After passing through the white tree wall, the surrounding scenery changed drastically.
The black trees that should have been covered in branches had transformed into straight, perfectly cylindrical stone pillars soaring into the sky. Raising her head, she couldn't see the treetops anywhere in sight.
The ground turned into loose, pale sand, and a black fog restricted visibility to barely three meters, stripping this mysterious forest of any hope of passage.
Before the Time Reversal, this was also where the Paladin Legion had been completely wiped out.
In the end, Tina had been the only one to walk out of the mist and reach that door.
Right now, Tina sensed someone nearby following behind her. She paid it no mind and began running deeper into the mist.
Even as the trees grew increasingly dense, they couldn't slow her down in the slightest.
A few minutes later, she heard human voices ahead.
Soon, the scent of burning firewood drifted through the air. Tina kept running forward and happened to step straight into a campsite.
There were five or six tents and a crackling bonfire that dispelled the mist to a degree, surrounded by several paladins who had taken off their armor.
Their faces were pale and gray, and every one of them lay collapsed on the ground as if thoroughly exhausted.
Upon seeing Tina, one of the paladins immediately stood up and called out, “Hey!”
Tina hadn't intended to stop, but several men blocked her path. If she didn't stop, she would run them down and crash them to death.
She came to a halt. The men looked at her with pleading eyes.
“Miss, who are you? State your name... Never mind. Is that the way out ahead?”
“Go back.”
“Is that so? Thank you, heroine!”
“...What happened?”
At her question, their expressions twisted in agony, and their eyes widened as if they were reliving a bizarre nightmare.
“It's the Cardinals! It's them!”
“They sacrificed almost everyone... We're the only survivors.”
“They made the students clear the path, then sent us to die! We were no match for these trees at all!”
The man leading them stepped forward to explain. He appeared to be their leader, but his face was equally deathly pale.
“I am Geran Caslant, Deputy Paladin Commander.”
“Whatever you intend to do, heroine, I advise you not to go any further.”
“The trees up ahead are alive. They can easily pierce right through our bodies!”
“Mm.”
Tina nodded and continued toward her destination.
Of course, she still remembered the way.
Strangely enough, the trees that attacked humans indiscriminately posed no threat to her.
It was as if this forest was actively inviting her.
Tina accepted its invitation.
Her swift silhouette darted through the black mist, completely unhindered.
After another five minutes, the surrounding trees began to thin out.
Almost there. This was the place.
When the trees had nearly vanished from sight, the world seemed to consist of nothing but endless pale sand.
Tina's heart pounded violently. She had been here before and remembered it clearly.
A castle.
A white castle, looking as fragile as a sandcastle built from simple sand toys.
Although it was dead silent outside, Tina could already sense the presence of several people inside.
She walked straight in.
The pale sand gave way to a translucent white membrane, beneath which ran countless black, root-like veins. Surrounding them and high above, the entire space formed a spherical hollow like the inside of a giant tree.
Right in the very center of this space, a wooden door hovered out of thin air, eerie and mysterious.
Green flames clung to the surroundings, and the scorched smell left by miasma and magic bombardments, combined with the odor of boiled tree sap, made one frown.
And floating in the air were three figures—the culprits who had caused this tragic scene.
One of them was a young girl Tina was quite familiar with. Her body was enveloped in green flames that danced around her as if alive. Defying common sense by requiring no combustible material, the flames gathered behind her small frame to form a halo and a pair of wings. She wore a gorgeous black dress woven from condensed miasma and held a massive flame scythe.
Yet the entire space was as freezing cold as an ice age.
The Flame Magical Beast, Velrose.
Facing her were two enemies from the human side.
Red-Robed Cardinal, Morgan Gelidi.
Silver-Robed Cardinal, Phaetnis Ovolyando.
“To think a magical beast could be this powerful. If not for you, Morgan, I might have been defeated.”
“This is an unexpected bonus. If we can capture this magical beast and turn her into a weapon...” Morgan replied, stroking his head. “It seems today is truly our lucky day.”
Velrose was at a disadvantage.
This form of hers was called "Seraph," the ultimate form of the Flame Magical Beast. Yet the two Cardinals still seemed to be handling her with ease.
“Hahahahaha! Humans, humans!”
She laughed wildly, preparing to attack the two Cardinals. Her voice was not that of a human, sounding remarkably like a synthesized mechanical tone.
Under the restraint of their swift movements—especially Phaetnis's—her attacks yielded virtually no openings to exploit.
With a wave of her hand, flames swept across the entire "sky" like clouds, but the two Cardinals dodged by stepping to the side.
At that moment, an energy sphere gathered in front of Phaetnis... a golden energy sphere, shining bright as the sun.
The sphere was rapidly compressed. Though it contained unstable, colossal power, it transformed in her hand into a concentrated, cone-shaped projectile.
A single projectile like this was enough to demolish a building or shatter Babarol's infamous "Bronze Skin" ultimate defense.
“This should inflict some severe damage on this magical beast.”
However, as her magic gathered, Cardinal Phaetnis sensed a trace of killing intent. Her body turned into a beam of light, flashing into the air fifty meters away. Sure enough, Tina's dagger was already following right behind her.
Phaetnis scrutinized the uninvited guest. The girl wore a school uniform, though she seemed to have removed her shawl for ease of movement, and her black tights appeared intended to conceal her skin tone.
She shielded the "Seraph" Velrose behind her, floating in midair on a magical platform beneath her feet.
Morgan's eyes widened in surprise as well.
Because the girl was not being attacked by the magical beast at all, nor was she hurt by the magical beast's freezing flames. It was as if the two of them had been allies in the same camp all along. What was even stranger was that although the girl wore a mask to hide her identity, it was clear she was human!
“Cardinal Phaetnis, is this girl's speed comparable to 'her'?”
Phaetnis nodded. “Originally, I was certain it was 'her.' Now it seems it's someone else. That fellow must have taken an apprentice.”
“Can you handle her?”
“Even if the Sword God came in person, I wouldn't fear her.”
Cardinal Phaetnis's clothes began to flutter in the howling wind. Her eyes turned golden, and a glowing moon shape appeared on her forehead, emitting a blinding light.
Cardinal Morgan gathered magic, conjuring several blood-red hands around himself. Raising an eyebrow, he chuckled with the lighthearted ease of someone watching a play. “Whoever you are, standing on the side of a magical beast means you will be executed by holy fire.”
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