Volume 7, Chapter 0-6 – Prologue (Part 2)

Ice-blue hair cascaded down like a waterfall, all the way to her ankles, several silver-streaked strands woven throughout, gleaming with a translucent sheen against the backdrop of the black miasma.

Her skin was fairer than snow, delicate as though carved from the finest white jade, covered only at key areas like her chest and waist by a thin layer of ice-flower patterns, the ice flowers crystal-clear with a faint blue glow at their edges, both preserving her modesty and lending her an air of sanctity mixed with eeriness.

What drew the eye most were her eyes.

They were a pair of golden pupils, utterly vacant, without a trace of life in them, like two soulless gemstones, and at the center of those pupils, a pair of small ice-blue snowflake markings could clearly be seen, shifting faintly with each breath she took, radiating a chill that made one’s heart tremble.

She simply stood there amid the ruins of the jade palace, faint wisps of black miasma coiling around her, and though she was undeniably a product of Corruption made flesh, her beauty was so striking it took one’s breath away, forming an extreme and unsettling contradiction.

“This… a girl?? This time’s incarnation… why did a girl come out of it??”

Luolin peeked out her little head from behind the Lord, watching the ice-blue figure with a mix of curiosity and fear.

Amid her confusion, Luolin couldn’t help but cast an urging glance toward the golden-haired woman beside her.

“Lord! Quick… quickly destroy that thing!”

However beautiful she might look, in the end she was still a monster condensed from Corruption. If she wasn’t destroyed, she would pose enormous danger to the world.

“Mm, I know.”

The golden-haired woman said flatly.

As the words left her mouth, the golden radiance around her surged, the power of the Divine Graced Realm unleashed without reservation, forming a thick shield of light that shielded Luolin behind her, while the formidable aura of energy swept forth and roared across the sky, dyeing the very heavens gold.

“A rare humanoid form… can you speak?”

As a crimson-gold Asura Spear condensed around her, the golden-haired woman asked tentatively.

After all, this time the individual Corruption had condensed into was a humanoid form, unlike before.

If she could learn something about Corruption’s origins or other characteristics from these monsters’ own mouths, it might prove helpful to them.

However, in response to the golden-haired woman’s words, the ice-blue figure gave no reply. Her hollow golden eyes slowly turned, and finally she raised her head, locking her gaze onto the Lord.

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That gaze held no hostility, no emotion, only a deathly cold stillness, as if she were regarding some insignificant object.

“No answer, huh… never mind then, it seems there’s no rationality left.”

The golden-haired woman narrowed her eyes, a trace of disappointment surfacing within them.

She raised her right hand high, terrifying energy already gathering upon her sacred spear. One strike, and everything below would be reduced to nothing.

The ceaselessly spreading, formidable golden energy even began warping the surrounding space.

At the same moment, the hollow-eyed, blue-haired girl finally stirred.

She slowly stepped forward.

Her movements were light and slow, the skirt-like ice flowers swaying gently, appearing utterly elegant.

—”Are you about to make your move?”—

The Lord’s eyes narrowed, her vigilance plain to see, layer upon layer of Augury Force shields rising to envelop the golden-haired woman within them.

Clearly, she had already prepared herself to clash with this entirely new Corruption Amalgamation standing before her.

And so, under the Lord’s grave watch, the blue-haired girl slowly took a step forward…

But just as her left foot landed and her right foot lifted, something unexpected suddenly happened —

Perhaps because she had only just taken physical form and was still unfamiliar with her body, perhaps because the miasma beneath her feet stirred slightly, or perhaps for some other unknown reason.

The blue-haired girl’s left foot suddenly tripped over her right.

Her once-elegant posture instantly lost its balance, her whole body stumbling forward, her hands instinctively bracing against the ground, letting out a soft “thud.”

…

…

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This sudden fall came without warning, shattering the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere from before.

Both the Lord and Luolin behind her froze, the power they had gathered instinctively pausing.

They had imagined countless possible scenarios — perhaps the enemy would strike first, perhaps there would be a silent standoff — but neither of them had ever imagined that this seemingly eerie and powerful Corruption entity would trip and fall in such an “adorable” way???

The ice-blue figure lay sprawled on the ground, pausing for a moment.

Then, she slowly raised her head, and somehow a faint mist of tears had gathered within those hollow golden eyes. Her long lashes trembled slightly, and several crystalline teardrops rolled down her exquisite cheeks, dripping onto the bloodstains on the ground, spreading tiny ripples.

She pouted, her once-empty eyes instantly filling with a look of pure grievance, the ice-blue snowflake markings within them seeming to dim slightly as well, looking every bit like someone who had suffered the greatest injustice and was on the verge of crying.

“Uwaah…”

A faint whimper escaped her lips, soft and helpless, like a child who had been bullied.

“Uwaaaaah…”

The Lord: “???”

Luolin: “????”

For a moment, aside from the blue-haired girl’s soft, adorable crying, the scene fell into an especially profound silence…

…

???

What…

What on earth was happening??

Hiding behind the Lord, silently watching all of this unfold, Luolin’s mind was suddenly filled with countless question marks.

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Every Corruption Amalgamation they had encountered before had launched into a frenzied attack on the Lord without exception, and every single one of them had been hideous and utterly bone-chilling to look at.

But this one?

Not only was her appearance absurdly beautiful, but she showed no hostility at all?

And she was even this dazed and clumsy??

Had the genes mutated or something??

Luolin kept muttering to herself internally.

But after a moment of inner conflict, the young apostle still couldn’t help but urge the golden-haired woman beside her.

“Lord… please, just finish her off quickly? Even though she looks human, in the end she’s still a monster born from Corruption.”

However, in response to Luolin’s urging, the golden-haired woman gave no answer. Likewise, the spear hovering around her, radiating terrifying energy, did not come crashing down as Luolin had hoped.

After closing her eyes and carefully sensing the girl for a moment, the golden-haired woman instead lowered her right hand, much to Luolin’s stunned bewilderment.

In an instant, the golden divine spear, once radiating untamed power, dissipated along with it, and the terrifying pressure that had filled the space between heaven and earth vanished without a trace.

???

“Lord?! You… what are you doing?!”

Luolin asked, utterly confused.

“I’ll keep her.”

The Lord stated her decision flatly.

Hearing this, Luolin’s face immediately showed an expression of complete shock, and she hurriedly spoke up:

“Lord! This is a monster born from Corruption!!”

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“She’s different from the previous Amalgamations.”

Looking at the blue-haired girl’s tear-glistening, watery eyes, the golden-haired woman said with a fair degree of certainty:

“No killing intent, no madness, only something resembling the innocent bewilderment of a newborn child in her eyes. Although the power within her body is immense, it isn’t unruly — it remains in a controllable state the entire time.”

“But…”

“No matter how many times we destroy Corruption’s Amalgamations, they always recondense, and grow even stronger each time. If this continues, the world will collapse before we ever solve the problem. Given that, perhaps bringing an Amalgamation under control might not be a bad option.”

As she spoke, the golden-haired woman turned her head slightly, sweeping her gaze in every direction.

“And what’s more, the moment this girl appeared, the surging miasma across the entire Earth calmed down. This girl might just be the key to breaking the current vicious cycle.”

“Her? Really, her?”

Glancing at the girl sprawled on the ground, looking utterly harmless, Luolin’s small eyes were filled with conflict.

But since the Lord had already made her decision, as an apostle, there wasn’t much more she could say.

“Like a child, huh… heh, perhaps she can be taught.”

As the words left her mouth, the golden-haired woman descended slowly, surrounded by crimson-gold Augury Force, coming to stand before the blue-haired girl. She slowly crouched down and extended her hand toward the girl.

Seeing the slender jade hand held out before her, the aggrieved blue-haired girl blinked her somewhat hollow eyes, gazing at the Lord in confusion.

“Uwah… uwahm?”

At this, a captivating, gentle, sweet smile quietly surfaced on the golden-haired woman’s face, one that had remained indifferent and unmoved until now.

…

—”My name is Ruoya. From now on, let’s get along well together… little girl born from Corruption.”—