"So it seems you're preparing to forcibly 'escort' me out?" Sensing the tense atmosphere permeating the surroundings and the weapons and staffs implicitly aimed at her, Castorice's expression remained unchanged as she merely stated in a flat tone. "If I say 'no,' then these blades and magic pointed at me will fall upon me the next moment, correct?"
"We do not wish to be enemies with Your Excellency, but that is indeed the last resort we must take under the premise that Your Excellency refuses to cooperate." At this time, Maria also stood up.
With a flash of light in her hand, a staff naturally woven from ancient tree vines, inlaid with an azure gemstone at its tip, appeared out of thin air.
Sensing its master's will, the gemstone also began to emit a faint cold light.
Holding the staff, her sharp gaze firmly locked onto Castorice as she spoke word by word:
"If Your Excellency truly has nothing to do with the evil god in the lake, I believe Your Excellency should have no reason to continue forcefully intervening in this life-and-death decision within our clan."
The air seemed to freeze. All the elves present, whether the three in the open or the many surrounding the wooden house in the shadows, held their breath. Their muscles were tense, their gazes fixed dead onto that purple figure still sitting peacefully on the chair, waiting for her response. Any slight movement could detonate this volatile situation.
"Sigh..."
Amidst the suffocating silence, Castorice let out a gentle sigh.
She raised her head, met Maria's gaze, and spoke in a calm tone:
"Just as you said, any rational, normal person, upon learning that their opponent is a terrifying existence like an Evil God's Progeny, would probably not need you to drive them away. They would immediately avoid this place of trouble like the plague and only wish to get as far away as possible as quickly as possible."
Hearing this, the staff in Maria's hand drooped slightly, and the light of the gemstone at its tip also seemed to dim a bit, as if seeing the hope of a peaceful resolution.
"However." Castorice's voice suddenly shifted. She closed her eyes and gently placed one hand over her heart. "I am different."
Maria's pupils contracted, alarm bells ringing loudly in her heart. She was just about to make a move, but it was already too late!
A profound, secluded purple aura, as if originating from the place where all things end, abruptly erupted with Castorice as the center without any warning! This aura was not a violent shockwave, but rather like a permeating mist, silently yet incredibly swiftly filling the entire large wooden house, and even enveloping an area of tens of meters outside.
"Ugh!" Maria instantly felt a bone-chilling deathly intent invade her limbs and bones, as if even her soul was about to be frozen.
She widened her eyes in terror, her pupils trembling violently due to extreme fear, but her body was imprisoned by invisible shackles; she couldn't move even a single finger.
A warning originating from the instinct of life screamed madly in her mind: if she moved, if she twitched even the slightest bit, her soul would be instantly drawn out, and her physical body would turn into a lifeless empty shell!
It wasn't just her. The three elves inside the house, and all the elven guards shrouded by this purple aura outside, invariably fell into the same predicament.
They stood frozen in place, maintaining their previous postures, like statues petrified in an instant. Only the surging horror and despair in their eyes proved they were still alive.
In this space shrouded by the domain of death, time seemed to stand still, and that purple figure was the only existence capable of moving freely.
"I hate seeing innocent lives pass away before my eyes." Castorice slowly stood up, her voice crystal clear in the deathly silent environment. "And I hate it even more when, despite clearly possessing the ability to stop a tragedy from happening, I am forced to become a cold bystander and witness the descent of death with my own eyes."
She walked steadily to Maria and swept her gaze over her face, twisted by fear and stiffness.
"If I were to leave right now and let things be, then it won't just be Lunara. In countless centuries to come, one innocent life after another will grimly dissipate because of this so-called 'necessary ritual'... I cannot accept, much less agree with, this endless cycle of sacrifice."
Speaking of this, her gaze seemed to pierce through the walls of the wooden house, looking directly at Crescent Lake, which was calm on the surface but hid terror beneath.
"Furthermore, relying on seals and sacrifices is ultimately just a stopgap measure. No matter how strong the seal is, there will always come a day when it's eroded by time or broken through by internal forces. Once that Evil God's Progeny completely breaks free of the seal, with the death and evil it contains... by then, it won't just be the Moon-marked Clan that withers and fades. I'm afraid the entire forest, and even broader lands, will be covered by the shadow of death, all life extinguished."
As soon as her words fell, the suffocating purple aura permeating the surroundings instantly rolled back like the tide, completely returning to Castorice's body as if it had never appeared.
"Thud—" "Thud—"
The sounds of bodies collapsing to the ground echoed one after another. All the elves previously shrouded by the aura seemed to have all their strength instantly drained, collapsing limply to the ground. Most of those who were slightly weaker rolled their eyes back and fainted directly. As for the stronger ones like Maria and those three elite guards, although they still retained a sliver of blurry consciousness, their entire bodies were sapped of strength. Even lifting a finger was incredibly difficult, and they could only barely hold on to avoid completely losing consciousness.
"Before I leave, I still must thank you for your final 'kindness'."
Castorice's voice sounded again, so calm that no emotion could be heard.
She bowed slightly to Maria on the ground, performing a simple gesture of farewell.
"Even though I bear heavy suspicion, you were still willing to offer a reward first, give me a choice, and attempt to ask me to leave in a relatively peaceful manner, rather than directly mobilizing a large army to capture me. This, actually, is quite beyond my expectations."
As she spoke, a flash of light appeared in her hand, and that [Guardian Necklace] belonging to Lunara reappeared.
"Therefore, please return this necklace to its rightful owner on my behalf. Its power should be used to protect its true master, not gather dust in the hands of an outsider like me."
She gently placed the necklace on the wooden table beside her. The necklace woven from flora and moonlight gleamed with a gentle luster under the light.
After doing all this, she turned around and walked unhesitatingly toward the door of the wooden house.
"Wa... wait..."
At this time, an extremely weak yet tenaciously willed voice struggled to come from behind her.
Castorice paused and slowly turned her head.
She saw Maria using all her strength, barely supporting her upper body with her elbows. Raising her pale face covered in cold sweat, she stared dead at her and asked intermittently:
"You... what exactly... is your purpose..."
"My purpose has been very pure from the very beginning." Castorice stopped, turned around, and calmly looked straight into Maria's eyes, filled with confusion and reluctance. "And that is to go down to the bottom of the lake, find it, and then... completely kill that Evil God's Progeny."
"!" Maria's pupils contracted violently again due to extreme shock.
Castorice continued to state her plan, which sounded like an Arabian Nights fantasy to Maria:
"Only in this way can we break this cycle of death that has lasted for tens of thousands of years once and for all. It will not only save Lunara's life but also free all potential 'sacrifices' chosen in the future from this predestined tragic fate."
After hearing Castorice's words, Maria still relied on her tenacious willpower, forcing herself to press further:
"Wh... why... You clearly... haven't met her many times... why... go to... such lengths..."
"Sigh, I've said it before." Castorice looked at her persistent eyes, sighed slightly, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness, yet incredibly clear and firm. "I made this decision not merely for Lunara personally. I simply cannot sit back and watch innocent lives perish because of this rigid 'tradition'."
Her gaze swept over the elves on the ground who had temporarily lost their mobility, her voice spreading throughout the silent wooden house:
"Even if the one chosen this time wasn't Lunara, but an elf I had never met and didn't know at all, after learning the whole story, I would still make the same choice. This has nothing to do with who the target is; it only concerns my principles."
With that said, she didn't linger any longer, nor did she pay any more attention to Maria's complex gaze—a mix of shock, incomprehension, and a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of light as if seeing hope in a desperate situation. She turned directly and pushed open the door of the wooden house.
The afternoon sun shone on Castorice, draping a layer of rosy glow over her purple silhouette.
She took a step and walked unhesitatingly toward Crescent Lake, where the Evil God's Progeny was sealed.