2 more chapters will be posted today to not get confused about the events.
——
Lilith, inheriting the entire memory of the previous “Mother of Miasma,” felt herself drawing closer to re-sowing the will of the Miasma across the land, bringing back the glory of the old era.
The reason the first generation failed was that under the guidance of the despicable Emperor, more and more beings stole power from her, becoming Eclipsed and leading to her death from her own strength.
Learning from the first generation, Lilith realized that to beat an enemy, one must become the enemy. That’s why she didn’t reincarnate in the original form of the “Mother of Miasma.” Instead, she chose to bewitch one of those around the Emperor and eventually took over the body of the Elf Empress, resurrecting in the image of “Miyuki.”
After resurrection, while still weak and at a disadvantage, she emulated the Emperor’s strategy. The Emperor used Miasma to defeat Tainted Miasma, so she would use beings to defeat beings. That’s why she continued to use Miyuki’s identity to form the Old Alliance, gathering those Eclipsed abandoned, forgotten, and used like tools by the Emperor.
After five hundred years, she finally faced her first confrontation in the Miasma space against Her Enemy, Ashen. Although it ended in humiliating defeat, it revealed two important pieces of information.
The first was that Miyuki, whom she thought she had possessed and whose original elf spirit had “dissipated” was not as simple as she had imagined and seemed to still exist in some form.
Since her true identity had been exposed to Ashen, continuing to pretend to be Miyuki was pointless. Therefore, she adopted the name “Lilith” a name she recently gave herself, imitating humans.
The second important piece of information Lilith obtained was about the mysterious secrets of this “Miyuki” body.
It was precisely because of accidentally discovering the true potential and talents of this “body” that Lilith now had the confidence like in the beginning of this ‘dream’ and was involved in the current scene.
The ceaselessly swaying tentacles behind her already signified Lilith’s expectation and excitement. After planning her next move in her mind, she quickly began to recite the lines she had meticulously prepared to Renji.
“To be honest, I’m quite surprised that you managed to wake up from the ‘Dream’ so quickly and come to me. Even I have to compliment you for that.”
If Renji had broken through the ‘Dream’, then she would use what humans call a “sarcastic” tone to disgust him.
The dark-skinned elf was verbally complimenting, but her eyes were full of contempt, perfectly embodying the feeling of superiority in toying with her prey.
This speech was inspired by the popular human tale of the Demon Lord and the Hero. The hero, after enduring countless hardships, finally faces the Demon Lord, only to be belittled with a comment praising his arrival, which would greatly humiliate him. Then, with this angry resolve, he would slay the Demon Lord.
In her case, the more she managed to infuriate Ashen, the more fiercely Ashen would attack her in the subsequent battle, chopping off several of her tentacles! And the more she could use Ashen’s anger to strengthen her own power! While Lilith was still feeling proud of her scheme,
however…
“Indeed, go ahead and praise.” Renji deeply agreed and nodded at the dark-skinned elf.
Lilith: “…”
“???”
‘Wasn’t the hero’s line in the story she researched different from this script?’ Seeing the dark-skinned elf across from her, who seemed to be choked by her own words, with her chest heaving, Renji easily regained control of the conversation’s rhythm.
“Actually, I’m quite curious. What would have happened if I hadn’t broken the ‘Dream’?”
“Heh, don’t worry.” The dark-skinned elf, seated high on a cross, regained her initial momentum.
She casually spoke while seemingly fixing her nails: “If we’re just talking about the ending, there wouldn’t be much difference. After all, the Empty Armor has already altered the path of the dream, adding a door for you. If you want to return to reality from the dream, you must come here and open this door.”
“The difference in the process would probably be… if you didn’t come out on your own, you would have to wait until you were locked up by that goddess, tormented into insanity. When your mental will couldn’t bear it anymore, that’s how the dream would shatter.”
At this point, Lilith felt a sense of regret, as this was her most ideal scenario.
The prospect of seeing Ashen in such a pathetic state was delightful. She knew that once he learned the truth, he would direct his most terrifying fury towards her, the mastermind behind the scenes. Moreover, successfully sabotaging his relationship with Suthia in the real world would be a dream come true. Perhaps, affected by the aftermath of the dream, Ashen might even go as far as to “sever an arm” and strip the goddess of her powers. The mere thought made her almost laugh in her sleep.
But alas.
Lilith shook her head, lifting the hand she had just pretentiously manicured in front of Renji. She admired her long, beautiful nails, pleased with herself. This gesture, learned from human behavior, was purposely used for this occasion.
However, Renji’s thoughts were still caught up in her previous statement.
‘Altering the path of the dream? A door? And the empty armor?’
“Empty armor, are you referring to the maid in my dream, number 85?” Renji asked, frowning.
In fact, the term ’empty armor’ wasn’t new to him. Just before entering the ‘Dream,’ Eileen had mentioned the ‘Master of Empty Armor,’ an ID renowned in the Mechanical Alliance and Eileen’s favorite dream creator.
On the other side, Lilith’s lips curled into a smile, watching Renji deep in thought. Her previous ramblings were intentional, meant to reveal certain information to Renji to heighten his desire for the truth.
And now, it was her turn.
“Tsk, it seems you indeed have many questions. Consider this a reward for reaching me. I’ll give you a chance.”
‘The main event was finally about to begin. Everything I had done led to this moment.’
Lilith jumped down from the cross, but her tentacles continued to coil around it. From the outside, it looked as if a dark elf was carrying the cross on her back.
She slowly descended to the ground and walked step by step towards Renji, whispering:
“Everything you want to know, whether it’s about the empty armor, your Dream, or something even more interesting, I can tell you all of it.”
“The only prerequisite for this… is battle!”
With the final word “battle,” Lilith unleashed the suppressed Miasma aura, now fully expanding it.
She stretched her arms towards Renji on the opposite side. Apart from the few tentacles entwined with the cross, the others behind the dark elf formed a shadow like a small mountain behind Lilith’s extended arms, instilling a terrifying sense of dread just by looking at it.
“Let’s see if you still have the fearlessness and bravery you had 500 years ago!”
“Come on, defeat me once more! Hmph, as long as you can do it, you can take everything you want from me – honor, status, wealth – and once again become the so-called savior in your mouths!”
“So, Ashen! Come on! Fight me!”
Although Lilith harbored hatred and hostility towards him, it didn’t stop her from verbally abusing him as despicable. Deep down, she still recognized the strength of someone who could turn an impossible situation around and end her formidable enemy.
Such a human leader, a world-saving emperor, could not have his resilience washed away in a mere 500 years. Provoked in such a manner, his fearless and brave qualities made it impossible for him to refuse her challenge. A life-and-death battle between them was inevitable.
And then, Ashen, true to his name, demonstrated his undiminished fighting skills honed over 500 years. Perhaps his strength had waned, but his exquisite combat abilities had only sharpened, leaving her struggling to defend. Each move and stroke targeted her vulnerabilities with cunning precision.
Despite her ‘best efforts’ to dodge, she was quickly left battered and bruised by him, who, in his pursuit of victory, seemed intent on humiliating her. He deliberately aimed his attacks at her clothes, slicing and tearing the fabric until only a few shameful patches remained to barely cover her body.
Exhausted and barely clinging to life, she finally collapsed weakly to her knees, watching with humiliated eyes as Ashen, the victor, approached her. He grasped her chin, lifting her entire body.
However it seemed, Renji had a different interest in the cross she had intentionally prepared behind her, coming up with a new way to humiliate her.
Ignoring her hateful words, “Ugh, just kill me!”, Ashen used his tentacles as ropes, binding her limbs to the cross! Then, taking out the sword of the savior, he delivered a righteous punishment to her, the evil one, powerless on the cross.
Updated from .𝒎