Chapter 168

Chapter 168

I picked up the short staff the old servant had left behind. It looked plain and simple — I couldn't tell what kind of wood it was made from.

I turned to check that the Runic Array in front of me was stable and wouldn't cause any trouble for a while, then looked back and spoke:

"Youngest Princess, there are a few things I need to confirm with you first."

"Okay... go ahead, I'm listening." Youngest Princess was kneeling on the ground, her eyes fixed on the Runic Array without moving.

"Why can your singing suppress the Shadow? The power the old servant described the Youngest Princess as having was purely creation and physical force — it shouldn't have any ability to fight the Shadow. Otherwise, the original Youngest Princess wouldn't have needed to surrender while leading a rebel army tainted by the Shadow."

I spoke slowly, thinking it through.

Youngest Princess answered my question:

"That's my own ability.

Before inheriting this place, I was just a witch who happened to enjoy singing.

During the inheritance ritual, the ritual grants power to the inheritor. The ability that manifests is different for each person — it's tied to what each person longs for most deeply.

And ever since I first came here, my singing has carried the power of purification."

"Purifying the Shadow?" It came out as a question, but there was a note of of course in my voice.

Youngest Princess nodded:

"Yes, my singing can purify the Shadow.

Before you showed up, I would sing inside my cell every time, until the crystal people and puppets around me were purified.

Some of them, after being purified, would be drawn by the song and come to my cell.

That's how I escaped before."

Youngest Princess sat on the ground hugging her knees, face buried between her legs as she spoke in a muffled voice.

So she really did have the power to purify the Shadow.

I wasn't surprised. I'd guessed as much from the moment she insisted on staying.

But still...

"What about beyond your singing? Do you have any other way to purify the Shadow?"

"Not right now." Youngest Princess shook her head. "I've been here too short a time. I haven't been able to use most of my abilities with any real control."

I thought of how much she had struggled to materialize that short sword and gave a small nod.

"What about you?" she asked. "You must have had your own plan when you chose to stay. Do you have a way to purify the Shadow?"

"I do. Barring anything unexpected, my weapon should be ready — it's inside the Sunsteal Runic Array. With it, I can face the final enemy here. And purifying the Shadow should be well within its reach."

I remembered Eldest Princess's words clearly. Once I had the weapon, I would have the power to confront the core of the Shadow directly.

"So our goal is clear: purify the corruption, and put an end to this Shadow."

I hesitated for a moment, then continued:

"I don't quite believe someone like Eldest Princess could be completely consumed by the Shadow. But based on what she left me, her situation is probably not good.

We need to be ready for the worst case — that Eldest Princess has been fully consumed by the Shadow.

If that's the case, we'll be facing a witch who is both completely out of her mind and extraordinarily powerful."

"Will she be hard to deal with?"

"No."

I said it with a smile. The Shadow has no consciousness, and the majority of the Eldest Princess's strength lies in her mastery of magic.

"A witch who has lost her mind can't construct anything too complex."

"So you mean we have to defeat Eldest Princess after she's lost her mind?"

"No. What I mean is, we need to purify her corrupted state. Help her take back control of this castle."

I glanced at Youngest Princess and said, "Simply put, we're going to save her."

"......"

"This is the foundation of our plan. We need to agree on this before we move—"

"No problem."

I was still working out how to convince her when Youngest Princess agreed, just like that.

"What?" I didn't quite catch up.

"I said, no problem. I trust you, and I trust the old servant who was willing to give everything for her."

I stumbled over my words for a moment, then said, "I thought it would take some effort to convince you."

"What kind of person do you think I am, exactly?" Youngest Princess asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

A reckless little kid who doesn't know her own limits.

"Of course... a perfectly reasonable young lady," I said it under her skeptical gaze.

"That's right, that's right!" Youngest Princess seemed quite pleased with that, and the low, heavy tone in her voice slowly started to lift.

I held back for a moment, but couldn't stop myself from asking:

"Why do you have such hostility toward the old servant and Eldest Princess? Don't tell me it's just because of how they handled the rebels. You didn't know those people — even if that played a part, it can't be the main reason."

"Because my family all died in the disaster that the Salt Castle caused in the outside world. My father, my mother, my brother." Youngest Princess lowered her head and answered slowly.

Her voice trembled slightly. "That terrifying dragon destroyed my hometown."

She gradually rose to her feet, her voice growing firm. "And now I've become the heir to the Salt Castle myself. Something like that — I refuse to stand by and watch it happen a second time. I'd rather die."

"I see." I instinctively pieced together what Youngest Princess had let slip.

What she hated was probably not just the disaster itself, but also this Salt Castle she had inherited.

That made sense. No matter how I looked at it, she didn't seem like someone who could perfectly play a role and fool the old servant. Her hatred wasn't something she was faking.

"Let's go. Whether I die in this disaster or put an end to it, I'm ready for whatever comes."

She stepped forward and turned back to look me in the eyes.

"Okay, let's go," I said it with a smile.

We stepped through the teleportation array and arrived at the dim crystal lake.

Looking up, faint traces of starlight were still visible. It must have been the early hours of the morning — the darkest part of the day.

The crystal lake, once blue, was now a deep and sunken black. In the distance, a raised platform stood silently at the center of the lake.

There were none of the Shadow creatures we had braced ourselves for.

We moved cautiously toward the platform in the middle of the lake.

Climbing up through layer after layer of steps, the figure of the Eldest Princess gradually came into view.

What I saw stopped me cold: a silver puppet, blade in hand, had run its curved knife through a figure pinned against a crystal tree. The two of them were completely still.

"Who is it this time?" A weak, flat voice broke the silence. Not far away, Eldest Princess raised her head.

Youngest Princess and I instinctively tightened our grip on our weapons.