Thirteen~ Tillysha, Dillin, is he a person??
If he were to transform here, his secret would undoubtedly be exposed, but if he continues like this…………
In the struggle against the monster, Princess Filisia was completely at a disadvantage. This monster was immensely strong, impervious to blades and bullets, and even the Divine Authority had minimal effect on it. It was hard to imagine what kind of material it was made from.
Dillin attempted to analyze the sole burning candle using the Divine Analysis Technique but failed.
At this point, he had to give it a try.
Dillin bent down and blew out the flame on the candle.
With the sole candlelight extinguished, the entire secret passage returned to chaos. Apart from that, nothing happened.
Did he misjudge the situation?
“Clack clack………” A sound of a mechanism moving could be heard, and the wall in front of him seemed to undergo some changes.
Princess Filisia, who was entangled with the monster, took a few steps back and was struck by the monster’s tail, her back pressing against the edge of the wall.
The extinguishing of the candle caused the wall to be hit and tilted.
“What?” A large passage opened behind the wall, leaving Dillin momentarily stunned.
Sure enough, there was a mechanism behind it.
“Tillysha, there’s a way behind us! Let’s go!”
“………..” Dillin’s voice received no response from Princess Filisia, who was crouching on the ground, her twin tails hanging to the floor, with the sound of her heavy breathing faintly audible.
“Tillysha?”
“……… Go ahead, I’ll catch up.” Tillysha’s voice was low and muffled, seemingly taking a great deal of effort to say that one sentence, which raised concerns about her current condition.
Well, just from Tillysha’s posture, it was clear that this stubborn knight princess was overestimating her capability.
Under normal circumstances, Tillysha might have continued fighting, but the Tillysha today had just been through a fierce battle,叠加 with the ‘Dragon Exhaustion’ debuff, her strength was rapidly draining, having almost run out by now.
In this urgent situation, Dillin put aside concerns over propriety between the sexes, placing one of Tillysha’s arms over his shoulder and helping her towards the passage that had appeared behind the door.
But the monster nearby wasn’t sitting idly by, watching the two desperate prey in its trap. An eerie smile appeared on the monster’s face, its outline reduced to a faint shadow.
With a sweeping motion of its three large black scaly tails, it sent the tilted wall, along with Dillin and Tillysha, flying.
The wall carried Dillin and Tillysha down with it.
Behind the wall was a broken bridge. As they were thrown through the air, Dillin looked up to see the long-absent starry sky.
Above, was the exit.
Where are we?……….
Dillin looked around and noticed many pipes on the surrounding walls. These pipes seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, with piles of garbage everywhere. The place they had fallen from was a bottomless garbage pit below.
This must be some abandoned sewer from the Light Race era.
So, is this where the laboratory ultimately leads?
Accompanied by the feeling of weightlessness, Princess Filisia felt her body continuously descending.
At the very least, she had to protect her companion………..
That responsibility fell squarely on her shoulders as a knight.
“Ugh……..”
But, having exhausted her strength, she felt her limbs go limp, unable to feel anything except for the cold wind slapping her cheeks.
Is this the end?
A memory of something a certain girl had once said to her arose in her mind. Whether it was due to the survival instinct or something else, Filisia found herself hoping for a miracle for a fleeting moment.
As her vision began to blur, she noticed a streak of golden hair, like a warm ray of sunlight, floating behind her.
This hair color could only belong to……
Is she hallucinating?
No way, Tillysha couldn’t possibly be here, could she?
Just as she finished this self-deprecating thought in her mind, she suddenly felt a pair of soft, white arms encircling her slim waist from behind, holding her tightly.
A familiar sensation surged within her, allowing Filisia to open her eyes in surprise almost instantly.
This presence, she couldn’t be wrong………
But, how in the world??
“Grab on tightly, Filisia.” The familiar voice, always graceful and composed, rang in her ears, giving her a sense of disbelief, tingling and soft.
Before she could even finish her sentence, Filisia’s viewpoint rapidly ascended as the golden figure stepped on the pipes and darted back and forth on the walls with lightning speed, returning to the broken bridge as swiftly as a lightning bolt.
After setting Filisia down on the ground, her strength having been completely drained by ‘Dragon Exhaustion’, she could still feel the lingering warmth on her waist and the radiant figure of the golden-haired girl in front of her, giving her a dreamlike feeling.
“Tillysha, you? How did you end up here?……….”
“Where’s Dillin? Where’s Dillin gone?”
“Relax, Filisia, Mr. Dillin is perfectly fine.” Tillysha brushed her hair behind her ear and gave Filisia a smile she found familiar, full of nonchalance.
“But, why haven’t I seen him?” Despite her many doubts about why Tillysha was here, Filisia’s top priority remained the safety of her companion.
“Ah… Filisia, haven’t you guessed yet?” Tillysha looked a little troubled as she tapped her cheek. “I was actually pretty conflicted making this decision.”
“………” Filisia’s beautiful face was spread with confusion, then, as she seemed to understand something, her expression drastically changed.
It’s no surprise she hadn’t thought of this yet, it was simply too outrageous.
After all, no one would think that two people who were unrelated, with vastly different personalities, even different genders, could be the same person, especially since they had been seen together. A normal person’s mind wouldn’t even consider such a possibility.
“Tillysha, tell me, where’s Dillin?”
“Still worrying about this? I already said, Dillin is fine. If you really want to know where he is now, um………” Tillysha thought for a moment, patted her belly playfully, and quipped, “Then you can think he’s in my belly.”
“??”
Even with the truth right in front of her, Filisia still found it hard to believe, the shock too much to swallow.
Tillysha should be far away, presumably at school, preparing a report. Until a moment ago, the only human in the sewer besides herself was Dillin. Now, Dillin had vanished, and Tillysha, who absolutely shouldn’t be in the sewer, had appeared.
Even if she wanted to deny it, the truth was undeniable and right before her eyes.
If, if Dillin was truly Tillysha, then starting from the Crown Cup, the ‘Tillysha’ interacting with her had actually been Dillin all along??
“Sorry, Filisia, I didn’t mean to intentionally keep things from any of you. But, everyone has their secrets that they can’t reveal, don’t they?” Seeing Filisia’s expression, Tillysha admitted truthfully.
Although she had anticipated that this day would come sooner or later, she hadn’t expected it to happen quite so soon.
Sharing a roof, it seemed there really was no way to hide things.
“BOOM BOOM BOOM!” Dust and sand were raised by the massive vibrations, the sound of heavy footsteps resounding across the broken bridge, the tremors making their feet feel weak.
“Let’s not talk about this right now, Filisia.” Seeing the strange monster before her, Tillysha instinctively reached back, but failed to find the expected wooden bow.
“Ah, uh-oh.” Since she hadn’t anticipated that Tillysha would be the one cleaning up the mess, naturally she hadn’t brought Tillysha’s weapons along.
Without the wooden bow, it was impossible to activate her Realm, significantly weakening her combat capability.
The monster emitted a mechanical sound from within its body, like a metal grinding noise, even though it was masked by the great noise, it was still so noticeable.
The monster stood at the other end of the broken bridge, blocking their way, as Tillysha pulled out a stone blade from the ground, charging forward.
“Saintly Annihilation Blade”
At this moment, if the monster attacked, Tillysha, who had to protect Filisia as well as herself, would struggle. She had to shift the battle to a broader area.
“Filisia, take care of yourself.”
“Next, leave it to me.”
Filisia’s lips moved slightly, wanting to get up but having no strength left.
In front of that gigantic creature, Tillysha’s figure looked so fragile and powerless.
“Clank!” The stone blade clashed with the beast’s thick arm. The massive force traveled through the blade to Tillysha.
This tremendous force was turned around by Tillysha herself. She used it to flip over the monster’s body, flying over.
The monster’s attention was completely drawn to Tillysha. It slowly turned around, facing the golden-haired girl behind it.
Without the wooden bow, it meant that the second phase of the Realm power wouldn’t trigger. Tillysha didn’t have the prowess to fight this terrifying monster in close combat, she could only rely on her second and third Divine Authority.
The monster’s enormous fist squeezed the wind with terrifying hurricane force, rushing towards Tillysha.
Tillysha dodged skillfully, but the powerful strike with the shattered gravel still launched her into the air.
Seeing the broken ground and scattered rock pieces, Tillysha thought of something and threw away the stone blade.
When she re-entered the laboratory channel, the candlelight suddenly blazed up, the faint flames flickered, adding a touch of eerie dimness to the indoor space.
“Saintly Annihilation Blade”
Tillysha placed her hand over a cluster of flames and drew it quickly, extinguishing the fire. A flaming sword appeared in her hand, and she faced the approaching monster without fear.
The monster’s three scaly tails lashed towards Tillysha. This monster was extremely powerful, and if she were hit by it, she’d lose consciousness at least given that she didn’t have her Realm protection.
Tillysha blocked sidewise with the flaming sword, the tremendous impact threw her, colliding her into the mountainous wall beside her.
Intense pain coursed throughout her body, almost making her back lose sensation.
Tillysha flipped out from the indentation, her clothes ragged and torn.
Before she could catch her breath, the monster’s tails attacked her again. Even before the attack arrived, she could sense the terrifying force carried by the howling wind.
Tillysha once again wielded the flaming sword, blocking the monster’s fierce assault with the blade.
Behind her, Filisia couldn’t understand what Tillysha was doing at all. Simply taking hits wouldn’t defeat the monster, it was impossible to overpower it by sheer strength.
Tillysha jumped back, her flaming sword continuously hacking away at the monster’s body. As expected, none of these attacks were effective. The scorch marks disappeared naturally within three seconds.
Strands of her golden hair were smeared with dirt, her clothes were tattered, and her body was full of wounds. Despite this, she didn’t appear messy but instead exuded an added charm.
Sweat soaked her back and palms. The flaming sword was swung repeatedly, making her palms weak and her fingers could no longer grip the handle. The monster raised its fists, utterly disproportionate to its body and head, about the size of a carriage, like plummeting rocks, slamming down powerfully.
Tillysha didn’t dodge this time. She took the hit directly, getting smashed into the dirt.
A crisp crackling sound rang out. An emerald-like light quickly gathered.
The green barrier shielded Tillysha from this fatal blow. When her flaming sword shattered at the same time, the third Divine Authority was triggered.
That’s right, this was Tillysha’s strategy. If she didn’t have the bow, then she’d think of other ways to make the monster break her weapon.
Compared to the unbreakable and durable stone blades, the fire blades were equipped with alchemical damage, making them extremely fragile. Casting weapons with fire, combined with the monster’s terrifying destructive power, meant that the flaming sword was bound to break sooner or later.
Once her Divine Authority weapons were broken, her third Divine Authority could activate.
The tender green buds climbed up Tillysha’s palm, casting an angelic-like longbow in her hand.
Tillysha plucked the bowstring, like an angel praising a deity’s hymn. A vast green energy arrow, wrapped in an angelic halo, formed. Along with the surrounding undulating green waves, it was like a giant wave in the sea.
“The Sovereignty of the Collective Forest Authority: Sacred Farewell God Arrow”
In just a breath’s time, the giant beast’s body was adorned with flowers, its chest perforated with a massive hole. The arrow continued flying, breaking the constraints like a meteor, leaving behind a flower-filled path along the dark passage.
How powerful……
Filisia was left speechless at the sight.
The monster that couldn’t be injured no matter how it was attacked now had such a large hole in its chest, making the whole thing utterly unbelievable.
Excessively drained, Tillysha sat cross-legged on the ground. Her injuries were not light, along with the abilities consumption, her face was somewhat pale.
The process was a bit convoluted, but at least the monster was defeated……….
“Tillysha, danger!”
Hearing Filisia’s slightly anxious shout, Tillysha realized something and looked up. The monster, which she had pierced entirely, did not fall—did not even fall, but continued raising its heavy fists to strike down on her!
How could this be?? Doesn’t this thing have something like a central system similar to a heart?!!
“BOOM BOOM!” The giant fists landed, shaking the earth, creating a hideous crack.
