Vol 3. Chapter 104: Shattered Confidence
Ignoring the Abyss Demon horde charging after them from behind with tremendous momentum and overwhelming ‘killing intent,’ Miss Mengxi kept her eyes fixed on Yumo’s lovely face from beginning to end.
‘Sister Yumo......’
As she simply allowed Yumo to pull her along by the hand, Mengxi narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
‘Should I expose her?’
To tell the truth,
Mengxi was very much looking forward to seeing Sister Yumo’s awkward, deeply flushed expression after being exposed by her. In her head? She had already imagined it countless times.
However,
right now, she had no intention of exposing her adorable sister. Instead, she continued making full use of her specialty, putting on an act as though she knew nothing.
Besides,
the feeling of running together while Sister Yumo held her little hand was actually quite nice~
Sister’s hand was so soft, and very warm too~
Feeling the warmth in Yumo’s palm, Mengxi unconsciously smiled. Still, a smile was one thing. In order to cooperate with Miss Yumo’s acting, Mengxi would occasionally turn her head to look at the Abyss Demon horde pursuing them and reveal an ‘uneasy’ expression.
However,
although the warmth of Yumo’s palm and the black-haired girl’s adorable movements and expressions left Mengxi thoroughly intoxicated, they did not deprive her of her ability to think.
Unconsciously,
Mengxi raised an eyebrow and cast a meaningful glance around them, then toward the Abyss Demon horde relentlessly pursuing them from behind.
‘Strange......’
After Sister Yumo appeared, those Abyss Demons that had previously been following behind her the entire time, seemingly trying to frighten her, had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Was the one actually controlling those Abyss Demons...... afraid to attack me in front of Sister Yumo?
The existence hiding in the shadows and controlling the Abyss Demons was clearly also a Demon King-class Abyss Demon.
And that Demon King-class Abyss Demon seemed rather wary of Sister Yumo......
As everyone knew, among Demon King-class existences, the older they were, the stronger they were. For example, compared with recently born Nightmare, Flame Prison and Sword Demon were on a completely different level of strength.
But Sister Yumo was a newly born Demon King-class existence, so why......
Could it be,
that Sister Yumo wasn’t a newly born Demon King-class existence at all, but an ancient one? Or perhaps...... she was some kind of even higher-level existence?
......
For a moment, such a conjecture unconsciously emerged in Miss Mengxi’s mind.
Of course, Miss Yumo could never have imagined what Mengxi was currently thinking. Right now, this big sister of the Abyss Demons had only one thought in her head: take Mengxi away from the courthouse ruins as quickly as possible.
The reason was very simple. She wanted to prevent Mengxi from noticing anything suspicious about White Yama. After thinking about it carefully, Yumo had also realized that her disguise wasn’t completely flawless.
Although fooling an innocent child like Mengxi shouldn’t be a problem, it was still better to be safe than sorry~
Besides,
Yuan’er was nearby......
The fact that Yuan’er could endure the mana aura emanating from the dormant Marquis and his wife without losing control had indeed left Miss Yumo rather relieved. But that child was still an Abyss Demon in the end. If she encountered Mengxi and sensed the divine power within her, it would probably be very difficult for her to remain calm.
Once Yuan’er launched an attack, Yumo would likely have no choice but to intervene and be forced to ‘expose’ herself. Moreover, if Yuan’er lost control and attacked, the trust that child had finally managed to regain from Marquis Xiumu-Duke would probably vanish once again.
Precisely because of that,
it was best to take Mengxi away as quickly as possible.
For this purpose, Yumo had even specifically called over the distant Abyss Demon horde to cooperate with her.
However,
‘This girl...... she’s gripping my hand tighter and tighter......’
Feeling Mengxi’s five fingers gradually tightening around her hand, Miss Yumo unconsciously raised an eyebrow.
Was she nervous?
That made sense. After all, so many terrifying Sixth- and Seventh-Tier Abyss Demons were charging straight toward her. Even though she was the Child of Destiny, facing so many Abyss Demons alone would probably put her under enormous pressure. Feeling uneasy was only natural.
‘Forget it. Until Xiao finishes educating the Child of Destiny and the Abyss Demon horde retreats, I’ll stay with this child for now.’
Originally,
since Miss Yumo knew that Mengxi could passively activate ‘Miracle,’ there was no need for her to worry so much. After all, even if Mengxi were caught in the Abyss Demon horde’s AOE attacks, nothing would happen to the girl as long as she had Miracle.
But considering that the aura of divine power might cause Yuan’er and Karina inside the imperial prison to lose control, Yumo still decided it was better to play it safe.
Besides,
......
To tell the truth, she didn’t know why, but
she......
didn’t really want to see that child get hurt......
No, no, no!!
What am I thinking?!!
At that thought, Miss Yumo hurriedly shook her head frantically and repeatedly warned herself inwardly that she absolutely could not go soft. The protagonist’s growth definitely required cruel trials and hardships! Getting injured and things like that were unavoidable. If she kept protecting Mengxi at every turn, then how was this child supposed to grow into a female lead capable of standing on her own in the future?
What would she use to kill me then?
Could she possibly kill me with cuteness?
......
Miss Yumo pursed her little lips and fell into a conflicted silence.
However,
at that very moment,
a powerful tremor suddenly spread from the distant Skyvault Imperial Palace, immediately causing Miss Yumo to frown. Mengxi, who had been lost in thought behind her, reacted similarly and stared in astonishment toward the palace shrouded beneath layer upon layer of thick fog.
‘That? What is that?’
The next instant,
“Rumble~~”
Accompanied by an earth-shaking explosion and an eruption of pure black mana that seemed to have found an outlet, a terrifying beam of black mana abruptly tore through the dense fog and shot straight into the clouds!
In an instant, a horrifying aura spread in every direction. An absolute suppressive force descended from the heavens, causing not only the earth to tremble, but even space itself to begin twisting and cracking.
The dense dark clouds blanketing the sky were completely dispersed by the aftershock of the black light.
The fog barrier surrounding the Imperial Palace utterly collapsed under this single attack.
The shockwave created by the eruption of black light instantly sent everyone fighting nearby—whether Abyss Demon or human—flying dozens of meters away. The residual aura transformed into layer after layer of raging waves that surged outward in every direction, sweeping across the entirety of Skyvault in an instant and causing everyone who sensed it to pale dramatically.
Unsurprisingly,
the resulting wave of force also swept violently across Yumo and Mengxi’s faces.
And after sensing the composition of the power contained within this fluctuation, Miss Yumo’s expression gradually became complicated.
This aura?
It’s Xiao’s power? Why has it become so gloomy?
And......
mixed into this fluctuation are Limo and Liyu’s powers too?!
What?!
Those two children?! They disappeared for half the day, so why did they suddenly show up inside the Imperial Palace?! Did those two girls join Xiao in confronting the Child of Destiny?!
‘What the hell is going on?!’
For a moment, countless question marks seemed to appear beside Miss Yumo’s head, leaving the black-haired girl utterly confused.
And within that confusion was a trace of anxiety......
--
At the same time,
inside the Divine Armament Hall of Skyvault Imperial Palace—
No,
at this point, the Divine Armament Hall, or rather, the entire Imperial Palace, no longer existed......
As black light rampaged through the area, a terrifying vortex of mana swept through the Imperial Palace with unstoppable force, dragging everything into itself and tearing it completely to pieces.
The once majestic and prosperous Imperial Palace, steeped in history, had been reduced to nothing more than ruins.
And at this moment,
high in the air, as the black mana gradually dispersed, Xue Tianao, who had been enveloped within the black light, abruptly spat out a mouthful of thick blood before plummeting violently from the sky!
In an instant, his body smashed a gigantic crater with a radius of twenty meters into the ruins.
“Cough, cough, cough!!!”
As he coughed up blood, the golden armor constructed from divine power finally reached its limit. Under the continuous, frenzied bombardment of black light, it disintegrated into countless particles of golden energy.
The remaining black light transformed into thousands upon thousands of sharp blades, brutally piercing through Xue Tianao’s body and instantly turning him into a blood-soaked figure.
The excruciating pain made Xue Tianao’s expression grow increasingly twisted, savage, and terrifying.
Had he not released the threefold shackles and strengthened his body with divine power, Xue Tianao might already have gone to drink tea with the King of Hell.
However,
despite being severely wounded, Xue Tianao had no energy to spare on his own horrifying, blood-drenched body.
Instead, he stared in disbelief at the divine sword lying before him—
broken cleanly into two pieces.
“No...... this...... this, this is impossible?!!”
Words filled with trembling hysteria burst from Xue Tianao’s mouth.
That was a divine sword?!
How could it just break like that!!
Not only had his strongest attack been shattered by the opponent, but even his weapon had broken. At this moment, Xue Tianao’s confidence was completely smashed to pieces by the black figure not far away.
A feeling of fear began to rapidly grow within his heart......
Feeling his body begin trembling uncontrollably,
Xue Tianao’s pale golden eyes were gradually consumed by fear. His breathing became increasingly rapid, and as though unwilling to accept reality itself, he began muttering to himself,
“No...... this is impossible...... I’m the Child of Destiny...... No, I can’t...... I can’t lose to you...... You villains can’t possibly defeat me...... No...... I can still unleash more power. I definitely can......”
I’m the protagonist.
I’m...... I’m, I’m someone blessed by destiny itself!
As long as I don’t give up, I can unleash even greater power!
Powerful enemies are nothing more than stepping stones that exist to make me even stronger!
At this thought, Xue Tianao’s pale golden eyes suddenly contracted. Using the divine axe to support his body, he forced himself upright and unleashed a ghostly, heaven-shaking roar, attempting to further excavate the divine power within his body.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
However,
after roaring for quite some time, Xue Tianao did not obtain the greater power he had expected.
What greeted him instead—
was an iron fist.
“You...... don’t seriously think that? Just because you roar a couple of times, you’ll suddenly power up, do you?”
Along with those mocking words, an iron fist wrapped in dense black mana and strengthened by a magic formation rapidly enlarged within Xue Tianao’s horrified eyes!
“You...... you’re sneak-attacking me again......!”
Unfortunately, before he could even finish speaking, Xiao’s fist mercilessly slammed into the handsome face Xue Tianao had always been so proud of, smashing his face inward against his skull.
Accompanied by a spray of blood and dozens of teeth scattering through the air, Xue Tianao’s entire body was violently blasted backward by the tremendous impact, crashing into the sturdy stone statue of the Founding Emperor in the distance—
and smashing it to pieces.