Heaven’s Proud Daugh Chapter 113

Chapter 113. A Ga Beneath the Moonlight (1)

Aeldelin Xueting—a high-ranking demon who had wandered the depths of the river of ti.

A thousand years of ages were to her no more than sand slipping between fingers; the tides of intrigue and the dramas of glory and ruin had long since played out their endless cycles before her eyes.

She had once imrsed herself in them, and once been moved by them.

But gradually, that fervor had faded.

She had co to stand at the edge of the din, gazing with cold eyes upon the ten thousand zhang of red dust, letting dynasties rise and fall, mountains and rivers change their shapes, until even the last wisp of ripple in her heart had settled into silence. The great upheavals of sea turning to mulberry fields were to her no more than a wind sweeping through an empty courtyard—impossible to hold, and not worth mourning.

And so that indolent, nearly transparent smile had set firm at the corners of her lips—

A stillness soaked through by the emptiness of long ages; a bone-deep weariness of the turning of all things. It seed nothing in this world remained that could pierce through the already-faded backdrop of her emotions.

Slumber had beco the only antidote to her long curse—a ans of swallowing those boundless, endless years.

Even when that Highness descended, sweeping like a startled swan through her stagnant era, rekindling a faint fla called "purpose"……

That fla had, in the end, never truly ward the blood frozen solid for a thousand years, nor could it scatter that eternal solitude.

Her existence still hovered above the din of this world, separated from it by a pane of impenetrable ti-glass.

Estranged. To the bone.

"This tender little thing before ……" Aeldelin's blood-colored eyes swept lightly over Luo Nan; a thread of sothing nearly illusory—a flicker of amusent—surfaced in her eyes and vanished again, quick as a trick of the light. "It seems he's trying to use the faint light at his fingertips to stir my long-since-dimd twilight."

That intent, in her ancient gaze, was as clear as a footprint pressed into fresh snow.

"Go on, let's hear it~~"

The crimson beauty gave her response.

Upon hearing this, Luo Nan broke into an inward smile; bracing himself against the crushing pressure, he forced himself upright, his seated posture as tall and straight as a pine.

'As expected—only the unknown and the intriguing can ever faintly stir this Chrono Phantom Demon who has lived for thousands of years.'

"One thing first: if you're thinking of playing those small gas invented by you humans, the ones with complicated rules…… I won't agree to that." Aeldelin added.

"I'm well aware that Mr. Luo Nan has earned the title 'Star Board King.'" Her fingertip lit up a projection—and there, unmistakably, was an image of Luo Nan employing Star Sigil Cards in a single combination to wipe out all of Delphius's and Gosius's pieces.

"When did this person…… get here so early?"

Luo Nan straightened the collar of his formal attire and replied evenly: "Naturally, Lord Aeldelin, I would never dream of disturbing your interest with that sort of 'small ga.'"

"As I said before, this ga is Best of Three Rounds," Luo Nan rose to his feet and, under the heavy pressure, walked steadily to stand beside Anya, taking his place next to her. "Each round, I will bring Lord Aeldelin a completely new experience."

"New in what way?" As if her appetite had been whetted by Luo Nan, a flicker of curiosity stirred in the crimson beauty's jade eyes.

"Round One—the the is 'Strength.'"

Aeldelin glanced at Luo Nan and gestured for him to continue.

"This round will have Anya Sivans take the field. You may use your abilities to create an opponent tailored to her—the two will engage in a straight-up fight, and whoever wins takes Round One."

"Oh? You really do know a great deal about …… you know I have the 'Mirror' and 'Replicate' abilities." Aeldelin said this without any particular surprise in her tone.

"Then…… is there any limit on the strength of the 'opponent' I create?"

Luo Nan added: "Naturally there's no limit—it's entirely up to you. I trust…… that the distinguished Lord Aeldelin would not stoop to bullying the weak with the strong?"

"But if you do insist on it, I have no ans to stop you—after all, I have no leverage over you, do I?" Luo Nan gave a small shrug, the picture of helplessness.

He was joking, of course—he would never place his hopes in an unpredictable Aeldelin.

Whatever Aeldelin did in Round One, whatever tier the opponent she created turned out to be, whether Anya Sivans won or lost, Luo Nan had a contingency plan for all of it.

"Ha…… since Mr. Luo Nan has put it that way, I naturally…… must play with integrity."

With that, Aeldelin snapped her fingers lightly, and the blood-red Daylight Greenhouse shifted in an instant.

In a single mont, the group arrived atop a platform at the peak of a great tower.

Luo Nan looked out into the distance. He saw the red glow about to set, the cyan just beginning to rise; the vault of sky was split in two by red and cyan, and this tower, black from top to bottom, stood precisely where red and cyan t.

"This is……"

Taking in the scene before him, Luo Nan instantly matched it to a location from his previous life's mories.

This was the Demon Realm—the Spiral Altar of the Salya Demon Kingdom.

'It should be only a realistic illusion, not the real thing—Aeldelin specializes in exactly this kind of thing, after all.'

"Where is this?!"

Anya's eyes went wide; she gazed out to the horizon, her pair of golden eyes sweeping back and forth across the two stars in the sky overhead that she had never seen before.

The girl had never seen this place before!

There was no great sun in the sky, nor the Twin Moon Deities!

Fortunately, Aeldelin did not choose to speak in riddles—she explained: "This is mm…… an arena. The scenery is drawn from my holand."

"Oh oh, so we're fighting at the top of this tall tower?"

Aeldelin gave a faint nod, extended her pale jade hand, and a vivid blood-red core materialized in her palm, floating there.

"Ti is of the essence. Let us begin."

"Wait." Luo Nan interrupted.

"What……"

"Lady Aeldelin, may I provide ringside support for Anya? Verbally only, of course."

The crimson beauty hesitated for a mont, then smiled lightly—she appeared to have seen through Luo Nan's little sche.

But she didn't mind. She said casually: "Of course. In fact, I'd say…… I'm rather looking forward to your 'assistance.'"

With Aeldelin's consent, Luo Nan walked to Anya's side. "Anya, follow my instructions when the ti cos."

"Got it!"

"Right—if the 'opponent' Aeldelin sends out is too strong, stronger than what I told you beforehand," Luo Nan reminded her, "don't hesitate—surrender imdiately!"

"Understood—I'm not like so person who likes playing the hero." Anya waved her hand and replied.

What Anya was referring to was naturally the ti the two of them were in the Listone Mine Shaft, when Luo Nan had thrown himself in front of a blow to save her.

The girl had still not figured out to this day whether she owed Luo Nan more, or Luo Nan owed her more.

'Never mind, sort it out later,' the girl thought.

"……" Luo Nan had a feeling this person was taking a jab at him.

But he had no proof.

Forget it—more pressing matters at hand; he wouldn't bicker with her.

The two exchanged a glance, and Luo Nan quietly walked to stand at the edge of the tower-top platform.

Anya drew her silver-grey longsword and walked to the center.

"Lady Aeldelin, co." She flashed a bright smile, her beautiful golden eyes igniting with battle-intent; her chestnut high ponytail floated lightly in the breeze.

Even with an opponent of unfathomable depth before her, the "Chosen Hero" was utterly fearless.

Of course, what Luo Nan had told her earlier—"she cannot directly lay hands on us"—was her greatest source of confidence.

Aeldelin gave a gentle push; the vivid blood-red core in her hand drifted slowly across to Anya's side.

"Honestly, I don't know Miss Anya all that well—I can't very well tailor an opponent specifically for you…… so," the crimson beauty pointed a finger into empty air, "let

just 'Mirror' you."

As her voice fell, the vivid blood-red core shattered in an instant; crimson-red light beams intertwined, writhed, and sublimated, before gradually resolving into a "human" identical to Anya in every respect.

Except—the "Anya's" eyes were a vivid blood-red.

"Tier Two Peak—don't you say I'm bullying the weak with the strong~~"

Aeldelin was not so paragon of virtue; she was not about to play fair with Luo Nan just because of two simple provocations.

For her, "interesting" was what mattered most—she would never conjure a Mirror that could crush Anya by sheer tier difference, as that would make the entire fight utterly devoid of spectacle.

Nor, on the other hand, would she conjure a Mirror at a level equivalent to Anya's own strength, a Tier Two Early-Stage—that would lose a certain thrill.

After all, "interesting" matters greatly, but "victory" concedes nothing.

Aeldelin wants it all!

"Tier Two Peak……" Anya gripped her sword hilt tightly and settled into her combat stance.

"This lady here has achieved a Tier-Skipping Kill before!"

The girl couldn't help but recall her own feat in the Listone Mine Shaft—a set of Starfall Sword Art techniques, chaining together kill after kill against that ugly Abyssal creature at Tier Three Early-Stage.

Thinking of this, confidence imdiately flooded Anya's chest.

"Co!"

As her voice fell, Anya stepped forward like a thunderclap.

"Flashstep!"

The technique activated; she dissolved into an afterimage, sword in hand, thrusting straight at "Anya."

Clang—

The two swords clashed; sparks flew in all directions.

"Strength and speed—both above mine!"

From just the opening exchange, Anya imdiately assessed the combat power of that counterfeit version of herself standing across from her.

"But battle…… isn't decided by raw numbers alone!"

Anya's figure shifted to the side; her wrist drove force through the blade, deflecting to one side the enormous pressure bearing down on her longsword.

"Flashstep Reverse."

Anya swept her leg in a wide horizontal arc; the Battle Aura that had originally been reinforcing her muscles, ridians, and bones instantly transford into a fierce blade of energy and shot out from the tip of her foot.

"Taste the martial technique I've been reverse-training lately!"

Pssh—

"Anya" had indeed not anticipated this sudden move; even though she imdiately leapt back to dodge, she couldn't avoid it completely.

A vivid-red gash was torn open at her waist, red mist seeping within.

"Definitely not human!" Anya swept a glance at "Anya's" wound, muttered a quick aside, and instantly widened the distance.

"Alright—press the advantage now!"

"Starfall Sword Art, Opening Form: Ascension."

The girl planted her feet wide apart, lowered her shoulders and gripped her sword, golden eyes fixed on her opponent, her figure fluid as a shadow as she stepped forward.

"……Starfall Sword Art, Opening Form: Ascension."

However, "Anya" unexpectedly also deployed Anya's Starfall Sword Art.

Its form, its technique, its montum—even more precise than the original user, even more imbued with spirit.

"What?! How does a knockoff know my sword art?!"

Faced with a knockoff whose strength and speed both exceeded her own, Anya had no choice but to forcibly abort the move mid-way, switching to evasion.

If she didn't pull back and evade, she would be the first one run through!

"Infuriating! How does this copy have no sense of fairness at all? What gives it the right to use my Starfall Sword Art better than ?"

Barely dodging the upward-slashing sword light, Anya pursed her lips, her expression turning grave.

At this mont, Luo Nan, who had been watching from the sidelines the whole ti, took in every one of "Anya's" performances—carefully recalling the intelligence on Aeldelin in The Shining Myriad Trails.

'As expected…… worthy of a Chrono Phantom Demon.'

'But unfortunately—even the strongest, most unreasonable ability has a weakness!'