Perfect Avatar-Chapter 285: The Worst Poison

The sun had been up for hours, but it was getting darker in much of the world.

The sky was devoured by a gigantic purple and black cloud from the Twilight of the Gods, growing and giving birth to new monsters.

In a desolate city, Freya’s group reached the place where Gloria had sent Solaria and the maids.

They looked around, searching for a trace of energy to find them but the place seemed deserted.

"It’s been a long time, maybe they’ve already left. It’s so frustrating..."

"It’s true that it’s been a long time... your powers are still frozen?"

Freya watched the queen carefully. Since recovering, Gloria was unable to use any form of magic due to the assimilation of Wrath’s soul.

The steam that enveloped her had slowly dissipated, and she could feel the change in raw power but she could create nothing.

She clenched her fist and focused on her power, then a new form of pressure mounted.

The earth began to shake, the air was heavier, Gloria was covered in a faint red and orange light, slowly spreading. Everyone stepped back, they had already been used to a Sin Avatar’s pressure, but what the Queen was doing now was on another level, and it wasn’t even a true pressure.

It lasted for seconds, but the pressure faded away without reaching the perfect concentration of a Sin’s pressure.

Freya flinched a little, she didn’t need any further explanation, Gloria’s disappointed face showed that she was still assimilating Wrath and wasn’t able to do much, however, the power she unleashed was a testament to the monster she had become.

"That’s ridiculous, that damn skeleton was more of a nuisance than the other brat...I can’t use it now, can’t you or your friends keep up with the residual magic?"

"...Yeah, let’s do that... Liliana, with Dora’s body, couldn’t you create some sort of..."

She turned to Liliana, only to see her sitting on the ground, trembling as she looked at the queen.

"...Liliana?"

But the young girl did not react, hypnotized by Gloria. It wasn’t that hard for them to understand, Dora had better magic senses, so with his body Liliana definitely had another view of Gloria’s hidden power.

She got up with difficulty, then looked at Freya without a word, just trembling lips. The message was clear, they were doomed if the Queen reached her full potential.

"... I’ll see what I can do."

She placed her hands on the ground, gathering her magic in them, and then she imbued the ground with another form of aura, spreading in a circle beneath them.

It was a method she had become familiar with years ago, working like a sonar for magical particles, and with her new power, she could expand the circle over a larger radius, covering most of the city and increasing in size.

"...It’s a little faint...But I sense something...There were people in this town not long ago, probably citizens...Some of them were emissaries... Hm? Oh, in the northeast, around... The traces are more recent... they... Uh??"

"Um? What’s going on? Did you find them?" Gloria insisted.

Liliana seemed a little surprised, she did her best to understand what was happening based on the residual particles and their appearance time.

"...Yeah...they were there...I recognize some of the maids...I see...What is that...is that Solaria?"

Gloria’s eyes flashed, she grabbed Liliana by the collar and lifted her up to her face.

"Stop your fucking comments and talk already, where is Solaria?!"

"Wait... I... She was there, she was with the maids... but her energy changed... She’s like... like us..."

"Of course, I gave her my soul, she should be a pseudo-avatar by now, but where is she?!"

Liliana struggled for air, kicking the void. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, preparing for what she had to say.

"She absorbed your soul, I can tell... they were here for a few days, but their last traces... are the same duration as another person’s trace."

She opened her eyes slightly, trembling with fear.

"...Mercy."

The Queen froze in place, in an instant, all her strength left her body. She let go of Liliana without even realizing it.

Liliana feared retaliation from the Queen, but Gloria had lost many things over the past few months, and one of them was her normal behavior.

"S...So...Sola..."

Her legs also lost strength, bringing her closer to Liliana on the ground. She put her hands to her head, whispering frantically.

"...Aah...ah...no...not that...not that, please...not again..."

Her vision blurred, she placed her hands on the ground and moved it, as if searching for something, something she had lost in her mansion.

"Moonra... where is... where is he... Solaria... I can’t... I can’t... no... stop... stop taking my family away... leave me alone!!!"

Desperate, she fell to the ground, her eyes flooded with tears. Each of her blows shook the earth, causing Liliana to fall.

They were perplexed, some time ago the sin of greed had warned them that Gloria was certainly on top of the world, but at the end of the day she was still a human, and that was exactly what they could witness.

She was screaming at the top of her lungs, periodically releasing waves of energy, it was a pathetic display, especially coming from the origin of each problem, at least that was what was going through everyone’s minds.

Freya clenched her fist, she knew that their last hope was compromised, the Queen would never engage in battle again now that the order of her priorities had changed, however, Freya’s eyes widened as she realized something.

"...Wait, I don’t think she’s really in danger."

They looked at her with a small grimace on their face, with the Queen’s state, they had to be careful with their choice of words, but Freya gave them a slight nod.

"Think about it... She knows for sure that you are stronger than us, but she can’t trust you... I think she only came here by chance and took the opportunity to have an advantage over you."

Gloria, head bowed, Freya exchanged a look with Iris.

"I mean... it makes sense. Even in Kalaharis, she was very careful... she wouldn’t harm Solaria, she would surely prefer keeping her captive to... have something against you."

Iris nodded at Liliana, the girl having a little trouble finding the right words to say at that moment.

"Y-yeah...she’s angry, but she’s careful. I think she’s doing this to stop you from attacking us... I didn’t sense any traces of battle and the city is intact, which means they didn’t even fight."

They looked at Hope and Cid in turn, they just needed a little help.

"...Yeah...and Mercy isn’t that kind of girl, I know her well, I was her knight. She would never hurt a friend, and even if she did, that would mean that she was pushed to her limits. She’s a wonderful girl, I would never..."

Hope was about to get very talkative, but knowing his friend, Cid nudged him. Freya massaged her sinuses, Gloria remained very silent, but this made it easier for her to convey her true goal.

"The problem is, she expects you to come to her after you kill us. She took Solaria not only as a hostage but as a means to hurt you. She knows she won’t beat you, so the only way to hurt you...would be through your children."

Gloria showed the first sign of activity, clutching her tip to the ground, she gave everyone a cold gaze, making them step back, except Freya.

"Queen, I understand your anger, but for once in your life, you need to think or you will lose everything for good. Your world, your husband, your son, and now your daughter. Stop repeating the same mistakes, please!"

"...Give me one reason not to set all of you and this world on fire right now."

They stepped back, eyes wide. The queen stood up, her face bathed in tears, illuminated by the brightness of her eyes.

Only Freya held on because she understood better than anyone the reality of the situation: they had already won.

"Solaria is not dead but held captive. If you do exactly what Mercy expects, she will murder your daughter before engaging in battle with you."

She took a deep breath and looked Gloria straight in the eyes.

"You lost, Queen. Dora and Rhea left Kalaharis together, so they should be allies, and both have 2 Sins too. Dora is after you, and I’ve seen what Rhea is capable of and how merciless she is, so be sure of this, sooner or later they will come and finish you off."

"...I asked you...why shouldn’t I erase you now?"

"I already told you because you lost on every board. Your only wish is to protect Solaria, but you are the reason her life is in danger. Mercy will keep her alive until she sees you, so if you try to reach her, Solaria will die... but if you could never see her again..."

They remained silent, looking into each other’s eyes. Gloria’s anger slowly faded to an emotionless expression, her eyes grew lifeless and her muscles relaxed.

"So you mean... that I should never see her again? To keep her alive?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"Yes."

"And since Pride and Greed are after me... I am fated to die one day?"

"Yes."

The queen kept the same pose for a few seconds, then her gaze turned to the sky. The purple clouds drowned the sky and prevented him from seeing a last ray of sunlight.

She showed no real reaction, lowering her head again to look at Freya.

"And I should go to the capital... to end this story? Knowing that I would die anyway?"

"Precisely, we can’t be sure that Dora and Rhea would do anything... Rhea said that it didn’t concern her, and Dora was only after you, perhaps for the loss of his family. So if you don’t take care of the Twilight of Gods, Solaria will die anyway. The only option to keep her alive is to stop the twilight of Gods... and die."

In the back, the others flinched, Freya had become an expert at dialogue, and seeing how quickly she slipped in a lie was simply brilliant.

It was hard to imagine what thoughts were going through Gloria’s mind at that moment, she was still on top of the world, she was the second strongest for an eternity, but in the end, she met her demise because of her family.

Dora opened the doors to the Queen’s only weakness and Freya used it to bring her closer to her grave.

"But if I have to die, how can I be sure you won’t kill Solaria?"

Freya placed a hand on her chest and lowered her head.

"I really wish I could give you an answer, I really wish... but you will have to believe my words as the pseudo-avatar of Pride. Queen Gloria, you have made too many enemies, you have brought this upon yourself, and now you have lost any right to have an opinion. If you survive, Solaria will die, if you don’t, she will live, so please, for the sake of your daughter, and my promise to protect her, save the world and die for us!"