Millennium Witch.

Chapter 38 - Elemental Flower
Using the remaining magic in her body to activate the "regeneration pump" to avoid infection by the aberrant factors, Yvette brushed the dust off her shoulders and stepped out of the shallow pit.

She was not at all surprised by the six-armed demon's betrayal. In fact, both sides knew very well that they were each other's kill list.

After stifling the evolution of the "Wolverine Queen," she would definitely try to kill the Six-Armed Demon, because she could not allow another Stage 4 aberration to be born. Conversely, the Six-Armed Demon would also look for an opportunity to kill her, because it also knew that this incredibly powerful silver-haired girl would not allow another similar threat to be born.

The cooperation between the two parties was based on a lack of trust from beginning to end. The reason they didn't expose each other and pretended to cooperate was not only because they shared the same goal, but also because they each had their own ulterior motives and hoped to gain some trust by deceiving each other—although neither of them succeeded.

"The Queen of the Woodlice isn't advancing to the fourth stage, but rather recuperating from her injuries, right?" After a moment of silence, Yvette suddenly asked.

"Ha... Hahahahahahaha—!!" After a brief silence, the six-armed demon let out a burst of uncontrollable laughter, a mixture of ecstasy and triumph.

As if finally getting the long-awaited line, it said with satisfaction: "Foolish humans, you've figured it out? But it's too late!"

"That's right, there was never any lord from the beginning, that's just something I made up! No mutant creature that has ever reached the fourth stage has ever appeared on the island, how would I know what a lord is?"

"I was just playing with you, letting you and the largest lair here wear each other down so I could pick up the scraps!"

"What pathetic wretches you are! You have no way to verify the truth of this matter. Whether it is true or false, you must go deep into the corrupt forest to find out the truth and obediently become my pawns."

"So, when I said I was the most intelligent and perfect being, I wasn't lying at all, right?"

Yvette looked at it quietly, showing no anger, shame, or regret in response to its words.

She had a premonition, and almost guessed it, when the six-armed demon was slacking off and not putting in any effort during the battle.

However, firstly, the other party's acting skills were quite good, making him seem like a weakling who was good at agility but not good at head-on combat and not that dangerous; secondly, as the other party said, she could not feel at ease without seeing the situation of the mother nest with her own eyes.

Under the influence of this anxiety, she gave it more tolerance, but also added a lot of unnecessary magical consumption.

This is essentially a calculated scheme that exploits information asymmetry, but even knowing it's a trap, people still have to fall into it.

After thinking for a moment, she asked again, "Is this your special ability?"

She had been wondering before: since all the aberrations in the third stage possessed magic, there should be a way to use it. She had previously thought that the six-armed demon's speed came from consuming magic, but then she realized that even so, the six-armed demon's performance wasn't particularly strong; at best, it was good at surviving and had excellent escape abilities.

Now it seems that wasn't the case. Its true special ability should be its current six-armed, six-winged combat form. In terms of the powerful aura it exudes, it is completely unmatched by any of the previous third-tier aberration variants.

"Quite perceptive," the six-armed demon chuckled, stretching its body before picking up the alloy battle blade from the ground and holding it in its hand. However, after swinging it once, it tossed it far away—it had enough arms, and using a long sword would easily injure itself; more importantly, it didn't want Yvette to get its hands on it, lest it cause further complications.

"On the entire island, you are the only one qualified to witness my 'full glory' so far. Be proud, human mage! Be proud, human mage! I am only one step away from my fourth evolution! To die at the hands of the strongest and most evolved perfect creature on the island, even death would be an honor!"

Having said that, it transformed into a blurry phantom, circling slightly before slashing towards Yvette.

Yvette's pupils contracted slightly, and she subconsciously summoned a blue and white runic ring from her side. A lightning snake shot out from it, but it missed its target, only exploding into a patch of scorched earth on the ground.

After dodging three electric shocks, the six-armed demon finally seized an opportunity and lunged forward. Claws and bone blades slashed towards the silver-haired girl's neck and waist, respectively.

Enveloped in a whirlwind of azure, Yvette leaned back to dodge, a strand of her silver hair being severed. Then, runic rings appeared in her palms, from which flames surged forth, temporarily forcing the six-armed demon back.

As the light faded, the two figures, who had just joined together, separated again.

In this initial probing, Yvette was not injured, but she almost had a brush with death; a slight misstep could have resulted in her neck being severed.

The six-armed demon was subjected to a high-temperature wash, and although it retreated immediately, the corners of its mouth still slowly turned down, making it look somewhat gloomy.

It discovered that its advantage wasn't as significant as it seemed, especially since even in its peak form, the silver-haired girl's magic could still break through its defenses. This was truly a frustrating situation, because if its defenses were already compromised before activating its peak form, and still compromised after activating it, then what was the point of activating its peak form?
Of course, it wasn't that bad. At least compared to before, after activating its full power, it could break through the silver-haired girl's defensive magic, so it wasn't completely useless. Thus, the battle became a duel between two fragile characters, one a fragile mage and the other a fragile assassin. Both had to be careful not to be touched by the other and find opportunities to hurt each other, each dancing on the edge of a knife.

A few seconds later, the six-armed demon launched another attack, hovering around Yvette like a shadow, occasionally closing in to strike and then retreating.

Yvette is surrounded by rings of runes in four colors: ice, fire, wind, and lightning. Like loyal guardians, they are always pointing in four directions. If an attack comes from any direction, she can intercept it at the fastest speed and buy time for her ultimate evasion.

This back-and-forth exchange lasted for several minutes. When the two separated again, Yvette was staggering, breathing heavily, her pure white dress torn in several places, revealing the lining underneath. Furthermore, there were two long, narrow wounds on her forearms and shoulders, bleeding profusely.

Crimson blood soaked through her clothes, and the mutated factors spread wildly under her skin... The combination of these multiple conditions made her breath appear weaker than ever before.

The six-armed demon was also in bad shape; large areas of its scales had melted and scorched, and it was missing two wings, which greatly affected its ability to fly.

However, the corners of its mouth turned up more and more joyfully, with a hint of smugness and cruelty.

Yes, it has discovered that the mage's magic power is nearing its limit. Her aura is like a candle flickering in the wind, and the spells she casts are no longer as powerful as before!
Although she didn't know why she hadn't been infected by the mutation factor yet, it didn't matter. The next wave of attacks would be her death!

Its heart burned with passion, and it took flight once more, its membranous wings vibrating wildly, pushing its speed to the limit, transforming into a swooping black rainbow, launching a deadly attack.

At the same time, it was extremely vigilant, prepared to retreat at the slightest provocation. After all, it still had a second, third, and fourth chance to strike, but the opposing mage certainly didn't have many trump cards left.

"Die!" In an instant, the demon's maniacal laughter and the chilling glint of the blade descended almost simultaneously.

Yvette still chose to dodge, her slender, frail figure resembling a lamb struggling desperately in the jaws of a wolf.

But this time, she didn't immediately create distance as she had before.

Instead, she turned to the side, her jade-like hand seizing the opportunity to forcefully grasp the six-armed demon's bone blade, refusing to let go despite the stinging pain in her hand.

Then, countless, layered rings of runes appeared around the six-armed demon within arm's reach.

The six-armed demon's expression changed instantly. Although it had anticipated that the other party would hold back a trick, this trick was far too big.

It immediately thrust its other bone blade into the girl's heart, trying to force her to retreat. But strangely, as the bone blade fell, the magical defense that had just been able to be shattered suddenly shone with a bright red light and became as solid as iron, deflecting its attack!
Break defense?

Unable to break through...the defense?

Why can't I break through their defenses? They were fine just now.
It froze, and then saw the silver-haired girl's beautiful, lifeless face, her mouth slowly curving upwards to reveal a smug, contemptuous, and malicious little arc.

"You... you lied to me..." Faced with imminent death, the six-armed demon suddenly realized the truth.

What breach in defense, what weakness—it's all an illusion! From the very first sneak attack, every time it shattered the opponent's defenses, it was all intentional on the part of the silver-haired girl, with the aim of creating the illusion that it had a chance to kill her!
Only under this illusion will it not run away, but will actively give the other party a chance, allowing Yvette to restrict this speed king that is almost impossible to catch at close range!

In order to set this trap, she was even willing to take the risk of being cut, infected by the mutation factor, or even accidentally dying!

But... it's too late to cut off an arm to save your life now.

In an instant, amidst belated despair, the dazzling magical particles coalesced and exploded outwards like a supernova.

In the last second before his consciousness faded, the six-armed demon saw a massive, beautifully colored elemental flower blooming against the azure sky.

(End of this chapter)