Volume 1 Chapter 695

Chapter 695: Release!

From the instant Lolthlinda manifested in this place, Maria Diana’s fate had been irrevocably sealed.

This succubus would not spare her.

Maria Diana understood this with crystalline clarity.

Though the conclusion remained unavoidable for her,

The unfolding path to this end still managed to startle her profoundly.

Dorothy, her ostensibly incompetent niece whom she’d always deemed worthless, had dealt the final blow herself… This constituted a possibility Maria Diana had never truly entertained.

Yet reality unfolded precisely thus.

Slumped against the throne while sensing her draining vitality, she began chuckling with labored breaths.

Though her formidable power had temporarily deserted her, rendering her as insignificant as an ant before Dorothy,

This niece who should rightfully harbor bottomless hatred toward her didn’t claim immediate vengeance.

Instead, after hearing Maria Diana’s rasping admission "You’ve triumphed,"

Dorothy displayed no trace of victorious elation.

She merely paused in contemplation before turning toward Lolth beside her.

"Teacher, might I have a moment with my aunt?"

At this request, Lolth inclined her head gracefully.

"The choice was ever yours… My consent holds no bearing here."

"Shall I grant you privacy?"

When Lolth posed this, Dorothy shook her head gently.

"Unnecessary… Simply allow me brief moments."

With these words, Dorothy ascended toward Maria Diana’s dais.

Her measured footsteps echoed across marble steps until she halted before the fallen matriarch.

The young woman then sank into a graceful crouch.

Studying her aunt’s pallid features through half-lidded eyes,

Maria Diana found herself truly observing her niece for the first time –

The lustrous cascade of hair, the luminous gaze shimmering like twin moons through morning mist,

Eerily reminiscent of her sister’s visage.

"What would you know?"

Maria Diana finally croaked after protracted silence, her voice unwittingly gentling.

"You must anticipate my question, Aunt. Tell me of Mother’s true condition," Dorothy murmured, moonlight catching her trembling lashes. "Does genuine life still flicker within her? What venomous circumstance plunged her into eternal slumber?"

The inquiry hung between them like frozen breath.

Maria Diana’s gaze grew distant, drifting through memory’s veils.

"Ah… Your sister’s tale then…"

In that moment, as Anya Diana was mentioned—the current nominal queen of Golden Peacock—Maria Diana seemed to shed her mantle as the kingdom’s regent.

Memories cascaded through her mind.

The childhood years with her ever-vibrant elder sister:

"Maria, let’s escape these tedious etiquette lessons! There’s no point in attending anyway!"

"Maria—why don’t you become the princess instead? I’d rather explore the world than sit through dreary statecraft lectures!"

"You’re so much cleverer than me, Maria. Had you been born first, I could’ve happily remained a decorative vase."

The rebellious youth whose courage outshone her own:

"Maria… I’m slipping beyond the palace walls tonight. You wouldn’t betray me to the guards, would you?"

"Maria, this continent’s splendor takes different forms in every region. We must witness them all!"

"Maria, even royals deserve the right to choose their own ‘fate’!"

The whimsical yet dependable sibling during crucial moments:

"Afraid of the dark, little Maria? Fear not—your sister’s here."

"Don’t care for this tale? Pah! Once I’ve journeyed to the world’s edge, I’ll show you visions that’ll banish all fears!"

"Maria! Mother warned these forbidden texts contain dangerous powers—they’re not for children!"

When had their bond transformed into its current state?

Was it when her sister’s worldview expanded?

"Maria… the world beyond isn’t as wondrous as we imagined."

When compassion for their subjects turned to guilt?

"Maria… Today I passed a child in the royal city—mother starved, father bedridden… in this abundant year."

When marriage brought forth the unwelcome niece before her?

"Maria… you came…"

"Behold my darling daughter… She’ll grow as sharp-witted as her aunt."

Or when the bloodline’s curse nearly claimed Dorothy’s life?

"Maria, Dorothy worsens… What remedy remains?"

"I know it’s forbidden magic, but desperation leaves no choice…"

"Should I fall, Golden Peacock and my child… entrust them to you."

Yes.

This ill-omened child stole her sister first.

Now it covets the kingdom entrusted to her.

To protect her sister’s realm and legacy, Maria bargained with demons—claiming mighty powers and a Divine Artifact.

She silenced critics of her sister’s policies, crushed all opposition, striving to build the utopia her sister envisioned.

Yet…

But… why had she failed?

She gazed at Dorothy before her, who sought the "truth," and yearned to pour forth every venomous reality and her own searing resentment.

"It was you—because of you—that your mother, my sister Anya Diana, became a soulless husk ravaged by the curse!"

"For a wretch like you who should’ve perished at birth, my sister was forced to barter her soul repeatedly just to sustain your feeble existence!"

Yet when the words rose to her lips, Maria Diana swallowed them all.

Instead, the corners of her mouth twitched upward,

revealing that trademark smile of icy arrogance—cruel and unyielding.

"My dear niece, obviously I coveted the throne and cursed my sister until her soul dissipated!"

"Since childhood, I envied her sharper mind and the favor she claimed as the elder!"

"I vowed to steal all that was hers and obliterate every memory of her—until everything became mine!"

"Even if you defeat me today… not an ounce of remorse or mercy shall you wring from me."

Maria lifted the cursed tome, rising unsteadily from the floor.

"Death won’t break me; defeat won’t extract confession—so perish, dear niece!"

As she spat these words, her trembling fingers flipped through pages, channeling every remnant of magic.

"Manifest… the Gate of Curses!"

Maria Diana’s soul fractured as an obsidian portal yawned open.

The emanating aura struck a chilling familiarity in all three witnesses—

especially Lolth.

This marked nearly the third occasion Lolth had witnessed hell’s passage unfurl.

"The Western Pillar of Hell’s Demon God… the Curse Deity itself…"

She exhaled sharply and advanced.

In an instant, she materialized before Maria Diana.

"Apologies. While your theatrics were entertaining, whatever scheme you—"

"—ends now."

Lolth raised a finger as she spoke.

Divine-tier power—not mere magic—erupted from her,

residual energy siphoned from three deities during her clash with the Saintess-elect, the Lady of Light.

She’d quietly hoarded this stolen might.

The sacred torrent scoured the magic environment, violently disrupting Maria Diana’s soul-sacrificing ritual.

"Begone!!!"

With this verdict, Maria Diana slammed backward into her chair!

And there, Maria Diana erupted into true, unhinged laughter.

Even if her soul had been permanently and irreversibly damaged beyond half, even if her remaining days could only be spent in a haze like her sister’s final months after the interrupted ritual, she still laughed wildly.

"It’s beyond redemption now, succubus!"

"The conclusion… is inevitable!"

She proclaimed like a judge delivering verdict.

"You speak of the infernal demon’s descent?"

Lolth turned to face the gaping Gate of Hell.

"See for yourself—does It dare trespass beyond this threshold?"

Behind the hellish portal, infinite curses seethed…

Countless covetous eyes peered through the void…

Yet none dared answer the challenge or overstep.

"Xiletor, should you permit this creature’s passage, I shall be profoundly disappointed."

Lolth murmured softly, then after deliberate pause added:

"Indeed, even with the architect confirmed, if you allow Its undisturbed observation here, my disappointment would be equally profound."

As Lolth’s soliloquy faded,

Both her consciousness and the nether side of the Gate…

Resounded with simultaneous lamentations.

"Alas…"

"You witness, Saskratu—’tis not my will that compels this."

"My beloved sister has decreed…"

"This remains family business… Though we share blood, her ‘assistance’ binds me…"

"Thus, inaction becomes unconscionable."

"Do you confess to corrupting my lineage and seducing my kin?"

A argent blaze cleaved dimensional membranes.

Beyond the Gate, droplet-shaped magical flames permeated spatial barriers, coalescing into Lolth’s familiar adversary—

Plain braided hair, uncharacteristically modest armor for a succubus, and the obsidian rapier gleaming in her grip.

"Saskratu. Well met."

"Prepared for farewells?"

She declared, unsheathing her blade.

All amethyst-hued "curses" materialized into quaking forces—

Not weapons of retaliation, but tremors of dread.

"Stay your hand—Xiletor!"

"I breached no boundaries!"

"You cannot kill me… otherwise… the will of the realm…"

Hearing the nearly whimpering plea, Xiletor shrugged.

"Cease your barking, Sasclatu. I won’t kill you."

"I’ll simply hack you into unconsciousness and leave you gasping for breath."

"Whether you perish afterward—who gives a damn?"

"Moreover, who claimed you didn’t overstep boundaries?"

"You stared at my beloved sister for an eternity—do you comprehend the magnitude of your transgression?"

As Xiletor spoke, she lifted her twin blades.

"Enough chatter!"

Her sword descended.

The last time Lolth witnessed such exquisite swordsmanship was when her sister-in-law Trish Diana had wielded her blade.

This ultimate manifestation of "the sword"—a strike so pristine it could cleave through existence itself—descended without flourish or embellishment, its purity enough to astonish the realm’s fabric.

Exactly like Trish Diana’s signature technique.

Hmm… After consideration, Lolth suspected they might share the same swordsmanship foundation.

Though identical in essence and similar in execution…

Lolth discerned crucial differences.

The force behind a sister-in-law disciplining her younger sibling differed vastly from Xiletor’s assault on the Hell Demon God’s pillar.

The might concentrated in Xiletor’s strike made Lolth perceive…

Reality itself fracturing.

Every shred of cursed energy dissipated upon being severed.

Unlike the Holy Light’s purifying effect—a reactive neutralization—this resembled true annihilation.

Observing this resplendent spectacle, Lolth finally grasped her sister’s true capabilities.

"So when this fool claimed slaying Hell Demon Gods was like butchering dogs… she wasn’t exaggerating…"

"Frankly, it’s almost disrespectful to canines…"

She murmured, turning toward Maria Diana.

The silver-haired woman’s mostly disintegrated soul now wore a grotesque smile, madness creeping into her features.

Yet coherent thought remained.

"Well… witnessed it?"

"Your precious dignity proves equally worthless."

As Lolth spoke, Maria Diana shook her head.

"Dignity?"

"That… was never my pursuit."

As the words faded…

Her interrupted soul-crumbling recommenced.

This madwoman had embedded countless curses within her essence—harmless yet inseparable from her being.

As the curse concepts disintegrated, her soul’s structural supports collapsed anew.

Suddenly Lolth understood.

Maria Diana’s earlier "sentencing" tone, while partially directed at herself and Dorothy…

Mostly pronounced her own fate!

For Lolth, who’d wished her to suffer prolonged torment, this outcome proved utterly unexpected.

But for Maria Diana…

Her final expression showed serene relief.

How splendid—to embrace death through the same method as her sister.