Chapter 443: The Desperate Mother
The earth cried out in agony, torn apart by a powerful force that blasted open a massive depression.
Raindrops gathered densely within it. Perhaps if this heavy downpour continued for another half-month, this place would become the largest inland lake of the Northern Region.
Olivia and Aen were flung backward through the air, but Aen stabilized himself midway, flapping his wings and suddenly letting out a deafening dragon roar.
Just from the warped space during the flight of that water sphere, it was clear that its power was far more than a mere collision of water.
The torn skin on Olivia’s face was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The shock from the collision of their forces and the searing pain in her body left her unable to stabilize herself for the moment.
She simply didn’t possess a body as strong as Aen’s, which had undergone dragonization.
A quarter dragon bloodline, half fairy bloodline, and a quarter Pegira bloodline.
Among these, fairies were innately fragile, not known for physical strength—though they amplified Olivia’s magic. Pegira’s bloodline, meanwhile, belonged to ordinary humans; only his will had been strong—but that was born of Pegira’s life experiences. Olivia merely inherited some influence by lineage.
Dragon physiques were naturally formidable, but a quarter dragon bloodline was not enough for Olivia to contend with the fully dragonized Aen.
Especially here—in the Northern Region, Aen’s domain. His dragonization had been achieved from the inside out, through the Dragon Soul. At this point, Aen was practically a pseudo-Seventh-Tier humanoid dragon.
This dragon roar alone was proof enough.
Olivia could not dodge it. She gripped her longsword tightly, arms crossed to shield her body.
“Boom!”
It was as if she had been struck head-on by a mountain of stone—only to be swallowed whole, slammed into the earth with tremendous force.
The enormous impact tore open a small lake, and the massive water sphere had yet to dissipate. Olivia’s body twisted within it like a knotted rope.
Her gaze turned savage, her expression feral. The distorted Concept Armament on her body struggled to repair itself, but seemed suppressed by the power of the water sphere. Some of the water had even seeped inside her Concept Armament.
“They’re trying to use the will within the water to tear open the Concept Armament!” Olivia’s mother—the Fairy of the Lake—spoke urgently.
The Concept Armament had been developed during the Holy Empire period of Pegira.
After a child was born, a star would be slain, and its heart—its Stellar Core—extracted.
The Stellar Core would be embedded into the child’s soul. As the child grew, their will would forge the core within their soul into an armament suited to them. Once their magic was strong enough, this armament could be manifested in reality—it became the Concept Armament.
The strength of a Concept Armament depended on its wielder’s will.
So long as the soul endured, the Concept Armament would not vanish.
As long as magic existed, it could manifest endlessly.
Those capable of forging a Concept Armament—even without becoming Divine Figures—could use its power to travel freely through the void beyond the continent, like “stars in the void.”
But now, the raindrops infused with the will of the two dragons and their Dragon Might penetrated the Concept Armament, continually striking at Olivia’s will, which maintained it.
“————” The pain of her body, the assault on her will, made Olivia open her mouth in a silent scream.
Yet no sound came out within the water sphere. Water tainted by dragon will surged into her mouth.
Into her throat, lungs, stomach, intestines—then deeper, under the force of will, it seeped into her very body.
“No! No! I can’t hold on! Pope! Save Olivia! She is your goddaughter!” The Fairy of the Lake screamed, her voice sharp enough to rupture the once-smooth surface of the water sphere.
But her power could do no more than that.
Fairies were frail creatures, incapable of shaking the combined will of Aen and the two dragons.
And then, in despair, the Fairy of the Lake saw Aen soaring above the water sphere, extending his dragon claw—slamming down fiercely.
This colossal body, with its rampant Morning Star will, burst the water sphere open. A maw full of sharp fangs bit down on Aen, shielding Olivia from the strike that would have torn her apart.
But the price was the Morning Star’s lower jaw being ripped open by Aen’s claw.
“Roar!” Enraged and in pain, the Morning Star let out a low growl, enduring the agony as it bit down hard.
Yet even its bite force could not sever Aen’s body. Instead, its jaws were slowly pried open by Aen’s arms.
“Roar!” The Morning Star let out another thunderous roar, moving its limbs and charging forward, clamped onto Aen, carrying him far away.
As it stepped forward, its feet no longer turned the ground to gold.
It gathered the last of its strength, biting down on Aen and carrying him away from Olivia.
Without the dragon roar-condensed water sphere, the twin-dragon will that had invaded Olivia’s body was gradually purified.
A thin barrier formed, blocking the falling raindrops. Blood-stained water seeped constantly from beneath Olivia.
Her body convulsed, emitting clicking sounds.
The Concept Armament was recovering, slowly realigning Olivia’s twisted limbs.
In the distance, faint roars of the Morning Star could still be heard—it was continuing its charge into the distance.
“Olivia! Go back! Don’t keep fighting!” The Fairy of the Lake’s voice was shrill with desperation.
“You are my child, born from my womb. You are not their legacy—you do not need to carry their mission!”
“Your godfather already ended the rule of those Divine Figures. You should have grown up like a normal girl!”
“You don’t need to fight anymore————”
But Olivia gave no reply. As her body realigned, she moved her right hand. Feeling the sword still in her grasp, she propped herself up.
Her body still trembled violently. Olivia panted heavily. Her pupils glowed crimson, and her sclera emitted a bloody radiance.
Her gaze was fixed in the direction of the Morning Star—the east.
Slowly, she stepped forward. One step. Another. Then another.
Step by step, she began to run—and finally, she transformed into a crimson blur, surging toward the direction of Aen and the Morning Star.
The Fairy of the Lake broke down.
She could feel it—the Morning Star was about to be torn apart by that terrifying dragon-man, and yet Olivia had no intention of leaving.
No matter how weak she herself was, she was still a Seventh-Tier Demigod. She could sense that the terrifying dragon-man was merely filled with the wrath of the Northern Will.
Given time, he would regain his senses.
But Olivia clearly had no intention of giving him time. She only wished to fight him at his strongest.
As she had said—she wanted to fight until death.
The Fairy of the Lake went mad.
She had already lost everything—and now, was she to lose her child as well?
She cursed Pegiraov, cursed Cicero, cursed Aivas, cursed the Gods—cursed herself.
Though she was no believer, she sent a prayer to the Lord, and another to the Pope.
But no answer came.
The Fairy of the Lake fell into despair.
She let out a piercing shriek.
With a “whoosh”, like a breeze stirring the air, a faint green aura suddenly emanated from Olivia’s body. A surge of potent life force exploded forth—and in an instant, every wound on Olivia’s body was healed.