Chapter 40: Please, do not break it
In the World of Celestial Storms within Universe number 784... specifically inside one of the deepest regions that had become almost entirely deserted by its original inhabitants...surrounded by violent and lethal wind entities capable of obliterating any human the moment their feet touched the planet—a stunning secret lay hidden.
At the deepest point of this forgotten world lay a legendary expanse named the [Arumoth Paradise]. This place, which until recently was surrounded by deadly entities, had now been transformed by Lucy into a vast and enchanting field of exquisite greenery and beautiful plants. It was a sight that surpassed imagination, resembling the imagery of daydreams or aesthetic paintings destined to remain mere drawings with no existence in reality.
In the heart of this isolated paradise, Lucy sat gathering the pieces of her luxurious black dress, contemplating its rips and tears after it had been forcefully cast aside.
Lucy had arrived here five hours ago. In the fury of her tempest, she had killed the Queen of the wind entities who dared to obstruct her path without even blinking an eye. Then, she utilized her magic to construct a bed that perfectly resembled clouds, softer than any description that could cross a human mind.
Upon that cloudy bed, Duke Cain Oster was immersed in a deep sleep and absolute peace. He was breathing with total tranquility, his face appearing serene and still like a small child sleeping safely in his mother’s embrace, completely surrendered to rest after the forbidden fires that were burning him had finally subsided.
Lucy looked at her torn dress and exhaled a whisper, "Sigh... I truly wanted to keep this dress exactly as it is to immortalize the memory of this night... Silly me! I cannot maintain the basics of self-control when it comes to him, so I tear and destroy everything..."
Certainly, by virtue of her supreme magical level, Lucy was capable with a single movement of re-stitching the dress through her spiritual consciousness or making it as brand new as it once was. However, deep down, she did not want to erase those traces. She desired for those light scratches, the small tears in specific areas, and those stains resulting from the encounter to remain.
She wanted to preserve the evidence proving that he had become hers, yet at the same time, she wanted the dress to be in a good and usable condition.
She smiled maliciously and muttered,
"Oh damn... Should I wake him up now to begin another round with me, and then I can completely renew this dress during the process...?"
However, she looked at his exhausted, spent features and found that he was sleeping profoundly, feeling a tinge of guilt should she awaken him and deprive him of his rest. She turned her attention to his clothes as well, finding them completely shredded and ruined as a result of the tearing she had inflicted upon them.
With a single, smooth motion of her hand, she unleashed a special kind of healing magic, cleansing the dirt and tears from his attire until the luxurious garments returned entirely to their original state, as though nothing had happened.
After Lucy replaced her torn clothes with a new robe, she sat beside Cain on the cloudy bed. Her hands extended with excessive greed and a childish possessiveness to rest upon his bare chest, her fingers tracing slowly, pressing upon him with a gentleness that lacked her customary dignity as an Empress. But she did not care about her appearance or her dignity at this moment.
Her fingers paused, and thoughts and questions ambushed her as she pressed against his chest: Should I finally reveal my true face and my reality to you when you wake up...? But...
Even though Cain was the one who came to her on his own feet seeking aid, Lucy knew in her depths that he did not necessarily intend for matters to slip and reach this extent. He had only come to her because he was terrified and afraid of being assassinated or exploited by enemies while in that weakened, miserable state caused by the forbidden poison.
She drifted into thought for a bit and felt a prick of conscience: Doesn’t this make me worse than anyone else? I exploited his weakness and his condition to satisfy my own desire and lust... But another part of her was extremely happy that his mind had been completely clouded; because had he been in his full consciousness, he would have witnessed her insane and obsessed [Yandere] facial expressions during the encounter—expressions capable of terrifying cosmic entities themselves!
She did not want him to know her full reality right now, so that he wouldn’t view her as a woman who took advantage of his weakness and misfortune. But she rationalized in her head: If I remain thinking with fear and apprehension regarding his reaction, we will not advance a single step forward, even if golden opportunities present themselves to me on a silver platter!
Lucy’s thoughts shifted to the trap she had left behind in the royal suite, number 55, at the hotel. Did that malicious entity fall into the trap after she and Cain departed the location via the dimensional portal she had created? And was that cursed one watching what they had done throughout the past hours?
She shook her head with confidence. She had personally ensured, before beginning what they did, to plant a special energy field around the perimeter of the area—an advanced device that scatters and tears apart the mental and spiritual energy of any other entity attempting to spy, exempting only her energy and Cain’s energy. Therefore, everything that occurred in this paradise remained virtually a secret.
Nevertheless, Lucy felt some anxiety that Cain might reject her when he woke up, or that the mysterious entity would continue to hunt them and ruin their lives. She sighed, saying:
"Haha... I am surely foolish! How could an entity possessing such extraordinary mental power—who previously managed to completely expel my consciousness from the world of Cain’s memories—fall into a primitive trap like that? Surely he is smarter than that, and perhaps he is now lurking outside, waiting for our exit from this isolated world to launch his attack..."
Lucy believed that only a fool would step into her trap without knowing of its existence.
While she was deeply immersed in her thoughts and future movements, still pressing against Cain’s chest and tightly holding his warm body to her, her hand suddenly neared the region of his heart.
At that exact moment... Lucy’s eyes widened in profound shock!
Thanks to her magical sensory perception and the essence of her [Truth lavel] energy, she felt the presence of a foreign and suspicious object throbbing inside his chest cavity. Without hesitation, she charged her fingers with a rare, highly precise type of cosmic magic, placing her hand directly over his sleeping heart. With a flashing, swift movement, her energy penetrated to extract that object resting within his chest and drive it outward!
She extracted the object in a highly clean and professional manner, with astonishing magical skill that did not harm any of his internal organs, nor did she allow a single drop of blood to leave his chest.
When she opened her palm... she found a strange metallic jewel trembling violently, emitting a radiant, crimson-red light in her hand.
Lucy examined the jewel with her divine consciousness, and swiftly realized its cursed nature: "Hehe... what do we have here?"
She discovered that this cursed jewel acted as a parasite, continuously absorbing vital and mental energy from Cain to prevent him from advancing! Lucy believed that this malicious, hidden entity was the one who had planted this jewel inside Cain’s heart long ago to halt his cultivation and prevent him from recovering his true level, keeping him weak and at his mercy!
Lucy’s eyes ignited with absolute rage, and she decided to destroy this filthy piece immediately to save Cain. She began to compress it with the brute force of her absolute power to crush it...
However... suddenly and unexpectedly, a sharp, panicked mechanical voice echoed directly inside Lucy’s mind! The voice was highly interrupted and distorted due to the energy field that was scattering this violent connection surrounding her mind, and the screaming came thundering with an unprecedented tone of terror:
{Noooooooo!... Do not break it!... Please, Your Imperial Majesty, stop and I will explain everything to you!... It is a joke!... He is try—!!}
It was Cain’s [Sign-In System]! It broke its silence and was forced to manifest its voice and communicate with Lucy directly in a desperate attempt to prevent her from shattering [Michael’s Jewel].
Because shattering it meant the failure of Cain’s ritual to return to his truth level, the loss of his reward, and his forced obligation to wait for more than four months! The System was attempting to exonerate itself and clarify that Cain was the one who had placed it of his own volition as part of a power exchange.
But Lucy, with her dark smile and dominant obsession, completely ignored the words of this strange voice and its mechanical screaming. His threat did not shake her; in her twisted mind, she believed this voice was nothing but a manifestation of that hidden, malicious entity trying to deceive her to protect its cursed artifact. She felt a sweeping euphoria of victory, for she had finally found the appropriate method to harm that lurking enemy and destroy his plans!
CRACK!
Lucy pressed with her fingers with terrifying strength, and the red jewel shattered, scattering into fragments and cosmic dust dissipating into the air!
At that exact moment, the final, desperate voice of the System echoed in her mind as it faded and violently cut apart:
{Noooooo!... You foo—...!!}
The voice cut off completely, and stillness loomed over the place. Lucy’s smile widened, and she began to chuckle softly, a tone of obsessive triumph filling the expanses of the Arumoth Paradise. Had she not, with this bold step, delivered a free, critical, and fatal blow directly to the heart of that cursed entity, liberating Cain from his shackle without knowing that she had flipped the table on everyone?
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