Although the Knights of this world didn't specifically strengthen their souls, their Life Force was more than enough to help them guard against soul attacks.

However, not only had Marquis Lavender overdrafted his Life Force and vitality, but he was also preoccupied with restoring his control over the purple sword.

Thus, facing Liora's unexpected soul attack, he was unable to put up any resistance.

The invisible—to him—pale hand grasped his soul and pulled it into Nothingness, severing the link between his soul and his physical body.

The result of this was that in Liora's field of vision, the eyes of Marquis Lavender turned empty and unblinking, while the Overlord Armor wrapping his body dissipated.

Witnessing this, Liora exhaled softly, knowing that her plan had been successful.

But at the same time, she understood that she did not have much time.

Sooner or later, the Marquis would discover that something was wrong, and he would break free.

Therefore, Liora acted quickly.

The shadows beneath her rose and flung her forward, while the Spear of the Blighted Sun materialized in her right hand.

Flashing beside the Marquis, Liora cast a final glance at him before she pushed her weapon forward.

Her eyes remained cold and indifferent, watching how the spear's tip easily pierced the left side of his chest and then penetrated through his heart.

The demonic flames seemed to have realized that their prey was defenseless, and they immediately pounced on him, spreading throughout his body from within.

In the blink of an eye, the powerful body of the Marquis withered, turning into ashes that soon vanished.

The next moment, the soul of Marquis Lavender returned to reality, obviously having broken out of Liora's ability.

However, it was too late. His soul had nothing to anchor to.

If Marquis Lavender were a Devil or practiced a power system related to souls, he might have found a way to survive.

But as a Great Knight, whose sole focus was on strengthening their physical body, he had no method to live as a mere soul.

Worst of all, the being he was facing was not a Knight of this world, but a Devil from the Demon World.

The moment the Marquis's soul returned, it instantly caught Liora's attention.

Watching the white glow flashing before her and sensing the desire of her own body urging her to devour it, Liora calmly stretched her hand and seized it.

She didn't choose to toss it in her mouth, but instead poured her demonic energy into it, wiping the consciousness of Marquis Lavender out.

Then, she put it away, ready to take care of it at a later time.

With the Marquis's fall, the Amethyst Swordfall that he had cast earlier lost its source of power.

Soon, it turned back into pure and gentle Life Force, dispersing with a gust of wind.

Liora watched this happen, her expression showing no change. She didn't become happy or overly excited.

She understood that everything was far from over.

Therefore, she didn't waste any time analyzing the previous battle.

With a leap, her figure dashed through the room and appeared beside the secret door before opening it and stepping inside.

--

Contrary to what one would have expected, the door didn't lead to another hall.

Instead, it connected to a dark corridor that was just big enough for a single person to pass through.

As Liora walked through it, she realized that this place had a natural downward tilt, obviously leading deeper into the ground.

From time to time, the path would turn irregularly, as if its construction had been an accident rather than the result of a carefully formulated plan.

Still, considering Liora's power, she didn't find it challenging to navigate through it.

With steady yet swift steps, she walked forward, getting deeper and deeper.

Before long, muffled sounds reached her ears, originating from the other side of the corridor.

The deeper she walked, the louder these sounds became, until finally, they grew just clear enough for her to recognize them.

It was two voices—one male and one female—who seemed to be having a fierce argument.

Though unfamiliar, Liora identified the voices' owners as Edric and the robed woman, respectively.

This made her somewhat surprised.

With the woman's combat power, it should have been quite easy for her to deal with Edric. Yet, the confrontation between them was still ongoing.

Realizing that something strange was going on, her steps grew quicker.

Her consciousness expanded, giving her a large overview of the surroundings and allowing her to analyze the corridor's irregular turns.

Soon—less than a minute later—she finally arrived at her destination. Or rather, before a towering metal gate.

It should have been difficult to open this fortified door, but Liora quickly noticed that countless deep cracks overlapped across its lock.

At the same time, a tiny gap was open, evidence that somebody had used force to break in.

Seeing this, Liora didn't pause.

With a shove, she pushed the door open and walked inside.

The moment she stepped in, Liora came face-to-face with the owners of the two voices.

They both stood in a hall that looked exactly the same as the previous one, as if it were its exact replica.

It was just that, unlike the golden throne located at the center of the prior hall, there was now a stone statue erected there, portraying a kind-looking middle-aged man.

Edric could be seen kneeling before this statue and mumbling something in a low voice, while the robed woman stood a couple of steps away, seemingly afraid of getting closer.

Her eyes flashed with apprehension as she gazed at the stone statue, seemingly recognizing its true identity.

However, Liora didn't pay much attention to this scene.

Instead, her eyes focused on the item floating right behind the statue.

As her gaze fell on it, a faint sense of longing emerged within her heart, arising from her body's instincts.

Unfortunately, she wasn't afforded the time to investigate the source of that yearning.

Suddenly, the silence shrouding the room was broken.

Kneeling before the statue, a grin formed on Edric's face, and a low chuckle escaped his lips, which grew increasingly louder.

The next moment, a powerful aura arose from the statue, as if the being sleeping within it had awakened from its deep slumber.

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