As Xue Ji walked along, she saw the warriors looking utterly exhausted, so she told them all to go back and rest.
Her authority within the military was incredibly high right now, so she had the power to make this call.
Xue Ji used her hand to activate the emergency mode of the Iron Wall System. A magical array appeared on the door. Placing her palm on it, a warm current flowed through her hand, then spread along the patterns of the array.
Only then was the security lock opened.
This training room, jointly designed by Ling Xiaoxiao and the Technology Development Bureau, combined technology with mystical arts. Once activated, without the proper clearance, or unless the battle inside had stopped, no one could enter.
“Why did they make it so complicated?” Xue Ji frowned, complaining.
A flash of golden light enveloped her, pulling her inside. Xue Ji felt the difference between the Iron Wall’s interior and the outside world again and realized that after activation, it had transformed into a separate space, like a piece cut out from somewhere.
While entering the passage to this isolated space, a pale golden Ouroboros mark appeared on Xue Ji’s right hand.
[Fate stands with you, Sage-sama.]
“Who’s there!” Xue Ji didn’t have time to say more before she was already inside the Iron Wall space.
The scene of brutal combat she had imagined wasn’t there. Instead, her puppet clone was fleeing from Aria as if trying to escape.
Xue Ji’s sudden appearance made the puppet latch onto her like a lifeline. She just squatted blankly behind Xue Ji, foolishly hoping Xue Ji would block her from view.
Aria descended right after like a shooting star. The nuns of the Holy Judgment Hall all possessed monstrous strength, capable of suppressing even inhuman creatures like vampires in close combat, and the Pope’s physical power was even more exaggerated.
A massive shockwave swept across the space for a kilometer around. If it weren’t for the puppet Ling Xiaoxiao supporting her from behind, she definitely would have been sent flying.
“Sister Ling, why won’t you see me? Why are you so stingy, you won’t even spare me a glance!”
Looking at Aria, standing in the crater like a demon god radiating immense power, Xue Ji broke out in a cold sweat.
She didn’t know if the puppet behind her was oblivious to the atmosphere or doing it on purpose, but it held Xue Ji tightly from behind with no intention of letting go.
Xue Ji whipped her head around, only to meet the clear, innocent gaze in the puppet’s eyes. This puppet’s intelligence didn’t seem high; it only had simple emotional responses and couldn’t speak.
Xue Ji saw dependence in the puppet’s eyes. It clung to her like a baby bird.
“Alright, alright, Ling Xiaoxiao, you leave your own romantic entanglements for me to deal with, huh? I’ll settle the score with you later.”
Xue Ji made a threat towards the puppet, pointing a finger at her as she scolded, not caring if the real Ling Xiaoxiao could hear her.
The restoration power within the Iron Wall space automatically took effect, rapidly repairing the ground that had been smashed open, forcing Aria to jump out.
As luck would have it, she landed right in front of Xue Ji.
Seeing who it was, Aria was visibly stunned. Seeing Ling Xiaoxiao clinging to her, and the scolded expression on that Ling Xiaoxiao, made her fists clench even tighter.
She had done so much for Ling Xiaoxiao, worked hard to become stronger, seized power, all just to stand by Ling Xiaoxiao’s side again.
She had saved her life, yet Ling Xiaoxiao refused to get close. Why?
“I was here first! Give her back to me!” Aria charged towards Xue Ji, reaching out as if to snatch the puppet away.
Xue Ji used teleportation to dodge. Having the puppet attached like a charm restricted her movements, and the Pope was far too emotional. In this situation, the only option was to fight first.
Shadows gathered in Xue Ji’s hand, forging a massive, pitch-black scythe as tall as a person. A chain at the end of the scythe coiled around Xue Ji’s arm, and the dark aura blazed like flames, claiming a space of its own.
The puppet Ling Xiaoxiao wisely let go and obediently sat on the ground.
In Aria’s eyes, Xue Ji’s current state overlapped with memories from the past. The vampire who had killed her parents back then had also used a scythe to sever heads.
The shadow of the past merged with the present conflict, causing Aria to lose her reason.
“You! You wretch! You must be a heretic from the Secret God Cult! You must have bewitched Sister Ling! How many more people do you plan to kill?!”
Aria was enveloped in a flash of holy light, heavy armor materializing on her body. A two-meter-long greatsword coalesced in her raised hands.
Knowing that Aria, now practically frenzied, was beyond reason, Xue Ji decisively swung her massive scythe.
The scythe’s slash collided with the holy greatsword, and the resulting energy spilled out sideways, the scope of destruction surpassing even the previous crater.
“Calm down, Pope Aria.” Xue Ji’s voice was incredibly gentle, like the falling of a gentle rain.
The effectiveness of this technique had been proven by the Hero; it was like splashing a basin of cold water on someone’s face.
The holy light armor on Aria completely dissipated, leaving only the woman in a grey robe kneeling on the ground, speechless.
“Can we talk properly now?” Xue Ji crouched down to meet her eyes.
Aria, snapped out of her rage by that single blow, was still a bit dazed and took a moment to regain her composure.
“I was out of line. Sorry.” Even as she said this, the way she gritted her teeth betrayed her unwillingness.
Xue Ji wasn’t about to indulge her, after all, there was no need for them to maintain this superficial politeness.
“You’re not the only one you need to apologize to. There are also the warriors outside who’ve been working tirelessly for days and nights because of your recklessness!”
“If you came here just to cause trouble, then hand over whatever you need to hand over and go back.”
Xue Ji looked impatiently at Aria kneeling on the ground.
She could see that the Pope was somewhat confused, in fact, completely lost. This was a situation where Xue Ji needed to do something quite drastic — snap her out of it.
“I, I, I just came to find Sister Ling! What did I do wrong!” Aria cried out. “She was the one who abandoned me first!”
“What did you say?!” Xue Ji’s expression darkened as she pressed, “What exactly happened between you two back then?”
Over the course of Aria’s tearful narration, which lasted two hours, Xue Ji learned about the situation back then.
The first half hour was about Ling Xiaoxiao saving Aria’s village, Aria developing feelings for her, and Ling Xiaoxiao leaving without saying goodbye.
The remaining hour and a half was entirely about Aria’s efforts over the years to follow in Ling Xiaoxiao’s footsteps. In that ninety-minute account, she mentioned Ling Xiaoxiao’s name a full forty-five times, numbing Xue Ji’s brain.
Seeing that Aria showed no sign of stopping, Xue Ji raised her hand to signal her to be quiet.
“So, you feel like you gave everything for Ling Xiaoxiao, but she cruelly abandoned you, is that it?”
“Yes.” Aria nodded repeatedly.
“Does she know you love her?” Xue Ji noticed from her story that they had only truly interacted twice: once when Ling Xiaoxiao saved her life as a child, and once during the campaign against Cain.
“I, I…” Aria stammered for a long time, unable to say a word.
“Even putting that aside, even if Ling Xiaoxiao did know, does that mean she has to like you back?” Xue Ji pointed out another flaw in Aria’s reasoning. “She must have clearly told you not to get close to her, didn’t she?”
Scenes from their time together during the campaign against Cain flashed through Aria’s mind. Ling Xiaoxiao always kept her distance, even once telling her to mind her boundaries. Yet Aria had foolishly kept clinging on.
“One-sided love is called unrequited love. Trying to force someone to accept your love without reason isn’t love. Even if you throw away your dignity and just waste away here, it doesn’t change the fact that you don’t even have the courage to go find her yourself!”
Hearing this, Aria deflated completely. The fantasy that had kept her going all this time was shattered by Xue Ji. Now, she felt she had nothing left.
“I’m so envious of you, Miss Xue Ji. You’re so brilliant, inside and out. Back then, and now.”
“Don’t you dare wallow in self-pity on me! Love with some dignity! You’re a good person too, got it?!”
“I’m… a good person too…” A glimmer of light appeared in Aria’s eyes, which had been filled with despair.
“Why are you telling me all this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll actually go and steal your person?” Aria asked, puzzled.
Logically, they were rivals, weren’t they?
Xue Ji’s expression didn’t waver; she said freely, “First, seeing you like this makes me uncomfortable. Second, I need to get you out of here and put an end to this farce. Third…”
Xue Ji smiled, then continued, “I trust her. That’s all.”
Aria’s newly ignited fighting spirit was extinguished again.
‘I can’t win. There’s no way I can win.’