As the girl struggled more violently, she began pounding Shiya’s chest with soft, powerless fists.
The weariness in the Gray-haired Shiya’s eyes deepened another shade.
Instinctively, she pressed a finger against Shiya’s throat.
Feeling the slender, hard touch strike her weakest spot.
Shiya let out a soft whimper, tears of reflex welling in her eyes, her body going limp, no strength left to move.
But as Gray-haired Shiya gently curled her tongue, Shiya gradually understood the intent of this girl’s soul…
She was teaching her how to produce sound, to sing a melody with rhythm.
Shiya stopped resisting, leaned in, and began to actively match Gray-haired Shiya’s musical instruction.
Gray-haired Shiya’s movements shifted from rough and clumsy at first, growing more practiced, gradually grasping the rhythm’s pace and intensity.
With a slight pressure from her slightly sore fingertip, the girl’s soul shaped Shiya’s lips into a precise mouth shape for articulation.
This meant the silent lesson overflowing with pink bubbles had come to an end.
Withdrawing two fingers from Shiya’s mouth, Gray-haired Shiya involuntarily rubbed the gossamer strands of glistening liquid between her fingertips, pulling apart into a shimmering silver thread.
Her originally cold golden eyes seemed to show signs of melting like an iceberg, spreading into a blurry mist.
But when the girl’s soul noticed Shiya—
Disheveled, breathing unsteadily—
Staring at her in dazed confusion,
She quickly hid her slightly damp fingers behind her back.
Then, with an extremely world-weary and bothered expression, Gray-haired Shiya fixed her gaze on Shiya.
Shiya blushed, wiped away the glistening liquid with the back of her hand, and nodded slightly, indicating she had learned everything.
Gray-haired Shiya’s form dissipated, turning into specks of light that drifted into Shiya’s body.
Neither returning to the world of the dead nor intending to reincarnate.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, she had been forced to remain inside Shiya because of various reasons, silently witnessing her every move until now.
The frozen time began to flow again once they completely merged into one.
The surging waves on the sea grew fiercer.
As the aftermath of the purple tentacles spread, the spray rose into the air, turning into an endless drizzle.
Shiya, who had resumed a half-kneeling posture, slowly stood up and faced the scene that made both sky and sea change color.
Dropping her gaze, she first touched Little Ilya’s head, soothing her slightly.
Raising her eyes to the dark sky, she gently stroked her slender neck with her hand and cleared her throat.
For a moment, under Ilya’s incredulous gaze, a soft yet pure and clear song rose over the cracking sea.
Like a celestial melody sprinkled by angels upon the mortal world, it subdued the four seas, bringing everything back to calm.
But beneath this peaceful surface, surging undercurrents began to coalesce into whirlpools.
The pressure at the bottom of the sea climbed at a frighteningly sharp rate.
Soon, as a series of bubbles churned up one after another, the purple tentacles that had been broken, dismembered, even ground to dust, rose one by one to the surface.
The severed limbs and debris stained the entire sea area blood red.
Yet the girl’s song remained melodious and graceful, its pitch gradually rising to a new height.
Xiwa, lurking deep in the abyss and already confident of victory, was filled with terror.
She felt her bones being crushed and snapped inch by inch.
She swam with all her might, trying to flee this sea area that had already been completely dominated by some unknown great power.
Splash—
The woman thrust her head above the surface.
Her chest, damaged beyond recognition, heaved violently as she greedily drew in every breath of air.
At the same time, Shiya’s final rising note fell.
The song ended.
Exhausted and pale-faced, she collapsed to her knees.
‘Is it… over?’
Unfortunately, Ilya had no intention of letting her get away.
The girl bent down and pulled out a magic rocket launcher from under the cabin—
A weapon taller than she was.
Calmly, with a snap, she flipped open the scope cover, then pressed the launch button.
A diamond-shaped shell engraved with explosive magic slammed into Xiwa’s disfigured body.
The sudden burst of flames completely incinerated her.
As a wisp of smoke rose from the muzzle, Ilya didn’t even glance in Xiwa’s direction.
She dropped the magic rocket launcher.
“Sister Shiya, are you okay?”
The girl helped Shiya up from the ground.
Sweat had already soaked through the girl’s entire body, but she still shook her head, forcing herself to stay strong.
“Ilya, can the boat still sail now?”
But the moment she asked that question, Shiya’s heart sank.
The precision instruments near the steering wheel were clearly not something they could fix easily.
Beside her, Ilya showed little nervousness.
She gently pulled her hand away from supporting Shiya, stepped forward a few paces, and slapped the dashboard hard.
With a crackle, the pointer on the dashboard jumped wildly, emitting a harsh electric arc sound.
Then the engine at the back of the boat roared to life.
“It’s fine, Sister Shiya. When my brother’s creations break, a few hard slaps usually get them working again.”
Shiya once again felt grateful for having such a reliable teammate like Yige’er.
Ilya began kneeling, steering the wheel while tidying up the scattered magic circuits.
But just then, Shiya—
Drained of strength, her body already wobbling from exhaustion—
Suddenly leaned against the girl’s back.
Her voice was lazy, her pretty face resting on Ilya’s shoulder, the ends of her hair brushing against the girl’s soft cheek.
“Little Ilya, I’m so tired. Let me borrow your small frame for a rest.”
Steam instantly erupted from the girl’s head.
Her body stiffened, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.
“Sister Shiya, earlier you… your singing was so beautiful, and you beat the bad guy… you’re amazing.”
Shiya narrowed her eyes wearily and let out a playful “hmm.”
“You can praise me more, Little Ilya.”
Hearing Sister Shiya act spoiled like this for the first time, Ilya swallowed hard, her mind already wandering.
‘If Sister Shiya’s voice could be fully healed and she sang for me again… that would be wonderful…’
‘People are greedy.’
‘Now what I’m really thinking is… after we start a family, when Sister Shiya has our child, she can hum a lullaby for the baby.’
‘But would proposing now be too hasty? I haven’t even started working to save up for a ring.’
Hearing Ilya’s heartfelt praise, Shiya’s eyes dimmed instead.
Using this strengthening potion inherited from Yige’er came at a price.
But right now, she felt no backlash at all—
No bursting wounds as Yige’er had described, no mental confusion.
This hidden danger that could trigger at any time left her unsettled.
Just as Ilya settled down and began navigating the alchemical ship,
Torches began to rise one after another on the shore of Flower God Village.
Villagers with grim expressions gathered there.
Ilya turned to look and immediately spotted a simple-minded dwarf man, a knife held to his neck by the villagers.
“Brother Hain!”
She cried out, unable to hide her panic.
One of the villagers pulled out a rare magic amplifier from the village and shouted to the girls sailing the alchemical boat on the sea:
“Ilya, if you don’t come back, I’ll kill your brother’s most precious friend!”
In an instant, Shiya noticed that Ilya’s hand gripping the steering wheel had frozen stiff.