Chapter 19: This is the way to survive!
As she gazed at the withered palm engulfed in bewitching flames, the maid’s expression remained calm. She extended her own right hand—the one clutching the dagger—and placed it before the withered palm.
The withered fingers gradually closed, slowly grasping the maid’s right wrist.
Hiss…
The bewitching flames flickered, filling the room with the foul stench of burning flesh.
The maid’s face turned pale, cold sweat beading on her forehead, as if enduring some extreme pain.
However, in her eyes, there brewed a fervent emotion, like that of a devotee witnessing the descent of a miracle!
After a moment, the withered palm released the maid’s wrist, retracting into the abyss-like vortex.
The terrifying aura dissipated as if it had never been present.
Yet, the bewitching flames lingered, still ablaze upon the maid’s right hand, along with the dagger, burning fiercely!
“The sinister priest?”
Selicia’s voice returned to the world once more, laden with unspeakable anger.
“You sewer rats dare to appear before me?”
“Rats? Indeed, to the esteemed Princess, we are nothing but rats.”
The maid lifted her gaze, her icy eyes reflecting the flames, contrasting with Selicia’s slightly pale face.
Her expression was mocking.
“But you see, esteemed Princess, you’re about to be killed by lowly rats.”
The maid vanished once again.
Then reappeared before Selicia.
The flaming dagger, burning with flames, ruthlessly aimed at Selicia’s heart from a cunning angle.
“Hmph, dream on!”
Selicia snorted disdainfully, a more horrifying chill erupting from her delicate figure, tearing everything around her into fragments with extreme cold and storm.
But it was only for a moment.
A very brief moment, so short that it couldn’t even affect the maid who was already within reach, merely causing the dagger in her hand to slightly deviate.
Because the next moment, that chill abruptly vanished.
Yes, without warning, suddenly, unexpectedly, vanished. Leaving everyone caught off guard.
Selicia was momentarily taken aback, but quickly regained her composure. She looked at the flames burning in the maid’s right hand.
“Indeed, is this specifically designed to counter my power?”
Selicia’s ice came from the blessing of the gods, different from ordinary frost magic; it represented the power of rules.
Freezing all things.
That was the essence of the rules.
So theoretically, even flames could be directly frozen by her!
But this power was temporarily ineffective; she couldn’t even conjure her usual ice sword.
Because another set of rules completely countered her own, burning on the maid’s right hand and dagger!
“But do you think this alone can kill me?”
Selicia quickly regained her composure.
Her strength was not just due to the blessing of the gods!
Before the maid’s second attack could come, she suddenly surged forward, advancing instead of retreating!
Her slender fingers closed into a fist, emitting a sharp fighting spirit in the palm, and fiercely struck the maid’s chest!
“I almost forgot, Your Highness’s martial skills are also not to be underestimated, but unfortunately…”
The maid didn’t evade but instead directly clashed palm to palm with Selicia.
The clash of fighting spirit led to a brief stalemate.
Intense pressure from the clash blew through the maid’s neatly trimmed ear-length hair.
She remained expressionless.
“It’s a pity. Due to your usual reliance on the ice sword, despite your skill with the blade, you haven’t brought along a regular longsword for defense. And due to your excessive confidence, you even disdain carrying defensive magic devices on your person.”
“!”
Selicia remained impassive, but a flicker of something imperceptible passed through her eyes.
“So—”
The maid suddenly reversed the flow of fighting spirit in her palm, adhering to Selicia’s hand.
Taking Selicia’s blow head-on inflicted considerable damage on her in an instant, but it also left Selicia with no escape route!
“So I believe I can still kill you.”
The maid’s right hand had already risen, dagger gripped in reverse, aiming for the vital spot to ensure the precision, force, and lethality of this strike.
The Grim Reaper once again raised its scythe.
This time, it was truly dire.
…
“What the hell was I thinking?”
Muen, crouching in the corner, suddenly slapped himself hard, snapping out of the thoughts that carried an irresistible allure but absolutely should not have existed.
It was unimaginable that he had just entertained the idea of Selicia dying!
For his own selfish desires, allowing Selicia to be killed by that assassin!
“Indeed, if Selicia were to die, no one would pursue me for violating the princess’s safety, and I could survive for the time being.”
“But after doing such a thing to an innocent girl, I actually thought about taking her life?”
“What the hell kind of ultimate, invincible, shameless scumbag am I? Selicia is innocent!”
Muen punched the ground hard, the intense pain helping to sober him up.
It was precisely because of this that a sense of guilt gradually welled up within him, occupying his entire being.
Yes, from start to finish, Selicia was innocent. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
She was only invited to this room because of Muen’s cowardice, drugged because of Muen’s despicability, and robbed of her innocence because of Muen’s foolishness.
Now, she might lose her life because of Muen’s oversight.
She shouldn’t be like this. She could have had a happy life, like in the original story, meeting the one she loves.
She shouldn’t die here!
“No, I can’t just watch Selicia die. I have to help her!”
Muen clenched his fists, a determination shining in his eyes.
But as he lifted his head to watch the battle between Selicia and the assassin, that determination quickly dissipated.
“What… what can I do to help?”
He couldn’t even see the movements of the assassin clearly.
He didn’t have the blessing of the gods either.
He recognized the assassin’s Prayer, a form of invocation used by a figure from the original story known as the Sinister Priest, who gained power from dark gods through sacrificial rituals.
That wasn’t the level of power he should be involved with now.
He was the pampered son of a duke, the only purpose of whom was to pave the way for the protagonist as a minor antagonist.
He’s also just an ordinary first-year student at St. Marika Academy of Magic. Moreover, during this year, he spent most of his time idling away, with the only magic he can recall at the moment being an insignificant illuminating spell.
He couldn’t help Selicia at all.
“Perhaps… not causing trouble is the best help I can offer her?”
Just like some female leads in TV dramas who, despite lacking any ability, only ended up making things worse with their good intentions, perhaps just watching quietly was the best choice for him now.
“Selicia will definitely win, she will! She’s so strong, she doesn’t need my help at all,” Muen muttered to himself, as if trying to convince himself.
…
Click.
Muen suddenly heard a crisp sound behind him, like the sound of a door lock being opened.
“It’s almost over. You can go now, Muen Campbell.”
The voice, which had appeared once before and sounded somewhat weak, rang in Muen’s ears again.
