The battlefield had a quite different aspect in comparison to how it looked like before the fighting started. The entire castle had been turned into just piles of rubble, the floor was uneven, fire could be seen almost everywhere, and even the surrounding towering trees were sliced into pieces.

By this point, Cure Song and Fou Tre were battling each other in the middle of the forest, far away from where everybody else was.

Although the disparity between Cure Song's and Fou Tre's cultivation was big, the dullahan had yet to receive a single wound.

On the other hand, the gargoyle was hovering between life and death. In fact, his body was already dead and only his soul was still hanging on.

Yes, Fou Tre continued fighting even though he was now just a corpse.

At the Ninth Level Energy Core Evolution stage, one's Complex Energy core became a soul container. Basically, a second brain, but this could only control one's Complex Energy body and not one's physical body. It wasn't eternal though. At the Ninth Level Energy Core Evolution stage, this second brain could survive for only 1 minute after the physical body death. At the Basic Build stage this time increased for a few minutes.

Fou Tre was at the Eight Level Basic Build stage, so he could last quite a long time.

However, through the entire combat, Fou Tre had been growing weaker and weaker, so much so that since quite a while ago he had lost even his capacity to flee. This was because his wings and legs had been crippled. Another reason was that the Water Element Awakened Skill wasn't suitable for boosting his movement speed in the middle of the atmosphere.

Due to all of this, Cure Song had him within his grasp.

Fou Tre desperately threw water attack after water attack at the invisible dullahan. He knew very well that such actions were of no threat to his opponent, but he couldn't think of anything else other than to deplete Cure Song's Complex Energy while using the impulse of his attacks to move his crippled body.

Cure Song once again slashed at Fou Tre with both of his Ryyk Blades. As always, neither the trees nor the air could slow down his attack. His blades traveled through everything unhindered.

When the tips of the Ryyk Blades reached the inside of the gargoyle, they materialized and severed yet more arteries within Fou Tre's brain.

While it was true that those attacks were meaningless since Fou Tre physical body couldn't be deader, Cure Song didn't want to give him any leeway.

After what it seemed like an eternity of torture to Fou Tre, his Complex Energy core finally broke.

The ruins of the castle.

Thorn was still worried about Rose's situation. She might be a troublesome burden to him, but he was in debt to her and couldn't help but think that the reason for her to make the reckless decision of starting a fight with Arnold Alch's gang was his presence. So he felt responsible for the dangerous situation she had gotten into.

As his worry began to show on his face, Rose finally woke up. At the same time, Arnold Alch's Aura disappeared.

*Sigh*...

It was Thorn's soft sigh of relief.

After which, Thorn felt that the situation was amiss. (What's wrong with me? Getting worried to this extent… when did she become so important to me? This has no sense. We've met each other for only a couple of days!) He shook his head in self-derision. It was at that moment when he suddenly noticed something. (Mmm?! H-her Complex Energy core, i-is evolving…?) Thorn was so shocked he almost fell head-butt right there and then!

When one reached the First Level Basic Awaken stage, one's Complex Energy core would start to form. Thanks to this, the cultivator obtained an Awakened Skill and its Energy Signature. At the Full Awaken stage, this core was completely formed; and at the Ninth Level Energy Core Evolution stage, the core evolved to gain the capacity to contain a soul.

However, the evolution Thorn was witnessing wasn't this evolution. It was a more specific evolution that could be a Complex Energy core evolution or a Mystical Energy core evolution. This specific core evolution didn't give the core the capacity to contain a soul, but transformed one's Awakened Skill!

It was indeed possible to evolve one's Complex Energy core in this way, but such a thing was far too rare and far too incredible. Considering the entire world, it might only occur once in between dozens of millenniums, and that was if there was luck. And yet Rose was doing precisely that right in front of him!

Although Thorn's surprise was immense, Rose's was greater. After all, she was the one experiencing this change with her own Complex Energy core; in addition, her understanding of the implications of a Complex Energy core evolution was deeper than Thorn's.

The entire evolving process only took a few seconds. After which, Rose began to asses her condition. The first thing she discovered was that she couldn't feel nor move her arms. She knew this had nothing to do with the evolution. (It seems like the damage to my soul will be permanent…)

Although this situation saddened her a little, it didn't surprise her too much.

Next, she tested her Awakened Skill. She used her ability to conceal the heat to cold down the fire around her.

*SSssszz…*

*SSssszz…*

*SSssszz…*

The result was amazing. Her skill not only cooled down the fire, it completely devoured it in an instant!

A wide smile appeared on Rose's face as her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. (My Awakened Skill has evolved from support type to combat type!)

*Boom!*

She was so excited she wholeheartedly kicked down the wall between herself and the Intermediate Awaken cultivators!

As the wall crumbled; spikes of ice, bullets of energy, needles of solid air, crystal darts, metallic shurikens releasing lighting, and even a huge blanket of mud were approaching her at high speed!

It was evident that, from the instant Arnold Alch's Aura disappeared, the six cultivators were waiting in ambush for Rose.

Still, Rose's expression didn't change at all. She easily dodged the attacks using her ghost-like footwork!

Obviously, thanks to her acute hearing senses, she had perceived those attacks long ago and had been prepared to avoid them.

*Brrrkk* *mmss* *zzzz* *crack* *rumble*...!

The attacks crashed noisily behind her.

Shockingly, not even a single strand of hair of hers had been damaged, and even the happy and relaxed look on her face seemed harder to erase now.

The only attack left was the slowest one: the big mud blanket.

To defend herself against it; Rose manipulated the air and created a spherical, spinning barrier of wind around her. She could now control chemical substances in such a way!

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The mud blanket fell heavily, like a sky-covering wave with the might to completely pulverize an iron battleship; but the only thing it could accomplish was to block Rose's line of sight for a few seconds.

The instant her barrier finished throwing off the mud, Rose saw among his opponents a shadow human holding up a gigantic dome made of crystal.

*Pom!*

The dome fell onto the ground, successfully trapping Rose within.

The other cultivators then moved like one to firmly hold the dome down. They were totally sure that not even Rose's mind-blowing martial art could outmatch them in strength when they all were working together.

Activating his Crystalloid Element Awakened Skill, the shadow human, little by little, turned the crystal dome thicker and smaller.

Inside the transparent dome, Rose could clearly feel the pressure of the air becoming stronger and stronger. She also knew that, with her strength, her martial art wasn't enough to lift up the dome or break the crystal it was made of. And yet, her calm smile never left her face, not even for an instant.

Such fact raised a sense of foreboding in every one of the six cultivators' hearts.

Rose sauntered forward, and stopped in front of the shadow human. "I let you trap me on purpose." She softly confessed.

Although the shadow human could not hear her words, due to the insolation effect of the dome, he still could read her lips. "Eh...?" He muttered, his expression utterly dazed.

In the next instant, the space around Rose's right foot vibrated violently.

She then performed a Side Kick, her foot drawing a trail of blood-colored mist.

*Crack!*

The crystal in front of her was shattered into fist-sized chunks by the strike.

The shadow human did not even have the time to react. The crystal chunks slammed into his body and penetrated deep into his muscles and bones. There was even a long fragment that perforated his throat.

*Thud*

His corpse collapsed to the ground, his eyes still opened and his face still dazed. From the corpse, a puddle of blood started to expand little by little.

Watching this scene, the other five cultivators couldn't help themselves from remaining paralyzed on their places while holding their breaths. They could not comprehend how Rose had been able to destroy the dome so easily.

To understand how it was possible, it must be remembered that sounds were vibrations, essentially, mechanical waves.

Rose's Awakened Skill, which had control over sounds, could now use these type of waves to exert overwhelming destructive power!

And the vibrations were especially effective against crystals.

When Rose's intimidating gaze turned toward a little goblin, he almost fainted from the scare. Stumbling backward, he instinctively raised his little green hands and started to make a translucent energy barrier.

But before the barrier could materialize, Rose was already charging toward the trembling goblin. And, just as the barrier was about to appear, Rose's kick dispersed the goblin's Complex Energy and smashed his head, turning it into hundreds of fleshly chunks!

*Pum!*

The goblin's headless corpse collided heavily with a nearby half-broken wall.

Facing this sight, the remaining four cultivators abruptly came back to their senses. After which, they coordinately turned tail and, shrieking in despair all the way, ran in different directions!

Rose unhesitatingly gave chase to the elemental elf who seemed to be the leader, Ral Bal.

After one second of persecution, Rose calculated that with her actual speed it would take 1.23 min for her to catch up to the elemental elf. Obviously, after such a long time, the other three cultivators would have already escaped far away.

She couldn't allow such a thing to happen!

Suddenly the elemental elf felt as if his body had plunged into the coldest abyss of the sea. His movements became extremely sluggish and slow. He could not even breathe properly!

Of course, Rose's Awakened Skill was responsible for this. She had cooled down the space around Ral Bal and used the air around him to obstruct his movements.

But that wasn't all. After restricting her opponents' movements, she used her Awakened Skill to boost her own movements!

Rose's sprint left afterimages. Two seconds, just two seconds was all the time Rose used to get right behind Ral Bal.

The elemental elf knew everything was over when he felt a foot pressing the back of his neck.

*Bam!*

His face hit the floor with so much force that on both the ground and his skull appeared spider-web like cracks. His throat was now totally crushed.

Thorn was looking at her fight utterly flabbergasted the entire time. He had heard only legends about the Complex Energy core evolution and never actually thought it would be this shocking.

Since Cure Song ended his fight and Rose was about to finish hers, Thorn decided that it was about time for him to kill the knights.

He did not even bother to perform a gesture with his hands and just mentally controlled his wind to attack.

The three knights felt as though the air around them was turning heavier. In no time, the weight was so great they could not move at all.

"Aaahh….!"

"KhAarrgg…!"

"Guaa…!"

As bloodcurdling shrieks echoed out from their mouths, their bodies became smaller and smaller, crunched by the cold and merciless air pressure. In the end, these proud knights weren't able to show the slightest resistance and turned into three small balls of organic trash, and even their Complex Energy cores were destroyed. Their armors and armaments then fell unscathed. They were just decorations in front of Thorn's powerful wind control.

With that out of the way, Thorn turned all his attention toward Rose.

There were only a gorgon, a swordfish monster human, and an elf left.

As Rose closed in on the swordfish monster human, he activated his Special Water Element: Ice Awakened Skill to desperately make ice walls behind him.

Seeing this, the ex-princess didn't slow down in the least. She calmly invoked her Awakened Skill and used her control over the temperature to melt the ice walls.

The ice user looked over his shoulder and discovered to his dismay that his ice walls were completely useless against Rose's absurd Awakened Skill. He hastily made ice spikes and threw them to Rose.

When Rose dismissed the ice spikes with a single wave of her hand the other party stopped in his tracks and remained solemnly still, as if staring death itself in the face.

In the next instant, he received a kick on the chest that sent him flying.

Rose did not even spare a look at the result of her attack as she charged toward the gorgon.

*Pum!*

The moment the swordfish monster human fell, he was already dead, his internal organs destroyed by mechanical waves.

A blue translucent barrier protected the gorgon. It was a powerful and complex barrier formed by his Special Wind Element: Solid Air Awakened Skill.

*Crack!*

It shattered under Rose's Axe Kick, but the kick didn't seem like it had lost any of its momentum!

"Arghh...!" The gorgon screamed whilst his serpents died crushed and his head broke to pieces.

Then, Rose's piercing gaze fell onto the running elf. She unhesitatingly jumped forward!

Feeling the incoming merciless redhead, the elf's bloodshot eyes became redder, his heart heavier than ever. He gnashed his teeth so hard they almost broke as he activated his Thunder Element Awakened Skill throughout his body. (Let's see if you'll dare to touch me and die with me!) He cried inwardly.

Unfortunately for him, Rose's kick still came, unhesitatingly like the lethal scythe of death.

*Crack!*

The elf's chest burst open as Rose's foot came out of it!

Looking at the fallen elf, Rose shock off the blood of her boot, and snorted coldly. (Even though I am now just an ex-princess, my clothes have still the quality and endurance intended for the use of a real princess. How could they not possess at least an electric-proof feature?)

Since some time ago, Cure Song had been watching Rose's fight. There were complicated emotions in his mind right now. He came closer to Thorn, and asked: "What's wrong with Rose's arms? They don't seem wounded though."

Glancing sideways at the dullahan, Thorn said: "Arnold damaged her soul."

His reply left Cure Song feeling guilty and at a loss for words. Cure Song certainly had not considered that Rose could get into such a dangerous situation even under Thorn's protection.

When Rose came closer to the duo, she looked up at Thorn and nodded. "That's right, it was his fault. I have to admit it, Arnold's Awakened Skill was something terribly dangerous. Oh if only you could have seen that soul fight, you would have been so sure I was going to die. Hahaha...!"

Thorn and Cure Song did not ask anything about the details of Arnold Alch's Awakened Skill and just remained quiet.

Only after a few seconds did Rose finally perceive the awkward silence. "What? Is there something wrong?" She asked, confusion written all over her face.

Cure Song's voice answered her, apologetically: "Due to me, you have forever lost your arms."

There wasn't medicine that could heal souls, after all.

"Oh! Hahaha…!" Rose laughed uproariously. "Shouldn't you be happy for me instead? They are just arms. It's actually a light price compared to what normally costs to be careless in a life-or-death situation. Hahahaha…!"

Thorn and Cure Song gaped in shock. They never thought Rose was this carefree.

"*Sigh*" Suddenly, Rose sighed deeply, and her expression became solemn. "Besides, even if Arnold had killed me, you shouldn't have to feel guilty about it."

Cure Song was flabbergasted. "Why?"

She gave him a contemptuous glare as if looking at a fool who doesn't even understand the simplest matter. "Living beings end up dying, their egos becoming nothingness. There are no exceptions. No god, no miracle, no science, nor even a fantasy can change that fate. So, in the end, it all comes down to this question: what would you die for? My answer is: my dream. If I borrow your strength, I'll be a step closer toward my objective. In short; my selfishness and my purpose made me risk my life, not you. That is why even if Arnold had killed me, you shouldn't have to feel guilty about it."

Thorn's eyes flickered with a cold light. (You're wrong, Rose. Whatever it takes, I'll never die!)

Clenching his fists, Cure Song thought: (Hypocrite lass. Openly looking down on me, mocking my naivety. But, did you try to change my mind? No, on the contrary, you approved my decision with your actions. And now, you're even trying to shoulder all the responsibility…)

Meanwhile; a trembling Caroline Darrel stood nearby looking at Rose, her eyes filled with unconcealed admiration.