Above Gram Town.
Beneath the huge silver moon, pale as bone, at the very top of the undead magic array that covered the entire town, a strange figure wrapped in a torn black robe floated quietly in midair.
That was exactly the Shadow Family’s Nightmare Wraith, Emily, the one who had been hiding behind the scenes and controlling the Banshee!
Her face was hidden by long hair, but the lower half that was visible was filled with bitter sorrow, and glistening tear tracks flickered under the moonlight.
In her hands, she held a transparent water mirror condensed from mana.
Reflected on the water mirror was the tragic scene below the great array: Annabell, covered in blood, fighting the corpse tide alone like a madwoman.
“Why… why won’t you give up?”
“Why are you so stubbornly insisting on continuing…”
“I beg you, stop… don’t fight anymore. Otherwise… otherwise you’ll die!”
The Nightmare Wraith clenched her fists tightly, her hurried words carrying an uncontrollable sob, and through the void, she desperately pleaded again and again.
“They won’t really take your life… please, give up. As long as I can devour that princess’s soul, that’s enough…”
“The mana in your body has already dried up. If you keep burning life force, you’ll die from exhaustion!”
Unfortunately, her deeply affectionate pleading was destined to be unable to pierce the isolation of the magic array and reach the girl below.
Within the water mirror, Annabell was single-handedly holding off more than a dozen lord-level giant Stitched Monsters, while beneath her feet were countless Undead surging like a tide.
Watching her spellcasting movements grow slower and slower, watching her frail body sway again and again under the attacks, it was as if she were stepping toward a bottomless abyss of death…
This sorrow of personally witnessing the person she both loved and hated suffer fermented madly in her heart, finally turning into an extreme heartache that tore at her soul.
She gripped the edge of the water mirror tightly, and bean-sized crimson oath tears fell drop by drop heavily onto the light screen, splashing rings of ripples.
“Enough… really enough… I don’t want this anymore!”
She could no longer endure the pain of watching her suffer inside the killing trap she herself had set.
She suddenly raised her fist, wrapped in resolute mana, and smashed it down hard.
“Crack!”
The water mirror shattered in response, and along with it, the Array Eye core that maintained the entire magic array collapsed with a thunderous crash.
‘Let this absurd trial end…’
Inside the magic array.
The last mana potion in Annabell’s storage ring had already turned to ash in her palm.
Her mana was completely exhausted.
Overusing the truth magic eye made her eyes so dry they felt like they would bleed, and her spiritual perception had become extremely blurry. She could not even maintain that thin layer of [void black flame] anymore.
She could not use those world-destroying System trump card forbidden spells here, because violently demolishing the array and unraveling the magic array from the inside were completely different concepts.
Once she forcibly used a forbidden spell on the level of [nine dragons pulling coffin], the spatial turbulence and mana detonation caused by the terrifying magic array’s instant collapse would have an immeasurable power.
Not only would this town be razed to the ground, even Victoria would be instantly torn to shreds.
In the end, she and Victoria had both made the mistake of underestimating the enemy.
They had thought that with their genius-level magical attainments, as long as they entered, they would definitely be able to find the magic array’s operating pattern and easily unravel it.
Who could have expected… that this magic array’s complexity was simply absurd!
She had been careless.
She should have realized earlier. The fact that the Banshee could set up and maintain a magic array of this level meant her strength was absolutely unfathomable.
That night in the basement, why would she turn and flee in the face of just one ice spike from her?
That was clearly a deliberate feint to lure the enemy deeper!
“There’s no time to think slowly…”
Looking at the endless Walking Corpses once again pouncing like a black tide, Annabell felt her scalp go numb.
Along this entire journey, she had killed at least several thousand, maybe tens of thousands, of Undead, but this swamp was like a bottomless pit connected to the Abyss. Walking Corpses were continuously transported up, giving her not even a second to breathe.
No matter how many she killed, they never ended.
“If there’s really no other way…”
Annabell’s breathing became heavy and rough.
Although there was not a trace of magic elements here, it was filled with suffocatingly vast abyssal resentment.
She knew very well that with the half-demon Royal Family bloodline in her body, if she released her limits and devoured this resentment, she would not only instantly recover her mana, but could even erupt with terrifying power that crushed everything in a berserk state.
But… she was equally unsure whether, after devouring such immense negative energy, she could still maintain her human sanity. If she completely became a beast that knew only killing…
Annabell used the corner of her eye to glance at Victoria behind her, who was still gritting her teeth, drenched in sweat, analyzing the magic patterns.
She ultimately dismissed this crazy idea.
“Forget it, I’ll grit my teeth and hold on a little longer…”
The battle continued savagely…
Annabell’s spellcasting movements grew slower and slower.
At the same time, due to the mana vacuum, the pervasive abyssal resentment around her began to take advantage of the opening, constantly eroding her sanity.
The uncontrollable violence and murderous intent in her heart grew thicker and thicker.
Her body even frantically sent signals to her brain craving energy, urging her to devour the resentment, urging her to fully unleash the Trandy Family’s demon bloodline!
“I can’t… I’m about to…”
The weakness of mana exhaustion, plus the tearing of negative emotions, left Annabell’s defenses on the verge of collapse.
Just as she was about to fail, the entire world suddenly shook violently, as if a magnitude-10 earthquake had occurred!
All the surrounding space actually began to collapse downward and dissipate at an unbelievable speed!
The rolling poison-gas swamp, the roaring terrifying Walking Corpses, the blood-colored array patterns densely covering the sky… all of them, at this moment, like punctured bubbles, turned into motes of light and returned to nothingness.
“What happened…”
Her taut nerves suddenly snapped. Annabell stumbled, completely losing her last bit of strength, and her body fell backward uncontrollably.
But the hard, cold ground she had expected did not come.
She fell into an extremely soft and fragrant place. Amid the rapidly sinking and crumbling ruins, her cheek pressed against an astonishing fullness.
Victoria sat kneeling on the ground, holding Annabell’s head tightly in her arms. Tears poured uncontrollably from her eyes, and her voice was gentle to the extreme:
“Anna…”
“We succeeded. The magic array was unraveled.”
“We finally survived…!”
‘I really, really like you…’
But that confession hidden at the bottom of her heart had not yet had time to be spoken.
Annabell, lying in her arms and having confirmed that her surroundings were absolutely safe, closed her eyes and fell into a decisive deep sleep.
In this sunless great array, she had fought high-intensity battles without pause; the mental and physical energy she had expended was immeasurable.
She was truly, truly too tired.
Victoria carefully adjusted her sitting position, placing Annabell’s head more comfortably against her soft chest.
She reached out her fair fingers and very gently combed the girl’s messy silver long hair.
Then she took out a pure white silk handkerchief, her movements so gentle it was as if she were wiping a peerless treasure, wiping away the dust and blood stains on her face bit by bit.
At such a defenseless, extremely close distance, the sensation of skin touching skin made the girl’s face magnify infinitely in her eyes.
Until now, Victoria’s life had contained only dull magic training and the duty to uphold the Empire’s honor. But at this moment, an unprecedentedly intense throbbing rose uncontrollably in the depths of her heart.
It was a wonderful feeling, sweet and sour, making her heart race and even her fingertips tingle with numbness.
“Everyone says that Annabell of the Trandy Family is a tyrannical, cruel, cold-blooded witch.”
Victoria gently touched her fingertips to Annabell’s peerlessly beautiful side face, love almost overflowing in her eyes, and smiled: “But I know that the real Annabell is a fool who hides all her tenderness at the bottom of her heart, yet insists on disguising herself with a cold, thorny exterior.”
“Just now you bore all the danger alone, willing to risk your life to protect me completely. Isn’t that the most extreme tenderness you could show me?”
“Why do you disguise yourself with such a nasty attitude?”
“The way you are… is so cute it makes my heart ache…”
Victoria leaned down, gently pressed her forehead against Annabell’s, held her tightly, and felt her heart filled completely with an emotion called happiness.
As if unable to resist, her lips involuntarily brushed a light kiss on Annabell’s cheek.
The great array was completely collapsing, the surrounding light and shadow flowing rapidly, but Victoria only wanted to fully enjoy this moment of peace and solitude.
If this was a dream, she even prayed to the gods to let this dream never end.
Because once she woke and returned to reality, she would have to face all the worldly, cruel obstacles standing between them.
The Heir of the Trandi Ducal Family, and the Fifth Princess of the Imperial Royal Family.
Between her and her stood an insurmountable mountain called “political mortal enemies.”
But at this moment, Victoria’s mind was made up.
She swore that even if she had to make an enemy of the entire Empire, even if the road ahead shattered her body and bones, she would climb over this mountain!
As long as she could once again touch her openly and rightfully like this, everything would be worth it.
***
Meanwhile, Annabell, deep in unconsciousness, was having an extremely bizarre dream.
In the dream, her perspective seemed to float in midair.
She saw a magnificent, solemn Imperial Palace Main Hall.
In that resplendent court, countless Imperial knights and archbishops in luxurious official robes knelt neatly below the jade steps, shouting a deafening oath: “Long live the Emperor! Ten thousand years!”
The sound of worship surged like a tidal wave, echoing through the entire Imperial Palace and even the whole Imperial Capital.
And high upon the steps, on the throne symbolizing supreme hegemony, sat a ruler of the Empire whose majesty overawed the world.
The Emperor slightly raised his hand, signaling the assembled ministers to rise.
At the same time, as the perspective zoomed in, that peerless face beneath the imperial crown and beaded veil became clearer and clearer in Annabell’s dream.
The instant she saw that face clearly, Annabell felt as if struck by lightning in the dream.
She knew this face too well!
Because the Emperor sitting on the Empire’s highest throne… was actually Victoria!
At the same time, deep in her transmigrator mind, a distant memory suddenly flashed from her previous life of playing games in her dorm room.
-The shut-in roommate’s voice echoed in her ears: “Hehehe, Old An, that game updated today! I’m telling you, a new overpowered hidden-route character was added!”
-Annabell (previous life): “Huh, what the heck?”
-The shut-in roommate danced excitedly: “It’s the Empire’s Empress! The kind with overwhelming majesty, utterly cold and ruthless, with heaven-reaching methods, an ultimate Empress who can pin the early villain BOSS ‘Annabell’ to the ground and rub her in the dirt! I heard her late-game storyline is super heartbreaking…”
-Annabell (previous life) pushed up her glasses: “Not interested. I need to prepare for final exams. Get lost.”
The fragments of memory came to an abrupt halt.
In the dream, Annabell finally remembered all the settings of this crappy game, and also remembered the name and appearance of the invincible Empress who only appeared in the very late game!
Because Victoria, the Fifth Princess of the Empire, was the future Empress with iron-blooded methods!
The ruthless Empress of an era who, in the game’s official history, single-handedly quelled the Empire’s rebellion, led the Holy Light Knight Order and the all-Continent crusade army into an earth-shaking death battle against the Trandi Ducal Family.
Ultimately, through political maneuvering, annexed all factions, drew the sword in the stone, was crowned Empress, and reduced the final villain “Annabell” to ashes!
‘I’m doomed!’
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