“I’m no longer the Hero you can order around at will.”
Xuefei settled back into her battle stance. Terminus Fire blazed along her arms, and even her feet were cloaked in that surging power. She was poised to launch herself forward at any moment…
Truth be told, her heart was fluttering with a touch of panic.
Her opponent was either a God or one of His apostles. Gods generally fell into combat types, support types, or those who simply hoarded vast knowledge.
Yet this one had tracked her every move. He’d even seized that split-second when she and Laer separated to drag her into this Barrier. His strength was beyond question.
Confusion was written all over Okate’s face.
“What are you talking about, Mo Ran?”
Had the Curse fully consumed her already?
That shouldn’t be the case.
But his bewilderment was understandable.
From the looks of things, she hadn’t fully embraced her new role yet…
Leia’s cherished treasure.
“You know exactly what I mean. Now, please let Okate go—he’s just an innocent Hero.”
“LIVING UNDER SOMEONE ELSE’S ROOF ISN’T LIKE YOU, MISS HERO.”
But before “Okate” could finish his words, the Terminus Fire had already surged right up to his face. It moved with the speed of black lightning, carving dark cracks across the mirror-like Barrier.
In a flash of sparks, dragon claws met treasure sword.
“Clang—!”
The shockwave hurled Okate several meters back. He barely managed to drive his sword into the ground to halt his momentum and keep from crashing hard onto his back. The vicious fissures left by his slide resembled frozen snowflakes—beautiful, yet chilling.
“That’s a Divine Artifact you’re wielding, forged by a God.”
Okate offered no denial.
“You used to have a Holy Sword, didn’t you? I know you never abandoned it.”
“You’re still trying to play the emotional card, even now?”
Xuefei’s delicate brows furrowed.
She had clearly gained the upper hand in that exchange, but it felt strangely hollow, as if her opponent hadn’t been fighting at full strength.
And besides…
Even the Okate of old, at the peak of his power as one of humanity’s strongest swordsmen, wouldn’t have been sent staggering back with just a few steps. His arm should have gone completely numb for at least five minutes.
Those Beastmen wouldn’t have lasted even 0.1 seconds against an attack like that.
This unnatural sensation… it was the presence of a God.
“What made you betray humanity—betray us—Mo Ran?”
“…”
Okate grew visibly angry instead. The muscles of his face twisted together like jagged mountain peaks, resembling a ferocious rakshasa. This was neither the brash but honest Okate she knew, nor the benevolent God of legend.
But Xuefei had already laid eyes on the Gods long ago. She knew full well they weren’t some benevolent bunch.
In the end, they were no different from humans—everyone chasing their own desires, taking what they needed. If anything, the Gods were even more selfish and ruthless.
Take that doddering old man who’d promised to send her back to the Human World, for instance. The fool had been utterly clueless when Leia stripped away his divine power.
“I’ll give you one last chance, Mo Ran. Come with me. Help me kill that false-hearted Leia, and I’ll restore you to your old self.”
Okate’s gaze turned vicious.
Such was the fickleness of the world. Some still scurried about for humanity’s sake, others became apostles of the Gods and toiled away for so-called “justice,” while still others were about to give birth to a Dragon Baby.
“Leia loves me deeply. Don’t you dare slander her.”
“She’s evil! Why can’t you see it?!” Okate screamed hysterically, only to shift into a cold sneer. “Fine then. Time to knock some sense into you.”
“With pleasure.”
Okate’s killing intent finally surfaced, and Xuefei grew deadly serious, her eyes tracking his every move.
Swords flashed and claws slashed. In an instant, dragon claws and treasure sword clashed several more times. Pitch-black Blazing Flames collided with fractured blue light, shattering the mirror-smooth ground like so much splintered diamond. It was a heartbreaking sight.
After just a few exchanges, Xuefei understood…
This really was Okate. But he had likely been possessed by some God and brainwashed.
In the end, he had no right to accuse her.
“Okate,” too, finally realized that even with his divine power combined with the man’s battle experience, he had no real counter to Xuefei’s Evil Dragon strength.
If the Gods had a way to deal with it, they wouldn’t have been routed so thoroughly by Leia…
If this dragged on, he would lose.
In the span of mere seconds, “Okate” clutched his arm, where blood poured freely. The golden pupils that symbolized divine power flickered faintly.
!!
Suddenly, Xuefei sensed that something was very wrong.
The gravity beneath Xuefei’s feet suddenly shifted direction. Without warning, her body surged upward with acceleration, hurtling into the sky. The “mirror surface” underfoot vanished in an instant. After a dizzying whirl, she landed steadily on one foot—and found herself once again atop that eerie mirror.
Moreover, the surface showed no trace of battle damage. Okate, whom she had grievously wounded, stood before her completely unscathed.
A smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
“This is the power of the Barrier. Useless, utterly useless! As long as my divine power holds out, you can’t kill me!”
“Finally showing your true colors, are you?” Xuefei sneered.
“Indeed…”
Okate made no further attempt to hide it. After all, such outrageous power was beyond any human capability; there was no point in continuing the charade.
“I am Alres, the God of Wisdom. Hero, I know of your exploits—and those of that young man as well.”
He extended his hand. The sudden shift in his demeanor made Xuefei’s stomach churn.
She asked, “Did you kill him?”
“Yes,” Alres admitted without denial. “But that hardly matters. Come with me. I swear I haven’t lied to you. I can vouch for your safety before the Lord God. Or, if you prefer, I can summon the gods to destroy you. Xuefei, you truly have no choice in this.”
“Or perhaps you’d like to hand me over to Leia and give her my power? Ridiculous. That wouldn’t help you in the slightest. And to do any of that, you’d first have to defeat me—but within this Barrier, you can’t harm me at all…”
“Kill me? Give my power to Leia? Or have me tell the Lord God everything? Any of those options, and we’d have no room for negotiation.”
“Have you said enough?”
Xuefei’s gaze fixed on him like he was trash. “You sure talk a lot.”
“…What do you mean by that?” Alres frowned in confusion. He simply couldn’t fathom the source of her confidence.
“I mean, have you finished your last words?”
“Wha—?!”
Alres’s golden pupils widened in shock. What was happening before him was utterly beyond belief.
Impossible…
Absolutely impossible!
With elegant poise, Xuefei took a single step forward. Black Terminus Fire lanced out like a blade, piercing straight into the “mirror surface” beneath her feet.
Sizzle—crackle—!
Like glass shattering, the entire world fractured beyond repair.
In the unknown blackness of space, a silver-haired Dragon Girl gripped a man’s throat with crushing force. Golden energy waves coiled around his body, dimming and fading to nothing…
All that remained in his eyes was bewilderment.
The hoarse rasp from his throat formed his final words.
“Impossible…”
“My… divine power…”
Xuefei laughed, her diamond-shaped pupils brimming with arrogance and icy disdain, mirroring the malice of another wicked Dragon Girl.
“Is that all you’ve got, God?”
The god known as Alres wasn’t perplexed by his instant defeat.
No—it was something else.
His power… it was being drained away.
This woman was absorbing his power, turning it to her own use?
Impossible. Impossible…
It was too horrifying to contemplate.
But Alres had no time for thought. In a mere dozen seconds, the Dragon Princess casually flung him aside. What was left was a powerless husk—the former god Alres—sprawled pitifully on the vanishing mirror surface, eyes wide in death.
Xuefei licked her lips.
“So this is what it feels like to devour a god~”
“Thanks for the meal. A bit nauseating, but not bad at all?”
“Leia…”
Xuefei’s expression softened into a distant reverie. An inevitable smile tugged at her lips, as if some deep psychological itch had finally been scratched.
No more running from her feelings. At the very least, she owed Leia a clear answer.
Once she claimed the Endless Treasure, she would give it a try. This wasn’t some childish game—it would be a true duel.
She needed to solidify her strength first before chasing dreams and desires. And now that she was this powerful, if she used this chance to slip away from Leia’s pursuit and seize her freedom… well, that seemed entirely possible, didn’t it?
But would that truly be freedom?
“…”
“Mm…”
Xuefei’s pupils flickered with resolve. At last, she made her decision. Grinning to herself, she murmured, “If Leia can’t beat me, then you’ll just have to incubate my eggs, hehe~”
