Goddess's Yuri harem: Chosing the Empress is hard-Chapter 73: What are you?- Part 1

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"Y-You promised that you would help me out. Please, save my life now. I know you can hear me just fine, Lady Victoria. Please, help me out."

Nana yelled in her mind as she tried to get help. But no one answered her this time.

Even the presence that felt like it was keeping an eye on her did not exist in her mind any longer, causing Nana to hyperventilate.

"T-This cannot be happening. I cannot lose my life like this. I-I have not even achieved anything yet. Is there no way for me to be able to get out?"

Nana asked in a scared voice.

After facing Goddess Auriel before, Nana was more sure than ever—she could never escape the goddess without help.

Nana reached her room and slammed the door open. She quickly walked to the bag she had packed and picked it up. As she did, a small note fell out of her luggage.

It was new, and Nana did not remember reading it before. Still, she felt intrigued by the note and decided to pick it up... only to almost drop it when she saw the contents. But not out of shock.

Nana felt relieved when she read the message, and her body almost collapsed. The note was from Lady Victoria, and it resolved almost all of Nana’s issues.

[Lady Nana, unfortunately, I will not be able to come and help you out alone. That is why I am sending someone you are already familiar with to help you out.

Please, head toward the west gate and meet Lila there. She will take you to safety.]

Nana felt relieved as soon as she read this message, and she picked up her bag to make her way out.

She had used a spell to make the whole facility fall asleep, and this was her only chance.

With some luck, the only ones awake in the tower at the moment were Goddess Auriel and Nana herself. If she was able to avoid being detected and make her way out, then Nana could disappear and conduct her research in peace.

’I-I will make it out at all costs. I don’t have a choice in this matter. This is what I need to do in order to survive.’

______

Goddess Auriel stood in the empty plaza, her divine energy crackling faintly around her fingertips. She exhaled sharply, irritation brimming beneath her usually composed demeanor.

A smile covered her face, but it was not a smile of comfort or happiness. Instead, it was a smile of doom that would make anyone shake in their boots.

That girl, Nana White, had managed to escape right under her nose and it was an insult to Auriel’s place as a goddess.

Auriel was not used to failure. She had underestimated the young woman, assuming she was just another desperate mage clinging to power.

But Nana had proven to be more resourceful than expected, disappearing without a trace despite the goddess’s watchful eyes.

Auriel clenched her fist. She would not allow herself to be fooled twice.

Closing her eyes, she spread her divine magic outward, weaving it through the empty halls of the tower.

The residual energy from the magic-sucking tree still lingered, disrupting the natural flow of magic in the air. It would have been difficult for any ordinary mage to sense anything in this haze, but Auriel was no mere magician—she was divine.

It didn’t take long before she found her target. freewebnøvel_com

A small flicker of magic, a trace of life energy moving hurriedly through the lower corridors of the tower. Nana White.

The girl was running.

Auriel smirked.

"Found you."

With a single step, Auriel vanished from the spot, her divine magic folding space around her.

______

Nana clutched her bag tightly as she rushed through the winding halls, her breath coming in sharp gasps.

The spell she had cast to put everyone to sleep had taken a lot out of her. She had only a small window before Goddess Auriel woke up her allies, and Nana had no intention of sticking around to see what happened when they found out she had betrayed them.

’I need to get out before she catches up to me.’

Her fingers tightened around the note from Lady Victoria.

Lila was waiting for her at the west gate. If she could just make it there in time, she would be safe.

Nana’s legs burned from the effort, but she forced herself to push forward. The halls were eerily silent, and the magic-deprived atmosphere made everything feel heavier, more suffocating.

Just as she turned the last corner leading to the west exit, an uneasy feeling settled in her chest.

Something was watching her.

Her pulse quickened, and she forced herself to move faster.

She didn’t know that she was already too late.

High above, perched on the tower’s rooftop, Auriel watched.

She had caught up to Nana effortlessly, but she didn’t intervene just yet. Instead, she observed, following the girl as she neared her supposed escape route.

’Where are you running to, little liar?’

It wasn’t enough to just catch Nana—Auriel needed to know who was waiting for her outside.

Who was pulling the strings behind this?

And that was when she saw it.

Just beyond the west gate, hidden in the shadows of the large stone walls, stood a figure cloaked in darkness.

Nana’s heart leaped in relief when she saw the hooded figure standing at the gate.

"Lila! Thank the gods! We need to hurry before—"

She whispered harshly, trying to keep her voice low.

She froze.

A wave of cold, nauseating energy washed over her the moment she got closer.

This wasn’t Lila.

The figure turned toward her, and for the first time, Nana saw the truth. Beneath the hood, shadows coiled unnaturally around the person’s form.

Their presence was suffocating, thick with dark magic—so much so that even Nana, someone who had dabbled in questionable spells, felt like she was being devoured just by standing near them.

"W-Who are you?"

She whispered, taking an uneasy step back.

The hooded figure tilted their head slightly, as if amused. A cold, distorted voice echoed from beneath the cloak.

"I am the one you called for help."

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