Chapter 98: You Don’t Understand the Meaning of Genius
Flora sat beside Abyss, quietly waiting for him as he continued chanting incantations towards the Sacred Tree.
Abyss had maintained this posture for several days, without eating or drinking, the incantations from his mouth never ceasing for a moment. As a human, even though his body had been enhanced by the power brought by Leona, making him arguably superhuman, the toll was immense. His face was noticeably sunken, his already pale complexion even more bloodless. He had lost a significant amount of weight, appearing almost skeletal.
Seeing Abyss like this, Flora couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. However, Abyss had specifically warned her that what he was doing could not be stopped until completion. Before then, he could only rely on the pre-consumed potion to sustain himself; eating, drinking, and talking were impossible.
So, for the past few days, besides treating patients, Flora sat beside Abyss, using her inherent divinity to ward off insects that tried to bite him. Occasionally, she would gently wipe his face with a damp handkerchief without interrupting his chanting, sometimes using a Divine Art to keep his mind clear – without Flora’s Divine Arts, Abyss might not have lasted this long.
Abyss continued chanting, but at this moment, Flora suddenly received a command from Abyss in her mind.
“Flora, my incantation is almost finished. Use a Mind-Clearing Art on me now, empty my consciousness.”
Flora’s eyes lit up: “Finished? Are you going to rescue Leona?”
“That’s right. I won’t let those two scumbags hold Leona hostage any longer.” Abyss nodded, but the incantation from his mouth showed no sign of stopping.
Flora didn’t question Abyss but obediently began chanting a prayer, using a Divine Art to help empty his consciousness…
…
“Abyss Belator, I’ll give you one last chance. Come out and face us!” Fidia was no longer satisfied with merely amplifying her voice with magic. The once elegant woman now began shouting harshly, completely devoid of grace. “This time, I won’t be merciful! If you don’t come out, within the count of three, I will disable one of your Leona’s arms! I will let you hear her screams! Don’t you regret it!”
Facing Abyss, who gave no face, hid within the Druid gathering, and offered no explanation, Fidia and her senior brother Shor were fuming. Their supposedly smooth mission had turned into this mess. They had even nearly ruined their cooperation with the Iron Lilies, almost descending into infighting. If their master found out, there would surely be consequences for both of them.
Shor paced anxiously nearby, saying viciously, “In my opinion, you should just rip Leona’s arm off directly! He won’t come out unless it hurts him!”
“Three!” Fidia ignored Shor. Although she had previously flirted with and hinted at this senior brother, her feelings for him were purely physical. Now, she decided to follow her own judgment.
Abyss still didn’t emerge. Besides the sounds of battle between the Iron Lilies and the Druids, Keshel remained silent.
“Two!”
Fidia abruptly grabbed Leona’s wrist, her eyes like vipers, a sliver of magic already flowing through the counterfeit necromantic link into Leona’s arm.
Leona’s slender arm began to twist unnaturally – not at the joints, but the skin, muscles, and even bones twisting independently.
This was a privilege of the necromantic link. After Fidia had seized the link between Abyss and Leona like a virus invasion, this privilege naturally fell into her hands.
“One…”
Abyss’s response still didn’t come at the last moment as expected.
Beads of sweat trickled down Fidia’s temples. The longer Abyss remained inactive, the greater the pressure on her side.
“Time’s up! You asked for this! Abyss Belator!”
Fidia roared out the final verdict. Steeling her heart, she cast aside all hesitation and sent the command for arm self-destruction directly through the necromantic link to Leona.
“Ugh-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Leona let out a painful scream at that moment.
A smile, tinged with madness, instantly appeared on Fidia’s face.
See! Abyss! Your woman is suffering here, and you still cower inside, afraid to come out! Let’s see if you can remain calm when you hear her screams! The next target is her other arm! Then her legs, then her beautiful hibiscus-like face… No! The face comes second…
Thinking this, Fidia suddenly paused.
She seemed to have forgotten to return Leona’s ability to speak. Leona should have been unable to talk, right?
So how did she manage that scream just now?
Simultaneously, Fidia subconsciously checked the necromantic link between herself and Leona.
…Gone?
Fidia looked down at Leona, whose arm she was holding. Where was the self-destruction? Her arm was perfectly fine, still attached to her shoulder. And the owner of the arm, the little girl she had controlled for so long, was now tilting her head, grinning at her as if watching the funniest joke in the world.
“What…”
“Was my scream just now miserable enough?” Leona adopted a light, lazy expression, smiling at Fidia. “I was pretending.”
The tone of Leona’s voice now was completely different from what Fidia had heard before. Although it was still her bell-like voice, her words carried a lazy air, as if indifferent to everything in the world – composed, elegant, yet playful.
Almost exactly like… Abyss’s voice heard through the necromantic link…
“You are…!”
“You must be the senior martial sister I’ve never met. Ah, just as I thought, you’re a very beautiful woman. I quite like your face.”
“Leona” pulled her arm back from Fidia’s grasp; her immense strength made it impossible for Fidia to resist.
“Oh, and this old brother whose jaw is about to hit the floor must be my senior martial brother? Nice to meet you… oh wait, not really that nice.”
“What did you do! Why did the spell link I established disappear! You… you’re not Leona!” Fidia finally reacted, crying out in shock.
“Oh, I’m really not. Did you truly believe all the spells I use are copied verbatim from Master? Do you perhaps misunderstand the meaning of the word ‘genius’? Swapping souls with my familiar is just a basic operation for me. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to deal with you earlier; I just couldn’t get away. Now I’m free.”
“Leona” spread her arms, smiling at the two, who were now dumbstruck as wooden chickens: “So, can the game begin? Won’t you come and get acquainted with your little junior brother?”
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