At the battlefield's perimeter, Seiyad was on one knee gasping desperately for air. His armor was shattered, blood seeping from his skin, and with blood streaming from his nose and mouth, Seiyad looked absolutely brutal.

Though his condition made perfect sense. The collision between Heinotim and Momo had torn apart the Eternal Sphere, dealing devastating backlash to Seiyad as the barrier's anchor. The terrible backlash had damaged his very soul. If not for his battle-hardened body, he would've passed out on the spot.

But Seiyad cared more about the battlefield than his own injuries. That Abyssal girl's power had completely blindsided him - a coalition backed by ten Lv9 powerhouses getting slaughtered like that? He never could have imagined it. But the screams and wails from the battlefield told him everything was real.

For a moment, Seiyad even wanted to grab Mengxi and run.

But just as fear crept in and he considered retreating, familiar golden light blazed from the battlefield's center.

"?!"

The moment that golden light appeared and he sensed the divine aura, Seiyad exhaled in relief, his trembling heart finally calming.

"The Holy Maiden... she's finally back..."

In Seiyad's mind, the Guiding Saint was invincible. No matter how powerful that Abyssal Lord was, with the Holy Maiden's return, the Abyssal girl stood no chance.

Excitement surged through him as he spun around to look at Mengxi behind him.

"Miss Mengxi, your mother has final…. huh?!!"

The moment he turned, his eyes went wide with shock and rage. A woman in a red dress with honey-colored hair and sickly beauty had appeared behind him. The young lady he'd sworn to protect was trapped by bloody thorns that had erupted from the ground, sharp spikes piercing her tender skin without mercy. Her expensive gown was stained crimson. Pain twisted the silver-haired girl's beautiful face.

"Miss Mengxi!!!"

Seiyad scrambled to his feet, crying out in horror.

"This woman?! Life-attribute shadow power, blood thorns?! One of the three Hell Beast-level monsters the Abyssal Lord had summoned! Why the hell did she show up here?! Could it be?! That Abyssal Lord realized she couldn't defeat the Guiding Saint, so she's taking Miss Mengxi hostage to threaten the Holy Maiden?! So... so damn despicable!!!"

"You coward!!! Let Miss Mengxi go!!!"

Ignoring the backlash pain wracking his body, Seiyad summoned his battle axe and channeled every ounce of power he had, spiritual energy roaring as he charged the honey-haired woman. He had to save Mengxi and crush that evil Abyssal Lord's scheme!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Roaring, Seiyad charged forward with tremendous force.

"Heaven-Splitting Blood… huh?!!!!"

But before he could finish calling out his ultimate technique, a sharp 'CLANG' rang out, drowning out his attack name.

CLANG!!~~

With a thunderous crash and violent spatial tremors, a massive sword wreathed in lightning slammed brutally into Seiyad's head. The massive impact tore through his already weakened body, making the Lv9 powerhouse cough up blood as he hit his limit.

Looking at Mengxi's terrified, desperate face, guilt and regret filled his eyes.

"S-sorry, Miss Mengxi... I should've gotten you out of here sooner... this is my fault."

Filled with regret and worry, Seiyad collapsed face-first and passed out completely...

--

"Hmm..."

Pipi frowned at the unconscious Seiyad, still holding his massive sword. He poked Seiyad's butt with the sword tip, apparently checking if he was really out cold. After a moment, Pipi smugly hoisted the sword onto his shoulder.

"Done~"

Meanwhile, seeing Seiyad unconscious, guilt flickered across Mengxi's face.

"Sorry, Uncle Seiyad..." Given his stubborn personality, getting the deputy commander's help would've been impossible. With no other choice, Mengxi had to use this slightly violent method to remove him from the equation.

Dropping her act of pain, Mengxi looked glumly at the honey-haired woman - Youlan, Yumo's eldest daughter.

"Hey, he's out cold. We can stop acting now. Can you let me down? Also... could you please stop draining my blood?"

Feeling her blood continuously being drawn through the thorn barbs, Mengxi frowned.

Hearing Mengxi's request, Youlan flashed a mischievous grin.

"Nope~"

"Hey! Quit messing around!"

"Hehe, alright, alright, I get it."

After a light chuckle, Youlan snapped her fingers and the bloody thorns binding Mengxi dissolved, letting her drop back to the ground.

At the same time, Youlan clasped her hands behind her back, leaned playfully toward Mengxi's ear, licked her lips, and whispered,

"Hehe, I think I get it now... why Mother spent all that time in your room recently~ Your blood really is delicious. Makes me want to drain even more~"

At Youlan's words, Mengxi's serious face flushed red. Remembering how Yumo had pinned her down and continuously drained her power during that time, even the thick-skinned Mengxi started steaming from embarrassment.

"H-how do you know about that?"

It all happened in a shielded room - how could she possibly know?

Seeming to guess Mengxi's confusion, Youlan helpfully explained,

"Mother can be so careless sometimes. Even though Kalina and I have reached Lv9, she never upgraded the barrier's level. Sigh... really gives me a headache. But thanks to Mother being a bit naive, we got to enjoy such a wonderful show."

"Ah..."

That... that idiot!!!

And she swore up and down no one would notice?!!

Clenching her fists, Mengxi suddenly had the urge to pin her perverted sister down and make her cry...

"Y-you didn't..."

"Relax, we didn't tell anyone. After all, we don't want Mother getting embarrassed and breaking out the feather duster. Only Kalina and I know. As for Pipi? He still thinks Mother was just sparring with you in bed~"

"..."

Speechless, Mengxi could only press her lips together, feeling conflicted.

"L-let's not talk about this... we have important things to handle."

Not wanting to discuss this embarrassing topic further, Mengxi quickly changed the subject and turned her serious gaze toward the distant battlefield.

Youlan didn't object. She could tease Mengxi anytime, but their priority was dealing with that legendary figure.

"She's here... your mother..."

"Yeah, even though the timing and location are different from what we expected, she still came. How did things go with the coalition forces?"

"Pretty much handled, and we left some alive like Mother wanted."

"Good, then we should get ready too."

"Right."

"Um..."

Taking a deep breath, Mengxi looked nervously at Youlan.

"Don't... don't go too hard on her later."

Youlan blinked, then facing this Girl of Destiny who'd stolen her mother's attention, she gradually smiled charmingly and spoke in a teasing tone:

"I'm not like Mother - I'll be very gentle. Don't worry, Mommy Mengxi~~ "

Mengxi: =-=