Lilithâs heart stopped again.
Three stood on the gravel not far away with an annoyed smile on her face.
âH-How could youâ¦â Lilith stared in disbelief. She had just tossed out nearly all of her offensive scrolls in one go. While she hadnât expected to defeat Three outright, she hadnât anticipated that her efforts would only stall the enemy for such a short time.
Those scrolls were all handmade by her mother, their power spanning from the early stages to the peak of the Saint Realm.
More importantly⦠Three appeared completely unharmed except for a single strand of hair at her forehead that had been singed.
If it werenât for the fact that the area where they had just fought had turned into a turbulent zone of magic power, Lilith would have suspected that she had either thrown a bunch of fake scrolls or been misled by illusions affecting her senses.
Fortunately, she still had many spatial scrolls.
Three had sealed off the small world, along with laws barring the use of items beyond the Saint Realm, so many scrolls in Lilithâs possession had the opportunity to be used.
Although Lilith had finally taken notice of the spatial scrolls, which had remained unused for quite some time, the teleportation range they offered was still severely limitedâwhether due to the small worldâs constraints or Threeâs abilities. However, this limitation could be overcome with sheer quantity, and so there was still hope of escapeâ¦
Suddenly, Three vanished from sight. When she reappeared, she was already in front of Lilith.
Lilith quickly pulled out a spatial scroll and activated it as fast as she could. Three raised her blade and brought it down without hesitation. The distorted space was severed instantly, and the once-bright scroll dimmed in the blink of an eye.
The bladeâs relentless sharpness cut through the space and continued toward Lilithâs head. Lilith watched the descending blade through its smooth, reflective surface and saw a flicker of fear in her own eyes.
It was too late to call for thunder. Reflexively, Lilith raised her hand to block the blow. Then⦠She felt a coldness at her wrist⦠A searing pain followed, cutting deep into her bone marrow.
Lilith stared at the blood splattering around her in a daze, forgetting to even scream. Her hand had been severed⦠Now, blood sprayed upward from the stump of her wristâonly that crimson torrent remained.
âHand⦠my handâ¦â Lilith used her trembling other hand to press against the stump, which clearly exposed the flat, smooth white bone of the wound.
The usual resilience of her dragon race was failing her, and blood continued to spurt uncontrollably. The flesh at the woundâs edge twitched aimlessly, like headless flies uncertain of where to grow.
Desperately, Lilith picked up her severed hand from the ground and tried to press it back against the stump.
The two parts seemed to connect, but as soon as she let go, the hand drooped at a grotesque ninety-degree angle, as though it was attached by only flesh.
âI knew it. The so-called dragon race relies on dragon language as the god, dragon bones as the foundation, and dragon blood as the source. These three elements are the root of a dragonâs strength. Sealing the flow of dragon blood weakens the dragon, sealing the dragon language makes it clumsy, and cutting the dragon bones makes recovery difficult, even for a dragonâs regenerative powers.â
Three rested the blade on her shoulder, murmuring with excitement. âWell then, Your Highness, where should I cut next to make you despair even more?â
âHow dare you⦠chop my hand offâ¦â Lilithâs remaining hand clenched into a fist and slammed into the ground, carving five deep grooves into the rock. Her once-dim golden pupils flared back to life, radiating a monarch-like intensity.
With a sudden, powerful move, she struck her own chest. The impact caused her heart to shatter but then quickly healed and resumed beating. At that moment, she felt nothing⦠Not even pain.
The world fell silent. Lilith could only hear the roaring flame burning within her chest. Everything around her turned gray. All she could see was Threeâs arrogant face.
How dare⦠How dare⦠How dare you⦠How dare you chop my hand offâ¦
Endless rage consumed Lilithâs sanity.
âHee.â In her fury, Lilith let out a childlike, high-pitched laugh, but her expression remained as fierce as a wild beast. âIâm going to kill you.â
Lilith lunged at Three again.
Three merely raised an eyebrow, as if expecting her, and said, âAccording to the âSurviving the Dragon Clan Handbook,â the dragonâs bloodthirsty instincts can temporarily overwhelm their sanity when their lives are in real danger. During this period, the dragonâs strength increases significantly.â Å�
âBut whatâs the point of that? All it does is drive you to your death like a beast,â Three remarked as she gently swung her blade. An invisible circular blade shadow sliced through the air in an instant.
Lilith felt herself losing balance. The world around her was spinning before she collapsed on the ground, sliding a considerable distance on her face. As she struggled to rise, she realized she could no longer feel anything below her knees.
Lilith crawled across the ground in a daze, dragging herself with her remaining hand and leaving two long bloody trails behind her.
âHey, your legs are over there.â
Three crouched down, resting her blade on her shoulder as she considerately pointed to the severed legs among the jumble of rocks.
The calves were still standing in a running position, but their owner could no longer make them move.
âMy legsâ¦â Sanity returned briefly, but Lilith struggled to think clearly.
Why did my feet leave me and run so far? Why canât I even stand up?
âHello? Did you lose your mind already?â Three rolled Lilith onto her back and placed her foot firmly on Lilithâs chest. âAre you in despair? If thatâs the case, then summon whatever power you have left.â
Lilith raised her remaining hand shakily and gripped Threeâs calf.
âHmm? Trying to beg for mercy?â Three wondered but noticed the hatred in Lilithâs eyes.
Lilith squeezed with all her strength, digging her fingers through Threeâs flesh.
âS̲h̲i̲t̲!â Three swore in frustration. With a swift motion, she chopped off Lilithâs only remaining hand. She pressed the sharp edge of her blade against Lilithâs throat and said coldly, âI donât know if dragons can live without their heads, so this is your last chance.â
Lilithâs lips moved.
âHmm, what was that?â Three lowered her head and asked.
âCome closer⦠and Iâll tell youâ¦â
Three bent down, placing her ear near Lilithâs mouth. Lilith lifted her head and whispered into Threeâs ear. âF̲u̲c̲k̲ youâ¦â After saying that, she bit down hard on Threeâs ear and yanked it violently.
âAH!â Blood sprayed everywhere. Three clutched her ear and howled in pain, her face contorting with fury. âIf you want to do it the hard way, then Iâll complyâletâs see if youâll still have the strength to fight!â
Three raised her blade and slashed viciously at Lilithâs neck.