Crystal Palace from Infinite Anime

However, Lin Zhiyu did not kiss Melina for too long.

"I'm still alive because of him, let's just consider it... just consider it as a way to repay him!" Melina had just convinced herself with this idea and wanted to cast aside all distractions and just indulge in the kiss with Lin Zhiyu, but Lin Zhiyu suddenly stopped kissing her, put his hand on her shoulder, and separated from her so that they were no longer face to face.

"Ha..." The girl with a flushed face exhaled hot air and stared at Lin Zhiyu with confusion and resentment.

Lin Zhiyu rubbed the girl's head and said with a smile:

"You're such a little fool. Now that you have a man, you forget your companions and your sister, right?"

While teasing Melina, strands of orange-red light flowed from Lin Zhiyu's body into the air and flew towards Busujima Saeko and Millicent who were lying on the snow not far away.

Fire can be hot, fierce, and destructive.

It can also be warm and refreshing, making people full of vitality.

Lin Zhiyu, who has devoured and fused the fire of destruction, has now faintly knocked on a mysterious door leading to eternity, and his original flame has finally achieved a transformation because of this experience, or after going through so much, finally taking this experience as an opportunity.

Now this flame can directly bring protection and healing to people.

It can also burn more fiercely than before, and even a divine object like the Golden Tree cannot resist it.

Sometimes, destruction also means rebirth.

Therefore, Lin Zhiyu's flame is a fire that cannot be rebuilt without destruction. It is full of destructiveness, but it can also heal people - the fire of hope!

------------------

In the endless darkness, Millicent's consciousness gradually recovered, and her body felt slightly shaking.

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a scene that felt incredibly familiar to her—a dimly lit underground space, thick, winding tree roots crisscrossing the walls. She was sprawled on a warm, solid back, her legs supported by someone's hands, her chin resting on someone's shoulder armor.

"Huh? Are you awake?"

Lin Zhiyu, who was carrying Millicent on his back, noticed Millicent's awakening at the first moment, so he stopped and slowly put Millicent down from his back.

Busujima Saeko and Melina followed behind Lin Zhiyu. At this time, they both helped to support Millicent to prevent Millicent, who had just woken up and might still be confused, from falling to the ground.

"Um... aren't we on a snowy mountain?"

"Where is this place?"

"Why, I have a familiar feeling about this place..."

After being put down by Lin Zhiyu, Millicent's eyes swept over Lin Zhiyu, Busujima Saeko and Melina, and then she began to look at the surrounding environment carefully, her dark eyebrows unconsciously furrowed tightly.

"It feels familiar. This is the bottom of the Sacred Tree of Michaela. You should know what I'm talking about, right?" Lin Zhiyu was not sure how much of Millicent's mind was now filled with memories from Marennia, but Lin Zhiyu believed that as long as someone mentioned anything related to Michaela to Millicent, Millicent would be able to recall it.

"Is this the bottom of the sacred tree?" Knowing where she was, Millicent was stunned, and then she suddenly understood why she had a familiar feeling about this place.

Because this is clearly her home!

but……

its not right!

The sacred tree is located in the Holy Snowfield in the northernmost part of the border area.

The Huasheng Snowfield is shrouded in wind and snow all year round. Due to the wind and snow, the visibility in most places on the vast snowfield does not exceed five meters.

Normally, without the guidance of the people of the Holy Tree, it would be impossible for ordinary people to cross the Holy Snowfield and find the Michaela Holy Tree deep in the snowfield.

But then again...

"He is not an ordinary person. We cannot look at him with common sense, including Melina and Saeko." Millicent thought thoughtfully, and her eyes swept across the faces of Lin Zhiyu, Busujima Saeko and Melina again.

Indeed, for Lin Zhiyu and his group, it was not difficult to cross the Holy Snowfield and reach Michaela's sacred tree.

First of all, they were taking a "plane" and didn't have to take Route 11 - this guy Yadula had not participated in the battle with Malicus before and was still alive and well, so he could naturally continue to play his due role.

In the battle against Malicus, whether Adura participated or not wouldn't have much of an impact on the outcome; he might even be the only one killed by Malicus. After all, Millicent and Melina were Malicus's nieces, and Saeko Busujima wasn't as large as Adura, making her a clear target...

In short, after the battle, Lin Zhiyu did not hold Adula accountable, but he had a more convincing reason to let the pyroxene dragon continue to serve as his mount.

So, several people sat on the dragon's back and flew over most of the Holy Snow Plain.

Saeko has "extraordinary eyesight" that is even more outrageous than an eagle's. The vast wind and snow that obstruct her vision on the snowfield cannot blind her eyes, and Michaela's sacred tree is not an inconspicuous existence, so for a group of people to come to the sacred tree, isn't it a smooth journey?

As for why, after successfully burning the tree, they did not immediately return to the royal city and enter the "Stone Stage", but instead chose to come to the sacred tree, it was because Lin Zhiyu also wanted to give Millicent a good ending.

Fallen leaves always return to their roots.

Millicent finally had to meet Marenia.

Lin Zhiyu will not take Millicent to see Marennia now. After he leaves this world, Millicent will do it herself. But by that time, Lin Zhiyu will no longer be able to provide help to Millicent.

Lin Zhiyu, who is familiar with the plot of the game, knows very well that Malenia is now sleeping at the bottom of the sacred tree.

So she had carried the unconscious Millicent all the way here.

Of course, there were troubles along the way.

However, after seeing Millicent on Lin Zhiyu's back, the soldiers of the Holy Tree did not dare to launch a fierce attack on Lin Zhiyu.

Furthermore, within the Sacred Tree, there resides a "Royal Guard Knight" once loyal to Kalia—Loretta. Like Mugram, this female knight, once a member of the Queen's personal guard, sought refuge at the Sacred Tree with a group of helpless Platinum Sons from Lienia following the fall of Reinara and the fall of Kalia. However, Loretta never forgot that she was a member of Kalia's family.

Therefore, when she discovered that Lin Zhiyu was also a knight of Kalia and also saw Adura hovering in the sky, Loretta persuaded the soldiers of the Holy Tree who had not actively attacked Lin Zhiyu because of Millicent. Lin Zhiyu and his men were able to travel smoothly until they reached the bottom of the Holy Tree, where they encountered some minor troubles.

Corrupt family members.

Because Malenia was sleeping at the base of the sacred tree, a large number of corrupt followers had gathered at the tree's roots. These corrupt followers were difficult to communicate with, but they were not enough to cause any trouble to Lin Zhiyu and his group. God knows how many corrupt followers Saeko had killed so far, dozens? Hundreds? Regardless, Saeko had taken a lot of heads this time.

Back to the topic.

After realizing that she was home, Millicent suddenly felt a strange feeling in her heart.

Driven by this strange feeling, she slowly focused her eyes and looked towards a downward passage in front of her.

"Marenia...she's just ahead." Millicent said confidently.

As they were very close to Marenia, it was not surprising that Millicent could sense Marenia's exact location. After all, she was a part of Marenia.

"Then let's move on! Go meet your...mother?" Lin Zhiyu looked at Millicent.

To Lin Zhiyu's surprise, Millicent fell silent at this time and did not nod to give Lin Zhiyu an affirmative answer.

"Millicent?" Lin Zhiyu felt something was wrong.

"I...can you let me meet her alone?" After a brief hesitation, Millicent finally told Lin Zhiyu her thoughts.

Lin Zhiyu could partially understand Millicent's mood at the moment.

After all, this is a matter between her and Malenia, and it is something she must face. Now she just wants to complete it alone. This mission has been engraved deep in her soul since she was born.

"Please, let me do this alone." Millicent said to Lin Zhiyu again.

“…” Lin Zhiyu remained silent, worried that there might be some unexpected events.

At this time, Millicent turned her head and glanced at Melina and Busujima Saeko. The latter two were wondering why Millicent suddenly looked at them, but they found that Millicent then turned to Lin Zhiyu again, and suddenly raised her hands to hold Lin Zhiyu's chin, slightly raised her feet, and kissed Lin Zhiyu.

The kiss was very short, and it was also the red-haired girl's farewell to Lin Zhiyu.

"We will definitely meet again." After leaving these words, Millicent walked around Lin Zhiyu and ran away quickly.

Lin Zhiyu was still standing there in a daze. He really didn't expect that Millicent, with her rather introverted personality, would actually take the initiative to kiss him.

"Aren't you going to chase her?"

Suddenly, Busujima Saeko asked Lin Zhiyu a question.

Lin Zhiyu finally came back to his senses, then shook his head and said:

"Forget it, let's just follow her wishes! Let's rest for now and continue on our way in fifteen minutes. I just hope that by then... Millicent will still be fine!"

However, the reality is that the situation is developing in a direction that Lin Zhiyu does not want to see.

Fifteen minutes later, when Lin Zhiyu brought Melina and Busujima Saeko to the roots of the sacred tree, they only saw Malenia, who was over two meters tall and wearing a prosthetic hand, but there was no sign of Millicent.

"Where is she?" As soon as he saw Malenia, Lin Zhiyu asked in a deep voice before he even got close.

Wearing a winged helmet with blinders, Marennia donned her prosthetic hand and grasped a slender prosthetic sword. She said to Lin Zhiyu in a calm tone, "Where is that child now? I thought you already had the answer in your mind."

“…” Lin Zhiyu frowned and fell silent.

Millicent is the embodiment of the noble side of Marlene's personality. Judging from the current situation, she has most likely returned to her original form and become a part of Marlene again.

"So, is all this, whether for you or me, just a dream?" Lin Zhiyu stared at Marenia and said helplessly, "What do you want me to call you now? My dear Millicent? Or... Valkyrie Marenia?"

"..." Facing Lin Zhiyu's question, Marennia was silent for a while.

Then she shook her head, sighed and said to Lin Zhiyu:

"Go away! Whether you come for Millicent or the Great Rune, you won't get what you want. Millicent will be waiting here with Marenia, awaiting the man's return. And if it's the Great Rune you want, then ask the prosthetic sword in my hand if it agrees!"

"The person you're waiting for to return, you mean Michaela, right?"

"..."

"Heh, how about this? I help Marenia find Michaela, and Marenia willingly returns Millicent to me. What do you think of this deal?"

"What did you say!?"

Seeing that Lin Zhiyu seemed to know Michaela's whereabouts, Marennia suddenly became excited.

At this time, Lin Zhiyu smiled silently, raised his hand and took out from the system space the three Pure Blood Knight Medals that he had won in the previous lottery.

Munggot's twin brother, Mung, was chosen by the Outer God True Mother as the "Blood King." Under True Mother's influence, Mung ambitiously created the "Mungwen Dynasty" in the underground world of the Junction, hoping to one day bring his dynasty to the surface, rule the Junction, and usher the world into a new era.

Of course, the king needs a divine man as a companion.

So Monger took a fancy to Michaela, and took advantage of the fact that Malenia was away with troops during the Second Shattered War, and kidnapped Michaela, who would never grow up but was emerging from her cocoon and seeking to grow.

After kidnapping Michaela, Monger became very proud.

He seemed to have foreseen the bright future of the Blood Dynasty.

The blood apostles wearing white masks under Monger's command began to search for qualified people at the border and awarded them the Pure Blood Knight Medal - with this medal, the holder can be directly teleported from the surface to the Blood Dynasty in the underground world.

To be honest, if Lin Zhiyu wanted to obtain the Pure-Blood Knight Medal through other means other than the lottery, it would be quite troublesome.

Now, with three Pureblood Knight Medals in hand, Lin Zhiyu can take two helpers with him at any time to go find that guy Monger and have a fierce three-on-one fight, and then shout:

"All male ketones go to hell!"

Ok,

Now the only question is, which two helpers to take to deal with Monger?

Anyway, Malenia must be involved in this matter.

Lin Zhiyu then turned around and discussed it with Melina and Busujima Saeko. Saeko felt that Melina could be of greater help to Lin Zhiyu now, so she took the initiative to offer to stay here and wait for Lin Zhiyu and the others to return.

"Okay, Saeko, don't worry. In fact, Malenia can kill that guy Monger by herself. I am mainly helping her lead the way to save time. It's just right that you, Melina, let me see the killing effect of destined death on demigods!" Lin Zhiyu made the decision, and then threw a pure-blood knight medal to Malenia with a flick of his hand.

"What is this? And you just mentioned Mung? Who is Mung?" Marenia was still confused. Munggot and Mung, the children of bad omens, had been thrown into the sewers of the royal city since childhood. As her younger sister, she had no idea that she had an ugly brother named Mung. It was this ugly brother who had kidnapped her other brother, Michaela, and even wanted to rip her off.

Lin Zhiyu didn't bother explaining too much. He knew that if there was even a slight chance of finding Michaela, Marenia would do everything in her power. So, he simply told Marenia that using the Pureblood Knights would get her to Michaela's current location, and that he could figure out the rest later.

"You'd better not lie to me, otherwise even if you are my friend..." Before using the Pure-Blood Knight Medal, Marennia looked at Lin Zhiyu as if she was going to say something harsh, but she couldn't continue speaking. It seemed that she had no way to be cruel to Lin Zhiyu.

Finally, the three of them used the Pureblood Knight Medal and disappeared into the roots of the sacred tree.

Only Busujima Saeko is left waiting here...

A long wait...

I don’t know how much time passed like this.

"Zezi? Saeko?"

When Busujima Saeko, who had fallen into a deep sleep after waiting for too long at the bottom of the sacred tree, was awakened, everything was settled.

She stood up, opened her eyes wide, and saw Lin Zhiyu, Melina, and also Malenia - the latter was standing next to a huge wooden cocoon, with one hand and cheek pressed against it.

Michaela, whom Marennia has been looking for, is now in the cocoon, and it is unknown when she will wake up and break out of the cocoon.

As for Munger?

With the lineup of the Queen of the Night Eyes + the Demigod of Fire + the Goddess of Corruption, Dog Man Ketone had no power to fight back at all. In the end, it was the extremely angry Malenia who used the water birds to dance wildly and cut Monger into countless pieces of meat.

"Okay, Saeko, everything has been done and it's time for us to leave." Lin Zhiyu said in the ear of Saeko Busujima who had just woken up.

Saeko Dokujima, who always obeyed her man, nodded subconsciously and set off with Lin Zhiyu and Melina. But as she walked, she realized something was wrong.

According to the deal Lin Zhiyu had made with Marennia...

Where's Millicent?

Why is Millicent still missing?