âSpirit Impact!â A high-pitched voice pierced the air. The surge of majestic soul force startled Three, loosening her grip on the weapon.
From the shadows, a petite figure darted out, shoving Three aside. Struggling under the influence of the soul power, she staggered as the figure hoisted Lilith onto her shoulder and fled without a word.
âSoul-type innate ability?â Three grimaced, clutching her head. She had not expected to encounter such a rare soul innate ability in this insignificant place.
Soul ability was a rarity, even more than the innate ability of her current vessel. Unfortunately, what she feared most now was the soul power itselfâit threatened the stability of her soul and this body, risking severe backlash.
âStill resisting, even now?â Threeâs expression flickered between anger and sorrow.
Myre, the young girl whose body she had taken over, hadnât succumbed fully to her control. Even now, she was still wrestling for dominance over her own body.
âHow naive. Very well then, I shall obliterate your last vestige of hope.â Threeâs eyes reddened slightly as her divine sense sharpened into a blade, mercilessly slicing through what remained of Myreâs consciousness.
âAAAAHH!â
A terrified scream echoed in her ears, bringing Three a twisted sense of relief. Though it had cost Three much of her precious soul power, no one would now contest her control over this body.
Surveying her surroundings, she realized the Dragon Princess and that cunning little mouse had vanished.
âHmph, think you can escape my grasp?â Three sneered.
This body possessed another gift aside from the Heartbeats of Resolveâit was Absolute Intuition, which had enabled her to locate Lilith swiftly.
Three closed her eyes, trusting the intuition in her heart to guide her. She pointed confidently. âItâs this way.â A cruel smile spread across her face. âThis time, dear Princess, you wonât find me so easily swayed.â
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The petite figure plunged into the lake, carrying Lilith. Weakened like never before, Lilith was freezing due to massive blood loss. It was hard for her to even keep her eyes open.
Fortunately, the lake water, warmed by swirling magic currents, enveloped her in soothing warmth. The figure cradling her, however, seemed unused to being in the water. She flailed comically, limbs thrashing like those of a waddling duck.
With the last ounce of her magic power, Lilith murmured hoarsely, â[Water Avoidance].â
The dragon language spell activated, parting the waters around them effortlessly.
âLilith, are you alright? Youâve lost so much blood, waitâIâll heal you⦠Oh no, my sister is purely a warrior; I canât use healing magic in this body. Wait, I can bandage you⦠but nowâs not the time, that man is still chasing us⦠Lilith, please, donât sleep now. You canât afford to sleep; you might not wake up.â
Ugh, how annoying⦠Canât she keep it down?
That person kept talking endlessly, making Lilith regret casting the Water Avoidance spell. Barely parting her cracked lips, Lilithâs voice was no louder than a mosquitoâs buzz.
âErica⦠Didnât I tell you⦠to leave? Why did you come backâ¦?â
âIf I had left, that person would have killed you.â
âWouldnât it be betterâ¦? Iâve deceived you⦠That was going to be⦠my karmaâ¦â
âNonsense.â
Erica glanced at Lilithâs severe wounds, anxiety painting her face. âWhat about your promise to heal my big sister? Are you planning to break your promise again?â �
âNoâ¦â
âNo? I know you too well. I need to keep an eye on you, or youâll break that promise too. And I didnât realize you were the actual Dragon Princessâthe legendary one! If I save you, not only will my big sister be cured, but maybe Iâll earn enough reward to buy big houses in the best part of Georgetown and move Grandma and everyone there.â
Ericaâs eyes were slightly red. Although she wasnât that used to being in the water, she pressed on with determination.
âOr⦠are the dragons so stingy that they wouldnât even give a reward of a hundred thousand or eighty thousand gold coins to the one who saves their princess?â
Lilith sighed internally.
What a naive child. If you really saved me, Mother wouldnât hesitate to buy you a kingdom. However⦠That is⦠If I can even be savedâ¦
Lilith coughed, then said, ââ¦Anyway, you shouldnât have come⦠that personâ¦â
âI know, I saw it all, and yes, he is terrifying. Iâm already here, what are you going to do about it? Bite me to death since you can only move your mouth?â Erica said with a resigned laugh.
âMy big sister always said my naivety makes me gullible and that Iâm too foolish to ever achieve anything significant. But thatâs just who I am. Youâd need to stuff me back into my motherâs womb to rebuild me into someone differentâthough honestly, I sometimes think Iâm too ugly and should take a gamble on a restart; it couldnât possibly turn out worse.â
Lilith closed her eyes in silence.
âIdiot.â
âYes, yes, youâre right. Iâve always been kind of stupid, I know that myself. But you knew that too.â Gritting her teeth, Erica dragged Lilith deeper toward the lakeâs murky bottom.
The open waters offered little cover; their only refuge was the darkness below.
Erica hadnât planned what to do next. She had acted on impulse when she saw Lilith about to be killed, her limbs severed. Without thinking, she had rushed out, grabbed Lilith, and plunged into the lakeâthe only escape route she saw.
As for how to escape and where to hide, she could only decide as they went along.
âLilith, please donât fall asleep⦠Itâs so dark down here, and Iâm a bit scared.â Erica shrank a little, looking like a frightened quail as she scanned their dim surroundings.
With her limited vision in the murky water, she couldnât see far, but luckily, her big sister was an exceptional martial warrior. This allowed Erica to navigate around potential obstacles through keen perception, though there wasnât much to navigate underwater, just hidden dangers to sense.
Lilith had once explored this lake, focusing on catching elusive prey rather than detailed exploration. She had a vague sense that something lurked deep beneath the waters, but this information seemed useless now.
Thus, she chose not to mention anything to Erica, believing it would only heighten her fears unnecessarily.