Elara knew nothing could make Pale stop, and no one could bear the responsibility and mission Pale shouldered.
Quicksand like living shackles squeezed and bound Pale's limbs from all directions, greatly limiting her movement and ability to exert force.
Now... the offense and defense had switched.
Pale had long ago exhausted all magic power for this lifetime, while Elara had already been corrupted by "calamity," her body receiving unprecedented enhancement.
"Pale! You know what the Wolf King duel means to me!"
Pale didn't answer.
Not even the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Those eyes were like two golden deep lakes frozen for ten thousand years, reflecting Elara's twisted, mad face, yet bottomless and unrippled. Only her slightly rapid breathing and the cold sweat continuously seeping from her forehead, quickly absorbed by sand grains, proved she was enduring tremendous pain and pressure.
Pale was still that same Pale.
In her eyes, others always came first, always thinking of others.
Walking through long years.
The girl had learned to use humor and absurdity to mask this overly heavy burden, to mask the fear and loneliness that might have existed deep in her heart, to mask that distance between her and this pain-filled world that could never truly be bridged.
"Say something!"
The quicksand formed a giant mouth that bit down mercilessly.
This was obsession and expectation from hundreds of years.
Elara desperately yearned to merge with Pale.
Crack... creak... Unpleasant friction sounds rang out in the dark quicksand.
Elara's teeth violently clashed with Pale's protection, filthy energy colliding with pure magic power, bursting forth tiny yet blinding sparks that briefly illuminated their closely pressed, twisted figures.
"Your scent... still hasn't changed..." Elara panted between gnawing, her voice turbid and frenzied. "Even through this annoying membrane... I can smell... let me taste... more..."
Suddenly, Elara's movements paused slightly.
She seemed to detect some extremely subtle change—the purple membrane's glow seemed extremely faintly dimmer than before?
Though still resilient, the energy level it contained was declining at a slow yet steady rate!
A hideous, ecstatic smile bloomed on Elara's twisted face.
"Heh... hehe..." She let out low laughter, stopping the meaningless biting, instead pressing her head close to Pale's ear, using a tone mixing malice and sudden realization to slowly and clearly whisper:
"I almost forgot... you have no magic power left, do you?" Her voice was like a viper's tongue. "Exhausted long ago? To save those pitiful humans? After hundreds of years, what could you have left?"
Elara's gnawing became even more rampant. She seemed to focus on that tender shoulder and neck area, her fangs repeatedly striking heavily, grinding against that increasingly thin purple membrane.
Pale struggled futilely, her arms firmly bound by quicksand. Her attacks were weak and powerless, hitting Elara's enhanced body like scratching an itch.
She tried to gather magic power, but the moment she lost focus, those sharp teeth would seize even the slightest opportunity to viciously bite through her slender neck.
Powerless.
Complete powerlessness.
Like a moth caught in a spider's web, all struggles only hastened her destruction and stimulated the predator's desire.
Elara sensed Pale's weakness, her offensive becoming even more fierce. She no longer limited herself to biting, but used her massive body to squeeze and rub against Pale, her movements carrying twisted intimacy and possessiveness, as if conducting a one-sided, brutal mating ritual.
This was the ritual she had imagined countless times during hundreds of years of loneliness.
Elara pulled back slightly, that turbid amber eye staring fixedly at the cold sweat continuously seeping from Pale's forehead and her increasingly pale complexion.
"What happened to your magical dress? Didn't you used to love cute, tender things the most? Where's that ridiculous, garish pink-white puffy dress? Those tacky, unnecessary butterfly bows and lace?"
With each sentence, she leaned closer, her turbid breath almost spraying on Pale's face.
Her voice suddenly lowered, filled with malicious pleasure:
"Even that pitiful, childish fondness for 'beauty' deep in your heart has finally been completely worn away by this cruel world? Forcing you to change into this... gloomy rag that looks like funeral attire."
"Enough! Elara!"
Pale knew she couldn't continue dragging this out.
She could use time overdraft to accelerate her body's recovery speed, so as long as her magic core wasn't shattered, she could repair herself without damage.
But those two little girls were different!
A magical girl's body would lose vitality after being separated from its core for a period of time, completely becoming a mass of organic matter.
By then it would be too late!
Thinking of Aoi and Momo's bodies that might be rapidly cooling and losing their last traces of life, a fear colder than death instantly gripped Pale's heart.
Children were the world's hope.
It didn't matter what happened to an old thing like her, but nothing could happen to the children!
The molten gold light in Pale's eyes suddenly blazed intensely. Her long-exhausted magic circuits let out overburdened wails as they forcibly operated. That purple membrane burst forth with a brilliant light like a last gasp, violently shocking Elara away.
"Time overdraft?!" Elara flew back in shock, feeling that brief yet absolute power fluctuation, a trace of disbelief flashing in her eyes.
She knew this was Pale's magical ability—being able to advance-draw future time's magic power and strength for short periods.
"No, you definitely can't continue overdrawing your own magic power. I know the taste of your magic power very well."
Pale was very clear that even if her magic stone was very pure with abundant magic power, it still wasn't enough before Elara influenced by "calamity."
Magic power bloom.
This was the strongest, most decisive magic Pale could use.
No skill comparison, but pure energy discharge—turning oneself into a bomb-like ultimate strike.
If one strike failed, the caster would completely lose all resistance, becoming a lamb for slaughter.
No retreat, no second chance.
Her hands struggled to clasp together before her chest, terrifying magic power gathering at the girl's chest. The surrounding quicksand was pushed away by this rapidly intensifying energy field, forming a brief cavity.
"What are you trying to do?!" Elara felt that heart-stopping, destructive energy that seemed ready to burst the next moment. The madness in her eyes was finally replaced by a trace of fear. She instinctively wanted to retreat, but Pale's movements were faster.
A pair of arms tightly embraced the decayed Elara covered in bone spikes and black pus.
Just like when Elara's father committed suicide after being corrupted by "calamity," and Pale had gently held the sobbing her.
This moment was exactly like that moment.
Bloom.
Pale's voice was so light it was almost inaudible, yet carried a sacrificial calm and resolution.
The next second—
Boom!
Centered on Pale, an indescribable torrent of pure destructive energy suddenly burst forth.
Elara let out a terrified scream. She gathered all her filthy energy in front of her, forming a heavy, pitch-black shield covered with twisted faces.
"Pale, I hate you!"
"I hate that you brought news of calamity!"
"I hate that you let me see hope of defeating calamity."
"I hate that you made me feel love."
"I hate that you can't stay by my side forever."
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!"
Intense pain made her let out shrill, miserable howls!
The torrent lasted about three seconds.
After three seconds, the energy was completely exhausted.
Pale's clasped hands fell powerlessly, her entire person collapsing like all bones had been removed. Unprecedented exhaustion like the deepest tsunami instantly swallowed every nerve, every inch of muscle.
'Suzune should already know. I left such obvious magical traces on the way here.'
'I hope she can hurry, otherwise…'
The surrounding sand grains, like greedy creatures that had waited long, instantly surged to envelop her.
Cold, rough, heavy sensations squeezed from all directions, mercilessly submerging her arms, legs, torso...
She was sinking.
Carried by quicksand, slowly yet irresistibly sinking toward deeper, darker underground.
"Looks like I won again."
Pale's core was still intact. Even if it took longer.
Pale could always restore her body.
This was Pale's plan.
Mutual destruction?
No, Pale, who had lived so many years, was more cunning and shameless.
Immortal soul, imperishable body.
In terms of willpower, Pale had absolute confidence.
But...
Spurt!
Elara's sharp teeth pierced through Pale's fragile white collar and fair skin without resistance, deeply embedding in the flesh of her neck.
"You lost. Now... give me children!"