Humans really have short lives. Even after becoming such powerful Braves, they still can’t escape the ruthless passage of time.”
Xiaolu let out a sigh of regret, blowing out green rings, and continued:
“Anna Elvis was granted the qualification of Brave Candidate at birth. The divine mark had already appeared in its preliminary form. For a family that hadn’t produced a Brave in centuries and whose status had been declining, this was no doubt a miracle cure! They pretty much pooled the strength of the entire clan to raise her… Just like the only hope of a village.”
“Well, right up until the day Anna Elvis defected, that family had poured sixteen years of effort into nurturing her…”
After speaking, Xiaolu frowned again. “It’s a shame the defection happened in the Capital, and I don’t have clearance to view the specifics. All I know is that Anna cried her eyes out that day, like someone who’d just had her meal snatched away, walking in the rain and sobbing her heart out.
Sigh, Red Sister rarely chats with me about these things, and my attention’s usually elsewhere… Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I know about her now.” Vyea couldn’t help but laugh.
Suddenly!
Boom!!
A blazing crimson beam shot past Vyea, slamming into the street behind her.
A massive tremor shook the ground.
At the same time, Anna Elvis’s thoroughly dissatisfied voice rang out,
“Hey, didn’t your elders ever teach you that when someone’s talking, you should listen? Don’t zone out! And… who were you just talking to?”
“Is it the Spirit of the All-Seeing Eye?”
As she spoke, a flash of nostalgia passed through Anna’s blue eyes. She absentmindedly used her pinky to flick away a golden strand sticking to her cheek, and her black dress became spotless and neat once again:
“I’ve heard about the Spirit of the All-Seeing Eye since long ago, but after all these years, I’ve never seen it…”
Anna gazed at Vyea, her tone flippant yet confident. “Kid, the power you just used to shove that bunch of trash aside and make me lose my balance—those were your ‘Power of Authority’, weren’t they?”
“So the commotion at the Arbitration Office before was your doing after all, hehehe… To think a Wild Hero would dare sneak in there to steal things. I must say, you’re getting more and more impressive.”
“So it’s true? Looks like I really am your target.”
Vyea slowly exhaled, her green eyes calmly watching the other girl:
“Did you know? If I capture you and hand you over to the Arbitration Office, not only will all my Wanted Orders be revoked, but I’ll also be hailed as the hero who stopped the Evil God from reviving in Antler City.”
“Oh? Seems like you really misunderstand me, kid.” Anna smiled sweetly. “The distinction between good and evil in the mouths of humans is always made after weighing the pros and cons.”
“Besides, now I’m freer than any of those Braves! No one can restrain me, nothing can shake my beliefs! Every day now is happier than before!”
“Kid, come worship Him with me.”
Anna smiled, gazing at Vyea, her tone reverent as she pressed her palms together: “All that has passed shall burn to ash, all that is newly born shall become the future…”
“Which Evil God’s Prayer is that?” Vyea suddenly asked.
Xiaolu shook her head, “No idea. How could I know anything about Evil Gods from the mortal world?”
“Which one?” Anna stopped praying, picked up her staff again, and replied confidently: “Join us and I’ll tell you.”
“Join you? What’s in it for me?” Vyea replied thoughtfully.
Xiaolu’s eyes widened as she stammered, “Yeye, who knows if they just got tricked by some Special Monster with a rare talent and started worshipping it as a god? You definitely can’t take them seriously!”
Vyea waved her hand, signaling Xiaolu to hush.
“Benefits? You haven’t even agreed and you want something already?” Anna laughed in exasperation.
Did she look like someone so easy to talk to?
Now even a kid who seemed barely ten dared to try and take advantage of her.
Forget it, forget it.
No more persuasion. She’d just beat her until she couldn’t move, then drag her back to the Sacrificial Ground.
Human Braves were limited in number; controlling one more would permanently remove one of humanity’s trump cards.
Familiar red light flashed again as Anna gripped her staff in one hand and pressed down on her black soft hat with the other.
Blazing Burst Cannon! ×3
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Three successive blasts, all blocked.
“You talk too much.” Vyea suddenly smiled, raising her hand at Anna and taunting, “I’m waiting for my cooldown… What are you waiting for? Waiting to die?”
Her words wiped the smile from Anna’s face. Anna’s brows furrowed slightly in displeasure, but that faint irritation was quickly hidden away, replaced by a flawless, unbroken smile:
“Waiting to die? I’d hate to die, you know.”
“Since you know I’m the former Art Brave, I won’t hold back anymore. Kid, you’re talented—if given time, you’d surely become a Ten-Seat Hero. But now, I’m going to use the fastest spell to defeat you. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. I still need you.”
Anna smiled, raising her staff high, as dazzling threads of spell-light intertwined into a radiant display.
“Heh heh ha ha ha, a Compressed Fireball Technique like this… I can easily fire four hundred fifty thousand shots in a minute!”
The pinnacle of spellcraft was now on full display.
As soon as she finished speaking, the crimson beams, amplified countless times, rained down like a storm, battering the shield before Vyea.
The massive shield of iron and stone, fused together under gravity, endured tens of thousands of blasts in a single instant!
Everything happened too quickly. The leap from 3 to 30,000 was so sudden that Vyea didn’t have time to pull in more rubble from the ruins to reinforce her shield. The giant barrier exploded with a thunderous crash!
With nothing left to block them, the rain-like barrage of ultra-compressed fireballs flew straight at where Vyea stood, completely engulfing her petite figure!