The elf spat out a lot of blood, and the holy sword was almost disappearing and fading away, while the golden runes in her pupils vanished. When she thought she was going to die, she used her last resort, and it came at a high cost. The golden Qi in her body was now very weak.
She looked at the wreckage, thinking it was at least worth it for the victory. But suddenly, she saw a figure emerge in the midst of the wreckage, grabbing something. Then, an instinctive hatred that she couldn't comprehend welled up.
"You demon... finally decided to come out of your turtle shell." The elf spat out those resentful words.
The initial impression of the figure was that of a woman with a gentle and delicate appearance, standing slightly above average wherever she was. She wore black clothes adorned with carefully sculpted details, while her long black hair flowed like a cascade.
However, a strange feeling soon enveloped the minds of Zane and Gael, who were very close. There was no perceptible life energy in that woman. She had all the characteristics of a human, but upon closer inspection, it became evident that her skin had such extreme paleness that it resembled that of a corpse, so white that it seemed there was no blood flowing there.
Focusing their senses on her eyes, the astonishment grew even more. On that face, two dull lights radiated a reddish and almost black color. It soon became clear why it was strange: the entire essence of the woman was the purest Qi of death. This was not something achievable by a living being. Even in total disbelief, they were certain that the woman was dead, but at the same time, she moved and seemed to possess life.
In the same second that the resentful words of the elf echoed, a message was transmitted directly to the soul gem of Zane and Gael.
'You... alone, it's impossible to kill her; the orbs are still inside my tower.' The dry and gentle voice came into their minds.
Zane and Gael seemed to understand something. It seems that the sudden power explosion from the elf came from those orbs. 'Are you the demon lord... or lady? Where were you until now?' Gael asked quickly.
'My name is Rehvka, and I am not a demon,' she responded without much emotion, attentive to the severely injured elf.
'I had to seal myself inside the castle after being defeated. I thought I could recover with the help of my army, but I didn't count on the force field of my castle sealing me in. I was cornered inside, and for a long time, I waited for an opening.'
Rehvka seemed to sigh and continued. 'I already had no hope of living much longer, but the elf was the one maintaining the field. Since she is severely injured, I was able to come out again... and I can take us back inside there.'
The elf spat out another mouthful of blood and seemed to make a giant effort to lift the holy sword, which was almost disappearing.
'We don't have time. Let's go back to where I was sealed. That is the only safe place,' Rehvka said, pulling the small janitor robot away.
'No! If it was the elf maintaining the force field, her domain must be more fragile. Cross it and control it again,' Zane spoke mentally in a decisive manner.
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Rehvka responded, still emotionless, 'Inside the place where I was, there was no Qi to absorb, so I don't have much. It will already be difficult to get back to...' She suddenly stopped when she felt something warm invading her meridians.
'Don't waste time; I'm giving you Qi directly,' Zane said urgently. Their system's cultivation technique once again showed its prowess.
She was shocked for a brief moment. Her body was very special, and only the energy of death could flow and be used with it. A living being, no matter what, possesses Yin and Yang in their body, so it is almost impossible to separate them perfectly. She herself had an extremely difficult time cultivating, having to separate the energy coming from celestial Qi. It took several times longer to cultivate than normal.
As for this little robot, she thought that there was no more Qi in its soul gem. But even so, it seemed to fully understand her body and instantly collected and provided only Yin, and it was so pure that it filled her body with energy immediately.
Since Rehvka appeared, it took about ten seconds. In the next one, a golden and opaque Qi coming from the holy sword cut through space in their direction. The strike seemed like a frail and almost lifeless power, but its force was overwhelming and fast enough to easily kill both.
Rehvka, holding a small robot in her arms, suddenly exploded with black power, creating strong astral winds. She ran at full speed without sparing anything towards the force field.
The elf was startled by the sudden change, and then her mind seemed to instinctively understand their intention. So, she tried to increase the speed of the strike as much as she could.
When the golden blade was a few centimeters from hitting them, Rehvka stretched her pale hand and touched the force field, making it ripple. Right after, she disappeared as if entering a portal.
The impact of the sword against the force field resulted in a violent rebound, throwing the elf several meters away, where she fell, spitting blood. However, her determination overcame the pain, and within seconds, she got up with a desperate look, ignoring her condition, and ran towards the tower.
Meanwhile, inside the force field, Zane and Gael continued to avidly absorb all the available Qi. As soon as they entered the enclosed space, the influence of the golden domain of the elf was abruptly interrupted. Quickly, they activated the Yin and Yang collection technique, adapted in their soul gems, and it seemed that the entire cosmos responded quickly to their call.
Rehvka was shocked to realize the exponential multiplication of the provided Qi.
Gael and Zane ignored that as their voices resonated in her mind. 'Quick, try to take control of the force field before her!'
She nodded immediately and focused intensely. It was she who designed the basic structure of the force field.
Back then, her conception aimed to block the heroine and separate her from the others, which indeed worked, allowing her to inflict severe injuries with her army against the heroine's forces.
It seemed like everything was almost concluded, setting up as a success. Her tower, with a formation capable of sealing the heroine's companions, had fulfilled its function, and the strongest and most dangerous opponent had been defeated.
But against all her expectations, her tower was corrupted and partially taken over by an external force that shouldn't exist. Helplessly, Rehvka witnessed thousands of strange orbs brought by the elf and the two dwarves merging with the walls, losing control of the situation in her tower. In an act of desperation, she was forced to sacrifice her army of undead and seal herself in a secure location within the tower.
Back in the present, after a few minutes, using the Qi provided by Zane and Gael, she managed to take control of a third of the main runes of the force field. However, it was at this point that a fierce counterattack began.
For the elf to take full control of the force field formation, she needed to be inside the tower and access the core of the structure. But Rehvka knew the key positions to direct the Qi in the barrier and the main runes that governed everything because she was the creator of the formation.
Technically, it would be impossible for her not to regain complete control, but the power emanating from those thousands of orbs in the tower, the same ones from back then, was something she simply couldn't comprehend.
Zane and Gael watched closely, noticing the strange vibrations in the tower. 'What the hell... it looks like an antenna. Those must be the orbs she mentioned,' Gael commented. 'It's as if there's a connection from outside this universe, amplifying the power of the elf. This woman won't be able to compete,' he added.
Zane then coldly shouted to Rehvka's mind, 'You won't be able to control everything! Just take what you've already mastered and change the runes. That will prevent them from invading and give us some time.'
She immediately replied, 'It will only last a few days until she...' Zane interrupted her by emanating pure Yin power directly from his soul. 'Just obey you brat. I'm the one who most wants to kill that bitch.'
Rehvka trembled, feeling the difference in the level of hatred between them directly in her consciousness. They certainly harbored an infinitely deeper hatred than she did.
The simple frustration of not having been able to kill the heroine was enough to push Zane and Gael to the brink of losing control. Their souls were radiating all their malevolent presence, and even Gael was being influenced, further amplifying their anger.