The appearance of the Codex of Death caused the Tree of Life to tremble. Eno Lucia's expression turned solemn as the longbow crafted from the Tree of Life in her hand sprouted anew, "growing" and becoming visibly more powerful.
When she drew the bowstring again, the energy arrow almost solidified into a tangible form, faintly taking the shape of a branch—a manifestation of the Tree of Life's power imbued within it.
Ye Bai's eyes narrowed as she instantly conjured multiple layers of bone shields before her.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow, infused with intense life force, shot toward Ye Bai once more, striking the center of the bone shields she had erected.
However, the high-tier magic of the bone shields held for only a mont before disintegrating under the overwhelming vitality that left no room for other forces. The arrow continued its relentless advance.
Strangely, as it traveled, the arrow's power grew even stronger, as if it possessed the ability to "grow" on its own.
At this mont, equipped with the Codex of Death, Ye Bai could only rely on necromancy and was unable to use ti magic to evade the attack.
In the blink of an eye, the three layers of bone shields Ye Bai hastily summoned were pierced through one after another. After breaking through the defenses—
"Thud!"
The arrow finally landed… on the Codex of Death, which Ye Bai had raised in front of her like a shield.
If this were a computer ga, Ye Bai would have no choice but to endure this terrifying attack passively. Equipnt in hand would only serve its intended function—no matter how large or heavy a spellbook might be, it could only assist in casting spells, not be used as a weapon or shield.
But in a fully imrsive virtual world, such a thing was possible.
The concentrated life force collided with the divine artifact embodying the laws of death and finally ca to a halt. After a brief burst of light, it was ultimately blocked.
Ye Bai let out a sigh of relief, then nervously inspected the Codex of Death.
On the cover, where the arrow had struck, a distinct white spot had ford. Around it, dark ripples shimred, seemingly repairing the blemish on their own.
It should… be fine.
After unleashing that devastating arrow, Eno Lucia finally entered a cooldown state. At that very mont, an inconspicuous wisp of grayish-white dust coiled around her.
It was [ntal Plague], a spell Ye Bai had cast in retaliation.
Even though Eno Lucia reacted swiftly, enveloping herself in a green protective barrier, she was still infected through a montary gap.
'-21,111', '-19,999'…
In Ye Bai's vision, massive damage numbers floated above Eno Lucia, whose health bar was being chipped away by percentage-based damage.
Eno Lucia swung her longbow toward the ground, releasing a surge of green life energy that revitalized the mutated plants around Ye Bai. The flora surged toward her with renewed vigor as Eno Lucia retreated, casting healing and purification spells on herself to counter the effects of ntal Plague.
This was why humanoid bosses were generally more challenging than monstrous ones—they possessed not only versatile abilities but also keen combat awareness. And when it ca to deities, this was even more pronounced.
As the enhanced plants closed in, Ye Bai summoned a spectral scythe, sending out crimson crescent-shaped blades that sliced through the foliage.
Breaking through the tangled branches and leaves, Ye Bai lunged forward, pursuing Eno Lucia.
From their earlier exchange, she had realized that the current Eno Lucia did not possess the full strength of a true deity. Maintaining the Erald Dream had drained her, leaving her unable to cast powerful life or poison magic—only the abilities of a magical archer remained.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Eno Lucia reappeared, launching a barrage of arrows at Ye Bai. By now, her health bar had been reduced by a quarter, though it was rapidly regenerating.
This was the second challenge of fighting the Elven Queen—within her domain, she possessed an extraordinarily long health bar and constant restoration from the Tree of Life's blessings.
'-2,113', '-2,332', '-1,988', '-2,133'…
Ye Bai tanked the heavy hits, leveling up in the process, and closed the distance like a lee warrior.
Against such an opponent, a prolonged battle was futile. The most effective strategy was to use that single-target legendary spell—but she needed the perfect mont.
When Eno Lucia once again commanded the plants to form traps, Ye Bai activated [Bone Domain].
A pale white domain expanded from beneath her feet, swiftly spreading across the ground, dispelling the animated plants and enveloping Eno Lucia, who was now within range.
However, this Bone Domain was far smaller than the one she had unleashed during the battle against the player army in White Night City. It wasn't due to Ye Bai holding back—the Erald Dream itself imposed severe restrictions on necromantic energies.
Trapped within the Bone Domain, countless semi-transparent skeletal hands erged from the ground, obstructing Eno Lucia's path. She could only fend them off with her bow.
The magic that had empowered her arrows and plants earlier was now nullified by the domain's anti-magic effect.
Layer upon layer of spectral bones piled up, forming a prison that steadily closed in on Eno Lucia. Her health bar visibly dwindled under the assault.
Seeing this, Ye Bai's eyes glead with hope. If possible, defeating the Elven Queen with necromancy would be ideal.
Yet, in the next instant—
Crack!
The bone prison shattered as a blood-red arrow, charged with energy, burst through and hurtled toward Ye Bai.
Her pupils contracted—this was a [Mark of Hatred] arrow.
The crimson projectile struck the ground and vanished.
At the last mont, Ye Bai swapped the Codex of Death for the Pale Blade, using [Blink Step] to evade the attack.
With her preemptive strike missing, Eno Lucia instinctively tightened her grip on the bow, scanning for Ye Bai's position.
The mont the thought ford, Ye Bai materialized barely ten ters away.
As their eyes t, Ye Bai's dark irises disappeared, replaced by hollow, ash-white sockets.
[Petrifying Gaze]!
Eno Lucia's eyes flared with fury as she snarled, "Infernal!"
Hearing the word "Infernal" and seeing the Elven Queen's drastic shift in expression, Ye Bai shuddered—she finally realized where the lingering aura of the infernal she had sensed earlier ca from.
Previously, Ye Bai had been utterly perplexed. The effects of her "Purgatory" title were antithetical to Purgatory itself, nor could it be related to the true na of the devil Alicio, which she had mastered—after all, she had no contractual bond with the devil. Instead, she had acquired his true na, which belonged to the realm of "knowledge." The devil's true form remained imprisoned as the warden of White Night City.
Just as a two-dinsional entity, being a re informational construct, could not enter the Erald Dream, a third-tier being like a devil was far from reaching the level where its re associated information could carry its essence.
But now, Ye Bai finally understood.
The Purgatory aura clinging to her originated from the Serpent Lord's [Petrifying Gaze].
In the past, Ye Bai had always assud that her use of [Disintegration Reversal] was a form of mimicry—a learned simulation. But after successfully verifying it in reality by reversing the ntal chains of a black hole, she suddenly realized that the underlying principle of this ability was far more profound and wondrous than she had imagined.
It wasn’t re imitation. It was a flawless, lossless transfer.
"Crack…"
But it was too late now. The mont she uttered the word "Purgatory," the furious Elven Queen Eno Lucia froze mid-speech. From her head to her body, her form rapidly "faded," transforming into an exquisitely crafted statue.
Eno Lucia's health bar plumted to zero in an instant. Due to her relatively small stature, the Petrifying Gaze proved even more lethal.
…Was it over?
At this mont, Ye Bai felt only a dazed disbelief. Even at a third of her full power, the Elven Queen had been defeated far more easily than she had anticipated. Any other player of the sa level would have died countless tis by now.
"Crack… crack…"
A crisp shattering sound snapped Ye Bai back to attention. The statue before her began crumbling, piece by piece.
Was Eno Lucia still alive?
But soon, Ye Bai realized her assumption was wrong. The sound of fracturing didn’t co solely from the petrified queen—it spread through the surrounding air and ground, consuming everything in its path.
The entire space before her, along with Eno Lucia, shattered like a collapsing wall, fragnts peeling away.
"Crack… crack… crack…"
Ye Bai watched as the space around her own arm fractured, a floating "-2211" environntal damage indicator appearing.
She swiftly retreated, but movent was futile—the entire environnt was collapsing.
"Autofis!"
The space now resembled a shattered mirror, cracks spreading endlessly. Like a tiny insect, Ye Bai scrambled for footing on the disintegrating "mirror shards" while searching for Autofis.
Despite her agility, she couldn’t avoid the relentless environntal damage.
Golden light flickered repeatedly—64, 65… 67. Even against Eno Lucia, Ye Bai hadn’t leveled up this many tis. But the collapse accelerated, accompanied by a weightless, falling sensation.
Soon, even footholds vanished. Ye Bai understood—this layer of the dream was collapsing.
In that split second, the Dragon Tongue Spirit Whistle around her neck glowed faintly.
[Silver Sanctuary]
Ye Bai transford into a silver statue, plumting out of the dream layer.
This skill granted ten seconds of immunity to all damage except that targeting the soul and mind.
Within those ten seconds, through a narrow field of vision, fleeting images of the dream’s foundation flashed before her. Fragnts of the dream unveiled its underlying truths.
On one fragnt, Ye Bai saw Purgatory’s invasion of the Erald Forest.
Flas illuminated the entire woodland, blood staining the earth. The shard reflected a pale, lifeless hand—clearly belonging to an elven child—clutching a toy-like bow, blood dripping from its arm.
"Thud…"
A reddish-brown demonic foot stomped down, reducing the already lifeless arm to charred remains.
Another, larger fragnt drifted past, revealing Eno Lucia clad in battle armor. Her frost-pale face and storm-blue eyes burned with fury as she glared at the Purgatory Gate, from which an endless tide of infernal soldiers poured.
Without hesitation, she drew her bow—the Life Tree Bow—and nocked the very sa Life Tree Branch arrow now in Ye Bai’s possession. With a single shot, it pierced through layers of space, striking the Purgatory King at the apex of the infernal legion.
Reviews
All reviews (0)