Chapter 22: Sneak Strikes

Elias's words hit Luna right in the feels, plunging her into a deep sea of self-doubt.

"It's not like that... It's not like that... Luna's not a loser... I'm not running away..."

"I'm not wrong... I'm not wrong..."

As the night deepened, within the old mansion's corridor, those black tendrils trembled non-stop, her expression a mix of turmoil and excitement.

[Luna]

[Affection: 100]

[Stability: 75↓]

[Description: A twisted being crazily in love with you]

Seeing Luna now more stable than before, even retracting some of her newly sprouted tendrils, Elias breathed a sigh of relief internally.

This master-level skill was indeed powerful, well worth the nearly life-threatening effort he just made.

"Bro..."

Luna lifted her head, her tendrils gradually loosening their grip on Elias's limbs.

"Was what you said just now for real..."

"Is there really another ending to the story... Can Luna find happiness too..."

Elias looked at her, the once menacing Luna, now like a vulnerable child.

Her deep blue eyes regained a hint of clarity, with tears shimmering within.

"Of course." Elias smiled gently, nodding.

"Bro, although I've deceived you about many things, the words I just said weren't lies~" 

Luna then slightly lowered her head again, closing her eyes tightly as if contemplating something significant.

In the deep night, the old mansion was engulfed in a rare moment of tranquility.

But just then.

Elias's peripheral vision suddenly caught a red shadow darting across the other side of the corridor.

Its speed was unbelievably fast, carrying an unmistakable intent to kill.

"Wait a sec—!" Elias hurriedly shouted out.

Before Elias could finish, a crimson claw struck at Luna's neck.

Thick blood aura swirled around Isabella's unusually sharp nails, like rising flames of blood.

Her sneak attack was as fast as lightning, and by the time Elias realized what was happening, Luna had already let out a painful roar.

Black tendrils wrapped around Luna, and she staggered several steps backward.

"Isabella professor?" Elias looked on in surprise at Isabella's new look.

Covered in blood, like a figure made of blood, Isabella professor's appearance made Elias feel as if his life force was being sapped away, a power he had never witnessed before.

Despite the blood, the huge wound on her chest had already healed.

And her eyes had shifted from their previous dark green to a haunting gray-white, devoid of pupils, making them eerily unsettling.

"Got time to chat here?" Gray-white eyes glanced at Elias.

"Do you even want to survive?"

"Of course, I do..." Elias replied with a wry smile, "But..."

He had just managed to stabilize Luna's corruption level, and she was reverting back. If things had gone smoothly, the fight could have been avoided.

Elias's initial plan was to secure Luna, but professor's ambush threw a wrench in his plans again.

"Sigh... Leave it to you, professor, to always bring 'surprises'..."

The gray-white eyes showed a hint of confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You!! All of you!!!"

Luna was in a dire state, clutching the continuously bleeding wound on her neck, the backflow of blood forcing out gurgling, horrendously unpleasant sounds.

"Always deceiving me, always lying to me!!!"

Blood sprayed like a fountain, quickly soaking her white dress, as the twisted tendrils that had vanished before sprouted again, this time in even greater numbers.

"This just got complicated," Elias muttered, instinctively stepping back as he eyed the mass of distortion across from him.

Countless black tendrils surged towards them like a mad tide.

Isabella professor let out a cold laugh, blood mist swirling around her, gathering.

Then, she harnessed that blood energy, morphing it into a crimson, razor-sharp blade.

Gripping the blade, she fearlessly charged at the mass of twisted tendrils.

The battle between them reignited, while Elias didn't look back as he dashed towards the alchemy room.

Bad news and good news.

The bad news was that Luna, a hybrid of sorts, had transformed into an indescribable entity, becoming one of the most formidable beings in this world.

But the good news...

Her transformation into a higher-level being meant Elias's magical potion formulas would finally come in handy.

Hearing the booming sounds behind him, Elias strode into the alchemy room, quickly searching through the materials shelf.

[Higher-level being, Stability Suppressant Potion x3]

[Potion brewing...]

Watching the crafting prompt on the game panel, Elias grew increasingly anxious.

The corridor echoed with Isabella professor's curses and the unintelligible roars of their battle, the noise drawing closer.

This meant the professor was nearly overwhelmed...

Hurry up, come on...

As seconds and minutes painfully ticked by, the torturous three minutes finally passed.

With a "ding,"

[Brewing Complete]

Done!