Although she has been in this situation for who knows how many years, her voice still sounds like a woman in her twenties.
"Welcome, disciple of the God of Knowledge, Luios Van Ogasti. I didn't expect such a powerful candidate to appear out of nowhere. Well, I still allowed it, thinking you would be restricted once you registered. But after witnessing Gargian, I'm sure you'll somehow lift the restriction, just like you did with him.
You even created a King Spirit whose power is equivalent to Kara. So, I allowed a crack to form between the lower and middle realms, so that demons could sense the divine power, go after that spirit, and restore balance. Even if demons gained some divine authority in the process, I could have managed it.
And if, during that situation, the demons managed to weaken your power, that too would have restored balance.
But no—you had to go and create a bunch of high spirits, almost as powerful as the other gods. You're flipping the balance of power like it's nothing.
So, I descended from the Upper Realm. Yet even with me and the others, you were still unstoppable.
I CAN'T LET YOU EXIST."
Luo frowned at hearing her nonsense and said,
"Look, Lady in Shackles, if you're weak and your pawns are weak, that's your problem. Work hard and try to catch up.
Have I killed or harmed others to become strong? No, right?
So you can grow strong too—without trying to eliminate the strong using underhanded tricks."
The system was furious with Luo's response.
Really? Does he have no fear? A few days ago, he was even scared of the forest monsters. And now…! Was that all an act?
I want to ask, but after seeing all this, I really can't. I think.
The system then said,
"This is his world. His!" she screamed.
"So? Do you think I care for him? He left you long ago, didn't he?"
"Shut up! You don't know anything! You just came out of nowhere, you bastard!"
"Huh! That's what you think. For your information, I've been here for a thousand years now."
"I won't let you ruin my life's work. I've been caring for his world for millennia!"
After saying that, she started pulling the chains. She screamed and took heavy breaths. The chains shook violently—
and then, they broke.
Her twisted feet snapped back to normal.
She tore off the blindfold. Her eyes were the color of the dark clouds I once saw over the far hill from Luo's house—the hill that was the graveyard of Luo's entire family.
Blood poured from her eyes. She coughed blood, then wiped it away, gritting her teeth in fury.
She shook off the remaining shackles from her hands.
"I didn't want to go this far, boy. But you gave me no other choice."
Saying that, a golden aura emerged from her feet and wrapped around her.
Her clothes changed into battle armor. Her messy, dusty hair transformed into threads of silver silk. But her eyes and expression remained the same.
She charged toward Luo at full speed like a rocket (I learned that word from Luo) and swung her massive sword. Luo stopped it with his bare hands—just before it touched his neck.
But even so, a few strands of his hair were sliced off.
For the first time, something actually managed to cut Luo.
"I really feel pity for you, you pitiful child. Wake up from your delusion. Why are you living for someone else's sake?
Have you ever thought of yourself while chasing after him?
Don't lose yourself in him.
If you don't exist, then there's no point in being with him."
"I said shut up! I never would have existed without him! How dare you?!"
I don't really get who this "he" is, but… could it be him?
And if he isn't here anymore, how does Luo know any of this?
Anyway, after hearing that, she swung her sword again and again, relentlessly.
To defend himself, Luo summoned those blood swords once more.
They clashed at super speed—it looked like two beams of light colliding. The shockwaves were immense.
If this had been Earth, it would have been blown to pieces.
"Summon the petals of six seats and seven kings," said the system.
The arrow made from the Six Gods appeared, along with the Seven Spirit Kings in the form of glowing orbs—each a different color of the rainbow.
She grabbed the arrow and swung it. It turned into a holy sword.
Now both of them were wielding dual blades.
They were both exchanging heavy blows.
She swung her holy sword to the right—CLANG!—it collided with Luo's. Luo retaliated with vertically slash, swift and precie. She deflected it just in time, but not without cost—a fine strand of her hair floated to the ground, severed.
She parried with her sword cutting through the air, but it missed Luo's side by inches. His black robe got a hole, though it quickly repaired itself.
Luo followed up with a powerful downward slash, but She leaped over it. Twisting her hands while flipping mid-air, she aimed for Luo's head, but he blocked it with his other sword—CLANG!
This time, a crack appeared on her holy sword. She frowned at the sight.
The spirit orbs spun around her, reflecting Luo's sword attacks.
I noticed that Luo was avoiding the blue orb while fighting.
Maybe… it's because of Shila.
Poor boy.
Because of this system, his life has truly become miserable.
It might have been better if he were born in another world.
Luo transformed into his Primordial Black form and began to speed up his pace.
She was being pushed back by his swords. Both of them had received some sword cuts, but obviously, the system got more.
Then she lifted the sword high into the sky, merged the spirit orbs into it, and chanted,
"I, the first creation of the Supreme, Ariyana—she who watches over the world for my master—am ordered by the authority given by 'Him' to annihilate this wicked being, he who hinders 'His' great work: Project Wolfermia."
A bright golden light descended from above onto the sword. It glowed magnificently. Then she swung the sword in Luo's direction. It was a massive blow. The space we were trapped in shattered, and I think Luo took a direct hit.
I got burned and suffered many cuts from the shockwave—no wonder the space got destroyed. Still, there were no signs of Luo. Had he been obliterated? My eyes grew teary again.
Suddenly, all my wounds were treated by healing magic. Someone stood in front of me, casting the spell.
I lifted my head and looked up.
And froze.
It was Luo!
My breath caught.
Half of his body was missing.
His right arm was gone, and the sides were still burning. His left arm was broken. The muscles in his legs were torn apart—I could see the bone. Blood was flowing. The left side of his rib cage was exposed where the skin had burned away. His beautiful eyes had lost their color. His golden hair was soaked in blood, and parts of it were burned.
"Oh, Luo! What has she done to you!"
The words came out in a whisper, shattered and trembling. I couldn't say more. My throat clenched. My heart shattered.
He looked like death itself… yet he stood there. Smiling.
His condition was really unbearable. How could she do that to such a young boy? What sin had he committed to deserve such a fate? I broke into tears.
"Silly, why are you crying when I received the major blows?"
How could he still give such a warm smile in this state? Even though his injuries were so severe, he was still healing me first.
"I'm sorry, Luo. I'm sorry. I was supposed to protect you—but I couldn't. I'm pathetic! I'm so sorry."
After saying that, my anger reached its climax. I couldn't just stand here. I would fight too. It's not like I'm totally useless. So I summoned my staff and rushed toward her.
Luo stopped me and said, "Wait—wait! You don't need to go there."
I looked at him and—