The sky broke dawn—not with the soft glow of the sun rising over the horizon, but with a brilliant display of magical light. A vast, intricate, and magnificent magic circle covered the entire sky, where the fusion of shimmering silver magic threads resembled rivers of stars flowing together. The golden runes that sparkled above now looked like bright stars in the night sky, dispelling the darkness and replacing it with a dazzling light.
Many soldiers stopped in their tracks, raising their heads and staring at the sky with desperate expressions. They did not know what this terrifying magic circle was, but their innate human instincts told them it was a threat they could never resist—like the helplessness one feels when facing a landslide or a tsunami, a natural reaction to an unavoidable disaster. Some soldiers even dropped their weapons, knelt on the ground, and stared blankly at the scene before them, their minds completely blank. Of course, not all soldiers gave up their chance to escape. Many ran around like headless chickens, trying to flee the battlefield and get as far away from this terrifying place as possible. But the magic circle in the sky spread far faster than human feet could run. Even the soldiers on the edge of the army had not run far when the golden and silver magical light swept over them, enveloping them completely.
"Holy Mana, hearken to my call, come here, merge with me."
"The shadow of death, hearken to my summons, come here, cover the earth."
"In the name of Mana, I declare…"
"In the name of Mana, I affirm…"
"I am the voice of life, guided by the principle of ten thousand rings…"
"I am the voice of death, bound by the laws of a thousand paths…"
The clear, sweet, and crisp voices of the twin sisters merged into one in the night sky, becoming inseparable.
"The hour of exchange has come!"
"The vessel of substitution is ready!"
"Then…"
"Then…"
The twin sisters solemnly grasped their parasols, which they had been holding in one hand, stood them upright in front of their chests for a moment, then pointed downward.
"Unleash, the Arbitration of Sin!"
"Roar, the Wrath of Fate!"
With the completion of the sisters' incantation, the huge magic circle that had been spinning不停 suddenly came to a halt.
Then, the light burst forth.
From the intersection of every line and ending at every rune, countless beams of light rained down from the sky.
"——!!"
A deathly silence.
But the next moment, it became a roar that shook the entire world.
A wave of light rained down, piercing the ground and unleashing unparalleled energy. The hard earth was no match for the immense impact, the ground torn apart by massive craters, countless rocks and soil scattered into the air—but before they could fall, another wave of attacks sent up even more debris. Now, the ground and sky seemed to merge, as if the earth itself had become a sea under a storm, with soil turned into waves surging upward, trying to push toward the sky. Even dust had no chance to settle. The thick soil had become the true主旋律 (main melody), exploding upward only to be blown away again by another layer of soil, and so on, and so on.
The thirty thousand soldiers were gone. In the roaring sea of earth, there was no way to tell if any of them survived. Many were pierced through the body by the beams of light and blown to pieces. Those who were lucky enough to escape were not spared— the soil waves were just as deadly as the storms at sea—even more so.
Sadly, the soldiers had no ships to take shelter from the storm.
No screams—for the humble, small voices of humans were meaningless in the face of such power.
By the grace of the Saints!
Watching the shocking scene before her, Ophelia covered her mouth tightly, her heart pounding with terror. She had once doubted whether three people could stand against thirty thousand royal elite soldiers, but now the reality before her made it clear—with just three people, not even a city of a hundred thousand could escape destruction.
The可怕 (terrifying) attack had far exceeded human comprehension, and Ophelia felt her heart pounding so hard she was sure it would break free from her chest. If she hadn't already died and couldn't die again, she would have feared her heart might jump out and let her die once more.
Well done.
Blake squinted, watching the shocking slaughter with a satisfied nod. Unlike Ophelia, he remained calm—after all, he had known the sisters for so long, and he knew their power well. In fact, originally, Messiah and Semia could not have cast such a grand, elaborate attack magic, as it required immense mana. But here, in Twilight Forest, there was no problem!
Because Twilight Forest was a source of mana—an endless wellspring of magical energy!
The wellspring could supply mana endlessly, and for the twin sisters, who had reached the peak of both magic and swordsmanship, with enough mana, they could even perform miracles as if they were gods!
But…
Blake glanced at the ring on his finger, its magical glow now dimmed. Summoning the temporary structure had already consumed some of the wellspring's mana, and now, with Messiah and Semia's ultra-large peak spell, the remaining mana had been completely drained.
But it was worth it.
After an unknown amount of time, the beams of light disappeared, and the shaking earth finally fell silent. But what was revealed before them was a scene beyond imagination, one no one could have guessed.
The hard earth now looked like a thick black blanket. The green and yellow grass that had covered it was gone, and even the bodies were nowhere to be seen. It was as if the entire earth had been flipped over by an invisible giant hand, leaving only faint traces.
In the middle of it all, only two figures remained standing.
Judy was clearly unaffected by the magic attack, though her body was still burning with fierce red flames—she had exerted a great deal of effort to withstand the devastating onslaught. After all, the beams of light were indiscriminate, with no precision targeting system.
The other person was a surprise.
Wester V stood dazed on the ground, a translucent golden protective shield surrounding him. The barrier flickered, clearly on the verge of collapse.
"How do you feel?"
Blake's mocking voice echoed in Wester V's ears. The king slowly turned his head, his movements so slow he looked like a dying old man.
Blake walked up to him, his expression calm and indifferent. Behind him, the twin sisters floated down hand in hand, Judy sheathed her sword and strode toward them, followed by Charlotte and the fully armed maid, who walked silently behind him like his shadow.
But Wester V was not interested in them. He turned his neck with difficulty, as if it weighed a thousand pounds, then looked at the violet-haired girl standing beside Blake.
Ophelia had recovered from her shock, her face still flushed with excitement but her expression now calm. She stared at Wester V with a complex expression, unsure of what to say.
"Did I fail?"
Wester V asked茫然 (dazed), his eyes downcast, staring at the scroll in his hand. Every king had some way to survive—Wester was no exception. He had bought this high-level protection scroll from the mage association for a huge sum of money, through Larry Bode. It contained a top-tier protective spell, which should have been able to block any attack—but now, it was just that it had never encountered a stronger one.
"Yes, you failed."
Ophelia replied softly, her eyes fixed on Wester V.
"I failed."
Wester V laughed bitterly, repeating the words.
"I failed again. I've always failed… Ah, my sister, are you happy now? Just like before? You're always right, and I'm always wrong. You can do anything successfully, but I can never succeed? When I was a prince, I failed. Now as king, I still fail? You're happy, aren't you? Tell me you're happy!"
"I don't know."
But Ophelia's answer was unexpected.
"To be honest, I should be happy, but I'm not surprised by your current situation… I can't bring myself to be happy when I've expected this outcome… I know you too well, Borkus."
At this, Ophelia's voice was filled with sorrow.
"I thought I knew you, but then I realized I didn't understand your obsession."
"You don't understand… you never will!!"
Wester V suddenly burst into laughter.
"Sister, sister? Sister? What kind of royal are you? You're just a mongrel—blood of the common people! I, Borkus Wester, am the legitimate heir to the royal bloodline! But you dared to step on me! On my head! I was the prince! Do you understand? I'm the one who inherited the Dalis family's noble bloodline and the Wester royal bloodline— the most noble royal family! I'm the best! I'm number one! You, you're all commoners! Lowly people! You dare to defeat me? You dare to insult my noble bloodline! If it weren't for you, that crazy woman, I would have been the most perfect, respected, and beloved prince in the royal family! I would never have failed!"
He shouted, his fists clenched.
"Why do I have to be compared to a woman whose mother was a maid and whose father was a commoner? Why do I have to be compared to you? Look at your sister Ophelia, the half-royal, she's better than me! I'm the prince! Am I not? Ophelia, Ophelia! That name makes me sick! Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? You pity me, don't you? Because I'm the prince, and I'm not as good as you! You think I don't know the dirt beneath your friendly facade? I'm the hero! I drove out the evil! But the people in the palace don't care about my achievements—they mourn your death! By the grace of the Saints! They've been tricked by you, this blood-soaked slut! How can someone like you enter the royal family? It's a desecration! A desecration of the sacred royal bloodline!!"
"I don't care about any of this."
Ophelia's expression remained unchanged, even as Wester V raged.
"I don't care about bloodlines, or whether I'm a mongrel—none of this matters to me. I don't want to discuss this with you anymore, Borkus. There's only one thing I care about now— not the throne, not the royal family, not the country, not the people— just the location of my mother's grave. That's all I want to know."
"Hehehe, hehehe, heeheehee?"
Wester V finally broke into a twisted smile.
"See? I'm still better than you, mongrel. You finally have something you don't know. You finally have a question to ask me. You finally have to beg me. This proves my bloodline is higher than yours, I'm far more talented, isn't it?"
He suddenly perked up, his chest puffed out, and he stared contemptuously at Blake and Ophelia, then stepped forward with his right foot.
"If you want to know, you and these commoners must kneel and kiss my feet, and apologize for your insolence. Then, as your noble ruler, maybe I'll be kind enough to remember something… What are you waiting for? Come on! You want to know, don't you? I know! I won't tell you! I won't tell you! Let that old woman rot in her grave, feeding the dogs!"
*Slap!*
Just as Wester V was dancing with glee, a black shadow flashed and struck his face hard. He let out a scream and flew backward, landing on the ground. In her right hand, Ophelia now held a black whip.
"Any person who dares to disrespect my mother will not be spared."
*Swish!*
The black shadow struck again, landing hard on Wester V's body.
"Ugh! Hahaha, hit me all you want! I won't tell you! I'm better than you! I'm better than you! You don't know, do you? You don't know where that old bitch is… Ugh!"
The whip struck again, and Ophelia bit her lip, her anger finally showing.
"Tell me! Where is my mother buried?!"
Under Ophelia's control, the black whip wrapped around Wester V's feet, lifting him up, then slamming him to the ground. The impact caused Wester V to spit up blood, but he still smiled eerily at Ophelia, shaking his head firmly—he was determined to die rather than speak.
Before she could say anything, Blake stopped her.
"This king clearly doesn't know his place."
"Master, you…"
"It's okay."
Blake waved his hand, cutting off Ophelia's questioning.
"If your mother was executed in the capital, we'll find the clues, won't we?"
He turned to Wester V.
"As for this king… it seems he doesn't want to remember, but that's okay. I'm sure he'll remember soon. Unfortunately, this king is of noble birth, and it seems he's not willing to stay with us commoners. But I suddenly remembered a special treatment in my country—one reserved for people of high status."
He paused, then turned to smile.
"Messiah, Semia, do you remember the 'prison cart' I taught you before? I think it's the perfect way to treat King Wester V."