After experimenting with the glass device, Lyla turned her attention beyond the glass wall. Then, she narrowed her eyes.

“What are you doing?” she asked and tensed up. Serpina was standing in front of the restriction device before she even realized it.

“I’m trying to help you.” Serpina placed her hand on the device and infused mana into it. Lyla felt that it became easier for her to work the device, and Serpina’s mana was guiding hers. Yet, even though Serpina was helping her, Lyla scowled.

“What are you plotting?” Lyla asked.

“What do you mean? I’m just helping you diligently according to the contract.”

“Wow, your hard work is bringing me to tears,” Lyla replied.

Serpina was the one who said that Lyla had learned everything there was to know in theory, and the only thing left for Lyla to do was to practice with the mana of the World Tree’s clones. Thus, when there was no mana coming from the World Tree’s clones, there was nothing for Lyla to do but kill time. When Lyla rejoiced that she could finally restrict the flow of mana from the World Tree’s clones and thought her studies were over, Serpina stopped her from going to help Zich. Serpina told her that she had only taught Lyla how to restrict the mana from the World Tree’s clones, but to block it altogether, she needed to know how to restrict the entire ruin too.

When she heard this, Lyla pondered deeply if she should just pierce Serpina with Windur. Eventually, after announcing that she would surely undo the summoning of the princess if Serpina tricked her one more time, Lyla began to learn how to restrict the whole ruin. This was all that happened until this point.

“There’s no need for you to go that far. Just express gratitude and reverence for me in your heart.”

“As if.” Lyla glared at Serpina one more time and went to investigate the glass device again. She quickly figured out how to use the restriction device with her outstanding talent and Serpina’s guidance.

Wiiing! The ruin vibrated. Lyla looked below the glass wall and the bottom floor of the ruin.

Sliiiid!

The mana from the World Tree’s clones was flowing in. ‘Is it already time?’

Her concept of time had almost been frozen during her stay in the basement, and the routine flow of mana was the only thing that reminded her of it. As it always did, mana gradually increased from the ruin’s floor.

‘Amazing! I can feel the enormous amount of mana!’ This device was on a whole other level compared to the normal devices on the outside. Lyla felt chills as she felt the mana from the World Tree’s clones envelope her.

‘This is just a very tiny portion of mana from the World Tree’s clones. I suppose that’s why it can do something as ridiculous as turning back time,’ she thought. Only words of awe escaped her mind. Even Zich and Lyla who held an unimaginable amount of mana could feel as if their mana was nothing compared to this. Although she had always kept her guard up against Serpina, Lyla unconsciously loosened her focus, thus creating an opening.

Swish. Serpina’s mana guided Lyla’s mana and secretly moved it somewhere else. Usually, Lyla would have immediately responded, but she was too late in noticing it because of the World Tree’s clones’ mana. Serpina’s mana moved quietly like a snake aiming for its prey and suddenly moved explosively.

‘Huh?’ Lyla finally noticed it then. After being occupied by the World Tree’s clones’ mana, Lyla quickly assessed the situation and acted.

‘She finally…!’ Lyla glared at Serpina beyond the glass wall, but she had no time to spare. She had to quickly stop that damn princess’s schemes. First of all, Lyla tried to undo Serpina’s summon, but she soon frowned.

‘There’s something interfering with Windur’s mana.’ It seemed as if the mana from the World Tree’s clones had flowed into this glass device, and something was interfering with Windur.

‘She put me in here with that knowledge!’ Lyla gritted her teeth but didn’t even have the time to get angry. She tried to get out first, but the entrance didn’t open.

‘She blocked the entrance.’ The way Serpina recently moved her mana was probably for this purpose. Although she was stuck inside this device, Lyla snorted.

‘She plans to block me with just this?’ Using the device, Lyla began to manipulate the ruin. She had to fight with Serpina over the authority of the ruin, but Lyla wasn’t worried. Even if her opponent knew everything about the Brushel System, she had no intention of losing this battle, and she wasn’t relying on some baseless confidence. Serpina already passed on everything about the ruin to Lyla, and Lyla had already planned out what she would do if she ever faced a situation where she would have to fight over the authority of the ruin’s system with Serpina.

With just these points, it would be a disadvantageous fight for Lyla, but Lyla had two advantages going for her right now. First, there was the glass device that contained her. As expected of a reserve device for controlling the Brushel device, it was very sensitive to mana. Compared to Serpina who used a normal restriction device, Lyla was able to connect to the system more easily.

The second advantage was Windur. Lyla was holding it right now. Until now, Windur had been amplifying Lyla’s mana as she held it, and its abilities far surpassed most staffs. Furthermore, it was a branch of the World Tree, which made it even easier for her to use the restriction device that dealt with the World Tree’s clones’ mana. With these two advantages, Lyla was confident that she could beat Serpina in their battle for control of the ruin.

Proving her beliefs, Lyla instantly wiped away Serpina’s mana that had infiltrated the system. In just the blink of an eye, half of Serpina’s mana disappeared, and she could take care of the rest with just as little time. Even though everything was progressing to her expectations, Lyla couldn’t lower her guard. It made her more nervous that everything was progressing well.

‘Did Serpina really come up with such a shabby plan that could be destroyed just like that?’

Although Zich had treated Serpina like a toy, she was no easy opponent. Lyla thought of two possibilities.

‘She has something else up her sleeve…Or her schemes don’t take long to complete,’ Lyla thought. Beyond the glass wall, Lyla searched for Serpina. She was still standing in front of the restriction device and staring at the crystal. Whether or not Lyla and Serpina fought, the World Tree’s clones’ mana flowed into the crystal as it had done for countless years. It was then that Serpina moved. She placed her hand on the restriction device and seemed to finally be working toward her goal now.

‘What’s her goal though?’ Most of the ruin was already under Lyla’s control. Whatever Serpina attempted to do, it wouldn’t be easy for her to do it without Lyla’s intervention. Of course, Lyla predicted that Serpina’s counterattack would be formidable. Lyla worked to open the glass container’s entrance and prepared to respond to any of Serpina’s actions. However, Serpina’s actions completely escaped Lyla’s expectations.

‘Uh?’ Lyla had been monitoring Serpina’s mana, and she thought she had made a mistake in her detection for a moment. While she had been focusing her mana on central points where she expected Serpina to fight for control, Lyla realized that Serpina’s mana was heading toward a completely different place than she expected. It was a place that Lyla had never thought that Serpina would attack or even think of attacking.

‘W-what is she doing!’ Lyla was befuddled and quickly moved to block Serpina’s mana. Thanks to the increased efficiency inside the device and Windur’s support, Lyla was able to quickly devour Serpina’s mana. However, she was a little late, and Serpina’s lips curled up in a satisfactory smile.

Rummmble! The whole ruin began to shake. There was a slight vibration when the mana of the World Tree’s clones began to flow in, but this vibration was on a completely different level. It was at that moment that the entrance of the glass container finally opened. Lyla rolled out of the device. Then she shouted at Serpina in disbelief, “What the hell are you thinking?!”

“How vulgar. Get up first.” Serpina clicked her tongue and rebuked Lyla who was in such a hurry to get out that she was half-sitting on the ground. Serpina’s nonchalant tone greatly irked Lyla, but Lyla quickly got up as Serpina instructed.

Then she quickly approached Serpina and grabbed her by the throat. “Say it now!”

Since Lyla had spent a considerable amount of time with Zich, she was quite skilled at threatening people. However, the problem was that even if Zich came, Serpina could not be intimidated by simple threats.

Serpina replied, “Why are you getting so agitated? This place was made by Clowon, and since you’ve decided to reject being Clowon’s princess, I’m the only one in the world who has the right to claim this ruin.” Serpina continued with an annoyingly calm voice, “As the owner of this ruin, what’s wrong with trying to destroy my possessions?”

The biggest reason why Lyla failed to stop Serpina’s action was that she couldn’t predict that Serpina would try to destroy this ruin. Serpina sought Clowon’s resurrection, and the Brushel System was an instrument for her goal. Even though the Brushel System was currently disabled, Serpina would do everything in her power to revive it. Thus, Lyla thought that every single part about this ruin would be extremely precious to her. However, what Serpina did just now completely undermined Lyla’s expectations.

Serpina had just attempted to trigger the ruin’s self-destruction function.

Ziiiiiing! A tremendous resonance came from where the crystal was. Lyla and Serpina looked at it in unison. Lyla clenched her teeth. She had hurriedly stopped Serpina’s attempt, so she stopped the entire ruin from collapsing, but she couldn’t stop part of the World Tree’s clones’ mana from leaking and going berserk. Fortunately, the extent of its destruction was extremely small, so it wouldn’t be able to destroy even the ring they were standing on, let alone the entire ruin.

However, the state of the crystal where the mana gathered together was completely different. Lyla knew without even looking that the mana inside the crystal was beginning to twist strangely. Lyla turned her gaze back to Serpina and tightened her grip. “Stop saying nonsense and tell me your goal.”

“Okay, I will.” Serpina easily nodded her head. Her behavior was leisurely considering that the situation was already irreversible. “I just have one goal, and it’s to wake up the dragon.”

“As expected, is that still alive?”

“Of course. We’ve implemented all kinds of measures, but above all, a dragon’s vitality is really a wonderous thing.”

A dragon. Dragons were regarded as legends in the world, and their amazing power and abilities were also passed down in legends. Lyla asked, “What happens after you wake up the dragon? What are you going to do with it?”

“It’s simple. I’m going to make it kill Zich.”

Lyla thought her heart plummeted for a moment; it felt as if she heard a loud thud in her heart. To Lyla, there was no worse catastrophe than Zich getting killed. “W-why…?” Lyla stammered in dismay. However, Lyla didn’t even realize she stuttered; that was how shocking this news was to her.

Serpina replied, “I thought of various ways to revive Clowon, but I couldn’t find a clear answer. The Brushel System is broken, and I’m currently unable to move to my satisfaction. Even then, I thought I might be able to find the answer if I could move freely somehow. Then I realized something. If I can't do it, I should make someone with the same ability as me carry out my will.”

Serpina looked straight into Lyla’s eyes. Compared to Lyla’s trembling eyes, her gaze was steadfast. “I immediately thought of someone suitable. Someone who deeply loves Zich, has the same face as me and has an amazing ability. Then, at the same time, I also thought that if Zich dies, this person will dearly miss him and rebuild the Brushel System for me.” Then Serpina whispered to Lyla as if she was tempting her, “It’s all too easy to meet a dead person again with the Brushel System. I’m sure you’re well aware of that yourself.”