Chapter 70: Indulgent “Motherly Love”
Within Starry Victoria, the tall, purple-haired woman slowly materialized, a look of astonishment still lingering on her face.
“Was I… just kicked out?”
Luo Ling’s expression gradually returned to normal as thoughts flashed through her mind, her eyes narrowing slightly.
It was rare to see the First Seat flustered, as if afraid that further questioning from Luo Ling might unearth more secrets.
“At least now it’s certain that the First Seat is definitely connected to Naraku, but… if she’s not Naraku herself, nor a Godchosen or God’s Favored, what kind of being is she?”
However, this wasn’t Luo Ling’s primary concern. The more pressing matter was saving Aunt Fiona.
One Floral Pattern could be exchanged for a single use of the Omniscience Authority.
Luo Ling originally had seventeen petals remaining, but after learning the function of the Floral Pattern from the First Seat, she had spent one. If she used another to save Aunt Fiona, she would only have six left.
“……”
After a moment of silent contemplation, Luo Ling decided against acting on her initial impulse. She didn’t dare gamble on whether the Omniscience derived from Naraku was truly harmless.
Aunt Fiona’s condition wasn’t so dire that it required paying the price of Chaos, a price with only a theoretical possibility of affecting her sister.
Using Naraku’s Omniscience in this way was no different from offering herself to Naraku. A Taboo was always a Taboo, and interacting with it required extreme caution. Gaining power always came at a price; this was true for any power.
If not for the fact that Aunt Fiona’s awakening was crucial to the current situation in Victoria, and “Destined Death” was likely more than just an eternal slumber, Luo Ling wouldn’t use an Omniscience that wasn’t hers. After all, there might be unforeseen consequences.
After a moment of hesitation, Luo Ling manifested a complete Floral Pattern on her forehead, feeling the power emanating from its gradual dissolution.
“I can vaguely sense a gaze from somewhere in the unknown, as if within reach…”
Luo Ling raised her hand, but contrary to usual, her Devour couldn’t affect this gaze, even when actively triggered.
This was the first time she encountered something her Devour couldn’t affect. Perhaps… the Authority activated through the Floral Pattern truly originated from the Grotesquery itself, even a Taboo.
The First Seat had said “the deity you worship,” not “Naraku’s Omniscience.” This meant… if other Taboo Godchosen used it, the gaze would come from their respective Taboo.
Just what kind of being’s power was contained within the Floral Pattern given by the First Seat…
“Why am I suddenly interested in the First Seat?”
Luo Ling touched her chin, recalling the First Seat’s slightly panicked expression as she hurriedly dismissed her. “And… she’s not completely omnipotent either.”
Luo Ling quickly put the matter of the First Seat aside, her figure vanishing and reappearing within Fiona’s room.
Linna sat by the bed, gently wiping her sleeping mother’s face with a damp cloth, her eyes filled with longing and tenderness.
Elsa was carrying a basin to empty the water. Looking up, she saw Luo Ling suddenly appear, nearly dropping the basin in fright.
Fortunately, Luo Ling caught the basin in time, only spilling a little water, preventing herself from getting soaked.
“Be careful,” Luo Ling said, gently stroking Elsa’s hair. She was now so small that she barely needed to raise her hand to do so.
“…Miss Luo Ling? You’re finally back?”
Linna, seeing Luo Ling appear, looked surprised, seemingly not recognizing Luo Ling in her Naraku form at first glance.
But her face quickly lit up, and she stood up hurriedly. “How did it go? Can my mother… be saved? She… seems to be getting worse.”
Linna’s eyes filled with worry. Through the Puppet Ballad’s ability, she could sense that even with the fungal threads sustaining her life, her mother’s vital signs were still declining at an incredibly slow but irreversible rate.
It was as if some unknown existence was draining her life force, and the Puppet Ballad’s ability was only maintaining a stalemate.
Without the Puppet Ballad, Fiona would have fallen into eternal Silent Demise in her sleep. The Puppet Ballad’s intervention had only delayed the inevitable.
Luo Ling, now knowing the truth of “Destined Death,” understood what was happening. It was a fatal combination of Chaos and Present Path abilities, something the Puppet Ballad of the Silent Demise Path couldn’t reverse.
Without addressing the root cause, it was only a temporary solution.
However, the one using the Present Path Authority should be the Old Man. As for the one wielding the Chaos Path Authority Sacred Tool… was it the Boy or the Woman?
The thought flashed through her mind, and Luo Ling quickly regained her focus, nodding.
“Let me try.”
She didn’t make any promises. This was her first time using Omniscience, and she wasn’t sure of its effects. She had to be ready to interrupt the Authority’s activation at any time.
Linna immediately made way for Luo Ling, then led Elsa, who had returned after emptying the water, to the side, watching the sleeping “Sleeping Beauty” with anxiety.
Luo Ling gently touched her forehead, and the suppressed Floral Pattern reactivated. Naraku’s gaze descended, devoid of emotion, only cold, terrifying will.
As the Floral Pattern gradually dissolved, Luo Ling could feel Naraku’s gaze intensifying, almost solidifying.
But… even though this gaze was focused on Luo Ling, it wasn’t directed at her, but at the fading Floral Pattern on her forehead.
Clearly, this Floral Pattern was the price for using the Taboo Authority.
Finally, at the same moment the Floral Pattern completely disappeared, Naraku’s gaze vanished.
In its place, a small, black eye opened on Luo Ling’s forehead, a tiny white dot at its center twitching restlessly, completely beyond her control.
Like a single-use Authority Sacred Tool, all Luo Ling could do now was utilize this complete Omniscience once.
—This wasn’t an Authority she controlled. Using it wouldn’t provide any insights.
“As expected, it’s not that easy to use. The Floral Pattern can only do this much.”
A hint of disappointment flashed in Luo Ling’s eyes. She had hoped to gain some understanding through this use of the Authority, but it wasn’t to be.
However, this was Omniscience, belonging to a Taboo. Using it without paying a personal price was already a miracle.
“Let’s see if I can save Aunt Fiona.”
Luo Ling raised her hand, and the black eye on her forehead widened slightly, its twitching ceasing as it stared intently at Fiona.
At the same time, Naraku’s innate ability, Weave, slowly unfolded its web domain. Countless illusory black eyes with pinpoint pupils appeared within the domain, all staring at the sleeping Fiona.
An Authority… was the qualitative transformation of an ability after reaching its ultimate sublimation.
The innate ability Weave, the first ability Ensnare, the second ability Submerge, and the unknown third ability, all of Naraku’s power resided within Omniscience.
Now, within the web domain, everything about Fiona was revealed.
Including… Destined Death.
Thump—
Thump-thump—
Thump-thump-thump—
The sound of a heartbeat echoed clearly within the small room.
Not only Luo Ling, but even Linna and Elsa, watching from the side, saw two illusory chains emerge from Fiona’s chest, tightly binding her heart.
At the same time, the red threads connected to her heart turned dark grey, the discoloration spreading towards the extremities.
—Destined Death.
“The heart represents Aunt Fiona’s life, and the red threads are the threads of fate. Her current slumber is due to being bound by both Chaos and Present. This binding will continue until her death, irreversible.”
This was the result of two directors acting together.
Besides this, Fiona also had some physical injuries, likely inflicted by the third director, but these had already been healed by Linna’s Puppet Ballad.
Luo Ling’s expression turned serious, and the black eyes around her began to tremble. Ensnare activated, rewriting reality, attempting to break the chains binding Fiona’s heart.
Just then, in a bustling market far away, an old man sitting alone in a deserted shop seemed to sense something. He quickly covered his mouth with a silk cloth, coughing several times. Looking down, he saw blood staining the cloth.
“This is… the power of an Authority? It should be a Chaos Path ability. Is it Philosopher?” A sharp glint flashed in the old man’s eyes. A golden eye replaced his right eye, slowly revealing a ritualistic pattern. “Very well, let’s try it then, my brother.”
“……”
The chains binding the heart… were resisting Ensnare’s reality rewriting?
Luo Ling clearly saw the chains constantly shattering and reforming. Even rewriting reality couldn’t completely break their hold.
Within Ensnare, countless cycles of destruction and restoration played out, the rewritten reality constantly being repaired, seemingly endlessly.
“Ugh… is it the Old Man, maintaining Destined Death?” Luo Ling’s expression darkened.
Although Omniscience was powerful, Luo Ling’s inspiration was limited. This continuous confrontation consumed her inspiration at a terrifying rate. If not for the unusually large inspiration capacity she had gained from devouring the Boundary, she wouldn’t have been able to last this long.
Besides inspiration consumption, there was a more serious problem.
This battle wasn’t being fought in an empty space, but on the concept of Aunt Fiona’s “life.” Every struggle chipped away at her life force.
A look of pain appeared on Fiona’s previously peaceful, sleeping face. Linna, watching anxiously, her eyes filled with heartache, almost burst into tears.
But Linna knew that Miss Luo Ling was currently confronting the caster and couldn’t be disturbed by her grief, so she covered her mouth, suppressing any sound.
“How terrifying…”
Blood trickled from Luo Ling’s orifices, a sign that her inspiration was nearing depletion. This prolonged tug-of-war seemed destined to end in her defeat.
The Old Man on the other side wasn’t faring much better. He knelt on the ground, his already injured body weakening, but he still desperately maintained Destined Death, preventing Fiona from awakening.
However, there was only one reason the Old Man could win this battle: a young-looking woman, dressed in old-fashioned clothes, stood beside him.
Although the woman present was only an avatar, the combined power of two directors was enough to counter the Authority of Omniscience, turning this battle into a war of attrition.
The black eyes around Luo Ling gradually dimmed, signifying that her inspiration for maintaining Omniscience was reaching its limit. Further exhaustion could endanger her life.
Finally, Luo Ling’s vision blurred. The suppressed Destined Death returned, the two chains tightening around Fiona’s heart, her “life” concept falling silent once more.
Luo Ling alone couldn’t compete with the combined inspiration of two directors.
Just as her consciousness faded, the black eye on her forehead completely extinguished, a hint of mockery seemingly flashing within it as it disappeared.
“Did I fail?”
Luo Ling forced her eyes open, looking at the gradually dimming heart and chains as the web domain dissipated, a dark golden light igniting in her eyes like fireworks.
Just as Linna’s face fell into despair, and she and Elsa moved to support the near-unconscious Luo Ling, a nimble black figure suddenly lunged forward, its teal claws reaching for Fiona’s heart.
“Luo Ling—”
Before Linna and Elsa could finish their cries, they saw the fading heart reappear, along with the chains and the dark threads of fate, as the black figure grasped it.
“Come back,” a cold, commanding voice said, a simple command that brought back the Destined Death that could only be perceived through Omniscience.
“What!”
The Old Man, who had just relaxed after his victory, widened his eyes in shock. He felt as if his own heart was being squeezed by some unknown force.
No, it was Destined Death that was being squeezed.
But how could something conceptual be grasped!
Something even more shocking happened. The Old Man heard a strange sound, an ordinary sound, but… coming from Destined Death, it was incredibly bizarre.
He heard… the sound of gnawing.
Crunch, crunch.
Slow, but unstoppable.
Destined Death was disappearing.
The Old Man tried to maintain Destined Death, but… he failed.
Because Destined Death wasn’t being erased by Chaos, but completely disappearing, from its concept and root, as if it had never existed, as if… it had fallen into nothingness.
“The Harbingers actually control this kind of power?”
The Old Man was more shocked by this than the failure of Destined Death, as this was an unknown power.
It was… the legendary Seventh Path.
The woman beside him turned pale, as the other part of Destined Death she was maintaining was also completely erased by this power.
While the Company directors were shocked, Linna and Elsa in Starry Victoria experienced similar emotions.
The black figure tore at the chains of Destined Death, stuffing them into its mouth and gnawing on them.
As it gnawed, its Grotesquery features intensified, until it resembled a half-dragon Grotesquery girl.
“This is…”
Linna looked at Elsa for help, but Elsa wore the same confused expression.
After Luo Ling devoured all of Destined Death in this dramatic fashion, the heart finally began beating normally. The surrounding threads of fate, although still tainted, were gradually returning to normal.
The black figure stood up, turning slightly to reveal half of its grotesque face and its unyielding dark gold vertical pupils, saying softly,
“It’s done.”
Then, it collapsed.
“Miss Luo Ling!”
As Linna rushed forward to help Luo Ling, who had fallen onto Fiona, she heard a long-awaited voice, accompanied by a pained groan,
“Ugh… who?”
Fiona, her consciousness still hazy, felt a weight on her body. Opening her eyes, the lingering terror in her mind hadn’t completely dissipated.
As the scene before her came into focus, she saw a black-haired girl lying on top of her, her grotesque but undeniably beautiful face buried in her chest. All her fear turned into relief.
A familiar voice, choked with emotion, sounded,
“Mother… Mother…”
“Mmm…” Fiona’s gaze was completely fixated on the black-haired girl in her arms. She said softly, “Are you finally willing to call me Mother, Miss Luo Ling?”
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