A cool and strange power instantly flooded into his eyes.
In his vision, the world presented an entirely different sight.
He looked at Elvia.
Within the silhouette of her body, he saw a pale blue light-shadow, identical to her form, fluctuating violently.
It revealed the panic deep within her soul.
He could even catch a glimpse of the insects in the corners of the mine.
There, he saw soul light like specks of dust—weak and almost negligible.
He also saw faint blue threads extending from Saintess Eve toward the distance.
Lin Gui looked at the Saintess in astonishment.
Unlike the humanoid souls of Elvia and Theia, Eve's soul was missing half of its heart.
Elvia's panicked voice interrupted Lin Gui.
She gripped him tightly, her speech so fast she was almost incoherent.
"Run, now! Lin Gui! If it really is that guy... we will absolutely die! There's no chance of survival!"
"That guy? Who exactly is it?"
Theia was also startled by Elvia's unprecedented loss of composure and hurriedly pressed for an answer.
Elvia took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
But her voice still carried an uncontrollable tremor, every word chillingly cold.
"A High-tier Legendary assassin! There is only one in the entire Royal Capital!"
"Count Caleb, the strongest of the Four Pillars!"
As if to convince Lin Gui to realize the severity of the situation, she quickly listed his deeds.
"There are records of one hundred and twenty-eight people from the direct and collateral royal bloodlines dying at his hands!"
"Some were even publicly assassinated in front of numerous guards and nobles!"
"With his support, my tyrannical and bloodthirsty second brother, Warren, has hands stained with the blood of high nobles to this day, yet he remains at large. No one dares to move against him!"
"Do you know what that means?!"
Her eyes were filled with fear rooted deep within the vortex of power.
It was the most primal reaction to a power that was absolutely impossible to withstand.
"The previous Pillar, the strongest supporter of the First Prince... the Mid-tier Legendary knight Mosang, known for his defense, was killed by him."
"With just one strike! With only one strike, he pierced Mosang's Legendary protective qi and full plate armor to slit his throat!"
"Since then, in the entire Royal Capital, no one dares to look Warren in the eye, and no one dares to offend Caleb behind him!"
"That includes my royal father! The King of Carter!"
She turned to Lin Gui, her tone bordering on pleading.
"Lin Gui, that's a High-tier Legendary! He is simply not on the same level as us. Run, now."
Under Elvia's fear-laden recount, Theia's expression darkened completely as well.
Although she didn't understand the power struggles of the Royal Capital, she had the clearest perception of the gap in strength.
She grabbed Lin Gui's other arm, her voice solemn.
"Lin Gui, Elvia is right."
"A High-tier Legendary..."
"This is no longer an opponent we can face! Let's go!"
Faced with their urgent persuasion, Lin Gui's face showed no sign of panic.
He gently shook off their hands, his calm gaze scanning the dim mine.
He seemed to be perceiving something.
"You two leave first,"
He spoke with a tone that brooked no argument.
"What?!" Elvia and Theia exclaimed simultaneously.
"Are you crazy?! You'll die!" Elvia said urgently.
"Lin Gui! Let's go together!" Theia also grabbed his sleeve tightly.
Lin Gui looked at them and actually gave a faint smile.
There was a sense of composure in that smile that they couldn't understand.
"I knew the opponent was a High-tier Legendary long ago. Don't worry, the other party won't move against me."
Theia froze, remembering the words she had overheard while lurking above Caesar.
"Because of that mysterious person's promise?"
"Yes." Lin Gui nodded.
"His goal is to kill the Saintess. He stated clearly from the start that he wouldn't touch me."
"If it really reaches a point where I can't handle it..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Saintess Eve, who was standing quietly nearby. His tone was flat yet cruel.
"I can only say sorry to the Saintess."
Hearing herself mentioned, Eve merely gave a shallow smile.
It was as if they weren't discussing her life and death.
Under Lin Gui's repeated assurances and urging, Theia gritted her teeth and finally chose to trust his judgment.
She grabbed Elvia, who still wanted to say something.
"We're leaving! Don't stay here and hold him back!"
Elvia looked at Lin Gui's calm face, then looked toward the distant, seemingly man-eating darkness.
Ultimately, she stomped her foot and allowed herself to be forcibly pulled away by Theia, quickly vanishing into another tunnel of the mine.
The noisy and chaotic mine finally fell into complete silence.
Only Lin Gui and Saintess Eve remained.
At some point, the booming sounds caused by the Soul-Slaying Blade—which had been darting around like a headless fly—came to a sudden halt.
Then, it turned into a streak of bloody light, darting swiftly toward a certain direction outside the mine, vanishing in an instant.
Presumably, it had returned to the hands of its true master.
Lin Gui walked over to a relatively level rock and sat down, beginning to meditate to recover his mana.
Saintess Eve also sat gently beside him, slightly tilting her head back.
She looked toward the cracked fissures at the top of the mine.
The golden afterglow of the sunset poured down through them, forming a hazy pillar of light.
It happened to illuminate half of her quiet and sacred profile.
She took a deep breath.
Her previously tense aura seemed to relax completely.
Rather than appearing to be in danger, she seemed more like she was enjoying a rare moment of tranquility.
Lin Gui keenly noticed the change in her state and was somewhat surprised.
"You... don't seem to be afraid?"
Hearing this, Eve gently turned her head toward him.
The corners of her lips curled into a faint, genuine arc.
Her purple eyes appeared exceptionally clear in the sunset's halo, carrying a strange sense of trust.
"I'm not afraid," her voice was ethereal and calm. "Because you're here."
Lin Gui remained silent for a moment, sitting beside her on the rock.
Watching the dust dancing in the pillar of light, he finally asked the question that had been lingering for a long time.
"Now, can you tell me about the prophecy?"
Eve tilted her head, revealing a slightly playful smile.
"So hurried? Are you afraid that if I die, I'll never be able to speak of it again?"
Lin Gui nodded honestly, looking at her with a serious gaze.
"The probability of me saving you from his hands is very low. So low it is... negligible."
"Is that so?" Eve chuckled, the sound exceptionally clear in the silent mine.
"Then... how about I make a prophecy now? Will the outcome later be auspicious or ill?"
Without waiting for Lin Gui's answer, she had already slightly closed her eyes.
She folded her hands gently before her, and an indescribable, faint ripple—carrying a sense of the sacred and mysterious—emanated from her.
Her lips moved soundlessly, as if communicating with a distant existence.
A few strands of pale golden hair moved on her forehead without any wind.
This process lasted for about a dozen seconds.
When she opened her eyes once more, star-like rivers seemed to flow within her purple eyes before finally returning to calm.
She looked at Lin Gui, the smile on her face becoming subtle.
It carried a trace of unfathomable amusement.
"The result of the prophecy is..."
She gently spoke two words that were completely out of place with the life-and-death crisis before them.
"Beer, revelry."
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