The silver tear guarding the Sacred Tear, as well as that Night Witch, posed no real threat to Aoko. Aoko held no negative impressions of the Nox people—in fact, she quite admired them who continued to resist. So, although she had borrowed many treasures from the Eternal City, she hadn't killed a single Nox.
Those mindless, pre-programmed silver tears were easily dealt with. The Night Witch, however, took a bit more effort. Aoko initially wanted to subdue the Nox with a sleep spell, but surprisingly, the witch resisted it. So Aoko had to paralyze her first, then physically knock her out and tie her up with a rope.
Despite being called the Sacred Tear among the Tear Grails, the Sacred Tear wasn't as large as Aoko expected. It looked more like one of those large cups used across the Lands Between to collect fragments of starlight.
"The contents of the Sacred Tear... are concentrated starlight..."
Asimi said with a trembling voice.
"To create beings like me, the Nox placed large cups across the world to collect starlight fragments, which were then refined and concentrated within the Sacred Tear..."
"There's quite a bit in here,"
Aoko looked at the glowing liquid inside the Grail, slightly troubled.
"Do I have to drink all of this at once?"
"You need not worry,"
Asimi replied,
"What we call starlight fragments only look like liquid. In essence, they're more like concentrated magical energy, and won't be difficult to swallow."
"Alright then,"
Aoko frowned, held the Sacred Tear with both hands, paused briefly, and then began to drink the concentrated starlight.
"Mmm... tastes kind of weird."
Aoko drank deeply. The liquid had a strange, indescribable flavor, but caused no discomfort. The moment the concentrated starlight entered her body, Asimi eagerly absorbed it.
"T-Too much...!"
Asimi's voice came from within Aoko.
"M-Master, I...!"
"What is it?"
Aoko finished the contents in one gulp and returned the Grail to its pedestal.
"Is something wrong?"
"I-I may need to go dormant for a while..."
Asimi weakly replied.
"The Sacred Tear's... concentrated starlight... was just too much..."
"Will your enhancement effects still work while you're asleep?"
Aoko asked immediately. But after waiting a moment, she realized Asimi had stopped responding.
Aoko moved her limbs a bit. She found that the enhancements Asimi had granted her had weakened—but not entirely disappeared. Even while Asimi was asleep, Aoko could still enjoy some of the benefits... though probably only half as effective as before.
"Hmm, next up is..."
Aoko took out her notepad, crossed off another task, and looked at the next one.
"The Heretical Rise, huh?"
After untying the unfortunate Night Witch, Aoko even kindly healed her a bit—otherwise, the bump on her head might have hurt for a long time. Yep, she was too kind!
"Let's see where that Tarnished is now?"
Aoko sensed the spatial beacon she had placed on Tarnished to check his status.
"Hmm? He's moving fast."
Then, after confirming his location, Aoko activated her teleportation spell and vanished from the temple in Nokstella.
— Scene Transition —
"What are you talking about?"
Tarnished scratched his head in confusion and said to the person before him,
"Didn't you say last time your name was Yura? Who's Shaboriri? Her relative?"
"You..."
Shabriri, who looked just like Yura, was momentarily thrown off by Tarnished's line of thinking, but quickly regained composure and said gently,
"It seems you knew the previous owner of this body, didn't you?"
"Previous owner?"
Tarnished frowned, sensing something was off.
"This body did belong to Yura..."
"—Regrettably, destined Lord,"
Shaboriri sighed.
"I didn't know him personally. But since I'm here, it means the original owner of this body has passed on. My condolences."
"Now that I've inherited this body, I, Shaboriri, will use it with utmost care,"
Shaboriri, wearing an iron hat, said with a murky expression.
"I hope we can get along."
"Is that so?"
Tarnished looked puzzled.
"Well, Yura did mention that hunting those Bloody Fingers was dangerous, and he could die at any time..."
"You are about to make a sacrifice—"
Shaboriri leaned closer and whispered in Tarnished's ear,
"That poor girl is about to throw herself into the Flame Cauldron, burn herself alive, to pave the way for your kingship..."
"It's truly tragic, even if she's doing it willingly,"
Shaboriri shook his head in mock regret.
"To sacrifice an innocent girl just for your ascent—will the people of the Lands Between accept such a king?"
"What are you implying?"
Tarnished asked warily, hand on his sword hilt.
"You're talking about Melina, aren't you?"
"...Destined Lord,"
Shaboriri continued, ignoring the tension,
"You must walk a darker, harsher path."
"You should not sacrifice and burn that poor girl. The one who must burn—is yourself. That is the trial a true king must endure. Otherwise, the people will never acknowledge you!"
"Go to the depths beneath the Royal Capital and seek the One-Eyed God,"
Shaboriri's voice grew more seductive,
"He will guide you, grant you the power to become the Flame, to burn the Erdtree..."
"Burn the Erdtree?"
Tarnished drew his Carian Knight's Sword.
"You! You've been spouting nonsense this whole time. You're no good guy! Saying I'd sacrifice Melina? That's never happening!"
"Well said! That guy's definitely bad news—don't believe a word he says!"
A young woman's voice suddenly came from behind Tarnished. It sounded familiar. He turned around and saw the red-haired sorcerer, Aoko Aozaki, standing nearby.
"Outsider!"
Shaboriri's voice lost its calm elegance and turned vicious.
"If you know what's good for you, don't ruin my plans, or else—"
Before he could finish, a pale magical glow engulfed him. Aoko's magic bullet mercilessly shattered his body, destroying the schemer where he stood.
Frowning, Aoko cautiously approached the spot where Shaboriri had stood. Seeing a piece of his corpse still on the ground, she didn't hesitate—she cast Disintegrate, a green ray disintegrating the last remnant of Shaboriri's flesh into dust. Only then did she sigh in relief.