The Choice Lanqi Offered

At Ikerite Academy, the entire Jera Memorial Square fell dead silent. Every tree, every fallen leaf, and even every gust of wind seemed frozen in place, paralyzed in wordless shock. Even the people around the plaza—whether austere professors passing by, lively students, or wandering staff members—froze completely in their tracks, staring wide-eyed at this utterly unforeseen scene. On the screen— The Saintess of Destruction had fallen to her knees before Lanqi, unable to stand back up. It looked just like a headmaster catching an unrepentant delinquent and punishing her on the spot. Finally... "Did you guys see what card he used...?" a student asked blankly. "I remember there's a mental-type spell called [Mental Interference] that briefly affects targets within a three-meter radius, halting them. Lanqi's spell clearly works similarly, but... I honestly can't say..." The foulest thing about mental crowd control was that it was either a continuous lockdown or so fleeting that purification magic could not even be cast in time to cleanse it. Consequently, the Saintess of Destruction was just as dumbfounded right now. Before she could even process what had happened, she was already kneeling before Lanqi. "Holy sh*t! You couldn't design a card like that without ten mothers to spare!" "It's definitely Lanqi's own craft!" If they had seen a card like this in the past, they might have suspected it was some sick, unhinged drop from a Shadow World gone wrong. Now, however, the students of Ikerite Academy knew the habits of the Lanqi species inside and out, and were well aware that he was a quasi-Platinum-rank card maker. They did not even have to wonder who had crafted it! "Master Lan is truly an utter menace!" "No, seriously, what kind of white mage is he even supposed to be?!" From that lightning-fast clash to Lanqi revealing his white mage class abilities, and up to this sudden reversal of the battle, mere dozens of seconds had passed. The students of Ikerite Academy were still reeling in shock over Lanqi's epoch-defining take on the healing specialization. "And why is he completely immune to Poet of Great Love's effects?!" It was common knowledge that the cornerstone of Lanqi's setup was Poet of Great Love, who synergized perfectly with the Lanqi species' unrivaled knack for provoking enemies. Yet precisely because Poet of Great Love did not differentiate between friend and foe, she was terrifying enough to turn on her own master. Anyone without an ironclad will would instantly succumb to her charm and amplified emotions, degenerating into a puppet at her beck and call. Many students in the square had watched Lanqi's Shadow World runs for a long time. They had only ever seen Lanqi break other people's minds; never once had they seen him show the slightest emotional change from Poet of Great Love! When this boy and this card came together, they could run rampant and unleash havoc without paying any price whatsoever! After a long stretch of silence in the surrounding crowd... "...Because he is the rising dawn, devoid of mortal emotions," someone finally offered in reply. "..." "You're right, but that's Lanqi for you: a white mage with high stamina and an insanely high mana cap, with crowd control, disruption, total immunity, innate physical taunts; he tricks you into signing contracts, inflicts undispellable fury and confusion on his opponents, and the moment Poet of Great Love activates, it's AAAAAAAAH!" A burly fellow from the Soul of the Fighter team broke into tears, his face contorted in agony. It was as though he could finally pour out his suffering to his fellow students. To this day, he still could not forget how Big Sister Cervini—who had never shed a single tear in her life—cried for an entire day after their clubroom was wrecked by Lanqi. ... Inside the sanctuary of Lichtenstein Castle. Though the setting sun heralded the impending arrival of dusk, the straight beams of residual light crossing beneath the stained-glass windows seemed capable of piercing every corner of the world. Within the radiance flanking the largest rose window... The Saintess of Destruction, Adelice, who had rapidly lost her balance, lay prostrate on her knees. Lanqi stood tall and straight before her, looking down without moving a muscle, a faint trace of pity and regret lingering in his eyes. "...!!" Upon realizing her predicament, humiliation weighed down on her dignity like an invisible mountain. Her fingers clawed desperately at the floor, nails digging into the stone tiles with a grating, rasping scrape. "Aaaah...!!" Her body trembled violently from pain and fury. Every shudder seemed like a desperate defiance against the cruel reality. Blood was already seeping from her bitten lip, yet her pride and self-esteem were gone, draining away like the blood leaving her body, never to return. "Do you know where you went wrong?" Lanqi's voice was calm, carrying a hint of stern reprimand, as though torturing the final remnants of her dignity. Confronted with such unprecedented humiliation, the Saintess of Destruction found her vision blurring uncontrollably. Tears welled up, pooling to the brink of spilling over. At last, a single crystalline tear slid down from her noble, haughty eye, splashing onto the cold stone floor. The Saintess of Destruction, who had never knelt before anyone in her life... ...now fully understood that before the eyes of the entire Southern Continent, she was down on both knees in front of a youth younger than herself. The razor-sharp gazes projecting from the mortal realm across the Shadow World broadcast made her want to burn the enemy before her to ash. Yet that single step separating her from Lanqi felt infinitely distant. The detached expression on Lanqi's face looked as though he had never once considered her an opponent worth worrying about. He was simply punishing her. The Saintess of Destruction had no idea what hidden cards Lanqi held that allowed him to look down on her with such utter contempt. Even as these raging emotions threatened to overwhelm her mind, the last vestige of her reason was making a final choice. Seeing this, the Executioner, the Paladin, and the male guard snapped into action at once! "Kill!" "Charge!" They knew this was a golden opportunity. Sprinting at full speed, the trio swung their weapons, whipping up a gale. Like three bolts of lightning, they bolted straight toward the Saintess of Destruction, Adelice. Her legs, which seemed to have lost all sensation, were now trembling more violently—a sign that her nerves were recovering, allowing her to rise once again. Even if there was almost no hope that all three of them would survive in their bid to subdue this desperate Saintess of Destruction, they pressed forward resolutely without the slightest hesitation to protect their comrades and spare the mortal realm from disaster, their strides moving as if they had no time to die! Just then, however... As the Saintess of Destruction began to push herself up and caught sight of Lanqi once more... She saw him wearing a faint smile, holding an Orange Epic card in each hand. The card in his left hand was wreathed in an eerie orange mist, sinister and abyss-like; the card in his right hand crackled within a blazing orange cocoon of lightning, radiant and sacred as the scorching sun. No matter which one it was, both triggered a spine-chilling premonition of mortal peril within her. Neither was any ordinary Orange Epic card—each was a terrifying trump card capable of sealing her fate in a single instant! "..." Lanqi did not say a word, but the gentle smile on his face seemed to mimic the Lady of the Lake, silently asking the Saintess of Destruction: Which card would you like me to use on you?