Chapter 215: 151. Elizabeth’s Universal Request
As Elizabeth casually wielded the incredibly light golden sword in her hand, the scorching golden flames once again became intense and erratic, with the flames pointed directly at Jasmine, the Whale Folk, who was lying on the ground in front of her, restrained by the soldiers.
Fisher’s expression changed; just as he was about to intervene, the soldiers behind him suddenly raised their long spears, and as a flicker of magical light shone, a chain-like arc of lightning spread from the spear, rushing directly towards Fisher.
Four-ring magic, 【Lightning Chain】.
“Zizi!”
The chain formed from the lightning instantaneously bound Fisher. The magic did not inflict substantial harm but continued to spread a tingling sense of weakness. The more he struggled, the stronger that sense of weakness became.
“It’s okay, Fisher, just wait a moment. Once I deal with this fish, we’ll go back, alright?”
With a smile, Elizabeth’s voice was as gentle as an angel, but the golden sword in her hand shone brightly as she looked at Jasmine before her as if she were looking at a dead person. No, she was looking at a dead fish.
The golden flames became even brighter as Elizabeth raised her weapon, pointing the blade directly at Jasmine beneath her. Fisher struggled, but the soldiers beside him also raised their long spears, using lightning lasso to keep him restrained.
“Jasmine!”
As the blade in Elizabeth’s hand drew closer, she raised the butcher’s knife high, heading directly for Jasmine. Yet, in the last moment before blood would flow like a river, perhaps awakened by Fisher’s voice, Jasmine suddenly opened her eyes.
She wasn’t even aware of what was happening, but her body, sensing danger, reacted instinctively. The tail that lay on the ground pushed suddenly, rolling her away from the strike, while the sword’s momentum continued to spread, carving the ground unevenly.
“Fisher? Your Highness Elizabeth?”
Jasmine, who had dodged first, glanced around. Upon seeing Fisher being subdued by the Royal Soldiers, she realized the gravity of the situation. Just as she expressed her confusion, Elizabeth leaned on her sword and laughed.
“This is just wonderful. Dying mindlessly or dying with clarity, it doesn’t matter. As long as Jasmine dies, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
Elizabeth’s hollow eyes slowly fell, and as Jasmine’s reflection began to appear in them, Elizabeth’s gentle smile abruptly ceased. She suddenly lifted the golden sword, using the blade to shield half of her face, revealing only a pair of golden eyes filled with pure killing intent.
“I want all women to see what happens to those who get close to Fisher. You are the first.”
In the next moment, she swung her sword in a circle, and boundless golden flames awakened completely, transforming into the twisted Godlin triple patterns mid-air. Jasmine just wanted to fall back when she discovered the flames behind her had risen like a firewall, cutting off her escape route. Jasmine had no opportunity to speak; Elizabeth’s pure intent to kill her had already surpassed any explanation.
Jasmine could only press her lips together, clench her fists, and look towards Elizabeth. With her tail raised, she no longer sought to evade and charged towards Elizabeth.
She didn’t even know what was happening, but it seemed the only option was to subdue Elizabeth first.
However, Elizabeth, holding the sword, her golden pupils flickered rapidly, precisely sensing every possible point of attack or dodge from Jasmine in that instant. The next moment, her golden sword trembled slightly, with flames taking the place of her counterattack.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
“Mm!”
The waves of flames carrying intense heat struck Jasmine’s body in quick succession, on her palms, thighs, and tail. The fierce heat caused severe burns on Jasmine. Crying out in pain in mid-air, Jasmine retreated again, moving back to a place isolated by the flames.
But Elizabeth had no intention of letting Jasmine go.
The terrifying waves of flames seemed to spread boundlessly from Elizabeth’s feet, the scorching heat accompanied by a whirlwind disheveling her golden hair, casting her as both noble and insane. She fixated on Jasmine, watching her struggle helplessly in the heat and retreat.
Jasmine gritted her teeth, and black liquid began to flow from her eyes. Pushed to the brink by Elizabeth, Jasmine had no choice but to use her curse ability to drain life force.
However, Elizabeth had long anticipated this tactic. With a cold smirk, she gripped the hilt of the golden sword in reverse, aiming it at Jasmine like a javelin. She abruptly stepped back and hurled the golden sword fiercely.
An endless wave of flames took the form of a fiery tornado, trailing the flying golden sword. Jasmine had just prepared to use her curse before it became too late, watching helplessly as the destructive heat rushed towards her.
“Clang!”
But at the crucial moment, a fluid blade like mercury suddenly leaped out from within the flaming wall formed by the golden flames, striking fiercely against the shaft of the golden sword, producing a sharp crack. The golden sword was abruptly diverted, heading towards the nearby Nali Lake.
The golden firestorm behind also followed the golden sword into the Nali Lake, but the icy lake water did not halt the fire’s burning; rather, it acted as an unintended catalyst. Soon, the flames spread across the surface of the lake, igniting the entire Nali Lake in an instant.
The large Nali Lake was now entirely enveloped in a layer of scorching golden flames, forming a sea of fire. Before this burning sea of flames, a cold-faced Elizabeth and Jasmine, who was clutching her body to prevent being stabbed by the golden sword, simultaneously looked towards Fisher. There, several soldiers clutched their lower abdomens in pain, collapsing on the ground, while more soldiers pointed their guns at him.
“Even now you want to protect this fish! The more you do this, the more I want to kill her! I want to hollow out every place in your heart occupied by these women, piece by piece, to make space.”
“Boom!”
Watching Fisher make a move, Elizabeth’s words were chilling. The flames on the Nali Lake grew even more fervent with her rage, shooting up like columns of fire into the sky, and the golden sword reappeared in her hand.
Breathing heavily, Fisher didn’t respond. The wounds from their previous battle had yet to heal, and the injury to his lower abdomen caused by Blake had begun to bleed again. After all, Eil was not a professional doctor and could only manage to bind a bone and stop the bleeding to a degree.
Looking at the fresh blood seeping from Fisher’s lower abdomen, Elizabeth’s previously icy expression instantly melted.
“Wait, your wound, I’ll—”
“Clang!”
But she hadn’t finished speaking when Fisher lunged at her with the fluid sword. Elizabeth hurriedly raised her sword to block, and the moment their weapons collided, a violent friction erupted. Even so, her gaze was still fixated on the wound on Fisher’s lower abdomen.
As their powers clashed, the blood flowing from his wound became increasingly profuse. Elizabeth’s pupils narrowed slightly, she suddenly relaxed her strength, and Fisher effortlessly pressed her down to the ground.
“Thud!”
Fisher easily pushed Elizabeth back to the ground. The fall wasn’t forceful but was sudden, even Fisher hadn’t expected her to suddenly loosen her strength.
“Your Highness!”
“Stand down!”
Just as Jasmine was about to rise, the soldiers nearby raised their weapons. But almost simultaneously, Elizabeth, pressed under Fisher, raised her hand and issued a command to the nearby soldiers to cease their attacks.
Military orders are absolute; all soldiers didn’t hesitate and immediately lowered their weapons, though they remained vigilant, watching Fisher and the fidgeting Jasmine closely.
At that moment, Elizabeth, lying beneath Fisher, had her golden hair and her once pristine white dress spilled out like a rose with scattered petals, unguarded against Fisher’s fluid sword.
The cunning, calculating Elizabeth now appeared to Fisher as fragile as glass. The vacant fragility in her beautiful golden eyes only deepened her silence; she didn’t utter a single word as Fisher’s blade continued to approach her.
But that deadly silence did nothing to relieve Fisher; rather, it felt as though it was torturing his soul, making it impossible for him to strike.
After a long while, Fisher slowly withdrew the fluid sword, transforming it into a harmless black hilt. With a sigh, he said, “I lost, Elizabeth.”
But Elizabeth only scoffed, saying, “Do you think I wish to engage in a contest to determine who is smarter? Or are you feeling regret for not noticing the signs of my plan, feeling remorse for today’s outcome?”
“Even now, do you think I care about anything else?! If Fisher wants to kill me, so be it. I will gladly accept. As long as we are together, it makes no difference.”
The golden sword in her hand had vanished; Elizabeth gazed up at Fisher, gently reaching out to caress his face, just as she often imagined at the Royal Academy.
They were meant to be together. They would be the envy of couples, living happily side by side.
And even today, even if Fisher had never loved her, she could only hold on to the bare minimum of hope.
They would be together!
Fisher didn’t withdraw his hand from Elizabeth’s, for at that moment, he realized just how scorching the golden flames were in the distance, and how icy her skin was, the bone-chilling coldness seemingly seeping from her hollow heart, making it impossible for him to warm her body.
His body was also imbued with a hint of her coldness, deepening the weight in his heart.
“Elizabeth, I truly am filled with regret.”
“Because that poor boy named Fisher Benavides made it to the Royal Academy from the orphanage with just a bit of talent and luck, yet he never imagined the dazzling eldest princess would take a liking to him. The princess not only did not look down on him, but poured all her feelings into him, yet he did not accompany her to the very end.”
“I have always wondered, if at that time I hadn’t avoided, hadn’t neglected you, if I had stood by you to face the difficulties together, would we not be in this situation today? Whenever I recall the deaths of Blake, Muxi, Anna, and the others due to you, I am filled with guilt towards you and them, Elizabeth. This is what I owe you; one day, I shall repay you, but it absolutely will not be today.”
“Sorry, today, I cannot return to the Golden Palace with you.”
Elizabeth’s gaze trembled, the impulse to cry was so evident, but her tear-stained lake had run dry, and she could not squeeze out a single tear.
“Do you think today I will let you and her leave?”
Fisher did not maintain the oppressive stance; he was slightly out of breath, one hand pressed against his lower abdomen, the other gently grasping Elizabeth’s fingers.
“Elwind is a scourge to this world; his target is me. Even if I stay in the Golden Palace, he will not give up. I can no longer bear to witness any more suffering caused by my negligence; I must kill him before he acts.”
“And, you are mistaken about one thing: Fisher Benavides has liked Elizabeth.”
“When I risked everything to compete for you in the Griffin Games at the Royal Academy, I genuinely loved you deeply and wanted to be responsible for your friendship and marry you.”
Elizabeth’s pupils narrowed slightly, her grip on Fisher’s hand tightened as her emotions surged.
Meanwhile, unseen by Fisher and Elizabeth, Jasmine gazed at the two conversing in the distance, silent and motionless, but the darkness in her eyes grew deeper, resentment swelling within her heart.
Fisher looked at Elizabeth, his earnest gaze landing directly in her golden eyes, piercing through the long-locked golden void sealed by chains, ultimately settling within her heart.
With her acute observational abilities, Elizabeth could easily discern the truth of his words, but at this moment, the warmth Fisher was giving her spread through her painfully scarred heart, and all it could evoke in her was pain.
But the more it hurt, the more she craved it.
She had waited far too long for Fisher’s affection, and while she had not possessed Pandora during her years at the Royal Academy, she could not see the depth of Fisher’s emotions hidden beneath his calm facade, which led to her doubts about whether he had ever loved her.
Yet, as smart as she was, deep down she understood that this warmth did not belong to her present self.
“…No matter what you say, I will never let you go again, whether you are reluctant or not. Even if I have to use force, I will confine you and keep you with me for a lifetime.”
Fisher remained silent and simply raised a finger to her.
This action, which might appear abstract to outsiders, Elizabeth easily understood its meaning.
She recalled that during her years at the Royal Academy, Fisher participated in the quadrennial college competition, the Griffin Games, and with his victory earned Elizabeth a “universal request.”
“Any request you can make to me, Elizabeth will comply.”
This promise, which became a tale in the Saint Nali circle, was the vow of love struck between Fisher Benavides and Elizabeth, an understanding akin to soulmates shared between them.
Fisher was using this vow to propose to her, and Elizabeth, through this promise, transcended the shackles of class and ideology to be with him.
But now, this request could no longer be used as it had in the past.
“Elizabeth, give me thirty minutes to leave here with Jasmine. And if one day I return to your side, whether willingly or you forcibly captured me, I will repay my debts to you and the innocent souls who have perished over the years. This is the blood oath of Fisher Benavides.”
Drops of crimson blood dripped from the wound on Fisher’s abdomen, staining Elizabeth’s white dress.
She looked at Fisher before her, speechless, struggling to articulate her dry words due to the warmth in her heart moments ago.
“. The Nali Royal Navy has completely sealed Saint Nali to prevent any changes, you cannot escape; even if you could, you would be pursued by my relentless bounty until the day you return to my side.”
“I understand.”
Fisher, pressing his abdomen, stood up and took a step back, responding.
But Elizabeth didn’t stand up; she even closed her eyes, as if opening them would cause her harm from seeing Fisher.
In the darkness and silence, she then said, “. Only twenty minutes.”
“I got it.”
But the more readily Fisher agreed, the angrier Elizabeth felt. The entirety of Nali Lake was engulfed by her golden flames; they could not escape through the waterways below. Now Saint Nali was sealed away by her fleet. If he stayed within Saint Nali, even if she had to turn the place upside down, she would find him.
Breathing heavily, as she opened her eyes again, she saw that Fisher had already disappeared. She slowly stood up, and all the soldiers nearby lowered their heads, not daring to look Elizabeth in the eye.
Meanwhile, a team of soldiers emerged from the museum, with the leading soldier carrying several items draped in light golden silk.
Although Elizabeth appeared somewhat disheveled, her authority had not diminished in the slightest; it was only in front of her beloved Fisher that she showed such obvious vulnerability.
“Your Highness, the items have been retrieved.”
Elizabeth turned her gaze to the entrance of this forbidden place, where the figures of Fisher and Jasmine were gradually fading away. She narrowed her eyes dangerously, stepping in front of the soldiers and reaching out to unveil the covered silk.
Beneath the silk lay a crown made of gold embedded with valuable gems, and on the crown’s peak was a prominently displayed intertwining Godlin pattern.
Next to the crown, there was also a golden scepter.
Looking at the items meant for her coronation, Elizabeth felt a bit disinterested. She gently covered the silk again and suddenly said to herself, “Ten minutes from now, search the entire city for Fisher Benavides. Ensure he is brought back to the Golden Palace safely, remember, alone.”
“Understood! Your Majesty, the esteemed Empress.”
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(The End of this Chapter)
