Realizing what had happened, Nabu's face flushed crimson.
Beneath her ethereal beauty, even the surrounding flowers seemed to blush and hide in shame.
"Thank you..." she whispered shyly.
Having received what she desired, Nabu gained a newfound understanding of Li Youyue. It was from that moment onward that she gradually fell in love with him.
One day, Li Youyue took Nabu deep into Vanarana.
He produced a harp and began to play.
The melodious, gentle music resonated throughout Vanarana.
Countless creatures gathered around them.
Glowing specks rose from the earth, and the pitch-black night sky transformed into a vibrant tapestry.
Patisaran flowers bloomed everywhere, carpeting the land.
Nabu, who had never witnessed such a sight, stood transfixed.
Li Youyue slowly approached her, holding out a bouquet of Patisaran flowers.
"Nabu... I... I love you... I know... this might make things awkward... but I... I can't bear to let you go... I want to keep you by my side forever... You, this flower... deserve all the love in the world... So... will you be my girlfriend?"
Nabu stood frozen for a long moment, only then realizing that the man before her was confessing his love.
Their feelings had long been mutual, but pride had kept them from voicing it.
"If love is part of the meaning of life you speak of, then I accept you," Nabu declared.
"Whatever the cost, even losing my power and body, I will endure."
"I firmly believe this is what you mean by 'the process'..."
Li Youyue stepped forward and embraced her tightly.
The Master of Flowers, the King of Immortal Spirits, Nabu's power and physical form began to gradually dissipate.
She had fallen in love with another, and the curse took effect.
"I'm sorry..."
Two pristine white tears slid down Nabu's cheeks.
"I can't... stay with you... anymore..."
Her thoughts returned to the present, her expression complex.
For the Fairy Royal Clan, falling in love with another meant death.
Yet she had fallen deeply in love with Li Youyue. Though she should have vanished, Li Youyue saved her with his vital essence, leading to the events that followed.
"So, you fell in love with a mortal—a mortal who told you stories, gave you flower wreaths, and played music for you?" Ahmar pressed, his voice low and probing.
"He's not an ordinary man..." Nabu replied softly.
"He just seems like a person..." As she spoke, Nabu let out a soft, foolish chuckle.
"A very foolish, very gentle, and very irritating man..."
Yes, compared to the Red King, Ahmar, the man revered by ten thousand, Li Youyue seemed more like a person.
"..."
Ahmar rarely saw Nabu wear such a lovestruck smile, and a pang of jealousy stabbed through his heart.
Jealousy clouded his judgment...
Fueled by this, a violent rage erupted within him. He refused to accept it, he couldn't accept it.
Marikata was his, and his alone!
"Who is he?!"
"Who is he?!"
Ahmar gripped his head, spitting out the words with venom.
"I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"
"You're mine! You're mine!"
Ahmar seized Nabu by both shoulders, squeezing so hard that purple bruises bloomed beneath his fingers.
"Tell me, where is he?!"
The frantic Ahmar demanded loudly of Nabu.
"You... let go of me!"
Nabu struggled against his grip, kicking out with her slender, jade-like leg. She aimed the heel of her high-heeled shoe squarely at Ahmar's groin.
*Crack...*
Ahmar felt a searing pain as something seemed to rupture deep within him. The agony forced him to stumble backward and collapse to the ground.
"Aaaah!!!" he screamed in agony.
Seizing the opportunity, Nabu scrambled to her feet, snatched up the Ancient Oath of Freedom, and fled toward Sumeru City.
Clutching his groin, Ahmar writhed on the ground but spotted Nabu's escape.
"D-don't run!" he croaked, his voice strained through the pain.
Enduring the agonizing pain, Ahmar pushed himself to his feet, gripped the Red Sand Staff planted in the ground, and staggered after Nabu.
Glancing back, Nabu's heart pounded with fear as she saw Ahmar closing in. She quickened her pace, but a frail girl like her could never outrun a hulking man like him.
"Lady of Flowers, you can't escape me!" Ahmar called out, his voice twisted with malice.
"You'll always be mine!"
*Hahahaha!*
His lewd taunts, like those of a deranged stalker, made Nabu want to vomit.
The distance between them dwindled rapidly.
Just as Ahmar was about to catch up, he swung the Red Sand Staff at Nabu's fleeing figure.
The jet-black Red Sand Staff shot straight toward Nabu, striking her squarely in the lower back with pinpoint accuracy.
*Poof!*
Nabu coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground. The Red Sand Staff landed beside her.
Ahmar slowly approached. "Since you won't agree to my terms, I'll just have to take what I want by force..."
He reached out to tear her clothes.
Seeing the sinister Ahmar, Nabu frantically retreated, her voice trembling with terror. "No... don't..."
Defenseless and drained of her strength, she stood no chance against Ahmar.
*Whoosh!*
Just then, a white blur surged toward Ahmar from his side.
*!!!*
Sensing the newcomer, Ahmar instantly recognized the danger. He seized the Red Sand Staff and recoiled violently.
But he was too late. The white figure swung a blade, severing Ahmar's hand clutching the Red Sand Staff.
Ahmar stumbled back several meters, staring at his empty right arm. He whirled around to face the white figure now standing protectively before Nabu.
Snow-white hair cascaded down her back, golden eyes blazed with intensity, and she wore a unique foreign-style school uniform. Beneath the blue pleated skirt, slender legs were sheathed in sheer black stockings.
The girl's beauty was otherworldly: porcelain-white skin, gracefully arched eyebrows, a refined, high-bridged nose, and rosy cherry lips.
A black-and-gold katana hung at her slender waist, perfectly complementing her elegant figure.
"Who are you?" Ahmar demanded, his brow furrowing as he stared at the white-haired girl. She reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite place who.
"You don't need to know who I am," Zhenqi replied calmly. "Just remember that I'm your enemy."
The newcomer was none other than Zhenqi, the Heavenly Principle Maintainer, visiting Sumeru incognito.
Initially, Zhenqi had been secretly protecting Li Youyue in Sumeru. However, when she sensed a strange power emanating from the desert, she investigated, eventually tracking it to this very location.
Just in time to rescue the captured Nabu.
"Tch..." Ahmar hissed, his gaze fixed on Zhenqi. He was deeply frustrated. He had been so close to victory, only for this outsider to interfere.
And judging by that single strike, she was no ordinary foe.
Zhenqi turned to Nabu, who was slumped on the ground. "Get back to Sumeru City quickly. I'll handle things here."
"What about you...?" Nabu asked. Though she didn't know who her rescuer was, she had the feeling this person knew them.
*Could he be a friend of my husband's?*
"Don't worry, he's no match for me," Zhenqi murmured.
"Alright..." Nabu replied.
"Be careful."
As Zhenqi had suggested, Nabu turned and fled. Although leaving like this felt wrong, her injuries meant she'd be of no help staying. She might as well fetch reinforcements.
With this thought, she forced herself to her feet and sprinted toward Sumeru City.
And just like that, Nabu escaped right under Ahmar's nose.
"Woman... do you even know who I am?"
Ahmar channeled his magical power, reattaching his severed right arm.
"I do." Zhenqi gripped the hilt of her blade, ready to strike at any moment.
"The Red King, Ahmar."
"But you should be dead. I don't know how you've been resurrected, but you shouldn't exist in this world."
"All irregularities in this world's elements must be corrected."
*This aura...*
This only reinforced Ahmar's conviction that this woman was no ordinary mortal.
*No human should possess such power.*
"Who are you?" Ahmar demanded, leveling the Red Sand Staff at her.
"That's classified," Zhenqi retorted, launching herself at Ahmar with blinding speed, her katana already drawn. Even Ahmar struggled to track her afterimages.
*Impossible! How can she be so fast?!*
Ahmar's pupils constricted in shock.
In the next instant, he unleashed his ultimate technique without restraint: a swirling vortex of sand shadows that blotted out the sky. The entire area transformed into a colossal sandstorm, instantly engulfing the charging Zhenqi.
But it wasn't over yet!
Zhenqi gripped her katana tightly and swung it forward in a single, decisive strike.
The ferocious sandstorm was cleaved in two, vanishing into nothingness within seconds.
After landing, Zhenqi glanced back at the spot where Ahmar had last appeared, murmuring softly, "He's escaped?"
"The Red King has been resurrected..."
"Ah, another big trouble is brewing..."
"Let's hope it doesn't end up like Khaenri'ah..."
Zhenqi gazed in the direction Nabu had fled, lost in thought.
"I should find my husband first..."
"It's been so long since I've seen him..."
"Will I startle him if I suddenly appear before him like this?"
Shortly after Zhenqi departed, not far from the jungle, the severely wounded Ahmar emerged from the ground, his body coalescing from sand and stone.
"Damn woman..." Ahmar cursed under his breath. "Such a vicious strike..."
The woman's blade had nearly severed his carotid artery. Had he hesitated even a millisecond longer, he would have died on the spot again.
Although his current form, empowered by his Master's Demonic Spirit, rendered him immortal, that attack had left him with no chance of victory. Lingering there would only have been a waste of time.
Without further deliberation, Ahmar hurried toward the desert. Newly resurrected, he desperately needed the desert's power.
*Mashakata, wait for me.*
*I will lead the desert undead army to trample Sumeru and come for you.*
*When that day comes, you shall be the queen of the Eternal Capital!*
Back in the present, Buuer and Venus rushed downstairs the moment they heard Nilou's grim news.
"Nabu!"
Buuer hurried to Nabu's bedside upon seeing her lying bloodied on the bed.
Nilou and Venus followed close behind.
Earlier, Nahida and Nilou had already moved the critically injured Nabu to the bed.
Now, Nahida was desperately using her divine power to safeguard Nabu's life force.
"Nabu..."
Buuer leaned against the bed frame, then turned to Nahida.
"Sister, how is she?" Buuer asked anxiously, her eyes filled with worry.
Nahida, her delicate brows furrowed, shook her head. "Sister Nabu sustained a severe impact to her back. The residual force nearly shattered her body."
"Her physique was already fragile. This strike... it has likely cost her at least half her life..."
"Who would dare strike her with such brutality...?"
Buuer's spirits plummeted to the depths of despair in an instant.
But then, something else occurred to her.
"The child... where's the child?"
"That's what I was about to tell you next," Nahida said, her expression heavy with anguish. "In her final moments, she poured all her life force into protecting the child. That's why she ended up like this."
Buuer made an immediate decision. "We must use our divine power to preserve Nabu's vital signs. We'll hold on until our husband returns—he might have a way to save her."
"You're right, Sister," Nahida agreed. "For now, all we can do is wait for him to come back."
Buuer turned to Venus. "Your Majesty the Empress, may we borrow your divine power temporarily?"
"No need to borrow. Save her first."
Venus moved closer, approaching the bedside.
Raising her right hand, she gently poured ice-blue divine power over Nabu's bloodied form.
As for Buuer, now that she no longer possessed a God's Heart, her divine power was undoubtedly far weaker than before.
Yet before she could assist, there was one urgent task she had to complete.
She immediately sent a telepathic message to her husband.
"Husband, Nabu is severely injured! Come back quickly!"
After finishing, Buuer, like Nahida, raised her arm and channeled divine power into Nabu's body.
Only Nilou stood helplessly by, feeling unable to assist. She possessed a Vision, but lacked the divine power of an Archon.
*Wait!*
Just as despair threatened to engulf her, Nilou suddenly remembered something.
The Key of Khaj-Nisut might be useful.
Every Ancient Artifact retained divine power left by the forging Archons. Moreover, the Key of Khaj-Nisut's primary function was support.
Realizing this, Nilou immediately retrieved the Key of Khaj-Nisut that Li Youyue had gifted her.
Holding the Key horizontally, she channeled elemental energy to levitate it above Nabu's body. Stepping forward, she continuously activated the Key, unleashing its supportive aura.
This weapon's unique effect allowed the entire team to share its benefits. Everyone present—Nahida, Venus, Buuer—received its benefits.
Sensing the commotion, Venus glanced at the Key of Khaj-Nisut hovering above Nabu.
....................
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(End of Chapter)