Sephirena handed the leaf to Tarashil, who quickly discovered its extraordinary nature.

This greatly shocked Tarashil. After briefly praising Sephirena, she took the leaf to the queen.

After learning about this, their queen obtained a new method of healing for the Tree of Life and praised Sephirena, letting the entire Elf Forest know about this. From then on, Sephirena’s reputation in the Elf Forest began to gradually change.

Combined with her recent behavior being different from before, the elves of the forest quickly acknowledged this elf princess.

And with Sephirena’s help, the elven queen continuously healed the Tree of Life using the new method.

About two years later, the tree was restored to its prime state and completely sealed away the demon race.

With the blessing of the Tree of Life, the elves became the dominant race in this world. A hundred years later, there was no Darriss Kingdom, nor the Lisat Kingdom or Luska Kingdom. There was only the Elf Kingdom.

“Lisat...” A strange name suddenly appeared in Sephirena’s mind, along with a strange human with platinum blonde hair and jade-colored eyes... “Li...ana?”

“What’s wrong, Sephirena?” Tarashil came before Sephirena at this moment. “You’re about to become the next queen. You need to perform well in front of others.”

“The queen?” Sephirena took a deep breath. The experiences of these years had completely transformed her. The once naive Sephirena had become an excellent princess.

She led the forces of nature, conquered many territories in the outside world, expanded the range of the Elf Forest, and made various flowers bloom throughout this world.

And with such abilities, Sephirena had contributed greatly to the recovery of their Mother. Having made such contributions, Sephirena was naturally revered by the elves and became the next queen.

And today was the day of the coronation.

“Nothing, I just suddenly feel a bit tired,” Sephirena said.

In fact, it was because her body was almost unable to support this illusion any longer.

“Tired? Do you need to postpone it? Everyone has witnessed your dedication over these years. They won’t think you’re being willful,” Tarashil said.

Willful...

It had been a long time since these two words were used to describe her. As a princess, she shouldered many responsibilities and could no longer do whatever she wanted like before.

“It’s fine. I’m just a bit dazed. I never imagined that someone like me could become your queen,” Sephirena changed into her clothes, wearing a wreath woven from the branches and leaves of the Tree of Life on her head.

“What do you mean ‘someone like me’?” Tarashil said with a smile. “Sephirena, we’ve all seen your performance. It’s your efforts that made us choose you.”

“Is that so?” Sephirena felt somewhat dazed.

“Really, you’re overthinking again,” Tarashil poked Sephirena’s cheek. “You should be thinking about what you’re going to say next. I’ll wait for you outside, Sephirena.”

Sephirena walked out, facing various elves. Even her sisters were now kneeling before her.

So this is what life is like after the Elf Kingdom’s rule.

A world without humans is a bit boring.

Sephirena looked at the Spring of Life beneath her feet, which reflected her shadow.

She now looked no different from her current self, but seeing her serious appearance, she laughed. “I shouldn’t be like this. Being too serious doesn’t suit me at all.”

Sephirena removed the crown.

This surprised everyone present.

“Sephirena?”

“I don’t deserve this crown,” Sephirena said.

“Everything you’ve done, we’ve all witnessed. You’ve changed a lot and are no longer the disobedient child from before. You were chosen to be the queen by everyone. No one is more suitable for this crown than you,” the previous queen said.

“This is not me,” Sephirena’s awareness was clear. She had never forgotten her true self, the self that bore sin, the self she couldn’t forgive. How could she comfortably be a queen in an illusion?

“How could someone get lost in their own illusion? You’re underestimating me too much.”

It wasn’t like Sephirena didn’t want to immerse herself in this illusion. After experiencing life in the illusion, she was satisfied and had even thought that staying in the illusion might be a good decision.

But not now. She remembered clearly what her purpose was for coming in this time.

To protect that princess who acted without careful consideration, always putting herself in the most dangerous position, and was somewhat annoying.

“Illusion? Sephirena, what are you talking about?” Tarashil stepped forward at this moment. “You’ve been like this for a long time. Is there a problem? Tell us, and Mother will help you.”

Sephirena looked up at the lush Tree of Life. At this moment, it was very healthy, much healthier than the one in her memory.

This was perhaps the peak of Her Being, Her healthiest state.

Although she couldn’t see her real sister, seeing Mother healthy like this was worth it.

“I mean exactly what I said. Although you’ve tried your best to recreate the Tarashil in my memory, you’re not her,” Sephirena said.

“What are you talking about? Sephirena... I am Tarashil,” Tarashil was somewhat at a loss.

“Please stop insulting the Sister Tarashil in my heart, okay?” A bow appeared in Sephirena’s hand, pointing at Tarashil.

“Sephirena, what are you saying? If you don’t want to become the queen, just say so. Everyone will understand,” Tarashil said. “We will also select the next queen.”

“Enough, right? I’ve been playing along with you for so long,” Sephirena looked at Tarashil. “Really, your acting skills are too poor. I don’t know about others, but at least Sister Tarashil would never agree to invade other races to gain territorial expansion. She would never just watch; she would definitely come out to stop it.”

“But we haven’t mistreated humans. In fact, with our help, they could become even stronger...”

“Sephirena! Sephirena!” Sephirena heard a somewhat familiar voice.

“It seems an annoying person is coming to find me. Really, she’s so weak, yet she risks being trapped forever in this illusion... but that’s just like her,” Sephirena looked at Tarashil.

“Let’s end this pretend game. This is my illusion. You outsiders, get out!” Sephirena drew the bowstring fully, aiming at Tarashil.

“Are you really going to attack me? Sephirena... are you going to... kill me again?” Tarashil was incredibly calm at this moment. She looked at Sephirena. “Even in an illusion, you won’t let me live?”

“Sister Tarashil would absolutely never say such things,” Sephirena released her hand, and the arrow pierced through Tarashil’s body.

Tarashil then dissipated from this world.

And this illusionary world was on the verge of collapse.

“Princess Liana is back so early...” Sephirena had originally planned to leave today, but Liana’s sudden arrival disrupted her plans.

“Such a reckless person.” Just as Sephirena was about to leave.

The Tree of Life behind her suddenly withered. Countless withered branches flew towards Sephirena, trying to keep her in this illusion.

“Why not do this from the beginning? It would have saved so much unnecessary trouble. This is my illusion.” Sephirena gripped the air.

But to her surprise, her illusion couldn’t form weapons according to her will.

“Wha-“

A few moments ago.

Liana entered the illusion.

Looking around, she saw trees about to die. This was a world full of death.

And the only thing with color in this illusion was the small Tree of Life in front of her. This was the starting point of this illusion.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. If what I say is correct, tap my right hand. If what I say is wrong, tap my left hand. Is that okay?” Liana asked.

The Tree of Life tapped Liana’s right hand.

“Now I just need to find Sephirena, right?”

The Tree of Life tapped Liana’s right hand.

“How should I find her?”

The Tree of Life tapped Liana’s left hand.

“Does that mean you don’t know either...”

Liana felt she was hallucinating when she saw the Tree of Life nodding.

After all, she had seen in her mother’s books that this was the absolute bottom line for elves, something that shouldn’t be casually exposed.

This is a bit troublesome.

But Liana hadn’t come in unprepared. A white hair appeared in her hand, a strand of Sephirena’s hair that Liana had secretly cut before entering.

“Is Sephirena in a very dangerous situation now?”

The Tree of Life tapped Liana’s right hand.

It seemed there wasn’t much time left.

One last question.

“I just need to bring her here, right?”

The Tree of Life tapped Liana’s right hand.

“Then can’t I just bring you to her? After all, this is just an illusion.” Liana suddenly had a weird idea.

This made Liana see a stunned expression on a plant for the first time.

Obviously, this wouldn’t work.

The Tree of Life was connected to reality. If something happened to it, the only solution would be to forcibly break the illusion.

That would cause irreversible trauma to the Tree of Life.

“Then I’ll set off.”

Liana held that strand of hair.

[God of Omniscient Wisdom, please guide my direction, please help me find my dear friend.] Liana wasn’t very sure if this would work.

But this was the only way.

Liana closed her eyes, allowing herself to better sense the magical aura. Soon, in the dark world, a flash of light suddenly appeared.

Liana followed the light.

The world suddenly gained color, and this place was very familiar.

This was inside Venus Manor.

And the two people standing before her, Liana knew very well.

“Dad? Mom?”

At this moment, Rayen and Ambis were squatting down, holding Liana’s small hand.

Liana looked at her own body and found her height was off.

Had she returned to when she was young?

“Liana, your father and I need to complete a mission and leave for a while. During this time, take good care of yourself, okay?” Ambis said gently, her eyes full of reluctance.

At this moment, a thought surged into Liana’s mind: if she just spoke up, she could make her parents stay by her side forever.

“Mm, I’ll be good and stay at home. Come back to see me soon, okay?” Liana smiled in response.

But Liana’s response puzzled “Rayen” and “Ambis.” She had agreed so easily?

“Ambis” hugged Liana. “I’m sorry for leaving you alone when you’re so young. You must be very scared, right?”

“...Yes, very scared,” Liana nodded, but still didn’t say anything about making them stay with her.

“Dear, why don’t I stay at Venus Manor to protect Liana? You should be fine on your own, right?” “Ambis” proactively suggested.

“No need, Mom. I’ll be fine ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) on my own. This mission is quite difficult, right? You should go help Dad,” Liana said very understandingly.

Why?

“Ambis” didn’t understand. The illusion should have been influencing Liana’s memory.

Then she noticed the flower from the Tree of Life on Liana’s wrist. It was this flower interfering with the illusion.

She reached out to remove the flower.

...

“「Create Gun」«

Liana pointed directly at Ambis. “My mother will return. I don’t need imposters like you.”

Without any hesitation, Liana pulled the trigger, shattering this illusion and returning to the original world.

Liana looked at the flower on her wrist. “Were you protecting me just now?”

For a moment, Liana lost consciousness, but something suddenly pulled her back. Otherwise, she would have certainly fallen into trouble.

What a terrifying magic.

This was probably what Liana had heard earlier, what Gardenia had described.

An ability that could make people immerse themselves in the illusion, never wanting to leave.

And just as Liana took a step, she fell to the ground.

When she raised her head, she saw cars speeding on the street, while she was dining in a luxurious restaurant.

Looking at the expensive food on the table and the dedicated band coming to perform for her.

“He” couldn’t feel any happiness.

“He” directly flipped the table. “In this world, there’s no one I love, no one I care about. In fact, hardly anyone in this world knows of my existence. You’re indeed powerful, but using this to keep me here will only backfire.”

Liana returned once again to the desolate forest.

This time, Liana didn’t rely on the Tree of Life’s power, but returned here using her own willpower.

Liana had no attachment to the original world. Instead, after coming to this world, she met many people she cared about, people she owed.

So trying to keep her in that place was simply impossible.

After several illusion blockades, Liana didn’t have much time left. This illusion had become very unstable and could collapse at any moment.

Liana wasn’t worried about being trapped in it; she was worried that Minoga would intervene and break this illusion.

That would be troublesome.

Liana continued walking towards the direction of the light.

But many branches appeared along the way to block her.

“I don’t have many special bullets left.” Liana loaded the special bullets.

When fired, they burst into scorching flames, burning all the approaching branches to ashes.

“After I get out, I’ll have to ask Minoga to prepare more for me.” After dealing with the troubles in front of her, Liana continued walking in the direction towards Sephirena.

On the way, the flower of the Tree of Life suddenly pulled Liana.

The sudden force made Liana fall to the ground.

“Hey! What are you doing now!” Liana rubbed her bottom.

The pull of the Tree of Life made Liana raise her arm towards somewhere, and Liana looked in that direction.

There, a sword was bound by various plants. No, it should be said that it was sealed.

The blade was dim, giving the impression that it could break at any moment.

Liana was about to walk in that direction, but more fierce attacks came towards her.

Liana could only raise her gun to counter.

After using several special bullets to repel the attacks, Liana aimed her gun at the weapon.

But the power of the Tree of Life suddenly pushed downward, making Liana lose her aim. “Are you telling me not to do this?”

No choice. It seemed this weapon couldn’t withstand too powerful an attack now.

Liana could only approach the sword, reach out, and grip the hilt.

But at that moment, Liana felt the mana within her rapidly draining away.

Liana quickly let go. Her mana capacity was already less than others; there was no way she could withstand such absorption.

Fortunately, the Tree of Life was continuously providing her with mana, which allowed Liana to stand firm.

And the sword, having absorbed Liana’s magical power, had regained some luster, but this was far from enough.

To fully restore this sword, who knows how much magical power would need to be fed to it.

At least Liana couldn’t do it now.

“You don’t want me to get this thing out, do you?” Liana asked.

The Tree of Life tapped Liana’s right hand.

“...” Wasn’t this just making things difficult for Liana?

She couldn’t use her gun, and time was very pressing.

But the Tree of Life must have had a reason for making her do this. Liana didn’t waste words; otherwise, there really wouldn’t be enough time.

[Gem Knife.]

A small knife appeared in Liana’s hand. After being enchanted, the gem knife was incredibly sharp and easily cut through the branches wrapped around it.

But Liana couldn’t focus solely on this task; she also had to constantly guard against branches that might attack her at any moment.

About an hour passed before Liana cleared all the branches around the sword, but the sword was stuck in a stone. How to pull it out was another problem.

Gripping the hilt would consume her magical power, and it was impossible to simply pull it out. Using magical power would also be absorbed by this thing.

So there was only one way. Liana picked up vines from the ground, tied them to the sword hilt, made a pulley with gems, hung it in the air, and then forcefully pulled it out.

“This thing better be useful.” Liana put in a lot of effort to get this out.

But to Liana’s surprise, this thing was quite durable. After all that, it still hadn’t broken.

Liana used the surrounding vines to weave a simple basket, put the sword in it, and continued walking towards Sephirena.

The subsequent journey didn’t encounter any difficulties. They seemed to fear the weapon behind Liana.

But sorry, Liana couldn’t feed you. With Liana’s poor mana capacity, without the support of the Tree of Life, she wouldn’t have lasted until now.

As Liana walked on, this world suddenly became full of color.

She saw various animals and plants, and a huge... Tree of Life.

And at this moment, night had fallen, and the Tree of Life emitted a sacred glow.

All elves and animals were worshipping in this direction.

Then, Liana heard a familiar song. A person she had never seen appeared on the trunk of the Tree of Life.

She was using the Spring of Life to heal the Tree of Life.

This was Sephirena’s illusion magic, and the girl was tending to the Tree of Life. Now, it was clearly a normal illusion, and her ability to appear in Sephirena’s illusion meant that...

Tarashil also saw Liana, but she was currently busy with the Tree of Life and didn’t come down to meet Liana immediately.

Liana was somewhat anxious because she had limited time. She hadn’t even found Sephirena yet. If time ran out and Minoga directly took action, it would be over.

However, Tarashil didn’t make Liana wait too long. She came before Liana. “This should be our first meeting, right? Princess Liana.”

“Princess Liana? Princess Tarashil, you know me?” Liana asked, flabbergasted.

“Doesn’t Princess Liana also know me?” Tarashil smiled. “You’re so clever, Princess Liana. Just one look, and you recognized who I am?”

“Didn’t you too?” Liana protected the weapon behind her. The illusions in this world were all enemies, at least that’s what Liana thought. And this weapon behind her was very special; at least the Tree of Life wanted her to protect it.

“I only recognized you through Sephirena’s memories. Princess Liana, you’re indeed as Sephirena remembers, very fond of meddling in affairs, a strange person,” Tarashil said.

“Could you not be so direct?” Liana’s expression was somewhat peculiar. So this was how she appeared in Sephirena’s eyes?

“Strange, but impossible to dislike,” Tarashil added.

“You don’t need to comfort me. I’m not that fragile,” Liana was a bit depressed.

“I’m not comforting you. I’m just telling the truth. Princess Liana, Sephirena was actually an elf who greatly disliked humans. Or rather, most elves are like this,” Tarashil said.

“So, what’s the significance of you telling me this?”

“At first, Sephirena indeed thought this way and disliked you very much. But now, for your sake, she’s reusing illusion magic, facing her inner fears. Princess Liana, you should know what this means, right? She acknowledges you. An elf who hated humans actually acknowledged a human. Isn’t that strange?” Tarashil said.

“Indeed strange,” Liana thought so too. “Because I haven’t done anything. Why would I gain her acknowledgment?”

“Indeed, it’s just as Sephirena said. Princess Liana is someone who is very unaware of herself,” Tarashil smiled. “Take Sephirena away. She needs your help.”

“?” Didn’t she enter an illusion?

But weren’t illusions supposed to make people stay in this place? Why would it let her take Sephirena away?

“You...”

Liana wanted to ask something, but at this moment, the illusion began to shatter.

The originally verdant and lush Tree of Life, in the next second, had all its leaves wither and fall to the ground.

And the true appearance of this illusion now appeared before Liana.

Liana just looked at the huge... dead tree in front of her. The once vibrant appearance no longer existed, completely replaced by deathly stillness.

“The situation has become very bad.” Just standing here, looking at the dead Tree of Life, Liana felt very depressed.

Not to mention these elves. How heartbroken they would be to see their mother in this state?

At this moment, no illusion came. No, it should be said that there was no illusion within the illusion. This proved that this was the original form of Sephirena’s illusion magic. No wonder she didn’t want to use it.

However, after the illusion disappeared, Liana could more clearly sense Sephirena’s direction.

But in the next second, the illusion collapsed once again. After this shattering, what remained was endless nothingness.

It seemed Sephirena couldn’t hold on much longer.

Liana ran in that direction.

Soon, she found Sephirena in battle.

But at this moment, she was retreating step by step, having a body full of magical power but unable to use it.

This illusion was no longer under her control; it was even going against her will, destroying the weapons in her hands.

“Is this... the will of the illusion? Or... the demons?” Liana looked at that black mist, feeling an ominous aura.

A black arrow shot towards Sephirena. Sephirena was about to generate a defensive barrier, but the will of the illusion made Sephirena’s barrier disappear.

Sephirena had no choice but to dodge awkwardly.

[Create Gem Giant Shield!]

Liana quickly ran in front of Sephirena, raising a giant shield.

But to Liana’s surprise, the black arrow could directly penetrate the giant shield, heading straight for Liana.

Fortunately, Sephirena reacted quickly, hugging Liana to avoid this attack.

“Princess Liana, you really are someone who likes to meddle. This is an elf’s illusion, something others would avoid, yet you proactively entered. You’re truly strange,” Sephirena looked at the black mist before her, biting her lip.

This feeling was very similar to that night.

It was the demons that killed Sister Tarashil.

But the demon race had been suppressed by the Tree of Life. Even if they were corrupting Mother, they couldn’t possibly surge out using their own power.

Not to mention, Sister Tarashil, as an elf princess, had considerable combat power herself. But in such a short time, she was killed by the demonkind.

Someone in the Elf Forest had colluded with those foul beings.

“Isn’t this your illusion? Can’t you control it? Is it an intruder?” Liana naturally saw the current situation.

“Yes, this is one of the reasons I can’t use illusion magic. I can’t control it. Instead, it can destroy what I create, as if it were the master of the illusion,” Sephirena said.

“Is there any way?” Liana asked.

“...No.” Sephirena shook her head. This had never happened before. No, perhaps it had happened, but those who experienced it died in the illusion and couldn’t speak about it.

“...?!” Sephirena’s pupils widened, as if she had thought of something, but ultimately shook her head helplessly. “So that’s how it is.”

“How is what?” Liana didn’t understand what Sephirena was saying.

“Nothing. In a moment, I’ll find a way to get Princess Liana out,” Sephirena said.

“What about you?”

“As a guardian, allowing the master to face danger is already a grave failure of duty. Afterwards, let me make amends for this,” Sephirena was prepared to die, to die in the same way as Tarashil.

The entity before her was likely an accomplice in Sister Tarashil’s murder.

It didn’t matter if they couldn’t win against it. After all, that wasn’t their goal. Liana spoke, “Come with me. I know the way back. We’ll be safe once we return to the Tree of Life.”

“No.” Sephirena refused Liana’s request. “If we don’t resolve this, I won’t be able to use illusion magic.”

“Gardenia will help me, so this matter isn’t that urgent. We’ve already seen this. Can’t we come back prepared next time?” Liana asked.

“Next time, we might not see it,” Sephirena said. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

She had entered the illusion world many times, but had never encountered this situation. Before, she would always collapse the illusion and exit the moment she saw Sister Tarashil, unable to accept it. But this time was different.

“Time is running out. If we haven’t left by then, Minoga will tear apart this space and take us away, then the Tree of Life will be in danger,” Liana said.

“I know.” Sephirena bit her lip. “This is a battle between it and me. Don’t involve others... Princess Liana, I beg you. After you leave, just let Miss Minoga watch. Just protect the Tree of Life.”

“Are you asking me to watch you die?” Liana asked.

Yes, Princess Liana wouldn’t do such a thing. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be here now.

Such a stubborn person, not cute at all...

“There must be a way. The Tree of Life let me come in to help you, so there must be some method,” Liana remembered the sword behind her.

“Do you recognize this thing?”

“Princess Liana... why did you bring a pile of scrap metal?” Even in this urgent situation, Sephirena couldn’t help but criticize.

“...” Upon closer inspection, without the feeding of magical power, the sword had become very dim, indeed like scrap metal.

“The Tree of Life wanted me to take this. My magical power isn’t enough to use this weapon. I don’t know if you can,” At this point, they could only try anything that might work.

Sephirena, with an experimental attitude, gripped the hilt. Then she felt the magical power within her rapidly draining away. She suddenly lost her balance, but fortunately, Liana was quick to catch her, preventing her from falling.

“Not enough...” Sephirena seemed to know something, but even with her magical power, it wasn’t enough.

“Even you?” Sephirena’s magical power was dozens of times Liana’s. Even she couldn’t satisfy this weapon?

Liana looked at the bracelet on her wrist, took it off, and put it on Sephirena’s hand. Because she was an elf, the mana boost from the Tree of Life reached its maximum effectivity.

And that sword now emitted a sacred glow.

Holy crap! Isn’t this a holy sword? How did it end up in Sephirena’s illusion?

Shedding its surface rust, it revealed its original form, sacred and inviolable.

The protagonist of the original work relied on the holy power of this sword to repel those demons. How did the protagonist disappear, and the holy sword end up in such a strange place?

Sephirena raised the holy sword high. With just a gentle swing, that demonic mist was instantly slashed away by Sephirena.

And the holy sword in Sephirena’s hand disappeared.

Sephirena’s illusion regained its color. Under the towering Tree of Life, Liana supported Sephirena.

“Princess Liana, thank you for saving Sephirena,” Tarashil appeared under the Tree of Life at this moment.

Hadn’t the illusion problem been resolved? Why could she still see Tarashil?

“Sister Tarashil...” Sephirena looked at the girl before her.

Tarashil whispered something in Sephirena’s ear. “Don’t blame yourself. I’ve been watching you all along. You’ve tried very hard. You’ve made many changes. Princess Liana is indeed a strange person, but as Sister Sephirena have said, it’s impossible to dislike her. So be sure to protect her.”

Tarashil looked at Liana, revealing a satisfied smile. She took Liana’s hand and gently kissed the back of it. “I entrust my somewhat reckless little sister to Princess Liana’s care.”

“That...”

“I’m very happy to meet you, Princess Liana. With you around, the relationship between our two races will become harmonious.”