"I've heard some things that make me very sad," Maleficent suddenly feigned sorrow. "I hear that you and your teacher want to kill me and lift the curse on Rose Kingdom? Is that right?"
"Everyone in Rose Kingdom wants to kill you!" Aurora retorted sharply.
"Indeed, that's perfectly normal," Maleficent laughed again. "In the past, I've destroyed dozens of kingdoms on a whim—maybe even hundreds, I can't quite remember. In every kingdom, there were heroes with the same idea as you."
Maleficent said with a hint of mockery and mischief:
"Guess what? Did those heroes who raised their swords against me succeed in the end?"
"Someone will succeed very soon," Aurora countered impolitely.
"Then let's see…" Maleficent revealed a maniacal smile and spread her arms.
The next moment, her black and purple figure suddenly grew, transforming into a massive dragon.
Compared to the Eastern Witch, Maleficent's "authentic" dragon transformation magic was undoubtedly more powerful. The dragon she became was also stronger and larger, exuding a terrifying majesty beyond the reach of mortals.
The dragon flapped its wings violently, stirring up a fierce gale that knocked over and blew away the surrounding Soldiers.
The Queen hid in a corner, but she immediately thought that if the upcoming battle failed, she would not escape her inevitable death, so she quickly pulled out potions and spell-casting materials from her pocket, preparing for battle.
Above the sea, the Sea Hag, suspended in the air, had her seaweed-like green hair scattered by the wind, and her eyes were deep, like the vast ocean.
Having become the Sea Kingdom's court magician and the Sea King's personal alchemist, her greatest wish had already been fulfilled. She had no fear.
"Even if I die fighting Maleficent today, in the Sea Kingdom's historical records, I will still die as a hero, not an ugly monster," she thought.
Aurora, the youngest blonde girl, stood unmoving in the strong wind.
Her emerald green eyes were as calm as ever, and her exquisitely beautiful, flawless face showed no fear, but rather a hint of excitement.
Her fated enemy now stood before her!
She had waited too long for this day.
…
In the suburban forest of White Kingdom.
Maglido, the chief magician of Ender, along with a hundred elite Super Warriors, surrounded the gourd in front.
"This Magician Rhine is too quiet."
"There's no sign of resistance at all, no attempt to break out of the gourd."
Several times, Maglido even suspected that Rhine inside the gourd had already escaped.
Fortunately, divination and other methods indicated that the young wizard was still quietly staying inside the gourd, getting closer and closer to death.
Inside the dark gourd.
In this dark, damp, and foul-smelling space, Rhine felt that the malice in the surrounding air was almost tangible.
He felt a coldness from the depths of his bones and soul.
"Very good, in a few more minutes, the terror inside this gourd will completely explode, turning me into blood and utterly destroying me, leaving no trace."
Rhine smiled, accepting this fact.
He was not flustered, merely pulling out a Scarecrow.
[Fate's Stand-in]!
One of the three [Fate's Stand-in].
This Scarecrow had already been prepared by Rhine, turning into a "voodoo stand-in" for transferring fate to someone.
A withered, blackened hair was tied to its body, representing the victim who would soon bear Rhine's fate.
Theoretically, Rhine could make any Soldier or commoner of White Kingdom his stand-in, to bear the danger in his place.
But Rhine did not want to do that.
He had a better choice.
Now, the hair on the Scarecrow did not come from a living person, but was pulled from a corpse.
Normally, this would be useless; Rhine could not swap positions, circumstances, and fate with a corpse.
However, now, the situation was different.
"You've beEnderad for so long. It's time for us to settle things."
Rhine looked at the stand-in Scarecrow in his hand, smiling as he murmured to himself.
At this moment, the extreme cold from the depths of his bones and soul finally reached its peak. A few seconds later, the magic in the gourd would completely devour him.
Now!
Rhine activated [Fate's Stand-in] with a thought.
This dark prison, where space was solidified and even teleportation was impossible, ultimately could not lock down a swapped fate!
The boy's figure rapidly faded, replaced by a phantom in the spot where he stood.
…
Clang, clang, clang!
Swords, dragon scales, and sharp claws collided continuously at speeds imperceptible to the naked eye!
Sparks flew.
Aurora and the dragon Maleficent had transformed into were locked in battle.
The Queen, the Sea Hag, and the Soldiers were also using bows and magic to try and interfere with Maleficent, who had turned into a dragon.
But they all knew in their hearts that they could only play an auxiliary role. The only warrior who truly had the potential to slay this dragon was the blonde girl who looked no older than eleven or twelve!
Aurora's emerald eyes widened, reflecting the majestic figure of the dragon.
This day had finally arrived.
Aurora had waited too long for this day.
In countless nights past, she had fantasized about where they would reunite, and imagined the scenes of their battle.
When she fought the Eastern Witch, what she thought of in her mind was also another dragon!
Whoosh!
Aurora thrust her sword, her attack as fierce as a gale, forcing Maleficent to retreat and dodge.
"You dodged?" Aurora's lips curled, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"So, you, who casually destroy a country on a whim, are also afraid of getting hurt?"
"You, too, like a human, feel pain, despair, cry, and can be killed, right?"
Aurora laughed loudly, swinging her dwarf-forged sword, and a flurry of rapid thrusts and slashes came again.
The Black Witch Maleficent, transformed into a dragon, frowned.
The combat prowess and strength displayed by this young girl were indeed beyond her expectations.
She had killed many Super Warriors before. Among them, there were not a few whose strength, swordsmanship, and weapons were more powerful than Aurora's.
But none of them, like Aurora, had such perfectly timed footwork. Sometimes attacking, sometimes circling left and right, looking for openings.
It was as if…
She could predict the dragon Maleficent's movements in advance.
Every tail whip and wing flap of the dragon was precisely anticipated by her!
Aurora inwardly rejoiced.
"It works, it really works!"
"All the experience accumulated from fighting the Eastern Witch before has been put to use."
When fighting the dragon that the Eastern Witch had transformed into, Aurora constantly utilized her ability to learn rapidly during battle, grasping the dragon's attack rhythm.
Now, the dragon Maleficent had transformed into was undoubtedly more powerful, but its attack, movement, and defense patterns were consistent.
In countless mental rehearsals in the past, she had already killed Maleficent thousands of times!
Maleficent's thoughts raced:
"This girl… so young yet possessing such power. It's truly astonishing!"
"Who exactly is she."
"If she grows up, it might become quite troublesome."
A hint of killing intent flashed in the Black Witch's heart.
From just now until this moment, she had not used her full power, merely wanting to gauge how much ability this seemingly young girl truly possessed.
"Alright, this boring battle should end now!"
The dragon flapped its wings, batting Aurora away, and scorching emerald green flames surged from its mouth.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The emerald flames engulfed Aurora.
However, the next moment, the black dragon Maleficent had transformed into, widened her eyes.
In her eyes, she saw the girl emerge from the flames completely unharmed, thrusting a sword towards her.
"How is that possible?"
"Is she completely unafraid of fire?"
Maleficent was forced back by Aurora's attack.
In the previous battle, she had already discovered that Aurora's skin was as hard as steel, and claws and fangs simply could not pierce it.
"Not only are normal attacks useless, but flames are also ineffective?"
Such a trait could never be naturally formed; it must come from some kind of supernatural blessing!
"Little girl, tell me, who exactly are you?"
Maleficent roared, and the accompanying Soldiers were all knocked to the ground by the dragon's roar.
"The one destined to kill you!"
Taking advantage of Maleficent's surprise and momentary daze, revealing an opening, Aurora's figure shot out again.
She gathered all her strength, all her anger, all her accumulated power, and thrust her sword!
The sword pierced through the dragon scales on Maleficent's chest.
Green blood flowed from the dragon's body.
Maleficent felt pain.
"You bleed too, you arrogant Witch,"
Aurora scoffed loudly.
Maleficent froze.
Just now, she could have blocked that sword.
But, the moment Aurora rushed over, she vaguely felt a familiar sensation from the girl.
It was the scent of the curse connected to her own soul.
"No way…"
"It can't be…"
"Could it be her?"
The dragon stood motionless, like a stone statue.
Aurora did not miss this opportunity and launched another furious, storm-like attack.
Maleficent merely passively defended and dodged.
"Excellent, Aurora has gained the upper hand!"
Seeing Aurora force the Black Dragon to retreat step by step, the Soldiers were overjoyed, and the Queen also cheered loudly.
She and the Sea Hag, together, worked harder to interfere with Maleficent with various spells, or to strengthen Aurora and the sword in her hand.
"Aurora?"
This name, unheard for many years, pierced deeply into Maleficent's heart like a needle.
"How could it be her?"
Astonishment, surprise, hatred, disbelief—all emotions exploded within the Witch at this moment.