Volume 2 chapter 14
I feel nothing.
Am I... dead?
Clyris drifted aimlessly in the void, her broken vessel carried along by the turbulent tides of mana.
Ah... so in the end, I was powerless to change anything...
How pathetic...
Suddenly, memories buried deep within her soul began to surface, flickering like a lantern in the dark.
A warm hearth. Two small figures sat close together, their shadows dancing and merging on the floorboards as the fire crackled.
"...'Oh, Demon lord! For the people of this continent, for the happiness of all, I will never let you destroy this world!' the Hero declared. Carrying the Lord's blessing, he swung the Holy Sword, slaying the wicked Demon lord. From then on, peace was restored to the continent, and the people lived happily ever after."
A small boy sat on the floor, a tattered book—too large for his lap—resting on his knees. He pointed at the words with a small finger, reading them aloud one by one.
"That’s amazing... The Hero is so cool..."
A little girl leaned against the boy, her face flushed red by the heat of the fire. Her large, round eyes were wide, fixated on the book with rapt attention.
"Alright, Tina. Time for bed," the boy said, carefully closing the heavy book and patting the girl’s head.
"Mm... No, no! Brother, read it again!" The little girl shook her head like a rattle drum, her two small pigtails swinging back and forth.
"Now, now. The story is finished. It’s sleeping time," the boy said with a gentle smile, refusing her plea.
"Ugh... fine..." The little girl puffed out her cheeks, furrowing her cute little brows as she stood up reluctantly.
"Don't worry. Sister Aria said we can borrow this book for a whole month. We still have fifteen days left! I'll read it from the beginning again tomorrow. Be good, go to sleep." The boy tapped the top of her head lightly with the book.
"Okay!" Hearing this, the girl's eyes lit up instantly.
"Ah, really... You've heard it three times already. Don't you ever get tired of it?" The boy sighed helplessly.
"Of course not! The Hero in the story is amazing! He's just as amazing as you, Big Brother!"
The girl's eyes sparkled like stars.
"Ah... spare me. How can I compare to the legendary Hero?"
"Hmph... but Big Brother is amazing! You're only two years older than me, but you can cook, you can read, you can watch the shop, you can..."
The little girl counted off his virtues on her fingers.
"Those are just small things! Come on, go to sleep." The boy put the book away.
"That’s just because Brother hasn't become an adult yet. When you grow up, you’ll definitely be just like the Hero in the story!"
"A Hero, huh..."
The boy fell silent for a moment, then smiled softly. "Then I suppose I’ll have to work even harder..."
Thump.
A heart that had burned to ash began to beat once more. A body eroded by mana began to knit itself back together.
Not yet... It is not... over!
"Enough!"
A sharp rebuke exploded in her ears, and the memory was torn apart like a sheet of paper.
" Your struggle is hideous to watch!"
Standing before her in the mental void was a figure identical to Clyris. Crimson eyes, pale white hair, and a tall, voluptuous body encased in dark-gold armor that accentuated her proud curves.
"You are..."
Clyris was stunned. Her mind went blank. Who was this? Why did she look exactly like her?
"Hmph! Do you truly not know who I am? Think! Who saved you? Who pulled you from the bottom of that cliff? Who gave you this godlike power?!"
"Ah! You... could you be..."
With that prompt, the realization struck Clyris like lightning.
"Correct! The Daughter of Eternal Darkness, the Mistress of Charm, the Demon Lord of Greed—Phyllis!"
The woman raised her head proudly, looking down at Clyris with imperious eyes.
"How can you be... aren't you dead?" Clyris asked, bewildered.
"Of course I died. But not completely!"
"?"
A question mark practically materialized over Clyris’s head.
"...To put it simply, my main body is indeed dead. However, a fragment of my power was once sliced off by Ian and sealed away. That part of me never died. I remained sealed on this continent until you absorbed me. That is also why your body transformed into a woman!" Phyllis explained impatiently.
"I see... So that explains why the Demon Lords after you were suddenly so much weaker. Their power was severed from the source!" Clyris came to a sudden realization.
"Enough! Do not speak of that!"
Seeing Phyllis’s face darken, Clyris wisely shut her mouth.
"Now, let us speak of you!"
"Me? What about me?" Clyris blinked.
"The situation outside, obviously! Have you forgotten? Those pieces of trash are gang-beating you!"
"Those are eight Saints! The strongest individuals of the current age, not just random strays!" Clyris retorted.
"Hmph! In my eyes, they are exactly that. In the past, I could have crushed waste like them with a wave of my hand!" Phyllis scoffed.
"But I am only Rank Nine right now, Big Sister!" Clyris couldn't help but complain.
"So what? Do not forget, you possess four Authorities! That is one more than I had at my peak, yet you cannot even defeat a few measly Saints!" Phyllis sneered cold-heartedly. "I can no longer stand to watch this disgrace. Hand over the body! You useless thing!"
"You—!?"
Clyris gasped. Before she could protest, her vision went black. Her consciousness felt like it was plummeting, fading into the abyss...
The Battlefield.
Farragut and the others surrounded the massive crater, watching vigilantly.
"Is it dead...?"
Wade gripped his sword tightly, muttering under his breath.
"I can't sense a life signature... strange," Melton frowned, clutching his staff.
"Hmph! Even if it's not dead, where can it run? I'll give it another punch just to be sure!"
Curtis raised his fist, energy gathering.
"Fist of the—"
Suddenly, his pupils contracted. His focus wavered.
A figure burst from the crater with speed that defied the laws of physics, slamming a fist directly into his face!
"BOOM!!!"
Curtis was brained on the spot. His body was launched backward hundreds of meters, smashing deep into a mountain range.
"Curtis!"
The surrounding Saints reacted instantly, raising their weapons to strike. But then, one by one, they froze as if time had skipped a beat.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The Demon Lord’s figure was a blur. She moved like a phantom, landing a heavy blow on each Saint, sending them flying. Only Farragut, relying on his pious faith and pre-prepared defenses, managed to block the Demon Lord's fist.
"Judgment: Holy Fire!!"
"BOOM!!!"
Golden flames erupted, shining with the brilliance of the sun, vaporizing the encroaching darkness.
The Demon Lord retreated instantly to avoid the holy burn. It was only then that Farragut noticed... the Demon Lord seemed to be a different person.
The jagged, ghastly armor that resembled a vengeful ghost was gone. In its place was armor that fit like a second skin—or rather, a seductive dress of dark metal. It left her arms, thighs, and midriff completely exposed, revealing creamy, alabaster skin. She wore no helmet. Her white hair danced wildly in the wind, framing a face of peerless, devastating beauty.
"You... are not her! Who are you?"
Farragut’s voice was grave.
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
The Demon Lord tilted her head. The corners of her mouth curled up, revealing a smile capable of toppling cities.
" The aura is different!" Farragut stated with certainty. "Before, she fought with the desperation of a suicide fighter, radiating an aura of pure destruction. But you... you are composed. You radiate an aura of... charm."
"Hehe... Well said!"
The Demon Lord laughed, a bell-like sound, covering her mouth with a delicate hand.
"Stop playing tricks!"
A roar echoed from the distance. Curtis, recovering from the blow, shattered the mountain peak he had been buried in and charged back.
"Eat this! Sovereign's Fist — DETONATION!"
A colossal fist imprint, large enough to crush a castle, screamed toward her. Yet, the Demon Lord did not panic. She pushed the four Authorities to their limit.
Instantly, the distance between heaven and earth seemed to shrink!
"Vwoom..."
Terrifying gravity collapsed the space. The Demon Lord summoned a pitch-black scythe into her hand. Moving as if teleporting, she slipped past the massive fist imprint and appeared directly in front of Curtis.
She swung the scythe gently.
"Pfft..."
The blade, imbued with Death and Darkness, sliced through Curtis's physical defenses as if they were butter, drawing a spray of bright crimson blood.
"Great Spatial Transposition!!"
Just as the Demon Lord prepared to deliver the killing blow, Brand yelled from the distance. He forcibly swapped Curtis’s location with a nearby mountain peak.
"BOOM!!!"
The mountain peak was instantly sheared off by the scythe's follow-through, rocks raining down like hail.
"Oh?"
The Demon Lord looked at the eight Saints, who had gathered together once more, with a gaze full of amusement and predatory interest.
"Who in the world are you?"
Curtis asked, clutching the bleeding wound on his chest.
"Hehe... Who I am is not important!"
The Demon Lord laughed charmingly, spinning the scythe in her hand.
"You had your fun beating on that child earlier... Now, your facing me."
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