462 Full Assimilation
"Fuck, fuck, fucking dammit!" Queen Sybil cussed, dragging Ember by the hair up a winding spiral of steps with haste.
Thanks to her connection with the holy tree, she immediately knew the moment Queen Henrietta broke free from her captivity. She could sense all movements within the vicinity of the holy tree; it was also how she detected Marquis Ember.
Nevertheless, as Queen Sybil rushed up the spiral stairs, leaving behind a trail of blood belonging to Ember, the wall to her right side suddenly blew open. The shockwave immediately slammed her against the center pillar to her left.
"Where do you think you're going, Sybil?! I said I would kill you, and I am not one to go back on my word!" Henrietta roared with her cold gaze locked on Sybil's figure.
At the same time, Sybil glanced back and saw Henrietta floating outside the holy tree, draped in her insidious and terrifyingly destructive black flames. Her expression instantly turned terribly grim.
After a side glance at the bloodied and disfigured Ember lying powerlessly some distance away on the lower steps, she immediately dashed to grab her with an outstretched hand—only for a wall of black flames to cut off her hand and obstruct her path.
However, the wall of black flames didn't just obstruct Sybil from her objective; it also sliced into the holy tree's trunk with its terrifyingly sharp and destructive power.
"Did you think I would let you use Ember to threaten me again?"
Henrietta coldly uttered, waving her hand at Ember.
In that instant, a golden magic barrier covered Ember's body to protect her. Then, a wave of black flames wrapped around it, burning away anything and everything that contacted it.
Much of Ember's surroundings were quickly reduced to black ashes before Henrietta retrieved Ember from the holy tree.
Although Sybil lost one of her hands, she regenerated a new one within mere seconds, making her seem almost immortal and undying.
After she recovered her hand, she wanted to stop Henrietta immediately. However, the wall of black flames obstructed her at every turn as if it had a will of its own. The wall of black flames even formed a hand and waved its index finger at her as if it was telling her, "Don't even think about it," to mock her.
But, of course, the black flames were completely under Henrietta's control. Thus, it was Henrietta who was mocking her.
As such, Sybil's expression turned gloomier.
"How did you destroy the antimagic array and break free from your cage? You used your secret power, didn't you? To think... even the antimagic array can't stop it..."
Henrietta had no intention of answering Sybil's question. No, with Ember on her side and in need of treatment, she didn't give Sybil her attention at all. Thus, the person was only talking to herself.
After Henrietta took out a Rank 3 healing potion from her Magic Domain and treated Ember's wounds, nursing her back to health— only then did she finally give Sybil some attention with an icy cold look.
"How do you want to die, Sybil?" Henrietta coolly asked.
"Heh, die? Me?" Sybil snickered with a shake of her head before saying with a severe glare, "Do you really think you can kill me in my territory, Henrietta?! If I weren't so wary of your secret power, I wouldn't even be afraid to fight you!"
"Whether you fight or not, you will still die by my hands. You can't run from this fate, Sybil!"
Following Henrietta's statement, she hurled black flames at Sybil with the intent to kill, knowing full well that the person would not die so easily.
Just like she expected, the holy tree itself moved to protect Sybil from the black flames, shielding her layers of wood from its trunk.
It was like the holy tree had become soft like water; it could change its form and move as it pleased.
Nevertheless, Henrietta's black flames reduced everything in their path to ashes all the same. But after clearing the area, Sybil's figure was nowhere to be seen.
"Do you really think you can fight me while protecting Marquis Ember at the same time?! In my territory, no less! You are looking down on me too much, Henrietta! Let me show you true power!"
Sybil's croaky voice resounded from the holy tree without clearly distinguishing her location; it was like the holy tree itself was speaking. Even her aura had spread thin all over the enormous and towering holy tree.
Rumble...!
The earth shook as countless large tree roots emerged from the ground, causing chaos all over Emerald City. Buildings collapsed, and people cried, consumed by the deep rifts and fissures that formed on the surface.
Although some witches were able to save themselves with flight magic, the same couldn't be said for the rest, let alone men. Many plummeted to their deaths within the abyss of the newly formed deep rifts and fissures.
At the same time, many further away from the holy tree also fled Emerald City as far as they could before they got caught up in the destruction like the rest.
Nevertheless, Sybil didn't care about the destruction she caused in Emerald City. Her attention was solely focused on Henrietta.
"This is... sheer madness. Don't you care about your people?"
Henrietta frowned at the devastating scene.
"My people? Them?" Sybil snickered with ridicule and said, "They are just insects, expendable tools used for achieving my purpose. If they can't aid me in achieving my goals, then they are useless and better off dead."
"What a heartless ruler."
"Hahaha... I wasn't made a ruler because I wanted to be made one."
Henrietta's remark made Sybil laugh out loud, enough for her voice to resound throughout the great forest for everyone from the capital city to hear.
"These insects gathered around me, put me on a throne, and dumped all these bullshit expectations on me simply because I am stronger than them! Those are chains used by the weak to tie down the strong! I'm sure you can relate, Henrietta! Since they used me, I used them. Simple as that! So, no, I am not their ruler! It was just an exchange of interests!"
While listening to Sybil, Henrietta narrowed her eyes with a sharp glint, sensing the former was speaking words from her heart.
However, they weren't words that would be normally spoken out loud, let alone in front of such a big audience. After all, it would cost her all of their loyalty.
Thus, Henrietta could tell Sybil was losing touch with herself and becoming irrational — such was the price for fully assimilating with the holy tree. It would only get worse from here. In time, Sybil would be reduced to a mindless beast that could only act according to her most primal instincts.
Sybil acquired a power she wasn't ready to gain and got consumed by her greed.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I came to save you but ended up saved by you instead."
"That's what friends are for, Ember."
"Mm. I have recovered enough. Allow me to leave on my own. I don't want to become your burden in your fight with Queen Sybil — or whatever it is she has become."
"You're not a burden, but I will honor your request."
Although Henrietta thought differently, she didn't wish to argue with her friend. Thus, she readily released Ember and allowed her to fly away on her own.
Even if Ember were a burden, she would be considered a necessary burden. People only grew much stronger when they had things to protect.
Nevertheless, even as they spoke, a large barrier of black flames protected from the holy tree-fused Sybil's whip-like large roots.
However, Henrietta's black flames failed to burn away the tree roots.
The tree roots continued to hammer against her black flame barrier while the holy tree-fused Sybil's overwhelming life force regenerated any damage done to her roots almost instantly.
"Your Majesty, please end this madness! Please tell us what you said wasn't true! That wasn't really what you truly thought of us, right?! Please listen to me, your most devout sub—"
"Puny insect! You were at the top of the list in terms of your pestering and expectations! Disappear for me!"
"Y-Your Majesty, Please don't! Nooo—!"
A supremacist witch at the Early-stage High Witch rank failed to flee before a giant tree root swiftly slammed her into oblivion, tearing apart large landmasses of the earth in the process.
Each giant tree root contained so much weight and power that it easily shattered the earth into fractures.
At that moment, Sybil was no longer considered an Early-stage Transcendent Witch. Given her destructive capability after fully fusing with the holy tree, she was comparable to a Peak-stage Transcendent Witch.
Henrietta had forced her into early full assimilation with the holy tree, and the consequences resulted in the degradation of her intelligence, albeit at a much quicker rate than anyone could have anticipated.
Sybil was no different from a kid that would throw a tantrum at the slightest irritation. Except, her tantrums resulted in large-scale devastation to the surrounding land.
From another perspective, the holy tree-fused Sybil was like a colossal Kraken with the mind of an angry child. But instead of rampaging in a sea of water, it was in a sea of trees.
Suddenly, a large wave of black flames slammed into the holy tree-fused Sybil and burned a quarter of her crown, causing her to squeal in pain.
"Ahhh—! Damn you, Henrietta!"
"It's over, Sybil. I will end you! I originally wanted you to suffer the most excruciating pain before death. However, I cannot allow your rampage to continue devastating this land!"
"Argh, it's all your fault! If only you didn't exist! Such a marvelous power should have belonged to me!"
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