Gardenia's Heart

Chapter 119: Leave Everything to Me

A wave of emotions surged through Nia’s chest, and there was only one way she could release it.

“Lily!”

She called her wife's name.

“Yes, it’s me. Are you alright, my love?” Lily smiled, her fingers gently tracing the tears that streamed down her beloved's face.

“Lily, we can't defeat that thing! I can’t defeat that thing!” Nia cried in desperation, her trembling hands clinging to Lily, as if trying to shield her.

The metamorph couldn't defeat the monster before her. That absolute truth hurt more than any blade.

Though she had faced powerful enemies and impossible odds before, Nia had always been prepared—ready to fight or flee.

But now, even using every spell and all her strength, she couldn’t overcome that being.

She didn’t know how to beat it. She didn’t even know how they could escape.

But then...

“Nia, do you trust me?”

A gentle question reached her.

Lily’s voice wasn’t cold—it was calm, incredibly calm, her gaze never leaving Nia’s.

“Y-Yes.” The metamorph stammered, a new, unfamiliar feeling blooming in her chest.

“Then leave everything to me. Just make sure neither of you interferes.”

She wasn't brushing off Nia’s worry—

It was precisely because Nia was in such a fragile state that Lily spoke in the most serene way possible.

Warmth surged in Nia’s chest, and her racing mind slowed.

It was security. Pure and raw.

Setting her gently on the ground, Lily caressed her purple hair and leaned in, giving her a long kiss. Only then did she turn and walk toward her opponent.

“Why is Lily getting so close!? She’ll be killed!”

At the edge of the battlefield, Elarielle, now struggling to even stay on her knees, cried out in panic.

She had spent nearly all of her mana on that last distraction, and the dizziness from exhaustion was overwhelming, but still, she forced her eyes open to look at the newcomer.

In the middle of the ruined field, Lily walked forward slowly—but with unwavering steps.

A black cape fluttered in the wind, revealing parts of her dress, and in front of her, a dark violet tail swayed from side to side.

Stopping in front of the quadrupedal monster—several times her size—Lily raised her head to meet the gaze of a hundred glaring eyes.

They stood face to face, no more than a few dozen centimeters apart.

Torment and Lily stood there in complete silence until...

“Sorry, but even up close, I can’t say you’re cute.”

Lily tilted her head slightly, a subtle laugh escaping her lips.

Even the creature understood the mockery in her scornful smile.

The guttural roar that erupted from the abyss was pure rage. In the next instant, a cloud of dust exploded.

“Lily!” Nia screamed from the depths of her soul.

Sparks burst out in front of her, and a violent crash echoed throughout the labyrinth. Still on her knees, no matter how much the earth trembled, her eyes never left the battlefield.

Just seeing her beloved so close to the monster was unbearable—but watching her take a direct blow sent icy panic surging through her.

She had just seen her wife again—only to lose her in the next moment, helpless to stop it.

Everyone watching the battle braced themselves to witness the girl’s body torn apart when Torment emerged from the cloud of earth.

And when the dust finally settled...

Three girls saw it: a black blade and a blade of pure icy blue were pushing the monster’s claws back.

"What...?" Elarielle used her axe to steady herself, her trembling eyes refusing to believe what they saw.

Defeat had been engraved as an absolute fact into the minds of everyone who had faced that thing that day.

"Good, very good." Lily pushed her blades harder, a fierce smile growing across her face. "Unlike , my head can only sustain this for a few seconds—but this seems to be your limit too, isn’t it?"

And now, that absolute fact was about to be shattered—by a single girl.

Bending her knees, Lily leapt onto the head of the black wolf.

The creature, momentarily off balance after having its claws suddenly pushed back, watched as the twin blades came crashing down toward it—and jumped back.

With no target, the black and ice-blue swords slammed into the ground.

A distance of more than fifty meters opened between them.

However, without even a pause—in what seemed to any observer like the same exact moment—the blades and claws collided again, now halfway across the space they'd just created.

Dozens of exchanges exploded between Lily’s sword and the beast’s claws, each impact shattering the ground around them.

But this wasn’t just two swords against claws.

Leaping into the air, Lily spun to dodge the creature’s tail as it tried to pierce her from the side.

“At least the tail’s pretty,” Lily half-sang, wincing at the growing pain in her wrists, before grinning. “But I’ll pass this time.”

With its claws and tail evaded, Torment lunged forward, its jaws aiming to trap her between its fangs.

Then came a flash of white.

The ice blade in Lily’s left hand exploded inside the monster’s mouth, jamming its jaw shut from top to bottom.

The ice wouldn’t last long—maybe a few seconds before shattering—but it was enough.

She landed, already conjuring another sword.

“Again?” she sang lightly.

Breaking free of the frozen block in its mouth, Torment drove its claws into the earth, carving a deep gash in the ground, fury and bloodlust radiating in waves.

Lily’s and Torment’s eyes locked—and in that same instant, both vanished.

The three watching girls lost sight of them for a split second, heads snapping around in panic.

Then—

A scream tore through the air.

It was the first time they'd heard that kind of sound.

Undeniably...

A scream of pain.

Atop one of the ruined pillars, a silver-haired girl stood over Torment, a black blade embedded deep in the wolf's body.

She slowly pulled the sword free—and a burst of dark purple blood erupted. Lily was partially bathed in it, stained by the monster’s blood.

A roar of rage echoed as Torment rolled violently, the white blades jutting from its back like twisted tree limbs slashing through the air, trying to cut her down.

With her footing unstable, Lily was forced to leap to the next stone structure—Torment immediately following in pursuit.

"Come on now, hold together just a little longer and you won’t get sliced!"

A grin spread across the girl’s face, and Torment howled in answer. And once again—

They vanished.

All eyes

It was clever, Lily had to admit.

Red liquid streamed freely. Her wrist was broken, her bones lacerated—

But her fingers didn’t let go.

“I finally get how Nia senses these things…”

It was a faint discomfort. Like a vague itch at the back of the head.

Just as Nia could detect spatial magic being cast, Lily now felt it too—A distinct signal when Torment was about to stop time.

Reactivating time-freeze so quickly drained their strength immensely.

A desperate gamble to end the battle fast.

But it wouldn’t work on this girl.

A thick layer of ice expanded from her pierced hand, spreading through the beast’s jaw, its throat—

And then deeper—freezing its insides.

Pained groans leaked from its maw, now nearly immobilized.

Torment could feel its very organs turning to frost under her spell.

“Don’t whine over a wound like that. You made my wife cry, didn’t you?”

A lone blade, still gripped tightly in her right hand, was driven into the creature’s body—

Right through the side of its neck.

“Let’s not drag this out any longer. In this state, even aiming would be a chore.”

In a way, it was almost a grotesque embrace.

"Using point-blank attacks brings back bad memories."

Lily rested her forehead against the creature’s snout.

"But... how about sharing this one with me?"

She smiled like a little girl... her face smeared with her own blood—and its.

And then, she spoke once more.

"[Crystal Apocalypse]"

From within the creature’s body, a massive white flash erupted, engulfing everything around them.

The surrounding temperature plummeted, the attack aimed at halting even the smallest atomic movement, ushering a new ice age into the battlefield.

Everything around the two had turned into a glacial wasteland.

"You’re at your limit too, aren’t you?"

Lily drove her sword into the ground and spat out a small amount of red blood.

Her left arm was torn apart, covered by a thick layer of bluish ice. At best, it was still attached to her body—just barely.

And in front of her, a black wolf, with dozens of ice crystals piercing its body, lay sprawled on the ground, buried in white snow.

She knew what needed to be done.

"You don’t want to die, do you?" Lily’s voice echoed in the cold air, her warm breath visible as vapor.

The Torment tried to rise, to fight again, but every limb failed, causing it to collapse back to the ground. The cold had stiffened its body. Not even its blood dripped anymore—it had frozen, inside and out.

Inside, the damage was worse.

From its mouth to its innards, countless burns caused by cellular death were destroying its flesh.

Only one of its many eyes remained open, a flicker of awareness watching the girl approach—still clinging to the will to fight.

“Do you still think I’m not worthy like was?!”

Her eyes bore down on the wolf as her voice cracked through the frozen air.

The wolf didn’t answer. It couldn’t.

Until—

Lily raised her head, her determined gaze meeting the creature’s remaining eye.

"Recognize me as your master!"

And then…

Its head lowered.

Lily stepped closer but grimaced, her brows furrowing. Closing her eyes, she paused for a few seconds, seemingly uncertain about something.

"They say I’m good with names... but I think this time, I’ll honor the legacy you built."

Extending her right hand, Lily placed it gently on the creature’s head. The words she was about to say would seal the bond between them.

"Come to me, Akasha!"

It happened instantly.

A pulse of mana surged through the labyrinth, spreading into the forest.

Like raw energy being born, light filtered through the creature’s body. And soon, it shone in hues of violet and blue—until something emerged.

Its handle was long and slender, made of ancient wood as if shaped by time itself. The structure curled like living branches, holding a core of light that pulsed with a serene glow.

At its top, a translucent orb hovered gently between the branches, never quite touching anything.

Around it, blue-tinged butterflies of pure energy floated, tethered by ethereal threads to the staff—threads that would never break, even when the wind ceased to blow.

With a single motion, Lily grasped it.

"Looks like titles matter too... but ‘Torment’ doesn’t really sound cool."

Once belonging to the Archmage who laid the foundation of all modern magic—crafted not by hands, but by the true form of a being whose power was said to rival even the World Tree itself.

"Yeah... something like this fits better."

The staff that had not been forged, but born—its power surpassing that of any known material.

"The Time Reaper—Akasha."