Elegy from Another World

We drove back to Utopia without stopping, taking nearly eight hours even at full speed on the magic-powered motorcycle. Inside the carriage, Tia held her unconscious sister Tina tightly, who was convulsing and groaning in pain. I tried all sorts of healing magic—light-based healing spells, water-based nourishing spells, and even wood-based life-activating spells—but the magical light falling on Tina was like throwing mud into the sea; the wounds showed no signs of healing, only barely stopping the bleeding.

"Why... why can't it be cured..." Tia's voice was choked with sobs, each unconscious wail from her sister cutting into her heart like a knife.

"She may have some kind of restriction or curse on her that we don't know about," I said in a deep voice, adding that we could only perform simple cleaning and bandaging for now.

After eight agonizing hours, we finally returned to Utopia. Xiao Bei, who had already received the news, was waiting at the entrance. We quickly took Tina to the medical room, where Xiao Bei manipulated her sophisticated diagnostic tentacles to perform a full scan.

The result was alarming: "Lady Liscia, Miss Tina is afflicted with a very powerful and malevolent curse! This curse not only prevents external treatments from working, but it is also continuously draining her life force and soul energy! Her current state... is like an oil lamp running out of oil, with almost no life force left!"

"Can the curse be lifted?" Tia asked anxiously.

"The conventional method of breaking the curse requires killing the caster or forcibly purifying it using an item imbued with powerful divine energy," Xiao Bei replied. "We currently do not possess such a sacred object."

"Divine power?" I suddenly looked at Zoimem beside me. "Zoimem, in many legends, isn't the white dragon a symbol of purity and holiness? Does your blood have a purifying effect?"

Zoim paused for a moment, then nodded: "Dragon blood does indeed contain powerful magic, especially the blood of a white dragon, which has a certain restraining effect on darkness and curses. We can give it a try."

Without further ado, we took a small cup of Zoymem's blood and carefully applied it to Tina's wound.

"laugh--!"

The moment the blood touched her skin, wisps of black smoke rose up. Tina's body trembled violently, and she let out a painful groan, but the cold and evil aura surrounding the wound clearly began to dissipate!

"It works!" Tia exclaimed in surprise.

We continued to wipe her with dragon blood, and with Xiao Bei's guidance, we spent a great deal of effort to finally completely remove the curse from Tina's body. As the black smoke dissipated, Tina's face was still pale, but her breathing had become much more stable.

The subsequent treatment went much more smoothly. Under the influence of healing magic and nutrient solutions, Tina's injuries began to heal slowly, but her body was too weak, and the recovery was very slow. Tia stayed by her bedside without leaving her side, her eyes filled with heartache and lingering fear.

Now, the biggest question before us is: where is the culprit Aslo hiding? We searched the Valencia mansion and found only the tortured Tina and the evil magic circle, but no trace of Aslo.

Xiao Bei offered a suggestion: "Perhaps we can try to find clues in Miss Tina's memories. She may have inadvertently heard or seen something."

"But her memories..." I hesitated, for they must be an abyss filled with pain.

"I want to see!" Tia said firmly. "No matter how painful it is, I need to know where that beast is!"

We carefully connected the still unconscious Tina to the symbiotic network using our tentacles. Instantly, a vast torrent of emotions and fragments of memories, filled with despair, fear, and pain, flooded our consciousness. Tina burst into tears, her body trembling with anger and grief.

We searched painstakingly through that dark ocean of memories, filtering out most of the scenes of torture and despair, and finally found a clue in a vague memory of Tina before she was taken into the underground space.

In her memory, Aslo briefly appeared outside the cell where she was imprisoned, impatiently yelling at his subordinates, "...Speed ​​things up here! The cultivation of the 'seed' cannot stop! I must see progress when I return from the 'Deep Well' in the northern part of the Gloomy Forest!"

"The 'Deep Well' in the northern part of the Ghost Forest?" I immediately recognized the place name.

"Xiao Bei, immediately mobilize all reconnaissance units and focus your search on the northern part of the Ghostlight Forest, looking for any places resembling deep pits, well-like structures, or unusual magical fluctuations!"

Shortly after the order was given, a reconnaissance vehicle transmitted images—a huge, bottomless pit about ten meters in diameter was discovered in a secluded valley in the northern part of the forest. There were signs of recent human activity around the pit entrance, and powerful shielding magic fluctuations were detected.

"That's it!" A vengeful fire burned fiercely in Tia's eyes. She gently released her sister's hand, wiped away her tears, and stood up, radiating a chilling killing intent. "Lady Liscia, this time, I will go! I will make him pay the price myself!"

"Alright!" I nodded. "A blood debt must be paid in blood!"

The operation took place inside the Gloomy Forest, so camouflage was unnecessary. We brought all available individual combat equipment: magical firearms, enchanted weapons, plenty of magic crystals, and our ace vehicle—the "Dragon's Roar" heavy assault platform, remotely controlled by Selebreit, serving as our mobile firepower fortress.

The team quickly reached the target pit. The pit's edges were steep, and its bottom was nowhere in sight. We maneuvered several reconnaissance vehicles, slowly descending along the narrow ramps carved into the pit walls.

After descending several hundred meters, man-made passages appeared ahead, winding in all directions, like an underground labyrinth. The air was filled with the smell of mildew and a faint trace of magic.

"Be careful, the terrain here is complicated and it's easy for ambushes to take place," I warned.

Sure enough, they hadn't gone far when the rock walls on both sides suddenly opened hidden doors, and countless poisoned crossbow bolts and magic missiles rained down upon them! At the same time, some warriors with fanatical eyes rushed out of the shadows, their bodies flashing with the red light of impending self-destruction!

"Fire! Dragon Roar! Shockwave clears the area!"

Intense firefights erupted in the narrow passage. Our firepower was overwhelmingly superior; the powerful attacks of our magical firearms and "Dragon's Roar" quickly suppressed the ambush, and the suicide bombers were either detonated prematurely or killed from a distance. However, the enemy's frenzy and the maze-like terrain still caused us some trouble, consuming a considerable amount of time and ammunition.

After a fierce battle, we finally broke through layers of defenses and arrived at the deepest part of the maze—a huge underground cave. In the center of the cave, there was a structure resembling an altar, and a figure draped in black robes stood facing us on the altar, seemingly performing some kind of ritual.

"Aslo!" Upon seeing her enemy, Tia could no longer contain her rage. Her body erupted in blazing flames, and she shot towards the altar like an arrow!

However, just as she was about to touch Aslo, an invisible and incredibly strong magical barrier suddenly appeared! Tia slammed into the barrier and was bounced back by the enormous recoil.

"Hmph, foolish niece," Aslo sneered mockingly. "What a pity you're still alive!"

As he spoke, a deafening roar erupted from the entrance to the passage behind us! A massive dragon-splitting stone crashed down, completely sealing off our escape route! At the same time, boulders began to fall from the cave ceiling, not only blocking other possible exits but also isolating the "Dragon Roar" tanks and most of the reconnaissance vehicles following behind us! The thunderous sound of boulders hitting the ground echoed throughout the cave.

As the smoke cleared, only Tia, me, and our limited equipment remained in the cave, facing Aslo on the altar, who appeared unarmed but controlled everything.

It seems that in this final battle, the protagonists have once again become the two of us.