Dyon’s senses were rapidly fading. He couldn’t seem to circulate his wills, and he was rapidly losing control over his aurora. .

Even as his organs slowed, there was one thing that was becoming clear. This wasn’t meant to kill Dyon. If that was the case, then why had the dagger purposefully stopped before his heart? If Dyon’s heart had been damaged, then this would have been a nearly unsalvageable situation. But, Dyon’s death wasn’t this person’s only goal. They wanted him to suffer. Not just physically, but emotionally.

Despite Dyon’s slowed thoughts, he could still think much faster than the average person. He had immediately picked up on the fact that this person seemed intent on having Ri see that they were in Madeleine’s countenance before they disappeared.

Dyon never thought for even an instant that it was truly Madeleine after he felt the dagger stab into him. He wouldn’t waste brain cells believing such a thing. But, that didn’t make the situation any less terrible.

He knew he couldn’t focus on anything other than reversing this situation. Although this person’s goal wasn’t to kill Dyon, that was only in the short term. Dyon had little doubt that if this technique was given enough time, he would surely die.

He could feel what was meant to be a strong and probing pain, but at the moment, it wasn’t enough to cause Dyon discomfort. But, he could feel that it was steadily increasing as time went on.

The vitality that pumped through his veins now were so powerful that it was ironically becoming a detriment to him. His organs were slowly crystallizing under this odd technique, but, at the same time, his heart was relentlessly pumping. That may sound like a good thing, but in reality, that meant that the newly formed crystals were being cracked under the pressure due to its lack of elasticity. With every pump, Dyon felt as though his heart was coming closer and closer to shattering.

Ri’s hands found their way to Dyon’s chest and her eyes flashed with a bright blue as she swept her aurora through Dyon’s body. But, what she saw was something that made her tremble.

‘This has to be a will? Right?’ Ri didn’t know what to think. Red crystals were growing and coating Dyon’s organs. No, more accurately, they were becoming Dyon’s organs.

Coming to that conclusion, Ri immediately tried circulating her celestial will within Dyon, relying on her Elvin Queen’s Reign constitution to boost it to the 5th level.

Beads of sweat trickled down Ri’s forehead as Dyon could only watch.

In reality, Ri’s first action was the same action Dyon would have taken. Celestial will was an ultimate defense and had the ability to purify techniques and wills. Since Dyon was being afflicted with what was likely a combination of the two, celestial will should have helped. Unfortunately, Dyon’s ability to use his own celestial will was cut off and he was slowly losing his control over his aurora.

Thadius watched anxiously as Eli walked into the lobby area.

Seeing Dyon lying on the ground, worry and surprise colored Eli’s features as he rushed forward. He didn’t want to disturb Ri since she was clearly pushing herself so hard, but he couldn’t help but want to know what happened. He had just been with Dyon, how did things end up like this?

“Eli.” Ri’s voice was strained, but she had something to ask. It didn’t make sense for Dyon to let his guard down so easily, it didn’t even look like there had been a struggle. There were only three explanations. Either the person at the door was someone that Dyon knew and thus felt comfortable with – or, someone was disguised as them at the very least – or, this person was so far and away more powerful than Dyon that caution didn’t matter. And the last possibility was that disappearing technique they used… Maybe Dyon just hadn’t been aware of her presence.

“Yes, Ri?” Eli’s face had paled considerably. He was very much aware that the time between breaths Dyon took were getting much too far apart. He wanted to ask if maybe Dyon’s demon generals, the white-haired power houses he had seen earlier that day, might be able to help. But, the fact that Ri hadn’t thought of that likely meant that they wouldn’t be of much help at all.

“Are there any exceptionally beautiful women that Dyon knows?” Ri’s brows furrowed.

At first Eli thought that was a ridiculous question to ask now considering the circumstances, until he finally pieced together that Ri likely thought the person who attacked Dyon was someone he knew. But, unfortunately, Eli hadn’t seen the attacker. By the time he came out, ‘Madeleine’ was gone.

“Exceptionally beautiful? I really can’t tell with a descriptor like that…”

Ri shook her head. “No. This woman had beauty no one would ever forget. It’s likely something many know her for.” .𝘤𝘰

Ri had heard of the six beauties of the universe. But, in reality, it was technically only five. Dyon had changed the name to six to add her, and it was likely no one would disagree.

That said, Ri had seen many of them already. She had seen Ulu, Eboni and Saru. And, although she didn’t know the name of the last girl, Ri was sure that she had seen her as well. If Dyon was able to communicate effectively, he would have known that the fourth was a beauty from the Kami God Clan, a Japanese goddess.

“I’m sorry, Ri. The only person I can think of is Madeleine. But, if it was Madeleine, then I have no doubt that this was a person in disguise. It doesn’t help us much…”

Ri’s hands trembled as frustration built up. Her celestial will wasn’t getting anywhere and it seemed her questions weren’t helping either. If she had seen the four beauties, then the fifth would have been Madeleine.

But, Madeleine didn’t have purple hair and eyes from what Dyon had told her. And, Madeleine also wore glasses, but this woman didn’t. Why would they try and trick Dyon with a representation of someone so far from what he knew Madeleine as?

Just who was she, then?

𝘦𝑎.𝒸ℴ