CHAPTER 551: CHAPTER 204: FILIAL PIETY

Moonlight dissipates, sunrise ascends.

The Hero devours their own Original Sin, releasing pure Magic Power from deep within their Lineage, which expands until it envelops half of the Viscount Mansion before halting its expansion, maintaining throughout an entire night.

The Awakening Ritual’s process is as complex as it is simple.

The Hero first consumes their own Original Sin, using it as fuel to awaken the Power of Purification of the Moon People. Then, they utilize this Purification power to envelop layers of the Curse, forcibly expelling half of their own Magic Power along with the Curse, filth, and a portion of Original Sin from their body.

The Curse of the Corrupted Phoenix had long embedded into her soul, and ordinarily, such level of erosion would be irreparable.

However, due to the awakening of Moon Power and the suppression by the Divine Domain status, she receives this opportunity—by forsaking part of her existence, she can separate the Curse.

As the small moon melts away like morning dew in the dawn, the Hero with [clothing status] proudly steps onto the rubble.

[Clothing integrity (grapple -30)]

D70=d70(33)=33

Despite looking exhausted, and her attire reduced to tatters, she stands tall like a victorious bird. Beneath the battered fabric, her skin gleams white in the morning light, with faintly visible elegant lines.

"—I won!"

Her clear, crisp voice echoes through the clear air, filled with spirit in her emerald green eyes, overlooking the figure in front of her.

At the Hero’s feet, a girl who looks identical to her sits powerlessly on the ground.

This girl has long jet-black hair and scarlet pupils, although her features mirror the Hero’s, her skin presents a healthy wheat-like hue. Under the morning light, her form appears ephemeral, as if a shadow ready to dissolve at any moment.

She raises her head, eyes filled with defiance, yet lacks the strength to stand, merely sitting limply there, stubbornly glaring at her "master".

[The Hero’s attitude toward the Depraved Hero (50 - complacent, 50 + equal treatment, 70 + co-existence)]

D70+30=d70(51)+30=81

[The Depraved Hero’s attitude (slothful +15, -15)]

D70+15=d70(12)+15=27

Though her body is still filled with soreness, she minds it not, instead smiling brightly, reaching out towards her other self.

"Haha, I won! You’ll have to listen to me from now on!"

"You cocky brat, get lost."

The Depraved Hero lying on the ground rolls her eyes, showing no intention of shaking hands.

After speaking, she simply lies flat on the ground, showcasing a shameless and unyielding appearance.

The Hero pauses for a moment, then steps forward a couple of steps in mild exasperation, kneels down with her knees together, and reaches out her fingers to poke at her other self’s cheek.

"But, you lost."

"Yeah, I lost, so what?" The Depraved Hero turns her head away, sneering coldly.

"Since you lost, you have to get along well with me."

The Hero said troubledly: "Otherwise, how will we address the matters over at Moon City in the future?"

The other self before her is the manifestation of her negatives, a clone formed of the Curse and portions of Original Sin, symbolizing her potential fate of depravity.

If merely for the awakening of the Moon People Lineage or Transformation, after defeating this abnormality, the Hero truly has no need to spare the life of the opponent.

But rather than reject or obliterate, what she should do, and yearns to do more, is to accept, to grasp such destiny.

This is not only the expectation of the Moon Priest and Ancestors upon her but also the answer she received during Awakening.

Opposition and contradiction abound in nature, light and dark, day and night, life and death, they repel yet depend mutually.

Completely eradicating one side tends not to bring prosperity, but signifies decline.

Positive and negative, right and wrong, good and evil, these concepts created by humankind are the same.

Only by understanding one side can better comprehension of the other be achieved, leading to progress through balance and regulation.

Therefore, though she temporarily cannot command her other self, the Hero does not regret making this choice.

Of course, she can completely devour all curses and transform it entirely into the Power of Purification, but by doing so, she fears she might become like the Moon People in Moon Capital now, losing emotions, with scarcely anything left of self.

She can also forsake the curse along with this portion of Magic Power entirely, but the cost would be losing this part of self forever.

Thus, the Hero’s final approach is simple, that is to confront it once more.

Although temporarily forsaking a portion of Magic Power, manipulated by her depraved self, ultimately, this portion of Magic Power still belongs to the Hero herself, in some sense, that is her Transformation.

Relying on the Beast Spirit Mage’s instinct, the Hero absolutely possesses the ability to regain control over this Transformation.

Compared to other choices, the benefit of this approach is that once successful, she can inhibit or even control her other self in the manner of controlling the Transformation, rather than purely relying on willpower to counterattack, resulting in occasional stealth attacks losing rationality.

Moreover, importantly, when she can genuinely manipulate this magical Transformation, the Hero will be qualified to master the Divine Domain Magic left by the Moon Queen, bringing change to Moon City.

The outcome of this confrontation, though not entirely victorious, the Hero has initially achieved the objective—she obtained, through this unique manner, a Transformation capable of independent activity.

Though currently, it’s not very obedient...

The Hero relentlessly pokes the other self’s cheek.

The touch of the Etheric body made of Magic Power feels soft, possessing the tender whiteness of real skin, with each poke generating a comforting rebound sensation.