The Price of a Forbidden Spell

A torrent of light engulfed the twisted monstrosity. Even a weakened deity was far more than an Abyssal Demon God—whose presence here was merely a spiritual projection—could withstand. Bluntly put, it had come here to die.

And its objective had been achieved.

The Forbidden Spell in the sky was already tottering, and the benevolent deity maintaining it likely wouldn’t hold out much longer. If the projection expended all its remaining might, perhaps it could force out a less formidable entity from the void… but its energy was almost depleted.

On the other side, destructive long spears had been neatly impaled into the core of the Blood Sacrifice Array. In an instant, the entire magic circle completely collapsed. However, Youlan’s brow remained furrowed. The twisted aura in the sky grew heavier.

Those lunatics, are they planning a forceful descent?

“Ugh…” Ceres’s wings of light disintegrated behind her, and she plummeted from mid-air. The recent attack had drained all the light-attributed magical energy around her, leaving her with none to spare. Moreover, waves of dizziness signaled that she had reached her limit.

She did not hit the ground. The moment she fell, Youlan had already darted beneath her. Just like in the distant past, she landed in that familiar embrace.

“Let go of me,” Ceres said coldly.

Youlan released her, not daring to meet Ceres’s gaze.

“This time, I’ll overlook it. But next time… I won’t forgive you.” Ceres chose a relatively flat stone and sat down. It was time to talk to her “old friend.” Her forceful awakening this time had severely exacerbated the damage to her divine soul. She had no idea when she would be able to awaken again.

“Ceres, is this really the time for idle chatter?” Youlan looked up at the sky instead, where the spatial distortion had reached its peak.

“Ah, is it? I actually wanted to chat with you. But…” Ceres coughed softly a few times. “Go on. I know what’s important when it matters.”

“I’m sorry…” Youlan whispered, then leaped, soaring toward the sky.

“Hmph, lucky you,” Ceres snorted, finding a more comfortable position before lying down on the ground. So sleepy…

The very next moment after she lay down, the Empress appeared beside her.

“Cough, cough.” Ziyao covered her mouth, coughing a few times. She felt her magical energy rapidly depleting. Covering an area as vast as the Imperial Capital with a Forbidden Spell demanded an immense amount of magical energy. Furthermore, each instance of nullifying a fatal attack consumed her precious reserves.

Had it not been for the staff providing her with a colossal supply of magic, she would have long since collapsed. But now, the staff’s magical energy was nearing its end.

Wait, is that…

“Lotia, you can stop the magic now.” A girl flew before her. “All the Blood Sacrifice Arrays have been destroyed.”

Already done? That was quite fast.

The magic circle rapidly shrank, and Ziyao swiftly terminated the Forbidden Spell.

“How is Aiya?” Ziyao asked the somewhat familiar black-haired girl.

“Aiya… are you referring to Ceres? She’s doing well, and her mother has already taken her away.” Aiya… is that Ceres’s current name? Youlan thought.

“That’s good.” Ziyao’s greatest concern had been the little golden-haired girl. Unlike herself, who possessed the means of self-preservation, Aiya’s strength was truly lacking. “So, is it over?”

“Regrettably, no.” Youlan shook her head, raising a finger to point at the sky. “Up there is the Mirror Space constructed by Sophia. Although the energy supply has now been cut off, the initial energy provided by those fallen ones was enough for the entities on the other side to forcibly tear open a rift leading to our world. We must now go to the Mirror Space and completely destroy that rift.”

“Huh? Go to the Mirror Space?” Ziyao was somewhat dumbfounded. What is this? Isn’t destroying those arrays enough? Why do we have to go into that Mirror Space now? “How many people?” she asked.

It couldn’t possibly be just the two of them.

“Me, and you.”

“I’m out.” What the hell kind of fight is that going to be?

Ziyao truly wanted to hurl the staff in her hand at the girl in front of her, then run as far away as possible. Two people, going to that unknown place? Was she a deity? Did she look like a deity?

“You’ve finally learned to refuse, Lotia… no, Ziyao.” Youlan smiled. Though she had become a little smaller and her personality had changed a lot, she was still like this. Youlan would never change her mind.

“You know me?” Why does this girl feel so familiar to me? Ziyao wondered. She felt very familiar with this girl, too. It was strange; this was the first time she felt this way.

“Know you? One could say that.” Youlan nodded. “Three years ago, I sensed your aura, so I found this place.”

Three years ago… wasn’t that when I transmigrated?

How familiar was this girl with her? She sensed her the moment she transmigrated and searched for her for three whole years. What was she to this girl?

“Allow me to ask, was I very familiar with you before?” Ziyao asked.

“Indeed. Your memories have mostly scattered.” Youlan wasn’t surprised. If Lotia still remembered the past, she would find it strange. “As for the relationship between us… it’s best for you to explore it yourself. After all, from my position, I cannot speak those words.”

No, then say it! I’m really curious!

Ziyao had long felt that there was something wrong with her body. Now that she had finally found someone who knew some inside information, how could she let it go?

“In any case, until that person agrees, I won’t tell you anything about the past. After all, she is the most important one,” Youlan said softly. “Right now, I feel like a villain taking advantage of the situation.”

However, on this point, she would not yield. Even if Ceres was her dearest friend, she would never hand Lotia over.

“Alright, enough idle chatter.” Youlan clapped her hands. “What’s your decision? Will you come with me?”

“What if I don’t go?”

“Then you’d best run far away. I might not be able to seal that rift, and the high-ranking professionals in the city won’t be able to withstand the twisted aura from there.”

And I can? Ziyao was filled with doubt. She didn’t feel any different from other powerful combatants.

“Specifically, the staff in your hand can protect you,” Youlan said, pointing at the blue staff in Ziyao’s hand. “You have gained its recognition. Now, you are its master. For the rest of your life, she will follow you, never betraying you. She will be your best companion. Breath of the Abyssal Flow. That is her name.”