“So, you refused after all?” Three had already expected this would be Lilith’s answer.
Whether they were humans or other intelligent races, most beings only believed in what they could see with their own eyes. Words paled in comparison to the ‘facts’ they perceived.
“Well, it can’t be helped, Your Highness,” the red snake hissed. Raising its slender neck, its gaze turned uncomfortably cold, glinting with a sharp, icy murderous intent.
Lilith’s heart sank like a stone. Her current state was far from recovered, and she was without useful means of combat. As for Erica… well, she was practically as helpless as the limbless Lilith.
Against the small red snake before her, Lilith knew her chances of victory were nonexistent. Even so… she had no choice but to fight.
With a sudden burst of motion, Lilith slapped her arm against the surface of the reddish lake. Water splashed violently, obscuring Three’s vision, as she seized the opportunity to retreat and buy herself whatever time she could.
But Three wasn’t about to let that happen. Under the weight of mounting pressure, irritation flickered across the snake’s expression.
Before forcing the Dragon Princess to unleash that power, Three decided it was time to make her taste real pain. The little red snake opened her mouth, and within it, a single droplet of bright red blood began to form.
The droplet carried a trace of fishy odor, but glistened with a divine luster. It radiated faint divine power mixed with the power of a curse. It was an attack so potent it could make its victim’s life worse than death.
If the Queen of Dragons could truly intervene, she would have torn Three to pieces long ago.
“Let’s see who will save you now!”
In an instant, the droplet of blood shot through space, heading straight for Lilith’s forehead.
As it drew closer, Lilith couldn’t help but wonder if she had been too naive to believe she stood a chance of escaping a demigod. Even if the serpent was only a fragment of Three, the power of a demigod was still far beyond her comprehension.
Lilith couldn’t help but murmur regretfully, “I’ve never changed. I hated being weak… yet I never became stronger.”
Is someone like me even worthy of being called a Dragon Princess?
“No, Lilith, it’s not your fault.”
That familiar, gentle voice returned, cutting through her self-reproach and grounding her.
Lilith turned her gaze to the blurry figure now standing beside her. This time, she seemed more solid, her features becoming clearer. Lilith could faintly discern a trace of sadness in her expression.
It was only then that time around her had stopped. The splashing waves were frozen mid-air, as if painted onto a canvas, and the chilling droplet of blood hovered motionless before her forehead.
“It’s not your fault. You’re just a victim. I’ll save you—from that nightmarish cycle, for real this time,” the figure promised.
Lilith’s lips parted. She wanted to ask: Who are you? Why are you helping me?
But she couldn’t bring herself to speak. The figure’s silent, sorrowful gaze made it clear that even simple questions might cause her pain.
“Don’t worry, Lilith. This is my turn to shine. You just need to sit back and watch the performance, as you’ve done countless times before.”
The figure gave her a gentle, reassuring smile before reaching out to grasp the droplet of blood.
In an instant, time resumed. Lilith jolted back to her senses. The sinister droplet of blood was gone.
The little red snake stared at her in utter disbelief and cried out, “Impossible! This can’t be happening! There’s no way you awakened this quickly!”
From the moment she had glimpsed that pure white hand, Three had concluded that an ancient demigod was slumbering within the massive coffin.
But for any ancient existence to awaken after such a long slumber, it would take significant time to recover—time that was directly proportional to the length of their sleep.
In the early stages of awakening, most actions would be nothing more than instinctive responses.
Recognizing the immense challenge posed by the being in the coffin, Three quickly adjusted her strategy. She split her consciousness into two, sending another part of her to go after the Dragon Princess.
Yet, in such a short span, that mysterious existence had not only awakened but had reached a level where it could control two minds at once?
“Allowing my consciousness to awaken first was indeed the right choice,” the figure murmured, her voice carrying an edge of quiet triumph.
At the same time, the space behind the little red snake rippled like water. A translucent, jade-like hand emerged from the void, reaching for the snake.
The little red snake struggled in vain. The surrounding space was completely sealed, leaving no room to escape. With a sickening sound, the snake was crushed into a puddle of foul-smelling blood.
Not far away, hovering mid-air within a sword formation, Three suddenly coughed up a large mouthful of blood. Her face paled noticeably, her expression strained.
Though it was only a tiny wisp of her soul that had been destroyed, the damage was enough to injure the foundation of her divine sense. After all, she wasn’t in her main body.
But what truly infuriated her was that her progress had once again been delayed. And time… was running out.
“Do you all want to protect that devil so badly? Will you take responsibility if this world is destroyed because of her?” Three shouted, her voice trembling with rage as she glared at the coffin.
“Lilith is not a devil, and this world will not be destroyed.”
The voice that emerged from the coffin was no longer the faint, drifting illusion Lilith had heard before. This time, it was a clear and melodious female voice.
Three’s face darkened further. A voice this lucid could only mean one thing—the being inside the coffin had truly awakened.
The massive lid of the coffin shifted smoothly to one side, revealing an incomparably dark interior. Yet within that darkness, countless stars sparkled and shimmered, as if an entire galaxy had been formed inside the coffin.
“Hah… I’ve really had enough of this.” Three muttered, letting out a bitter laugh before shouting fiercely, “Abyssal Sea, rise for me!”
The aura around her petite frame surged, her power swelling dangerously. From beneath her black skirt, a dark, viscous substance began to ooze forth.
The black sludge spread rapidly. Unlike before, when it had only covered a hundred-meter radius, this time it engulfed half the sky within seconds.
The golden swords buzzed desperately, trembling as if trying to shake off the oppressive black substance. Yet, like seaweed caught in ocean currents, they were washed away. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel_fіre.net
Three finally caught her breath. But she wasted no time. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a black longsword, so dark it seemed to devour even the faintest light around it.
With a roar, Three raised the blade high, ready to strike.
Just as the black sword began to descend, a smaller, ordinary-sized black coffin floated out from the star-filled interior of the massive coffin.