Ashe couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotions as he watched a stranger, a death row inmate, now occupying the cell that once belonged to him.
He never imagined that one day he would return to this place.
Even more surprising was the faint sense of nostalgia he felt for this prison.
In reality, it had only been a few months since he spent those ten-odd days in Shattered Lake Prison, but it felt like an eternity had passed.
As he passed by the cafeteria, he saw the table where he, Igor, Harvey, Langna, and Ronald used to gather and discuss their plans. Now, it was occupied by two ogres enjoying their al.
He walked past the deathmatch arena and saw an elderly man with a diamond-like sheen pumling a goblin. Clearly, it was “Diamond” Taig, once again playing the fool to catch the tiger.
In the library, he noticed a young man writing a novel. After reading a few lines, Ashe imdiately rembered who this person was-a writer who had been sentenced to death before even finishing his book due to its overly controversial content. Well, they didn’t arrest the wrong guy.
After wandering for a while, Ashe realized that he didn’t have many fond mories of this place. What he missed wasn’t Shattered Lake Prison itself, but the naive days right after his ti travel, like the first bowl of beef brisket noodles with fried sauce he had here, or the first taste of Lala Fatty.
In comparison, the situation within the dream phantom intrigued Ashe more.
Through various intelligence analyses, it wasn’t hard to see that this phantom reflected Shattered Lake Prison long after Ashe’s escape. After all, Igor and the others were no longer here, and the Combat League promoted by Fenanshe had already taken root.
The question arose: Whose dream phantom was this?
The Sword Princess had ntioned that dream phantoms were generally believed to be the lingering dreams of deceased sorcerers. Because they were dreams, they didn’t necessarily mirror reality perfectly. They could manifest various peculiarities based on the sorcerer’s thoughts, such as the appearance of people who shouldn’t be there or the existence of rules that shouldn’t apply-the latter being the so-called affixes.
In other words, could this dream phantom belong to so unfortunate soul from the Blood Moon Tribunal?
Wait a minute, there’s soone I haven’t checked yet.
Ashe suddenly rembered sothing and headed toward the infirmary from his mory. However, he didn’t hold much hope. After all, before his escape, [222] had ntioned that they were about to leave. Now, after so much ti had passed, it was likely that-
Ashe turned into a corridor and saw a figure pushing a wheelchair at the far end. The figure quickly disappeared from view. Ashe took a couple of steps but then sensed sothing was terribly wrong. He imdiately broke into a sprint!
That person wasn’t a prisoner-they weren’t wearing a prison uniform!
Not only were they not a prisoner, but their forearms were covered in a layer of fur, almost like arm guards!
This sister seed to be the one Ashe had seen before!
And she was soone who absolutely shouldn’t be in prison!
Ashe was so excited not only because he realized that this might hide the secret truth of the Distant Sky Domain, but also because he wanted to see how the Bewitcher had been doing recently and ask about which heroine won in the finale of “Sorcerer 100%”.
He rushed to the corner but didn’t see the Bewitcher, so he continued to dash toward the nearby fork in the path-
Thud!
In the mont before they collided, both martial sorcerers instinctively tried to grab each other to use the reaction force to maintain their balance. However, their thoughts aligned, and they ended up grabbing each other’s shoulders, tumbling to the ground together.
“Huh…?”
Ashe and Sonya, who was lying on top of him, locked eyes. His hands were on the Sword Princess’s shoulders, and her hands were similarly resting on his.
They didn’t look like they had accidentally bumped into each other; instead, they resembled a pair of lovers embracing regardless of the situation.
Sonya instinctively pushed against him to get up, but after a mont’s thought, she gave up and lay on his chest like a kitten. Ashe could almost see a tail wagging behind her.
After a while, Ashe couldn’t help but say, “Get up.”
“Not in a hurry to get up,” Sonya’s gaze wandered, but she eventually opened her eyes wide and stared at him. “I have sothing to tell you.”
Ashe blinked. He instinctively wanted to say sothing, but seeing the shyness and determined courage in the Sword Princess’s eyes, he eventually closed his mouth and quietly waited for fate’s favor.
Sonya was also nervous. She had actually been planning this mont since the teor Trial, preparing countless scripts, and Vesser’s words had only helped solidify her resolve. After all, she had watched so many romance TV dramas and had specifically studied how to tie a man down. It was ti to show her true skills!
Was it the queenly “From now on, you belong to ,” the vulnerable girl’s “You have to protect ,” the reckless yet adorable “Why haven’t you said you like
yet,” the tsundere’s “I don’t like you, I just can’t live without you”… or the scene she would always rember, “I will beco your wings, and you will beco mine”?
But!
But!
Sonya opened her lips, only to find that she couldn’t utter any of the pre-prepared lines. Her heart was pounding so hard that the village girl felt like she was about to faint.
Where was the acting skill that never faltered in front of the cara? Where was the calmness that proudly accepted cheers on the battlefield?
Sonya steeled her heart, reached out to wrap her arms around Ashe’s neck, pressed her cheek against his, and whispered into his ear, “I-“
Click!
In the far distance, a trendous noise, like the shing of gears, suddenly erupted.
Then, the entire Shattered Lake Prison began to lt like a candle over a fla, with walls dissolving and ceilings warping.
Most terrifyingly, Ashe clearly felt a transformation in his inner emotions. His joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness… all were gradually reversing.
He slled a strange odor in the air, saw chaotic lines of sight in the space, and heard noises from afar… All this intelligence converged into one ssage:
“Love and Hate Reversal: A gaze from the summit of Ruby Mountain attempts to shatter the tactile sense of the Four Pillars. All outsiders will be affected, all emotions will be reversed, and all creatures will actively attack outsiders. Once an outsider dies, they will suffer severe soul damage and must endure for 30 minutes to leave this Phantom.”
Ashe turned his head, locking eyes with Sonya.
Though the scene was identical to before, the emotions in their eyes had been replaced with intense killing intent.
Boom!
The mont the two separated through the Sanctuary, they imdiately drew their long swords and clashed, each striving to kill the other!
However, Ashe quickly realized he was no match for the Sword Princess. After dodging the fierce assault of ‘Blood Moon Shattered Lake,’ he activated ‘Heart Pen,’ retreating while drawing barriers to prevent the Sword Princess from approaching and to gain a tactical distance!
Sonya, of course, would not relent, her eyes fixed solely on Ashe’s head. But at that mont, a flood of prisoners and prison guards erged from all sides of the passageway. They had clearly broken free from the prison’s restraints and were attacking the two with various weapons!
Ashe tore through these condemned prisoners while retreating, with Sonya hot on his heels. Ashe attempted to shoot a ‘Rage Sword’ at her, but she activated ‘teor Trial’ while moving, her trans-spatial slash nearly decapitating Ashe!
Fortunately, it was the Virtual Realm; in reality, he would have been slit throat!
Soon, Ashe arrived at the spacious Central Hall, where Deya was in a corner, desperately defending against the onslaught of condemned prisoners. When she saw Ashe approaching, she imdiately carved a bloody path, using ‘Witness,’ ‘Fast Forward,’ and ‘Void Slash’ to create a miracle that could briefly tear through the Sanctuary-‘Empress’s Gaze’!
Where the Empress’s Gaze falls, all is royal land, and all are royal subjects!
Ashe had no way to dodge the gaze that carried the Empress’s will. The Witch’s hands tightened fiercely, pinning him firmly in place!
The Sword Princess soared through the air, drawing her sword and slashing towards him, unleashing a Blood Moon Shattered Lake!
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