Chapter 371 – Interlude!!!

Within the Thought of Truth Branch in the Gray Rain Country’s Grey Mire Swamp, silence prevailed everywhere except in the mentor’s quarters where Mijia Ka resided. In fact, within this small basement, massive torrents of magical energy had nearly formed a raging storm. The deep blue radiance of mana, almost condensed into solid form, had already torn through several layers of reinforced defensive arrays outside the mentor’s residence.

Standing at the center of this magical vortex was Mijia Ka, who was pouring all his energy into releasing his mana. It had to be admitted that for a Formal-Level Mage, Mijia Ka’s mastery of Enchantment Magic was truly extraordinary. Due to a composite “Mana Guidance” enchantment, the enchantment array he had inscribed continued to operate—albeit barely—even while he was in a state of impaired consciousness. Now, this complex enchantment covering the experiment table had become the only hope for both Mijia Ka and Anya!

The purpose of the enchantment array was not to dispel the eerie energy spreading through Anya’s soul—that peculiar energy, which Mijia Ka had never encountered before, was far too powerful. As a mere Formal-Level Mage, even if he channeled all his mana into those barely adequate enchantment arrays, the eerie energy, spreading like countless writhing threads, remained completely unaffected.

However… Mijia Ka’s goal was never to target this energy directly. After a long period of observation, he had realized that this utterly unstoppable eerie energy was merely a transient phenomenon. While it was powerful, it lacked any capacity for active aggression or intelligence. From start to finish, it had only been recklessly expending its own energy, which was entirely focused on altering the soul.

It was precisely because the energy’s purpose was to alter the soul rather than cause harm that Mijia Ka and Anya were still alive. Otherwise, with one being only a Formal-Level Mage and the other not even reaching Apprentice-Level, they would have been instantly killed upon encountering the Legendary-tier power within the Eerie Eyeball!

But now… the situation for both of them was far from good. The erosion of law-based energy was extremely terrifying. In just two or three seconds, Mijia Ka and Anya’s souls had already undergone irreversible alterations. This erosion could not be blocked by the enchantment arrays at all. However, perhaps due to its lack of intelligence, the eerie energy’s erosion maintained a consistently slow pace, while a significant portion of its energy dissipated in meaningless, chaotic expenditure—this was Mijia Ka’s final opportunity.

The primary function of Mijia Ka’s magic array was not to expel the eerie energy but to provide enhancements to the recipient’s soul, enabling them to endure the erosion a little longer. After all, the amount of eerie energy was finite, and it was squandering this limited energy aimlessly. As long as Mijia Ka and Anya could hold on a bit longer, at the very least, their souls would not face complete annihilation.Feeling the unstoppable, eerie energy spreading through his soul like ink, Mijia Ka harbored no regrets. He was no novice adventurer fresh out the door; having witnessed countless dangers in this world, he had long prepared himself mentally for death when deciding to oppose a Master-Level powerhouse.

What pained Mijia Ka most now wasn’t the erosion of his own soul, but the beautiful girl lying on the Experiment Table, her expression twisted in agony.

“Anya, is this the pain you endured…? Truly unimaginable what kind of mad villain Punk Cyan is, to inflict such torment on a Little Girl. Even more unimaginable is your strength, Anya, to endure such suffering…”

Crawling step by step to Anya’s side, his skin and pupils already veined with creeping crimson patterns, Mijia Ka tremblingly extended his right hand to wipe away the tears of the still-unconscious girl.

“But this won’t end so simply! I am a thirteenth-level enchantment-specialized mage after all. We haven’t lost hope yet!”

Gently clasping Anya’s icy hand, Mijia Ka began channeling all his mana into the core magic circle while murmuring soft encouragement. With no other options left, the mage’s only recourse was to maintain his sense of self before the eerie energy exhausted his life force – and this… Mijia Ka was confident he could achieve!

As the desperate mage poured his last remnants of mana into the magic circle, numerous pale yellow light particles began overflowing through every circuit of the formation. These specks of light flew one after another into Anya’s body, each wisp like life-giving springwater nourishing parched soil upon the girl’s soul. The energy Mijia Ka had poured his entire being into releasing finally stirred the girl’s consciousness.

“Anya, wake up! The negative emotions are twisting your soul into something terrible. You must focus on happy memories, or you’ll be completely overwhelmed by this tidal wave of darkness!”

Sensing the girl’s spiritual fluctuations intensifying once more, Mijia Ka cried out excitedly near her ear. Now that his inscribed enchantment circle was frantically draining every ounce of his mana, the formal-level mage could only offer spiritual encouragement through shouted words.

Though Mijia Ka’s support was merely psychological, in this battle of consciousness at the soul level, such encouragement often proved more effective than stacks upon stacks of spells.

In this moment, Anya’s mental space had become an endless gray expanse. The girl’s consciousness floated through boundless silence, knees drawn to her chest, while endless echoes of mockery, curses, and insults from countless people she’d known throughout her life reverberated endlessly in her mind. Only now did the girl realize: she had believed herself indifferent to it all, but in truth… she had always carried the pains of childhood deep within her heart.Amid boundless agony, sorrow, rage, and fear, Anya felt as though she were trapped in Hell. Nothing around her held even a shred of beauty; everyone—whether her mentor or the ever-obedient Moli—was merely using her, draining the last remnants of her worth…

“Just like this… fall into eternal slumber. Perhaps then the pain will cease forever…”…

As Anya’s despair deepened, the dark space within her mind grew even blacker and more restless.

But just as the boundless silence was about to swallow the girl whole, a clear, resolute cry erupted like thunder beside her ears.

“Anya, wake up…”

Following this ethereal call, the Little Girl in the mental space slowly lifted her head, and the flame of hope began to rekindle within Anya’s heart—a voice the girl could never forget, for it belonged to Mijia Ka!

(End of Chapter)