Cyrene couldn't help but chuckle softly as she watched Anaxa's expression of "I have suffered a mental shock, but I must maintain my composure."
In such a depressing environment, hearing news about Aglaea, even if it was just an insult, carried a reassuring sense of "reality."
"It seems Miss Aglaea... her style remains unchanged."
Cyrene's eyes curved, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
Elysian Realm.
In the corridor, it was so quiet now that only the echo of her own heartbeat could be heard.
Pardo cautiously shuffled her feet, her nimble cat eyes glancing warily left and right, her ears twitching slightly, trying to catch any unusual sound.
"Felice, oh Felice, you absolutely must stay calm..."
She whispered, her palms sweating slightly. "Please don't let it be the corruption, please don't let it be... my little body can't handle another round! It's better if the Paradise system is glitching, or if someone is playing a prank. Yes, it must be Sister Aponia testing some new 'Precepts,' or Sister Vill-V creating a super~ realistic holographic projection... In short, absolutely, definitely not the Herrscher of Corruption!"
She was almost performing a fervent prayer, trying to use optimism to dispel the chill in her heart.
Sister Elysia was gone, and Griseo was gone too. The Paradise had suddenly become empty and strange, causing this little cat, accustomed to surviving in the cracks, an unprecedented panic.
Just then, a long, narrow shadow silently crept up from behind and slowly enveloped her.
Pardo's body stiffened completely, her hair standing on end!
She spun around abruptly—
A black figure stood silently a few steps away, wearing a wide hat. The shadow cast by the brim completely obscured the face, with only a black and purple dress outlining a vague silhouette.
She was slowly raising a hand encased in a black glove, reaching toward the center of Pardo's back.
Pardo was scared out of her wits. She wanted to scream, but her throat felt constricted, only allowing faint "hissing" sounds to escape, and her body was too stiff to move.
"I found you."
A clear, cold female voice, like an icy spring, suddenly rang out!
At the same time, a fierce blade light, like a crescent moon tearing through the darkness, instantly sliced between Pardo and the black figure!
The extreme cold emanating from the blade caused the moisture in the air to condense into tiny ice crystals.
Sakura, holding the greatsword named Ice Prison Hells, stood tall and straight like a pine tree, firmly blocking Pardo.
Her pink long hair moved without wind, and the fox ears atop her head stood straight up, displaying intense vigilance.
Her cold blue eyes locked onto the black figure ahead, her entire being radiating a chilling aura that warned others to keep their distance.
"You must be the mastermind."
Sakura's voice was utterly devoid of warmth; it was a statement, not a question.
Her blade tip lowered slightly, adopting the optimal starting stance for an attack.
The black figure seemed unsurprised by Sakura's sudden appearance. She lightly retreated half a step, avoiding the area where the blade's edge was strongest.
A few playful chuckles came from beneath the brim of the hat.
"Heh..."
She did not answer Sakura's question. Instead, she reminded her in a leisurely tone, "Why don't you... look behind you?"
Sakura frowned slightly. This kind of low-level distraction technique was commonplace in the countless battles she had experienced.
She trusted her judgment completely. Her gaze did not shift at all, and her full attention remained firmly fixed on the enemy ahead.
However—
"Sakura... Sister Ying..."
Pardo's voice came from behind, filled with incomprehensible panic and a deep sense of helplessness.
Damn it!
Sakura's heart dropped sharply!
In the end, she still turned her head, glancing behind her with the corner of her eye.
With just one look, her blood almost instantly froze.
Purplish-red data streams had already wrapped around Pardo's body!
They covered half of her body and had even crept up half of her cheek.
One of Pardo's beautiful eyes, which always sparkled with cleverness and a hint of eagerness to please, still retained its original color and was filled with fear and confusion, while the other... had been completely corrupted by the strange purplish-red data, losing focus, like a broken glass bead.
Pardo reached out to her, seemingly trying to ask for help, but her movements had become stiff, like a marionette.
"Pardo—!"
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