Chương 30: Fear The Old

The party continued deeper into Medusa's castle. The next room was an indoor garden. By now, Noah had stopped expecting the castle's layout to make sense. A ballroom had become a battlefield. A hallway had hidden a dream. Every room felt less like part of a castle and more like a memory Medusa had refused to let die. But this room was still strange. A fake, poorly drawn sun floated near the ceiling, casting soft golden light over the garden below.

It looked childish, with crooked rays and a smiling face, but its warmth was real enough to feed the plants. Lemon trees stood throughout the large room, their branches heavy with bright yellow fruit. Purple and blue forget-me-nots grew along the edges, filling the air with a faint, sweet scent. The trees and flowers formed a natural path leading toward the next door. At the center of the garden was a circular clearing. And in the middle of that clearing stood an elderly woman.

She had long gray hair, tired eyes, and deep wrinkles across her face. Small demonic horns curved from the top of her head. She wore a gardener's outfit, dirt staining her sleeves and gloves, and leaned gently against a wooden cane. She looked at them without surprise.

"Ever since the Fifth Apocalypse," the woman said, her voice old and weary, "this part of the forest has been dead." Noah slowed. The woman looked up at the false sun.

"Not even Álfheimr's curse can make nature grow here properly anymore." Her gaze returned to the garden around her.

"So it is something of a miracle that I have managed to grow this much." Cyrus looked at the flowers.

"Silvia Morgan's plague curse." The woman nodded.

"Yes." She stepped carefully toward the forget-me-nots and brushed her fingers over the petals.

"These are my lady's favorite flowers." Her expression softened.

"They remind her of her children." Noah's grip tightened around his sword. The woman turned back to them.

"My name is Lillian." She held her cane with both hands.

"And I would appreciate it if you left." Noah met her eyes.

"We can't leave."

"I know."

"Then please," Noah said.

"Let us pass." Lillian's expression did not change. Noah took a step forward.

"If you really care about Medusa, then you shouldn't let her stay with The Crows." At that, Lillian's eyes narrowed faintly.

"You are right." Ava glanced at Noah. Lillian looked toward the ceiling, where the fake sun continued to smile down on the garden.

"I do not trust them one bit." Her voice lowered.

"Especially the plague doctor man." Adam's expression darkened. Noah stared at her.

"Then why help them?" Lillian's hand tightened around her cane.

"Because my lady has a wish." The room grew quiet.

"And unfortunately," Lillian said, "they are the ones who can grant it." The lemon trees rustled despite the lack of wind. Lillian stepped into the center of the clearing.

"So I cannot let you pass." Noah raised his sword. Lillian's tired eyes softened with regret.

"I am sorry, children." Her cane tapped once against the floor.

"I may be old and frail," she said, "but I am still quite a capable fighter." The lemon trees began to sway. Their branches moved slowly at first, like they were caught in a gentle breeze. Then the motion became sharper. More deliberate. Lillian's wrinkled hands tightened around her cane.

"The old are the ones you should fear most in this world." Noah narrowed his eyes. Lillian looked at them with the calm sorrow of someone who had seen far too much.

"This cruel world kills children without mercy." The roots beneath the trees began to writhe.

"So fear the old who survived it all." Ava stepped forward.

"I'll handle this one." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Noah turned to her.

"Ava?" She drew her daggers, crimson eyes fixed on Lillian.

"I'm the only one who hasn't done much yet," Ava said.

"My stamina is perfectly fine." Adam glanced at the moving trees.

"Careful." Ava smiled faintly.

"I know." The moment she said it, one of the lemon tree roots burst from the ground. It shot toward her like a spear. Ava twisted aside, the root tearing through the air where her chest had been a heartbeat earlier. It stabbed into the floor hard enough to crack the stone. She landed lightly and clicked her tongue.

"Plant manipulation?" More roots rose from the ground. They stretched, curled, and struck from every direction. Ava darted between them, her movements sharp and precise. One root snapped toward her head. She ducked beneath it. Another shot for her leg. She sprang over it. A third came from behind, and she spun, pressing her dagger against it.

"Reversed Chariot." A yellow pulse flashed. The root froze in place. Ava used it as a foothold, kicked off, and sliced through another root aiming for her side. Lillian watched without moving.

"I used to be Vanitas's chief strategist during the war." Her voice remained steady as the garden obeyed her.

"I may be old…" The lemon trees groaned. Their roots multiplied, breaking through the floor in thick, twisting waves.

"But there is no way I will lose to a brat like you." Ava's eyes sharpened. The roots attacked all at once. She froze one. Then another. Then another. But there were too many. Each tree was its own living organism. Each root belonged to a separate body, a separate source of movement, a separate thing to lock in place. Ava could stop some. Not all. A root caught her ankle. She froze it before it could crush her, but another came for her shoulder. She sliced it apart, only for three more to rise in its place.

Noah took a step forward. Ava glanced back.

"Don't." The word was firm. Noah stopped. Ava ripped her foot free and slid backward across the floor, daggers raised as roots surrounded her from every side. Lillian's expression remained sad.

"You are talented," the old woman said. The trees bent toward Ava like executioners lowering their blades.

"But talent alone does not survive war." Ava lowered her stance. Yellow light pulsed around her fingers and feet.

"Good thing I'm not relying on talent alone." Ava placed her hand against the ground.

"Reversed Chariot." A yellow pulse spread from her palm. It raced across the garden floor, flowing beneath the roots, trees, and flowers. For a brief moment, the entire room went still. The roots stopped moving. The branches froze in place. Even the fake sunlight seemed colder. Ava exhaled sharply. Freezing the movement of the entire ground took a large amount of mana, but it worked. The lemon trees were connected to the floor. As long as the floor could not move, neither could their roots.

Then Ava removed the friction beneath her feet. She vanished. In an instant, she crossed the clearing and appeared directly in front of Lillian. Her daggers flashed toward the old woman's throat. Lillian smiled. Between her wrinkled fingers, she held a single seed. The seed split open. In the blink of an eye, it grew into a lemon tree. Its roots and branches burst outward like spears, all aimed at Ava. Ava twisted in midair.

Her daggers moved quickly, slashing through roots, cutting branches, and deflecting wooden spikes as they grew faster and faster. But she was already using too much mana to keep the rest of the garden still. Her breathing grew uneven. Lillian watched her with tired eyes.

"I am sorry, child." Ava cut through another root.

"But I have not told you my ability yet." A lemon dropped from the tree behind Ava. Lillian's voice remained calm.

"It is called Lemonade." Ava's eyes widened.

"Along with freely controlling my lemon trees," Lillian said, "I can grow lemons wherever I please." The lemon behind Ava began to glow.

"On contact, or when I choose…" Ava turned. Too late.

"They explode." The lemon detonated. The blast swallowed Ava and sent her flying across the garden.

"Ava!" Noah rushed forward as she crashed into one of the frozen trees, hard enough to crack the bark. Ava hit the ground and coughed blood into her hand. Noah's sword shook in his grip. Adam caught his shoulder before he could move.

"Wait." Noah glared at him.

"She said this was her fight." Ava pushed herself up with trembling arms. Her legs shook. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth.

"I'm fine…" She forced herself to stand.

"If I can't manage this much…" Her breathing grew heavier. The yellow light around her hands flickered.

"How can I ever hope to surpass the Slaughter Witch?" Lillian's expression changed. Noah stared at Ava. Ava raised her daggers again. Her body was bruised. Her mana was running low. Her enemy had more experience, more control, and more ways to kill her. But Ava's eyes did not waver.

"This is my declaration." Her voice cut through the garden.

"I'll become someone greater than that monster." The room went silent. Then the world stopped. The falling leaves froze in midair. The fake sun stopped shining. Noah, Adam, Cyrus, and Lillian became still as statues. Only Ava remained awake. Only Ava could hear it. A voice from beyond the castle. Beyond the forest. Beyond the world. The stars themselves had heard her valorous cry. And in that frozen moment, one of them answered.

"To slay the strong while remaining weak." The voice was ancient. Sharp. Amused.

"Such a dream, I can help with." Ava's daggers trembled in her hands.

"Such power, I can grant." A light appeared before her. Small at first. Then brighter. Like a constellation forming within arm's reach. The voice spoke again.

"If you accept my Regalia."