Victoria’s arrival was unexpected, but for Yashi, nothing was better than not having to face a domain-wielding True Ancestor alone. She had thought her chances of survival were close to zero, but even so, she jumped from the helicopter. Now, her chances had increased to at least thirty percent. She acknowledged the strength of the oldest living legendary mage.

It was said that Victoria’s era bordered on the mythical age, a time rich in magic, with powerful mages and legendary creatures like elves and dragons. In the terms of some novels, it was an era of “abundant spiritual energy.” In that era, the Black Emperor of the Vampire Clan could ascend and become a demigod. Then the Black Emperor fell, spiritual energy depleted, and now, in modern times, with the increase in ability users and the activity of vampires, it could be concluded that spiritual energy, or rather, magic power, was recovering. Something...was returning.

Without time to think further, Yashi dodged the elemental blades in the air and landed gracefully beside Victoria, at the highest point of the Ferris wheel. Below them was the Ferris wheel cabin where Adele, Dorothy, and the other vampire girls were, swaying precariously in the wind and rain. The girls inside remained relatively calm, using magic to resist the invading magic power. As for the ordinary people in other cabins, they could only cry and confess their feelings to their loved ones in this apocalyptic scene.

Yashi, and the entire Enforcement Bureau’s responsibility, was to kill True Ancestor Ron, rescue all the ordinary people trapped on the Ferris wheel and in the amusement park, and then erase or alter their memories of this disaster. There was a powerful ability user named “Mandela” in the Enforcement Bureau who could single-handedly change an entire region’s memory of an event. By then, everyone would only remember that there was a typhoon that day, and the amusement park’s facilities were severely damaged.

But thinking about the aftermath now was unrealistic. If they couldn’t even complete the first step of eliminating True Ancestor Ron, the worst consequence would be the secrets of the magical world being exposed, and then human society would slide towards an unknown future. No one knew whether such a world would be better or worse.

“Mage Victoria, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“If it weren’t for this situation, I would gladly invite you for a cup of tea.”

“But now...I’ll have to trouble you to resist the True Ancestor’s attack head-on while I rescue the ordinary people on the Ferris wheel.” In fact, this was what Victoria had been doing. If she hadn’t acted in time, Adele and Xiao Ai would have already fallen into True Ancestor Ron’s hands.

She raised her hands in a dispelling gesture, chanting ancient and obscure magic spells. A transparent shield of light appeared before Victoria. Behind her was the staff Moon Sprout, returned to her by Winona. The large, blood-red life crystal on Moon Sprout was emitting an unprecedented light, as if burning its life force to dispel the darkness in this world. However, in Victoria’s shadow, as her magic power continuously drained, the monster’s tentacles became active again, even climbing up her ankles, as if trying to pull her into the terrifying world of shadows.

Victoria wanted to dispel the darkness in this world and protect the girl behind her, but where she stood was precisely where the destructive darkness of another world lurked. Victoria couldn’t speak, only urging through telepathic magic, “Take Adele away, she’s his target!”

But unexpectedly, or perhaps not so unexpectedly, Yashi shook her head and, following her original plan, began rescuing the ordinary people trapped in the Ferris wheel cabins, manipulating the airflow. After bringing them down from their “cages” in the sky, other Enforcement Bureau agents would rescue and guide them. Adele and the others, whom she was asked to rescue, were ignored by Yashi. And her reason was instantly transmitted to Victoria’s mind through telepathy.

“Sorry, once that train starts moving, I can only save the majority.”

“Life is certainly equal, but its weight is different.” Yashi was undoubtedly a majoritarian.

“But don’t worry, when the train comes and can’t be stopped,”

“I will die before the target.” The elegant lady in the top hat smiled and left.

It was unknown how Adele would react if she heard these words. Even if she was angry, thinking that Yashi was also risking her life...and even saying that she would die before Adele to save her...it seemed impossible to blame her. Besides, Yashi’s choice was correct. With Adele present, True Ancestor Ron wouldn’t target others. The premise for the Enforcement Bureau to rescue the ordinary people in the amusement park was that True Ancestor Ron’s attention never shifted from Adele and Xiao Ai to these “ants.” Otherwise, with his power, he could cause casualties equivalent to an atomic bomb explosion. Beings of this level were the embodiment of destruction.

Victoria could also be “destruction” itself, but she chose to protect.

It was also worth mentioning that all this happened in an instant. Reality wasn’t like novels or anime where villains died from talking too much. True Ancestor Ron hadn’t said a word yet because he was focusing all his energy on defeating Victoria, the obstacle before him. The process might only take a few seconds, not enough time for Winona and others to arrive. It was within these few seconds that Yashi, using her ability to manipulate airflow, opened all the Ferris wheel cabins except for the one Adele was in. The ordinary people inside screamed, thinking they were about to fall to their deaths, but a gentle wind caught them, bringing them safely to the ground.

Back to the scene of Victoria’s confrontation with True Ancestor Ron, it was a battle between an unstoppable elemental spear and Victoria’s magic shield. But unfortunately, Victoria was on the left side. Unexpectedly, even at a time like this, the saying “The one on the left always loses in a beam struggle” held true. Perhaps...this was fate.

The life crystal on Victoria’s Moon Sprout began to crack from the center. The cracks spread rapidly across the surface of the gem, almost causing trypophobia, but even so, it held on, not shattering. And in fact, Victoria was enduring not only the immense pressure from True Ancestor Ron, but also the otherworldly monster within her shadow, constantly trying to erode her body and soul. The monster’s tentacles had already reached her knees. She was like a statue trapped in flowing liquid, a bizarre scene.

Fighting one against two, enduring unimaginable pressure for so long...Victoria was worthy of the title of the most talented legendary mage in history. But what was the point? Everything meaningful was already gone. No matter how strong she was, she couldn’t protect them. In the end, even Victoria started to feel lost, wondering why she had persisted until now, desperately trying to find a way out of the dark space-time turbulence for thousands of years, and why she was stopping the True Ancestor before her...

Suddenly, a peaceful and leisurely scene appeared before Victoria. She was on the lawn of the magic academy, surrounded by laughter, the sky a clear and gentle blue. She was still that carefree, popular, and flirtatious offensive magic instructor. Victoria felt like she had a long, long dream. Fortunately, she woke up, and nothing had happened.

Suddenly, a pair of cool, soft hands covered her eyes.

“Guess who, Teacher~”.

“...”

“Why aren’t you saying anything, Teacher?”

“...”

“Really, Teacher, you’re so mean...not playing with me!”

“You already guessed it, right!?”

“Do you think I’m too childish? Then what should I do...hmm, do something only adults do?”

“But I-I don’t know how to do those things!”

“Teacher, c-can you teach me?” But Victoria still didn’t speak, only tears silently streaming down her face, tears of sadness. Because she knew that once she spoke, all this would disappear. She still wanted...to stay a little longer, just a little longer, like this, with her, in this era where they all still existed, Victoria’s era.

How much courage did it take to face the cruel, bloody reality? Perhaps Victoria could answer this question. She slowly opened her tear-filled eyes, and those soft hands, the girls’ laughter, those beautiful scenes in her memories, all crumbled before her, turning into dust and scattering with the wind. Cold raindrops started to fall on her face, surrounded by scorching hot wind and spear-like lightning. It was the despairing reality.

But Victoria had figured it all out. She slightly parted her lips, murmuring, not an ancient incantation, but a name almost lost in the wind, “...Let me teach you what an adult must do.” That was, as a teacher, to protect her students. Victoria had experienced such regret once before. The student she loved died before her eyes, and she was powerless. But at least this time, let her do it, even at the cost of falling into hell.

Under True Ancestor Ron’s continuous attacks, the magic shield before Victoria had reached its limit. And just as it was about to shatter, Victoria uttered a word that seemed to belong to another world. If transcribed phonetically, it could be roughly translated as “Iä!”.

As if responding to the summons, the shadow of the otherworldly evil god within her began to stir, its tentacles climbing up from her shadow, reaching her waist, becoming increasingly ferocious, like ink-colored amber about to swallow her whole, assimilating her into an unspeakable monster. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Victoria spoke to the evil god from another world, [Iä!, I will not allow you to harm Adele.]

[Indescribable angry evil god language]

[But if your purpose in coming to this world is to dissect and devour all the unknown knowledge,]

[Then, devouring me, and the True Ancestor Ron before us, should satisfy your greedy, empty stomach!]

[This is not an agreement.]

[But a contract between you and me!]

[I offer everything I have, body and soul, memories and emotions, in exchange for your power!]

As if the whole world paused at that moment, Victoria suddenly turned around, her eyes meeting Adele’s. It was a look of “emotion” that Adele wouldn’t understand until much later, the expectation and promise of a predecessor towards a successor. “I failed to protect them, but you can...Adele, do what I couldn’t.”

Then, in the next instant, too fast for even high-speed cameras to capture, Victoria’s shadow, like a striking snake, completely swallowed her, then quickly washed away by the rain like ink. The woman was baptized. The evil god was reborn.

The Victoria who reappeared before everyone seemed no different from before, yet completely changed. Anyone could sense the ominous, terrifying aura emanating from her. She looked up, her pupils now a grayish-white, like faded jade. The magic shield shattered, but with a wave of her hand, a more vast power was released. Countless dark tentacles, like pythons, shot out from behind her, replacing Victoria, blocking True Ancestor ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Ron’s attack and protecting Adele behind her. Faintly, “Victoria” could be heard murmuring in human language, “Deal.”