Heart

The Evernight Crystal was undeniably one of the most vital lifelines of the Evernight Territory.

The mine in Blackthorn Village before her was the most developed and produced the highest quality crystals.

If this place became completely unmineable, Vivian’s plans would have to be scrapped and redrawn from scratch.

Though the Evernight Territory boasted other specialties, their value paled in comparison to the Evernight Crystal.

Supplying the Winter Territory would be out of the question, and the task of restoring economic production would face significant delays.

This was something Vivian could not accept.

Her gaze swept over the worried faces of her subordinates, finally settling on Lucia.

“Lucia, come with me.”

Lucia: “?”

The Frost Banshee pointed at her own face, her expression screaming, Why is it always me?

“You’re the only one here who can keep up with me. Stop dawdling and move!”

“Argh! Slow down, damn it! And don’t drag me—I can walk myself!”

Vivian wasted no time with further words.

As her voice fell, a surge of dark purple demonic flames erupted around her!

In an instant, a suit of dark purple demonic armor enveloped her body.

With a tug of her mana, she yanked Lucia along, plunging toward the depths of the mine.

The Frost Banshee choked on a protest, hurriedly channeling her own mana.

A thick layer of crystalline ice armor formed over her, and she followed Vivian, diving into the mine’s entrance—a gaping maw exuding an aura of death, like the throat of a monstrous beast!

Their figures were swiftly swallowed by the raging torrent of darkness, vanishing into the heart-stopping void at the entrance—leaving behind only a group of subordinates outside, hearts in their throats, and the ceaseless wail of the wind, like the lament of hell itself.

****

“Ugh!”

The moment they entered the mine, Lucia let out a stifled groan.

Instantly, a viscous, icy, and malicious dark energy pressed against her like a tangible force, emitting a teeth-grinding creak.

Her vision was completely stripped away, leaving only pure, roiling darkness.

Her ears were filled with the shrill screech of chaotic energy currents and the howling wind, as if countless tormented souls wailed in her ears.

“Argh! Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have come in here! This place is too much for me!”

Faced with such an oppressive environment, Lucia wailed in distress.

“If I die down here, it’s all your fault!”

“Quit panicking! I’m right beside you!”

Vivian’s voice cut through the darkness, reaching Lucia’s ears.

Her mana gripped Lucia’s arm, guiding her forward as they pressed on together.

The demonic flames around Vivian flared brighter, forming a small, sturdy shield just large enough for the two of them.

It carved out a relatively stable pocket of space amidst the violent torrent of darkness.

Lucia gritted her teeth, her ice-blue mana surging as she layered a thick crystalline barrier within Vivian’s shield.

With both defenses in place, the suffocating pressure and corrosive sensation eased slightly.

“Stay close! I’ve got you covered!”

“You’d better keep that promise!”

Vivian’s voice carried an unshakable command.

Her crimson eyes gleamed with a deep, ghostly red in the absolute darkness—she wasn’t navigating by sight but by her innate sensitivity to dark forces, honed as the Demon Lord.

She keenly tracked the faint, relatively “stable” flow of energy within the chaotic torrent.

The two pressed forward through the darkness, like sailors battling a stormy sea, painstakingly following the faint energy current deeper into the mine.

The deeper they went, the more spacious the surroundings seemed to become, yet the danger of the environment skyrocketed.

Then, from the darkness, materialized attacks emerged—not mere chaotic energy flows but tangible, serpentine tendrils of black energy!

They struck without warning, lashing out from the roiling darkness with terrifying corrosive force, slamming against the shield!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each impact sent violent tremors through the shield formed by Vivian and Lucia.

The dark purple light flickered unsteadily, and Lucia’s shield shed shards of ice, cold mist spilling into the air.

“Freeze them!”

Vivian’s sharp command rang out, and Lucia reacted swiftly.

Her hands shot forward, unleashing two beams of icy blue light that struck the writhing tendrils with pinpoint accuracy!

Thick black ice instantly coated their surfaces, slowing their movements to a sluggish crawl.

Vivian seized the moment, raising her hand—a blade of shadow sliced through the air, severing the frozen tendrils!

The shattered fragments dissolved into pure dark energy, swiftly absorbed by the surrounding chaotic currents.

“These things… they’re pure energy constructs! But they’re driven by instinct and hunger!”

Lucia panted, her face pale.

Freezing and cutting the tendrils consumed a significant amount of mana, and yet the darkness seemed to spawn them endlessly!

Even more unsettling, they began to see visions.

Not real scenes, but flickering, distorted fragments of memory, like mirages.

The fragments showed the terrified, despairing faces of miners, runaway mine carts crashing wildly on tracks, and the Evernight Crystal veins erupting in sudden chaos.

They captured the frozen, horrified expressions of the stone statues in the plaza, petrified in their final moments of terror!

These fragments brimmed with intense negative emotions—despair, agony, resentment—assaulting the two like a psychic plague.

“These are fragments of consciousness left behind in the high-density dark energy from the catastrophe!”

The situation far exceeded Vivian’s expectations.

Her brows furrowed, her voice heavy with gravity.

“Guard your mind! Don’t let them drag you in!”

“Waaah! This is just the worst! I told you I didn’t want to come in here!!!”

Though Lucia continued her frantic complaints, she held fast against the onslaught of energy surges and negative emotions.

Vivian, with her formidable will as the Demon Lord, simply ignored the mental interference.

Her crimson eyes locked onto the depths of the mine, where the endless torrent of energy originated—she could sense something lurking there.

If they could reach that place… perhaps they could resolve this crisis!

After an unknown stretch of time navigating the darkness, fending off countless tendril attacks and enduring waves of mental fragments, the scene ahead finally shifted.

The raging torrent of dark energy seemed tamed, no longer chaotically churning but… orbiting around something, some core!

A massive, abyssal vortex of darkness appeared at the deepest point of the mine!

And at its center floated… a heart!

“What is that!?”

Lucia’s voice trembled with shock at the sight of it.

Vivian, however, understood the true nature of this “catastrophe.”

It was a colossal heart, formed of the purest, deepest dark energy, roughly ten meters in diameter!

It pulsed slowly but powerfully, each beat like a war drum, triggering tidal waves of energy throughout the mine!