yasinovel Chapter 184 Betrayal and Truth!
Chapter 184 Betrayal and Truth!
Chapter 184 Betrayal and Truth!
Nia's pupils suddenly contracted.
Hick's icy voice, like a venomous snake, instantly burrowed into his mind, coiling around and extinguishing any remaining hesitation in his mind.
His knuckles turned white from gripping the staff too tightly, but all the struggle on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by an almost numb obedience.
He looked at the wildly burning, almost indistinguishable golden-red figure ahead, a complex, indescribable emotion flashing across his eyes, but ultimately settling into a resolute coldness.
"Yes, Lord Hick."
He recited it silently in his heart, his tone completely flat.
Just as Silian withstood all the attacks and recklessly shot the spear of light, imbued with all her pain and rage, toward the base of the spire, triggering a violent explosion.
Just as her old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated, her body was at its most vulnerable and unbalanced due to severe injuries and the enormous recoil!
Nia moved!
His movements were as fast as a ghost, without any warning!
The magnificent staff in his hand, which had always shone with pure light and provided assistance and protection to Silian, suddenly dimmed and deepened at the tip!
The holy runes carved on the staff twisted and deformed, turning into flowing, shadowy chains of phantoms!
Instead of attacking any enemy, he abruptly turned his staff around and aimed it at the back of Sirian, who was completely unprepared for his attack!
"In the name of Lord Hick!"
Nia's voice was icy cold, devoid of any of her previous anxiety and concern.
"Imprisonment!"
call out!
A jet-black energy beam, far more refined and malevolent than Sori's shadow chains, and shimmering with countless tiny, eerie runes, burst forth from the top of the staff!
Wherever it goes, even the chaotic energy currents around it are forcibly pushed aside and eroded!
The timing of this attack was extremely malicious!
The angle is incredibly tricky!
Silian was consumed by a frenzied urge for revenge and self-destruction, using all her senses to lock onto the enemies and nodes ahead.
The power within his body was temporarily disrupted by the outburst just now, leaving him completely unprepared for the deadly attack coming from the direction of his "most trusted comrade"!
Pfft—!
The jet-black energy beam struck Sirian in the back with perfect accuracy!
The wildly burning golden-red holy flames seemed to have been splashed with extremely cold water, emitting a piercing hissing sound, and instantly dimmed!
The energy beam did not cause a huge explosion wound. Instead, it instantly split into countless fine black threads, like a living thing, and frantically drilled into her body, wrapping around her energy core, her soul, and the passage connecting her to the Tower of Eternity!
"Ugh—!"
Sillian let out a short, extremely painful groan, and her forward momentum came to an abrupt halt!
The holy flames surrounding her seemed to be forcibly extinguished, flickering violently a few times before quickly becoming unpredictable, with the violent crimson and despairing grayness frantically eroding the last remaining golden light.
She turned around incredulously and with great difficulty.
What met her golden eyes, which had shrunk from the pain and extreme shock, was Nia's cold and unfamiliar face, and the staff in his hand that was radiating ominous shadow energy.
"————Ni————·————?"
Her voice was broken and filled with utter bewilderment and a despair that was even deeper and more crushing than when she was struck by Rabble or when she discovered the betrayal of the Tower of Eternity.
She could endure the cruelty of the enemy, and face the collapse of her faith.
But she never imagined that this last "comrade-in-arms," this seemingly comrade-in-arms, would deliver the most fatal blow from behind when she was most vulnerable and defenseless!
At that moment, the world seemed to have completely lost all sound and color.
Rabble's roar, Sorey's shrill laughter, Ginny's commands, the experimental subjects' screams —
Everything seemed to be separated by a thick layer of glass, becoming distant and blurry.
She could only clearly see Nia's emotionless eyes and the staff of shadow that had pierced her last glimmer of hope.
Why?
Before the thought could even fully form, the shadow energy that had invaded her body suddenly erupted, frantically devouring her power, restricting her movements, and polluting the essence of her soul!
The holy flames on her body quickly died out, and her body, like a puppet with its strings cut, fell helplessly from the sky.
"Mission completed."
Nia watched the falling figure and, in a completely calm tone, whispered her statement towards the empty space.
The staff in his hand shimmered with light, quickly returning to its original pure and noble appearance, as if the vicious and deadly attack had never happened.
At the top of the shadowy spire, Sori let out a triumphant and arrogant laugh.
"Well done, Nia! Absolutely brilliant!"
Rabul withdrew his dragon breath, a hint of disdain for the traitor's actions flashing in his cold dragon eyes, but more so, awe for Hick's unfathomable scheming.
Ginny tilted her head, watching the falling Silrian, her red eyes showing even greater interest.
"Wow, what an unexpected and wonderful twist!"
Sean reformed his form and silently watched everything. The white spores around him rippled slightly, and no one knew what he was calculating.
The destructive energy that had been condensing in the mouth of Subject Six slowly dissipated.
The team members that Nia brought were all stunned. They stared at Nia in disbelief, then at the rapidly falling Srian, their faces filled with shock, disbelief, and deep-seated fear!
They simply couldn't comprehend what was happening before their eyes!
"Ni—Nia? What—what did you do to Srian?!"
One of the team members gasped in shock, his voice trembling.
Nia slowly turned around, her face revealing undisguised mockery.
"Of course, it's to carry out Lord Hick's supreme will. To eliminate the out-of-control, useless pieces."
These words were like a final death knell, striking heavily on the hearts of all the team members who still harbored a sliver of hope, plunging them completely into despair.
As Sillian fell, her golden eyes, gradually eroded by gray, finally reflected the eerie sky shrouded in heavy shadows, and—
The betrayal from "comrades" is far darker than this shadow.
"I always—I always thought—we were at least comrades—"
Sirian's words were tinged with deathly silence; clearly, even though she had managed to escape this time, the flame in her heart had been completely extinguished.
She was really exhausted.
"Heh, Sillian, from the very beginning of Leo and York's relationship, it was destined that we could never be allies!"
Nia's eyes were filled with cold mockery, as if she were about to unleash years of pent-up resentment all at once.
"You know what? That deadly map from Operation Canyon was originally meant for me! If you hadn't so easily believed York's nonsense and stuck to that wrong route—Leo and those stupid guys wouldn't be dead at all!"
Silian's falling body jolted violently, not from the impact, but from Nia's words, which pierced her last defenses more cruelly than any physical attack.
"————Leo————York————"
The two names, almost buried by time and hatred, spilled from her broken lips. In her golden eyes, which were about to dim completely, a trace of extreme pain and—utter understanding—flashed.
So that's the truth.
That canyon tragedy that happened many years ago, which took the life of her beloved Leo and countless close companions!
The disaster she always attributed to the cunning ambush of the dark wizard —
Its source is actually hidden right next to us!
Nia's mocking and distorted expression magnified in her blurred vision.
"The map—it was originally yours—"
Sirian's voice was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, yet it carried a deathly clarity.
"So—York might not be the traitor—the real traitor—is—you—"
"Of course! But York forced me into this! It was all of you—you forced me to this point!"
Nia's words were filled with the twisted pleasure of tearing open a secret that had been buried for many years!
My beloved Leo, those once vibrant and passionate junior students, this is how they met their demise!
What a huge joke!
And she, Silian, was escorted out by her lover Leo at the cost of his life, inheriting that heavy will and hatred—
From beginning to end, he was just a pawn manipulated by all sides!
They were even referred to as the "Twin Stars of the White Wizards" alongside the real traitors?
This is absolutely ironic!
The betrayal of the Eternal Tower, Hick's grand conspiracy, and Nya's fatal defection—
All the fragments of clues were pieced together at this moment, revealing a complete picture of darkness that was suffocating.
She stopped falling.
It wasn't that someone caught it, but rather that the shadow energy that had invaded its body completely erupted!
It transformed into countless dark, heavy rune chains, binding her tightly in mid-air, like a dying butterfly nailed to a display board of fate.
The last holy flame flickered for a moment before finally going out completely.
Instead, a deathly gray aura of despair emanated from her body.
And the eerie runes on the shadowy chains, constantly flickering and greedily sucking away her last bit of life and soul energy.
"----Oh----"
Sillian let out a very soft laugh, a laugh without hatred or anger, only a desolate silence.
"————What a————beautifully crafted————cruel joke————"
Her eyes slowly closed, and the last glimmer of life vanished like the receding tide.
Those golden eyes, once burning with the flames of revenge and shining with unwavering faith, finally dimmed completely, reflecting the shadow-shrouded sky, and—
In a daze, she seemed to see Leo, her family, and her mentor Calvin waving to her.
She stopped struggling and stopped feeling pain.
Perhaps, for her, who had finally seen through all the cruel truths, eternal darkness was the only and final liberation.
Nia stared indifferently at the lifeless body bound by chains of shadow, her face devoid of any expression, only the cold indifference of someone who had accomplished their mission.
The staff in his hand still shone with a holy and pure light, as if the backstabbing and killing had never happened.
Sorey's maniacal laughter, Rabble's silence, Ginny's curiosity, Sean's quiet observation —
All of this became the pale background noise of this final sacrifice.
Hick's will was carried out in the most thorough and perfect way.
Sillian, finally — "reunited".
In the most ironic and tragic way, she, along with everything she loved, thought, hated, and resented, became a silent sacrifice in the same grand conspiracy in eternal nothingness.