IBHJ 1211

When Manaka finally reached the fire-engulfed area, she spotted Demonic Bodhisattva sitting cross-legged among the flames.

She quickly cast "Concealment" on herself and ducked behind a wall to get a better look. There was Demonic Bodhisattva, sitting with that irritating smile on her face. And behind her was a massive hand clutching Ayaka tightly in its grip.

"Come out, Princess of the Root! Your sister is about to be crushed to death by my hand," Demonic Bodhisattva called out with a calm smile, speaking to the air around her as if she knew exactly where Manaka was hiding.

But thanks to her omniscient, Manaka could tell Demonic Bodhisattva was just bluffing. This was already the third time she'd shouted that same threat since capturing Ayaka.

Despite knowing better, Manaka's first instinct was to reveal herself. But then Ayaka's words stopped her cold: "Don't waste your effort. That monster isn't even here."

That... monster.

Manaka froze mid-step. A strange feeling suddenly washed over her—like being stabbed with a needle or drowning underwater, unable to breathe. The sensation left her completely bewildered.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what this feeling was.

"And anyway," Ayaka continued, "even if she was here, she wouldn't show herself for my sake. You're wasting your time. Just let me go!"

"Sorry, I can't do that," Demonic Bodhisattva replied, still smiling. "Without you, that woman won't show herself."

"I keep telling you, she's not going to come out for me."

"We'll see about that." Demonic Bodhisattva's smile widened. "You probably don't realize this, but that woman exists because of you, Ayaka."

"I know that already," Ayaka said flatly. "She came from the Holy Grail—she's just a fake personality!"

"Yes. And that's exactly why..."

"That's exactly why I'm so sure she's a monster!" Ayaka cut in.

She paused for a moment, then pressed her lips together. "I only regret being so weak back then. That's what gave the Holy Grail the chance to grab onto my weakness and create that fake monster. Otherwise, that monster... would have stayed completely dead in the past!"

Manaka clutched at her chest, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, like she was suffocating.

"You sound... so certain about that," Demonic Bodhisattva remarked.

"Don't you feel the same way? You're hunting her down right now, which means you don't want her to exist either, right?"

"Well, that's true, but she's still the same kind as me... Actually, never mind." Demonic Bodhisattva shook her head and then shouted again, "I've got your sister right here in my hands! Are you really not going to show yourself? I don't believe for a second that you haven't seen what's happening with those omniscient powers of yours!"

"Don't waste your—ugh—"

Ayaka's words were cut off as the giant hand suddenly squeezed her tighter, as if threatening to crush her into a bloody pulp.

"I'm going to squish her into paste, you know," Demonic Bodhisattva said with a playful tone.

Manaka watched the scene with eerie calmness.

She knew Demonic Bodhisattva was bluffing. Despite their different personalities and goals, they were essentially the same type of being.

So she felt confident that she wouldn't actually do it.

And her omniscient confirmed this. Demonic Bodhisattva would stop once Ayaka passed out.

"I'm really going to crush her to death this time," she announced, looking around with that playful smile while tightening her grip even more.

"Ugh... nngh... you're just... mmph... wasting your time..." Ayaka gasped through the pain.

Watching her sister suffer, Manaka covered her ears with both hands, desperately trying to reassure herself that Demonic Bodhisattva won't actually kill her...

She won't!

"Mmph... it hurts so much..." Ayaka's voice still reached her.

She won't really do it...

But seeing the agony on her sister’s face, Manaka pressed her lips together. Silently, she lowered her hands and slowly stepped out from behind the wall.

She just couldn't take it anymore.

Watching Ayaka being tortured in Demonic Bodhisattva's hand, seeing the pain written all over her face. After a brief moment of hesitation, she dropped her concealment.

"There she is!"

Demonic Bodhisattva sensed her presence instantly. She whipped her head around and several giant hands emerged from behind her back, quickly merging to form a massive spear that shot toward Manaka's hiding spot.

BOOM!

The explosion shook the entire area. The ground crumbled away, leaving behind a crater more than thirty meters wide. Surrounding buildings collapsed like they were made of playing cards.

"That was quite the killing blow," Manaka remarked, stepping calmly through the thick dust cloud. She wore an elegant but clearly fake smile as she faced Demonic Bodhisattva. "Though I have to say, kidnapping someone so useless and irrelevant seems like a waste of time, don't you think?"

"Oh? So even a fake doll feels concerned for her sister? How surprising," Demonic Bodhisattva said with a mocking tone.

"Not at all. I just came here to return your previous 'favor,'" Manaka replied with a smile. "And by the way, casually calling others dolls is pretty rude."

Demonic Bodhisattva smiled gracefully. "Politeness is reserved for humans, not monsters. Wouldn't you agree, Ayaka?"

She turned to look at Ayaka, who was still trapped in the tight grip of those massive hands.

Ayaka just pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

"See? Even your own sister acknowledges what you are, a monster," she said, gesturing toward Ayaka.

"Whatever you say. But you're not much different yourself, Beast. Actually, I should probably call you Slave of Desire—that fits you better," Manaka replied calmly, pointing at the bull horns on Demonic Bodhisattva's head. "You know, now that I think about it, those slave horns of yours are actually kind of cute."

Hearing this, Demonic Bodhisattva's smile instantly disappeared. She shot her a dark glare and said coldly, "I hope you won't try to run off before returning that 'favor' to me. After saying something like that—well, even with your all-knowing powers as the Root Princess, you might not be able to predict just how irrationally I might behave."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it!" Manaka replied. The moment she finished speaking, there was a loud CRACK as the ground split open beneath them. Torrents of black mud surged out like a tidal wave, rushing toward Demonic Bodhisattva to swallow her whole.

Manaka knew perfectly well she was no match for her right now, but she hoped the black mud would at least slow her down enough to save Ayaka.

But no matter how violently the black mud crashed against Demonic Bodhisattva, it couldn't defeat her or even restrict her movements.

Demonic Bodhisattva tapped her armor with one finger, giving Manaka a composed smile. "The same trick won't work twice on me."

"The Imperial Armor..." Manaka frowned as she spotted the armor Demonic Bodhisattva was wearing. "So you've completely defected to the Eternal Empire?"

"Without the Emperor's power, I'd never be able to make my vision a reality." Demonic Bodhisattva extended her hand and snapped her fingers with a sharp click.

Immediately, there was a flurry of movement all around them. Thousands of fully armed Divine Soldiers along with an Apostle rushed out from the surrounding buildings—pavilions, farmhouses, and small cottages—completely surrounding Manaka.