"The future you cannot kill the past, yet the past me might not be unable to kill the future."
Upon hearing these words, the Doomsday Witch did not respond but remained expressionless.
The next second, the two of them disappeared from the spot in unison, entering the Blood Gate that originated from Ivyst's body.
The battle was on the verge of erupting.
When Lynn woke from his coma, he felt nothing but soreness throughout his body.
Not only that, his once vibrant spirit world had become empty and desiccated.
It was as if he had just been through a great battle, and he might need several days of rest to fully recover.
Really now, the Witch Miss had suddenly descended, and he was caught without any psychological preparation.
Lynn felt a bit of complaint in his heart, then looked around his room.
He had no idea what had transpired after he had lost consciousness.
He thought he would wake to a Bartleion Mansion in ruins, possibly even causing a commotion throughout Glostit.
But unexpectedly, the room was tidy and bright, as if there had been no conflict between the two women at all.
And Ivyst had left at some point, leaving him alone.
Shouldn't that be the case?
At this moment, Lynn was filled with an overwhelming confusion.
He couldn't imagine the two talking amicably as if they were close sisters; a life-and-death struggle seemed like the logical development.
At the thought, he subconsciously stood up, and began to move around the room, looking for signs of the wreckage being repaired.
But in the end, he found nothing.
What he did find, however, in a corner of the wall, was a brand-new Imaging Magic Stone.
Why would this thing appear here out of nowhere?
Lynn's heart was full of puzzles.
He even wondered whether Ivyst had arranged this to capture tender moments between them.
Fortunately, with the infusion of extraordinary power, a clear image instantly appeared before Lynn's eyes.
His expression immediately stiffened.
It was the scene where, possessed by the Witch Miss, he knocked the Imperial Princess to the ground and looked down at her.
For some reason, Ivyst, who should hold her own against that woman, now revealed a frail look.
The next second, their conversation reached Lynn's ears.
"You're using... his body, I wouldn't want to hurt him one bit, even if it means killing me."
"You're really strong,"
"Owning a more beautiful face, possessing strength and composure far beyond mine, in every aspect, I'm overshadowed by you."
"Even the dog I loved was taken from me by you, mercilessly."
"You have so much already, so why use despicable means like altering memories to take away my most cherished thing?"
"Just to prove you're stronger than me? Then fine, I concede, is that good enough?"
"I beg you... please..."
"Could you... return my dog to me?"
The woman's plaintive voice echoed in Lynn's ears.
For some reason, as he saw Ivyst's vulnerability like never before, his heart skipped a beat.
In contrast, the Witch Miss's demeanor was utterly cold and indifferent.
As if... she accepted Ivyst's earlier words as true.
Lynn suddenly found it ridiculous.
Such a foolish woman.
Even with an additional hundred thousand years of wisdom, she still couldn't grasp such a simple truth.
Outside, sensing the power fluctuation from Lynn's examination of the Imaging Magic Stone, Ivyst leaned against the wall with a smirk of triumphant scheming on her lips.
After reaching enlightenment at the "Chronicles of Xino" dragon scene, Ivyst had witnessed a holistic elevation in her character and temperament.
Though her obsessive possessiveness remained intact, she was no longer the powerless and frantically enraged person from the past.
Even if all of that was true... what of it?
The Imperial Princess didn't aim to vie with her for some title of the strongest in the world, but to weigh more heavily in her dog's heart.
That wretched woman chose the wrong path from the start.
At this moment, Ivyst's lips were bloodied, her complexion pale, and her breath, faint.
In the recent confrontation, she had lost to the Doomsday Witch by a slight margin.
Yet at this moment, rather than yielding to insane jealousy, Ivyst felt no such extreme emotion.
Moreover, she was quite happy.
Furthermore, during the confrontation, Ivyst had confirmed something.
About the Evil Curse on her face.
This was the main reason she insisted on meeting that wretched woman tonight.
Remembering the promise Saint Laurent VI made not long ago, Ivyst pursed her lips.
Maybe it won't be long before she could fully recover her looks.
By then, he would certainly be very happy, right?
It seemed, comparably, the gap between herself and that wretched woman in the future had narrowed a bit more.
Not just that, the bond with Lynn would also deepen significantly.
Although the two were already deeply bound by hypnosis, with no one else able to intervene.
Late at night, the Silent Church, Holy Maiden Prayer Hall.
Tiya, dressed in a chiffon nightgown, was now sitting next to a silver candlestick, carefully reviewing an ancient and obscure tome.
For the banquet she planned to attend the following evening, she decided to prepare in advance.
Tiya considered everything that might happen.
She even contemplated the possibility of him choosing to keep secrets.
If he really did so, Tiya was ready to use some less gentle methods to force his hand.
Like... hypnosis, or Mind Control, for example.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Just then, the door was gently knocked, followed by the voice of a nun calling from outside.
Tiya instinctively closed the forbidden tome in her hands, shoved it into a drawer in a fluster, and then moved towards the door.
However, in a spot she couldn't see, a faded yellow page slipped from the folds of the pages onto the floor.
A complex and mysterious symbol was drawn on the paper.
It had a pale green hue.
Almost like... an Eye of the Soul that could manipulate the heart.
(ps: I was just typing, and suddenly received a call from my father, saying my grandmother has been admitted to the ICU, now I must rush to the hospital...)