According to Qiu Mingtong's expectations, neither her Holy Aura nor Lady Yumo's Shadow of Silence Power should have been something the Child of Destiny could absorb.
If she failed to replenish herself with power from the same source in time, the Divine Power backlash would inflict unimaginable damage upon her body.
It might even kill her outright.
If that happened...
She would immediately report it to the Duke.
Then they could pop the champagne and hold a celebration!
However...
Before Qiu Mingtong could revel in her thoughts for long, she watched in stunned disbelief as Lady Yumo slowly extended her slender finger, wrapped in dense Shadow of Silence Power, toward the Child of Destiny.
"Lady Yumo... what are you doing?"
Shadow of Silence Power, Holy Aura, and Divine Power were unquestionably mutually incompatible.
For someone like the Child of Destiny to absorb Shadow of Silence Power...
Wasn't that the same as courting death?
Could it be...
Had Lady Yumo finally come to her senses and decided to send the Child of Destiny on her way?
Apparently...
Qiu Mingtong was wrong.
The next moment,
Under her astonished gaze, Mengxi, who sensed the dense Shadow of Silence Power gathered at Yumo's fingertip, suddenly trembled.
Then, acting purely on instinct, she raised a hand and grasped Lady Yumo's wrist before parting her bloodless lips and gently taking Yumo's slender finger into her mouth.
"Y-You!! What are you {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} doing?!"
No matter how much Qiu Mingtong racked her brain, she never would have imagined that the unconscious girl would actually take Lady Yumo's finger into her mouth.
To do something so enviab—
Ahem!
To do something so utterly suicidal?!
However,
The next instant,
Qiu Mingtong stared in utter disbelief.
Not only did the Child of Destiny avoid exploding from the conflict between the Shadow of Silence Power and the Holy Aura within her...
Her condition actually began stabilizing.
The Divine Power backlash was gradually suppressed.
Even her depleted soul power slowly started recovering.
"W-What... what is going on? Why can she absorb the Shadow of Silence Power?"
Qiu Mingtong staggered backward, suddenly questioning everything she knew.
Faced with Xiaotong's confusion,
After remaining momentarily stunned by having her finger unexpectedly taken into Mengxi's mouth, Miss Yumo tilted her head helplessly.
"I'm not entirely sure either. But... this child really can absorb the Shadow of Silence Power."
As she spoke,
Miss Yumo looked toward Mengxi with visible relief and gratitude.
"Thank goodness she can absorb it. Otherwise... I really don't know what would've happened."
Although Miss Yumo suspected that even if she had done nothing, Mengxi probably would have survived this wave of backlash,
The spiritual tempering brought about by such intense suffering was also crucial to her growth.
As a proper final boss,
She should have simply left her alone and allowed her to overcome the backlash through her own strength.
But...
...Sigh.
Miss Yumo couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh.
The moment she saw the girl writhing in pain,
Her heart had inexplicably begun to ache.
She simply couldn't bear to watch someone so gentle, so pure, so adorable, and so beautiful endure such suffering.
So before she even had time to think,
She had instinctively gathered the Shadow of Silence Power to replenish Mengxi's strength and suppress the backlash.
"I really am hopeless..."
Yumo smiled bitterly to herself.
Yet as she gazed at the breathtaking silver-haired girl in her arms, quietly drawing in the Shadow of Silence Power through her finger,
A warm, satisfied smile gradually spread across her face.
She's... so adorable when she's absorbing energy...
Thinking that,
Yumo gently raised her free hand and softly stroked the silver-haired girl's head.
"No rush... take your time. There's plenty more."
As more and more Shadow of Silence Power flowed from Yumo into her,
Feeling the warmth radiating from the black-haired girl's hand,
The painful expression on Mengxi's face slowly faded away.
Gradually,
It was replaced by peaceful tranquility.
Seeing this,
The heart that Miss Yumo had been holding tightly finally relaxed.
As long as she's alright...
What a worryingly troublesome child.
...
...
Watching Lady Yumo tenderly caring for the Child of Destiny,
Qiu Mingtong fell into silent contemplation.
The girl's pale golden eyes narrowed slightly.
Was Lady Yumo...
Treating the Child of Destiny like one of her children?
Or...
Was it something else?
However,
Just as Qiu Mingtong thoughtfully observed the silver-haired girl lying on the ground,
The pink-haired little girl's brows suddenly furrowed.
Wait.
Was that just my imagination?
Did the corner of this girl's mouth just curl upward?!
Before Qiu Mingtong could speak,
Or verify what she'd seen,
"BOOM!!"
Accompanied by a deafening explosion and a terrifying eruption of black Shadow of Silence Power,
Columns of black light burst into the sky in the distance once again.
Then,
Under Qiu Mingtong's puzzled gaze,
A figure wrapped entirely in black Shadow of Silence Power shot straight into the heavens,
Disappearing beyond the horizon in an instant.
?!
"Lady Yumo, what was that?"
"..."
After sensing that aura,
Miss Yumo also looked toward the sky with a solemn expression.
Yuan'er?
Did...
Did something happen to that child?
And...
Wasn't the place where the Shadow of Silence Power erupted...
Exactly where Marquis Xiumu-Duke had been?
Could it be...
Damn it... Didn't I tell that child not to run around?!
At that moment,
An overwhelming sense of exhaustion washed over Miss Yumo.
—
While Miss Yumo was feeling both troubled and helpless,
At that very same moment,
Within a secluded valley inside the Crimson Leaf Empire,
Accompanied by ripples of azure spatial energy,
A brilliant blue portal suddenly opened in the center of the gloomy valley.
The next moment,
A disheveled green-haired man with terror written all over his face was violently ejected from the portal,
Landing face-first in a muddy puddle in an utterly undignified fashion.
That green-haired man was none other than
Welt-Sislov,
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church, who had previously "escaped" from Yumo by using a Spatial Orb while she was occupied dealing with the other black-robed figures.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!!"
Clutching his chest tightly,
He continuously spat out mouthfuls of blood.
At this moment,
Every single cell in Welt-Sislov's body felt as though it were on the verge of being torn apart.
Agonizing pain spread through every inch of his body,
Causing him to let out uncontrollable cries of agony.
His dark emerald eyes were already filled with bloodshot veins.
Following the massive release of power,
The enhancement granted by the Blood Soul Pills had finally reached its limit.
What came afterward...
Were the devastating side effects.
Already weakened,
Even an Eighth-Tier Archmage like him could scarcely withstand such terrifying backlash.
The blood within him, already corrupted by the Shadow of Silence Power, gradually began to boil.
His already meager life force rapidly drained away.
Realizing he was close to death,
Welt-Sislov clenched his fists tightly.
His dark emerald eyes burned with unwillingness and fury.
For this operation,
The Heavenly Punishment Holy Church had committed over half its total strength.
He himself had sacrificed his own life expectancy,
Swallowing dozens of Blood Soul Pills.
And yet...
They still hadn't managed to kill the Child of Destiny.
It was utterly unacceptable.
That damned woman...
The instant he recalled the black-haired girl's face,
The veins on Welt-Sislov's forehead bulged violently.
At the same time,
Despair slowly filled the Cult Leader's eyes.
"Lord... Lord Child of God... forgive me... I... I've disappointed you once again... I failed to complete the mission... I am deeply... sorry..."
Remembering the mysterious figure who had reached out a hand during his darkest moment,
Who had effortlessly slaughtered the Church's army,
An overwhelming sense of guilt surged through his heart.
However,
Just as Welt-Sislov's consciousness was about to sink completely into darkness,
A strange mechanical voice suddenly echoed beside his ear.
It carried no emotion whatsoever.
Its gender was impossible to identify.
It sounded almost electronic.
"What happened to leave you in such a pitiful state...?"
?!
The moment he heard those words,
Welt-Sislov—who already had one foot in the grave—was abruptly pulled back from the darkness.
Using every ounce of strength he had left,
He slowly raised his trembling head.
Standing before him,
Having appeared without him noticing,
Was a mysterious figure clad in flowing robes of crimson and white.
Their face remained completely hidden.
The instant he recognized that familiar silhouette,
Welt-Sislov couldn't help crying out in shock.
"L-Lord Child of God?!"
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