Chapter 69: Demon Sublimation, Heaven and Earth

The plan to use the Succubus as cannon fodder was completely thwarted by the Saintess’s strong interference, making the already gloomy face of the Demon Lady turn even more unpleasant.

This was precisely why she held such a deep-seated dread for Yuna Summerfield.

A Succubus’s abilities relied heavily on the environment and multi-person situations to be effective; they excelled in group battles but were among the weakest in solitary combat, especially against those who could significantly reduce or even negate their charm power. The best choice when facing such enemies was to make a quick getaway.

And the Saintess could not only completely immunize herself against Chloé’s abilities in every possible way, but as long as she was present, the Demon Lady’s battle plan was reduced to the single option of fighting it out head-on.

A true nemesis.

With a nonchalant 【Purity Prayer】 to seize control of the situation, Yuna’s light blue eyes did not directly turn to the Demon Girl, who was being thoroughly pressured by Amy’s relentless assault, but rather exchanged a subtle glance with the Oracle next to her, who had clearly used some kind of artifact to intercept Chloé’s escape route…

“Still not surrendering? Daughter of Ilorn, you should understand you have no chance left. The Enchantment Pearl is strong, but that’s only half the truth, and besides, you’re nowhere near the true King of Corrosion.”

“Ugh! Three against one… What’s so impressive about that? You guys who play with Holy Light are just despicable, teaming up to set a trap for me—what a disgrace to the Path of Light!”

Despite how humiliating it seemed, Chloé refused to back down, flying back and forth in the air under the pursuit of the Captain of the Guards, looking terribly disheveled while still shouting back at the urging Yuna with mocking retorts.

It appeared that the Saintess not only had considerable power but was also quite sharp-tongued. Upon hearing Chloé, she simply replied coolly.

“The Goddess didn’t teach us to shy away from using strategies against our enemies, nor to avoid fighting together. Moreover, as a member of the cunning and strategizing Succubus tribe, one of the four Demon Lords’ offspring, I must admit, it’s quite surprising that you would fall so easily for such simple tricks.”

“What do you mean?! Are you suggesting I’m dumb!!!!”

Emotions running high, Chloé was enraged by this exchange, almost receiving a heavy slash from Amy due to her distraction. Thankfully, her relatively petite stature allowed her to narrowly avoid this rather deadly attack, proving once again that being delicately built sometimes had its perks.

One observing fox lady thought to herself.

“Ugh, this is infuriating! I can’t take this anymore! Even if it means breaking the rules, today I’ll make these despicable folks regret it!!!!”

With her body, strength, and intelligence all under a triple whammy from Yuna, a certain Demon Lady couldn’t bear the humiliation anymore. Coupled with being held in check by the Oracle and Amy, it seemed she finally snapped and went into full-on rage mode.

Chloé made a rather bizarre move.

She swallowed the Enchantment Pearl, which was the size of a teacup lid and required her to stretch her mouth to the absolute limit to accommodate.

“Gu… ugh… ugh… ugh…”

“Oh my god…”

The ball, which clearly did not match her size, created an oddly protruding shape in her throat, causing painful and strange moans to escape her as it visibly descended into her stomach. Even Amy was momentarily stunned by this astonishing act, forgetting to continue her assault.

“Guh ha… ha ha…”

As though at long last able to breathe like a drowning victim, Chloé expended nearly all her energy to fully swallow that round pearl, then gasped for air with a pale complexion.

However, her expression soon transformed, becoming… exhilarated and joyous, with her aura visibly swelling at a staggering rate.

“Haha… Hahaha… This long-lost power, my original state! How long has it been since I felt this since coming to this wretched place? The familiar fulfillment that belongs solely to the sublimator!”

“Boom!”

With a familiar buzzing sound of bones and muscles, Chloé’s demon wings rapidly expanded, almost doubling in size. The wounds on her arms healed quickly, her skin became glossier and more radiant, and her once pale lavender eyes flickered into an unusual mixture of colors with pink shades, her magical wings fully unfurling and creating a forceful gust throughout the area!

Of course, despite such a massive transformation, it still didn’t change some unsatisfactory reality about the Demon Lady.

“Temporarily… has become the vessel for the Enchantment Pearl, how strange…”

The Oracle mused, seemingly a bit surprised. He exchanged a look with Yuna again and pulled back the floating abacus, his thoughts clearly working on something.

However, in Chloé’s eyes, this action undoubtedly appeared as a sign of fear.

“Oh dear, why’d you run away? Old man, weren’t you just being so bold? Come on and face me again~”

“Hehe…”

Like a senior facing a spoiled little girl who had never seen the world, the white-haired elder could do nothing but shake his head and smile helplessly.

Though in terms of actual age, the Oracle, who claimed to be an ordinary person, probably couldn’t come close to a certain Demon Lady, at least from his appearance and demeanor…

Then, with a grand swoosh of his robe,

A magnificent long scroll flew out, heading straight for the airborne Demon Girl!

“What is that…? Waaaaahhhh!!!”

Seemingly emboldened by her suddenly expanded powers, Chloé, when faced with the unknown object that suddenly appeared, didn’t choose to dodge but rather tested the waters by striking it with a magical slash, curious about this strange thing.

Thus, she paid the price for her little arrogance.

The treasure map, which depicted magnificent lands and mountains, showed no harm at all from the attack; instead, it surged with the wind, becoming a seemingly endless sky and exuding a terrifying suction directed solely at Chloé. It fiercely pulled the Demon Lady, who had clearly already ascended to a transcendent level with the Enchantment Pearl, right into it!

“Huh? This…?”

As she watched the scroll shrink down and spiral back into the Oracle’s hands, Miss Vilyric instinctively let out a slightly startled sound.

This scene… felt oddly familiar?

Naturally, certain words surged to the forefront of her mind, along with the previous tale the Oracle had told her about the traveler Eden Priestley.

Why did Vilyric pay a crazy double price to snatch that 【Map of the Vast Lands】 from the hands of the fixer?

Because that story reminded her of someone.

A friend.

Or rather, a piece of equipment she owned.

Drawn on paper, it formed its own realm within the drawing, called 【Map of Heaven and Earth】.

While it couldn’t compare to a true artifact, it was a rather interesting semi-artifact with space-oriented support abilities. More importantly, this 【Map of Heaven and Earth】, like the semi-artifact 【Void Trace Blade】, was a signature equipment of that friend.

Of course, if it were the true 【Map of Heaven and Earth】, the Oracle would undoubtedly not use it so casually, as the minimum standard for a semi-artifact must reach at least level 81.

But truth be told, the recent scene, particularly the images he depicted, seemed all too familiar to Vilyric…

Though a bit unbelievable, what if this suspected 【Map of Heaven and Earth】, combined with… the earlier displayed 【Invisible Spatial Portal】 by the Oracle.

A sudden thought, shocking yet thrilling, surged into Vilyric’s mind.

Could it be… she, like herself, had come to this world too?

Hen, is that you?!

   

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