The Heroine Must Die

“I was just worrying about how to track that bastard down. So now he’ll come looking for me instead?”

“Yes.”

“That’s perfect.”

Edmund looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “What’s perfect about it? Can you beat him?”

“No.” She shrugged. “But I have you. Right? …Okay, fine. Maybe you can’t.”

Edmund: “…” How exactly can’t I?

“I still have Briar. And my master. And Silent Fang.”

Silent Fang stiffened and waved his hands frantically. “No, no, I can’t help. I can’t leave this barrier. I still have to help Ancestor dig out scales.”

Lauren stared at him in disbelief. You’re a peak-level powerhouse and you’re acting like this?

Edmund said mildly, “Silent Fang is at the critical threshold of dragon transformation. He cannot leave this barrier. Unless you can lure the other party inside.”

Silent Fang nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, Ancestor is right.”

Lauren finally understood where White had learned her enthusiastic “yes, yes.”

She exhaled. “Fine. We’ll deal with that later. I don’t even know where that person is hiding. Or how strong he is.”

“Where else would he hide?” Edmund said. “After descending, he’ll definitely contact Indiana. And descending isn’t easy—they must have used a special method.”

Indiana. She was currently imprisoned in Desolate Valley by Herbert.

Could that person be hiding there too?

Lauren immediately contacted her master. Drake’s reply came quickly: Herbert had sensed that Indiana had been possessed—or perhaps in some kind of symbiotic relationship.

Lauren’s mind lit up instantly. A powerful soul residing inside the body of a so-called chosen one.

The classic cultivation cheat code.

“I get it,” she said slowly. “He probably didn’t descend in full. He sent down a split soul. And that soul is residing inside Indiana’s body.”

She had originally suspected a Substitute Talisman.

But then she remembered—Edmund had stolen the upper realm’s Talisman inheritance. They probably couldn’t replicate one easily.

Edmund frowned. “How can you be so certain? What if you’re wrong?”

She grinned. You wouldn’t understand. Read a few novels and you would get it.

“I’m not wrong,” she said confidently. “We’ll test it eventually.”

“Don’t stir up trouble,” Edmund warned. “We find the Boundary Breaking Stone first.”

“I didn’t say we’d test it now,” she replied. “Herbert keeping her locked up is perfect. We’ll act after we secure the stone.”

Edmund finally nodded. “Fine.”

“You can sense it now, right?”

“I’ve fully recovered,” he said. “I can.”

Lauren beamed. “Congratulations. You’re finally not just a wisp of soul anymore. So where is it?”

He answered flatly. “At the Earth’s core.”

Lauren blinked. “…You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“How do we get it?”

“There’s a point on the seabed that’s closest to the Earth’s core. We’ll have to return to the sea. Silent Fang has lived there for nearly twenty thousand years. He’ll know the exact location.”

So they turned around and went back.

When they reentered the barrier, Silent Fang looked up in surprise. “Ancestor? Sister? You’re back already?”

Edmund: “…”

Lauren: “…”

That vacant, innocent expression— It was really hard to reconcile with the fact that this was a dragon who’d survived nearly twenty millennia.

“Silent Fang, do you know where the closest point to the Earth’s core is?”

“Yes,” he replied simply. “It’s in my old lair.”

The nearer one was to the Earth’s core, the closer one stood to the heavens above. Back then, he had chosen that place precisely because it was both dangerous and safe—the entrance to the core itself. No one would dare casually approach it.

Lauren let out a quiet breath.

Perfect. That saves us a hell of a lot of trouble.

“We need to retrieve something from the Earth’s core. Can you draw us a detailed map?”

Silent Fang scratched his head. “It’s hard to find that place in the sea. How about this—I’ll have a friend guide you.”

He has a friend?

Lauren blinked. “Alright. Please thank your friend for me.”

Silent Fang turned toward the distant waters and let out a roar.

It was ferocious and vast, the sound rolling like thunder across the ocean floor. Even Lauren felt it strike straight into her chest, powerful enough to rattle the spirit.

Before long, a white-bearded old man leaning on a cane appeared out of the dark waters.

“Brother, brother, you were calling me?”

Lauren: “…”

Why is that tone contagious?

And this white-bearded grandpa calling Silent Fang “brother” was… deeply unsettling.

“Yes, Peyton,” Silent Fang said. “I have two friends who need to reach the Earth’s core. Can you guide them?”

“Of course.”

The old man’s body shimmered, and in the next breath he transformed into a colossal turtle, large as a small mountain. His shell was ancient and rugged, etched with the marks of countless years.

“Come on up.”

Edmund had already retreated into Lauren’s spatial dimension, so she alone climbed onto the turtle’s broad back.

Peyton descended into the sea, and the waters parted smoothly to either side as if pushed away by an invisible force.

Lauren gazed around in fascination.

Under filtered sunlight, fish and shrimp glittered like living jewels. Coral forests swayed gently in brilliant reds and blues. The seabed flora glowed with quiet vitality.

“Sister,” Peyton’s deep voice rumbled beneath her, “when did my brother meet you?”

“Just a few years ago,” Lauren replied. “What about you?”

“Me?” The turtle sounded pleased. “I’ve known him for over ten thousand years! I was just a tiny thing when he took me home.”

Ten thousand years…

That was a real old friendship.

She hesitated, then asked, “Why do you all speak in such a strange tone?”

“Strange?” Peyton sounded genuinely confused.

“Are all the sea demons like this?”

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t interact much with others. After my brother hid inside the barrier, I went to sleep. I’ve been asleep for more than two thousand years.”

…Alright then.

Inside her inner space, Lauren silently transmitted to Edmund.

“This old dragon is actually kind of interesting. So simple-minded. I have no idea how he’s survived this long.”

Edmund replied calmly, “Silent Fang is the overlord of this sea. Who would dare provoke him?”

“He wasn’t born an overlord,” Lauren pointed out. “He must’ve had weak years.”

“When he was weak, his mother ruled this sea.”

Lauren went quiet.

…My apologies.

Edmund continued, “Silent Fang’s spiritual power is extremely pure. And he possesses the power of merit.”

Lauren nearly choked. “Merit? How the hell does a snake demon have merit?”

“He receives offerings from humans. Over two thousand years ago, fishermen called him the Sea God. They built temples and worshipped him. He must have saved many of them from storms and shipwrecks.”

That actually made sense.

“White,” Edmund added, “fell into his barrier during migration. After rescuing her, he kept her in his lair. Before her, he had taken in many small creatures. Peyton here was one of them.”

Lauren’s expression softened.

So beneath that naïve, almost foolish demeanor was someone who quietly saved lives and sheltered the weak.

The turtle carried her deeper. Gradually, no fish could be seen. The light vanished entirely. Above her head was nothing but pitch black water, heavy and silent.

Even her spiritual sense could only extend a short distance before being swallowed by darkness. No wonder Silent Fang insisted on sending someone to guide them. Without Peyton, she would be completely lost.

“Peyton, how much farther?”

“Almost there. Don’t rush.”

Lauren sighed. “Alright.”

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