Chapter 204: Chapter 203: A Confused Heart
“Huff ah…”
After her bath and changing into fresh clothes, Shana walked out of the bathroom with a satisfied expression and glanced around.
“Eh? Aralastor, where’s Fang Zheng?”
“Um… he said he had to go out for a bit…”
“Is that so, really, where could he be going at this late hour… Hm?”
Suddenly, at that moment, Shana sharply turned to look outside the window, because just now, she sensed an intense aura.
...
“This is… the ‘Eulogy Reciter’! Who is she fighting with, could she have found Lamy?”
With that in mind, Shana also hurriedly and unhesitatingly shifted into the Fire Mist Warrior form and dashed toward the direction of the ‘Sealing’.
But when Shana entered the Sealing, she was surprised to find that the one fighting with the ‘Eulogy Reciter’ was not the ‘Corpse Collector’ Lamy as she had imagined. Instead, it was a girl towards whom she had complicated feelings lately.
Tilia.
“Hahaha, what’s wrong, what’s wrong? As a Follower of the Crimson Realm, is running away all you can do?”
The blue giant bear dancing in the sky roared and swung its arms. With its movements, streaks of blue fireballs erupted from its hands and shot forward.
“Hmph!”
Confronted with the oncoming fireballs, Tilia merely snorted. The giant petals at her feet quickly unfolded, and the roots hidden in the ground burst forth, forming a barrier in front of Tilia. The continuous explosions and flames blew the barrier to shreds.
“You really are a weak Follower of the Crimson Realm, to think you dare to wander around here with just that bit of skill. And you even deliberately lured me to such a place… Are you so confident you can defeat me?”
Watching Tilia looking somewhat bedraggled, Marjorine couldn’t help but feel a bit tempted. This Follower of the Crimson Realm seemed so strange to her, with such a pitiful amount of Power of Existence within her and not much skill to speak of. Moreover, when she launched her attack, the first thing the other party thought of was not to fight but to lure her to a deserted place. Even so, Tilia’s fighting was mostly defensive, rarely taking the offensive.
“Hmph… Barbaric,” Tilia muttered after wiping the dust off her cheek.
“It wouldn’t matter to face you by myself, but Elder Brother commanded that I must not kill needlessly nor consume the Power of Existence of humans, so I have no choice but to flee…”
“Elder Brother? Is there another Follower of the Crimson Realm?”
Hearing this, Marjorine suddenly became vigilant, looking around, but found nothing.
“Don’t be mistaken, Elder Brother is not a Follower of the Crimson Realm. And compared to you crude and vulgar Fire Mist Warriors, Elder Brother is thousands of times better!”
“Hahaha, I’d like to see what other tricks you have! A Follower of the Crimson Realm that doesn’t consume humans? Do you think I’d believe that? All Followers of the Crimson Realm are the same! Even if you don’t consume now, when you’re about to die, you will eat just the same!”
“…”
Hearing this, Shana suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Just now, when she realized that Marjorine was pursuing Tilia, Shana’s first thought was to stop her. But after hearing Marjorine’s words, Shana suddenly hesitated.
That’s right, just as Marjorine said, although Followers of the Crimson Realm could indeed refrain from consuming humans, they still needed the Power of Existence to survive. And in a critical moment, those Followers of the Crimson Realm would probably reveal their true nature, after all, they are beings that are faithful to their desires… But for Shana, that was not the point.
The point was… upon hearing Marjorine’s words, a thought suddenly occurred to Shana.
If Tilia consumed humans, then I would have a reason to combat her!
Why would I have such a thought?
Realizing this thought, Shana’s first reaction was of great surprise, but she quickly fell into deep confusion. Yes, she was a Fire Mist Warrior, and the other was a Follower of the Crimson Realm; they could not possibly coexist peacefully. The reason she hadn’t made a move on Tilia was that Tilia had not consumed humans. As a Fire Mist Warrior responsible for maintaining the balance of the world, as long as Tilia didn’t consume humans, she would not make a move, just like with the “Corpse Collector” Lamy.
However, unlike the “Corpse Collector” Lamy, Tilia was a newly born Follower of the Crimson Realm, and Shana knew nothing about her true nature. The reputation of Corpse Collectors was built up over hundreds of years. As for what this newly born Follower of the Crimson Realm might do, nobody knew. Perhaps she was just talking big, but in secrecy continuing to consume humans?
“……”
No, it was not just that.
Shana bit her lip tightly, because at that very moment, she realized she was harboring the thought “It would be better if the other party really did eat humans”. Although this thought was fleeting, it still shocked Shana greatly.
Is this a thought I should be having?
As a Fire Mist Warrior, I am actually hoping for a Follower of the Crimson Realm to eat humans?
What in the world is happening to me?
“Boom! Boom! Boom!!”
Irrelevant to the turmoil in Shana’s mind, the battle on the ground continued unabated. Tilia kept summoning vines to defend against the attacks from Marjorine, but she was almost reaching her limit. The Power of Existence she was using was being drained increasingly, and even her body was beginning to fade.
“How boring.”
Watching the desperately struggling Follower of the Crimson Realm, Marjorine also felt listless. Completely different from other Followers of the Crimson Realm, this girl seemed fully non-violent and uncooperative. She did not run for her life like the others, nor did she engage in a fight to the death with red eyes. This left Marjorine, who had anticipated a great battle, feeling only boredom and ennui, particularly as the Power of Existence of her opponent was nearly exhausted. Even if she had any schemes, they were now completely unfeasible.
“Why don’t you absorb the Power of Existence?”
Looking down at Tilia, who was gasping for breath, Marjorine couldn’t help being curious as she posed the question. Normally, Followers of the Crimson Realm would choose to consume the Power of Existence to recuperate or to enhance their power during a battle with a Fire Mist Warrior. But this Follower of the Crimson Realm had only been evading since the battle began, and even her resistance was the barest minimum of defense. Moreover… she completely ignored the humans around her, as though the burning Power of Existence didn’t exist to her at all.
“Because Elder Brother told me not to consume humans… Since Elder Brother has said so, then I shall do as instructed, isn’t it a very simple matter?”
“What a joke.”
And to Tilia’s response, Marjorine simply snorted dismissively.
“But now, you are about to die.”
“So what?”
“Huh?”
Hearing the girl’s indifferent response, not only Marjorine but also Shana were taken aback, rooted to the spot. Tilia then lifted her head, showing a smile as if she was boasting about something.
“I love Elder Brother. From the moment Elder Brother’s power filled my body and awakened me, I decided to follow in Elder Brother’s footsteps forever. Everything I am belongs to Elder Brother. As long as it’s for Elder Brother, I don’t care even if it means death. This is love…”
As she spoke, Tilia looked up coldly towards the Fire Mist Warrior hovering in the sky.
“How could you, a Fire Mist Warrior and a mere tool for extermination, possibly understand such feelings?”
“You…!”
Hearing this, Marjorine’s expression finally darkened.
“Hmph, I really don’t want to hear about love from a brat who isn’t even fully grown. Since this is your wish, then I shall grant it!”
As she spoke, the blue giant bear floating in the sky opened its huge maw and then suddenly lunged forward. Accompanying its movement, a huge fireball shot out from the bear’s mouth, racing towards Tilia.
And facing the approaching fireball, Tilia stood there without a hint of fear as if waiting for her end to arrive.
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Just then, a brilliant red light emerged.
The shining flames transformed into a straight line descending from the heavens and struck the blue giant fireball unerringly.