Li Hua slammed the cup of demon blood onto the floor, shattering it. He drew his sword and stood firmly by Seely's side. "My plans have changed, Queen," he said with a smirk.
Seely raised her hands, spreading the poisonous mist throughout the hall as she looked at the Queen. "Your Majesty, that deadly poison of yours actually helped me awaken my true power and regain consciousness much faster. Today is your last day!"
The Demon Queen, retreating in fear, turned into a dark shadow. "You cannot stop me! Before you try to kill me, why don't you look into your own 'Curse'? It is far more dangerous than I am!" she shrieked before vanishing into the darkness.
As the palace crumbled, Li Hua and Seely rushed outside. Behind them, the dark Asura palace turned into a pile of rubble.
Breathing in the fresh air of the forest, Li Hua sighed with relief. He looked at Seely with deep affection. "Seely... are you truly alright? I was so scared for you," he said, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
But before their skin could even meet, a massive bolt of blue light erupted between them. Both Li Hua and Seely were thrown backward with great force. It wasn't a lethal blow, but rather an invisible barrier that prevented them from touching each other.
In reality, it was a "Divine Punishment." Though they had found each other, they were cursed so that their bodies could never touch without being repelled. However, neither of them knew the truth behind this mystery yet.
After being thrown apart, Li Hua looked at his hand in astonishment. "This is incredible! This mark on my hand..." As he showed the silver mark on his wrist, Seely showed hers in surprise as well.
"Li Hua... I have the exact same one on mine!" she exclaimed. It was at that moment they both realized for the first time that they bore the same 'Celestial Mark.'
"That's exactly why lightning strikes when we touch," Li Hua said with a scholarly air. "We are basically like two 'Divine Lightning Rods' now."
Seely glared at him. "Divine Lightning Rods? Oh, please... your armor is still covered in mung bean flour. When you try to touch me, it's not just the lightning—that flour makes me want to sneeze my head off!"
"Hey! How many times do I have to tell you? It's a 'style'! This mung bean flour is how I tricked those demons," Li Hua said, dusting off his armor. "For a 'Poison Goddess,' you sure are grumpy. I was the one who was even ready to surrender to the Demon Queen just to save you!"
Seely went quiet for a moment and looked at him. "That's what I don't understand. I didn't know you before. We've never even met. So why did you do so much to save me?"
Li Hua rested his weight on his sword as he planted it into the ground. A look of seriousness crossed his eyes. "To be honest... I am just a wanderer. I don't remember my past. But that 'Tree Spirit' begged me to save you. He said if you were gone, nature would be destroyed. And... when I saw you, I felt like I had seen you somewhere before. It was a strange feeling."
Seely let out a soft sigh. "Now I have a purpose," Li Hua continued. "And that is to protect you and this forest."
Seely then asked him: "So what do we do now? Do we go hunting for the Demon Queen? Or do we protect nature? But how do we even do that?"
Li Hua smiled. "Let's do both. We'll heal the forest while we track down the Queen. Because she is the one who holds the secret to these marks. But, there is one condition..."
"What is it?" Seely asked.
"When we fight, we need to stay at least three feet apart. Otherwise, we'll end up dead from our own lightning before the demons even get to us!" Li Hua joked as he began to walk down the path.