A cross-dressing anime, starting with Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.

"It was... a deal I made with a crazy woman..."

He simply didn't have the energy to explain the absurd "gift" in detail, so he could only gloss over it with the simplest words.

Liu did not ask any further questions.

She simply helped him steady himself and quickened her pace.

269. Is there any hope?

When the two stepped back onto the ravaged land of the eighteenth floor, they were met with utter silence.

That terrifying Zagnat has vanished without a trace.

Alexie, Kaguya, Niz... the girls of the Astrea Familia, some sitting, some standing, gathered together, each face bearing the deep sorrow and despair of their loved ones.

Artemis and several members of Loki's Familia stood to one side, the atmosphere equally somber.

Frilian sat alone on a rock, took out her notebook again, and seemed to be writing something.

"Everyone……"

Ryu's voice broke the deathly silence.

Everyone froze in an instant.

They turned around abruptly and saw Ryu, and the figure she was supporting, covered in blood but still alive.

The whole world seemed to light up.

"Lynn—!!!"

Kaguya let out a scream that was a mixture of ecstasy and disbelief.

She charged forward like a red cannonball, throwing herself into Lynn's arms without a care in the world.

The immense impact sent Lynn and Liu, who were already swaying precariously, staggering back several steps.

"Cough...cough..."

Kaguya's embrace was like a heavy blow to Lynn at that moment.

He felt as if all his internal organs were out of place, a sweet taste rose in his throat, and golden blood uncontrollably gushed from the corner of his mouth, staining Kaguya's shoulder red.

"what!"

Kaguya was so frightened that she immediately let go of his hand. Looking at his pale face and the dazzling golden blood, the tears that she had just stopped burst forth again.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Lynn... I didn't mean to..."

She was incoherent and at a loss for what to do.

"Idiot! You almost strangled him to death!"

Alexie rushed over and pulled Kaguya, who was still crying, aside. She carefully tried to support Lynn, but dared not touch his body, which seemed to break at the slightest touch.

Her eyes were red and bloodshot, but the ecstasy of regaining what she had lost was quickly replaced by the fear brought on by the terrible injuries before her.

"Hey! You bastard... don't just die like that!"

Her voice was choked with sobs, yet it also held a fierce edge.

"If you dare to die... I will absolutely... absolutely never forgive you!"

Lynn tried to force a smile, but it only aggravated the wound on his face, causing him to gasp in pain.

"He won't die..."

His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded.

"I promised you... I would come back..."

These words completely shattered the girls' last line of psychological defense.

Niz, Lyra, Celty... every member of the Astrea Familia gathered around, tears silently streaming down their faces.

Grace and Riveria exchanged a heavy look; both LV5 officers were completely shocked by the scene before them.

They strode forward, Grace's imposing figure like a moving city wall, gently yet undeniably separating the emotionally distraught girls.

"Get out of the way! Do you want him to die even faster?!"

The dwarf's gruff roar, though unpleasant to hear, was like a bucket of cold water, waking everyone up.

Alexie and Kaguya then realized what was happening and quickly stepped back, giving Riveria enough space.

Rivera crouched down, extended her slender fingers, and gently placed them on Lynn's wrist.

She closed her eyes, and her pure magic transformed into the finest probe, carefully probing into Lynn's body, which resembled a battlefield.

The next second, for the first time, a look of horror appeared on Rivera's usually calm face....

Her face instantly turned as pale as Lynn's.

"How could this be..."

She murmured to herself, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Rivieria, how is it?"

Grace pressed him anxiously, rarely seeing his companion with such an expression.

Riveria opened her eyes, and in her emerald green pupils, everyone's tension was reflected.

She took a deep breath and tried to speak in a calm tone, but her voice still trembled slightly.

"His body... was like a powder keg that had been detonated."

"No, it's even worse than that."

"More than 90% of his bones were fractured. His meridians were broken, and his internal organs were also severely impacted and displaced."

Every word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking the hearts of the Astrea Familia girls.

Their faces grew even paler.

"but……"

Riveria changed the subject.

"The most troublesome thing is not these external injuries."

"Within his body, two unimaginably massive 4.0 forces are engaged in a primal conflict and devouring."

"One force is his own, brimming with boundless vitality. The other is an external, cold, silent, yet extremely pure torrent of magic."

"Destruction and rebirth, annihilation and creation... these two diametrically opposed processes formed a strange and dangerous balance within him."

Everyone who heard this was terrified.

This injury was completely beyond their comprehension.

"Is there...is there any hope?"

With tears in her voice, Laila asked the question that everyone wanted to ask, but dared not.

270. Departure

Riveria fell silent.

She couldn't give an answer.

Theoretically speaking, Lynn should have died a hundred times by now.

The fact that he has lived to this day is a miracle that cannot be explained by ordinary understanding.

Just as everyone was plunged into a deathly silence of despair, a clear, cold voice broke the stagnant air.

"It can be saved."

It's Freylan.

She had somehow walked up to Lynn's side and was squatting down, examining Lynn's body with an academic gaze.

"This process, though brutal, is in essence a migration to a higher level of life form."

"Like a caterpillar, it completely dissolves itself in its cocoon and then reassembles into a butterfly."

She reached out her finger and gently touched Lynn's chest, a ray of light entering it.

"He is now inside his own 'cocoon'."

04 "That external force is building a new and stronger 'body' for him. His own life force is stubbornly resisting this transformation, trying to maintain its original form."

"As long as these two forces can be guided to achieve a new balance instead of annihilating each other, he will not only survive, but will also become much stronger than before."

Frilian's explanation was simple and straightforward, yet it left everyone present completely bewildered.

"Easier said than done! How do you guide them?"

Grace couldn't help but ask.

That's a power storm comparable to LV7 or even higher. Who has the ability to guide it?

Frilian raised her head, her emerald green eyes calmly sweeping over the crowd.

"I'll do it."

Her words were understated, yet carried an undeniable confidence.

She took out a bottle of potion emitting a seven-colored halo and several magic stones engraved with complex runes from her suitcase.

"I need an absolutely quiet environment."

"Before returning to the surface, I will use magic to temporarily suppress the power conflict within his body and maintain his most basic vital signs."

"However, this process cannot be interrupted."

Artemis immediately stepped forward.

"I will protect you."

"Me too!"

Alexie and Kaguya also stepped forward without hesitation.

Although they didn't understand the complex theories, they understood one thing.

Lynn, there is still hope.

That's enough.

Liu silently gripped the dagger, stood at the cave entrance, and warily surveyed her surroundings.

Grace and Riveria exchanged a glance and nodded.

"The Loki Familia will ensure your safety."

Looking at the group of people in front of her, a very faint ripple seemed to flash across Frilian's eternally unchanging face, a ripple that even she herself did not notice.

Without saying anything more, she carefully fed the medicine into Lynn's mouth.

Then, she placed the magic stones around Lynn's body in a specific orientation, formed hand seals, and began chanting a spell that no one present had ever heard before.

A soft light emanated from Frilian's staff, connecting the magic stones to form a complex three-dimensional magic circle, enveloping Lynn's image.

Ancient elven language, like a babbling brook, echoed through the cave.

Lynn's brows, which had been furrowed from the intense pain, gradually relaxed.

The violent energy storm within him seemed to be soothed by an invisible force, and the intensity of the conflict began to gradually decrease.

The golden blood that had seeped from the horrific cracks on his body gradually stopped.

Seeing this, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.

"The situation... has stabilized."

Rivera said softly, she could feel that Lynn's chaotic life force was stabilizing.

"temporary."

Frilian finished her hymn, a fine layer of sweat beading on her forehead.

Clearly, the magic she just used had taken a huge toll on her.

"This suppression spell can only last for a maximum of six hours."

"We must get back to the surface within six hours and find a safe place with sufficient medical facilities to proceed with the next stage of treatment."