In a slightly dim room, the light flickered incessantly.

It was yet another attempt at a new miracle.

After a long period, Anna wiped the sweat from her forehead.

She was now able to use basically all the miracles that could be interpreted here, what remained was to refine her skills and experience.

"We can move to the next room."

She said to Alice, who was silent in the corner.

"I'll go first. Stay here and wait a bit."

Alice said this and entered the black hole alone.

To avoid the dangers that could arise, it was a very sensible choice to let Alice, whose origins were unknown, scout ahead.

Who exactly is Alice?

Anna pondered this as she stayed in the same place, preparing to rest a bit and wait for good news from Alice.

However...

At that moment, a rustling sound came from above her head.

Anna quickly stood up, fixing her gaze on the ceiling and gripping her staff tightly.

"A-Alice!"

She called Alice's name.

The sound above grew louder, a crack appeared in the impenetrable ceiling, causing Anna’s heart to race.

Suddenly, a large hole opened in the ceiling.

After the stones and soil fell, weak sunlight shone through, making the room appear brighter.

Then, a dark shadow fell from the hole and hit the ground.

At that moment, Anna was already close to the black hole, ready to flee at any moment.

"Ah, that hurts."

The dark shadow seemed to have gotten up and was covering its head with its hand.

"Who are you?"

Anna asked in a somewhat trembling tone.

To her, the fact that the figure could speak was much better than being a monster that only attacked; at least there was a chance for communication.

"Eh? Is there still someone here?"

The figure raised its head, and after the shadow covering it disappeared, its appearance became clear.

By its outline, it really seemed to be a human, with a head, face, hands, and feet, and it was the form of a young girl.

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However, her body was completely green, and some tree sprouts had started to grow from her...

This was definitely some kind of monster, but Anna had never heard of such a creature.

The figure stood up and dusted off its body, then spoke quite politely: "This place is not meant for humans, you know? If you release what is here, do you know how serious the consequences will be?"

She said in a preaching tone and then shook her head helplessly.

"There is no other choice. To avoid possible incidents, I can only... kill you here!"

After spitting out the last syllable, she suddenly reached out her hand towards Anna, and a vine emerged from her fist, going straight for Anna's neck.

"Ah!"

Screaming, Anna instinctively dodged, causing the vine to pass just beside her neck, but she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

"Huh? I didn't expect you to react so quickly."

The green girl commented with some surprise.

She knew very well the level of her ambush and, although she expected a fatal blow, the apparently fragile young girl in front of her managed to dodge, which truly surprised her.

Anna wasn’t very aware of this; she only felt she nearly went to the heavens to meet the gods and didn’t realize how fast her reflexes were.

"But this time you won't escape."

When the green girl said this, she was ready to retract the vines and end Anna’s life.

"Hm?"

She moved her arms but couldn’t pull back the vines.

"Is there someone else?"

She looked towards the black hole with a smile.

When the small figure came into view, her expression changed drastically.

"Is there another monster here?"

Alice held a vine while shaking the blood off her other hand, looking at the emerald girl expressionlessly.

"You! You were really released!"

The green girl shouted in surprise.

She didn’t know the girl, but she had heard from the Tree Queen that in a ruin of the ancient empire, there was a girl sealed.

It was said that this girl, in her most powerful period, could destroy the world, so she was sealed by that being.

And now, she had been released!

"You know me?"

Alice asked.

At the same time, her question also surprised the green girl, and then she seemed relieved.

"Did you lose your memory? That’s right. After being sealed for so long, it's impossible for you to be as strong as before. So, I absolutely cannot let you out again!"

The green girl said with some determination.

She didn’t know the true strength of the girl in front of her and didn’t want to test it.

Just activating the last resort left by the Tree Queen would ensure that no one could escape from here!

Of course, this included herself.

But she didn’t hesitate.

"Destruction! Collapse!"

A golden gem rolled from her sleeve and was crushed by her.

Then, the ground began to shake violently and a deafening roar started to spread; the entire underground was about to collapse.

Seeing this, Alice frowned and looked at the hole above, telling Anna: "We need to get out of here!"

With that said, she grabbed Anna and prepared to exit the hole.

"You can’t escape!"

The green girl at the bottom of the tunnel couldn’t let that happen.

The green, sturdy vines immediately wrapped around Alice’s legs.

"Get out of my way!"

Alice punched the green girl's head, crushing half of her skull.

"You can’t escape!"

The green girl, who had half her head crushed, still spoke this way.

Her body began to lose its human form and transform into a tree, firmly rooted in the ground, and at the same time, her entire body was completely enveloping Alice.

After several attempts, Alice found she couldn’t free herself.

She looked at Anna beside her and at the hole above.

Without hesitation, she threw Anna out of the hole.

"Alice!"

Anna, in mid-air, looked at Alice, who was gradually disappearing from view.

Regardless of who Alice was before, she had chosen to save her life in the final moment...

As she fell back to the ground and met the daylight again, Anna didn’t feel joy.

With the collapse of the ground, the tunnel also vanished.

She might never see the mysterious girl with whom she spent so much time underground again.

But...

She suddenly thought, if Alice managed to survive so long without eating or drinking, maybe she was still alive...

Thinking this, a small hope was rekindled in her heart.

She stood up and looked firmly in the direction of the White Horse City.

As long as there was a chance, she would save Alice...