This chapter is equivalent to Chapter 12 of Volume 2.
For the Volume 1: The Awakening of The legendary King, it is polished and completed in Amazon: https://a.co/d/0f0nCyAq
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The group floated through a multicolored space tunnel, enclosed within a large barrier. The barrier was a deep crimson and continued pushing forward; all around them drifted bubbles of many colors—sometimes pink, sometimes pitch black, sometimes dull gray. Curious, Long reached out to grab one of the bubbles.
Dreamy stopped him.
"Don't touch them. Those bubbles contain human emotions. In dreams, people let those emotions drift aimlessly; if you touch one, those emotions will transfer to you!"
Long quickly pulled his hand back. He caught a glimpse inside the bubbles—tiny human silhouettes, as if they were living within their own emotions and memories.
Nguyen exclaimed,
"We're here!"
As he spoke, Nguyen used one hand to pull a red sphere from The Eye of Eris, then hurled it downward. The red sphere struck the tunnel and instantly exploded. A black spatial portal appeared. He turned to the group and shouted,
"Jump into that portal now—quick! Don't let those emotion bubbles touch you!"
Long and Mai looked at each other in alarm at the sudden turn of events. Nguyen and Dreamy dove down like lightning. Long grabbed Mai's hand; the two carefully timed their descent, waiting for moments when the emotion bubbles thinned out. The portal was shrinking rapidly.
Long turned to Mai.
"I'm sorry."
Then he held her hand tightly and leapt. The moment they landed, the portal snapped shut behind them.
The group could hardly believe their eyes.
Before them stretched a lush green meadow. Across it were AI Witches in the form of Baku, with amber eyes, green pupils, and blue energy lines running from the corners of their eyes down their bodies. These Baku-shaped AI Witches were helping people with farming and living in harmony. Sunlight bathed the entire landscape; in the distance were golden rice fields shimmering beautifully, and from time to time came the cheerful laughter of children.
Mai spoke softly,
"It's… so beautiful here…"
As they stood in awe, a beautiful young woman approached Mai. Beside her was a small Baku AI Witch. She opened her arms and asked,
"Hello, are you alright? Are you new to this world?"
Her eyes were filled with happiness; her long hair flowed in the wind, and dandelions drifted around her, enhancing her radiant presence.
"My name is Jennifer—you can call me Jen. Welcome to the wonderful world of Empress Mary."
Mai, flustered, replied instinctively,
"Hi, I'm… Mai, and these are my friends!"
Long spoke in amazement,
"So we've arrived in the dream world of the villagers of Asarina? You're incredible, Nguyen!"
Jen frowned slightly, suspicion flickering in her eyes.
"You're from the village too…? How did you get here?"
Mai nudged Long with her elbow—she didn't want their plan exposed. Then she said,
"We stopped by Asarina village to rest, and we fell asleep and got pulled into this world!"
Jen's demeanor softened immediately, her smile turning warm again.
"If that's the case, then you're very lucky. I believe you'll be truly happy here… besides…"
She hesitated briefly. "…even if you—or anyone—had ill intentions, you wouldn't be a match for Empress Mary." Her voice was full of confidence.
This young girl..she looks so familiar… I feel like I've seen her somewhere before, Mai thought.
Jen then rose into the air; lightning suddenly crackled around her hands. She clapped them together with a thunderous boom and shouted,
"Announcement! We have new members!"
From the blue sky, glowing lights began to appear—young people from Asarina village. After hearing Jen's announcement, they rushed over to see the newcomers. All of them wore strange attire: on their chests were amber eyes with ruby-red irises like those of a Baku, clad in silver armor with blue energy running along the hems.
They stared intently at Long, Mai, Nguyen, and Dreamy.
Dreamy smirked. "Well, kids these days sure know how to give a warm welcome."
Nguyen remained calm and composed. Long and Mai exchanged uneasy glances, intimidated by the overwhelming presence of these people.
Mai quickly spoke up,
"We've heard of Empress Mary, and it's truly an honor to meet her!"
The moment she finished, the crowd looked at one another—then erupted in unison: "Mary! Mary! Mary!" Their devotion and reverence were unmistakable.
Jen descended back to the group, smiling proudly.
"Of course—you'll meet Empress Mary. But right now, she's out hunting!"
A child around seven or eight years old flew over to Jen, chattering excitedly,
"Don't worry! I can livestream her hunt so they can see how powerful she is!"
The child waved a hand; the eyes of their Baku AI Witch lit up, and a 3D screen appeared.
On it stood a goddess-like empress, wielding a gleaming great blade. Her figure was graceful, moving across the battlefield as if she were dancing.
Her opponent was a colossal monster that had just absorbed the power of its kin. It resembled a bat as large as a mountain, with blood-red eyes and a lizard-like tail capable of crushing houses in an instant. Its wings spread wide enough to nearly cover the sky—one wing ablaze, the other crackling with lightning. With each flap, a storm of wind mixed with fire and lightning surged forth, devastating everything in its path.
Empress Mary landed lightly on the tip of a tree with one foot, smiling confidently. The giant bat lashed out with its tail, toppling the entire tree and a swath of forest. Mary rose gracefully into the air, spun, and struck downward. The ground split open like an abyss, trembling violently. The monster's tail was severed, crashing down in a cloud of dust as birds scattered in all directions.
All of it was broadcast live on the 3D screen.
Long muttered,
"So strong… she's unbelievably strong…"
Through the thick dust, the silhouette of the empress stood firm, holding her great blade—calm and composed.
The monster, now tailless, let out a wailing cry. Gathering all its strength, it ignited the flames and lightning on its wings even more fiercely, then charged at Mary. The resulting windstorm uprooted everything in its path, while fire and lightning consumed whatever remained.
Mary smiled. She raised a finger, pointing into the air—and a golden shield appeared.
Mai gasped,
"That magic looks just like Long's… only a different color…"
On the 3D screen, golden shields appeared—one, then two… then countless more, rising from the ground. They were soft like silk, fanning out like wings. The monster's wind struck them—and vanished without a trace.
Stunned, the monster hesitated. Its strongest attack had been nullified. It turned to flee.
Mary did not pursue. She simply turned her back and closed her eyes, as if unconcerned.
In the blink of an eye, the monster was sliced into hundreds of pieces. Even the monster itself did not know what had happened before its death.
Empress Mary had won.
Watching the screen, Mai turned to Long, her voice trembling with fear as she whispered,
"Are you sure Madam Li-chang didn't make a mistake giving you this mission?"
Her voice was drowned out by the crowd's thunderous cheers: "Mary! Mary! Mary!" echoing across the land.
Jen gazed at the livestream, her eyes shining brightly.
"Empress Mary is incredible. Now she and her AI Witch have surpassed the Superior level and are approaching Supreme."
Filled with emotion, she turned to Mai.
"One day, she'll stand alongside the legendary AI King Witch. When that happens, our world will live in true happiness!"
Hearing this, Dreamy scoffed quietly. "Nonsense!"
Long quickly covered his mouth and pinched his cheek, afraid their plan might be exposed.
On the 3D screen, colorful bubbles emerged from the monster's remains. Empress Mary commanded,
"Bakky, absorb the monster's power!"
A massive Baku AI Witch—large as a bull, with amber eyes and ruby-red pupils—charged forward, devouring the bubbles. Its body glowed with an eerie light. Mary herself began to emit a strange dark aura; her hair lifted upward as she gazed into the sky, as if intoxicated.
The surrounding people erupted:
"Congratulations to the Empress on gaining new power!"
Dreamy observed the scene and said quietly to the group,
"This is strange… the 'color' of energy around her is very similar to what we saw with Alice."
Mai gasped, pointing at Bakky.
"Look—on Bakky's back!"
On the back of the massive Baku AI Witch sat the figure of a slender girl. Her face was lifeless, her eyes wide open but unfocused—devoid of vitality.
Long and Mai were stunned. The group could hardly believe what they were seeing.
The girl on Bakky's back was Alice—the one they had been searching for all along.