That dense, heart-stopping chaos had appeared in a dull and sluggish manner, but ended with extraordinary decisiveness.
Looking ahead from the direction of the western coastline, one could see ripples in the air slowly curling up and drawing toward the center. Then came the sudden, violent boom of trembling from the middle, after which all the clamorous commotion swiftly returned to silence.
Only countless invisible shadows of a terrifying number fled at top speed like a panicked school of fish.
Throughout it all, Mom never turned around.
She merely stood there, quietly and elegantly watching the woman before her, dressed in a luxurious black gown and wearing a crown of thorns.
The woman seemed very tempted, but after considering it for a long while, she still did not try to force her way through.
Instead, a sweet smile appeared on her face. Her cold and haughty expression instantly faded, and she laughed softly.
"Big Sis, it's been a long time..."
"..."
The smile on Mom's face likewise became sweeter and more sincere.
She smiled and said, "Didn't we just see each other a few days ago?"
"How could that count as being me?"
A look of disgust appeared on the black-dressed woman's face. She said, "That thing couldn't even be considered a servant."
"Because the Black Queen is too proud, so she can't even stand the sight of herself now?"
Mom seemed to understand her perfectly. She nodded lightly and smiled. "There's only one Black Queen, so anything split from her is no longer the true Black Queen—just inferior and despicable things that can't even be called servants?"
"I never really understood whether that was because you hate the things that fell from your own body..."
"Or whether, deep down, you've always hated yourself?"
"..."
The woman in black—or rather,