Deep hatred is like aged spirits—only by personally uncorking and drinking it can one taste every burning bitterness and lingering sweetness that sears the lungs.
The moment of slaying one’s enemy is not just the taking of a life, but the final verdict and memorial for all the past pain, humiliation, and struggle.
On this point, Yize and Swan shared an unspoken understanding.
Yize could see the obsession nearly bursting from Swan’s eyes.
This former boy, now a girl, had paid a price far beyond ordinary imagination to obtain the power of revenge.
It wasn’t just the irreversible change of gender, but also the constant teetering on the edge of backlash from that power and the erosion of self-identity.
If Yize had casually crushed No.1 in a few moves, where would that leave Swan’s days of suffering and the deep-seated obsession that she had to finish it herself?
It would be like a silent denial, negating the meaning of everything she had sacrificed.
So Yize let go.
This wasn’t just out of respect for a comrade’s will—there was a deeper consideration.
Lately, Yize had felt more and more clearly that his “interference” in this world had been excessive.
The original “plot” had long since been distorted, like a runaway horse galloping toward an utterly unpredictable abyss.
Even the original “male lead,” Li En, had completely degenerated into a mindless magical beast. The extent of the script collapse was nothing short of disastrous.
The world couldn’t revolve around him alone.
Even if he could protect those close to him for a time, like the sudden space banishment on the Betty Battlefield, unexpected events always struck without warning. He couldn’t guarantee he would always be present.
He needed companions—people who could truly stand on their own, who could hold their ground where his gaze did not reach.
Luke… had been ruined by him, turned into a little fool who only knew how to rely on him.
Sara, Dio, and Emma each had their place, but their growth paths leaned more toward conventional magic and martial arts, their ceilings seemingly visible.
Swan was different.
Within her dwelt the soul of the dragon Iguneel, with endless potential waiting to be unearthed.
Her heart had been tempered by family tragedy, the upheaval of self-identity, and the ordeal of symbiosis with a dragon soul, making her resilience far beyond her peers.
Even rarer, she had a clear goal and the determination to do whatever it took.
She was an excellent rough stone, worthy of careful polishing, and might grow into a reliable “one of our own” who could be trusted to watch his back in the future.
At the Ten Holy Temples, a cold and hypocritical trial was unfolding.
Inside the grand, solemn hall, a huge dark black cross carved with countless runes stood upon a central dais.
On the cross, Riya was tightly bound by countless magic-sealing chains shimmering with silver light and engraved with profound runic patterns. Four nails gleaming with emerald cold light were driven into her limb joints.
These were elven-crafted nails, highly effective at suppressing and eroding blood race members, continuously draining her blood qi and inflicting persistent, piercing pain and weakness.
Her head hung low, her silver short hair dull and stained with sweat and grime.
Her face was as pale as paper, lips cracked, and her neat black clothes were torn in many places, revealing the bruises and bloodstains left by the chains and nails.
The former “Silver Storm,” who had once swept through the blood race with such vigor, was now like a bird with broken wings, nailed to this cross symbolizing “holiness” and “order.” The scene was so miserable it made one’s heart tremble.
Below the dais, in the ring-shaped amphitheater, every seat was filled.
The most powerful nobles of the empire, high-ranking priests and holy knights of the Ten Holy Temples, the imperial envoy… countless gazes—cold, scrutinizing, greedy, or gloating—were fixed on Riya.
Wearing a magnificent holy robe and a sacred crown, Trial Leader Tina stood before the judgment seat.
Her voice, amplified by magic, echoed clearly and coldly through the silent hall:
“Sinful one, Arseid·Riya! The Joint Investigation Team of the Ten Holy Temples has confirmed that her true identity has degraded into a bloodthirsty alien race—the Blood Race!”
“According to joint testimony from seven noble families in the central empire, including the Xi Si, Luo Sen, and Gray Valley families, as well as sworn witness statements from multiple noble eyewitnesses, the sinner Riya recently personally led and commanded a large number of high-ranking Blood Race members deep into the prosperous central region of the empire, under the pretext of ‘purification,’ and actually carried out plunder and destruction! The areas she passed through were devastated, with heavy losses of supplies and severe damage to the empire’s central defenses and people’s livelihoods!”
“Her actions constitute ten major crimes, including treason, colluding with alien races, harming fellow citizens, and endangering imperial security! The evidence is conclusive and the crimes unforgivable!”
“After deliberation by the Supreme Trial Court of the Ten Holy Temples, and with the approval of His Majesty the Emperor, it is now adjudged that the sinner Arseid·Riya and her family—the entire Arseid family—shall be stripped of all noble titles, designations, and privileges, all property shall be confiscated, and today, in this sacred place, the extreme penalty shall be publicly executed! As a warning to others and to cleanse the filth!”
As soon as Trial Leader Tina finished speaking, the heavy iron door of the side hall opened with a screech.
A fully armed squad of Knights of the Ten Holy Temples escorted a group of people onto the central dais.
Leading them was Riya’s sister, Angelica·Arseid.
The once proud and elegant eldest miss of the Arseid family now had disheveled hair, a face pale with exhaustion and disbelief, and her luxurious ceremonial dress had been replaced with coarse prison garb.
Heavy, dark, magic-suppressing manacles bound her hands and feet.
Behind her were the core members of the Arseid family and a few loyal old retainers, each face etched with fear, despair, and confusion.
Seeing this, the nobles in the audience showed not a trace of sympathy, but instead a stir of satisfaction and greed.
Especially those emerging nobles or those with old grudges against the Arseid family, their eyes gleamed with undisguised excitement.
The towering tree of the Arseid family, an old imperial noble house, was finally about to fall!
That meant a feast of vast interests, political space, and even some secret resources accumulated by the Arseid family over centuries… all tempting spoils.
Some nobles from the central empire, whose border territories had indeed suffered from Blood Race incursions, now turned all their losses and fear into anger at Riya. They ignored propriety and muttered curses:
“That damned mongrel! Monster! My territory, my mines, my trade caravans… all destroyed! Most of the family savings are gone! Why isn’t he dead yet?!”
“I said it long ago—the Arseid family stood alone and always harbored rebellious intentions! See, even their heir turned into a bloodsucking monster!”
“Back then, when she hypocritically made a move, I thought it was the empire’s good fortune. Never expected it was inviting a wolf into the house! Just to make it easier to penetrate deep into the empire’s heartland, right? Despicable! Shameless!”
“The Ten Holy Temples are wise! His Majesty is wise! A monster not of our kind must be completely purified! The Arseid family harbored evil designs and should be uprooted!”
Curses, complaints, and malicious speculation spread through the hall like sewage.
Riya weakly raised her head, her gaze slowly sweeping over those indignant faces.
She recognized a few of them. They were border nobles she had saved along the way when she was “cleaning out” Blood Race strongholds not long ago.
Back then, their castles were crumbling, their defenders dead or wounded, and it was she who had crushed the attacking Blood Race with lightning force, saving their family’s last foundations.
Now, these people, who had once been so grateful they would have knelt and kowtowed, had become some of the most enthusiastic “witnesses” accusing her of “inviting the wolf into the house” and “causing losses.”
To distance themselves or to curry favor with certain powers, they had unhesitatingly twisted the truth, turning salvation into a conspiracy.
How… bitterly ironic.
Riya’s lips twitched; she wanted to laugh, but only felt an boundless cold and exhaustion wash over her.
Half of her reason for acting was to find Yize, but the other half was genuinely trying to do something for this empire she was born and raised in.
Even if it was closed-minded and rigid, even if the nobles schemed against each other.
But now, it seemed that what she had protected was nothing but something so laughable and filthy.
Her eyes finally fell on her sister Angelica, who was being led onto the dais.
Seeing her younger sister’s wretched state and the undeniable Blood Race characteristics, Angelica was struck as if by lightning. Her whole body shook violently, all color draining from her face.
“Sis…ter…”
Riya’s voice was dry and hoarse, filled with guilt.
“I’m sorry… it’s me… who brought disaster to the family…”
“No… impossible.”
Angelica shook her head, her eyes unfocused, refusing to accept the reality before her.
“How could you… when did it happen… is it that Yize?!”
“Right!”
“It must be because of him!”
“If you hadn’t gone looking for that despicable commoner, how could you have run off to the dangerous border? How could you have encountered those Blood Race? How could you have become like this!!!”
Her voice rose sharply, turning into a shrill hysteria. Her eyes grew crazed and paranoid, firmly blaming Yize as the “root cause of all evil.”
“That’s not true, sister.”
Riya explained with difficulty.
“Back in… the Raymond Territory, I was already… no longer human. It has nothing to do with Yize.”
Angelica froze.
“Raymond Territory?”
“At that time… weren’t you reunited with Yize back then?”
“Right!”
“It’s still because of him!”
“I knew it! It’s that lowly, damned insect!”
“Why didn’t I just crush him back then? Why!!!”
Her logic had completely spiraled into a self-consistent madness, attributing all misfortune to that black-haired youth who had disrupted her “perfect plan.”
Watching her sister’s nearly demented state, Riya felt a sharp pain in her heart.
The gates of memory opened, and fragments of the past surged forth…
Once upon a time, her sister Angelica had not been like this.
Before their father died, before their mother was hardened by illness, she was the sister who would gently comb Riya’s hair, secretly bring her pretty hair accessories, and softly comfort her when she cried from exhaustion during training—the one who loved her younger sister the most.
Everything seemed to start changing after their father’s accidental death.
No, more precisely, it was when she, at only six years old, was forced to become the family heir as a boy.
At that time, she didn’t understand the weight of the family or the dangers of the world.
She still retained her little girl’s nature—loving delicate dolls, envying other girls’ pretty dresses…
Whenever she couldn’t resist secretly putting on her treasured skirts or playing with those “inappropriate” toys, and her mother discovered it, it wasn’t she who was whipped, but Angelica.
“As the eldest sister, you have the responsibility to teach and supervise your ‘younger brother.'”
Her mother’s cold voice still echoed in Riya’s memory.
“Any hint of femininity in her is a fatal threat to the family and to her future. If I find it again, you will be punished in her place. Double.”
“Also, if Riya’s monthly assessments in lessons, martial arts, magic, etiquette… fail to meet the standards, the shortfall will be made up by you, the eldest sister. With your flesh and blood.”
At that time, Angelica was only twelve or thirteen herself.
Her own studies and training had long surpassed the requirements, but for the sake of her sister’s always-underperforming assessments or occasional slacking off in physical training, she had endured countless extra whippings and stayed up countless nights to complete Riya’s additional training.
Young Riya knew none of this, nor could she understand her sister’s sacrifices.
Instead, she felt a small rebellious streak because her hobbies were taken away, and her secret actions continued.
And every time it was “exposed,” she was at most scolded and grounded, while Angelica, in the dead of night, suffered alone in the punishment room, her skin split open and bleeding.
Jealousy, resentment, hatred… quietly took root in Angelica’s heart.
Why, as daughters of the same Arseid family, did her sister get the family’s full support, while she had to bear such a heavy burden of joint responsibility?
Why could her sister be willful, while she had to be perfect?
It wasn’t until their mother was on her deathbed that the truth shattered all of Angelica’s confusion and resentment.
Her mother held her hand, her voice faint but clear:
“I know you hate me, Angelica. But all my harshness, even cruelty, over these years was for the family, and for you and Riya.”
“Your father’s death… was no accident. The royal family and several other houses had long seen our Arseid family as a thorn in their side.”
“I don’t have long to live… I had to force you to grow up quickly before I died, grow enough to temporarily support this family amid predators on all sides, to protect your sister until she can truly stand on her own.”
“If I hadn’t done this, after my death, the Arseid family would have become a feast for the wolves in an instant. Your fate and Riya’s… would have been worse than death. Forgive your mother… this was the only way I could do it.”
After their mother’s death, Angelica, now aware of everything, turned all her fear, pressure, sense of family responsibility, and the twisted emotions accumulated over those years into an even more extreme and severe form of “protection” and “shaping” for her sister.
She had to make Riya into the “perfect” heir, had to make the family stronger, to fight the enemies in the shadows, and to honor their parents’ spirits.
In this process, her own personality inevitably slid into the abyss of paranoia and control.
Riya did not fully know these heavy truths.
She only saw her sister becoming stricter, stranger, and… crazier.
Now, looking at her weak but calm sister on the cross, and at the greedy, hypocritical, and opportunistic noble faces around her, a deep sorrow and despair flickered deep within Angelica’s mad eyes.
The family she had spent her life trying to protect, the glory she had distorted both herself and her sister to maintain, had finally come to an end in such an absurd and tragic way.
Trial Leader Tina’s cold gaze fell on Riya again.
“Sinner Riya, do you confess to the above charges and sentence?”
Riya slowly raised her eyes, sweeping over the judgment seat, over the nobles, and finally resting on Tina.
Her eyes were hollow and weary. All anger, defense, and indignation seemed to have been drained away by the cold chains and heart-eating pain.
She was dead to this empire, to these so-called compatriots.
She closed her eyes and said nothing.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Tina’s face. She raised the trial staff high.
“The sinner refuses to confess, stubborn and unrepentant! According to sacred law, the purification judgment shall be executed immediately!”
Terrifying magic power wildly converged high above the dais, forming a pure white vortex exuding an aura of destruction.
Vast holy light energy condensed and compressed within it, locking onto Riya on the cross and all the Arseid family members behind her.
At the critical moment, a figure flew in from outside the door—no, to be precise, it was thrown in—and collided head-on with the terrifying white vortex.
Yize: “There you go!”
No.3, flying through the air, was utterly bewildered. “Using me as a meat shield?”