【Character Status】
【HP: Healthy】
【MP: 4410/4410】
【Current Usable Magic Tier: Tier 4】
【Positive Effects: Divine Clarity, God-Favored Body, Word Spirit: Prayer】
【Negative Effects: Mana Leakage, Mana Overload, Physical Exhaustion, Mental Exhaustion, Divine Backlash】
【Blessing of the God of Light】
【Status: Inactive】
【Cooldown: 23 hours, 59 minutes】
Ain panted heavily, his vision blurring uncontrollably. He no longer had the strength to stand on his own, leaving him with no choice but to lean most of his weight against Lillian.
That is way too many debuffs.
And...
Ain’t gaze drifted toward the massive crater before him.
“As expected of a Peak Tier 5...”
“He’s so damn tough...”
In the center of the crater, Wesley knelt heavily on one knee, suddenly coughing up a mouthful of blood. The lingering rumble of thunder still echoed faintly in his ears, refusing to die down.
The previous lightning spear had left shocking scorch marks across his body. In several places, his flesh had been burned to black charcoal, flaking off with every ragged breath he took.
【Tier 5 Spell: Purple Night - Annihilation Thunder】
【MP Cost: 8800】
【Description: The ultimate divine punishment passed down to mortals by the Goddess of Light to judge the ultimate evils and heretics of the world. When the lightning spear falls, purple light will tear through the night sky, bringing absolute annihilation to all things.】
【Effect: The caster consumes a massive amount of mental strength, granting this spell the properties of 【Divine Punishment Lock】, 【Pierce】, and 【Law of Annihilation】.】
【Divine Punishment Lock: The moment the magic circle forms, the aura of purple lightning completely locks onto the target area. Locked enemies cannot teleport or escape using conventional space magic.】
【Pierce: When the massive purple lightning spear strikes, it deals devastating true damage to the center area (ignoring 50% of magic resistance).】
【Law of Annihilation: Targets directly struck by the purple lightning will have the “Annihilation” effect applied to their wounds. Wounds cannot be healed by any conventional healing magic, and their vitality will continue to drain over a short period.】
This was the strongest spell Ain could currently cast.
Enhanced by multiple attributes, its power was not inferior in the slightest to other high-consumption Tier 5 spells.
And most importantly, there were a few key reasons for this.
It was fast to cast and highly versatile.
Maintaining nearly thirty magic circles simultaneously earlier had already pushed him to his limit. Constructing another Tier 5 magic circle on top of that caused the complexity of his magic circuits to skyrocket exponentially.
Ain felt as if his brain were overloading.
But at least Wesley shouldn’t have any strength left to fight.
【Note: Lillian Knight has exited the 【Witchification】 state.】
【Mana limit decreased!】
【Current MP: 2640/2640】
【Current Mana Source: Lillian Knight】
Ain instinctively turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Lillian beside him. The flowing coat of mana around her had already vanished, and even the pointed hat symbolizing her status as a witch had disappeared at some point.
It seemed it had drained a massive amount of her mana as well.
Just then, a voice reached their ears.
“Ain...”
Wesley raised his head in pain, the cold glint in his eyes mostly gone.
“I have received your answer.”
“I look forward to seeing what happens next.”
With that, Wesley collapsed completely, and the space beneath him began to warp, pulling him in.
Was it some kind of life-saving magical tool?
Well, whatever.
At least, this was finally over.
Ain tried to take a step forward, but his legs suddenly buckled. Unable to support himself any longer, he collapsed completely against Lillian.
With a sharp gasp, they both lost their balance and tumbled heavily to the ground. Once the dust settled, Ain realized his cheek had landed squarely against Lillian’s soft, warm chest.
A thought immediately popped into Ain’s head.
Talk about a famine...
The girl instinctively wanted to push him away, but when her eyes fell upon Ain, her fingers went weak. An unfamiliar warmth suddenly surged in her chest, and she could hear nothing but the frantic pounding of her own heart roaring in her mind.
“Sorry, I don’t have any strength left.”
“Could you help me over there first?”
“Oh...”
The girl forced herself to act normal, though a faint pang of disappointment flashed through her heart.
Leaning his back against the rough tree trunk, Ain closed his eyes wearily.
Lillian didn’t say a word, quietly remaining by his side.
The night was as dark as ink, gently wrapping around them. In this rare moment of tranquility, they stayed like this for dozens of minutes.
As if unsatisfied with the current state of things, the increasingly burning throb in her chest urged her to take that unknown step.
Under the cover of darkness, she stole a glance at him. Seeing that Ain was still asleep, she quietly slid her restless hand toward his.
At first, she only used her fingertips to cautiously brush against his skin. It wasn't until her racing heart felt like it would leap out of her throat that she gritted her teeth, preparing to grasp his hand fully.
But the exact moment her fingers were about to close, his hand suddenly flipped over, clasping hers tightly. Their fingers intertwined seamlessly.
“Mph!”
Ain’s eyes remained closed, but his gentle voice reached her ears.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing...”
Sensing her lack of security, Ain let out a soft chuckle, tightening his grip on her hand.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“I’m here.”
These words were the final straw that broke her resolve. Lillian’s cheeks instantly flushed a burning crimson.
She had only wanted to use the darkness to quietly draw closer to him, never expecting Ain to launch such a direct offensive.
The warmth spreading from their joined palms instantly ignited the longing deep in her heart.
“That spell of yours was really amazing.”
She tried to change the subject to distract herself.
“No, it’s not that I’m amazing. That was your power—your power as a witch.”
Lillian had not expected Ain to say something like this at all.
Now, Ain opened his eyes. As his vision slowly focused, he offered a warm smile, gazing at her with a look of profound tenderness.
“That is your own strength, your own mana. I merely borrowed it. Honestly, if anything... maybe you were the one protecting me?”
Lillian was dazed.
For so many years, she had carried the curse of this volatile mana. The pain of exclusion and abandonment, the piercing, judgmental stares—they had long been an inescapable shadow over her life.
Ain’t words were like a beacon of hope, continuing to guide her forward.
She slowly looked away, biting her lip as she fought the indescribable throbbing in her heart, burying her burning face in her arms.
“Why are you saying things like that...”
“That’s just unfair...”
【Word Spirit: Prayer】
【Current Target of Influence: Lillian Knight】
This guy...
Did he do that on purpose?!
Lillian’s emotions were currently a chaotic mess.
She wanted nothing more than to throw caution to the wind, pounce on Ain, and show him the consequences of teasing her—to let him know that she had a temper too.
No one else was around anyway...
Gritting her teeth, she finally gathered enough courage. But just as she pushed herself up and met Ain’s utterly confused gaze, a cool raindrop quietly slipped down, landing softly on her face.
Lillian murmured in confusion, “Is it raining?”
Ain also felt the coldness on his face, but a familiar scent drifted into his nose.
“It shouldn’t be rain.”
“Persephone has probably already brewed the potion to dispel the monsters’ mania. They must be using magic to turn it into rain and disperse it over the entire forest.”
“What should we do then?”
“Don’t worry, it’s harmless to humans.”
Seeing the “rain” growing heavier overhead, Lillian didn’t hesitate to take off her jacket. Holding the fabric high with both hands, she draped it over Ain’s head like a tiny umbrella.
Thus, they sat mere inches apart, gazing quietly at each other amidst the falling shimmer.
“It’s so small...”
Ain’t sudden comment made Lillian blush in embarrassment.
“I-I’m just like this!”
“I’m working really hard to grow...”
Instantly, Lillian looked a bit aggrieved.
“Do you like big ones?”
Ain frowned slightly, finding it rather amusing. “Did you misunderstand something?”
“I was just saying you have a small build.”
“Isn’t that basically the same thing...”
The girl stared at Ain, looking pitiful.
Suddenly, she remembered something he had said earlier.
“Didn’t you say you like doing things that give you a sense of accomplishment?”
“Yeah.”
“Then... what is our relationship now?”
She tried to sound completely nonchalant.
Ain merely blinked, completely lost as to what she was talking about.
Seeing him remain so dense and oblivious to her feelings, Lillian couldn’t help but feel a surge of flustered annoyance.
She had already mapped out a script in her head. If Ain asked her to use that specific title, she would sigh with feigned reluctance and accept it naturally.
But looking at his completely unbothered face, she realized too late that she had vastly overestimated his perceptiveness.
“Y-You know, the thing you said before!”
“Which thing?”
“Ugh... that! You said you wanted some practical compensation from me...”
“A wrap?”
“No, not that!”
“Whatever, let’s talk about it when we get back. I’ve rested enough.”
Seeing Ain slowly stand up, she grew so anxious that her eyes rimmed with red. Tears welled up, threatening to spill over.
Throwing all her reservations out the window, she lunged forward and tackled the newly upright Ain back into her embrace. She stubbornly pressed her face close to his, letting his warm breath envelop her as their breathing mingled.
“You said... you wouldn’t abandon me, right?”
Under Ain’s dumbfounded gaze, her cheeks burned a deep, lovely crimson, like a ripe cherry.
“S-Should I call you...”
“Ma...ster?”
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