However, the chains were not only incredibly sturdy; Tina discovered that the entire bed, and even the entire space, had been “altered.”
When Tina had killed Babarol, Sathya had used a similar ability. She had temporarily altered the material of the surrounding environment, making it unbreakable and virtually impossible to destroy with brute force alone.
Sathya had thought of everything. She had even taken my weaknesses into account!
Why...
No, I can't think about this anymore.
If I can't cut the chains, then I'll just cut my own...
Tina looked at the fair skin on her wrists where the chains bound her, and with almost zero hesitation, she brought her other hand chopping down fiercely.
But in an instant, her other hand was also snared by a chain. Looking up, she realized that a chain had suddenly shot down from the ceiling, tightly binding her other arm.
She couldn't exert any strength.
Yet it didn't stop there. Even more chains snaked out from the walls, wrapping around her thighs, neck, and waist.
Tina suddenly felt incredibly drowsy. The chain around her neck immediately pushed aside the ribbon covering her curse and wrapped around it. Though it wasn't tight, a comfortable, soft, and soothing energy seeped directly into her mind.
“Little Ya...”
She reached out, intending to put up one final struggle, but ultimately failed.
She lost consciousness and collapsed onto the bed.
Despite having undergone relevant training, it was still difficult to withstand hypnosis magic of this level. No matter how hard she tried, she was helpless against it.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes only to find herself at school.
The sky was clear, but the sun was nowhere to be seen.
Clearly, she had entered a dream.
Her limbs could move freely, she could speak, and she was even aware that she was dreaming—meaning this was a lucid dream.
Perhaps she had ended up in this space because she had forced herself to maintain consciousness right before falling asleep?
The question she needed to think about now was how to wake up.
Tina realized she was currently standing in front of the Leaflight dormitory, but it was no longer as lively as it used to be.
Even though it was daytime and the clean glass windows gleamed with a somewhat piercing glare, the place was deathly quiet.
The air was filled with a strange, rancid stench, like the smell of blood and corpses soaking in water, fermenting for a month.
There was a pool of fresh blood in front of the Leaflight dormitory door, as if indicating that someone had been here.
Tina looked back, but everything behind her was blurry and indistinct, like a camera lens zooming infinitely far away in a painting. She couldn't even look directly at it.
Clearly, if she continued forward, she would most likely face the “nightmare” in her heart.
They say dreams are illusions, but the emotions they convey are very real.
Continuing forward would simply mean facing her own inner self.
Tina was very calm.
She stepped forward, following the trail of blood all the way to the second floor.
Room B17—the double dorm room she had shared with Sathya when they first arrived at the Holy Academy.
Pushing the door open, she saw a familiar figure leaning against the wall, taking her last breaths.
Sathya.
She was covered in blood, her eyes filled with absolute despair.
“I'm sorry, Sister Tina. I'm sorry... sob... I didn't... protect you... I couldn't resurrect you. All my efforts were in vain... I still couldn't do it... My magic...”
【Sathya has died. Mission failed.】
【Host, you are truly useless.】
The System's voice followed immediately.
Listening closely, the System's voice sounded as if it were deliberately mimicking Tina's own, sounding even clearer in the dream.
She had never seen Sathya before she died.
By the time she was able to open her eyes, Sathya had already passed away.
The Sathya in this dream was nothing more than a figment of her own imagination.
I lied to her.
Yet she chose to forgive, and she chose to believe.
“This kind of thing will not happen a second time.”
...
The complete lack of light was the first obstacle the massive army of paladins encountered.
Even with two powerful Cardinals leading them from the front, the forces known as the Crusade Legion were still obstructed by charred vines and branches.
The pale ground was completely devoid of life, yet annoying black branches cropped up everywhere.
It was as if every detail pointed to a hidden secret, a dangerous entity, and an unspeakable anomaly lurking in the deepest depths of this dense forest.
No one spoke along the way, simply because they were all too exhausted to utter a word.
Strangely enough, while some of these paladins could march from the southern side of the continent to the northern side without eating or drinking, they found themselves barely able to walk after only a few hours of marching through this forest.
Even now, they didn't even know what kind of enemy they were about to face, nor did they understand why tens of thousands of paladins had been dispatched to conquer such a desolate place.
Some were so fatigued that they could no longer walk, forcing them to strip off their armor and be carried on the backs of their comrades. But soon, a second problem arose.
The gaps between the trees grew narrower and narrower. Their bulky armor made it difficult to pass through, let alone while carrying others.
They attempted to chop down the trees and level the land, just as they had always done in the past.
However, the severed branches not only regrew instantly, but they also sprayed a black fluid. While this fluid couldn't corrode their hardened armor, it seeped through the gaps, eating away at their flesh and even melting their arms and legs!
Some thought of retreating, but they were stopped by the generals and supervisors. There was only one reason they kept pressing forward.
“Cardinal Morgan has ordered us to advance.”
A Cardinal's authority was absolute, and what was more, there were two Cardinals present here.
Many believed they would be fine, as this was the most grand and imposing military campaign in recent decades, comparable even to the great expeditions to subjugate magical beasts.
Soon, they encountered a wall.
It was a bizarre wall constructed from white trees, packed so tightly that not even air could pass through, stretching up into the pitch-black sky as if it had no end.
The Cardinals were also stopped in their tracks.
The trees twisted and writhed, eventually forming a vortex.
This vortex was just like the sky above—bottomless, as if leading straight to the abyss.
It felt as though some evil deity or demon beast resided within, extending an olive branch to invite them inside. Yet, everyone halted.
Everyone remained silent. It was the first time they had ever witnessed such an anomaly, but with the Cardinals leading them, they were sure a solution would be found.
Then, a voice like a silver bell emerged from the vortex—soft, yet hair-raising.
“Do you wish to enter the wall? Then... offer thirty thousand lives...”
“You will obtain...”
“Everything you desire...”
The voice was incredibly seductive, and no one would ever mistake it for that of a human.
How could the esteemed Cardinals ever do something so foolish?
Every paladin thought this. They gripped their weapons, waiting for the battle horn to sound so they could wage an epic war.
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