"Your highness...?"
"My dear..."
"You whore..."
Faint and muffled voices echoed in Melian's ears. She felt nothing, numbness took over her body, leaving her unable to see or feel. Her mind was calm. It was as if her mind got flushed of all thoughts and stress and was replaced by a relaxing feeling of relative peace took over her.
She did not think of anything else but felt as if she was in bliss. She felt the urge to stay at the state she was in and never return to the everlasting torture which was the reality of all living beings. A state where she had no responsibilities, where she could finally rest and accept her mistakes and move on into another plane of existence, a higher plane, she believed.
She could only remember the faint memory of her being flung away by that demon in white armor. She recalled no pain, but a slight jolt from her stomach, which pushed her at high speeds and slammed her against a mountain.
And now she floated in bliss, relaxed in a manner in which she has never handled before. Slowly her numb body began to feel once more, and she felt as if she was drifting and afloat. She slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by a white light shined upon her, she couldn't see clearly, but the light was unlike anything she had ever laid eyes on.
The light was pure yellow, a taint of yellow which was so pure yet so dazzling to the eyes despite its simplistic nature. The golden light prevented her from seeing anything, and she was blinded for a few seconds. The light struck her eyes, but she felt no pain nor did she feel the reflex to close her eyes in response to such a bright light.
But she maintained her eyes. The light was calm and pleasing regardless of its intensity.
And then the light began to fade. Slowly, she could see what was before her. Little by little, she saw a golden maiden floating amongst the light. Her long light yellow hair curled around her legs and hips as it flowed through the air like a weed in the current. Her face was beautiful. Ample were her lips and chest while her eyes were a somewhat darker range of yellow.
She had a curved body and a stunning figure overall and little did Melian know, she was looking at the Elven Goddess' pure form.
In contrast to her previous appearance on the human carriage, this form was her purest and original form. The form which reflects her beauty and does it justice. The form which strikes fear among the denizens of this world and the form which exerts her position and power among all things, as what a deity should be.
The mystified Melian stared at her beauty, and her mouth was agape. The goddess smiled at her and slowly drifted towards the floating queen. As she drew near, her elegance became even more apparent to Melian's eyes.
"Welcome, Queen Floria Melian Shelberry."
Melian was speechless, her beauty was already unparalleled, and now her voice was as sweet as honeydew. Pleasant to one's ears and antagonizing to those against such pleasantry. Melian was further buried in awe and confusion, she now knew she was in the presence of the goddess, but she was not ready to meet her again, nor was she willing to even lay her eyes upon her pure form.
"I have come here to meet you, your Majesty."
Melian's mouth remained shut.
"You need not to speak, nor to fear me, for I have come here to bring you from death,"
'Death?' She thought. 'So I was indeed dead? I was enjoying it here, in bliss.'
"I can hear your thoughts, mortal, and I heed them well, I know you long to have everlasting peace in mind and heart, but will you truly pass on without any negative conscience affecting you? No, you need not to pass on yet, you need to fight! For your people and for the world!"
"H-How...?" For the first time since she appeared here, Melian managed to utter a word, "How can we even beat them to begin with? Only a coalition of the whole world could stand against this demon army. What about the Gods? Why couldn't any of them help?"
Hearing her desperate words, the Elven Goddess sighed deeply, "Those... fools aren't bothered as the Third Civilization Zone was not their problem unless it was theirs."
Feeling a sense of rage in her, Melian asked another question, "What about the Dragon Emperor who ruled the First Civilisation Zone?"
The Elven Goddess seemed a bit hesitant before replying, "He is... strangely silent."
Feeling hopeless, Melian glanced down and felt her tears welling up, "So... we are our own?"
The Goddess smiled, "Fear not, my child. There is still hope as I bless this upon you, the power of wisdom, for magic shall be your trusted arms and legs and your mind as your sharpened blade. Your will shall be as strong as iron, and your heart shall be cleansed of regret and transform into holy armor! Clad in beauty and strength! You shall set forth in the holy light and blessings, upon our gift is bestowed upon you."
[Divine Sword Summon]
[Absolute Defense]
[Light Magic]
[Grand Combat Application]
[Grand Magic Application]
[Divine Mana Recovery]
[Divine Sense]
[Life Force Recovery]
[Indomitable Power]
[Limit Transcension]
Seeing the bestowed skills and abilities, Melian's eyes widened in shock.
"T-Those are the blessings and gifts for future heroes and champions. How did you acquire so many from the other Gods?"
"Dark days are upon us, as dark as the tragedy will repeat itself as the many Calamity events throughout the history of this world. This new threat has arisen, and two civilization zones can hope to defeat it alone. No deities will send you help, and the elves with you are just liabilities. But you, along with this human nation that this foreign God sent, were the only last hope. And you have to defeat all the demons before you have to return those abilities before the other deities notice."
"And if that didn't work?"
The Elven Goddess seemed even more hesitant, "There is also a second option."
——————————————————
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Heavy footsteps could be heard ominously in front of Melian.
It was a demon of immense build. At least two meters in height, clad in white armor that reflected any light and gave off an aura of sheer dominance.
And right now, he tried all of his healing skills on him to heal his injuries that are surprisingly evident in his chest.
She wondered who caused that.
"It seemed you're still alive, elf."
Hearing the words of the demon, Melian stood there silent, but in her mind, she began to feel conflicted.
'This is bad...'
As she stood before the demon before her, these were the initial thoughts in her mind.
'I never expected my first encounter to be an Archdemon.' Melian gritted her teeth as she narrowed her eyes.
However, she could not afford to hesitate or dwell on any other distracting thought. Her opponent was right in front of her, and she managed to save her allies she swore she'd protect from complete annihilation by using a high-tier mass teleportation spell she had been given by the Goddess.
'Many are already dead and only less than a hundred remain with forty I've saved, but the others, they are still stuck in the city. It's tragic, but... I can't let it weigh too heavily on my mind.'
Not right now!
What everyone needed from Melian right now was action.
And he had to deliver.
VWUUUUSSSHH!
Bright golden energies danced around her as she glared deeply at the foe she had to face.
'I have now over 400,000 magicules, and it is still increasing thanks to the blessing of the Goddess. Even though I'm as strong as most Elite Knights in the First Civilization Zone, I'm not very confident I can defeat this thing...'
Both of her magic and combat power had risen from 200,000 to 900,000 at the higher level of the Transcendent Tier 2, but Melian knew she needed to be a Transcendent Tier 3 to confidently assert her victory against a creature of such caliber. At this point, she couldn't boast of such power as it still wasn't enough.
Despite that, Melian knew she couldn't give up.
'I have to try!'
BOOOOOM!
More power rushed through her as she called upon her newly acquired Skills.
[Grand Light Magic]
[Divine Sword Summon]
[Absolute Defense]
Upon using her newly given skills, Melian was instantly coated in what seemed to be a golden armor as her new form radiated majesty, but also pure power.
In her hand was a sword whose beauty was beyond description, shining brightly as she brandished it.
An aura, a field of unparalleled energy, remained around her to protect her from the adversary, and shimmers of light kept swirling around her.
Melian, at this point, looked every bit the part of an Angel. Of course, she lacked the wings and celestial beauty they possessed.
But something about her looked holy.
Sacred.
And powerful!
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