Volume 6, Chapter 82 – The Elf Who Lost Her Power

The morning over Wishaven had shed the smoke and haze of the night before, and sunlight spread itself fully across every street. Soldiers moved through the rubble — mechanical arms hoisting shattered building debris, troops in protective gear carefully clearing away the remnants of Corrupted Beasts and the bodies of fallen civilians, their movements solemn and heavy. The occasional clang of tools rang through the air, weaving together with the low murmur of distant voices, composing the first movement of a city beginning to breathe again.

But inside the Lingyuan family’s hidden underground base, the atmosphere was something else entirely.

White medical lighting cast a soft, even glow. Bai Lianyue sat in a loose white examination gown, a few thin monitoring patches affixed to her skin, their leads connecting to the equipment nearby — the screen beside her showing a steady, stable line of vitals. On the metal dining table in front of her sat an array of steaming food: a burger thick with melted cheese and a juicy patty, a bowl of rich tonkotsu ramen cradling a perfectly soft-boiled egg, a medium-rare steak dusted with cracked black pepper, and several delicate side dishes — all the human food she had specifically requested the night before.

Of course, worried that the little evil god lady might not have enough, Ailiya had prepared several dozen additional servings on top of that.

Given that Bai Lianyue had historically been known to demolish a hundred portions in a single sitting, this spread was perhaps still only an appetizer.

“Wow~”

Bai Lianyue’s eyes lit up at the sight of the beautifully arranged food, her dark-red irises brimming with anticipation. She picked up the burger and took a generous bite — the fragrant cheese and tender meat exploded across her palate all at once, and she narrowed her eyes with satisfaction, a little smear of sauce at the corner of her mouth.

Ailiya sat nearby, notepad in hand, glancing periodically at the monitoring equipment before turning back to watch Bai Lianyue eating with such contentment — her eyes full of fond indulgence.

“Eat slowly, won’t you — no one’s going to take it from you~”

Yelena stood just outside the room, watching the data on the screen while observing the elf girl feasting happily on the other side of the glass, the expression on her face growing increasingly difficult to read.

Bai Lianyue ate with great enthusiasm — a bite of burger, a mouthful of ramen, one after another in quick succession. But before long, she set down her steak knife and fork, patted her slightly rounded stomach, and looked up with a satisfied, rosy glow on her face:

“Mmm……full……already.”

??

Hm?

Ailiya raised her eyebrows in surprise:

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“Really? That’s all? You’ve barely gotten through half a burger and half a bowl of ramen — Lianyue, what’s wrong? Did it not suit your taste? Should I have the chef make something different?”

As she spoke, Ailiya reached out with fond affection and gently ruffled Bai Lianyue’s head.

“No……it’s fine,”

Bai Lianyue shook her head with a cheerful little smile, enjoying the petting, her long hair — a gradient of emerald and silver-white — swaying with the motion.

“Already full……really……can’t eat any more……”

She rubbed her uncharacteristically rounded little belly.

Then, with the most languid air imaginable, the girl slumped back against her chair and addressed Ailiya in her most wheedling voice:

“Too full……Ai’er……rub it for me~”

“Ah? Oh……alright, okay.”

Ailiya gave a fond nod and reached over carefully, gently rubbing Bai Lianyue’s warm, slightly swollen little belly. At the touch, a look of pure contentment spread across the elf girl’s beautiful face~

“Wait?! What the — ?!”

At the same moment, a sound came from just outside the observation window. Luo Fei had his face pressed flat against the glass, staring in with an expression of genuine bewilderment:

“She really only ate that much? This is the same Blockhead Bai who used to single-handedly wipe out entire warehouses of Rashiel cores and every scrap of food in sight!”

There was a distinct undercurrent of grievance in Luo Fei’s voice.

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Evidently, the steeply rising food expenditure within the Lingyuan household over the recent period had been a source of irritation for quite some time.

While Luo Fei was absorbed in his disbelief, Yelena glanced over at him — this head of the Lingyuan family who was wrapped head to toe in bandages, leaning on a crutch, looking thoroughly half-dead — and regarded him with calm, even eyes.

The second-in-command of the Vassals of Sky that Luo Fei had tangled with before was, without question, no easy opponent.

“What are you doing here? You’re in this state — shouldn’t you be resting and recovering?”

“This little scratch? I’m fine. Won’t kill me.”

Luo Fei laughed it off without a care.

“So what’s going on with her??”

He raised a hand and pointed at the elf girl on the other side of the glass.

Faced with the question, Yelena moved to the window and explained in an even, composed tone:

“The examination results are in. The Big Sister’s life has been preserved — but the curse power within her body has completely dissipated. As of now, she is an ordinary elf girl. The evil god’s power is gone. The power that once belonged to the Alabaster Sovereign is gone. She’s just a normal girl — and naturally……her appetite is the same as any normal person’s.”

In truth, Yelena had anticipated this outcome even before the examination began. The results had simply confirmed what she had already suspected.

“The Big Sister is no longer an evil god.”

Yelena’s voice was layered — complex with quiet emotion, resignation, relief, and something that felt like a weight finally lifted.

Hearing those words, Luo Fei’s eyes narrowed slightly. After a few seconds of processing, he pointed at Bai Lianyue through the glass and confirmed it again:

“You’re saying — Blockhead Bai has lost her power? No more of that strength she had before?”

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“Correct.”

“Is that so~”

Luo Fei’s eyes brightened at once. He raised an eyebrow, and a distinctly scheming smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Does that mean it’s finally my turn to make a comeback??”

“Huh??” Yelena’s brow twitched.

“Back on Earth I accepted getting beaten by that punk. When we came to Yao Xing and I still couldn’t win, I accepted that too……but now~ heh heh — I can finally give Blockhead Bai a good thrashing! What goes around comes around~”

Cracking his knuckles with great anticipation, he shook off Yelena’s attempt to stop him and charged through the door of the medical room with a bouncing step, hollering as he went:

“Blockhead Bai! Let’s see how you handle me this time!”

Bai Lianyue looked up at the sound, blinking at the bandage-wrapped figure who had just burst in with such aggressive energy. Her adorable eyes blinked once, twice — full of pure, innocent confusion.

“Mwuh?”

Of course, before the elf girl had any chance to figure out what was happening, Ailiya was already on her feet. Her eyes went cold. She drew back her fist without the slightest hesitation and let it fly.

―――――― “BAM————!” ――――――

A solid thud, accompanied by Luo Fei’s dramatically exaggerated shriek, as he was launched out of the medical room like a cannonball — blasting the door clean off its hinges, smashing into the hallway wall with a heavy crash, plaster raining down in a shower, leaving a perfect human-shaped crater embedded in the wall.

Ailiya withdrew her fist, placed her hands on her hips, and regarded the pitiful mess in the corridor with a pleasant smile:

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“And just what did you think you were going to do, dear~~ ‘Dad’~”

Her voice was lowered, cool and collected.

“My daughter grows up……and starts siding with strangers over her own father…… “

Rubbing the back of his now-throbbing head, Luo Fei let out a long, suffering sigh.

“Really though……was that necessary……Dad’s feelings are very hurt, you know.”

“Absolutely necessary. Who told you to try and pick on my Lianyue?”

“Come on, I was just joking — why take it so seriously? Honestly, you.”

Still rubbing his head, Luo Fei shook it in exasperation. At the same time, his gaze drifted slightly, settling on the elf girl’s face — that expression of pure, guileless bewilderment.

“Your reaction being that strong……confirms it, I suppose. She really did lose her power.”

He’d half wondered whether Yelena was pulling his leg, but seeing it now — Blockhead Bai had genuinely reverted to an ordinary person.

“Hah. So what’s the plan going forward? Where do you stash this blockhead now?”

“Stash? Why would I need to stash her?”

“What’s there to even ask? The way Blockhead Bai is right now — in the outside world’s eyes, she’s already been tied to the identity of the Terran Malevolence. If word gets out that the Terran Malevolence has lost her power, what do you think happens next? There’s no shortage of people out there who’d want to come settle scores with an evil god.”

Ailiya: ……