When Yasenia began speaking, Ao Jiuyao knew what was about to happen. So, he instantly transformed into his massive dragon form and carried everyone who was his ally out of there at his top speed.
Astarea was confused, but seeing the horrified look in Jiuyao's dragon face as Yasenia raised her hand and channeled her energy, she didn't say a single word. Instead, she looked on at Yasenia's actions.
And then, Yasenia ended her speech.
"...Activate, [Divine Lich Avatar Descent Talisman]."
The paper made of unknown precious materials lit up as Yasenia picked it from between her breasts and raised it to the sky. Then, the talisman's influence pulsed out and gathered energy from hundreds of thousands of kilometers around them.
Everyone who wanted to leave now couldn't. The pressure from the world itself pressed down on them. In the distance, Ao Jiuyao managed to slowly crawl away from the central area, his gigantic wine-red dragon body moving with extreme difficulty.
Astarea grunted, her mouth almost unable to move. "What is… happening?"
Ao Jiuyao answered with difficulty. "That crazy child has activated a life-saving treasure."
Lataria, who was currently flattened against Ao Jiuyao's back, spoke muffledly. "Are you sure… It isn't a life-ending treasure!?"
Meanwhile, those from the Astral Death Sect looked at Yasenia's floating back with fear in their eyes. They had not expected Yasenia to have a talisman of this quality. 'What is happening? Why does this energy feel so familiar?'
Yasenia looked around coldly, her face full of indifference. "You forced me; remember this."
The energies that were whirling in the sky condensed, and from them, a single being appeared.
The terrifyingly powerful being was a woman wearing a royal-red dress. The upper part of the garment framed her shapely breasts, leaving her stomach and torso bare, yet nothing about the design felt like simple seduction. Below, a thick and voluminous crimson skirt fluttered with the overwhelming energy that engulfed her entire form.
Black accessories inlaid with jade jewels adorned the otherwise scarlet attire, and her proportions were so perfect that every other woman present suddenly seemed lacking.
Then, the mist veiling her face dispersed.
The woman, who descended like a goddess of death walking straight out of the underworld, radiated a presence that was blinding to behold. Her beauty could only be described as violently gorgeous. Aloof, regal eyes, blood-red orbs leaking faint crimson fumes that streaked through the air as she looked down, captured all attention. Yet every divine feature was steeped in a coldness so absolute that only Death's embrace could be compared to it.
Yasenia looked up at that figure and her eyes teared up slightly. How much did she miss her? How much she wanted to rush forward and pounce into her loving arms? However, she knew that this was a mere illusion, like the reflection of the moon on the surface of the lake.
If Yasenia felt emotional, the Astral Death Group was petrified. They had not expected their supreme leader, the Death Empress herself, to descend with a simple call from Yasenia.
Shen Baihu, especially, was currently trembling as he lowered his body in reverence.
As the image that descended looked around, it seemed to notice that there was no immediate danger. Therefore, with a single step, she disappeared and reappeared in front of Yasenia. This action stunned Yasenia.
The woman who felt as if the entire world could only drag its bodies under her feet smiled faintly. "Was it too difficult?"
"Huh?" The dragoness couldn't react when Tatyana's voice reached her.
Tatyana's avatar chuckled and lightly pinched Yasenia's cheek. "Silly girl. Tell me, who bullied you? I will get rid of everyone who dared put you in danger."
Yasenia looked around her and felt some grievances appear in her heart. Now with her mother seemingly present, Yasenia pointed out and whined. "They are all bullying me! They want to kill me for my treasures!"
Tatyana's expression turned cold as she turned around. "I understand. Don't worry, Little Treasure, no one will dare steal what's yours now that I am here."
"W-Wait!" Ralgar, the demon who had followed the group to besiege Yasenia, felt his intestines twist in regret. "E-Exalted Venerable, we were unaware that she had your protection! Please spare us!"
Tatyana's eyes glanced over, and the second she did, her soul pressure descended on top of Ralgar with the weight of a thousand mountains. The Demon Monarch's expression changed as he was forcefully slammed against the ground.
BOOM!
"You dared bully this eminence's precious. Yet you still are trying to ask for mercy? Ridiculous!" Her blood-red eyes then pierced through space as she looked at Ao Jiuyao's figure, trying to escape.
"What about that dragon, Little Treasure?"
Ao Jiuyao thought that he was far enough, but when he heard these words, he felt his entire heart chill. Lataria and Astarea's faces also crumpled; they had not expected this young dragon to have such backing! This time, they all kicked a steel plate with thorns!
Yasenia's eyes looked cold. Ao Jiuyao quickly spoke. "Yasenia! Please have mercy. We were all here with the intention of recruiting you into our power. We didn't want to forcefully steal from you!"
Yasenia asked back, her lips arched in a faint sneer. "What if I refused everyone like I did? Astarea said it well. 'If I refuse everyone here, I will die.' Didn't she?"
Astarea really wanted to bite her own tongue! However, would Yasenia forgive them?
Lataria's voice pierced the space. "Yasenia, please! Forgive us this once! I swear that I never had any intentions of letting you suffer! The Divines will also become grateful if you spare us!"
The dragoness looked at Lataria and also recalled that she was constantly against it. 'If I kill everyone but Lataria, she will resent me either way. So, if I choose to spare Lataria, I should also spare the others… However, how influential are they truly?'
Tatyana spoke at this time. "Are you trying to create a power in this place?"
Yasenia blinked, confused. "No, I am not."
Tatyana asked again. "Are you trying to stay permanently in this place?"
"No…"
"Then, what does it matter if you anger them or not? They are inconsequential to you since you will be leaving either way, aren't they?"
Yasenia became silent. Tatyana's words were ruthless but true. She, whom the Death Empress raised, naturally found them logical as well. Moreover, Yasenia had never been a warm-hearted person toward those who attacked her. There have been exceptions, but those exceptions worked immensely for years while sacrificing a lot just to earn Yasenia's partial forgiveness. All of that on top of very special conditions and situations.
Seeing coldness seep deeply within Yasenia's golden eyes, Lataria's heart squeezed. "Does… our friendship mean nothing?"
Tatyana squinted at Lataria for a second, but she didn't interrupt again. She was unaware of Yasenia's situation, as she was nothing but a soul-strand that the real Tatyana sealed within the talisman.
The dragoness heard pleas of mercy all around, while the ten people from the Astral Death Sect stayed prostrate, unwilling to raise their heads in Tatyana's presence.
Seeing this scene, her heart felt stifled and angry. "Would any of you have forgiven me if I pleaded to keep the treasures? Would any of you protect me from those attacking me for those treasures? In this place, there are only 10 people who might've reacted like that!"
Yasenia's words were directed at Lataria and all the Astral Death Sect people except Shen Baihu. His attitude was apparent from the beginning, as he never really liked her.
Still, as she wanted to be completely ruthless, there was one very small chain that pulled her heart. 'If I annihilate everyone here, they will probably unleash their stifled anger on the Star Immortal Sect.'
While they didn't treat her exemplarily, Yasenia linked with people whom she could confidently call friends in that sect. She even had a little disciple whose connection with her had yet to disappear.
So, after taking a deep breath, Yasenia's judgment descended. "Kill everyone except the nine people from the Astral Death Sect I am marking and the people on top of the scarlet dragon's back."
There were divines whom Ao Jiuyao didn't manage to pick up in his hasty retreat. However, the dragoness didn't care. After all, among them, there was the red-winged Divine who attacked her before. So, those could die for all she cared.
"Hmm…" Tatyana glanced at Yasenia with a squint and muttered. "You've become quite soft-hearted. But, while your words are somewhat soft-hearted, they are ruthless enough."
"Wait!"
"Yasenia! Please have mercy!"
By Yasenia's side, Fu Weiyang spoke hastily. "Yasenia, forgive Shen Baihu. He is just a bit too serious!"
"I don't like that." Yasenia glared at the man prostrating himself. "The fact that he attacked me once is enough for him to die. Also, I don't like how he thinks of himself as someone who can decide for Tatyana. So, he will die here."
Her way of choosing who lived and died was utterly arbitrary, but Yasenia didn't care. This is what made her heart the most comfortable.
Tatyana raised her hand, Fate and Death Energies gathering around her. Then, her power surged and pierced the world's very essence.
"For my power, I command…"
Like a chant carrying the words of a thousand wailing ghosts, Tatyana's death energy pierced a hole in the sky as the gates of the [Underworld] manifested.
"...A terrible Fate looms."
As Death and Fate energies spiralled all around Tatyana's being, no one could move. With a wave of Tatyana's hand, all beings whom Yasenia condemned were shifted in space and appeared gathered in a group a few thousand kilometers away from Yasenia.
"From the World, I demand…"
The sky above the hundreds of people changed, and Shen Baihu looked at the sky with a reverent expression. There was only madness in his eyes as Tatyana's power gathered.
"...To bring these fools doom."
The massive gates of the [Underworld] opened, the creaking sound making the souls of all living beings tremble. Behind them, darkness so deep that it felt as if it could swallow all life, revealed itself.
When the doors fully opened, Tatyana's eyes glowed with scarlet light as she made a descending motion with her hand.
"[Death Empress Decree: Underworld's Condemnation]."
With her words, a black pillar that connected the sky and earth manifested silently. No large explosion, no massive shockwave. A silent pillar of pure death that swallowed the world and absorbed all light.
The pillar's ridiculously pure Death Energy infected everything in hundreds of thousands of kilometers around the impact zone, transforming more than half of the continent in just a few instants.
After the pillar disappeared, what remained was a perfectly circular abyss, with no trace of anyone whom Yasenia condemned.
Tatyana looked at Yasenia and smiled. "Since you've used this, I will come find you soon. Take care, Little Treasure."
Yasenia nodded, a sweet smile appearing on her lips. She whispered so that only Tatyana heard her. "Thank you, Mom. I love you."