Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Inside the northern Array Eye, a figure of a stunning young woman with captivating green eyes and flowing emerald hair levitated.

This lifeless figure exuded both beauty and an air of danger. Her facial features resembled Lady Zee's, but her eyes had an uncanny resemblance to Eliza's.

This young woman possessed remarkable features, from her facial charm to her graceful curves; she seemed the embodiment of perfection. Despite looking as if she had just stepped out of her teenage years, her mana signatures were nothing short of extraordinary, hinting at depths hidden beneath her serene surface.

Tall and impeccably proportioned, she had a rosy, flawless complexion. Her figure, with its subtle curves, was captivating. The essence provided by Lady Zee and Reen was continuously molding her body, working on forming her limbs and creating her mana core.

This mana core was being crafted from the remnants of Lady Zee and Eliza's cores, resulting in a novice rank. This F-Rank mana core seemed to be fully compatible with the Elemental Attainments of fire element, which would have been impossible for an F-Rank mana core to possess. A normal F-Rank mana core that is.

After all, all regular mana core did not have anything to do with the Elemental Attainments. But this one did, attesting to the fact that the vessel was bound to make its owner an exceptional talent upon successful possession.

Its compatibility with the elemental abilities shared by Lady Zee and Eliza made this fusion possible. Finding a vessel perfectly harmonious with Eliza's resurrection had been Layla and Eliza's fixation for this very reason. If they had settled on anyone other than Lady Zee, they wouldn't have obtained such stellar results.

With this ideal vessel and mana core, Eliza would regain her ability to wield the Enderflames, her potent and highly incinerating green fire. For the one known as the Witch of the Enderflames, this was a monumental development.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.

The freshly crafted vessel emitted a strong mana pulse as it reached completion. This new creation was the epitome of perfection from top to bottom.

Although the new vessel's appearance and aura did not precisely resemble Sage Eliza or Lady Zee, there was a hint of both within her, as if she were a blend of their genetic materials, akin to a creation born from their combined makeup.

One could say that Eren's convenient belief "Destruction births life" could apply here as well. This was because both Lady Zee and Eliza's bodies had been destroyed to make this new vessel get summoned into reality.

"Haah! It's finally finished."

Layla exhaled a relieved breath as she witnessed the completion of the new vessel. The hours during which the Soul Seed Insertion Array was operational had been incredibly taxing, both physically and mentally. If it weren't for the supplementary potions she had prepared in advance to support her body and soul, she would have failed many times over by this point.

Little Witch glanced at her sister to gauge how she was faring.

"Leela, shall we proceed with the final step?" Layla inquired, her concern evident as she observed Leela. She knew her sister better. Leela wouldn't tell her anything that might worry her. This approach instead made Layla worry for her sister even more.

Leela had been tasked with maintaining a continuous connection with Shallot's Mirror, overseeing Eliza's safeguarded soul within the mirror.

While Leela wasn't as physically fatigued as Layla, her operation with the soul-related artifact meant that she was experiencing double the mental exhaustion. She already had a killer headache and her vision was getting a bit blurry.

Layla sensed something amiss with Shallot's Mirror. The artifact seemed to be depleting her Spiritual Force at a faster rate than she had anticipated. It was almost as if it possessed a mind of its own, unlike any regular transcendent artifact.

However, just as Layla feared, Leela chose not to burden her sister with this added concern. Leela knew that soul-related artifacts often had their idiosyncrasies. She didn't want to add to the stress her sister was already under by voicing her worries.

"Yes... Yes. I'm fine, Layla. Let's finish what we started."

Leela confirmed, her voice resolute.

Every minute, every second counted as they entered the final phase of the Lazarus Project.

While Eren had assured both Layla and Leela about the Birdcage Barrier's endurance against the Sages' attacks from outside, they were reluctant to subject the barrier to prolonged testing. They were keen to conclude the event as swiftly as possible. After all, they could never be too cautious of the Anfang Alliance.

***

Eren had completed his private conversation with Sage Edgar and returned. He was relieved that he had successfully persuaded Edgar to withdraw from the current situation.

Eren was confident in his ability to handle the Grandmaster Rankers, given the numerous trump cards at his disposal. However, dealing with Sages like Edgar was a different matter.

Eren's previous success in eliminating six Sages, including Sage Garos Renar, had been a one-time feat, made possible through the Borrowed Might potions he no longer possessed. These were the forced miracles Eren had created using his own hands and wits. But they too had their limits.

Grimdawn had exhausted all his Gluttony Pearls, which he used to enhance his spells. These pearls had been used in constructing the Birdcage Barrier. Thus, he decided to form an alliance with Edgar by providing him with the right information.

The deal with JJ Edgar was way smoother than Eren had previously predicted. He feared that he might have used all his luck for the day or even week by making Edgar his silent ally.

Eren found Sage Edgar to be an accommodating individual, an unusual trait among most Sages who were often either conceited or uninterested in matters concerning lower-ranked individuals.

The butcher had already expressed his gratitude to the Sage for the diary, which had been a valuable resource during his time as an Ace and afterwards an Adept Ranker.

However, having read and extracted all the pertinent information from the diary, Eren chose to return it to Edgar as a gesture of goodwill.