Chapter 26: The Awakening of Sylvie, the Goddess of Destruction

A few days after the tournament, Leonix and his party were resting at the inn. That night, Leonix had a terrible nightmare. He felt incredibly weak and helpless, watching all of his friends fall lifelessly before him. From the midst of a blazing fire, a woman with silver hair and fiery red eyes appeared, staring at him with pure hatred.

"You weakling! You don't deserve to stand by my side!" the woman's voice boomed.

She swung a sword wreathed in fire directly at Leonix.

"STOP!" Leonix screamed, waking up with a gasp and cold sweat drenching his body.

"A dream? Why… why did that woman look so much like Seraphine?" he whispered, still confused and terrified.

In a different room, Seraphine was having the exact same dream. She saw Leonix and her friends die, but this time the silver-haired woman was crying, tears streaming from her eyes. With a slow motion, the woman raised Seraphine's hand, and their heads met as if to merge into one.

[Visual Effect: A bright white light enveloped Seraphine and the silver woman, slowly blending together.]

Seraphine jolted awake as morning arrived. Suddenly, a panicked Layla burst into Leonix and Shion's room.

"Leon! Shion! Seraphine is gone! She was sleeping right next to me just last night!" Layla cried, her voice filled with anxiety.

They were all bewildered. There were no signs of a struggle, yet she had completely vanished. Suddenly, Leonix felt an excruciating pain in his head. Amidst the pain, he saw a clear vision: Seraphine was walking toward a cathedral in the city of Nazaria.

"Mr. Leon! Are you okay?" Lilyan, now always faithfully by Leonix's side, asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Leonix said, trying to endure the pain. "But I had a vision. Seraphine is heading to the Cathedral Church."

"That's very strange. She doesn't have any holy mission there," Layla commented.

"Everyone, this is bad!" Natalia suddenly appeared. "My bird-report says Sera-chan really is going to the church! But she's carrying a strange sword—a long sword that's giving off a bizarre lightning effect."

Without a second thought, they all rushed toward the church, not even bothering to put on their armor.

Shion was the first to arrive at the location. She stood stunned, witnessing an illogical sight. The magnificent Cathedral Church was now in ruins, its debris scattered and enveloped in a strange, crackling lightning energy. From the plumes of smoke in the rubble, Seraphine emerged, walking slowly with a vacant stare.

"Seraphine, what have you done?! Snap out of it!" Shion shouted, trying to make her conscious.

With an incredibly fast motion, Seraphine grabbed Shion's hand. [Effect: A blurry movement, then a thump as Seraphine's hand clamps down.]

"Found you!" Seraphine said, but the smile on her face was a wicked, cunning one that was completely alien to her.

Shion immediately pulled away, jumping back and drawing her sword. "Damn it! Who are you? You're not the Seraphine I know!"

Seraphine's long, wavy blonde hair instantly turned into sparkling silver, and her bright blue eyes now glowed a menacing red.

"Just as I suspected!" Shion realized. "I'll ask again, who are you?"

With a speed Shion couldn't follow, Seraphine attacked. [Effect: A silver flash of light. Shion felt a quick cut on her cheek.] A line of blood appeared on Shion's right cheek.

"So fast!" Shion mumbled, completely shocked. Loisana had never told her about this.

With an unexpected movement, Seraphine licked the blood dripping from her hand. Her expression was one of pure pleasure.

"The taste? The taste is... so delicious!" she whispered, her voice deep and terrifying. "Allow me to love you, Hero from another world!"

Seraphine's next attacks overwhelmed Shion until a sword finally blocked her. [Sound: CLANG! The loud clash of metal.] Leonix arrived, blocking Seraphine's attack, along with Natalia. Danny, Layla, and Lilyan were evacuating the civilians.

"Shion! Are you alright?" Leonix asked.

"I'm fine," Shion replied. "But the important thing is... this person isn't Seraphine. She's nobody we know."

Natalia stepped forward. "Enough playing around, Sylvie! Haven't you made Seraphine suffer enough?!"

Leonix and Shion were shocked. Leonix turned to Natalia. "You know her?"

"Yes, of course," Natalia answered. "She is Sylvie, the Goddess of Destruction who has been lost for a long time." Natalia looked at Sylvie with a cold gaze. "So that's it. You've been constantly reincarnating to chase after that person, haven't you?"

Sylvie smirked. "You really messed up my plan, Natalia. It seems there's nothing to hide anymore, is there? Yes, I am chasing after that person's Light Energy." Her fiery red eyes shifted from Shion and Natalia to land squarely on Leonix.

"What do you mean by that Light Energy?" Leonix asked.

"I'm sorry," Sylvie replied, her voice suddenly full of disdain. "You are not the person I like. So, GO AWAY!"

With an incredibly fast move, Sylvie unleashed a powerful kick toward Leonix. [Visual Effect: Leonix's silhouette shot off like an arrow, soaring through the air before hitting the ocean surface with a splash.] He was thrown far away, crashing into the sea.

Only Shion and Natalia were left standing against Sylvie. Suddenly, Alex arrived, running with a panicked look on his face.

"Seraphine! Or... what you call Sylvie! Don't hurt them! Your opponent is me!" Alex shouted, his voice filled with determination.

"You finally show yourself, my Prince," Sylvie said, her smile softening. "Come here, I've missed you so much."

Alex pulled out a stone that emitted a bright blue light. As the light hit Sylvie, she screamed in pain.

"Why?! Why are you doing this, my Prince?!" she roared. [Effect: Sylvie's red aura cracked and vanished. Her hair returned to its wavy blonde and her eyes to their bright blue.]

Sylvie's presence disappeared. Seraphine collapsed, weak, in front of Alex.

"Alex? Shion? Natalia? Why am I here?" Seraphine asked in a faint voice. "Could it be... that woman took over my body?"

"Alex," Seraphine looked at him with despair. "If that woman ever appears again... I beg you, kill me. I can't bear for her to keep appearing and taking over my body."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, SERAPHINE?!" Alex was shocked and hugged her tightly. "I won't let you die! I will find a way to get that woman away from your body!"

Seraphine tried to stand, and the four of them began looking for Leonix, who had been thrown into the sea.

In the depths of the ocean, the unconscious Leonix heard whispers echoing in his mind.

KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM!

Suddenly, a black and white dragon, formed from the energy of light and darkness, appeared. [Visual Effect: The dragon spiraled, becoming a vortex of energy that entered Leonix's body.]

Leonix instantly woke up. A great force pushed him toward the land. His heavy footsteps on the seafloor created massive waves. Ships in the harbor were thrown onto the shore, shocking the fishermen.

"What is this? An earthquake? A tsunami?" they yelled.

On land, Shion contacted Layla, Danny, and Lilyan, telling them Leonix had been thrown into the sea and asking them to search for him. But Lilyan spotted Leonix already lying on the beach.

"Mr. Leon!" she cried. The three of them rushed to his side.

Leonix didn't wake up for three days. Seraphine, filled with guilt for what she had done, never left his side. For those three days, she sat by the bed where Leonix lay.

"Leon... I'm so sorry," Seraphine sobbed. "Because of me, you became like this."

Alex, seeing the scene, decided to hand over the stone he had used.

"Shion, take this stone," Alex said.

"What for?"

"Use this Ginga Stone if Sylvie ever awakens again," Alex replied. "And for tomorrow's tournament, it's better if Leonix doesn't join. Let him rest."

Leonix, still lying unconscious, clenched his hand. An explosive emotion was raging inside him. He was no longer the person he used to be. He had become someone else, filled with rage from his nightmare and the humiliation of being defeated and thrown away like that.