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……

The N-Field of the Mercury Lamp, originally just a dead city where positive and negative coexisted, shared a kinship with the inherent barrier of the Moon World. Within that dead city, her abilities could be expressed beyond their limits. She herself could traverse space within the N-Field for instantaneous movement, even observing events a thousand li away.

However, after obtaining the Heart of the World and forging a contract with Lin Luo, she had reached completeness in body and spirit, and her strength had subsequently broken through over a period. Consequently, the N-Field underwent further transformation.

In Mercury Lamp’s view, the reason her attacks couldn't reach Sakuya was that the opponent was employing spatial abilities—this was evident at a glance. Therefore, all she needed to do was induce a certain current within this space to dissolve Sakuya's power.

“Torrent of the Dark Night!”

Mercury Lamp cried out again, and her black wings surged forth. But this time, they weren't directed at Sakuya; instead, all the obsidian feathers were plunged into the mirror floating in the sky, to be transmitted through spatial currents via that mirror.

Swish swish swish swish!

If Mercury Lamp's previous attacks were linear, this time they moved entirely within the flow of space. There was no discernible attack trajectory, no clear target, and no complete route, only random transit within that area. Even those with combat precognition would find themselves in disarray at this moment.

“Little sister Mercury Lamp is amazing, truly worthy of being Teacher Lin Luo’s daughter.”

“But her eyes look fierce; it’s a little scary.”

“But she’s also very cute.”

Watching the scene on the battlefield, the girls near the spectator area broke into murmurs again.

On the other side, in front of the resting area for contestants, Lin Luo and the others were also observing the battle. Lin Luo hadn't revealed Sakuya’s full repertoire of abilities to Mercury Lamp. It wasn't a life-or-death battle anyway; winning or losing didn't matter much. Moreover, facing an opponent as strange and unpredictable as the Mistress Servant might even allow Mercury Lamp to achieve another breakthrough.

“She seems to have gotten much stronger,” Mikoto expressed some surprise.

“Yes, she has been working hard,” Lin Luo nodded. Creating a spatial current was something even he hadn’t anticipated; in a way, it was a truly formidable ability. But!

“She still hasn’t seen through the true essence of the opponent’s ability. To only think it’s space is a huge mistake. Furthermore, this move of hers probably won't last long. Once it ends, that will be the moment she loses.”

The essence of Sakuya’s ability was interference in time; spatial alteration was merely an extension. Mercury Lamp creating a spatial current certainly caused considerable trouble for spatial ability users, but… it couldn't affect time.

Overall, Mercury Lamp was still significantly outclassed by Sakuya by a full tier.

Even employing a power as aberrant as the spatial current only elicited a slight surprise from Sakuya. With a single Time Stop, the fluctuations of the spatial current were instantly frozen.

Perhaps it was due to the influence of the Mahoraba Barrier. Since arriving in this world, Sakuya’s time manipulation had never reached its full potential. While dismantling that grand barrier wasn't impossible, doing so would inevitably make an enemy of Mahoraba, so she hadn't dwelled on it.

But with the growth of World Tree mana, coupled with other underlying reasons, the barrier’s suppression had minimized, allowing her power to be fully expressed. Even bringing time to a complete halt was now achievable.

“What is this…” Mercury Lamp was shocked. The spatial current was her creation; she was perfectly aware of every movement within it. Yet now, she discovered that the trajectory of light inside had completely ceased moving. This meant the spatial current had become useless. Although the space in that area remained warped, still space served no function. Even she could teleport inside it, let alone the far more powerful person opposite her.

Space had been halted, which meant time had stopped. This person’s ability was… Time?!

At that moment, Mercury Lamp finally understood what Sakuya’s ability truly was. Although she had speculated before, she still couldn't quite believe it. If this were true, she was utterly helpless.

“You have no chance of winning now, little doll girl.” In the blink of an eye, Sakuya had appeared beside Mercury Lamp, saying with a chuckle.

“Damn it, I won’t surrender!” Mercury Lamp’s expression shifted, and she instinctively lashed out with a palm strike.

Bang!

Her palm pressed heavily against Sakuya’s chest, immediately sending her flying backward… Don't let Mercury Lamp’s small stature fool you; her strength was by no means small. The Mighty Strength Palm and the Mercury Sword were her two ultimate techniques in close combat. In The Rose Maiden, she had used a similar chest-striking maneuver to kill Shinku and seize the Rose Madonna.

“Wha!” Sakuya cried out. While she needed to be a bit more serious, she hadn't taken Mercury Lamp too seriously, viewing her merely as a cute little doll. Combined with her confidence in her own strength, she had intended to play around with her. But she hadn't expected this outwardly cute doll-like figure to be so fierce, and her strength to be astonishingly great.

Seeing her attack succeed for the first time, Mercury Lamp was first startled, then overjoyed. She immediately activated instantaneous movement, appearing behind Sakuya in a flash, and struck out with her palm again… She had initially considered using the Mercury Sword, but since the match prohibited real blades, she could only rely on her hands.

However, Mercury Lamp was disappointed; this time her attack had no effect. The moment her palm struck, the figure before her vanished. Then a voice came from behind her: “I was just careless a moment ago to let you hit me. Using the same move twice on me won’t work.”

Amidst her laughter, Sakuya extended her hand.

The next instant, before Mercury Lamp could teleport away, she felt her body suddenly lift, losing all control, flying rapidly toward the edge of the arena.

What was this? Space? Time?

Mercury Lamp was utterly baffled. She found that everything about her was bound, completely unable to move. Yet time was flowing normally, space showed no anomalies, and her physical condition seemed fine. Why was this happening?

From a distance, she saw the person on the stage waving goodbye to her—the meaning was clear: Bye-bye.

“Damn it!” Mercury Lamp gritted her teeth. No matter what, she refused to lose. For Father, to become the perfect Alice… Although Father had said it was fine if she didn't become Alice, that Mercury Lamp only needed to be Mercury Lamp, still! She must become Alice!

“Ahhh!!!!” Mercury Lamp’s face flushed red, the power surging within her, like the destructive force unleashed after escaping critical mass. Her black wings behind her instantly shattered their bonds, growing massive before beating heavily, granting her immediate freedom. She flew rapidly back towards the stage.

She actually broke free? But it’s useless; you can’t reach the stage now.

Sakuya was somewhat surprised that Mercury Lamp broke free from the restraint, but the outcome was sealed. No matter how unwilling she was, she couldn't win this match. Once knocked off the ring, she could never return.

Why? Why is this happening? Faster! Faster for me!

Mercury Lamp was horrified to the point of near madness. She had used all her power; her speed reached an unprecedented maximum. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't close the distance to the stage at all. What she saw in her eyes appeared to recede further and further, as if reaching an endless horizon.

Not only that, but even instantaneous movement failed her at this moment. She couldn't find the correct coordinates or bearing. A mere few meters of space felt infinitely vast…

“Let’s concede.” Just as Mercury Lamp was on the verge of a breakdown, a voice suddenly sounded beside her. She could ignore anyone else’s words, but this person’s voice was one she could not disregard, obeying it even against her own will.

The massive black wings instantly retracted. Turning her head, Mercury Lamp looked at the person who had appeared beside her without her noticing. Her tone was full of loss and sorrow. “Father, I’m sorry…”

“Why apologize? You worked very hard, didn’t you?” Lin Luo gently smiled, stroking her head, speaking softly. “As long as you give your utmost effort, failure is not shameful. No one in this world is eternally invincible. Just try harder next time.”

“Mm,” Mercury Lamp nodded lightly, a faint tear welling in her eyes.

Lin Luo stroked her head and said no more. Fighting Sakuya, the immense gap in strength was evident; Mercury Lamp had no chance from the start. When she was knocked off the stage, the result was clear. Even if she could escape Sakuya’s infinite space and return to the platform, facing an inescapable time ability, she would only be toyed with.

Fighting someone on Sakuya’s level was still too early for Mercury Lamp.

Then, the ten-second boundary time expired. The victor was self-evident: Izayoi Sakuya smoothly advanced to the semifinals.

Back in the resting area, Mercury Lamp’s expression was still somewhat dejected, though not deeply sorrowful. She had resolved to become much stronger in the future to repay the love her Father had for her.

On the other side, Mikoto looked at the girl standing next to her, her eyes alight with endless fighting spirit, because the next match was hers against Evangeline. Although her ability to become stronger was thanks to Evangeline, precisely because of that, she felt it was even more necessary to surpass her.

“Hmph, you go ahead and try hard; I won’t hold back,” Evangeline smiled, walking toward the stage as the announcer’s voice sounded. A