Chapter 327 : Radiance
The broken throne hall was dim and lightless.
Everywhere were cracked stones and vine fragments, crimson stains scattered on the stones, emanating a heart-stopping dark gleam.
And in the center of this ruin, Withered Leaf laughed loudly:
"Elucia, you have failed."
"Yes, I have failed..."
Across from Withered Leaf, the girl who had been fighting relentlessly was now kneeling on the ground, her face pale as death, with a gaping hole torn through her chest.
Her heart had been completely crushed—such grievous wounds had left her utterly without the ability to resist.
The girl was powerless, able only to let Withered Leaf continue:
"Hahahaha, you arrogant thing, you never imagined there would come a day when you'd be defeated by me! I'm going to kill you completely, let you die with despair and pain in these ruins as a funeral offering for Lord Hofa."
"Mm, you're right..."
Elucia smiled bitterly, her eyes revealing an indescribable sadness: "If I had persisted in revenge like you from the beginning, perhaps I could only have reached your level."
"What are you talking about?"
"The flames of revenge granted you infinite power, but they also made you lose the eyes to see the path ahead. Do you really think such a price is worth it?"
"?!"
"Withered Leaf, you have already gone astray. And this path will inevitably cause you to..."
"Go die!!!"
A foreboding premonition arose in her heart, making Withered Leaf quickly clench her fists, trying to command these sharp vines to completely tear apart the girl's body before her.
Only when she completely exploded, only when she was utterly reduced to minced meat, could her thirsting heart find peace, could she truly succeed in her revenge!
However...
Just the next moment.
Withered Leaf's wrist was grasped by Elucia.
(How is this possible?!)
Feeling the tremendous force transmitted from her wrist, Withered Leaf was completely stunned. She had clearly destroyed her opponent's heart, clearly drained all of her strength and magical power.
How could this Elucia stand up again, how could she resist her once more?!
And just as Withered Leaf was utterly shocked, even somewhat crazed with emotion.
Elucia spoke:
"That's right, 'I' failed. Withered Leaf, I acknowledge your power. You indeed defeated 'me.'"
"......"
"But 'we' haven't failed... Though I really don't want to rely on her, I am her companion."
"!"
"Then, let me show you. Our true power."
......
Elucia smiled slightly,
And in just that instant...
Her jet-black hair actually turned into dazzling silver.
......
"I know all your desires, just as our hearts have been together from the very beginning."
"On the long journey toward the destination, if you hadn't been there, I probably would have fallen into the abyss of revenge too."
"Thank you for accompanying me all this way. Now... let us together rewrite this world."
......
Infinite magical power gathered toward Elucia. That silver radiance not only illuminated the surrounding space but also transformed into a pure white dress, wrapping around Elucia's body.
Knee-length silver hair,
Pure white crystal high heels,
A flowing princess dress like flower petals,
And those...
Eyes that remained lively and full of life even when viewing everything in the world.
What appeared before Withered Leaf now was no longer the black-haired Elucia from before, but that once ice-snow clever girl—the princess of Snow Kingdom, Lonis.
......
"Withered Leaf, let everything end here."
"No... I absolutely don't believe it! Absolutely don't believe it!!!"
Withered Leaf clenched her fists tightly, shouting with all her might.
She tried to mobilize her power again, tried to use vines again to pierce through the girl's body before her.
But...
It had no effect.
Those terrifying vines like thorns, upon contact with the silver light, seemed to completely melt away, utterly losing their power.
The desperate revenge grass that staked everything could not see the vast sky, and could only transform into new radiance piece by piece under the silver light's illumination.
"This is impossible, I don't believe it!!!!"
Withered Leaf continued shouting, continued struggling with all her might.
She had clearly crossed countless blood and pain to get here, clearly was willing to sacrifice everything to obtain powerful strength.
But...
Why was her ability still insufficient?
Why couldn't she still defeat this bastard Elucia?
Why, why, why?!
She absolutely couldn't give up. She had to avenge Lord Hofa, she had to give everything for Lord Hofa!!!!!!
......
Withered Leaf shouted, her body already twisting, but she still tried to advance, tried to resist Lonis's power.
But...
The silver-haired girl just smiled mischievously.
She didn't continue attacking, but whispered silently in Withered Leaf's ear:
"Hofa should still be alive, you know?"
"What?"
"I didn't kill her. If you surrender quickly... we might still be able to help him."
......
Victory and defeat were decided.
Withered Leaf knelt on the ground,
And infinite silver light completely swallowed this space.
......
What exactly had happened?
If one wasn't Senior Yicheng assisting Elucia's plan, it would be difficult to understand this scheming girl's plan.
Ever since Lonis was hypnotized into becoming a little fox, the girls had privately and seriously studied the Sun Loli Goddess's book, and reached a consensus...
This book could indeed enhance the reader's power!
But its principle was somewhat like respeccing in an RPG game, washing away all intelligence points and adding them to strength and magical power.
After breaking free from the hypnotic state, strength and magical power wouldn't change, while intelligence would recover, thus allowing the reader's abilities to reach an even higher level.
But what about Lonis?
She had an additional surprise on this foundation.
Because she was naturally of masochistic and submissive constitution, after acting against reason to play the little fox, her body's magical power would continuously gather without being released.
In other words, it was like teasing her with toys but not letting her go to the bathroom.
During this period, Lonis would continuously accumulate magical power, and once Lonis recovered her reason, all past experiences would surge into her heart like a tide, granting her incomparable power!
Thus, this was now the source of Elucia's power.
......
Having unlocked princess form, Elucia's strength had completely entered the 9th rank, becoming a truly unique existence in this world.
Even General Caster couldn't compare.
And Elucia had kept such a trump card precisely to deal with General Caster's surprise attacks during this journey.
......
But... the opponent was equally cunning.
As the best follower of the Trickster Demon Lord, he would never clash head-on with Elucia, but only used various conspiracies and schemes to plunge opponents into chaos.
Caster seemed to have seen through Hofa's intention to surrender, and took the opportunity to attack Hofa.
He used the unclear relationship between Withered Leaf and Hofa to force her to use Torture Device X800.
The tortured Withered Leaf had completely become a crazed and twisted existence. Her only purpose was to kill Elucia, so she couldn't possibly listen to Elucia's explanations.
And having awakened the Demon King's power, Withered Leaf already had the will to fight to the death. Even if the girls attacked with full force, they might still be injured even if they could defeat her, and under a death battle, Withered Leaf would only have a dead end.
So...
Elucia adopted this method.
Because although Withered Leaf was an enemy, her crimes didn't warrant death. Moreover, keeping her alive could prevent Hofa's corruption.
......
This was Elucia's strategy.
From the very beginning, this was how she had discussed it with Senior Yicheng.
"Well, Senior, how is it?"
"Captain Elucia, your plan is good... but this way, won't you expose your trump card to the Trickster Demon Lord prematurely?"
"Hmph hmph, it doesn't matter. If he wants to know, just let him know."
"Oh...?"
"Trump cards and such are just tools. But once life is lost, it can't be retrieved... Besides, I really trust the little fox."
"Lonis?"
"Yes, because this power is just our first trump card... As long as the little fox and I are together, we can have as many trump cards as we want~~"
Gazing at the white-stockinged little maid next door, Elucia said this.