"Oedipus… What have you done…"

"What have you done??!!"

Maria, pierced by a large clamp, was held high in the air. At this moment, she was like a swaying wet rag, dripping with unknown bitter blood.

Turning her head, she discovered that the angel impaling her was none other than her own angel, Power Angel.

Incredulously widening her eyes, Maria struggled to chant a spell, attempting to command her angel, but the latter showed no reaction at all.

"Hmph."

Oedipus sneered, her teenage face slightly relaxed, as if a spring breeze and gentle rain, making the viewer feel sweetness just before experiencing a bone-chilling cold.

Gracefully stepping forward, Oedipus reached Maria's severed hand and gently picked up the remote control.

"As early as the year you launched an attack on me, I placed a curse on your angel."

"As long as you attempt anything that threatens my life, it will instantly kill you."

"So, I say, you never stood a chance from the beginning."

"It's not possible…!"

Maria was bleeding from seven orifices, her mouth almost gagged by the surging fresh blood, but she still defiantly tore her throat, shouting at Oedipus.

"How could this be true… How can magic be so convenient!?"

"Did you never consider; what if I didn't have myself hold the remote, but instead had another subordinate by my side to control the bomb for me?"

"Then your curse would have been useless!"

In agony, Maria looked down at Oedipus in midair.

Her body began to convulse, blood rapidly flowing out, various organs making unbearable groaning sounds, resembling a dying figure.

"You little fool, don't you know me?"

"I tortured you for so long up on the city walls, and not a single soul came to save you. How could you trust anyone now?"

"Moreover, this was a task that required self-sacrifice. You would undoubtedly choose to face me alone."

Smiling elegantly, Oedipus extended her hand, propping herself on the ground and lifting herself towards Maria in midair.

Light as a deity, she gently rose into the air, compassionately embracing Maria's feeble face and swiftly fading life into her arms.

"Curses… I can’t believe it… Why, why is it like this…?"

"I leveraged every power, paid every price, why can't I defeat you, kill you…?"

"The gods have repeatedly given me chances, allowing me to barely survive… Aren't they doing it for my revenge?"

"Isn't it for me to atone for my past in the lab, where I couldn’t do anything?"

"Why give me hope… only to give me such despair…"

Maria's expression was complex. Like meeting for the first time, she examined Oedipus holding her, lips turning purple and rotten from biting.

Seemingly coveting something, she desperately clutched at Oedipus's sleeve, strands of hair, like a newborn clinging to her mother upon first sight.

In the final moments of her life, she cursed Oedipus incessantly, her voice getting smaller until she completely lost consciousness, closing her eyes and collapsing into Oedipus's embrace.

"You are truly a foolish child… There are no gods in this world."

"So, as I have said before."

"Standing by your side all along wasn't any god…"

"It was me."

"Rest peacefully now, Maria."

"You are my stairway to divinity."

"Your mission is complete."

Oedipus’s face darkened slightly. She activated the magic within her body, forcibly entering Maria's body.

Soon, Maria's body was engulfed in orange-red flames, turning into dark ashes, gradually disappearing in the empty room.

Looking at the ashes that were once Maria, Oedipus's expression also showed a rare hint of confusion.

She turned her head, tightened the remote control in her hand, and glanced towards the large cultivation tank at the end of the room, her gaze revealing a vacant look.

But then Oedipus shook her head, regained her composure, and walked back towards the room's entrance.

"Abdiel… I never expected our next meeting would be under these circumstances."

"Destiny will soon take you to your rest."

"Just wait a little longer for me."

Oedipus reached the doorway, tucked the remote control into her chest, used a backdrop to transform into Maria's appearance, then pushed the door open and left.