'This voice is...!'
Not only were Layla and True Void shocked by the immense power that the voice possessed, but they were also bewildered by its arrival.
After all, the owner of the voice is...
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Crackling noises appeared above as the space distorted.
Layla shot a look toward the distortion above, her beautiful face twisting in unmasked displeasure.
"White Lily!"
A giant lily carved from diamond crystals appeared from the distortion. Its fragile petals opened, revealing White Lily's ethereal figure. Her flowing silver hair and light pink eyes glowed. Though she appeared serene, the magic energy her body emitted was anything like it. Even her usually calm expression appeared scary.
"I suppose with the Sovereign's Cradle losing its power, you're magic is no longer restrained," Layla said with a wry smile.
Just as the cradle losing its effect benefitted her, the same was true with Kyran's side.
"Are you here to avenge those annoying sprites you've scattered all over the empire?" Layla taunted.
However, her words were true.
White Lily was forced to come to the Human plane not to save the Regis Clan but because Layla had already killed quite a number of her kind.
All the Spirits keeping watch near the Tower of Conclave, The Lumley Family Residence, Noser City, Regis Estate and the Ravenpass were attacked suddenly, and most were killed. Because of this, they could not provide an update on the status of each location.
As to how Layla dealt with the Spirits even when she could not see them, it was quite easy. She was the Soul Emperor, and every living thing with a soul would not escape her eyes.
"Now that I know you have met with Caelan's predecessor, did you really think I would not prepare countermeasures against your kind? I don't want your kind loitering about my plane."
White Lily's eyes narrowed, and she said through gritted teeth, "Do not speak of Caelan's name, b*tch!"
True Void could not help but look at White Lily with an odd expression. It might seem inappropriate for him to react to the latter's words, but he was surprised to hear her use a name to curse Layla.
Was this the legendary confrontation between the first woman and the legal wife? Regardless of what it was, True Void had no plans on staying. With White Lily providing leeway for him, he grabbed the opportunity to escape.
Of course, True Void was not really escaping since he was going toward Ravenpass.
Not giving Layla a chance to react, White Lily moved.
The giant diamond lily on White Lily's feet scattered; its petals whirled with the wind and went straight toward Layla.
Layla sneered at the incoming petals.
"Though the cradle has long lost its effect, with no human contractor, you will not be able to use your real power!" She taunted while waving her hand.
Several layers of light golden barrier appeared around Layla, protecting her from the lily petals' sharp edges.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Are you not talking about yourself? Using an incomplete vessel, you can't fully use your magic!" White Lily retorted while spreading her arms wide.
The space around Layla distorted as white lilies fleeted from within. They spat out shimmering white diamond dust that instantly disintegrated everything they touched.
Knowing her barrier was not enough to protect herself from the diamond dust, Layla removed it and levitated away. Moving in an erratic yet elegant way in the air, she avoided the areas where the diamond dust had spread.
All the while, Layla was scowling at what White Lily had said.
The latter had hit the former's sore spot.
Indeed, Layla did not expect that Haylee, who succeeded in taking the Inheritance, was only an essence. Apparently, none of the people around Haylee knew— not even the person in question— and it was already too late when Layla realized it.
By the time Layla did, she had already transferred the Soul core to Haylee.
Putting the matter of Haylee being an essence aside, hearing White Lily's remark, Layla was convinced that White lily had a hand in what happened.
"So it is your doing," Layla gritted her teeth as she glared at White Lily. "The attack on Haylee is a feint. Your real goal is to create an essence that will pose as the Crown Princess!"
White Lily neither admitted nor denied Layla's accusation. As a matter of fact, she was not interested in talking to this woman!
With flourishing movements, White Lily spread her arms and created several distortions in the surroundings. From these distortions, giant white lilies emerged— their white petals stretched out and went after Layla in midair.
'Tsk!' Layla clicked her tongue as he avoided the incoming attacks. She now regretted not taking Rantz, the oldest Archmagus, with her.
When Gael sent the report about Euan and Malek being seen in Ravenpass, Layla had Rantz command her army outside the Regis Estate while she used a one-time teleportation scroll to Ravenpass.
Layla's sapphire blue eyes glowed fiercely as she raised her hand and aimed at White Lily. Silvery white magic energies, looking like hands, emerged from Layla's outstretched hand and flew toward White Lily.
The giant diamond lily on White Lily's feet suddenly spun, and more petals appeared. These petals moved upward, forming a protective shield around her.
Whoosh!
The silvery-white hands touched the protective shield. However, when Layla tried to grab hold of the shield and destroy it, she realized she could not make it move.
'How...?'
But White Lily was not done. Her pinkish eyes glowed as white lilies grew on the land beneath them, spreading out in every direction.
Such a spectacular scene of white lilies blooming would have been a beautiful sight; however, given the situation, no one could appreciate it.
Seeing the white lilies, Layla felt her scalp go numb. She immediately flew away from the white lilies' range.
The same moment Layla had moved was when the white lilies close to White Lily bloomed. When they bloomed, a dazzling silvery white light emerged from the center and shot toward the sky.
Every white lily that bloomed shot out the silvery white light. Soon, they were almost close to where Layla was fleeing.
Layla did not stop moving; however, she noticed that no matter how far she flew, more white lilies would appear on the ground nearby.
Seeing how White Lily could summon a ridiculously large-area attack, Layla realized she had made a grave mistake.
Layla initially thought it was impossible for White Lily to continuously attack if she did not have a human contractor. And as far as she knew, the latter had contracted with Caelan, and Spirits would only contract with one human. With Caelan gone, White Lily would never have a human contractor again. So it should be impossible for her to summon such a large-area attack.
Now, for argument's sake, if it was possible for Spirits to form a contract with a human, there was no one in the Human plane that was strong enough to become White Lily's contractor.
Not even the new Void Master.
So how come White Lily could use her magic like this?
'Doesn't matter,' Layla thought, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, remembering the figures descending from the hole.
That was right. No matter how strong White Lily was, she was only one person. With the arrival of the rest of the Sovereigns, it would only be a matter of time before everything in Ylfaen Empire would fall and become Layla's.
FOOOOM!
As if on cue, a deafening sound shook the sky as powerful waves of magic energy exploded in every direction. Though the released magic energy possessed no destructive power, its energy wave still resulted in cracks forming in the Human plane's space. Apart from this, cracks also appeared on the surface of the Human plane itself.
'Finally!' Layla's smile widened as she looked at the sky.
The figures descending from the hole in the sky were responsible for the explosion of magic energy. At that moment, they had finally entered the last veil keeping the sky from crumbling.
SHATTER!
A large chunk of the sky shattered like glass as the figures finally appeared in the Human plane.
With the Sovereign Cradle unable to restrain their levels anymore, their presence alone resulted in crevices appearing all over the empire.
If these crevices were not sealed immediately, they would become new paths connecting to other planes. When that happens, natives from those planes could enter the Human plane freely.
White Lily's brow furrowed upon sensing the danger of these crevices. Even if she had the power to contend with the Sovereigns that had just descended, the Human plane would still be in a dire situation if the crevices were not dealt with.
True Void was also thinking the same way as he was forced to stop in his tracks. He looked at the sky as his illusory heart sank in fear.
But.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Suddenly, a blinding light filled the sky.