Chapter 191: The Twin Star

The Imp shrieked in fury, its pupilless crimson eyes fixed on the shimmering pool of Tartarus Essence. Its body was failing, its regeneration was gone, its horns were shattered. But it wasn’t done yet.

It lunged toward the pool.

Gray saw the movement and shouted, "Cindy! Stop it!"

Cindy was already moving. Her hands shot up, silver light flaring at her fingertips, and she cast a spell Gray had never seen her use before.

"[Thorned Grasp]!"

The moss beneath the Imp’s feet erupted. Thick, thorned vines burst from the ground, wrapping around the creature’s legs, its arms, its tail. The thorns dug into its pale flesh, drawing dark blood. The Imp thrashed, its claws tearing at the vines, but more grew to replace them, coiling tighter and tighter.

[THORNED GRASP — IMP RESTRAINED]

[EFFECT DURATION: 4 SECONDS]

Lily, seeing the Imp restrained, darted forward, her enhanced body blazing with void energy, her five points spinning like saw blades. She compressed every ounce of power she had left into a single, concentrated sphere and drove it directly into the Imp’s exposed skull.

[LILY — VOID ANNIHILATION — 486 DAMAGE]

[NETHER IMP (2) — HP: 0 / 4,500]

The Imp’s head disintegrated.

[NETHER IMP (2) — DEFEATED — 4,200 EXP]

[LEVEL UP!]

[You are now Level 51.]

[20 Stat Points available for distribution.]

[2 Skill Points available.]

Gray stood there for a long moment, his chest heaving, his body screaming in protest. The void corrosion was still eating into him, his Prismatic Carapace was critically damaged, and his HP was dangerously low.

Cindy collapsed to her knees, her silver glow flickering weakly. The Thorned Grasp spell had drained the last of her mana, and her small body was trembling with exhaustion.

"What an annoying creature," she whispered.

Gray nodded slowly, his golden eyes sweeping the chamber. The bone-strewn floor, the shattered roots, the pool of shimmering essence at the center of it all. They had won.

Lily drifted toward him, her enhanced body still glowing with absorbed essence. She pulsed once, bright and tired, then pressed her point gently against his chest as if checking on him.

Gray let out a soft breath.

"I’m fine," he said. "Just... need to burn out this corrosion again."

He pressed his hand against the wound on his chest, feeling the void energy still burrowing into his flesh. He gathered his mana, compressed it into a single point, and activated Overcharge.

The pain was just as bad as before, but he was ready for it this time. He bit down on his tongue, forced himself to stay conscious, and let the electricity burn through the corrupted tissue.

[OVERCHARGE — SELF-INFLICTED — 320 DAMAGE]

[VOID CORROSION — BURNED AWAY]

[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 276 / 1,880]

[REGENERATION — REACTIVATED]

Gray slumped against the wall, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The wound was cauterized, the corrosion gone, and his regeneration was already knitting the damaged tissue back together.

Cindy pressed her small hands against the inside of her water container, her frills drooping, her silver eyes heavy with exhaustion. She cast a weak healing spell through the transparent walls, green light flickering from her palms and seeping into Gray’s chest.

"I hope we don’t run into another monster like that again," she murmured, her voice thin and weary.

Gray let out a slow breath as the healing energy eased the pain in his wounds.

"Yeah. I hope so too."

He turned his gaze toward Lily, who was drifting in slow, lazy circles above the pool of Tartarus Essence. Her body had grown noticeably larger since she absorbed the essence, her five points sharper, her dark core pulsing with a deeper, richer light.

"Sorry," Gray said, his voice quieter now. "I told you to absorb that dangerous thing so suddenly. I didn’t know if it would hurt you."

Lily stopped mid-orbit. She tilted her body, her five points rotating slowly, and then she pulsed once, soft and warm. She drifted closer to him, brushing one of her rounded edges gently against his chest, as if to say it was okay.

Gray felt something ease in his chest.

Cindy watched the exchange from inside her container, her frills swaying weakly. Then she turned her attention toward Lily, her silver eyes studying the star creature with a mage’s careful scrutiny.

"But it doesn’t seem like there’s anything strange with Lily," she said. "She’s fine, right?"

Lily responded by spinning once, twice, her points orbiting in perfect rhythm, her dark core pulsing steadily. She moved just as she always had, playful, curious, full of life. Nothing was wrong. If anything, she seemed stronger than before.

Gray let out a slow, relieved breath.

"You really are amazing, Lily."

Lily pulsed brightly, her five points spinning with joy. She darted around him once, twice, then settled beside Cindy’s container, her dark core glowing warmly.

Cindy smiled from inside the water, reaching out with one small hand to press against the transparent wall nearest to Lily’s core.

"She really is."

Gray, feeling his body had recovered thanks to his regeneration and Cindy’s healing, walked toward the Imp’s corpse and spoke.

"You know, looking at them now, they were really annoying."

He kicked it.

Cindy, carried by Lily in her water container, replied, "I’ve never seen a creature like that before either. This Tartarus really is mysterious."

Gray pointed at her. "Don’t get impressed, Cindy."

But Cindy’s frills lifted with excitement, her silver eyes bright. "But this is interesting! Imagine, people from all over the continent want to come here, and I’m actually here! Isn’t that amazing?"

Gray turned around and walked away, his voice completely devoid of enthusiasm.

"Yeah, yeah. Amazing."

Cindy’s frills snapped rigid with irritation.

"Hey! At least pretend to be impressed! Do you have any idea how rare this is? The Great Tartarus is a legend! A myth! And we’re standing on its shell, next to its core, after killing its guardian! This is the kind of thing bards write songs about!"

Gray didn’t turn around.

"I’ll be impressed when we’re not in constant danger of dying."

Cindy huffed, her small arms crossing over her chest inside the container.

"You’re so boring."

Lily still carrying Cindy’s container, pulsed with quiet amusement.

Gray stopped walking and glanced back over his shoulder.

"Are you two coming, or are you going to stand there complaining all day?"

Cindy’s frills twitched.

"I’m not complaining! I’m appreciating!"

"Same thing."

"It’s not the same thing!"

Gray turned back toward the pool of Tartarus Essence, his golden eyes fixed on the shimmering liquid.

"Whatever. Let’s focus. We came here for the essence, didn’t we?"

Cindy fell silent. Her frills slowly relaxed, and she nodded.

"...Yeah. You’re right."

Gray knelt beside the pool, studying it carefully.

"Even if we wanted to bring this back with us, it wouldn’t be easy," he said. "Do you think we need alchemy equipment to refine it?"

Cindy drifted closer in her container, her frills swaying thoughtfully.

"Of course we do," she said. "Alchemy equipment is essential. You can’t refine anything without it. And we’ll need other ingredients too, stabilizers, catalysts, binding agents. The essence is too concentrated to be used on its own."

Gray glanced at her.

"And you remember all of that?"

Cindy’s frills lifted with pride.

"I’m a genius, remember? I memorized dozens of refining recipes when I was at the academy. The equipment is the only problem. We don’t have any."

Gray looked down at the pool again, his hand resting on his chin.

"So we still need to bring it out somehow."

Cindy was quiet for a moment. Then her silver eyes brightened.

"What if we explore first?" she suggested. "Maybe there’s something on this shell that could help us. Supplies, tools, something the explorers left behind."

Gray considered that. The bone chamber below was full of rusted weapons and shattered armor. Most of it was worthless.

But some of the dead were fresh. If they searched those bodies carefully, they might find tools. Supplies. Maybe even alchemy equipment.

"That’s not a bad idea," he admitted.

Lily pulsed once, bright and eager, and darted toward the tunnel leading out of the Heart of the Tartarus, Cindy’s container bobbing gently in her grasp. Cindy watched the path ahead, then turned back toward Gray.

"See? Even Lily agrees."

Gray watched Lily and Cindy drift further ahead, already several meters away, their excitement pulling them forward faster than caution allowed.

"Slow down, you two," he called out, his voice carrying a tired edge. "What if another one of those annoying creatures shows up?"

Cindy glanced back over her shoulder, her frills lifting with a confidence that hadn’t been there a few days ago.

"Then we crush it before it can split in two again."

Gray let out a slow breath. He couldn’t argue with that.

They made their way back through the tunnels, past the root curtains and the glowing moss, until they reached the bone chamber once more. The remains of the explorers were still scattered across the floor.

Cindy drifted closer, her container bobbing gently as Lily carried her across the chamber. She saw the fresh corpses and turned her face away, uncomfortable with the sight, then looked toward the older remains, the ones that had been reduced to bare skeletons.

Then she stopped.

Her gaze locked onto a tattered piece of cloth, a uniform that had somehow survived the decay. It was dark and worn, stained by years of moisture and rot, but the emblem stitched into the shoulder was still visible.

A twin purple star.

Cindy’s breath caught.

"These people..." she whispered. "They’re from the Kingdom of Sigria?"