Chapter 177
"Hehe, why are you so surprised? Father, this is my home, isn't it?" Claudia chuckled.
Luo Mio stepped forward and gave a slight salute.
"Hello, Mr. Nicholas."
Nicholas glanced at Luo Mio, then at Claudia.
"It's been a long time... Claudia."
——
In an orphanage in the slums of the Kingdom of Lezetania.
The orphanage, or rather the former church, was quite dilapidated, perhaps because it was located in a slum. Although it was surrounded by high walls, most of them were incomplete and broken.
From behind the church courtyard came the distinctive, loud sounds of children playing.
The violet color in the void was particularly eye-catching. Behind the void Bella stood quietly, watching the void play with the children from the orphanage.
"Heave-ho!"
Kong used her soft little hands to knead a snowball and threw it at the child opposite, hitting him accurately in the face.
"Damn it!"
The boy who was hit in the face shook his head and brushed the snow off his face.
Although he said it was awful, the innocent and happy smile on his face proved how happy he was.
After playing around, Kong sat on the ground.
Just then, I caught a glimpse of a spot in the backyard.
A small and exquisite building with a glass facade.
That's... a greenhouse?
The golden eyes of the Liuli rippled with spatial tremors.
After seeing what was inside through the glass exterior, Kong was also taken aback.
... plant?
Just as Kong was lost in thought, Yurith came out of the room, knelt down, and spoke gently to the children.
"Please tell the nuns that I'm going out for a walk."
Although the children's expressions showed slight dissatisfaction, they still obediently nodded.
Then he and Amagiri Ayato went outside.
After seeing the two leave, Sora bid farewell to everyone and followed behind Yurith and Amagiri Ayato.
Walking on the desolate streets, Kong looked around and found that the scenery was completely different from that in the city.
The streets on both sides have been weathered by time and are in danger of collapsing at any moment. The walls of the houses are covered with countless cracks and graffiti everywhere.
In an open space on the street, several residents were gathered around a small fire.
Kong glanced at them furtively and saw that each of them had a listless look in their eyes, filled with gloom and despair, staring indifferently and quietly at the burning fire.
Seeing this, Kong couldn't help but shake his head.
At that moment, a vehicle drove past Yurith and Amagiri Ayato.
"!"
Yurith stood at the street corner, her pale blue eyes slowly widening as she recalled the figure sitting in the back seat of the luxury car that had just passed by.
"It can't be wrong..."
"Yurith?"
Amagiri Ayato looked at her with a puzzled expression.
However, Yurith ignored Amagiri Ayato's question and turned to look in the direction the luxury car had driven off.
"There's absolutely no mistake..."
He muttered to himself, then bit his lip and ran quickly in the direction the luxury car had gone.
"Yurith?!"
Seeing Yurith run off, Amagiri Ayato quickly followed.
In a blind spot unnoticed by the two, a person holding what looked like a camera was following behind Amagiri Ayato and Yurith.
"Um?"
This scene was also witnessed by Sora and Bella, who were behind them.
Kong blinked her Liuli- clear golden eyes, then glanced at Bella behind her.
"Let's hurry and follow them to see what's going on."
Then Sora and Bella jogged after Amagiri Ayato and Yurith.
——
Following behind Amagiri Ayato and Yurith, Sora and Bella arrived at a snowfield.
Kong glanced around and saw layers upon layers of white snow covering the bare trees, which gradually turned into frost over the years.
"This is..."
He looked down at the ground beneath the snow.
With a gentle flick of her little foot, she moved the snow aside, revealing the soil beneath.
A faint purple miasma rose from beneath the ground, and the land itself, under the influence of this miasma, transformed into a corroded, dark purple soil.
As the miasma seemed to be eroding her, a slight spatial fluctuation was revealed in Kong Liuli's golden eyes.
The next moment, the purple miasma vanished into nothingness and disappeared from sight.
He slightly raised his head and looked at the footprints left on the snow ahead.
It was Yurith, Amagiri Ayato, and the paparazzi following behind them.
Suddenly, Yurith's familiar red flame flower skill appeared in front of them, and at the same time, a terrifying Stellar Power erupted in front of them.
Sensing this Stellar Power, Kong slightly furrowed her adorable eyebrows.
She sensed that the Stellar Power was very similar to the purple miasma beneath her feet, and that the "quality" and "quantity" of that Stellar Power had surpassed that of ordinary "Star Vein Generation" Stellar Power.
Similarly, Bella sensed it as well, and then said to Kong Shu, "Lord Void, this 'Stellar Power'... has probably surpassed that of Miss Yurith and Amagiri."
"Yes, I know." Kong nodded, then said, "Let's hurry over there."
Upon arriving, they found the endless dead trees surrounding the snowfield, bearing traces of corrosion left by a faint purple miasma. In the center of the snowfield, there was a dilapidated, ruined building.
Sora and Bella then discovered that Yurith and Amagiri Ayato were wielding the "Wreath Sword" and the "Black Furnace Demon Sword".
And standing in the ruins in front of them was a girl of the same age as them.
What came into view was her striking snow-white hair. Unlike Luo Mio's pure white hair, the girl's white hair was filled with loneliness and death... It didn't seem like she was born with it, but rather like it was caused by something that happened later in life.
The girl's eyebrows and eyelashes were also a lifeless white.
The girl was wearing a very familiar school uniform.
The student uniform of the Raven Black Academy.
Beneath the girl's deathly white bangs lay an exceptionally beautiful face, and above that beautiful face were ruby-red eyes that resembled an ominous red moon.
But what drew even more attention was the pained expression on her face, which showed deep sorrow.
The raging Stellar Power down on Amagiri Ayato and Yurith, making it hard for them to breathe. Countless purple arms, like smoke, surged up from beneath her feet, twisting and writhing as if the dead were struggling in agony before their death.
Upon seeing her, Kong's Liuli golden eyes narrowed slightly.
She knew who the girl was, Bella behind her also knew who she was.
She dominated the "King Dragon Star Martial Festival" for two consecutive years and was known as the strongest "witch" in history, along with "Time-Law Witch" Helga Lindova.
It topped the charts on two major ranking websites: "Poem of Honey Wine" and "Sixty Thousand Pantheon".
Ranked number one in the Raven Black Academy hierarchy!
Ophelia Rundel, the Witch of Solitude!
Chapter 99: Sora vs. Ophelia
Sitting at the dining table, Luo Mio ate her lunch while observing Claudia and her father, Nicholas.
At this moment, Claudia's eyes lit up with a smile as she said, "The people of 'Galaxy' hired one of the perpetrators of the 'Emerald Twilight' incident to attack the students of the Star Academy and St. Freya, including Princess of a country and the current agent of 'The Finality'..."
Nicholas looked at Claudia after hearing her words.
"So, what do you want? Are you planning to report me?"
"Furthermore, this has nothing to do with the 'Galaxy'; it's ultimately just my personal action."
Claudia shrugged and chuckled, "Of course I know that. If 'The Galaxy'... Mother were serious, how could she possibly send just one 'Beast Magician'?"
Upon hearing Claudia's words, Nicholas also sighed slightly.
Nicholas's title in "Galaxy" is CRO Assistant, responsible for assisting the cadres and staff of "Galaxy" Unified Headquarters, that is, assisting Claudia's mother, a high-ranking cadre of "Galaxy".
Luo Mio slightly raised her azure eyes to look at Nicholas.
Although from a positional standpoint, Nicholas is very close to the top executives, Luo Mio knows that Nicholas is absolutely incapable of becoming a top executive of "Galaxy".
As Luo Mio pondered, the conversation between the father and daughter came to an end.
"Claudia! You should understand! If you really participate in the 'Griffin Star Martial Festival,' then..."
"I know," Claudia interrupted Nicholas, saying, "I know everything..."
Looking at Nicholas with his lake-blue eyes, he said, "I know that Father hired Gustav Malro to attack Lezetania all for my sake..."
Luo Mio looked at Nicholas, who was slightly agitated, and saw pain in his eyes.
This is why Nicholas could never become a "Galactic" executive.
Nicholas is too gentle, because his fatherly love for Claudia... makes him absolutely incapable of becoming a leader.
"Should we participate no matter what...?"
Claudia nodded silently.
Hearing Claudia's resolute tone, Nicholas closed his eyes in anguish.
Looking at Nicholas with his eyes closed, Claudia silently stood up and walked towards the room.
Before leaving, he said to Luo Mio, "Sorry, Ling, I'm going to wash up."
"Mm." Luo Mio nodded gently.
Watching Claudia leave, Nicholas suddenly spoke up.
"I'm sorry to have shown you this."
When Nicholas spoke to her, Luo Mio turned around, looked at him, and shook her head.
Nicholas looked at Luo Mio and smiled apologetically, about to speak.
Luo Mio spoke first.
"If it's because of Gustav Malraux, then you don't need to apologize, Uncle."
Luo Mio smiled gently at him and said, "The reason you did this was to protect Tia and for Tia's safety, so I won't blame you."
"Is that so..." Nicholas lowered his eyes after hearing Luo Mio's words.
"It's obvious that you Tia very much."
Upon hearing her future father-in-law's words, Luo Mio smiled.
"After all, Tia is the only woman of the opposite sex who can make my heart flutter."
Nicholas looked at Luo Mio and listened to what he had just said, and asked him with a hint of wishful thinking in his eyes.
"Then... can you persuade Claudia to give up participating in the 'Griffin Star Martial Festival'?"
Hearing Nicholas's hopeful question, Luo Mio remained silent for a moment before cruelly shaking her head.