Swoosh!
A black shadow shot through the forest.
Hmmm!
The fog split apart as a figure accelerated in complete silence. It slipped through the trees faster than thought, and as it moved, the fog reversed seconds after it swished past. One moment, it flickered beneath the pale moonlight; the next, it slipped into the void and vanished between layers of space.
With every step, with every blur, it flickered, reappearing dozens of meters ahead.
Ancient trees flashed past in blurred fragments as it tore ahead at an unbelievable speed.
A cluster of pale light illuminated the forest floor as the figure passed, the dim silver glow trembling like frightened fireflies as it was swept away, and the surrounding mist twisted violently as it was dragged into spiraling currents by the sheer speed alone.
Humm!
The air seemed to tremble as the shadow dove to the side and pierced into a crack in space.
For an instant, the forest was left in sudden silence…
Then, just as quickly as it had vanished, the presence erupted again, this time flying even deeper!
Closer!
Even closer!
Soon, a figure appeared in the distance!
This was a fat figure with a spicy stick half-hung from his mouth. He had a large belly and a small bookcase strapped to his back, looking innocent and confused.
With a face filled with froggy fondness and an aura of being completely lost—
The shadow appeared in a flash, already directly behind.
A hand emerged from the fog, then sliced forward in a knife-like gesture!
'Die!'
—!
Slap!
"Huh?"
The sound of a crisp slap echoed through the forest…
Echo…
Echo...
Echo...…
Toad: (ΩДΩ)
…Silence soon followed.
Toad, suddenly slapped, froze in place, stunned.
The man, the Historical Echo of the Sky Towers Founder, likewise froze, completely confused by how his slash turned into a slap.
HOOONG!
But there was no time to think about it!
Because just then—!
Buzz!
The protective jade talisman hanging from Toad's waist suddenly erupted with a brilliant green light!
Soon, a transparent figure appeared amidst the fog…
She was a beautiful middle-aged woman with smooth amphibian-like features, pale green, jade-like skin, long slender legs, and two beautiful black eyes. Her face lacked a visible nose, at least by human standards, while faint patterns spread across her cheeks and thighs like ripples in the water.
Her projection calmly looked around before slowly turning toward the man who had slapped Toad.
The air seemed to freeze…
Her eyes, which were serene and lethargic just a moment ago, instantly became bloodthirsty and filled with rage.
BOOM!
A mind-numbing killing intent exploded from her figure!
"How dare you attack the Crown Prince again—!"
The shameless sneak attacking Historical Echo shuttered!
What the hell was this monster!!
No!
She couldn't possibly be from—
The woman raised her delicate hand, then, "—Cease!"
BOOM!!!
Following those words and before his thoughts could finish, the Seventh Order projection sealed inside the concerningly sensitive jade pendant erupted with a world-destroying power!
Vroooooommmb!! BOOM!
A horrifying wave of pressure exploded outward!
The forest shattered, the trees snapped apart, and the nearby earth collapsed. Even the surrounding space seemed to crack and become even more unstable!
Fuck!
Everything went dark…
* * *
Petra watched as the forest a short distance away was obliterated by a heart-palpitating pressure.
"Why do I feel a sense of déjà vu?"
Wind and Mell didn't answer, they were both having a hard time controlling their trembling legs.
As for Rose, she popped back in from who knows where, clearly also alerted by the sudden explosion.
"What happened?"
Petra shook her head.
"I think it's better not to find out for now!"
Mell, while helping the madly mumbling Wind, agreed wholeheartedly.
Petra's eyes turned to the shrouded figure not far ahead.
"You're right. It seems as if we have our own problem…"
Tap…
Tap…
Tap…
An elderly man appeared, stepping through the fog.
After seeing him, Petra's eyes darkened.
"In the end, even after making it through that whole night without meeting this guy… it still came in the end… tsk! What a bother!" Petra cursed.
Rose turned, her hair immediately standing on end because she felt it on a much more primitive level!
This was a big fish!
A big, big fish!
He was a middle-aged man with white hair. His body was slightly thin and frail, making his many layers of clothing look very overwhelming. He wore two robes, the inner one blue and the outer one white. He wore a large azure mantle and a detailed white cloak with a lifted hood and torn cape.
The most terrifying thing was not his presence, no, it was the 'Edicts of Draconic Judgment & the Great Void Chain!' that he held in his hands.
It was an unimaginably long chain—threaded through a single floating ring—extending outwards in a hundred different loops. Each of these hundred loops connected to a 'tree-sized' spear that was forged from dragon fangs called the 'Spears of Judgment'.
As for now, only two of the spears had manifested, but just looking at these two large, tree-sized spears gave Petra a cold feeling.
They were like utility poles that this middle-aged man could grasp in his hands!
This was a weapon meant to kill giants!
How could this old man use it on little old Petra!
Wuwuwuwu!
Petra pursed her lips.
During the migration, when the Hellion Empire was founded, not only were the patriarchs of what would become the four great families slaughtered in order to put their families in their place, but the tower families were also forced to sign some kind of one-thousand-year agreement. It could be said that almost nobody got away from the aftermath of that incident.
Knowing this…
It should also be said that the power behind the Hellion Family was terrifying beyond belief!
Mm, with that said…
Back then, the only survivor was this man before them!
The ancestor of the Cross Continents Azurefell Family!
The one and only 'true' survivor from the suppression back then. There naturally had to be a reason for this, and it was undoubtedly the uniqueness of the man before her…
Petra looked over.
Her little brain turned, quickly thinking about a way to circumvent this fight.
She felt as if she could fight a fifth-order practitioner, or at least run away, but…
Petra's instincts told her that she would definitely be unable to win this battle!
Tap…
Tap…
Tap…
The old man slowly stopped his slow steps.
The fog around him drifted away as one of the gigantic Spears slowly lifted into the air behind him, turned, repositioned, then as it landed in his hand, the surrounding forest instantly groaned beneath the pressure.
Just feeling it made Petra feel sick.
'So, this is a sixth-order artifact? How scary!'
She narrowed her eyes and thought back to Llynun's Historical Museum, or more specifically, the information about the seven treasures left behind by the seven Arcanists.
'But it seems as if it can't be fully manifested by this historical echo…?'
Presumably, each of the one hundred loops should have a spear connecting to it…
Since there were only two, that could only mean that this middle-aged man was too weak, or there was some kind of disconnect when the Secret Realm reached the level of Rules.
Petra's eyelid twitched.
'…Ah! What a sin! I really want one!'
Her little eyes rolled, quickly thinking back to see if she could remember the others, then thought about a way to 'catch' them.
She shook her head
She didn't want to attack the emperor, and all the others were missing, or in the hands of troublesome people, no, there was one, but…
What a shame!
She hadn't had an opportunity to even look at the power of Law, but if she could find one of these seven treasures, then perhaps she could do it early. Unfortunately, the only available option was the one she suspected to be the red armor used by that thick-thighed beast from the Grand Gathering…
Back then, Petra did actually leave an ant on her for tracking, but similar to how the ant she gave Elena died of old age, so did that one…
Awkward…
Also, you needed to remember that Petra was only at the Golden Core Realm…
Looking forward…
One of the spears tilted downward—
He held it in his hand, but its width was so large that he couldn't completely grasp it in his hand.
Facing Directly toward her...
At the same time, the sound of countless chains began rattling throughout the fog.
Clink…!
Clink-clink…!!
Clink-clink-clink…!!!
The sound alone made one's scalp crawl.
Rose slowly lowered her body into a crouch. Her claws dug into the earth while red colored spiritual energy leaked from her body. Even Lira, who normally looked fearless, had unconsciously stepped backward, pre-drawing her large bow and readying herself.
Wind and Mell stood to the side, while Petra remained standing in place.
Right now, she was like a child standing before a bus, unaware of the danger that was about to crash into her small body.
Just then, the old man actually spoke!
"…You are… 'that woman's' child? Interesting..." His voice was calm and cold. He turned his head, seemingly peering through the mist towards a distant and unseeable scene. "Since you are here, since I am here, that can only mean that…" He squinted his eyes. Petra felt as if he was scanning each and every individual that had entered the secret realm. "What we found back then must have been real? Yes, it should be… You, small child, you seem to have recognised me, which can only mean that the real me is also still alive on the outside. That is good, it means that I have advanced to that realm…"
Petra, while ignoring ninety percent of his words, pointed at herself in confusion.
"Me? Who's child?!"
The old man ignored her.
The spinning ring behind him slowly rotated, filling the forest with the sound of chains.
Hum—!
Space crumpled and distorted!
He raised his hand, and the spear around his hand began to hover. The gigantic spear, now hovering above the forest, gradually pointed more precisely toward Petra's tiny body.
Wind's face immediately changed.
"He's locking onto your aura! Petra, back—!"
Petra's expression stiffened because it was too late!
"...Ah!"
BOOM!
As light flashed, a terrifying pressure exploded outward. To Wind and Mells shock, this was only slightly below the pressure that had appeared around that chubby and strange scholar named Toad!!
The forest floor cracked apart beneath the old man's feet, while the massive spear instantly vanished from its original position!
Petra's pupils contracted violently.
Too fast!
She instinctively stomped downward, because she wanted to propel herself to the side and shoot her tiny body sideways, but A fraction of a second before she could move—
BOOM!!
The Spear of Judgment descended!
The world split apart!
An entire section of the forest behind Petra disappeared instantly!!
Trees, fog, stone, earth—
Everything along the spear's path exploded into annihilation as a colossal trench ripped through the woodland and stretched far beyond sight.
The resulting shockwave erupted outward violently.
Wind screamed.
Mell grabbed her.
Rose was thrown away, and Lira was bonked into a tree, unconscious.
Meanwhile—
Petra was still poised to stomp her foot, but she was now frozen in place.
Her twin tails whipped wildly behind her as her frightened face slowly turned to look over her shoulder.
Cold sweat ran down her forehead as she trembled.
Behind her—
Nothing remained!
Only a gigantic smoking scar that had been carved directly through the forest.
Silence!
Petra stared blankly…
"…What, the, fuck…"
* * *
In a part of the forest that was shrouded in a dreadful aura—
The atmosphere had become cold and ominous, and a vast stretch of withered forest stretched endlessly into the fog. Black sludge bubbled through a cracked riverbed, while the surrounding trees had long since rotted away into twisted husks. Countless poisonous insects crawled throughout the ruined landscape, while spiderweb-like green threads wrapped and wound between the trees.
The camera slowly swept past this wasteland—
Then stopped…
Here—
Rolilly quietly sat atop an old man's chest, one leg crossed over the other.
Green threads tightly wrapped around his limbs, throat, and torso, stitching him against the shattered earth like a restrained corpse. Countless open wounds covered his body, and wisps of thick green poison continuously dripped into the black river below.
Although this old man was frightening, the true terror here was none other than Rolilly herself!
The lazy, bratty girl from before had vanished completely.
Now, her short blond hair drifted gently through the poisonous wind, while her dark green eyes remained half-lidded and strangely seductive. Even her posture had changed, becoming smoother, calmer, and almost graceful in a somewhat disturbing way.
She was alone.
None of her servants were present, but it was unknown where they had gone.
The old man, an individual whose name once shook the world, stared upward with trembling eyes.
"…What kind of monster are you…?" His voice seemed to crack. "How can, how can the Hellion Family give birth to such a demon again!"
In this world, the term 'demon' was not used lightly….
Rolilly tilted her head.
Then, she smiled faintly…
"Hehe."
Her voice emerged as a soft, smooth, and strangely enchanting wave. "Hmm, as expected… you really do know about the bloodline curse, don't you~?"
"Then it is just as I suspected, the bloodline curse was not something born from that contract. It must be older, much older. The fall and subsequent control of our family, the northern slaughter during the migration, my second sister's abnormality, and my first sister's instinctive drive to distance herself... The more I think about it, the more I doubt my family's recorded history."
'How Interesting…'
The old man's expression stiffened.
"Hay, hay, can you tell me~?"
"Hehehe—!"
Rolilly giggled.
The old patriarch suddenly felt cold, and for some reason, a deep chill spread through his body.
Rolilly slowly leaned in even closer.
"I have no intention of leaving the Cross Continent. After all, if I'm not mistaken, there should be something here far more precious than the Elfefaline Empire's inheritance, right?"
"So…"
Her eyes stared directly into his.
"Tell me~? Hehe, come on, just tell me the truth, ok~?"
Rolilly smiled widely.
Her face was shrouded in shadows, and a thin scalpel seemed to flicker in her hand.
* * *