Utopian System

Chapter 428 System's Games

her smile turned predatory as she looked directly at elio. "how about next time i die you let me catch you? we could use your body to eliminate your dear admirers. it would be a fascinating experiment, don't you think?"

"what is she talking about?" mei didn't stop attacking while asking.

"her skill 'divine corrupted soul,'" elio explained between precise strikes. "when she dies, she can transfer her soul to another body and corrupt it. she fuses with the person as she did with diana."

"exactly!" zahyla celebrated while dodging another coordinated attack. "and with your power, dear elio, i would be unstoppable. although..." her eyes gleamed with malice, "i'm not a fan of possessing men, but i can always make an exception for you..."nôv(el)b\\jnn

"then... we should keep her at death's edge," mei's voice cut through the tension. "when her resistance reaches a low point, her regeneration will stop. we could maintain her like that, cutting her systematically while she recovers, reaching each core..."

zahyla let out a theatrical gasp. "mei! how sadistic! and i thought you were the quiet one of the group."

but something changed in her posture. an almost imperceptible tremor in her movements, a new tension in her smile.

"it's a good idea," elio didn't stop pressing, noticing the subtle change in his opponent. "if we coordinate well, we can keep her right at the edge..."

"torturing your own companion," zahyla tried to maintain her mocking tone, but there was an edge of concern in her voice. "what would diana say about this?"

"diana made her choice," zara and lila responded in unison, their attacks becoming more precise, more lethal.

"besides," added mei while coordinating a particularly devastating attack, "if you're really fused with her, you should know diana would understand. the necessary sacrifice to protect everyone."

for the first time since the combat began, zahyla's smile faltered completely. her movements, though still fluid, lost some of their previous confidence.

"wait... that's an interesting strategy," she tried to regain her composure. "but keeping someone like me exactly at death's edge... requires extraordinary precision. one mistake and it will all have been in vain and..."

"it's a risk we'll have to take," said elio.

zahyla's mask of amusement shattered like glass, revealing an abyss of desperation so deep it made everyone shudder.

"you don't understand!" her voice trembled with an emotion she no longer tried to hide. "five hundred years on average! over 10,000 damn times! the same damn chamber, the same damn game!" her attacks became more erratic, more powerful. "waiting, watching, dying of boredom!"

"do you have any idea?" her voice shook, but not from fear. "do you have the slightest idea what it's like to exist like this?"

the air around her began to crackle with uncontrolled power. there was no precision in her movements now, only brute force born from centuries of torment.

after a few seconds defending against the attacks, she had finally recovered enough resistance to attack again.

zara found an opening, her sword penetrating deep, reaching another of zahyla's cores.

but then...

"elio..." diana's voice returned, broken and vulnerable. her face transformed into a mask of pure regret, genuine tears running down her cheeks. "i didn't want to hate you... i'm sorry... i'm so sorry... mother, varick was..."

for an instant, one crucial microsecond, elio hesitated. seeing the face of who had been his friend contorted by pain so real, so deep...

it was all zahyla needed.

the change was instantaneous.

the vulnerability vanished from her face, replaced by a triumphant smile as her attack found its mark.

the magical attack struck like a hammer. the crack of elio's leg bone resonated through the chamber, followed by his choked cry as he was knocked away from the battle and into critical condition.

"elio!" the horror in zara and lila's voices was visceral, primal. their swords were inside diana's skin, but their eyes deviated for one crucial instant from zahyla, their entire being focused on the man they loved made them try to retreat to where he was.

"love, hatred, regret," zahyla's dual voice had returned. "they're weapons as effective as any sword."

mei was the only one who maintained the attack. her metallic slug grew, responding to the perfect combination of ten elements she had managed to channel in this critical moment.

the power of the enhanced summon roared through the chamber, its corrosive capability reaching zahyla with devastating force.

the impact brought zahyla to the brink of collapse, her body trembling under the devastating effect of corrosion. but her hands... her hands moved with clear, decided purpose.

she pushed mei aside with a kick of her last strength. her sword rose, pointing directly at elio.

zara and lila turned by instinct, their bodies ready to intercept without the slightest chance of failing to stop the sword that would seek the final blow.

but the blade never sought elio.

with a fluid movement, zahyla turned the sword toward herself. her eyes found elio as the blade pierced her own left eye.

"no more waiting," she whispered, a genuine smile replacing her usual mocking smirk. "no more games."