In the blink of an eye, the sharp blade formed from the black, sludge-like tentacle was already in front of Lynn.
Its speed was so great that he barely had time to react.
At that exact moment, time seemed to stretch infinitely in Ah-Yan’s eyes.
Looking at Lynn’s back as he shielded her, something buried deep within Ah-Yan’s soul was thoroughly stirred.
‘You fool, you’re always like this.’
‘Whatever happens, you always think about shielding me behind your back. Even after finding out my identity, you’re the same, wanting to shoulder the burden alone even if the sky falls.’
‘It was like that before, and it’s like that now.’
‘Although I don’t know why you won’t reveal the truth to me… you can’t hide it from me.’
‘I don’t want to be protected behind your back anymore.’
‘From now on, even if the sky really does fall, I want to be by your side, accompanying you through every difficult moment.’
At that thought, she slowly clenched her delicate fists.
Within that brief yet eternal one-thousandth of a second, Ah-Yan made her decision.
Just before the sharp blade could pierce Lynn, she used every ounce of her strength to generate a thick wall of mana in front of him.
The moment the spike collided with the wall, a powerful shockwave suddenly dissipated, knocking both of them to the ground.
Thump!
Ah-Yan felt a wave of dizziness and collapsed onto Lynn.
Feeling the warmth and softness pressing against his chest, Lynn’s mind went blank for a moment.
However, he quickly regained his senses.
“Thank you so much this time,” Lynn thanked her from the bottom of his heart.
If it hadn’t been for Ah-Yan, he would have had to tank that hit.
Given his current defensive capabilities, the consequences would have been catastrophic.
“Idiot.”
Ah-Yan lifted her head, her voice trembling slightly.
“This time… no, from now on, I will be the one to protect you.”
Lynn was a bit puzzled as he watched the tears sliding down the corners of Ah-Yan’s eyes.
But now was not the time to dwell on such things.
Lynn slowly stood up and looked at the Sage not far away.
The man still wore that eerie white mask, his emotions unreadable.
“Interesting.”
The Sage sneered, then gradually spread his hands.
In an instant, a massive amount of viscous black liquid surged from the ground, transforming into countless sharp blades that blocked every possible escape route for the two of them.
The Sage had absolute confidence that under such an attack, there was no possibility for either of them to survive.
He slowly swung his hand down.
…
Several seconds passed, but nothing happened.
That’s not right.
The Sage looked to his side in confusion, only to find that the black blades that should have pierced Lynn were now drooping like wilted eggplants.
How?
Only then did he look Lynn directly in the eye.
A faint blue glow was flashing continuously in Lynn’s hand.
Lynn knew that as long as the Sage wanted to, he could infinitely summon these black sludge tentacles from the corrupted ground beneath them.
Therefore, when he stood up again, he had swapped [Last Wish] for [Silence].
Under the influence of [Silence], even if the Sage had god-like abilities, he would be hard-controlled for a period of time.
So, now was the time!
[Last Wish] reappeared in Lynn’s hand, and he activated it.
In the next moment, a thin strand of lightning drifted down from the sky like a silk thread dropped by a deity.
It passed through the thick rock walls and landed on the Sage’s body.
The Sage watched the lightning settle on his shoulder, his pupils shrinking instantly as his scalp went numb.
He could feel a killing intent from the high heavens locking onto him.
Although his layered shield was sufficient to withstand such an attack, he had a premonition.
The lightning striking from the heavens would likely not be just a single bolt.
Once his layered shield was broken, he would immediately fall into a disadvantageous position!
‘Leave first!’
The moment that thought surfaced, the Sage prepared to retreat to a safe place.
But in the next second, the crisp click-tock of a clock suddenly echoed through the cave.
Following that, the Sage’s thoughts and movements were slowed down as if he had fallen into a quagmire.
‘W-h-a-t h-a-p-p-e-n-e-d?’
The Sage felt the processing speed of his brain gradually slowing.
‘Another control-type spell?’
No, logically speaking, any spell cast upon him should be blocked by his layered shield.
Despite his slowed thinking, the Sage realized what was happening after a moment.
Someone had manipulated [Time].
It was the work of the Witch.
“How dare you harm my Mr. Lynn…”
Livia floated in mid-air, her expression gloomier than ever before.
She looked down at the Sage with eyes full of murderous intent.
That fellow Felica was completely unreliable; after teleporting Livia to the Sleeping Dragon Valley, he had disappeared.
Livia had been driven nearly insane with worry after losing her way on the battlefield and being unable to find Lynn, even feeling a faint pain in her heart.
If anything had truly happened to Mr. Lynn, she was prepared to cast a high-tier spell to make everyone be buried with him.
Fortunately, she had made it in time.
Her black robes fluttered despite the lack of wind, and her beautiful chestnut hair danced in the air.
“Unforgivable… You deserve ten thousand deaths!”
As she spoke, pale blue mana began to flow around Livia, gradually gathering in her hands.
Complex golden patterns formed in her palms, and in the next moment, several light swords materialized around her, locking onto the Sage.
Tier 4 Magic: [Light Swords].
This was the strongest conventional magic Livia could use at her current stage.
“Now… die!”
A series of light swords struck the Sage’s layered shield without interruption.
The Sage could only watch helplessly as his shield was gradually depleted while he remained unable to do anything.
A moment later, a sharp crack rang out.
The Sage’s protection was completely shattered.
At the same time, the thread-thin bolt of lightning suddenly erupted with an intense flash!
The Sage slowly turned his sinister gaze toward Lynn.
“Next time… I will definitely—”
Before the thought could fully form, the thread of lightning drew a massive bolt of divine thunder down from the high heavens.
Boom!
Several bolts of purple lightning, as thick as a man’s arm, accurately struck the Sage, who was held in place by Livia.
The resulting blinding light forced everyone present to shield their eyes.
That terrifying power was like a divine punishment sent by the gods, shattering the Sage’s projection into dust within moments.
“Whew…”
After confirming the threat was gone, Livia let out a long sigh of relief.
Then, she slowly descended from the air.
The moment her toes touched the ground, she suddenly stumbled as if she couldn’t stand steadily, and “coincidentally” fell right into Lynn’s arms.
Livia then snuggled affectionately against Lynn’s chest.
Of course, it wasn’t a real fall.
Livia simply wanted to take the opportunity to dive into Mr. Lynn’s embrace and mark him with her own scent.
“Mr. Lynn, did Livia do a good job?”
Livia pulled her head back from Lynn’s chest and looked up, her eyes filled with expectation.
“Yes, it’s all thanks to you,” Lynn said with a smile.
“Then…” A faint blush crept onto Livia’s cheeks.
“As a reward, can I have a kiss on the cheek?”
Though she was shy, Livia’s eyes sparkled like stars.
“Tch, a kiss on the cheek.”
Standing to the side, Ah-Yan crossed her arms, her tone dripping with unmistakable jealousy.
Hearing those words, Livia’s cat-like expression immediately fell.
She looked down and saw the petite dragon girl.
“…”
“Mr. Lynn, who exactly is… this person?”
Livia’s tone suddenly became incredibly cold.
Back in the Grimoire Library, she had felt something was off about this girl.
Livia had wanted to ask for clarification then, but she had been brushed off.
Friends?
Even a kindergartner wouldn’t believe such nonsense, let alone Livia!
This time, she had to get a clear answer in front of Mr. Lynn!
Before Lynn could answer, Ah-Yan slowly took Lynn’s hand, a smug smile playing on her lips.
“Me? I’m his lover.”
“The lover who, a long, long time ago, promised to grow old with him.”
“Lo… Lover?”
Felica, who had just reached the cave entrance and was preparing to teleport Livia away, froze.
The magic circle in his hand shattered instantly.
‘In the short time I was gone… what on earth happened?!’