Philo gasped for air, her eyes darting frantically around the freezing wasteland. Just twenty seconds from now she will be dead again if things keep going like this. trapped in the terrifying pressure of Lilith's pink aura. Realizing that she wouldn't survive another round, she knew she had to act immediately.
I have to use everything I've got, Philo thought, her teeth gritting in desperation.
With a fierce cry, she threw her hands up, drawing upon every ounce of her remaining mana. She summoned her absolute most powerful weapon—a massive, apocalyptic sniper-heavy rifle, glowing with unstable, volatile magic. She poured every last drop of her energy, her blood, and her life-force directly into the core, overcharging it to an extreme, terrifying degree.
Without a second to spare, she aimed dead ahead and pulled the trigger.
A beam of pure, concentrated destruction erupted from the barrel, tearing through the frozen atmosphere with the force of a falling star. The attack was so overwhelmingly fast and powerful that Lilith didn't even attempt to dodge. The beam engulfed her completely, a deafening explosion shaking Layer 80 to its core.
For a few tense seconds, thick clouds of smoke and debris blocked out the light.
When the dust finally cleared, Philo watched in shock—one of Lilith's arms had been completely blown away by the blast.
Having exhausted every single drop of her mana, Philo's legs finally gave out. She collapsed hard onto the frozen ground, panting heavily, blood dripping from her lips. Yet, despite her defeat, a twisted, exhausted smile crept across her face.
She looked up at Lilith, her voice raspy and defiant. "You... you aren't even human. But at least... I can die knowing I blew away the arm of a monster like you."
Philo weakly raised her remaining hand, pointing toward Lilith's missing limb with a hollow sense of triumph. "Go ahead... kill me but whenever you look at your hand. Remember this moment, because even if I lost... I still managed to—"
She stopped dead.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stared in absolute horror.
Even after taking a point-blank blast of that magnitude—an attack fueled by a Level 90 Founder's entire life force—Lilith wasn't even flinching. She simply stood there in the chilling wind, completely unbothered, her breathing steady and calm.
Philo let out a weak, delirious laugh, her chest heaving as she slumped further into the snow.
Seeing her defeat, Lilith slowly bowed her head, pulling back her overwhelming pressure. The violent pink aura receded, the fractured fabric of space mended itself, and the heavy, crushing gravity vanished, returning the frozen wasteland to an eerie calm.
Philo stared at the ceiling of the sky, a bitter realization washing over her. They say a man's worst enemy is he himself... I guess I really couldn't do a thing against a monster like this.
Suddenly, glowing energy bubbles began to pop into existence all around them, drifting lazily through the freezing air. Philo's eyes widened in shock as she watched slender streams of life-force energy leak out from her own body, as well as from the unconscious Daisy and the wounded Gelli nearby, all flowing directly into Lilith.
Before her very eyes, Lilith's missing arm materialized out of thin air, completely restored down to the last cell.
Did she just absorb all of our life forces?! Philo thought, her jaw dropping in utter disbelief as the bubbles suddenly burst all at once.
With her energy fully replenished, Lilith took a calm, fluid step forward, appearing directly in front of Philo in a flash of spatial distortion. She drove her hand straight through the ground right beside Philo, her voice cold and level. "That time-reversal trick... that was your skill, wasn't it?"
Philo's mind raced. What kind of spell even is this?! Pride screamed at her not to submit, but survival demanded otherwise. Gritting her teeth through the pain, she desperately triggered her temporal artifact again, ripping time backward by twenty seconds to force a reset.
The world snapped backward in a flash of chronological light. But the moment she materialized in the past, Philo realized with absolute terror that her mana was completely depleted—she had no power left for another ultimate attack, and she needed to get out of there immediately.
Philo's mind raced in a panic. I still have eighteen hidden skills left, but none of them are working... Have I really wasted so much time just to end up dying here like this?
Just as despair threatened to consume her, a sudden spark of realization hit her. Her ultimate skill—Telekinesis. It wasn't just for moving objects; it allowed her to manipulate matter directly and tear reality apart at will.
With a desperate cry, she thrust her hands forward, materializing a floating arsenal of heavy weapons and unleashing a relentless barrage of gunfire straight at Lilith.
Lilith didn't even flinch. She effortlessly dodged every incoming projectile, sliding past the storm of bullets with casual grace.
Behind Philo, her weapon spirit Zero materialized in a panic, shouting, "Master! We have to get out of here right now!"
A twisted, desperate smile broke across Philo's face. "This is my real skill! The only reason I let her back me into a corner was to buy enough time to analyze her parameters. I can copy any skill I witness!"
With a snap of her fingers, Philo activated her stolen technique—Mana Absorber. It was Lilith's signature ability: while fighting an opponent, the user not only retained their own power but also passively absorbed half of the enemy's strength.
Philo gasped as the stolen power flooded her veins, a dangerous, dark aura surging around her. She locked her eyes onto Lilith, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Let's see how you like your own medicine—!"
Before Philo could even finish her sentence, Lilith vanished from sight.
In a single, blinding flash, Lilith materialized directly in front of her. Before Philo could react, Lilith grabbed her firmly by the head and slammed her straight down into the frozen ground with bone-shattering force, sending a massive shockwave across the snow and leaving a crater that cracked the earth wide open.
Philo lay motionless in the shattered crater, her body bruised and battered from the devastating impact.
Lilith stepped closer, kneeling beside her. With a soft, gentle motion, Lilith reached out and brushed her hand over Philo's head, releasing the crushing gravity that had pinned her down.
Slowly, Philo stirred, managing to push herself up onto her elbows. Before she could even gather her thoughts, Lilith wrapped a supportive arm around her and offered her a calm, unreadable smile.
"Look, Philo, I'm going to give you two options," Lilith said smoothly, her voice cutting through the freezing wind. "I could easily kill you right here and now. But... I made a promise to Haruto. So your choices are simple: either you die right this second and take all your secrets with you, or you agree to become engaged to Haruto."
Philo's breath hitched. Her mind completely short-circuited. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but between the shock, the lingering trauma, and the sudden shift in gravity, she couldn't even form a single coherent thought.
Realizing Philo was too stunned to answer on her own, Lilith suddenly changed tactics. She channeled a burst of high-tier healing magic, bathing Philo in a warm, soothing light. The recovery was so astonishingly fast and powerful that Philo's wounds closed up instantly, knitting bone and tissue back together and forcing her body to stand back up on its own two feet.
Staring down at her fully restored hands, Philo stood there in absolute bewilderment, completely unable to process what was just handed to her.
Philo stood there, brushing the snow off her clothes, still trying to process the sheer absurdity of the situation.
Lilith crossed her arms, a calm smile playing on her lips. "Well? Have you made your choice?"
"Why on earth would you even offer something like that?" Philo asked, her voice laced with deep suspicion and disbelief.
"Consider it part one of your choices," Lilith replied smoothly.
Philo narrowed her eyes, letting out a defeated sigh. "Call that a choice? I prefer not to die today. Survival is my ultimate goal, so obviously, I'll take option two."
"Good choice," Lilith chuckled. "Here's the deal: within three days, you need to go find Haruto. When you do, ask him to get engaged."
Philo stared at her, completely baffled. "Wait, what kind of sick joke is that? Explain yourself right now, because I actually agreed to your terms."
"Simple," Lilith explained, her tone turning serious. "We possess a special artifact known as the King's Revival. Since I'm the princess of a village named Allesta, and Haruto is destined to become its true king, he holds the royal crest. That crest contains a specific power meant to be protected by a wife—if he ever dies, we can sacrifice her life to save Haruto's."
Philo's eyes widened in outrage. "And why in the world would I ever agree to that?!"
Lilith stepped closer, her expression turning ice-cold as she leaned in. "Because if you don't accept it, your death right now will be agonizing, slow, and full of pain. But if you take the deal, at least your end will be quick and painless if the worst ever happens. So... choose wisely."
Philo crossed her arms, letting out a heavy, cynical sigh. "This is going to feel completely ridiculous..."
Lilith's expression softened just a fraction, a gentle reassurance replacing her chilling demeanor. "Look, if you go through with this, I promise I'll make things worth your while. If you agree, we become family, and I swear I will protect my family with everything I have. Haruto is a good guy, but he needs reliable people supporting him to reach his true potential."
She stepped a bit closer, lowering her voice. "Plus, as a trade-off, I'll share a few classified secrets with you, and I'll make sure Gampid City welcomes you back with full privileges so you can rebuild your network and status however you like."
Philo stood in silence for a moment, weighing her options before giving a sharp nod. "Fine. But under one condition: everyone else needs to believe this was all just a massive illusion. When you two arrived here, the two of us supposedly already resolved our fight."
Lilith grinned, tossing her head back with a carefree laugh. "Deal."
With a quick flick of her wrist, Lilith channeled a bright, blinding pulse of white light that swept across the entire frozen expanse. As the abnormal light enveloped them, Lilith leaned in close to Philo, lowering her voice. "By the way, Philo... I know you copied my power earlier. But please, never try using it again. Trust me, it could literally make you sick to your stomach."
Philo swallowed hard, offering a tight, reluctant nod.
The moment the blinding white radiance faded, reality snapped back into place. Gelli and Daisy are still on the ground from where they lay unconscious in the snow. All around them, the shattered earth, pulverized boulders, and apocalyptic traces of their brutal combat vanished, seamlessly reverting back to the pristine, untouched snow of the wasteland as if nothing had ever happened.
Lilith turned back to Philo, her expression turning serious. "One more thing, Philo—I know what your true power is. You have the ability to analyze and copy anyone's skills and can also give it to someone else, including that time-manipulation abilities. Just... make sure you grant that temporal power to me now."
Philo let out a heavy breath, finally submitting. "Fine."
As their eyes flickered open, reality snapped seamlessly back to the revised timeline. Philo instantly positioned herself right at the exact second Lilith and Gelli materialized out of the spatial portal, perfectly orchestrating the illusion.
Daisy staggered over to her feet, rubbing her head in confusion.
Before anyone else could speak, Philo dropped smoothly to one knee, lowering her head in a theatrical, remorseful bow. "Daisy... I'm so sorry. I was just testing you and your limits. You're my comrade—I want us to stay united as a team."
The moment those words left her mouth, Gelli and Daisy froze completely, their jaws dropping in absolute shock as they stared at Philo in disbelief.
Lilith, however, maintained the best expression of all. She just stood there with a calm, knowing smile playing on her lips, enjoying the performance.
Beneath her composed exterior, Philo's heart was hammering against her ribs, and a cold sweat broke out across her skin. Even after copying this power and using my mana, I could only force time backward by a measly 20 seconds... she thought, casting a terrified sideways glance at Lilith. She rewound the entire fabric of reality back by a full three to four minutes without breaking a sweat.
Philo swallowed hard, a profound sense of dread washing over her soul. To alter time on that scale... she isn't just strong. She's an absolute, unmitigated monster.