Chapter 197: Elif's Cry of Pain

The immense explosion drowned out my yelling, which erupted with enough power to force me back tens of meters before I managed to stabilize myself in the sky; I wasn't even able to view the center of the explosion as it had destroyed part of my divine sense, which in turn injured my soul, but the damage sustained was minuscule and will heal within a few hours.

However, I didn't care about any of that; all I cared about was Elaine's safety, and the moment the explosion quelled, I instantly scanned the entire area with my divine sense while swiftly flying there, though what I saw filled with a deep, almost primordial sense of fear. Through my divine sense, other than her two silver earrings that I kept floating with my Qi, I couldn't find any semblance of Elaine's presence anywhere; it was as if any traces of her were erased.

"E-Elaine!? S-Show yourself, s-stop hiding alright, i-it's safe now!" Yelled Elif almost frantically as he completely denied the concept of Elaine dying, not even believing such a possibility to be real.

"E-Elaine! S-Stop with the jokes, i-it's not funny!" Said Elif with a gulp of nervousness as he expanded his divine sense, searching for Elaine, though as time passed, the fear he had been forcefully suppressing began leaking through into his heart.

'N-No, what am I thinking? O-Of course, she wouldn't s-show herself; she's trying t-to help me; with her p-presence, I-I won't need to worry about her s-safety.' Thought Elif with a slightly crazy glint, denying himself the capacity to think Elaine could ever die, though such a thing affected his mentality.

"G-Good Job Elaine; s-stay hidden; I-I'll take care of this pathetic insect, then we can go home." Said Elif with a deranged expression while looking into space as he refused to believe in reality, changing it to stop his very psyche from collapsing.

With Elaine hiding, I was free to deal with the crazy monster in peace, though I still didn't know how I was going to stop him; in my injured state, it was taking everything I had to just stay afloat, let alone fight him, not to mention he is a Celestial while I'm just a Half-step Celestial.

"Fucking Elf! I'll kill you!" Roared the Demon with glowing red eyes while his veins powerfully pulsed through his body, the madness consuming his intelligence every second that passes, turning him into nothing but a monster with a desire for destruction.

Looking at the monster, who seemed to no longer be able to resist the effects of the Nether Qi, which slowly corrupts every form of life it sinks itself into, turning creatures into nothing but bloodthirsty monsters, and it looked like this Demon wasn't far from becoming one.

'Well, at least on the bright side, he'll be slightly easier to deal with.' Mused Elif with an intense, crazy glint as he looked at the monster, though the monster wasn't the only one who was slowly being corrupted. Elif may be able to twist his mind, but not his heart, which was currently crying out in pain, though he purposely ignored it.

Just as I was getting ready to face the monster before my very eyes, everything suddenly came to a halt, taking me by surprise as I viewed my surroundings, eyeing the clouds, the trees, the wind, the Qi, and everything else, yet nothing was moving except for me; it was as if the Dao of Time had been removed from this realm, which was something I didn't even know if Great-grandmother could do.

"W-What's happening?" Muttered Elif with a confused glint alongside his growing madness as he looked for clues, only to come up empty-handed.

'It's been eight years since we last spoke, yet why has nothing changed? Has my words done nothing for you?' Said a soft, beautiful, and majestic voice, echoing through the frozen realm as it directed its words toward Elif, who widened in shock at the familiar voice.

"You; what are you doing here? Don't you see I have something to do? Unlike last time, no amount of talking will help me overcome this challenge; even with my incredible talents, the half-step chasm is far too big." Remarked Elif, frowning as he shook his head, dismissing the majestic voice before focusing back on the frozen monster that was in the midst of charging toward him.

'I can see that, boy, but that is not why I came here; I'm not your parent or guardian, I'm not concerned with your wellbeing. What I want to know is, why have my words been wasted on you?' Said the majestic voice indifferently as her every word caused the entire heavenly realm to shudder from the sheer power carried through her voice.

"Tch, what do you mean wasted on? I've been giving it everything I have throughout the last eight years, so don't complain to me if I end up dying. You may be powerful, but it doesn't seem like your intelligence matches the strength you wield." Stated Elif with a frown as he looked at the sky, the ever-growing madness in his heart increasing his aggressive nature, though his words seemed to hardly phase the majestic voice.

'You can speak lies all you want, but just like what I said eight years ago, don't think just when things get difficult, you can hide. Stop lying to yourself and face reality, boy; Elaine August is dead, your precious little sister is dead, killed by that monster-' Declared the majestic voice, though she wasn't able to finish speaking as Elif rudely interrupted her.

"SHUT UP! Don't ever utter her name, fucking bitch!" Bellowed Elif with a wrathful expression that he used to suppress the intense pain, sorrow, and guilt that rested within his heart as he pointed to the sky with a piercing glare.

'SILENCE!' Stated the majestic voice with a twinge of annoyance as she suppressed Elif with just her voice, though he continued to fight back despite that.

'I've dealt with your childish antics long enough. Your sister is dead, soul and all; she has been erased from existence itself, and no amount of coping will change what had happened. You can be a child and deny my words all you wish, but deep within your heart, you know I'm speaking nothing but the truth.' Said the majestic voice, carrying with her a piercing tone that spoke to the depths of Elif's heart, which slightly quelled his wrathful expression.

I wanted to deny the foolish words that she was spouting, but I wasn't able to; it wasn't because she suppressed my mouth shut; no, I was still able to speak. However, for some reason, whenever I opened my mouth to deny her claim, I got caught on myself and found it almost impossible to say anything.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, woman; E-Elaine isn't dead; she's merely hiding within the void. Stop spouting baseless nonsense." Said Elif with an intense frown while the emotions that had been ever-growing within his heart started to leak through.

'You can sense it; your cultivation manual is linked with everyone who uses it, allowing you to sense the life force of every Royal Elf, yet hers is gone. She is dead.' Said the majestic voice coldly, her words once again piercing into Elif's heart, cracking the facade he had created around himself.

"Y-You're w-wrong, s-she isn't dead, E-Elaine can't die; I-I wouldn't allow for h-her to d-die!" Stated Elif with uncertainty as he looked towards the ground, his eyes lingering on the monster, too preoccupied to even question how the majestic voice knew such a thing, as only Royal Elves would know that.

'Stop lying to yourself. Elaine August is dead, and she'll never come back; she died protecting your pride, so the least you could do is honor her sacrifice.' Declared the majestic voice as her words were like the final nail in the coffin, managing to break the facade Elif had subconsciously made for himself as a defensive mechanism.

"E-Elaine, can't be dead! I-I refuse to believe such a thing!" Yelled Elif with a tearful expression full of pain as he looked to the sky, resisting for the last time before the inevitable.

I continued to yell toward the sky, yet no matter how much I screamed, the majestic voice never spoke back, though I could tell it was still present as the realm was still frozen.

"E-Elaine, s-she can't." Muttered Elif with a tearful expression while looking to the sky for hope, though all he got was the opposite.

'She's dead.' Said the Majestic voice harshly as she caused Elif to descend into silence while wordlessly looking at the ground.

'Stop suppressing your emotions, just like you told that girl four years ago. You're on the verge of descending into an inescapable pit of darkness, so release all of your bottled-up emotions; no one will know.' Said the Majestic voice with a rare case of softness, her words easing Elif as he finally faced reality.

"Elaine, she's dead, isn't she." Said Elif softly as he felt the suppression vanish, regaining control over his body, though he merely stayed floating in the air.

'Yes.' Replied the Majestic voice curtly as she watched Elif.

Nodding toward the Majestic voice, I stayed looking at the ground as tears started falling out of my eyes, and even when the voice told me to release all of my emotions, I continued to suppress them, though it was for naught.

"E-E-ELAINE!!" Bellowed Elif with heartfelt sorrow as he covered his face while intensely sobbing, his yell echoing throughout the frozen realm that seemingly shuddered in response to his pain-filled voice.