Chapter 278 P1: Stella.

-Whooo!!

As Alvine expected, as soon as Linn's index finger touched the black fireball in Alvine's palm, she changed her expression the second after, seeing the little flame burn as if her flesh and blood were flammable burns!

By noticing this, she keeps calm while trying to counter the black flames with her magical energy.

"Huh?!"

But she instantly abandoned this idea after seeing the result. Instead of preventing the spread of black flames, her primordial energy seemed to collaborate with Alvine's flames to burn her completely!

"!" As for Alvine, Seeing his flames become ten times more ferocious when they came into contact with Linn's primordial energy, Alvine instantly extinguished his flames before they no longer worsened her state.

"..."

"... I think the best thing for us is to find another solution."

"U-um, let's forget this idea." Linn nodded, looking at her hand.

'These black flames are even more threatening than the energy of my curse. I'm not even sure I'll resist them even when I was in my optimal condition! By what demonic means did he get these flames? Finally, it's not as if it bothered me.' She said to herself, continuing to look at her hand healing more slowly than usual with complex feelings that she herself could not understand.

While Alvine was thinking about finding an adequate solution to help Linn eliminate her curse, the latter had thoughts that Alvine considered useless in such a situation. But as he did not know Linn's thoughts, Alvine did not pay attention to her stealthy look.

"Very well, let's try this method, and hope it works since it's the only solution that comes to mind." Alvine's monotonous tone resonated in the room after a period of reflection.

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

"??, To help you, of course. You still haven't forgotten our goal of departure, have you?"

"O-of course not. I ask for more details about your method. It's not like I have other thoughts!"

"Okay, okay, you don't need to get angry about that. I was just asking to be sure." Seeing that his question made her angry, Alvine justified the cause before she faced another fit of anger that she had been used to doing recently.

"In short, earlier, when you were trying to get rid of the energy of the curse, I noticed a significant detail. The energy of the curse constantly corrupted my magical energy through the shadow bond I formed between us."

"Um, I also noticed. Even if you thought I was unconscious, that wasn't the case. So, where do you want to go?"

"Instead of absorbing my energy, let me absorb yours when you break your sealing spell," Alvine explained briefly.

But seeing Linn's confusion, he deepens his explanations.

"It's simple; since the curse constantly tries to spread in your body to contaminate your two other cores, all you have to do is seal your other two cores and unseal, at the same time, your lower core. With this, even if the curse continues to spread in your body, it will not be able to kill you instantly. And that's when I come into play, absorbing all the corrupt energy in your body; and if possible, I would draw your energy directly into your lower core to slowly weaken the curse until nothing is left. But the success of this plan is based on two factors; firstly, will you be able to seal your two dan-tian while unsealing your lower dan-tian simultaneously? And secondly, will you be able to endure the pain of this process without fainting?!" Alvine asked with bright eyes.

"Pain has lived with me for millennia. But the problem is your first question. Even if I can do what you say, I can't do it in my current state since I have not even recovered 10% of my primordial energy." She made this remark after a brief reflection.

​ "Hm? Are you sure you can do that?" Alvine asks for confirmation one more.

"Of course, as long as I have enough energy. The seal I use is one of the most powerful among my space seal spells. A divine mage will never be able to get rid of the seal that seals my lower core, even though it is not a primordial seal." She says calmly.

"Very well, if all you need is more energy, It's feasible. I'm going to give you enough energy for that, but we have to go somewhere so that I can collect enough energy for that." While retorting these words, he then opens a black portal.

"Follow me." He said as he went to the dark gates.

"Wh-what?! You still don't intend to commit another bloodbath, do you?!" Linn stammered while trying to stop him.

"Hm? Is that a problem for you?" Alvine asked and stopped in front of the gate with his eyebrows frowned.

"H-huh?! Of course, it's a problem. How can you make such a decision while remaining so calm? And by doing so, what will differentiate you from the Leaders who use people's lives to satisfy their desire for powers?!" She thundered in an incredulous tone when she saw Alvine's eyes.

"Sigh, Leaders are Leaders, and I am me—enough talk about these useless things. The lives of strangers don't matter to me. If you want, you can stay here or prevent me from leaving. But by following me or letting me go, it will mean that you are just as guilty as I am, which will make you an accomplice in the murder of billions of people." He replied in a monotonous tone.

"..."

"Well, I guess you're not as innocent as you want me to believe; it's not unpleasant to see you have such a mentality." He continued with a sinister smile when he saw Linn frozen and silent.

Following this last ultimatum, Alvine crosses the dark portal.

"What?! But what a fucking idiot!" Linn swore out loud when he saw the gate slowly closing in front of her.

Then, without thinking further, she followed Alvine at lightning speed.

But when she crossed the gate, she remained speechless when welcomed by the endless darkness that made her soul tremble, instinctively forcing her to put herself in a combat position.

"Relax, they don't bite, at least, until you do anything stupid," Alvine replied in the black without turning around.

"W-w-Where are we?!!" She stutters these words while using her perception to look around her.

But the moment she used her perception, she was even more horrified when she noticed not only that her perception could not cross the outside of the vast, mysterious, and dark room, but even worse was the threatening energy that emanated from dozens of cocoons and those who had completed their evolutions.

"What are these cocoo--!"

-Craaack!!

She suddenly swallowed her words by noticing the hatching of one of the gigantic dark cocoons as if they were the eggs of a primordial dragon.

"Ho~?! Another who has just completed its evolution? Kuku~, It promises to be interesting." Alvine's deafening tone resounded in front of her, forcing her to wonder if it was the person with her in a dual-cultivation room.

But she did not have time to deepen this theory because of the 'sensational' event that took place in front of her.

-Crack, Crackkk--Doom!!

The cracking sound of the cocoon, which She already found unbearably unpleasant, was replaced by the explosion of demonic energy that made her senses tremble. Followed by the appearance of a long black scales spear that was the first to slowly come out into the cocoon before a woman with jet black skin, pointed ears like those of the elves, and short white hair that barely reached her shoulders, which came out into the cocoons with a mysterious black liquid on her body.

Seeing this naked woman standing ten meters away from her with her eyes closed, Linn opened her mouth several times but unfortunately, she could no longer articulate a single word.

-Gruog-Gruog-..!

But her astonishment has not yet ended; the empty cocoon, which she no longer paid attention to, broke into pieces and is reconstructed into plates of dark armor that were naturally placed on the woman's body, which looks like black elves!

"Ho? Not bad, this armor is not bad at all!" Alvine commented, advancing towards the girl with a satisfying smile.

"This...thing is dangerous!" She murmured as if trying to warn Alvine not to do anything.

But Alvine was deaf and turned around his spear soldier, who always had her eyes closed, to analyze her attributes effectively. "Hmm, in addition to the spear and the elementary attributes that all other shadow soldiers have (gehenna flames and shadow energy), she also has the attribute of space and illusion? Perhaps it was she who had absorbed the remains of the devils. Two attributes at the same time?! This woman is definitely a masterpiece." He spoke calmly to himself without being disturbed by the dark and chaotic aura that emanated from the woman.

Unlike Zakiel, who had evolved to the third level, Alvine could say, at a glance, that this woman was a second-rank shadow soldier. Her energy was in no way inferior to that of Luna, Greed, or Darka, who is still with Sabrina.

After wearing tight dark armor, the black woman suddenly opened her eyes, which were strangely starry blue, the same color as Linn's!

'Hm? Then what else? I don't remember being so influenced by this woman. So why did she not only awaken the spatial attribute but also be endowed with the color of her eyes? Looking at her more closely, not only does she look more like a black woman, but she also looks too much like me. Is it an illusion?' He asked himself questions as he watched the woman kneel before him.

"Interesting, if I forget some boring details like her eyes and facial traits." He said, touching the silvery white hair of his subordinates out of curiosity.

"Well, why not call you... Hasta, like a spear? No, it's a little too simplistic and masculine. Hmm... in this case, Stella will be perfect." He said with a smile going from one ear to another.

"Who...are you exactly?"

Hearing this question behind him, he turned around, looking at Linn with his abyssal eyes, accompanied by the little smile on his lips, which looked more like a smile of an abyssal demon than that of a demon of lust. But unfortunately for Linn, Alvine did not know this detail.

"Why are you asking me this question again? Sigh, let's say I'm the worst nightmare of my enemies, even after their deaths!" He then replied calmly.

"!"

Even if Alvine's answer was not different from his previous answer, the weights of this word were, meanwhile, heavier for Linn, who saw his current appearance.