Chapter 201: That’s not how the story is told!

This is… telepathy?

Perletti immediately reacted.

This method would minimize the chances of Mu noticing their conversation.

She quickly attempted to respond within her mind:

“The Origin Core must be heavily protected. Why not just destroy the corrupted World Tree itself? Wouldn’t directly destroying the World Tree be more efficient?”

“Tch.”

Masha’s voice carried a trace of impatience.

“The tree’s body is too massive. It won’t burn down anytime soon. Going straight for the core is fastest. I’ll continue searching for the Origin Core—you go look for it too. And remember—”

Her tone suddenly sharpened, carrying a chilling coldness.

“Stop holding back on me! Use everything you’ve got! If you keep hiding your strength, let’s see which suicidal idiot still dares touch you!”

“…Understood.”

Perletti’s heart tightened.

She could clearly feel the anger and protectiveness hidden in her sister’s words, and she nodded heavily to herself.

“What… were you two just talking about?”

Olivia noticed the fleeting change in Perletti’s expression and asked in confusion.

Before she could finish speaking—

Masha’s figure suddenly vanished.

At nearly the same instant, Mu raised her hand. Emerald-green light instantly condensed into a gigantic thorn-covered shield before her, as thick and imposing as a fortress wall.

“BOOM!!!”

A heavy, overwhelming impact exploded outward.

The instant the shield came into contact with Masha’s fist, its light visibly dimmed at terrifying speed. The magic composing the shield transformed into drifting particles of light, forcibly dragged away and devoured—only to strengthen Masha’s punch in return!

“CRACK—BOOM!”

Mu staggered backward while sweeping her staff horizontally, slamming it directly toward Masha, who had already closed to point-blank range!

At such a close distance, dodging was impossible!

Yet Masha did not evade at all.

Madness filled her scarlet eyes as she allowed the corrupted divine power to tear through her chest. Flesh and blood exploded outward—

But at the exact same moment, her fist slammed squarely into Mu’s face!

“Gh—!”

Mu let out a muffled groan and stumbled backward, intense pain erupting through the bridge of her nose.

Meanwhile, Masha merely lowered her head to glance at the horrifying wound across her chest, so deep that bone was visible. Blood continuously poured out, yet she casually wiped it away with one hand, smearing crimson across herself as she calmly commented:

“That really hurts.”

“Yes yes yes! That’s it! Fight! Get even more violent!”

Zhuwaaishi had somehow climbed onto a massive tree root nearby and was clapping excitedly with sparkling eyes, looking exactly like an overenthusiastic audience member watching the greatest drama of the year.

Olivia stood frozen in place, her limbs ice-cold and her thoughts in complete chaos.

In her previous life, she had never heard of any “godhood plan.”

No one had ever acknowledged this absurd sacrificial theory.

Who exactly was Mu?

When had she begun all this?

And for what purpose?

Everything happening before her had never existed in her previous life.

For the sake of preserving the elves’ future, Mu intended to start a racial war, even shattering the chains binding the race for thousands of years. As an elf princess, Olivia should have understood her.

Perhaps she should have even supported her.

But what about Perletti?

This friend who had recklessly rushed into the World Tree illusion to drag her back to reality—

This figure currently standing before her—

How could Olivia simply watch her… watch all these witches become sacrifices?

Responsibility and personal feelings.

Racial justice and individual conscience.

The two forces violently clashed within her chest, nearly tearing her apart.

“It’s okay, Aya.”

A warm hand gently grasped her cold fingers.

Perletti turned back and gave her a reassuring smile.

“The fact that you came… the fact that you brought my sister back… I’m already very grateful. From here on…”

“Leave it to us.”

Olivia could feel the intense struggle hidden within Perletti’s calm tone.

That understanding only made the bitterness in her heart deepen further.

Mu was willing to sacrifice herself for this path.

Perletti was willing to risk everything for a friend trapped in illusion.

But what about herself?

She had always hesitated.

Always followed what others told her to do.

Taking advantage of the fact that Mu was temporarily restrained by Masha’s violent assault, Perletti’s eyes sharpened. She turned around, preparing to sneak toward the World Tree’s central core region.

However—

A brightly colored figure suddenly blocked her path with a grin.

“Wait wait wait—!”

Zhuwaaishi had somehow changed into a ridiculous guard uniform, with a handwritten sign hanging from her neck.

“NO ENTRY FOR IDLERS. AHEAD LIES ARROGANT LANGUAGE. PASSAGE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN! This adorable witch lady is requested to stop immediately!”

“What’s your problem?”

Perletti halted and stared at her cautiously.

“One moment you help us break the barrier, the next you block my path. Which side are you actually on?”

“Hehe!”

Zhuwaaishi’s eyes curved into crescents as she poked her cheek with one finger and declared in a sing-song voice:

“The answer to that question is, of course—ME! The cute and charming Lady Zhuwaaishi stands on the side of ‘fun!’ Whichever side is more entertaining, that’s the side I temporarily belong to~”

“Psychopath.”

Perletti muttered under her breath while rapidly thinking.

No matter her level or experience, facing a true god—even one not famous for combat power like the God of Mockery—left her with no chance of victory.

Perletti took a deep breath.

Then she did something that even left Zhuwaaishi stunned.

She did not gather magic.

She did not prepare a battle stance.

She did not even speed up.

Instead, with a calm expression, she simply walked straight toward Zhuwaaishi.

“Eh? Eh?! EH?! That’s wrong wrong wrong!!!”

The smile on Zhuwaaishi’s face froze instantly before she began stomping angrily.

“That’s not how this is supposed to go! That’s not what the script says!”

“You’re supposed to desperately persuade me first! Then try forcing your way through and fail! After realizing you can’t pass, you’re supposed to flatter me endlessly and perform all sorts of fancy tricks begging me to let you through!”

“And then, just as you’re 0.01 seconds away from touching the Origin Core, the ritual should complete perfectly! You should watch helplessly as everything is destroyed while making the most despair-filled expression possible! THAT would be perfect drama!”

“How can you just walk over directly like this?! That breaks the rules! It’s not fun at all!”

Her little face turned bright red with anger, cheeks puffed up like a hamster as she stretched out her arm once more to block Perletti.

But Perletti had already walked right up to her.

She even slightly bent her waist and slipped underneath Zhuwaaishi’s outstretched arm before finally stopping and turning around to calmly look at the frustrated goddess.

“I came over.”

Perletti spoke indifferently and even spread her arms, fully exposing her defenseless chest before the other party.

“So, are you going to kill me now? If you want to, go ahead. Come on.”

This was Perletti’s strategy.

When dealing with a god who loved entertainment, the best method was emotional cold violence.

Zhuwaaishi’s nonstop rambling abruptly stopped.

She fell silent.

Tilting her head, she slowly examined Perletti from top to bottom, unconsciously beginning to bite her fingernails.

The look in her eyes was no longer pure mockery.

Now it contained surprise, curiosity…

And an increasingly intense interest.

I see.

Not bad at all.

This witch actually dared challenge a god’s authority in such a shameless manner, gambling that Zhuwaaishi either would not—or simply could not be bothered to—kill her right now.

After living for countless ages, this was the first time Zhuwaaishi had ever encountered such an “interesting” mortal.