Eleven years ago.
At the Rose Kingdom's palace, on the night of the little princess's baptism.
Maleficent let out a wicked laugh towards the King and the infant Princess Aurora, casting her curse:
"Oh, King,
"Your lovely daughter will die miserably after being pricked by a spindle.
"After the little princess's death, the curse that shrouds this land will fully descend.
"You will be plagued by illness. You will cough, bleed, and tremble on the floor… Blood will flow out of your houses and into the rivers, staining the water crimson…
"The lights of the palace will no longer shine, and the morning sun will not reach this land… Thorns, thistles, and weeds will grow in terrifying forms…
"The curse will forever linger over this once prosperous land!"
Maleficent still remembered the King's desperate face—it was a truly unforgettable and delicious sight for her.
Soon after, she learned that the King had imprisoned Princess Aurora deep within the palace, hoping to avoid the spindle's curse.
For this, Maleficent mocked the King's foolishness more than once.
…
One year ago.
When Aurora led the Rose Kingdom's army to repel the Ender invaders, the title of Valkyrie spread among several nearby kingdoms.
"Maleficent, have you heard? In that Rose Kingdom you cursed, a mysterious Valkyrie has appeared. She led the army to defeat the Ender invaders."
Someone mentioned this during a routine exchange within the Witch Society.
"Where did another Super Warrior pop up from?" Maleficent completely disregarded it and stretched, "It's rare for a small country like Rose Kingdom to produce a Super Warrior."
"Speaking of which, if you die, the Rose Kingdom's curse will end, right? Aren't you worried that Valkyrie and others from Rose Kingdom will come looking for trouble?"
"Hahaha." Maleficent laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke.
"They are merely commoners, a group of insignificant commoners without magic, destined to live and die like ants, achieving nothing.
"Even if they train to become the strongest warriors, how can they compare to us?"
"On this continent, only magic is omnipotent!"
"Only we, the most powerful mages with long lifespans, can transcend all living beings."
…
A few months ago.
Rhine and Aurora helped the Sea Kingdom and Summer Kingdom form an alliance.
Mermaids became guides for ships at sea.
"That Sage of Rose Kingdom is currently traveling the continent. It is said that he also brought a very capable attendant…"
Maleficent merely smiled at this.
But, to some extent, it piqued her interest.
"Could that very capable attendant be the Valkyrie from before?"
"It wouldn't be bad to go and meet them sometime."
…
The memories dissipated, transforming into the face of the golden-haired girl before her.
Her features finally overlapped and merged with the infant in Maleficent's memory.
"It's you."
"It's actually you!"
"Princess Aurora of Rose Kingdom?"
Maleficent, transformed into a giant dragon, roared.
She couldn't believe that the weak and delicate princess she had imagined would turn into such a formidable warrior, sweeping through armies and invincible.
The infant, once doted upon by everyone in her swaddling clothes, had today raised a sword and wounded her!
"You finally recognized me, congratulations."
Aurora thrust her sword again and again, forcing Maleficent to retreat, defend, and dodge.
"So, I am destined to be the one to kill you!"
Maleficent burst into laughter.
"So that's it, so that's it. No wonder you are invulnerable to blades and fire."
"That's because you bear the blessings of the 12 Witches."
"What a brilliant idea. To train our little princess into a warrior."
The Queen and the Sea Hag were equally astonished by Maleficent's words.
"So, Aurora is also a princess? Uh, I vaguely heard before that the Rose Kingdom's princess was imprisoned deep within the palace. Was that just a lie?"
"The true princess has already become a warrior capable of challenging a legendary witch like Maleficent!"
Maleficent finally recovered from her shock, and a playful smile appeared on the giant dragon's face.
"You wouldn't think you could truly defeat me, would you, my lovely little princess?"
"You wouldn't think that just being invulnerable to blades and fire makes you truly invincible, would you?"
"Haven't you noticed? From the beginning, I've only been playing with you using my dragon body; I haven't even used a single spell yet."
"Unlike that Eastern Witch who is not skilled enough, my spellcasting speed and effectiveness are not diminished in my dragon form!"
Suddenly, on the deck, clumps of thorns and thistles grew out.
They reached out their "hands" towards Aurora as if alive, tightly binding her. These vile plants were tougher than steel.
"My little princess, you should have died on that night 11 years ago."
"I spared you back then, letting you live until now, and yet you don't cherish it."
Maleficent looked at Aurora, entangled by the thorny plants, and feigned a regretful posture.
The next moment, a chilling killing intent burst forth from the Witch's eyes.
"Since that's the case, shall I take back the gift I gave you?"
"Stop rambling!" Aurora roared, her muscles suddenly swelling, and she broke free from the thorny restraints with terrifying brute force.
But new thorns appeared out of thin air again, restricting the girl's movements.
"They're just some annoying plants, I just need to…"
The giant dragon sneered and shook her head.
From her mouth came ethereal, heavy, spine-chilling syllables:
"You will have a splitting headache."
"You will be dizzy and disoriented."
"Your limbs will be weak, your legs will turn to jelly."
"You will endure immense pain, blood will flow from your eyes…
"You will struggle to breathe, and ultimately suffocate to death…"
The Sea Hag's heart turned cold at this sight:
"Oh no, Maleficent has started using curses! Her most powerful curse magic!"
This legendary Witch was finally going to use her full power.
She used all her strength to cast various spells on Maleficent, but they had little effect on the giant dragon.
For the next minute or two, Maleficent abandoned useless attacks and switched to pure passive defense, entangling her opponent with thorns and thistles, delaying time, and waiting for the curses to take effect.
In just a minute or two, one curse after another came true.
Aurora felt lightheaded, her head throbbing as if it would explode, breathing became difficult, her eyes filled with blood and water, and her vision grew increasingly blurry.
The girl gritted her teeth, using all her willpower, enduring the pain throughout her body, and barely managed to fight. The Sea Hag and the Queen also assisted her with spells as much as possible, and the surrounding Soldiers cheered for this strong, resilient girl, shooting arrows at the giant dragon.
But her movements were becoming increasingly weak, and her sword swings were limp.
She was about to lose.
"Just hold on a little longer. My teacher will be back soon!"
Aurora gasped for breath, and the silver-haired young man came to her mind again.
"My delicate and noble little princess…"
Maleficent looked at the increasingly weak girl, whose beautiful face was as pale as a corpse, yet still swung her sword at her, and said in a tone of regret:
"Why didn't you cherish the 15 years of precarious life I granted you?
"You could have, as the rumors say, lived in luxury in the palace, served by servants.
"You could have eatEnderlicacies from land and sea, worn expensive clothes woven from silk and gossamer, and had plenty of servants attending to you.
"The palace musicians would play harps and sing for you. When spring arrived, the palace maids would pick the most delicate and beautiful flowers of spring and place them on your head. You could have chased butterflies in the garden and smelled the fragrance of the flowers.
"Just like any other princess in the world.
"And, my little princess, you bear the most beautiful blessings in the world, you are beautiful and moving, everyone would love you! Why did you have to go through hardships and become this terrifying appearance?
"You could have lived 15 years of happiness and fulfillment, experiencing a wonderful childhood.
"Instead of gambling your life to challenge an unbeatable foe.
"And then, like today, suffer a splitting headache, bleed from your seven orifices, have weak limbs, struggle to breathe, and finally die tragically before me!"
Looking at the giant dragon feigning regret, Aurora used her last ounce of strength to thrust her sword:
"Because, for me, personally slaying you, the culprit who brought disaster to the kingdom, is the most blissful and fulfilling ending!"