Tina was only released once her entire body felt warm, leaving her mouth feeling sticky...
It felt like the sensation of having eaten a lot of candy. After that, she felt even more power coursing through her body.
When she unleashed her dragon breath earlier, those creatures called humans had been terrified of her. It seemed she would have to protect Sathya like this from now on.
“I found her. Come this way.”
Velrose's voice echoed in everyone's minds. Clearly, she had tracked the direction to find the Deceptive Magical Beast, Isobel's location.
The events of the White Dusk Forest had been going on for a long time now. Even Sathya found it hard to imagine the Deceptive Magical Beast being hunted down by humans and fleeing in such a pathetic state.
The Deceptive Magical Beast was hailed as one of the strongest abyssal magical beasts in terms of combat ability, second only to the Heavenly Magical Beast.
Her abilities of possession and disguise allowed her to move freely within human nations, gather any intelligence she desired, or even control high-ranking officials to dismantle countries from the inside out.
And yet, such a powerful magical beast was actually asking them for help now?
The four of them found the wounded Isobel in an inconspicuous little house.
There were no conspiracies or traps. Isobel lay on her side on a dilapidated little bed, the window locked tight from the inside. Her eyes were half-open, as if she were constantly on guard for impending danger. Her clothes were tattered and barely covered her, making her look like a pitiful girl fleeing from war.
Although her current state wasn't critical, it was still worrying.
Her magic core wasn't damaged, but the power of chaos in her body was almost completely depleted. She curled up, seemingly doing her best to recover as quickly as possible, though this process would take at least several months.
Upon seeing the other magical beasts arrive, the Deceptive Magical Beast, Isobel, squeezed out a strained smile.
“My Lord Demon King... and Lady Saintess.”
She lifted her head and sat up on the bed.
“For now, we should leave this town as quickly as possible. If Elcalan comes here, things will get very difficult.”
“Was it she who defeated you?” Sathya tilted her head.
“Yes...”
Isobel lowered her head, as if recalling some terrible experience.
Nevertheless, the group followed Isobel's suggestion and left the town, returning to the carriage to travel further away.
Wearing a tattered robe that barely wrapped around her voluptuous body and exposed her fair, slender legs, Isobel didn't act like a stranger, nor did she exchange greetings. She simply began recounting her experience in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I tried... to take our companion with me... the Heavenly Magical Beast.”
“Oh?”
Hearing this term, Sathya was surprised once more.
The Heavenly Magical Beast was a creature just as powerful as the Deceptive Magical Beast.
Her strength lay in her terrifying combat capabilities.
Back then, after the Empire's southern expedition, the remaining humans and all their nations cast aside their mutual hatred. They built a fortress on the great plains, calling themselves the “Allied Human Army.”
Under their strict planning and tactical coordination, ordinary magical beasts could probably only deal ten percent of their usual damage to them.
However, before they were toyed with by the Deceptive Magical Beast, and just as humanity was on the brink of collapse, the Heavenly Magical Beast descended in person. She single-handedly defeated almost every human legion in the world... Although she was ultimately killed by Sathya, who had rushed back, those few weeks marked the turning point where humanity could no longer withstand any more powerful magical beasts.
“As expected, you know. I was the one who named most of the magical beasts,” Isobel said with a smile.
“What exactly do you know?”
Sathya wasn't afraid of exposing herself, but she was highly interested in what this Deceptive Magical Beast knew.
Especially since she was the “mastermind” behind everything.
“I know you have experienced the future. And I also know that your relationship with Tina is much more... than I imagined.”
“Do you have memories of the future as well?” Sathya asked in confusion. Her magic had reset time; could there be other survivors who slipped through the cracks besides Tina and herself?
“No.”
Isobel shook her head.
“She was originally a 【concept】. And when that concept became something everyone firmly believed in and even actively sought out, I had already succeeded.”
...
Isobel had once been the “referee” of the first Saintess Selection, as well as a knight commissioned by a Church Cardinal to monitor the apprentice Saintesses.
Being an Astral Sage was a symbol of honor and a testament to strength. She had once thought that after curing her younger sister's illness, she would do what she could to contribute to the advancement of magic in this world. Or perhaps, simply researching interesting magic wouldn't be a bad way to live either.
Until she received the documents handed to her by Cardinal Aether...
“Monsk coefficient”
“Saintess Selection”
She saw those bloody facts.
Aether said that these were both the future of humanity and facts that had to be faced.
If she couldn't accept them, she could just forget these memories and pretend nothing had happened when the time came.
Aether wanted to make her an executioner.
“The severe illness your sister suffers from can probably only be cured with the help of the Master of the Tower of Stars. If you take on this mission, I can plead on your behalf as his old friend.”
She agreed.
As long as she completed the mission, she could save her sister?
At the very least, she had to try. She was only supervising the Saintess Selection; their mutual slaughter was merely an issue between the Church and themselves...
In the beginning, that was indeed what she thought.
Until that day, she met a few students. She ate, played, went shopping, and even visited the theater with them, idling their time away.
That student's name was White Jasmine.
She loved wearing white clothes and particularly hated dirty things. She was a bit of a clean freak, but when she smiled, she looked like a sweet, naive girl.
Once she became close with White Jasmine, the latter spent almost every day hanging out with her, chatting about everything under the sun, treating her like a best friend.
Yet, White Jasmine had absolutely no idea what she was doing, nor did she know she was about to participate in a bloody slaughter.
She also had her own family and goals, was full of expectations for the future, and hoped to find a partner soon to spend a sweet, happy life with. They even thought that even if they were eliminated, it would be no different from failing an ordinary exam.
...A few weeks later, Aether issued an order to her.
“Kill White Jasmine.”
When she saw her, she was a girl covered in wounds with hollow eyes. The despair on her beautiful face was an expression Isobel would never forget.
White Jasmine looked blankly at the “executioner” who had come to end her life, and a smile even appeared on her face.
“I've... had enough...”
“My family... has all been killed...”
“Is this... the fate... of a loser?”
Isobel couldn't bring herself to do it.
That day, White Jasmine committed suicide.
As she died, she gripped Isobel's hand tightly, repeating over and over, “It hurts so much.”
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