The Villain has Perished

Chapter 77 A Strange Dream World

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Booomm!

Faena crashed against the glass. Blood trickled down her lips, dissolving into the water. Injuries piled upon her figure as she had been reduced to a sorry state.

Breathing heavily, she stared out of the glass capsule. 

Time seemed to slow down.

Outside, she could see similar glass capsules. They were also enormous but empty, missing the gigantic child in her glass capsule.

Hmmh~! 

A faint humming echoed. It reminded Faena of the lullabies a mother sings to calm her child.

Suddenly, an enormous face touched the outer wall of her glass capsule. The face stared at the gigantic child while humming a foreign melody. 

Faena couldn't see the figure's face. All she could discern were the woman's raven-black hair which were darker than night. 

The face pulled away and left. 

Time resumed, returning to its normal pace. 

"What… a strange dream world…" 

Gritting her teeth, Faena returned her gaze to dream creatures which numbered just over 100. The few moments of respite ended, forcing her to battle for her life again.

If this was in a dream world, then she was living through a nightmare. 

A frosty chill permeated through Faena's fingers. The dozens of dream creatures froze as a white mist trapped them.

[ Polar White Avalanche (D) + Frozen Mist (D) = Zero World (D+++) ]

The presence of water increased her magic output. Trapped inside the iceberg, the dream creatures drowned along with it.

Cracks spread on Faena's frozen arm. Her environment caused her ice magic to soar but it became a double-edged sword, threatening her own life.

"N…not yet…"

An enormous dream creature returned from the depths. With the ability to grow in size every time they were attacked, their current size was over 30 meters.

A magic circle appeared beneath Faena.

The water surged and condensed, forming strong whirlpools.

[ Sea Serpent Cyclone (D++) ] 

The whirlpools combined and clashed with the dream creature returning from the depth.

Faena continued to unleash magic one after another. It was at a level that even the strongest magician of the Empire could only match after a day's worth of preparations.

Nevertheless…

Swiiish—!

…It wasn't enough.

A transparent tentacle dwarfing the gigantic baby came from the bottom and wrapped around Faena. Its white outline along with the water displaced while it attacked were the only indication of its presence.

"Not… here…"

Her bones creaked under immense pressure as the tentacle continued to squeeze her. 

A bright light shone on Faena's fingertips and suddenly, her entire body was covered in flames. The fire burned brightly without restraints.

[ Flame Seed (E) + Burning Air (D) = Living Sacrifice (D++) ] 

The tentacle threw her to escape the intense heat. 

At that moment, a white mist covered Faena, dousing the flames.

[ Frozen Mist (D) ]

Faena could feel her broken ribs, her charred skin, and frozen fingers. Yet the dream creatures continued to increase in number.

However, Faena refused to give up.

"I… won't die… before resolving… everything"

300 years ago, she banished Lumine as she couldn't bear to put an end to Lumine's life. But she was ready now.

As the priestess of the elven clan, Faena would never leave the elf village in normal circumstances. 

But a few days ago, Beatrice, the world spirit disappeared without any clue. The elves went into an uproar. 

Faena left to personally meet Sol, hoping he would know what was happening as he knew about the world's coming end.

Never did Faena imagine she would find Lumine on her sudden trip. 

Their meeting may be luck, destiny, or fate but for Faena it was a chance to correct her mistake.

"That child… is still… suffering…."

Was it her unbroken will?

Even with a battered body, Faena fought to a bitter end.

Baam!

As her back struck the glass wall a chuckle left Faena's lips, watching the army of dream creatures. 

She couldn't even reach the end of waves of dream creatures. 

Faena felt it was impossible to escape the dream tree. But…

[ Wood Manipulation (D) ]

…Lumine was still suffering under the curse. This time, Faena won't leave her alone like she did centuries ago.

Faena stood on the wooden platform which was not even 1/10th of its original size. 

For the past hundred years, Faena continuously searched for a cure. But her result bore no fruit. 

She had forced herself to believe Lumine was living a life better than she would under the imprisonment of elves.

However, the truth she saw a few days ago was different. 

Lumine — her daughter — was a slave. Her status was worse than stray animals and thrown objects. 

This time she would resolve her pain, her grudges with Lumine and die along with her.

Standing on her broken legs, Faena started conjuring another spell. She could still fight.

At the same time, the dream creatures running toward her pounced on her. 

Her will might remain unbroken but without strength, it was the end….

"Holy Slash"

Suddenly, a black arc crashed into the dream creatures. Before Faena could respond, treants appeared, swimming through the water, and a bizarre sight followed.

The enemies Faena couldn't put a dent on were being pushed back.

A shadow fell over her. Raising her head, she saw the black-haired young man who was the owner of her daughter, sitting on a large wolf.

"You are coming with me."

He didn't wait for her response, and pulled her over the wolf. With his short command, the hound wolf ran on the water, towards the gigantic baby.

"Le… let me go… I need to end the waves of dream creatures to escape this world." said Faena trying to jump away from the wolf.

In her decrepit state, she could barely muster any physical strength.

She didn't understand why the treants were able to fight against the dream creatures, nor why the wolf was listening to Sol. 

However, to leave – to return to her daughter – she had to fight.

"Don't put your faith in those rules and—"

As the wolf ran vertically, their enemies cornered them from all sides — above, below, left, right, front, and back.

Sol snapped his fingers and ten treants materialized, blocking the attacking dream creatures and shattering the encirclement.

"Trust me"