Chapter 4: She is a madwoman!

The knights who participated were not restricted by their resonance rate, but two fundamental conditions applied.

First, each contestant had to possess their own companion spirit weapon, signifying that they must be a Spirit Master who had forged a contract with a Spirit Race member.

Second, only Spirit Masters who had never received a title were permitted to enter; Titled Knights were explicitly barred, as their participation would undoubtedly skew the competition’s balance.

Beyond the prestigious title, the organizers also prepared substantial, tangible rewards for the ultimate victor.

At this juncture, the victor would be presented with two distinct options.

The first was to claim the tangible rewards directly, which typically consisted of material wealth.

The second option, however, was far more intriguing.

The victor could choose to issue a challenge to any existing Titled Knight. Even in defeat, they would still receive material compensation, but a victory would mean directly usurping that Titled Knight’s rank and presenting a single demand to the Alliance.

In principle, the Alliance was obligated to fulfill any request made. This policy symbolized the Alliance’s profound respect for Titled Knights, representing all of humanity, and acknowledged their anticipated future contributions to mankind.

In practice, of course, such an absolute guarantee was patently impossible.

Naturally, demands like directly overthrowing the Alliance or subjugating all of humanity would never be countenanced.

Yet, a simple inquiry, or a request to learn the method for dispelling the Kiss of Thorns, was something the Alliance would readily permit.

After all, such a request amounted to little more than granting a pardon to a single individual.

“Two questions,” Melo stated, extending two fingers toward Madam Aida.

Aida took a deliberate sip of her coffee, silently awaiting the elaboration.

“My first question,” Melo began, “is this: pardoning a criminal may be inconsequential to the Alliance, but if they were to discover that this criminal was once a Radiant Knight, do you still believe they would consent?”

Melo then retracted one finger. “My second question is, how am I to defeat the other contestants without first having the Kiss of Thorns removed?”

Aida elegantly finished the last of her coffee, a faint smile playing upon her lips.

“In truth,” Aida replied, “these two questions can be distilled into a single inquiry: how can you achieve a combat prowess at least equivalent to that of a Titled Knight without the Kiss of Thorns being lifted?”

Melo’s gaze upon Aida at this moment was undeniably nuanced.

Among the Spirit Sealing Punishments, the Kiss of Thorns stood as one of the most brutal, a penalty explicitly designed to maximally suppress a condemned individual’s ability to wield spirit energy.

It not only caused immense obstruction whenever the recipient attempted to use spirit energy, but even a forceful attempt would trigger excruciating pain throughout their entire body, subjecting them to profound torment.

It was precisely due to the unbearable torment that the Heavenly Punishment Knightess had ultimately capitulated to that nobleman, willingly becoming his private thrall, utterly at his mercy.

“Please don’t look at me that way, Miss Melo,” Aida said, her tone softening slightly. “I wouldn’t speak so idly. In truth, during the years I’ve spent preparing for my revenge, I’ve delved into countless matters and unearthed a great deal of intelligence unknown to the common populace. One particular piece of information came from another individual who had undergone the Spirit Sealing Punishment.”

“Fortunately for them, however, they endured not the Kiss of Thorns, but the Spirit Binding Lock.”

The Spirit Binding Lock was a considerably milder form of the Spirit Sealing Punishment; if the Kiss of Thorns represented a hundred percent intensity, then the Spirit Binding Lock barely reached forty percent.

“However, the Spirit Binding Lock itself isn’t the crucial detail,” Aida continued. “What truly matters is that the one who endured this punishment was not a Spirit Master, but rather… a member of the Spirit Race.”

Melo froze, taken aback.

“A Spirit Race member?” Melo questioned, her voice laced with disbelief. “Has the Alliance truly ever punished one of them?”

Aida, however, merely shook her head. “The Alliance holds no authority to inflict punishment upon the Spirit Race; they must, after all, consider the stance of the Tree of Life. But…”

A look of profound disdain crossed her features. “What if it were a private punishment?”

Aida let out a cold, derisive laugh, her eyes burning with contempt for the Alliance’s upper-echelon nobility. “Those aristocrats reside in the safest, most protected territories, living lives of absolute complacency while wielding immense power. There is no depravity or sordidness you can imagine that they haven’t already committed. For the mere thrill of it, a simple private punishment? Hmph…”

Noticing her emotions had become somewhat inflamed, Aida quickly cleared her throat, redirecting the conversation. “All methods for lifting the Spirit Sealing Punishment are held exclusively by the Alliance’s highest authorities; the only external individual privy to this knowledge is the Heavenly Punishment Knight. However… if the condemned is a member of the Spirit Race, while the Spirit Sealing Punishment cannot be entirely removed, there exists a method to mitigate its intensity to a certain degree.”

She then fixed her gaze on Melo, a slight smile playing on her lips. “And you, at this very moment… are you not a member of the Spirit Race?”

Melo stared at Aida, dumbfounded, unable to suppress the question that sprang to her lips. “Was all of this… part of your grand design?”

Her implication was clear: could her false accusation by the Alliance also have been factored into this noblewoman’s scheme? The thought was truly chilling.

Aida’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “How could that be? As I’ve already stated, your appearance merely served to add a valuable chip to my revenge scheme. Even without you, I had no intention of abandoning it.”

“Then… what exactly is this method to weaken the Kiss of Thorns?”

Aida merely shrugged. “What else could it be? You are a member of the Spirit Race, after all. The obvious solution is to find a Spirit Master and forge a contract.”

Melo’s eyes swept over Aida, a flicker of suspicion in their depths. “Forgive my bluntness, Madam, but I doubt you could possibly…”

“Who ever said it would be me?” Aida interjected, a slight edge to her voice. “The one who will forge a contract with you is my daughter. She will become your Spirit Master, and… she will bear half of the Spirit Sealing Punishment on your behalf.”

“What?”

Melo was momentarily stunned, but as the full implication of Aida’s words sank in, a look of profound astonishment slowly spread across her face.

“Wait a moment,” Melo stammered. “Are you saying… she will bear half of the Spirit Sealing Punishment? Did the contractor of that Spirit Race member who was punished also endure half of the Spirit Binding Lock?”

“Precisely,” Aida confirmed with a nod.

Melo shot to her feet, her expression rapidly darkening. “I don’t know the exact intensity of pain caused by the Spirit Binding Lock, but I can tell you precisely what the Kiss of Thorns feels like when it’s triggered.”

Her demeanor was utterly grave. “With all due respect, Madam, if you intend for your beloved daughter to endure the Kiss of Thorns on my behalf, even if it’s merely half its potency, she… will utterly break.”

Yet, in that very instant, Melo found herself utterly stunned once more.

For in her sight, the face of the usually elegant and composed noblewoman before her was contorted into an utterly grotesque expression!

Within her eyes, a blazing, infernal fire raged!

It was the madness of reason consumed, of an all-consuming drive to risk everything for vengeance!

“Rest assured,” Aida declared, her voice chillingly firm, “I believe my daughter is capable of enduring it. And… if it means avenging her father, she will do so wholeheartedly and without hesitation!”

‘Madwoman!’

‘This woman… she is nothing short of a lunatic!’

In that moment, Melo was once again enveloped by an indescribable pressure!

It was a pressure that even a Void God had never inflicted upon her!

The mind of the woman before her had likely shattered the very day her husband perished.

Years of endurance had suppressed the burning hatred within her, maintaining only a fragile veneer of rationality.

She was a madwoman, one who would stake everything—absolutely everything—for the sake of her vengeance!

Even if… that ultimate price was her own daughter!