Lydia hugged Klee tightly, her heart plummeting.
Watching Albedo Jr.'s hand, glowing with black light, reach for Albedo, Lydia felt her heart being squeezed by an icy hand.
Countless fragments flashed through her mind—Albedo's focused expression as he patiently explained Alchemy, his promise to repair the Holy Lyre der Himmel, his effort while fighting the Great Snowboar King...
These images burned like scorching flames, searing away her fear and igniting the emotions raging in her chest.
"Don't you dare hurt Teacher Albedo!" Lydia shrieked, her voice trembling with emotion.
No one noticed that one of the extinguished Visions at her waist had begun to emit a faint white glow.
Just as Albedo Jr.'s hand was about to touch Albedo, a flash of cold light erupted between them!
Cryo Elemental Power surged from the light, spreading like a tidal wave and engulfing Albedo Jr.
Before he could react, a thin layer of ice instantly formed over his body, freezing him in place. His hand, still glowing with black light, remained suspended in mid-air, just an inch from Albedo's chest.
"Cryo Elemental Power... Who?" Albedo asked in shock, turning his gaze toward Lydia.
The Cryo Elemental Power was pure and piercing, clearly originating from the Vision at Lydia's waist!
Lydia was also stunned, staring down at the glowing Vision.
Without a second thought, she glanced at the frozen Albedo Jr. and suddenly realized—this was her only chance!
She quickly set Klee aside and dashed toward the nearby Festering Desire.
The moment she picked up the sword, the black mist from the blade crawled up her arm. The chilling aura made her shudder, but she gripped the hilt tightly, refusing to let go.
Seeing cracks begin to appear on Albedo Jr.'s icy shell, Lydia took a deep breath and swung at his back with all her strength.
Swish!
The edge of Festering Desire slashed viciously across Albedo Jr.'s back. Blood instantly gushed out, staining his clothes red.
Strangely, the black mist from the sword and the black mist within Albedo Jr. seemed to be of different origins.
The two forces clashed violently at the wound, each trying to consume and devour the other.
The gash on Albedo Jr.'s back healed rapidly, only to be torn open again by the dark energy of Festering Desire.
The repeated tearing and healing made him let out a heart-wrenching scream. His eyes, once glowing with black light, widened in agony as he glared fixedly at Lydia.
"You... damn you!" Albedo Jr.'s voice was so hoarse it was almost broken.
He violently shattered the icy shell on his body, and a massive amount of black mist erupted from within him, instantly enveloping the entire clearing.
The black mist obscured everyone's vision, even swallowing the light radiating from the Vision.
Lydia raised Festering Desire, cautiously scanning her surroundings, her ears straining to catch any movement within the mist.
Klee's cries came from nearby, followed by Albedo's reassuring voice.
It seemed they were together, which brought Lydia a slight sense of relief, but she didn't dare let her guard down for even a moment.
Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold struck from her side!
Lydia swung her sword instinctively, Festering Desire sweeping out with its trail of black mist.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out. She had hit something, but there was no scream of pain as she'd expected.
Instead, she felt a cold sensation on her wrist, followed by a sudden emptiness at her waist.
Under the cover of the black mist, Albedo Jr. had snatched the Vision that had just begun to glow faintly!
"Careless of me not to kill you immediately," Albedo Jr.'s voice echoed through the mist, thick with mockery. "But your Vision... makes for a fine trophy."
Lydia started to give chase but heard Albedo's shout from behind her.
She stopped and turned toward the source of the sound, only to see endless darkness.
Just then, a suppressed grunt of pain echoed from within the black mist.
The wound on Albedo Jr.'s back was still taking its toll; the black energy from Festering Desire relentlessly corroded his body.
Immediately after, the cold, sinister presence faded into the distance, disappearing into the shadows deep within the mist.
Glancing at Festering Desire in Lydia's hand, Albedo Jr. left her with a chilling threat: "The next time we meet, I will make you all... pay the price."
As the black mist dissipated, sunlight once again spilled across the snow-covered ground.
Lydia watched Albedo and Klee approach, her taut nerves finally relaxing slightly.
But the hilt of Festering Desire, clutched tightly in her palm, suddenly pulsed with a bone-chilling cold.
"Ugh..." Lydia let out an involuntary grunt, her wrist trembling uncontrollably.
She tried to release her grip, but her fingers seemed glued to the hilt by the black mist. The skin on her fingertips even turned a faint, bruised black.
The black energy pierced her palm and spread through her veins, reaching every limb. Wherever it passed, her muscles spasmed and stiffened.
"What's wrong?" Albedo was the first to notice something was amiss.
Seeing Lydia's face turn deathly pale at a visible rate, her once-rosy lips instantly losing their color, he quickly reached out to support her.
"Lydia, let go of the sword! It's corroding your body!"
But before he could touch Lydia, she staggered back a step.
Festering Desire slipped from her grasp, clattering onto the snow.
Lydia clutched her chest, her breathing growing rapid and shallow as her vision blurred into double images.
Albedo's anxiously furrowed brow, Klee's reddened eyes—they all gradually faded into an indistinct haze.
The sounds around her seemed muffled, as if heard through a layer of water.
"So... cold..." Her voice was barely a whisper, her body trembling uncontrollably.
She could feel her strength draining away, her consciousness sinking into an endless darkness.
"Lydia! Don't scare me!" Klee ran over, her small hands gripping Lydia's sleeve tightly.
Warm tears fell onto the back of Lydia's hand, but they failed to restore even a fraction of her strength.
Klee watched Lydia's face grow paler and paler, her cries filled with terror.
"Albedo! What's wrong with Lydia?"
Albedo's heart clenched. He carefully gathered Lydia into his arms.
The girl's body was as light as a feather, yet as cold as ice. Her breathing was faint, the rise and fall of her chest growing shallower with each moment.
He could feel her life force steadily fading away.
"Don't be afraid, Klee. We're heading back to camp right now." Albedo tried to keep his voice steady, but the panic in his eyes was impossible to hide. "I promise you, I'll find a way to heal Lydia."
He kicked Festering Desire, which lay on the ground, far away to prevent the black mist from drawing near again.
Then, with Klee in tow, he broke into a run toward the camp.
Lydia rested in Albedo's arms, her consciousness hovering on the edge of darkness.
She wanted to open her eyes, to tell Albedo, "I'm fine," but her eyelids felt as heavy as lead.
In a daze, she seemed to see her parents' figures again, and... the Vision that had just lit up before being snatched away.
Vision... I'm sorry... she murmured silently in her mind as her consciousness finally sank into darkness.