That elemental torrent, powerful enough to level the entire hilltop, was simply swatted away by Lilian with a single palm strike.
Rumble!
The out of control torrent of magic slammed into another mountain peak in the distance. The entire range shuddered silently before dissolving into a cloud of dust that filled the sky.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment.
Bell stared wide with his now intact eye. His newly reconstructed eyeball reflected this scene that defied all reason.
The wind died down.
The hurricane chains binding his limbs quietly dissipated the moment Cecilia’s heart wavered in shock.
For the first time, Cecilia’s distorted and furious face showed nothing but pure, unbelievable bewilderment.
She looked at Lilian, then at her own empty hands.
How was this possible?
Lilian slowly straightened her back. She let go of Bell’s neck, a streak of crimson blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She extended the tip of her tongue and licked the drop clean, her blood red eyes flickering with satisfaction and hunger.
“Master’s blood... why is it so delicious?”
Her words were soft, yet they struck Cecilia’s heart like a heavy sledgehammer.
“You... you thief! You robber!”
Cecilia let out an inhuman shriek!
Overwhelming jealousy and rage completely consumed the last shred of her sanity.
Boom!
The ground cracked beneath her feet. Molten lava erupted from the fissures, turning the entire hillside into a crimson purgatory. At her will, the sky turned somber as dark clouds gathered, and purple lightning serpents danced wildly within them.
The world wailed under her wrath.
“I’m going to tear you to pieces!”
Cecilia’s body floated upward as countless distinct spells converged around her into a vortex of destruction.
Lilian moved.
Her figure left an afterimage where she stood as she transformed into an uncatchable bolt of silver lightning, charging toward the little demon suspended in midair.
The battle erupted once more.
But this time, it was no longer a one sided slaughter.
Bell lay on the scorching ground, ignoring the stinging pain of his burning skin. He could only lift his head and stare blankly at the sky.
This was no longer a fight.
It was a war between gods.
Lilian’s speed reached the absolute limit. Every one of her attacks carried the dense, otherworldly power derived from Bell’s soul blood. That power seemed to transcend the fundamental rules of this world, easily tearing through Cecilia’s elemental shields.
Cecilia, on the other hand, had become the embodiment of the rules themselves.
Whenever Lilian threw a punch, the space in front of Cecilia would warp strangely, diverting an attack capable of piercing mountains to a hundred meters away.
With a flick of Cecilia’s finger, the thunder in the sky would transform into a vast net, precisely sealing off all of Lilian’s paths of retreat.
Fire, ice, storms, meteors, holy light, shadows...
Various forbidden spells that existed only in legends were cast by Cecilia with ease, as if she were merely playing a child’s game.
The hillside collapsed, the forest burned, and the river evaporated.
This once peaceful countryside was transformed into a post apocalyptic wasteland in just a few minutes.
An absurd sense of ecstasy welled up in Bell’s heart.
It worked!
The tool he had bought was actually useful!
She could really... stand against that monster!
“Why! Why are you allowed to touch my brother!”
Cecilia’s attacks grew increasingly violent. She couldn't understand why this insect that had appeared out of nowhere could resist her power, or why she was worthy of tasting her brother’s blood.
“Brother is mine! His body! His blood! Everything about him belongs to me!”
Lilian wove through the airtight barrage of magic. New wounds constantly appeared on her body, only to heal in an instant. Her simple gray dress was already tattered, but her movements remained calm and efficient.
“I am simply executing my master’s orders,” Lilian replied coldly.
Master’s orders.
Those words completely incinerated Cecilia’s remaining sanity.
Was it Brother?
Did Brother let her bite him?
Did Brother order this woman to resist her?
A madness even deeper and darker than before surged from the depths of Cecilia’s eyes.
“Brother...”
She suddenly stopped her assault.
Floating in midair, she slowly turned her head to look at the tiny, wretched figure on the ground.
“You actually... for the sake of another woman... ordered her to hurt me?”
Her voice was filled with a heartbreaking sorrow, the pain of being betrayed by the one she loved most.
Bell’s heart skipped a beat.
This is bad!
“Since Brother likes her so much...”
Cecilia gave Bell a smile that was so sweet it was despair inducing.
“...then I’ll grind her into meat paste, inch by inch, right in front of you.”
“And then, I’ll break Brother’s limbs and turn you into a doll that will never leave me.”
Before her voice even faded.
She ignored Lilian and reached out her fair, delicate hand toward Bell.
The earth shook violently.
The ground beneath Bell began to turn soft and muddy, transforming into a massive swamp. Countless giant hands made of earth reached out from the mire, clawing at Bell’s body!
Lilian’s figure instantly appeared in front of Bell.
She stomped on the ground, and a grayish black power radiated from her. Every giant earthen hand that came into contact with that power instantly decayed, turned to sand, and vanished into nothingness.
She had to protect Bell.
That was the ironclad rule of the contract.
And it was because of this action that she exposed a fatal opening.
This was the moment Cecilia had been waiting for.
Her true target had never been Lilian.
A beam of white light, more concentrated and pure than any previous attack, appeared silently out of thin air behind Lilian, aiming straight for her heart.
Holy Purification.
The most effective magic specifically designed to target undead and shadow beings.
Lilian noticed it.
But she was too late.
If she turned to block it, she wouldn't be able to stop Bell from being swallowed by the swamp.
To protect Bell, she had to take this hit head on.
She had no choice.
Pfft!
The holy pillar of white light pierced through Lilian’s chest without any resistance.
The intense burning sensation forced a suppressed groan from her lips.
The purified wound could not heal as quickly as before. Plumes of black smoke rose from the hole in her chest.
She was injured.
For the first time, she was truly, seriously wounded.
“Haha... Hahahaha!”
Seeing this, Cecilia broke into a sickly, ecstatic laugh.
“Do you see! Brother! This is the consequence of betraying me!”
She laughed, yet tears flowed uncontrollably down her face.
“Why... why would Brother do this to me...”
She cried and laughed at the same time, falling into a state of total madness.
Bell looked at the terrifying, unhealing hole in Lilian’s chest. The fire of hope that had just been lit was completely extinguished by a bucket of ice water.
It was useless.
It was still useless.
This monster simply could not be defeated.
Lilian knelt on one knee, gasping for breath. Her chest wound was healing slowly, but the speed was far inferior to before.
The power brought by Bell’s blood was being negated by the force of the Holy Purification.
Cecilia seemed to have enjoyed the pleasure of victory enough.
She stopped her laughter and her tears. Her face, still stained with tears, now held nothing but cold, emotionless indifference.
She reached out and pointed at Bell.
“Game over, Brother.”
An invisible force seized Bell’s neck, lifting him off the ground and slowly pulling him toward Cecilia in the sky.
Bell struggled in despair, his hands and feet kicking wildly in the air, but he could touch nothing.
The sensation of suffocation returned.
Just as his consciousness was about to be swallowed by darkness.
A sharp, metallic wind blade tore through the sky from the distant horizon!
The speed of that wind blade even surpassed sound!
It didn't attack Cecilia, nor did it attack Bell.
Instead, it precisely sliced through the invisible force gripping Bell’s neck.
Snap.
A crisp sound of shattering rang out.
The restraint vanished, and Bell fell from midair.
This time, he didn't hit the ground.
He fell into a warm, solid embrace.
Bell forced his eyes open. What he saw was unruly black hair and a pair of sharp, deep eyes.
Leovite.
Holding Bell with one hand and keeping his other hand in his robe pocket, he looked up at Cecilia not far away and whistled.
“Hey, kid. Bullying your own brother in front of your teacher isn't what a good child should do.”
Rate on N.U.
