Chapter 117: [Duet]—Unescapable
Bai stood before Lin Yan, the crimson web, torn open by her greatsword, now a gaping hole, the wind whipping through it, sending Bai’s long hair flying.
“You remember me,” Bai said, her voice low, unreadable.
“Seeing you, I remembered,” Lin Yan replied, her greatsword now pointed at Diana. “Bai, let’s fight together, just like before.”
She hadn’t remembered everything about Bai, only the small, determined figure from the Vikarn Port banquet, the one who had used the forbidden Bloodfire Ascension.
Like a receding shadow, a memory she couldn’t quite grasp.
She had wanted to follow that shadow, but she had been held back by countless chains, by the Empire, her family, the Knights… by her own sense of duty.
“But at least now, I’m standing with you,” she murmured.
“Miss Lin Yan, I didn’t expect you to side with a demon. Have you abandoned your knightly honor?” Diana sneered, though a flicker of nervousness appeared in her eyes.
No, even with Lin Yan, her combat strength wasn’t enough to make a difference. She wasn’t a threat.
“No more talk, Bai. Let’s go!” Lin Yan charged, her greatsword a blur of motion, her heavy armor thundering across the ground.
“…”
Her greatsword whistled through the air, and Diana, feeling the sting of the wind, quickly formed a web shield, then, with a flick of her wrist, a spider leg shot out from behind her, striking at Lin Yan.
But Lin Yan’s heavy armor was no mere decoration. The attack only left a shallow scratch.
“Now!”
Bai, with her years of experience, didn’t need to be told. The moment Diana blocked Lin Yan’s attack, she leaped, a series of crimson slashes flying from her sword, narrowly missing Lin Yan’s face, and striking at Diana.
“No!”
Diana tried to form another shield, to block the attack, to buy time to escape.
But just then, Lin Yan slammed her greatsword into the ground, her psychic circuits flaring.
—Authority: [Time Stop]!
Not only did she freeze Diana, but she also halted the offering ritual, the countdown stopping at two minutes.
“Shlick!”
Diana, trapped in the time stop, was helpless, Bai’s crimson slashes tearing through her, severing her arms, cutting her in two.
Such a large-scale time stop, even Lugner could only maintain it for a few breaths. Lin Yan, pushing herself to her limits, managed to hold it for half a breath, then collapsed, panting.
“No, I can’t die here!” Diana screamed, her usual composure gone, her face a mask of terror.
She had underestimated the power of Bai’s demonic spells.
If not for the three-minute time limit, and the abundance of bloodlust, she would have been dead already.
Even in this blood-filled battlefield, Bai, with her Vampire powers, was a formidable opponent.
Diana could have held her off with her Blood Feast Domain, but with Lin Yan’s intervention, the scales had tipped.
“I’ve waited so long for this day. I even sacrificed those pawns, just to reach the Calamity Class, to secure my position as the eldest princess. How can I die here!”
Her severed body wriggled, trying to reconnect, her bloodlust rapidly depleting.
Her position as the eldest princess had never been secure.
If not for the previous eldest princess angering their mother, and being… consumed, along with all her supporters, the position would have never fallen to her, a mere pre-Calamity Class being.
So, her position was precarious. If any of her other siblings reached the Calamity Class before her, she would be replaced, and likely… eliminated.
She had to seize every opportunity, to reach the Calamity Class, no matter the cost.
She couldn’t die here. Not now, not after she had finally achieved her goal, had finally secured her position.
But Bai wouldn’t give her the chance.
Before she could fully recover, another attack was upon her.
The blood-red sword, infused with Vampire runes, no longer needed any fancy techniques. A simple slash was enough to inflict a grievous wound.
Diana tried to block again, to buy time.
But Lin Yan, with a final, desperate roar, her greatsword held high, unleashed another [Time Stop].
“Time—Stop—”
It was even shorter than before, but it was enough.
Bai’s sword cut through Diana’s newly regenerated body, shattering her heart.
But in the instant the time stop ended, the fatal wound healed again.
“She’s so… resilient…”
Such a severe injury, yet she had recovered instantly. Diana was like a cockroach.
If Bai had been alone, she would have never been able to defeat her in three minutes.
But now, it was almost over. Diana’s bloodlust was almost gone.
Her pale, terrified face showed her desperation. She had no more cards to play.
“No, I can’t die here! I can’t die here!” she shrieked, her beautiful face now a grotesque mask of madness, her crimson hair a tangled mess.
“Right, if I can’t win, I can run!”
A flicker of hope appeared in her eyes, and she scrambled back. “I’m a Calamity Class being. I’ve evolved. Mother will forgive me. She’ll protect me…”
But her voice caught in her throat.
