Volume 5, Chapter 55 – Rampant Growth

Tilulu turned around, her hand holding the teardrop pendant quietly loosening.

Although Milu’s appearance was no different from usual, Tilulu had a different feeling, as if her thoughts had already been seen through by this Stellacryst Beast, her inner thoughts laid bare under the gaze of those terrifying blood-red vertical pupils.

She subconsciously thought she had to get away from Milu. Her black and white tail quietly stood up, and her hand unconsciously reached for the stone-shooting staff at her waist.

“Going to find mom.”

“Fia isn’t in this direction.”

Milu continued to speak in a voice lacking emotional fluctuation. Just as Tilulu reached for her staff, Milu also placed her hand on the one-handed sword at her waist. She glanced at Tilulu’s ears, her brow slightly furrowed.

“What happened to your ears?”

“What do you mean, what happened?”

“See for yourself in a mirror.”

Although Tilulu was displeased, she still took out a mirror from her magic item and looked at her face. However, she didn’t think there was anything strange about herself in the mirror. Or rather, she seemed to have lost her ability to perceive color without realizing it.

“Is there a problem?”

Tilulu frowned. This was not a question, but an expression of impatience.

Having never seen her make such an expression before, Milu’s already alert heart became even more vigilant. From the moment she saw her, her [Danger Sense] had told her that Tilulu was very different from usual. Now, she didn’t even notice that her ears and eyes had changed color, as if she had become a different person. This was definitely not a normal state.

“Didn’t you notice your ears have turned black?”

“I don’t see any change.”

Tilulu’s voice became lower. She ignored Milu and prepared to turn and leave. But Milu took a step forward, grabbed her hand which was on the magic staff, and started pulling her back the way they came.

“Come with me to find Fia.”

“Don’t touch me!”

The impatience in her heart grew stronger. Tilulu simply threw off Milu’s hand. But Milu no longer wanted to communicate with words. If the person standing here wasn’t Tilulu, but an ordinary acquaintance, Milu would have long since used force to make them obey.

She no longer hesitated. The moment Tilulu threw her off, she turned around, her left hand reaching for Tilulu’s neck from the front, attempting to get behind her and trip her. However, although Tilulu was a magic caster, the beastman’s instinct for quick reaction was still there. She immediately retreated, while quietly chanting a spell, trying to use magic to distance herself from Milu.

“You really do have a problem!”

Her brow furrowed even deeper. Milu closed in on her, one hand reaching for her mouth to stop her chanting, the other drawing a spare short sword from her waist, aiming the pommel at the back of her neck.

However, Tilulu’s spell was already complete. Compressed airflow exploded violently between them. The strong wind pressure instantly sent both of them flying. If not for Milu’s quick reaction, she would have already lost her balance and fallen.

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Holding the staff horizontally in front of her, Tilulu’s face filled with hostility. She switched to a warning tone.

“Don’t block me!”

“If you’re looking for Fia, why are you going in the opposite direction? You’re not normal anymore!”

While scolding her with raised eyebrows, Milu charged at her again. Although she usually seemed to be at odds with Tilulu, in reality, she viewed her the same way Liti did, as a younger sister she had a responsibility to discipline.

“Even if you’re afraid of Fia leaving you, you don’t need to do it this way!”

“What do you know!”

Hit where it hurt by Milu’s words, Tilulu’s expression instantly became ferocious. She felt as if something had exploded in her head, and various negative emotions overwhelmed her reason like a flood. It seemed that the person standing in front of her was no longer Milu, but an enemy.

She poured magic power into the stone-shooting staff. In just an instant, a rock condensed on it and shot towards Milu. Almost subconsciously, Milu slashed at the stone with the [Undead Princess Hatred] in her hand. However, just like when Tilulu had faced Celesté, the stone vanished before her eyes in the blink of an eye, and her sword hit empty air.

Not good.

[Danger Sense] amplified to an extremely dangerous level. Milu recalled Celesté’s encounter and unhesitatingly activated her trigger-type defensive magic item. The next second, the rock appeared less than two meters from her abdomen.

I can only take it head-on!

“—[Wall of Frozen Ice]!”

A clear and tender young girl’s voice came from the side, followed by an icy wall suddenly rising in front of Milu. A cold aura rushed towards her, but the dangerous feeling that had enveloped her body vanished in the blink of an eye.

Bang!

The rock that should have hit Milu’s stomach pierced violently into the wall. Cracks instantly appeared on the meter-high ice wall, and countless ice shards flew everywhere. However, the wall did not dissipate, but stood firmly in place.

“Phew, finally caught up. As expected, little Milu can’t do without me. I’m the older sister.”

With a relieved and frivolous complaint, an elf girl with long, light-purple hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a pure white magic robe, appeared beside Milu. She first looked at Milu reproachfully, then turned her serious gaze to Tilulu on the opposite side of the corridor.

“Tilulu, what are you doing?”

“She’s already gone off the deep end. Subdue her first and take her back.”

Although she had almost run headfirst into the ice wall Liti had created, Milu did not blame her. The two of them tacitly adopted a two-on-one tactic. Liti slowly retreated to the side, while Milu took the initiative to stand forward.

However, before the two could get into position, Tilulu’s magic shot over again. This time, it was a huge fireball with a diameter of over a meter. The blazing orange-red flames almost filled the entire corridor.

This was simply not something a Second-Tier magic caster could achieve. Even if it were Liti herself, she couldn’t possibly make a fireball this big.

Liti’s eyes widened exaggeratedly, but the chant in her mouth did not stop. This was not the first time she had seen Tilulu in an abnormal state. Back in Aurora City, a similar situation had occurred. With a Second-Tier body, she had exerted power that did not belong to her. The difference was that the current Tilulu was not as terrifying as back then.

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There was no need to meet the fireball head-on. Both Milu and Liti chose to jump into the garden on the side of the corridor to dodge it. However, they found that even though they had moved away from the fireball, the high temperature they felt on their skin did not disappear, as if the fireball was still chasing them. Liti subconsciously looked back at Tilulu.

Then, another orange-red fireball, one meter in diameter, appeared in her vision. In just less than two seconds, Tilulu had fired two identical, huge fireballs.

“How can there be more!”

“Cut the crap.”

Compared to the surprised Liti, Milu calmly dodged the second fireball attack, then dashed towards Tilulu, who was less than five meters away.

Tsk. I’m being looked down upon.

Clicking her tongue inwardly in defiance, Liti followed Milu’s movements to dodge the fireball, then raised her staff towards Tilulu.

Little Tilulu wasn’t enough to make her, the older sister, lose face. Magic casters weren’t just vases that could only hide behind and use large spells.

“—[Collapse]!”

As soon as Liti’s voice fell, Tilulu, who was chanting a lengthy spell, suddenly felt her legs sink. The ground beneath her collapsed half a meter without warning. And it was precisely this depth that made her lose her balance. The chant that had made Milu feel dangerous was forcibly interrupted, and her body exposed a huge opening.

Now.

Five meters passed in an instant. Milu arrived in front of Tilulu in the blink of an eye. She subconsciously swung her staff like a weapon at the incoming Milu, but Milu simply grabbed it and stopped its momentum. Under the force of inertia, Milu’s body slammed violently into Tilulu’s.

Thud.

When they came to their senses, the two had ended up with Milu sitting on top of Tilulu, her healthy, fair thighs clamping her waist in the depression. Although Tilulu tried to struggle, because Milu was pinning her hands, she couldn’t move at all and could only grit her teeth and let out a fierce but powerless sound.

“Let go of me!”

“Liti, tie her up with a rope.”

“Can’t you hold her down, Milu?”

“She’s too strong.”

“Alright then.”

As Milu said, Liti took out a rope from her storage item and came to her side. But because they were in the depression, Liti, standing above, found it difficult to act—the depression wasn’t large, and accommodating two people was already the limit.

Just in case, I should take the magic staff first.

With this thought, Liti reached for the stone-shooting staff Tilulu was gripping tightly. Although Liti was a magic caster, the bonus to her physical fitness from the Third Tier was enough to make her strength exceed Tilulu’s. Coupled with the fact that Tilulu’s arms were pinned by Milu and couldn’t exert force, Liti easily snatched the staff from her hand.

“How nice. Sister never gave me a magic staff like this.”

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“Wait, give the staff back to her!”

“Why?”

Answering Liti’s question was a black airflow that suddenly surged from Tilulu’s entire body, like ink being poured into clear water, except here the black airflow rose from bottom to top, even staining Milu, who was sitting on her.

“Give back the gift mom gave me.”

Her voice seemed to belong to a different person. Tilulu stopped struggling and stared at Liti with completely black eyes. The latter, just like when she had first met Claire, felt an inexplicable shiver run through her body, a chill as if falling into an ice cellar.

“F-fine… here you go.”

Saying this, Liti handed the staff back to her. Unfortunately, it was too late. The thick black airflow had already filled the entire depression, to the point where Milu felt extremely uncomfortable.

I have to leave quickly.

The thought had just appeared in her mind when the black mist covering Tilulu’s body exploded like a lit powder keg. The violent shockwave instantly pushed Milu and Liti away. The snow in the nearby garden even formed a snow wall, rushing straight towards the distant wall.

“Huh? How did she get stronger again?!” Liti, who had fallen to the ground grimacing, let out a cry. She stood up and quickly took Milu’s hand. “Let’s hurry and find sister and Sister Claire.”

“Leaving her alone here is dangerous.”

Milu frowned.

“Staying here will only make things worse. As long as sister comes, it won’t be dangerous anymore.”

“…Then I’ll keep an eye on her here. You go inform Fia. They’re on the fifth floor.”

“How can I do that! She might already be at the Fourth Tier now! I’ll stay here, you go inform sister.”

As she spoke, Liti raised her staff and faced Tilulu, who was staring at them with hostile black eyes. Even if a slime were placed here, it could feel the danger.

“Leave it to me.”

Suddenly, Fia’s steady voice appeared beside the two of them.

Liti’s beautiful purplish-red eyes instantly lit up. She turned her head, and what entered her vision was Fia, who, like Milu, had her white hair tied into a side ponytail.

“Sister! Tilulu’s condition is very wrong right now!”

As Liti had said, not only was Tilulu wrapped in black airflow, but even her originally white beast ears had turned completely black. Only her gray hair had not been dyed black.

This is also an expected result.

Although a dark cloud hung over her heart, Fia did not panic. The pendant the Wandering Knight had given Tilulu that day was something she had decided to give her after appraising it. For things to turn out like this now was still within her control.

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The Wandering Knight had not lied. The effect of the teardrop pendant was to make wishes come true. However, the “wishes come true” here referred to giving the wearer strength to achieve the effect themselves.

More specifically, the teardrop pendant would amplify the wearer’s emotions without limit. These emotions could be positive or negative. When the emotion reached its peak, the pendant would use it as nourishment and give the wearer strength to accomplish what they wanted to do.

“Fia…”

Seeing Fia arrive, the black mist around Tilulu surged even faster. She took a step towards her expectantly. At the same time, Milu, as if to protect Fia, intended to stand in front of her.

Fia pulled Milu’s shoulder with a wry smile.

“I’m not so weak that I need Milu to protect me. You two go find Claire. Tell her and Anastasia that you’re not in danger, and don’t interfere no matter what happens later.”

“What about you?”

Milu looked up at Fia, her blood-red vertical pupils, which would make ordinary people feel fear, filled with worry.

Fia smiled and patted her head.

“Don’t worry about my safety. I haven’t met anyone yet who could leave me helpless.”

“Sister is very strong. Little Milu’s worry is superfluous. Leave it to her.”

“Mm… then come back quickly.”

“Don’t worry.”

After giving her final instructions, Milu reluctantly let go of Fia and was led away by Liti.

The dim corridor, filled with scorched marks, was instantly left with only Fia and Tilulu.

“Fia!”

With no one to disturb her, Tilulu immediately put away her staff and ran happily towards Fia, like a lover long unseen, or like a fledgling bird rushing into its mother’s embrace. She plunged into Fia’s arms with a ‘poof’, her cheek pressed against Fia’s side, her hands also tightly wrapped around her shoulders, as if trying to memorize this addictive scent with her body.

She looked up, her delicate and pretty face filled with hope.

“Chazo’s army is already at the city gates. We have to leave quickly—”

Before Tilulu could finish, Fia pushed her shoulders away. Her face was extremely serious, to the point where it made Tilulu a little afraid.

“Come with me first.”

“Alright…”