Chapter 3981: Poisoned Blade (Part 2) "Maybe, but I won’t allow it." Lith’s voice brooked no argument. "I won’t sacrifice you just to keep myself safe." "Tell her!" For the first time in her life, Menadion had no qualms about siding against her daughter. "This makes no sense!" Solus said. "How can you expect me to stand there and see you getting hurt yet refuse to do the same for me?" "Because I’m resistant to the Cursed Elements, Solus, and you are not." Lith replied. "Also, because with a little luck, your sacrifice will be unnecessary." "Explain it to me, mister double standards." She grunted. "And it better be good." Solus tried to act outraged, but she was inwardly relieved. ’For a moment I was afraid he would have told me that Elysia is not my daughter and hence this is not my responsibility.’ She thought, feeling Lith’s sincerity through their bond. "As I said, we’ll start from Zero magic." Lith said. "Once Elysia understands the risks of Mirror Magic for others, we’ll ask her to show us the hand signs for Chaos and Cinder without casting a spell. "After all, she told us that she knows how to use three Cursed Elements, and I believe her." "You’re right!" Solus’ eyes widened in understanding. "Elysia is the one who showed us the hand sign for Zero. She probably knows the other two as well. She’s just ashamed of it." "That’s my hope." He nodded, making her smile turn into a frown. "What if we’re not lucky and Elysia doesn’t know the hand signs yet? We can’t ask her to practice Mirror Magic without putting her and others in even more danger." "That’s not the plan." Lith replied. "The plan is to do what I do best: play dirty. It will come with a bit of a storm, but I can take it." "What storm are you talking about, and why would it hit only you?" Solus asked. *** The following day, a quick call with the communication amulet and Baba Yaga arrived faster than her hologram could fade into nothingness. "Fifty thousand years." The Red Mother held Elysia above her head. "That’s how long I tried to conjure stable Cursed Elements before I gave up, considering it a pipe dream. "Fifty thousand years of painstaking efforts and endless failure that a small baby tuned into a colossal waste of time without even trying. What do you have to say in your defence?" "Ba?" Elysia asked in confusion, looking at her parents for reassurance. "Yes, baby girl." Kamila nodded. "That’s our friend. You have already met her several times. Her name is Baba Yaga." "Baba?" Useless to say, learning that name was incredibly easy for Elysia. "Are you calling me by my name or just a very bad person?" The Mother asked. "Baba!" Elysia nodded her intonation, calm and devoid of blame. "She’s using my name!" Baba Yaga spun the baby girl in the air for a while before holding her to her chest. "What a smart, adorable little baby you are. You do me a great honour by learning my name before anyone else’s." Normally, parents and grandparents would have been jealous. Yet Elysia saying Baba Yaga’s name correctly was no different from meeting a person whose name was Dada or Mama. It was a weird coincidence that nothing had to do with love. "I can’t be angry at you. You are too cute, Ely." The Red Mother crooned at the little girl, tickling her stomach and making her giggle. "Can you show me your special magic? Can you show me Jerak?" Baba Yaga pointed at a wide, empty area of the beach where no living being would suffer the effects of the Zero magic. Elysia’s expression turned worried, and she looked at her parents. "Don’t worry, pumpkin. Baba Yaga is a friend. You can do it this time. Just be careful." Lith said. "Remember never to point it at another person." Kamila added. Those instructions contradicted the warnings of the day before and confused Elysia quite a bit. Yet she trusted her parents, and the nice woman had a soothing aura that put her at ease. "Je-a." Elysia put little mana into the chore magic spell and even less enthusiasm, but the Zero bullet turned the sand into a bunch of frozen spikes taller than Lith. "Such a simple, refined rune." The Red Mother said while studying the hand sign. "I can’t believe I worked hard for so long yet didn’t even get close to the correct answer." "Ba?" Elysia asked, pointing at herself. "No, sweetie pie. You are a good girl. Thank you." Baba Yaga caressed Elysia’s cheek with her finger. "Don’t worry, and go back to your parents." Kamila took the baby girl in her arms and, after reassuring Elysia, she brought her daughter away along with the rest of her family. "Asking for my help was the right move." The Red Mother said once only Lith, Solus, and she were left. "Only Liches and white cores can practice Mirror Magic in relative safety, and even that comes at a price. Jerak!" The intonation of the magic word was perfect, and so was the hand sign. Yet the moment the Zero bullet emerged, Baba Yaga’s right arm froze up to her forearm and shattered into a thousand pieces. The Red Mother had used the same amount of mana as Elysia and formed a second bundle of frozen spikes, yet her result wasn’t comparable with the little girl’s. "What happened?" Lith asked, tapping on the Eyes of Menadion. "You used the right word and hand sign, I’m sure of it. How could such a simple spell go wrong?" "It’s my fault. I made a mistake." Baba Yaga sighed as her arm regenerated at discernible speed. "I conjured the bullet too close to me. The Zero element didn’t hurt me because it was comprised of my mana, but the sudden drop in the temperature it caused is another story. "Leegaain is right. This is perfect Mirror Magic and produces stable Cursed Elements, but that’s not enough to make them safe to use. Always conjure them at a safe distance from you and those you are trying to protect." "I see." Lith nodded. "What about Elysia? Why didn’t she get hurt?" "Talent and instinct." The Red Mother pointed at the frozen spikes that had slowly started to melt. "She conjured the Zero bullet right on her target. Even in their stable form, the Cursed Elements have harsh side effects, but their potency decreases exponentially with distance. "Elysia’s version of Mirror Magic requires great focus and skill, but it can be controlled. Of that, I’m sure." "Thank you, Malyshka. You’ve taken a huge burden off my chest." Solus gave her a deep bow before sharing Lith’s plan with her via a mind link. "Using me as a test subject for the potentially unknown hand signs is ruthless and cruel, but it’s also the only logical option." Baba Yaga nodded. "I’m not resistant to Cursed Elements, but as you’ve seen, I’m a tough nut to crack." "I wouldn’t ask you anything like this if I had any other choice." Lith sighed. "Yet I remembered that you’ve shown interest in Mirror Magic back when we escaped from the Golden Griffon, and I thought you might be interested."