However, at that moment, a lazy and endlessly charming voice rang out like the whisper of a viper.
“Oh my, what a touching scene. Kai, you stubborn old man, you really don’t know when to give up.”
As the voice appeared, the shadows deep within the hall seemed to come alive, slowly squirming and coalescing.
A graceful figure stepped out from within.
She wore a luxurious, deep purple dress with dark gold magic patterns embroidered on the hem that swayed slightly with her steps.
Her skin was as white as snow, and her face was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her pink eyes seemed to contain ten thousand stars, yet they also held a hint of coldness and playfulness that could see through the human heart.
A faint, inscrutable smile played on her lips.
It was none other than Isayate.
Isayate’s gaze did not fall on Kai immediately.
Instead, she looked with great interest at Ling Xiya, who was undergoing a violent internal struggle.
It was just one look.
It was this seemingly casual glance, which contained infinite magic and Mental Control.
The small spark of clarity belonging to the hero Luo Ling that had just ignited in Ling Xiya’s eyes suddenly flickered like a candle in the wind.
The pain and struggle on her face froze, and the clarity in her eyes quickly faded, replaced by a deeper, more twisted fanaticism.
The recently recovered memory fragments were forcibly torn and crushed by an invisible, massive force, swallowed once again by the darkness.
Eve’s smile, her mentor’s teachings… everything faded, blurred, and eventually vanished into nothingness under Isayate’s magical gaze.
In their place was the stunning face of the Demon Queen Isayate, her gentle whispers, the Supreme Favor she had bestowed, and the Eternal Paradise she had described — a place that belonged only to the two of them.
“Mas… ter…”
Ling Xiya’s voice rang out again, but it had completely lost its previous clarity and struggle, reverting to that sickly, obsessive, and sweet tone.
The tear stains on her face had not yet dried, but a smile even more fanatical and obsessed than before immediately bloomed.
Her gaze was locked firmly onto Isayate, as if she were the sole light of her life and the entire meaning of her existence.
That gaze had shifted from brief clarity, through violent struggle, and finally, resolutely and completely, back to extreme fanaticism and obsession for the Demon Queen Isayate.
Kai’s heart sank bit by bit as he watched the change in Ling Xiya’s eyes.
The look of hope on his face vanished, replaced by deep disappointment and sorrow.
He slowly closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
This sigh was filled with a sense of helplessness, as if it had exhausted all his strength.
He understood that Isayate’s Mental Control had already seeped into her very marrow, like a maggot on a bone.
Even if Luo Ling’s soul had experienced a momentary awakening, it could not break free from those powerful shackles after all.
The last flame of hope was extinguished.
When he opened his eyes again, Kai’s gaze had become incredibly cold and sharp as a knife.
He no longer looked at Ling Xiya, but instead concentrated all his attention on the beautiful figure walking slowly toward him — the Demon Queen Isayate.
“It seems the final attempt has failed.”
Kai’s voice was terrifyingly calm, but beneath that calm was suppressed rage and killing intent.
Isayate, it was you who twisted a hero meant to protect the world into this state. You are beyond forgiveness.”
A vast and heavy aura rose once again, more condensed and dangerous than before.
His grey robes moved without any wind, and the surrounding air seemed to vibrate slightly.
He held no weapon in his hands, but the momentum radiating from his body was more terrifying than any divine weapon.
He had decided.
He had to end everything here, once and for all.
Even if he had to personally… finish off his former disciple.
“Beyond forgiveness?”
Isayate chuckled, her voice charming and moving, yet laced with cold cruelty.
“Master Kai, you shouldn’t say that. I only gave her a brand-new, better home. Look how happy she is now, how much she depends on me. Isn’t this wonderful?”
She stretched out a slender finger and beckoned to Ling Xiya.
Without any redundant orders, or even a single word, Ling Xiya acted as if she had received the most supreme command.
The obsessive smile on her face turned hideous, and her eyes flashed with a mad light of someone willing to pay any price to protect her master.
The power belonging to a hero, twisted and polluted, erupted with shocking destructive force at this moment.
Her body moved instantly, her speed as fast as a ghost.
Carrying a sharp, fierce wind, she lunged straight at Kai.
In her eyes, there was no longer any shadow of Luo Ling, only absolute killing intent for the “enemy” and infinite loyalty to her master.
Kai’s gaze sharpened.
Watching his once proudest disciple rushing toward him, a flash of pain crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by an unquestionable resolve.
He did not retreat; instead, he took a step forward to meet Ling Xiya’s attack.
The final battle began.
It was not for the sake of awakening, but for the sake of an end.