Free Web NovelYouze stared blankly at Vieya.
She sensed her domination over the city being stripped away; the human-faced cloud in the sky howled as it dissolved, and spears of sunlight pierced through, appearing in her eyes.
In the instant the domain belonging to Vieya unfolded, every trace that originally belonged to Youze within the city of Talin was erased, completely swept away like smoke.
It was an absolute crushing on the level of domains. Everything happened so quickly that the people in the city stared at one another in shock.
They couldn’t comprehend what they were seeing—if not for the still-present destruction on buildings and streets, they would have suspected this entire catastrophe was only an illusion.
“This power... this kind of power... I’ve seen it before.”
Youze murmured to herself. She stared fixedly at the Holy Sword in Vieya’s hand, then again at Vieya, as if finally remembering something. She cursed:
“So it was you! So that’s what it was! I understand! I don’t understand! How is this possible! This is absolutely impossible!”
“You didn’t die! That’s why the moment you picked up the Holy Sword, without any adaptation or learning, you could draw out all of its power! That’s why that person’s student and teammates were secretly in such close contact with you! That’s why, when I took out that Demon King’s dragon horn as a weapon, you were so furious!”
“That whore Aurora! She actually deceived me—she must have sensed something long ago! She hid the most important information from me!”
Youze’s emotions collapsed in that moment. She tore at her hair, unable to accept that everything she’d schemed for, for so many years, had been reduced to ashes; unable to accept that the power she had painstakingly accumulated her entire life—abandoning family, friendship, sacrificing everything—was completely useless before this person, unable even to resist!
She suddenly lunged at Vieya, relying on her height advantage to violently push Vieya to the ground, roaring:
“You and that Demon King can’t possibly still be alive! You must be hiding something! I’ll turn you into my shadow! I still have a chance!”
Bang!
Youze was kicked away. She stared blankly at the severely shrunken little girl before her, then at the empty surroundings.
The magic in her body had vanished altogether. Even the mirror-image Authority she had refined all her life had fallen silent. At this moment... she was like an ordinary human.
Meanwhile, the Vieya before her—aside from the reduced body size—showed no sign of weakness at all. Even the wound in her abdomen from before had already healed.
She even had the leisure to drag her into an empty, sealed-off space.
Bang—crack!
Still stunned, Youze was kicked to the ground again. Her fragile ribs cracked directly beneath that kick!
“Ah—!”
Stung awake by the pain, Youze screamed. She no longer cared about analyzing her situation; she simply endured the agony and pounced at the white-haired little girl before her, trying to overpower her with height! And then seize the secret inside her body!
But she forgot something.
The former Chief Hero was number one in the world at close-quarters combat. Which meant that Vieya was number two... no one dared call themselves first before her!
Now, even though Vieya’s body was petite, her punches were vicious, her speed terrifying, her knees and elbows striking with brutal precision. Youze was like a ball, kicked and punched all over, flying around helplessly, without the slightest ability to fight back.
Every punch smashed heavily into Youze’s face; every kick drove into her fragile abdomen. Before her consciousness could stabilize, a new wave of attacks crashed onto her body.
At first, she thought the other side, like her, must have lost all abilities and was forced to fight with fists and legs. But as more and more bones broke, and blood gushed from her nose and mouth—
She finally understood the fundamental reason Vieya chose this method of fighting—venting.
She didn’t want her to die too fast, so she chose this slow, human-sandbag beating.
“Ah! Have you hit enough?!”
Youze, in desperation, began striking back. She swung at the other girl.
“You stupid thing! You were like this before, and you’re still like this now!”
Her voice was hysterical:
“You were a lapdog before, and you’re still a lapdog now! Righteousness my ass—do you really think you’re some righteous Hero?!”
“You can’t save anyone, just like back then! You’ll die, and your lover will die too! Hahaha... You think that Demon King died because of us? Wrong, wrong—she died because of you, you idiot! She was killed by you, lapdog!”
Bang!
Once again she was knocked to the ground, but Youze forced herself up, her face covered in blood.
“Look at you—this ugly state of venting your selfish anger. What part of you still resembles a Hero? Oh, right—you’re also a monster now, a half-breed stuck between humans and monsters!”
“I sacrificed everything for my power, yet I lost to a piece # Nоvеlight # of trash like you! You ruined everything—my everything! My dreams! My ideals! My life—everything is gone!”
“Haha! You deserve betrayal! You deserve to end up looking like this, you bitch!” Youze spat a mouthful of blood, laughing wildly.
Crunch!
This punch shattered Youze’s teeth; blood sprayed instantly, tooth fragments scattering across the ground.
Vieya pressed her lips together, her eyes red. She didn’t speak. She simply sat on top of Youze, smashing her fists into her face again and again.
In the lonely closed space, only the dull thuds of blows echoed. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Gradually, Youze could no longer speak. Her life force grew weaker.
“Heh... Hero. You ruined everything for me. Your ending... won’t be much better than mine.” Her words were slurred; her face no longer resembled a human face, yet still carried a strange certainty. “Hero, I know everything about you. I understand all of you. Hehe...”
Crack!
Vieya broke her finger, making her let out a muffled cry of pain, then lowered her head and softly asked:
“Why did you people interfere in what happened between me and the Demon King back then? And who else was involved in those events? Tell me, and I’ll give you a quick death.”
“Heh... heh...”
Blood bubbled from her mouth. Youze no longer had the strength to curse. She only showed a strange smile and answered slowly, vaguely:
“Come closer... I’ll tell you everything...”
“......”
Vieya narrowed her eyes. After a moment of hesitation, she leaned down, deciding to listen.
“In this ancient and cruel world, as long as you don’t jump off the chessboard... you will forever be a piece to be moved by others...”
Youze’s eyes widened. In a thin whisper she lured Vieya closer, then suddenly, violently, reached out—using the exposed bone of her right hand like a dagger, stabbing toward Vieya’s eye.
“Hero! Come to hell with me—!”
In her dying state, Youze raised her hand, using her own hand bone as a concealed weapon for her final attack!
Vieya didn’t react—because the bone dagger stopped three centimeters from her eye, losing all momentum, hanging motionlessly there.
Youze slowly lowered her hand. Hardly any blood flowed from her anymore. Time had passed long enough; she had nearly bled dry.
Before her was her nemesis, standing in the ruins of the most prosperous street in Talin City.
The sun pierced the clouds, descending onto the blood-stained wreckage, smoke swirling. Morning light rose—distant human voices rustled like a flowing song.
This was her favorite city, where her dreams were buried.
Youze, dead.
Staring at those wide, unclosing eyes, Vieya slowly stood up, staggering toward the sunlight.
One of Ghost’s Nine Dealers, Director of the Talin Tribunal, Honorary Dean of the Magic Academy, mastermind behind all events in the southern lands—Youze—fell here.
It seemed no one truly knew her real name or origin.
But Vieya no longer cared. She looked toward the pale radiance of the awakening sky, feeling an emptiness in her heart.
Her enemy was dead.
Youze was dead, but she knew... this was only the beginning.
She wanted to continue—drag each and every one of her enemies from the shadows, and then—burn them clean to ash.
Just one death—
Could not calm the fire in her chest.
“I’m going to kill them all. Not a single one left...”
Amid the ruins, Vieya lifted her face to the sunlight, narrowing her eyes.
Trying to gather her will.
But her body was exhausted, her mind dizzy... she wanted to sleep.
“Mom?”
A sudden and familiar voice sounded from afar.
Vieya didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was. Her daughter, Jasmine.
She slowly turned her head.
In the distance, beneath the morning sun—Yuelong was supporting the limping Jasmine, while Irena and Allison leaned on each other as they walked. The four approached side by side.
As they drew nearer, Vieya noticed that in Jasmine’s gaze toward her, beyond worry and hesitation... there was a trace of fear.
Fear.
Afraid something happened to me?
Or afraid of the way I look right now?
Vieya couldn’t help thinking that. She lowered her head slightly and used the shredded hem of her clothes to wipe her face. The black-red, slippery blood quickly soaked the cloth. She paused, then turned away, silently continuing to wipe the blood from her skin.
Suddenly—
Someone hugged her tightly from behind.
“Mom... let’s go home.”
