The tingling sensation at the base of her tail hadn’t faded yet.
Something was burrowing under her skin, making her restless.
A fresh wave of humiliation and resentment welled up in her throat.
Lilia gritted her teeth, staring deathly at Lucia. She wouldn’t give in to this!
“Again! Meow!”
She barked softly, tracing several symbols in front of her with her hands.
This time, she didn’t condense another large fireball.
‘Since single-target attacks are easily blocked… I’ll use an area-of-effect attack!’
The mana of a Rank 2 Apostle was enough to support her constructing multiple spells simultaneously.
Water vapor in the air condensed, and more than ten ice spikes appeared around her, their tips gleaming with a cold light.
“Go!”
At her command, the ice spikes whistled through the air.
They sealed off all of Lucia’s evasion angles from all directions.
This was a standard Second Ring area spell, Ice Spike Flurry.
‘I don’t believe I can’t touch her even once like this!’
However, Lucia remained sitting where she was, not moving a muscle.
She didn’t even bother to strengthen that thin layer of shield, allowing the ice spikes to fly toward her.
Just as the ice spikes were about to pierce her body —
Cling-clang!
A series of crisp shattering sounds rang out.
All the ice spikes stopped 0.5 meters away from Lucia’s body and then exploded together.
The ice crystal powder flashed in the air for a moment before dissipating.
It didn’t even manage to ruffle the hem of Lucia’s clothes.
Lilia’s heart sank instantly.
‘Absolute defense… this woman’s ability is simply cheating.’
While her mind was blank, the second wave of punishment arrived.
“Meow-ah!”
Lilia’s body stiffened, and she bounced once on the bed.
It was completely different from before.
An intense itch surged from the center of her back and immediately crawled across her entire rear.
The itching seemed to seep out from the gaps in her bones.
It bored back and forth in the hollow of her spine, neither light nor heavy, yet it drove her mad.
“No… don’t… haha… it tickles… meow!”
Lilia could no longer maintain her posture.
She curled into a ball on the bed, laughing and rolling around.
She tried to reach out and scratch, but the itch radiated from deep within her nerves; scratching the surface of her skin was useless.
She twisted and struggled desperately on the bed, rubbing her back against the sheets, but it did nothing to help.
Uncontrollable laughter poured from her throat, and tears streamed from her eyes.
“Haha… stop… please… stop quickly… meow!”
She begged for mercy between bouts of wild laughter.
This sensation was a hundred times more uncomfortable than being beaten directly! It wasn’t a punishment at all; it was torture!
“The second punishment, Feather Tickle.”
Lucia’s voice was full of pleasure.
“It seems your luck is still quite good.”
Lilia laughed on the bed for a full 30 seconds before that agonizing itch finally began to recede.
She slumped on the bed, her strength entirely spent.
Sweat-soaked silver hair clung to her flushed cheeks.
She didn’t even have the energy to move a single finger.
Shame, anger, and… an emptiness after being tortured to the limit that she refused to admit even to herself.
She lifted her head, her tears not yet dry, and stared deathly at the woman who was sitting by the bed, looking perfectly composed.
“You… you bastard! Meow!”
“Shall we continue?”
Lucia completely ignored her insults.
Instead, she seemed to grow more interested.
“…”
Lilia fell silent.
She was afraid.
The first time had been her tail, and the second was her back.
Heaven only knew what kind of excessive punishment would come next.
If… if it was that sensation from last time that caused her to lose consciousness directly…
Lilia’s body trembled, and she didn’t dare think about it further.
“What? Are you afraid?”
Lucia looked down at her resentful yet silent expression and let out a light chuckle.
“Who… who’s afraid! Meow!”
Those words pierced Lilia’s pride.
She leaped up from the bed.
So what if there were punishments?
She would go all out! Even if she were truly broken here today, she would bite a piece of meat off this pervert!
“This time, watch me! Meow!”
Lilia changed her strategy.
Since fixed spell models were easily broken, she wouldn’t use them! She held out both hands, no longer attempting to construct any complex magical structures.
Instead, she took the small amount of mana remaining in her body and compressed it in the crudest way possible, shaping it into simple bullets.
These were the Mana Bullets she had figured out on her own.
Their power wasn’t great, but they were fast, low-cost, and could be fired relentlessly!
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat — !
Lilia’s hands transformed into two turrets. 100 purple Mana Bullets poured toward Lucia recklessly, forming a dense purple screen of fire.
‘I refuse to believe your turtle shell won’t react at all to such a concentrated attack!’
‘This little one always comes up with something interesting when pushed to her limit.’
Facing the frantic barrage, Lucia still didn’t move.
Only the translucent shield in front of her deepened in color slightly.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of dense impact sounds exploded in the room.
Every single Mana Bullet struck the shield with precision, detonating into small purple ripples.
But that was all.
The shield was firm; no matter how frantic the barrage, it remained unshaken.
When the last bullet finally dissipated in the air, Lilia’s mana was completely depleted.
She leaned on her knees, gasping for breath, her chest heaving violently.
It was over.
Even this move was useless.
She really… had no options left.
Just as she closed her eyes, preparing to welcome the third punishment —
Crack!
A faint, crisp sound rang out.
On the shield in front of Lucia, a tiny crack had actually appeared! Although the crack only lasted for a fleeting moment — so small it was almost invisible — and healed itself immediately, Lilia saw it clearly!
Her attack… was effective! Though the effect was minuscule, it had truly caused damage to that absolute defense!
Wild joy swept away all her exhaustion and despair.
“I… I hit you! Meow!”
She pointed a finger at Lucia, her voice turning sharp with excitement.
“Your shield cracked! I saw it! I really saw it! Meow!”
“Yes, indeed.”
Lucia actually admitted it calmly.
“At that moment, your attack frequency and density exceeded the shield’s self-repair threshold, causing 0.01 seconds of damage.”
She paused for a moment.
“Although you didn’t hit me personally, rules are rules.”
Lucia stood up, her black silk pajamas sliding as she moved.
She walked step by step to the edge of the bed, stopping right in front of Lilia.
Under Lilia’s incredulous gaze, she performed an action that made Lilia’s brain stall.
The Absolute Ruler of the World, the Founder of the Eternal Night Era, slowly… knelt on one knee.
She lifted her face, meeting the eyes of the stunned Lilia who was still sitting on the bed.
“Now, it’s my turn to receive ‘punishment’.”