"No, impossible. There couldn't have been a mistake. This plan—our plan—it had to be flawless!" Like an empty shell that had lost both thought and soul, Dragon Queen Gwendolyn's eyes filled with terror. Clenching her teeth, she used the last of her courage and strength to fight for control of the Law Lines and the Emerald.
It was seemingly the only thing she could still do, but it looked more like the dying struggle of a drowning person.
Sweat gathered in streams along her cheeks and slender jaw. She let her hands radiate Law Lines again and again, applying them to the staff floating in midair. Her skin had turned deathly pale, as if covered by a thin, translucent layer, with pale-blue veins clearly visible beneath. Soon, she began to tremble.
Yet the staff, emerald-green like a dream, still flew steadfastly into Roman's hands. Merchant's Daughter smiled within the black cocoon of light and raised her right hand, letting the Emerald land in her pale palm. Then she closed her fingers around it.
At that moment, Gwendolyn's vision went black in waves. It was as though she had been struck head-on by a Fourteenth-Circle Return to Dust spell cast by an archmage who had entered the Saint realm. Her entire body, even her soul, shuddered as if she might scatter into nothingness at any moment.
It was all over.
Dragon Queen's heart seemed to plunge into a pitch-black abyss. Despair enveloped her mind, and she could no longer see anything, only endless regret stretching without limit.
"Gwendolyn!" A voice tore through her heart, which had fallen into darkness, like a bolt of lightning.
It was an enraged voice. Rather than a rebuke, it was a roar. "There's still a chance! Are you planning to give up already? Tree Shepherds? I