The system notification flared to life, causing everyone in the Banquet Hall to skip a beat.
Having just scrambled out from the pile of shattered wood, Zheng Chuan saw the text, his voice cracking instantly.
“There's a phase two?! This dungeon wasn't designed to let anyone survive!”
Meng Yinyin's hand trembled uncontrollably as she gripped her staff.
Her mana was nearly depleted, her body covered in bloody gashes torn by the rotting corpse hands, and her usual facade of gentleness had long since shattered.
Taking a step back, she frantically scanned the Banquet Hall's exit.
“We can't keep fighting! If we do, we're all going to die!”
Luo Qi was even more despairing than they were.
His arm was still bleeding, the wound sliced open by Isolde burning with pain. But more than the pain, he wanted nothing more than to strangle her.
She had said she could kill Valen.
Yet now, the crazy woman who claimed she could kill him couldn't even move.
“It's all her fault!” Zheng Chuan suddenly roared in a breakdown, pointing at Isolde. “It's all that damned woman's fault! If she hadn't tricked us into coming here, how could we have run into a monster like this!”
Meng Yinyin's eyes reddened. “I knew there was something off about her! I told you so!”
The young girl in the white dress knelt on the ground. The dark red contract mark on her chest seemed to come alive, spreading fine patterns beneath her clothing that squeezed her heart in a death grip.
Her face was deathly pale, cold sweat dripping down her forehead as her fingers stiffened against the floor, making even the slightest movement an agonizing struggle.
Duke Valen paid no attention to the three terrified prey.
His massive form slowly pressed down toward Isolde.
The newly stitched corpse parts wriggled continuously, and rotting arms dangled from his back like a living forest of corpses.
At his third vertebra, the Silver-White Core lay exposed deep within the rotting flesh, shining with a blinding glare.
Valen lowered his head, his bloated human face splitting open to reveal rows of densely packed teeth gnashing together.
“Isolde, why did you betray me?”
The contract suppression tightened around Isolde's throat, making even breathing difficult.
Valen looked down at her, his eyes filled with rage and confusion.
“I adopted you, taught you, and granted you the privilege of witnessing perfection.”
“You were supposed to be my useful child.”
“Why?”
Kneeling on the ground, Isolde dug her fingertips into her palms and let out a low chuckle.
Valen suddenly paused. His turbid eyes slowly narrowed, as if he had finally sensed something from the depths of the contract.
“Something is wrong,” his voice sank. “You are not Isolde.”
Zheng Chuan and the other two were utterly stunned, completely unable to grasp the situation. Were they here to clear a dungeon, or were they being forced to watch a family drama?
Valen stared intently at her, the stench of decay swirling around like a lurking specter.
“Who are you, exactly?”
Isolde slowly raised her head. Pain rimmed her eyes with red, yet there wasn't a trace of entreaty on her face.
The last vestige of weakness faded from her eyes, leaving only a cold, gleaming ruthlessness.
She curled her lips and spoke with difficulty, “Does it matter who I am?”
Valen's gaze hardened.
Isolde's voice was hoarse, but every word was crystal clear, packed with fury.
“I don't care to know who I am right now. I only know that I want to live!”
“I want to reclaim my freedom!”
“I want to obtain power!”
“I want to make everyone who has ever hurt me pay the price!”
She looked up, her laugh cold and crazed.
“As for who I am—”
“I'll take my time to think about that after I've accomplished all of this.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her stiff fingers suddenly gripped the final bone nail.
Sensing something, Valen's expression changed dramatically.
Isolde gave him no time to react.
Reversing her grip on the nail, she aimed at her own chest and drove it in ruthlessly.
The bone nail pierced her clothing and sank into her flesh, stopping a mere inch from her heart.
Excruciating pain exploded within her.
Isolde's vision went dark, and she nearly blacked out on the spot.
But in the next instant, a laugh suddenly echoed in her ears.
Sharp, crazed, and excited to the point of distortion.
“Hahahahaha—”
The laughter seemed to crawl out from her very bones. She could almost see a woman with black hair and a black dress standing at the end of a blood-red corridor, tilting her head and flashing a cruel smile at her.
Isolde's pupils shrank, and the agonizing pain surged.
Even as she trembled violently from the pain, she couldn't stop herself from laughing aloud. She couldn't even tell if she was disgusted or thrilled.
The laughter sent shivers down the spines of Zheng Chuan and the other two.
Meng Yinyin took a few steps back instinctively. “She... she's crazy...”
The scene before him left Valen completely frozen.
For a split second, it was as if he saw the Isolde of old.
But her current gaze was not one of admiration; she was looking at him like a prey within her grasp.
“You... deserve to die!”
Valen suddenly lunged with his rotting hand, intending to end her insolence once and for all.
But the moment the bone nail pierced the primary contract, the dark red patterns on her chest suddenly burst.
【Warning!】
【The primary contract has been subjected to a purification shock.】
【Contract suppression anomaly detected.】
【Subordinate contract chain breaking—】
Isolde violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood splattered onto her white dress, looking like a distorted, blooming flower.
【Primary contract suppression shattered.】
【Soul Contract partner: Lia. Movement restrictions lifted.】
By the wall, Lia, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly twitched her fingers.
In the next second, she leaped to her feet, kicking off the ground with explosive force to rush to Isolde's side.
Just as Valen was about to reach Isolde, Lia scooped her up, narrowly dodging the fatal blow.
Carrying Isolde, Lia landed on the outer edge of the Banquet Hall and set her down gently. Her lifeless eyes fell upon the blood-stained white dress.
“My lady, you are bleeding.”
Isolde clutched her chest, blood welling out through her fingers.
Her vision blurred with waves of pain, yet that crazed laughter still echoed in her ears.
So noisy.
She cursed inwardly.
Propping herself up against the ground, Isolde rose to her feet. Her body swayed, but she forced herself to stand firm.
She looked up at Valen, whose face was now twisted in shock and fury, and shouted to the three terrified tools:
“What are you standing around for? Keep attacking!”
Zheng Chuan's eyes widened. “You want us to fight now?!”
“No shit,” Isolde sneered through gritted teeth. “If you don't fight, are you waiting for him to stitch you into his stomach so you can join our family meeting?”
Meng Yinyin's lips trembled. “But...”
Isolde suddenly raised her hand, and a Soul-Binding Thread grazed past the side of Meng Yinyin's face, embedding itself into the wall behind her.
Whatever Meng Yinyin was about to say caught in her throat.
Isolde stared at them, her words slow and deliberate.
“Whoever tries to run now, I'll kill them first.”
She was covered in blood, her white dress in tatters, and half a bone nail still protruded from her chest. Yet, her eyes shone with a near-demonic intensity.
Zheng Chuan cursed, dragging his axe as he charged forward. “I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes!”
Axe slashes, arrows, and spells rained down on Valen simultaneously.
Having just recovered from the shock of Isolde stabbing herself to break the contract, Valen was struck by the three attacks, his massive body swaying violently.
He roared, thrashing his tail and flailing his rotting hands in a frenzy, desperate to shred those three eyesores of prey first.
But this was the exact moment Isolde had been waiting for.
She raised her blood-stained hand and whispered:
“Soul-Binding Thread.”
The fine threads erupted from the shadows, binding Valen's body tightly to the floor and forcing him to expose his spine.
【Duke Valen has been subjected to abnormal status: Soul-Binding Thread.】
【Target is currently in Weakened, Corrupted, and Feared states.】
【Bind duration doubled: 3 seconds.】
Valen's movements ground to a sudden halt. His entire serpentine corpse-like lower body was pinned in place, his rotting arms flailing wildly as the eyeballs embedded in his flesh ruptured one by one.
Isolde swayed, the blood from her chest pouring out even faster.
She knew she couldn't hold on much longer.
If this dragged on, she would collapse from blood loss before Valen could even kill her.
Thus, she looked up at Lia.
“Lia.”
Lia had already stood up, the bandages on half of her face unraveling to reveal the pale, rigid doll skin beneath.
“Throw me over.”
Without hesitation, Lia rushed to Isolde's side, supporting her waist with one hand and holding her back with the other as she sprinted toward Valen.
Zheng Chuan's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“What is she doing?! Is she insane?!”
Luo Qi's voice was hoarse. “She's always been crazy.”
Valen also realized what she intended to do, and for the first time, genuine panic crept into his voice:
“Isolde, how dare you!”
Isolde looked down and drew the bone knife once more. She wiped the blood from her lips and smiled.
“My beloved Father. Haven't you always wanted a more perfect body?”
Lia exerted all her strength, throwing Isolde high into the air.
“Only a dead body is truly perfect.”
The wind howled in her ears as Valen's massive form rapidly enlarged in her field of vision. The overwhelming stench of rot rushed at her, so sickening it was almost suffocating.
She stared intently at that single speck of silver-white, the smile on her lips deepening.
Valen struggled frantically, snapping the Soul-Binding Threads one by one. A rotting hand grazed Isolde's shoulder, tearing away a large patch of clothing and flesh.
Isolde's body went numb with pain, but it only made her laugh more crazily.
She landed on Valen's back, her knees slamming heavily into the rotting flesh, nearly getting dragged down by the writhing tissue buds.
Valen roared, and the chandeliers of the entire Banquet Hall shattered completely.
“I am a Demigod Candidate! You cannot do this!”
Isolde gripped the bone knife with both hands and stabbed down fiercely at the Silver-White Core.
“Demigod?” Her gaze was chillingly cold. “How unfortunate for you. Demigods are exactly what I kill.”
The bone knife pierced the Silver-White Core.
Crack.
A crisp cracking sound echoed throughout the Banquet Hall.
Valen's roar cut off instantly.
In the next instant, a silver-white light erupted from the cracks, like moonlight trapped deep within rotting flesh finally tearing through the filthy blood.
【Weakness Critical Strike.】
【Silver-White Core damaged.】
【Duke Valen's Health has reached zero.】
Isolde knelt on Valen's back, her hands still tightly gripping the bone knife.
In the next second, Valen's massive body collapsed.
Countless chunks of rotting flesh, bones, and severed limbs fell like unsupported mud. Black blood washed over the floor tiles, but a silver-white glow slowly rose from the center of the remains.
A notification popped up before the three stunned players.
【Duke Valen has died.】
Propping himself up with his axe, Zheng Chuan's eyes lit up instantly.
“Loot dropped!”
Luo Qi forgot his fear as well, staring at the ball of silver light, his face practically dripping with greed.
Meng Yinyin bit her lip and forced herself to speak, “Miss Isolde, we helped you kill the boss, so these rewards should belong to us, right?”
Isolde slowly turned around.
Her white dress was splattered with black blood, and she still held the blood-soaked bone knife in her hand.
“Yours?”
She let out a soft laugh.
In the next second, a system notification popped up before the three of them simultaneously.
【Warning】
【Isolde's faction status has been updated.】
【Current Identity: Castle Inheritor】
【Castle authority forced transfer in progress...】
The dark red array runes on the floor suddenly flared to life, and the candelabras in the Banquet Hall blazed with fire.
Zheng Chuan's expression shifted drastically. “What is it this time?!”
Isolde raised her hand, clutching the silver-white glow within her palm.
【You have obtained: God-tier Item - Valen's Silver-White Core】
【You have obtained: Top-tier Skill Fragment - Throne of Remains】
【Soul Stitcher identity detected.】
【Skill fusion conditions met.】
The light screen in front of her refreshed frantically, while a blood-red notification simultaneously popped up on the three players' panels.
【Attention: The Castle's Master has changed.】
【New dungeon BOSS is generating—】
【Isolde, the Soul-Weaving Witch】
Rate on N.U.
