Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 39: Regards

After Mrs. Edwards left, the air at the scene was almost frozen.

Adrian stood motionless, unknown what he was thinking. The task had been completed, and it stood to reason that they should find a way to leave this shithole immediately, or even the country, but no one moved.

‘We…” Nemo tried to speak, but before he finished speaking, he was almost pounced on by the gray parrot that ejected out like a cannonball.

“Why didn’t you go back?” Its feathers were stained with sewer mold from who knew where, and its mouth was spraying black and purple sparks. Nemo coughed dryly and pushed it away in silence. “I really don’t want to see the leader of the Gods! Are you going to hang me because of this? Especially you, Light, you treacherous bastard—”

Adrian finally moved. He flashed at Nemo like a phantom and slapped the parrot into the wall.

“Demon,” he said softly in an affirmative tone.

“Ow—” the gray parrot yelled in a sharp voice. “Look! That’s why I didn’t want to follow. These violent fanatics of the Holy Church have virtues deeply ingrained in their bones!”

“Mr. Cross, that’s…. Uh, I raised it,” Nemo said with difficulty.

“Demons feed other demons?”

“What fucking demon! He’s a thief who stole my powers, and he’s my servant! How can that loser be compared to the great Bagelmaurus—” Adrian didn’t kill it, so the gray parrot took the opportunity after escaping the jaws of death to try and attack with Abyssal magic. Adrian gave it a sidelong glance and quickly choked its throat. The gray parrot blinked, as it was unable to mutter the rest of its spell, and the newly formed magic dissipated in an instant.

“This thing doesn’t look like a superior demon,” Adrian said with a sullen face, turning his head to Nemo. “But you’re definitely more than a demon worshiper.”

“Believe me, you won’t be able to figure it out for a while.” Ann cleared her throat. “It’s harmless for the time being, so I suggest you let it go first.” Her hand touched the body of her spear.

Adrian narrowed his eyes so small that his dark brown eyes almost disappeared in the shadow of the sewers. He pondered for a moment, took a step back, and released the parrot, which slammed to the ground.

“Asshole!” It laid on the sticky stone brick and chided in a sad and angry tone. “Have you finished your mission? Are you done? When can I get away from this lunatic?”

“Unfortunately, we can’t go out of town now. The Laddism Church must be guarding every exit. If I’m not guessing wrong, the teleportation coordinates outside the city should also be unusable as well.”

“But we can’t just keep going on like this,” Nemo muttered, and picked up the parrot lying on the ground.

“Their primary goal should be me.” Adrian said, his gaze still resting on the gray parrot. “Now that your mission has been completed, there’s no point in staying with me anymore. There will be a Blessing Festival in a few days. I’ll cause some commotion at that time, and you can take the opportunity to leave the city.” He paused for a few seconds. “Count it as returning your favor.”

“It’s just a task,” Ann replied coldly. “Not a favor.”

“Won’t you leave?” Oliver got to the point.

“I want to know Joanna’s plans.” Adrian didn’t plan to hide anything. “I want to see it to the end.”

The atmosphere in the air started freezing again.

“Actually…” Nemo was the first to break the silence. “Actually, I care too.”

“Me too.” Oliver quickly agreed.

“I don’t care!” Ann said loudly. “I… Well, I am a little curious. Besides, we can’t get out now anyways.” Halfway through speaking, her voice quickly subsided.

“I don’t care at all! Can we get out of this shithole quickly? That fraud said your mission is completed! Do you hear me? It’s done! Those fraudsters aren’t fools. They must have eyes on you—”

Nemo sighed and clamped the parrot’s beak with his fingers. The parrot was so angry that its feathers stood up.

“The festival should be less than a week away from now,” Oliver said. “Since everyone cares about the same thing, rather than scattering… Maybe we can act together?” After that, he set his sights on Nemo.

The gray parrot fluttered vigorously, dissatisfied beyond words. Ann snorted noncommittedly, and Nemo simply nodded. “As long as Mr. Cross has no opinion, I’ll have no problems. To be honest, Mrs. Edwards doesn’t look very good…”

“How much did she pay you?” Adrian nodded slightly before asking.

“The deposit was one thousand and five times that amount after the task is completed.” Ann didn’t deliberately pit him this time.

“The Edwards family shouldn’t have that much money.” Adrian frowned. “At first there was noble support and rewards from His Majesty, but in Cahill’s case, that little money wasn’t enough.”

“But Mrs. Edwards doesn’t seem to be someone on the verge of bankruptcy.” Oliver scratched his head.

“She’s definitely not. Something’s wrong here. You… Mr. Light, did you just say that Joanna doesn’t look well?”

“Uh, it’s just a vague feeling. She seems to be declining, and it’s not because of aging. It’s declining too fast.”

“I have to go to the Edwards’ house.” Adrian’s brow tightened. “It’s best to go right away. I’m sorry. I can’t join you—”

“Oh, it’s a bit too early to be sorry,” Ann interrupted him indifferently. “That’s a good choice. We’ll go with you—don’t look like that. The people of the Holy Church already know that the task is finished, and they wouldn’t think we would be stupid enough to turn back. But not now. We need rest. No matter what she plans on doing, she needs time to prepare. We can leave at night.”

It may be due to the high number of churches in Heilem, since even in the dark sewers, pure-blooded subordinate demons were extremely rare. However, there were still many monsters active at night. In order to clean up the area, all four of them had stayed up all night. At this moment, above ground, the sun had already risen, and those strange roars and screams had subsided.

Although his body transformed by demon’s flesh would not really become tired because of this trivial matter, sleepiness still hit Nemo’s consciousness like a flood. From the decision to go to the Church of Penitence, to the series of accidents in the dungeon, his spirit had remained highly strained. Now he could finally relax a little, and almost let his entire body go as he rested in a ditch.

Adrian nodded in silence, and he sat down, leaning against the wall, unequivocally sitting upright. Ann seemed to be in good spirits and didn’t intend to rest at all. The female warrior curled her legs and sat down not far from Adrian. Her hunting spear was laid firmly on her lap, and her eyes were shining brightly.

“You two… Don’t you need rest?” Nemo yawned and finally let go of the gray parrot; the latter immediately spat out a string of curses.

“Used to it,” the two said almost at the same time.

Oliver was not a “used to it” member. He looked more energetic than Nemo, but he couldn’t hide the fatigue in his eyes.

“You two sleep first.” Ann glanced at Oliver, who shook his head violently. “Don’t be sleepy when you need to be awake.”

Nemo fell down before she even finished speaking, and his whole body became like a soft pile along the wall. The wall was covered with damp and greasy mold, and it wasn’t comfortable to lean on. He adjusted his posture painfully while at the same time holding deep thoughts of the clean and soft bed at the inn. Sleepy to the extreme but unable to sleep soundly, he even considered for a moment using the parrot as support against the wall.

Oliver rubbed his eyes, watching Nemo flounder like a half-dead fish in a frying pan. He sighed, sat down beside Nemo, and pressed the other’s head on his shoulder.

The sewer was muggy, so it wasn’t comfortable to be close to each other. Oliver, who had been fighting in the sewage all night, knew he didn’t smell good, but Nemo remained quiet. He was obviously satisfied by the dryness of Oliver’s body. He moved his head a few times and adjusted to a more comfortable posture before his breathing eventually slowed down.

Oliver couldn’t sleep very much. The annoying heartbeat appeared again, beating faster. Nemo’s black hair rubbed against his face, and Oliver couldn’t help but turn his head slightly. Maybe he was wrapped in the smell for too long, but he actually felt the smell of Nemo’s hair was really good. It smelled like ash after the burning of scented wood, with a lingering coldness.

He sniffed carefully. His gaze brushed across the top of Nemo’s hair. Although the sewer was still dim, it was slightly brighter than at night. Oliver could distinguish the soft darkness not far away with his eyes. The owner had fallen asleep, but it still followed him and guarded him quietly.

He knew very well that in the chaotic battle that night, the shadow shield had been silently following him.

Oliver sighed in a low voice. He wasn’t a fool. He knew what the current palpitations meant. He carefully moved his shoulder and gently kissed Nemo’s forehead.

“You should treat me worse,” he muttered in a tired trance. “What should I do now?”

He closed his eyes, relaxed his tight body, and leaned over again. His heartbeat was irregular and rapid, and Oliver could feel his ears getting hot, but an inexplicable sense of security swept through him, and soon lulled him to sleep.

“…Wow.” Ann retracted her gaze and commented dryly. “I knew it.”

Adrian’s expression was a little shocked. Ann raised her eyebrows at him with some provocation. “What? Do you want to get rid of his ‘evil feeling’?”

“No.” The former Knight Commander shook his head. “Love itself is not a sin. I’m just… a little sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

“A demon warlock will lose himself sooner or later, so it’s impossible for humans and demons to love each other,” he said. “No matter what the situation is, there will be no results.”

“You’re not a demon. How do you know—”

“Will you fall in love with a monster countless times more powerful than you and love it from the bottom of your heart?” Adrian shook his head. “And for superior demons, the truly complete superior demons, I believe they will not really be interested in ants like us.”

“…Well, you got me there. I can’t do it.”

“He’s just blinded by its human form.”

“But I think he knows,” Ann was silent for a moment. “What you said, he should know better than anyone else.”

“That’s right.” Adrian closed his eyes. “But it’s not too late for him to give up now.”

“He won’t give up,” Ann whispered. “I really don’t like you.”

“……”

“Mrs. Edwards said she always knew,” Ann closed her eyes. “She always knew that that ‘thing’ wasn’t her son… But I can see that she still loves her ‘child’ deeply. Even if it’s a desperate, futile, and ultimately fruitless love, it can’t be stopped, no matter how hard you try.”

“But she made the right choice.”

“Oliver is not that kind of naïve boy who’s hot-blooded. He should know the importance of many things in the world that are more important than his sentimentality. You can say whatever you want, but I won’t say a word to him.”

“Even if he’s destined to suffer for it?”

“You can’t ignore the process.” Ann shrugged, casually weighing the hunting spear on her lap and making a vulgar gesture. “At least they still have the possibility of ‘sleeping together’, right?”

Adrian turned his head, completely ignoring her.

Nemo was awakened by a strange touch on his leg. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw the gray parrot, who was probably bored, rolling around, using his legs as a mattress, sleeping without a single care in the world. Nemo subconsciously grabbed it and threw it away, and then was awakened instantly by the sound of stone and brick cracking.

The gray parrot was embedded in the stone brick, leaving a shallow hole in the hard brick wall. It laboriously squeezed itself out of the stone, and then a string of Abyssal magic poured in the direction of Nemo like money. Nemo skillfully erected the shadow shield, but he moved too much and knocked away Oliver, who was sleeping soundly.

Now, both of them had woken up completely.

“Just in time,” Ann commented quietly, stretching her waist. “Let’s go get something to eat and then sneak into the Edwards house. How about it everybody?”

Adrian stared deeply at the pothole left by the gray parrot on the stone wall, and then said, “Huh.”

Nemo smiled embarrassedly as he caught the black balls of light thrown by the gray parrot and steadily threw them one by one into the sewer, which only made Adrian’s eyes more complicated. Oliver got up from the ground and took a deep breath before moving his lower joints.

“Sorry, Ollie.” Nemo threw away the last ball of light and ignored the panting gray parrot. “I didn’t notice you just now.”

“It’s okay,” Oliver replied reflexively, and then he paused for a moment. “You’ll notice,” he whispered.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

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The author has something to say:

Ann: The problem for refugees like us who look realistically at the problem. (Not very good gestures.gif)

Adri: Please stop.

—The dividing line between the twenties and thirties—

Oliver: …(Accepted his fate and decided to take action)

Nemo: (Misses the inn)

The last chapter was a little heavy. Sprinkling a little sugar at halftime. XD

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Kinky Thoughts:

I’m dying of sugar overload from Ollie right now.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 38: You Must Not Lie

“…Did you tell her anything?” Nemo took a step back and asked Oliver in a low voice. This development was completely different from what he thought. Judging from Mrs. Edwards’ previous reaction, he thought she would blame or at least vent her dissatisfaction first. He didn’t think he was mistaken in the way that the old woman looked at her son; it was the same deep love he had once received from Old Patrick.

“Not outright,” Oliver whispered. “There were hints from Cahill that probably made her finally reach this point. We both agreed that she wasn’t under his control. Her reaction was too fast and natural. People controlled by illusions don’t have that kind of fast reaction speed.”

Nemo turned to look at Mrs. Edwards. She stood proudly on the green and black stone steps. Her exquisite clothing glistened in the dim sewers. Her face was expressionless, and her chest fluctuated slightly with her breathing. Nemo had a strange feeling that her life was leaving that satin-wrapped, overly aging body at an abnormal speed.

Adrian was silent for a few seconds, or minutes. His military-like calm disappeared for a moment.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

The old woman didn’t cry. Her expression even looked a bit indifferent, but tears silently fell along her deep wrinkles. Mrs. Edwards’ thin body trembled slightly and finally let out a suppressed choking sound. That simple affirmation was like a sentence of judgment.

“My stupid, useless son has caused you trouble.” She arched her back, bent down and made a deep bow. “I’m very sorry, child.”

“This is my own choice,” Adrian whispered. “You don’t need to apologize… I didn’t have time to save him.”

“No.” The old woman tried to suppress her sobs as she spoke slowly. “Cahill did the wrong thing. The mistake is his and has nothing to do with you. I can even guess what that child’s wish was.”

She unfolded the parchment roll of the Black Chapter mission, stretched out her hand, and signed her name. The paper roll burned and turned into ashes that scattered in the air.

“Your mission is now complete,” she said in Oliver’s direction as she sniffled. “I have entrusted the rest of the remuneration to the guild. I know this wasn’t an easy task. Thank you for helping me realize this selfish wish. Believe me, the Holy Church will divert attention to other things, and you’ll still have time to escape.”

However, Nemo didn’t feel the slight bit of joy at the task completion. The neglected rose bushes and the thick dust of the Edwards’s family home shook in front of his eyes. He suddenly realized something and immediately spoke out.

“You…” He took a step forward carefully. “Don’t do anything rashly.”

“Of course I won’t.” She showed a trembling smile. “I just needed a certain answer. I knew it in my heart, but I couldn’t give up that little bit of hope. I’m feeling better now, child. Thank you for your concern.” She suppressed her sobs with a cough. “…Hope is really a torturous thing.”

But she was truly slowly dying. Nemo didn’t know the reason, but he knew.

“There’s one last thing.” Mrs. Edwards cast her gaze back to Adrian. “I have a… request that may be excessive. Adri, I know you as well as I know my own children. I know your plans.”

“I beg you. Run away—I want you to live.”

Adrian’s back went stiff for an instant.

“Yes, I know. I should respect your determination, but if you also…” She paused. “Cahill is really dead.”

“You shouldn’t punish yourself for his mistake. If you have to care about what happened, then I forgive you. Although I hope you can believe it, I can only thank you, Adri. Thank you for bringing him back. Thank you for your persistence. Thank you.”

Two years ago was actually not a long time. Adrian remembered it clearly. He remembered every detail. It was the most infuriating moment of his life.

“There are no signs of superior demons near Kenyatta. I personally confirmed it.”

“I know, Adri,” his teacher, Mercer, sighed. “Of course I know, but you have to go.”

“We cannot harm innocent civilians. There are many villages near Kenyatta. If—”

“This is for Zenni’s glory, my son.”

“No, this is for His Majesty’s glory and that mine. His Majesty has his own army.”

“This is an order.”

“I don’t accept it.”

“…I hope you know, Adri. Many people think you’re not pious enough, my child. I believe you know it very well. You are in your current position because of your strength, not because of your loyalty to Zenni. We need those stones. Listen, in order to better spread God’s blessing, we need those damn Dragon Breath stones! If you continue like this, I can’t protect you.”

“My love for Zenni has never wavered and I will never lose to anyone, but I don’t think those stones have anything to do with Zenni’s glory. God is merciful and God is almighty. He doesn’t need blood for the unliving. This war is a complete lie, and I don’t want to be a part of it.”

“…Do you know the consequences of your statement just now if it was heard by a third party?”

Silence filled the air.

“Adri, Willard is at war with Alban, so they won’t spend too much energy on the battlefield here. It’s summoning its death row army. The mine will not die, but people will. People on both sides will. You can stop all this. You can minimize the casualties. Don’t be too stubborn. God will understand all this. You know the style of the death row army. You know they ignore civilian casualties.”

“Who started this war?”

“…The war has already happened. At least you can keep more people alive.”

In the end, he became a part of this lie, and he didn’t succeed in keeping more people alive.

It was a fine day. He waved his sword, but there was no light. The death row army vented their aggression. They took heads and attacked all living creatures in their field of vision, like beasts. First the most vulnerable fugitives, then the exhausted soldiers, and finally the Knights of Judgement in shining armor.

God said, “You must not be gullible.”

His long sword crossed the neck of the death row convict who rushed over. Blood spurted out instantly. Innocent people lay dead everywhere. Old and young, their faces filled with fear and bewilderment. Dried bread and cheese that were prepared for their escape slipped from the damaged package, covered in blood, before being crushed as they scattered on the ground. He was gullible. He trusted his own strength, and as a result, he was unable to breathe.

God said, “You must not follow blindly.”

Cahill Edwards, dressed in a white robe, rushed into the bloody battlefield. He swayed his magic like crazy, trying to rescue civilians or soldiers who were rolling in the mud, on the verge of death.

“Go back!” Adrian roared at him. Just when he was distracted, another death row convict pulled him off his horse. Her eyes were red, filled with anger and madness. The slicing magic almost cut his throat. Adrian gritted his teeth and kicked her away as he stabbed his long sword straight through her heart. Blood splattered all over his face.

“Can I wait?” Cahill roared back. “Damn it, no one can make it to camp!”

“You simply—” Adrian’s horse was hit by a bombardment spell, causing its internal organs to flow to the ground. The owner of the horse pulled out a dagger from the gap in his armor, trying his best to resist the vertigo from blood loss. “This is not where you should be—”

Unable to withstand the deadly offensive of the death row army, their leaders delayed casting magic, and the tired and confused Knights of Judgement began to fall one after another. Cahill walked forward with the golden light of healing, getting closer and closer to the center of the battlefield. Adrian gritted his teeth as he passed through multiple arrays and forcibly tore a bloody hole in the formation of the death row army.

God said, “You must not lie.”

“Hold on!” He gave orders in vain as he kept making corpses one after another with his own hands. “It’s just something temporary. We can win!”

But this was no longer a simple war. Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, Garland’s army would continue on, but the death row army was a one-time weapon that was full of malice. Adrian knew very well that this attack was just to vent, to retaliate, and to save some face for the enemy’s superior.

What the hell are they doing?

As Garland’s top healer, Cahill miraculously supported them for a long time on a chaotic battlefield. The Knights of Judgement fought with his support, finally able to collapse the death row army. Unfortunately, the exhausted healer was not so lucky in the end.

It took knowledge, strength, and skill to treat a dangerous wound, but it only took enough malice to kill a person.

Adrian barely supported his body with a long sword and knelt on one knee. The enemy was dying, and Cahill staggered towards him, trying to cure him…

Then he was hit head-on by a dark curse.

The amulet on Cahill’s neck hissed, showing the distortion unique to metal melting. He fell to the ground. Adrian immediately stood up desperately and threw his long sword, which ran through the last enemy, and then crawled towards his friend’s side.

“Cahill!” He propped up the other’s head with a hand full of wounds. Cahill was still breathing, which made him subconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.

“The Sigh of the Abyss.” Cahill coughed a few times while joking weakly, “I’m still alive… Your amulet is really good. You sure you don’t want it back?”

“But my hands won’t work. What should I do, Adri? I can’t treat you.”

“It’s over… I’m still alive and I don’t need treatment,” Adrian said quickly. “Can you move?”

Cahill nodded laboriously. Adrian took a breath and carried him up. The Knights of Judgment were still alive but could barely form a team. Their horses had already turned into minced meat under the crazy attack of the enemy.

“The curse destroyed my spine,” Cahill whispered on his back. “It should have shattered all my bones.”

“Don’t talk, Cahill.”

“I can cure this.” Cahill ignored Adrian’s request and continued to mutter in a low voice. “Although it’s difficult, I can—but I can’t cure anyone now, Adri.”

A warm liquid dripped on his neck. Adrian did not answer.

“…Put me down.”

“No.”

“I should die here.”

“Joanna is still waiting for you.”

“I will be a burden to her for the rest of her life. Don’t you understand? Adri, please. While I still have courage—”

“You need to rest.”

“Why did we become like this? Right or wrong, I hoped there would at least be an answer… But this is meaningless. I don’t want this. I don’t want to go back. This is not what I want.”

“…You need to rest. Get some sleep and at least see Joanna. If you still want to die by then, I won’t stop you.”

“You really… haven’t changed at all. Can’t you be better at lying?”

“I will respect your will.” Adrian shook his head and became dizzy again. “But I… want you to live.”

“Cahill, everything will be fine.” He continued, thinking for a moment, and repeated, in a less firm voice, “everything will be fine.”

This sentence seemed not to be a lie at the beginning. Their return was called triumphant. The king of Garland happily incorporated the dragon breath stone mine named Kandal into his territory. Compared to Adrian, who suddenly went into the war and still hadn’t regained his strength, Cahill was pushed to the top. Flowers, applause, cheers, and glory flooded him.

He became a hero, the embodiment of hope and virtue, and every child in Garland knew his name.

But Cahill Edwards never laughed from his heart again. His judgment wasn’t wrong. Except for himself, no one could treat the sequelae of the Sigh of the Abyss. He lay on the bed in his room, and day after day, when he met with nobles, he needed someone to push his wheelchair carefully.

“Adri, I really envy you,” Cahill commented calmly after Adrian had lost his knighthood.

Adrian stopped his hands that were folding up the blanket.

“…You should have left me there in the first place.” Cahill stared at the ceiling. A sigh leaked from his lips.

He should have noticed then. Why didn’t he notice? Adrian thought.

What he had said back then had now turned into a request that was returned to him.

“Very well,” he replied solemnly. “I promise you.”

Mrs. Edwards’ wrinkled face pulled out a trembling smile.

“But what are you going to do?”

“I can probably guess that child’s wish,” she said calmly. “It’s still by my side and hasn’t touched me. I can guess. Cahill’s wish should not have been fully realized yet. As long as the wish isn’t fulfilled, the demon cannot really take over… Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, but…”

“If I’m not mistaken, that wish should be my sin, so it needs to be ended by me. ‘The believers of Zenni will not do such a cowardly thing as commit suicide. We will die with faith, in battle, in a fate that we cannot foresee’… I will not turn my back on my faith.”

“I understand.”

The old woman picked up her skirt and walked to Adrian. She didn’t care about the dirt left by the battle. She stood on tiptoe. Adrian lowered his head cooperatively as she gave him a kiss on the top of his head.

“I’m really happy to see you again.” She stopped crying though her eyes were still slightly red. “Goodbye, child.”

She saluted them, ignited a paper, and her figure dissipated in the hot and smelly air, like the wind.

At the same time, Telaranea dropped the fresh rose in his hand and sighed at the communication crystal.

“Vance.”

“……”

“It seems that I’ll still have to lose an eye,” he said regretfully. “I have a hunch that this body may not be of much use for long. Oh, what a pity. Edwards’ knowledge can’t be learned from books.”

“It’s rare that you would admit defeat so easily.”

“Of course I have to struggle, but my hunch is never wrong. Witherspoon’s body is asleep in the Abyss, and we all know what that means. This identity may bring me danger.”

“I see.”

“Why do you think they always do such useless things? Do they enjoy it?”

“…Don’t ask me.”

“Well, then this may be the final report from the Hailam region.”

There was the sound of the door opening in the foyer. The demon packed everything up and put on an impeccable smile. He controlled his wheelchair and moved to the living room. The fragrance of the rose on Mrs. Edwards was stronger than ever before.

“You’re back.”

The old woman nodded at him; her eyes as soft as ever.

“Yes,” she said softly, opening her arms and giving her son a rare hug. “Can you make me a cup of tea, son?”

“Of course,” he replied cheerfully. “The bishop left not long ago. He wanted to see you. I heard that your task has been completed.”

“Yes, they did rescue him.” She picked up the teacup and took a sip.

“Did you get your answer?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m truly happy for you from the bottom of my heart, mom.”

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Kinky Thoughts:

Oof this chapter was heavy.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 37: The Only Problem

Joanna Edwards walked into the door from the yard. A little piece of dirt fell to the floor. She put away the garden shovel in silence, and her skirt smelled of roses. It was completely dark, but the warning from the bell tower of the Church of Penitence was particularly dazzling.

“Mother.” Cahill nodded to Mrs. Edwards as she wiped her hands. He was leaning against the bookshelf in the living room, looking through his books casually. “…You’re injured.”

The old woman was wiping her hands with a handkerchief. The red on the handkerchief was particularly dazzling.

“It was too dark,” she replied softly. “There was just something wrong with the cutting magic. Don’t worry.”

Cahill’s controlled wheelchair approached. He carefully held up the old woman’s wrinkled hand, and a golden light of healing magic appeared from his fingers. The wound disappeared as if it had been erased. He breathed a sigh of relief, raised his face, and smiled.

“I’m a healer. You can rely on me more, mother,” Cahill said happily, covering Mrs. Edwards’ hand with his own. Her hand was small, wet, and cold, like a corpse that was buried beneath cold soil in a cemetery. “Your hands are too cold. Have you been uncomfortable lately?”

“I’m fine.” Mrs. Edwards curled the corners of her mouth and took back her hand.

“The flowers on the table have been changed. Did you have guests this afternoon?”

“Those Black Chapters. They had some questions about the task,” she replied, moving the case so that the light on the table glowed brighter.

“They didn’t give up? Then maybe they’ll succeed.” Cahill smiled heartily. “It’s great that you can see Adri. I wanted to plead with the bishop again to let you at least see him before the festival. After all, I don’t want you to have any regrets.” He paused. “And to be selfish, as a friend, I don’t want to see him executed.”

Mrs. Edwards’ movements paused for a few seconds. She was startled, and then sighed slowly. “…I hope it’s really them.”

“Which team is it? Let me see… The tenth? You must have something important to talk about with Adri.”

“Yes,” she said as she gently stroked the rose petals and nodded to Cahill. “Very important.”

“You’ll definitely be able to see him smoothly. Do you need me to accompany you?” Cahill poured a cup of tea and added a piece of sugar thoughtfully. The teacup floated steadily in front of the old woman.

“No need, child. I don’t want you to be hurt again. I only have one question to ask him.” The old woman picked up the teacup, took a sip, and smiled quietly. She put the teacup and saucer aside, brushed Cahill’s ginger hair, then bent down and kissed him gently on the forehead. Even though she just took a sip of hot tea, her lips were almost as cold as her hands. “…There’s only one question.”

“Mrs. Edwards wants to see you… Do you know why?” Oliver began to use the condensed frozen ice spike as a weapon, unexpectedly mastering the rhythm. From time to time, he aimed at Adrian, who was fighting empty-handed. The reason why Adrian Cross was called the “Shining Morning Star” was more than his lost magical talent; the actions of the former Knight Commander were not sloppy or superfluous at all. In the face of attacking monsters, even though Oliver’s magic were amazing, the speed of taking out the enemy was far less than Adrian’s, who had lost his own.

Oliver studied awkwardly. Adrian’s momentum made him faintly feel like he was facing Witherspoon again.

“I don’t know.” Adrian stomped on a massive poisonous leech on the ground. “You’re not the first team to come and ask me. I heard them mention that she posted a task in the Mercenary Guild.”

“Could it be Tela… This is why he’s trying to kill you?” Oliver muttered as he launched three icicles, piercing a slippery leech. “Honestly, we’re most worried about this now. Although we visited her in the afternoon, she didn’t seem to be under control, but you said that demons are good at illusion—”

“I’ll meet with her,” Adrian interrupted him. “Whether she’s controlled or not.”

“What’s the relationship between you and Cahill Edwards…”

“He’s my friend.” Adrian said in a deep voice, but he didn’t seem to continue the topic. “Your center of gravity is too high, so it’s easy for you to get knocked down,” he added with a frown.

Oliver tried to lower his upper body, narrowly avoiding an oncoming leech.

“Thank you for your guidance.” He scratched his nose a little uncomfortably as he almost lost his balance.

“You have a good foundation.” Adrian lowered his hands after the group of leeches fled. “I can see that you have a good teacher.”

Olive scratched his head. Adrian’s attitude was much better than he had imagined. If he hadn’t known Adrian’s identity in advance, Oliver would never have thought that he was a high-level member of the Holy Church. After all, from the perspective of the clergy that they had met, they tended to praise the omnipotent Zenni with every sentence and seriously hated Nemo, who wasn’t involved with demons.

When the man looked at Nemo, there was only strong vigilance in his eyes, but no hatred. Since they met until now, he hadn’t spoken in that aria-like tone once. Thinking about the rumors of the inquisition, he found it a little hard to imagine a scene of Adrian raising his sword to stab his compatriots.

Oliver stared at the straight back of the former Knight Commander. Without enemies around, he stood there motionless, in a monk’s uniform, soaked in monster mucus and sewage, looking close to pure black. Perhaps it was his illusion, but Oliver thought he looked a little sad.

Oliver didn’t ask any more questions.

During the time Nemo was in the dungeon, he specifically asked Ann about Cahill Edwards, but Oliver had to admit that he didn’t like what he heard.

“It’s a pair of sad heroes. It wasn’t a matter of life and death for the country. As you know, in the Battle of Kandal, they were trying to snatch the dragon breath stone mine near Kenyatta. That border line has always been difficult to draw. Garland casually found a reason and took the lead in waging war, accusing the opponent of sheltering superior demons. This excuse has always been easily used, and it also allows them to conveniently mobilize the Knights of Judgement.”

Oliver, who was Alban himself, said he knew nothing about the war.

“Details are unimportant. In short, they fought, and things ended unexpectedly badly. The dragon breath stone mine was taken by Garland, and it was announced internally that the superior demon had been eliminated. Willard was busy dealing with Alban at that time, so they were severely underpowered, but they weren’t willing to suffer a loss. They sent a group of death row convicts to attack the final evacuation of the Knights of Judgement. It’s estimated that the Holy Church wanted to send Cross there to establish his prestige but didn’t expect that he would be directly planted in the midst of battle. At that time, it was said that they were ‘cursed by evil demons and their magic was sealed’. He and Cahill fought against the death row convicts, and while none of the Knights suffered casualties… Well you have seen the consequences and Cahill turned into that demon.”  

“Shouldn’t both of them be…” Oliver choked. For some reason, he didn’t really want to use the word “heroes”.

“Because Cross has never regained his strength, and the Laddism Church was unwilling to admit that they were powerless against the ‘demon’s curse’. Honestly, if he was normal at that time, he could’ve killed the entire death row convicts alone, not to mention, Cross also refused to go to Kenyatta at first. It was said at the time that he was bewitched by a superior demon.”

“You said that the superior demon was just an excuse.”

“’We launched a sacred war against the infidels who sheltered demons’ is much better than ‘I’m sorry, we especially want that mine, so we’re going to take it’, right? Which side do you think devout citizens are more willing to believe in?”

Looking back at it now, two years later, the dust had settled and the blessing festival celebrating peace and love was at hand. One of the original “heroes” turned into a demon in the dark, and the other would be sent to the burning altar as a sinner. They used to be so powerful.

The icicles turned into cold water in Oliver’s palm. He felt terrible. His mood became worse after stepping on a human skeleton. Although Oliver admitted that he knew very little, he couldn’t understand how Adrian Cross felt. He didn’t even know if the other party really cared, but as soon as the idea of empathy came into his mind, he felt uncomfortable.

If Adrian was really as upright as he had shown… A violent man with a conscience was definitely a curse. Perhaps only when Adrian Cross and Mrs. Edwards met could they truly understand the truth buried underneath the fog.

However, Oliver didn’t expect this meeting to come so quickly.

They had only been struggling in the sewer all night, and as soon as the application for the advancement of the Black Chapter mission was issued, Joanna Edwards personally came to this rancid place. She was holding the sheepskin roll task contract in her hand while the edge of her skirt had a cleansing array preventing odor and sticky mold from coming near her exquisite embroidery.

Mrs. Edwards stood quietly in front of them. Her face was pale, like a flower that had already decayed and withered. She raised her head slightly, but her white hair remained intact. It was like the surroundings weren’t dirty green water and vile stone steps, but lights that were cast on a stage. Adrian stood directly opposite of her in a monk’s uniform that was full of traces left after the sewage had dried. He lowered his head slightly and looked a little restrained, but his mood remained calm.

“Adri,” Mrs. Edwards pursed her mouth and called softly. “You’ve lost a lot of weight.”

Adrian didn’t answer.

The old woman showed an extremely tired smile. With that smile, she seemed to have lost her last support, and her whole body looked shaky.

“I want to ask you a question.” Her voice was a little hoarse. “Just one.”

“Please look me in the eye and answer me, Adrian Cross. Did my son, Cahill, leave long ago? Don’t be so surprised. I know. I knew it a long time ago, but…”

“Answer me and cut off my last hope.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 36: The Old Prophecy

Ann didn’t answer. As if she hadn’t heard what he said, she walked straight to the corner of the abandoned house and opened the rotted cellar door.

“Go down,” she said. “Let’s go.”

After that, she jumped down first, and the remaining three men looked at each other. Adrian was the second to go. The chain didn’t seem to cause him much trouble. His movements were neat, and his landing sounded light and steady. Nemo looked into the cellar and could see only darkness. Oliver hesitated for a moment before grabbing the edge of the cellar with both hands, then cautiously let go.

The first thing Oliver did after landing was cast an illumination spell. Soft light instantly lit up the cellar, which looked even more dilapidated than the room above. Nemo secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then followed Oliver’s movement and tried to touch the ground in a safe position. As a result, he completely underestimated his brand-new grip strength, causing the rotten wooden board to collapse into pieces between his fingers, and he fell on his back in disgrace.

Fortunately, the ground in the cellar was composed of soft soil. Nemo sniffed the strong odor that filled his nostrils and sneezed fiercely. This time, Oliver quickly stretched out his hand to help Nemo get rid of the mud and dry moss on the ground, along with a few mouse bones.

“There’s a sewer connected here.” Ann kicked open a crumbling stone wall. “They are probably busy blocking the wall at the moment. The sewer is safe for the time being. They won’t send too many people here in the beginning.”

Nemo had to agree with her assessment. He was almost suffocated by the smell in the air. Except for mice and cockroaches, no creature would take this kind of place as their first choice. He had already begun to miss the clean and comfortable room at the inn they stayed at.

“Let’s untie Mr. Cross’ chains first,” Oliver suggested. “He agreed to help us complete the task. I believe he will not break his promise.”

“…Are you still thinking about the mission?” Ann cried in disbelief. “Do you know what’s going on now?”

“Well, things have already reached this point, so we might as well see it to the end.” Through the collapsed stone wall, they were advancing along a dark underground river. Every time he retracted his foot, there would be an unpleasant sticky feeling. Nemo didn’t want to know what he had stepped on, so he had to distract himself by adding topics. “How did it go on your end?”

“Mrs. Edwards may… know.” Oliver’s eyes quickly scanned Adrian. “I don’t think she seems to be controlled by that…”

“Telaranea.” Adrian helped him by completing his sentence.

Ann stopped, while Oliver and Nemo looked at the former Knight Commander at the same time.

“I thought you knew who your enemies were,” Adrian sighed. “My mistake.”

“Since you know the identity of the superior demon, how can you still… Er, be in this situation?” Nemo chose his words cautiously, trying to save his image—provided he had any image of Adrian Cross.

“Telaranea is good at illusions.” Adrian wasn’t as reluctant to explain things as Ann, or to ignore objectionable questions. He simply answered Nemo.

“Fabricated illusions don’t make people see things they don’t want to see.” Ann joined the conversation with a bit of mischievousness, not intending to hide her desire to make Adrian stumble. “In other words, for the lovely citizens, they want you to be the wicked man more than Cahill Edwards.”

“That’s true.” Adrian’s expression was calm, and he even nodded. “I’m not surprised.”

“Then to continue the topic just now,” the other party’s calm attitude made the female warrior’s tone a little frustrated, “I don’t want you to have any strange expectations of me. Even if the world ends, that has nothing to do with me. I’m not interested in some prophecy. Why am I following these two boys? Because it’s my problem this time. Otherwise, I would have tied them up and hung them at the door of the church to apologize. I’m well aware of my own conscience, but at least I have face. “

Oliver and Nemo silently distanced themselves from her and fell behind Adrian.

“…But I’m curious. Isn’t the person in the prophecy already determined?” Ann rolled her eyes as the two of them retreated.

“I am not that person,” Adrian said in a deep voice, “and neither is Godwin Lopez.”

“Oh? Your evaluation of the leader of Horizon is so low?” Ann crossed her arms. “What are you trying to say? Is Oliver—yes, the boy who just talked to you—a possibility?”

“His talent is just as good as Lopez’s.”

“They said Lopez,” Nemo caught a certain key word and couldn’t help whispering to Oliver. “The leader of Horizon is Lopez? Does he have anything to do with Flint Lopez, the leader of the Tin Soldiers—”

“I’m more curious about the prophecy than this… How come I feel like I’m the only one who hasn’t heard of it?”

“You haven’t heard of it?!” Nemo raised his tone in surprise causing Ann and Adrian to stop talking and cast them a complicated glance. “…Sorry, sorry. You guys continue.”

“Actually, I can’t remember too much.” Nemo lowered his voice again and explained to Oliver, whose expression was blank. “I just remember that it’s not very clear.”

“It’s not very clear…”

Perhaps it was because he couldn’t stand the casual attitude the two people had towards the prophecy that Adrian’s brow furrowed. As soon as he was about to speak, a female voice sounded first.

“Born from death and betrayal, stepping over the bones of loved ones, shattering curses and embracing the Abyss.”

“A knight who follows the king’s guidance and is blessed by God. He follows the stars and comes like winter.”

“His sword will bring the real end.”

Ann cleared her throat. “…Just a few words. Honestly, I don’t think it looks like human text. If I were the Pope, I would hope that the prophet could pinpoint the location of such a man’s birth, or better yet, which street.”

“…No, I mean,” Oliver looked a little tangled. “What is this prophecy about? It sounds a little, uh, negative.”

“Who knows. The popular saying now is ‘the most promising swordsman, who has the best chance of leveling the Abyss, the true savior’…. And so on.”

“I think Mr. Cross is quite in line with it,” Nemo whispered, “especially the line ‘comes like winter.’”

The mentioned Knight Commander glanced at him coldly.

“Are you sure it’s leveling the Abyss and not the surface?” Oliver also muttered back in a low voice. “Doesn’t the person in the prophecy sound a little too miserable?”

This time, Adrian coughed heavily a few times.

“Anyway, it’s definitely not me, Mr. Cross.” Oliver quickly explained. “I had a very happy childhood. I never met a king, let alone a knight. I don’t even have any faith!”

Nemo nodded sympathetically. As far as their current experience was concerned, not to mention being blessed by God, it was more in line with being rejected by God.

“I just compared the strengths of you and Lopez. Objectively speaking, it’s a possibility,” Adrian responded expressionlessly. “Lopez hasn’t been officially recognized yet, and I don’t think he will be either. That’s all.”

As soon as his voice fell, the unbearable rancid smell in the air suddenly became intense. Ann’s hunting spear instantly covered the array in an instant. She stabbed Adrian with a spear, causing the latter’s chains to burst into several sections. A swollen corpse fluttered into the air. It shook a few times, and just as it was about to adjust its movements, it was severely strangled by the white chain. Adrian grabbed the newly broken silver chain and turned it into a deadly weapon.

He clenched the chain and tightened his arm, almost twisting off the corpse’s head. The floating corpse opened its mouth full of carrion and let out an angry roar. It then turned its neck for half a full turn before it stretched out its head and tried to bite Adrian. Ann used her spear to stab at the floating corpse’s head and shattered it with lightning, causing the swollen body to limply fall back into the sewage. It left behind black and green brain matter with a scorching smell.

The difference between soldiers and ordinary people was cruelly revealed. At the end of all this, Oliver had just put on his fighting posture, while Nemo had just finished sneezing for a second time, trying to resist the urge to retch from the stench that had almost solidified.

Adrian silently withdrew his gaze and put away the chain in his hand, but Ann didn’t put down her hunting spear, so he sighed and threw the chain into the thick sewage. When she saw this, Ann then put away her spear.

“I hope you can understand,” she said coldly. “Just in case.”

“I promised the young man,” Adrian said, expertly moving his joints that were stiffened by being bound for too long. “I won’t lie.”

Nemo, on the other hand, had finally managed to calm down. He almost began to doubt that those two had real noses. He wanted to share this conjecture with Oliver, but found that Oliver was staring at his hands. The illumination spell was still maintained, but it had dimmed a lot. Oliver was distracted.

Nemo swallows back his joke. Oliver’s face was a little pale, and his other hand that wasn’t holding the illumination spell clenched into a fist, and Nemo knew that this wasn’t because of the rancid smell or due to fear.

“Ollie?” he asked worriedly.

Oliver reluctantly smiled, and the light in his illumination spell slowly recovered. “I’m fine,” he replied gently, but he turned his face away.

“Ann, how long do we need to stay here?” Oliver asked loudly in Ann’s direction.

“At least for tonight. If it goes well, tomorrow afternoon—”

“If possible, can I ask that you not take action right away?”

Ann let out a long, interested “oh?”. She stopped and looked at Oliver up and down.

“You don’t have a sword,” she concluded. “I probably know what you’re thinking, but it’s not a good idea to force yourself.”

“I know,” Oliver said, taking a few quick steps and walking to the front of the line with Adrian.

“You can put away the shield.” The female warrior leaned close to Nemo and patted him on the shoulder abruptly. The latter was literally startled before a light noise of something breaking in the dark sounded. “Oh, well. It’s okay to keep supporting him. You can keep practicing your control of it since you want to protect him so much.”

At this distance, Oliver couldn’t hear what the two of them were talking about, but at the moment when the floating corpse attacked, the dark shadow behind him trembled. He was instantly aware that it wasn’t just pure darkness cast by the sewer tunnel, and there was only one person who could control the Shadow Shield.

And this realization made his heart ache…

Something was roaring in a low voice in front of him. He carefully controlled his power, copied Adrian’s actions, and attacked the source of the sound—

A little stronger. He took a deep breath. The cold air condensed into a thin layer of ice on the surface of the sewage.

He needed to become stronger.

---

The author has something to say:

Personally, I firmly believe that if you like a person, you will want to become better for that person XD

So Oliver has completely planted it……

Nemo: Tentatively on the verge of falling down.jpg

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Kinky Thoughts:

There’s nothing wrong with growing stronger to protect the one you love~

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 35: Commitment

“Anyway, shouldn’t we get out of here first?” Nemo made a very realistic suggestion. “They aren’t just ringing the bell for us, right?”

Ann finally recovered a little from her trance. With a pale face, she strode to Adrian and yanked his collar open.

Nemo: “…” Ann did a much better job than he did.

Adrian’s front lapel was torn apart, revealing an array under his clavicle. It seemed that it had just been branded as the wound was still festering. There was a faint silver light coming from his flesh. Ann put her finger on the wound unceremoniously, and the silver thread of light floated out of the pus and blood, circled around her finger twice, and finally shot away in a different direction.

“It’s the Holy Church Tracking Seal,” she explained. “I added a little interference.”

“Why betray?” There was no swing in Adrian’s tone. “This is not something you can learn by stealing.”

“Do I look like those two stupid boys?” She gave a huff. “With one line, you want to figure out which side I belong to? No way.”

“You act with a superior demon.” The former Knight Commander said slowly. His tone lacked emotion, so it was difficult to guess his thoughts through his words alone.

“More like a possible ‘superior demon’. I don’t want to discuss this issue with you now,” Ann added impatiently. She raised the back of her knife horizontally and went straight to the back of Adrian’s neck, but—

“Wait!” Oliver suddenly said. “How long do we have… I mean, how long can we safely stay here?”

“Half an hour at most.” Ann’s palm stopped at the back of Adrian’s neck.

“Give me fifteen minutes.” Oliver walked forward, still holding the amulet of holy light in his hand. “Ann, can you put up a shield outside with Nemo?”

“He’s not going to come with us,” Oliver spoke quickly.

“He’s just an ordinary person now, so if we knock him out, he’ll be good.”

“We must answer his questions first.” Although Oliver had no confidence in fighting, he grew up near the entrance of the Abyss. He had been in contact with countless fighters who stayed at his inn since he was a child. He knew very well that Adrian Cross didn’t intend to cooperate. The once famous Knight Commander was obviously very clear about his situation. He stood indifferently in place, not even bothering to struggle, but his eyes did not show the slightest hint of weakness. Even if he was chained and was abandoned by his faith, he still stood tall, like a soldier.

Considering the worst-case scenario, Oliver wasn’t sure if they could parry his ambition to die.

Ann frowned. She glanced at the amulet in Oliver’s hand, pondered for a moment, and then grabbed the back of Nemo’s robe. “Follow me out and listen to my instructions,” she said succinctly. Nemo hadn’t even had time to resist. He waved his arms in vain and was pulled out of the door like a sack, leaving only Oliver and Adrian left in the abandoned house.

Soon, even the moonlight flowing into the room through the window disappeared. As the two people outside the house moved their hands, the dark shadow barrier erected by Nemo on the outside obscured all light sources.

“We don’t intend to use you.” Oliver stretched out his other hand and the Amulet of Holy Light floated between the gap in his hands, emitting a dazzling brilliance that once again illuminated the dark room that was full of traces of decay. “On the other hand, Nemo is indeed very likely to be a superior demon, at least a demon warlock. I do not deny this.”

“Kane’s Angel.” Adrian didn’t seem to say anything more.

Oliver naturally knew what “Kane’s Angel” meant. Although he was still young at the time of the incident, it was appalling enough to be regarded as a good conversational topic.

For those who tried to summon superior demons, there had always been only one way of dealing with them, regardless of whether they were successful or not. The summoner and the beneficiary of the wish would be executed. Demon warlocks would say superior demons were always good at disguising themselves, so no one could tell whether the summoner had failed or not.

In the Town of Kane, a team of Knights of Judgement encountered the youngest summoner ever; a thin boy, dressed in dirty clothes that was the wrong size. His eyes were full of tears. It was said that when he was found, he was shivering in the corner, holding a piece of moldy bread in his hand. The child insisted that he didn’t know anything but sent a signal into the Abyss according to a stranger’s request, but the Abyss didn’t respond to him. His wish was equally simple and direct; he just wanted to find his parents, who had abandoned him.

The leader of the group at that time was soft-hearted. He relented, possibly weakened by the child’s tears, or shaken by his tragic situation. Instead of ordering an attack, he decided to judge it as a false alarm. The Knights of Judgement put away their silver swords, mounted their horses, and left the beautiful and peaceful town.

Half a day later, more than 5,000 people died in a sea of fire. The Town of Kane completely disappeared from Garland’s territory.

After a month, the Knights of Judgement, who paid a huge cost, finally eliminated the superior demon, who was particularly aggressive. The leader of the group at that time embraced the thin corpse in his arms, stood in front of the statue of Zenni in the Church of Penitence, and went on a hunger strike.

Since then, whether it was an old man who was dying, a pregnant woman who was about to give birth, or an innocent child, no one was spared under the sword of the Knights of Judgement.

This was why Oliver knew exactly what the other party wanted to express.

“I know,” he responded calmly. “I don’t think my approach is ‘right’. I won’t say that I have known him for a long time. Of course, he may have been acting all this time—”

“…But I don’t mind.” Oliver concluded earnestly, while Adrian’s eyes became even colder.

“He saved a lot of people and saved me more than once,” Oliver continued. “Nemo did use his powers, but he used them to save lives. Even if it’s all an act, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Mr. Cross, Nemo Light isn’t a fool. He knows what his power means.”

“You’re not qualified to represent the minds of others.”

“Yes, that’s true, but I’m also not qualified to judge him on behalf of others. I understand your honor and responsibility. You have your position, and I’m just a little person with no ambition in this world. I hope you don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to convince you.”

He folded his hands, crossed his fingers, and wrapped the amulet of holy light in his palm. A pale flame ignited instantly. Its light was no longer soft and became extremely scorching. The ground under their feet disappeared, and there was only a piece of pure white in their field of vision except for each other.

“After what happened just now, I also know what my power means. You’re an expert, Mr. Cross. Tell me, can this destroy the flesh left on the surface by a superior demon?”

Adrian Cross looked at him deeply and was silent for a moment.

“Yes.”

“I still don’t know how to control it very well,” Oliver said slowly. “If one day I find out that everything is a lie and he really intends to attack innocent people, I will personally kill him, even if it costs me my life. But until then, I’ll stand by his side and move forward with him. I know that this sounds a little arrogant, but I’ll work hard to uphold this.”

“If it’s you, you should be able to tell if I’m lying.”

There was a cracking sound. The shadow shield erected by Nemo was shattered by the overflowing light. Oliver released his hand, and the Amulet of Holy Light fell to the ground with a soft clang. As the dark shadows dissipated, the remaining silver brilliance gradually extinguished, and the bright moonlight once again illuminated the uneven ground.

“You don’t need to trust him, nor do you need to trust my judgment. It’s enough to believe in this promise. You have an acquaintance who wants to see you. Before you meet, I hope we can cooperate for a short time. If you insist on leaving later, I will not stop you.”

Adrian fell into a long silence. He stared into Oliver’s eyes, and Oliver did not avoid his gaze. He stared back at the dark brown eyes calmly and stubbornly, even though the momentum baptized by blood and fire made his feet feel a little weak.

“Fine,” Adrian finally spoke again. “But I hope you know, I didn’t ask for help and I don’t like talks about self-redemption. I will go with you.”

“That kid is making a lot of noise. We should be able to go in soon.” Ann pressed on her shoulders and cracked her neck. “Are you addicted to squatting in a corner? Tell me, Nemo, are they done talking? …Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

The black-haired young man squatted outside the window with his back against the wall. His arms were around his knees and his face was buried between them.

“Has he taken care of Cross?”

“Everything should be fine.” Nemo raised his head with a calm expression on his face.

Ann walked up to him and looked at him up and down. “Do you have something to say to me?” she asked with certainty.

“Ann, you knew that Adrian Cross would recognize me,” Nemo said softly but affirmatively. “You knew this long ago.”

“If he can’t even do that, then those old coots in the Holy Church should start lining up to jump off the bell tower.” Ann stretched out a hand towards him. “If Cross couldn’t accept you at all, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to sacrifice my teammates to get involved in his shit. Are you really okay? Well, I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have let you eavesdrop, but look, I have to stand out and cover for both of you. Did Oliver say something he shouldn’t have?”

“No.” Nemo smiled, startling Ann. She had never seen Nemo Light show such a relieved expression. “On the contrary, I can finally get a good night’s sleep.”

He didn’t think that the power in his body was a blessing, nor did he think it was some kind of sin. What it brought him wasn’t joy and fulfillment, but a terrible emptiness. It was like stepping on cracked ice, shrouded by the fear of falling at any moment. He couldn’t find the focus point, and he didn’t dare to take a step forward, let alone find the truth underneath the ice. Nemo never wanted to imagine what was waiting for him. The power was too great and could make him lose himself, and if that moment ever came, nothing could hold him back.

He had originally thought so, but now he had a small foothold and a pair of hands that could hold him.

Nemo stood up briskly and walked into the house, leaving behind a very confused Ann. The female warrior shrugged her shoulders and followed closely behind.

Everything in the room was the same as when they had left. The two people in the room didn’t move a single step. Nemo straightened the neckline of his gray robe, leaned over to Oliver, and looked at the Amulet of Holy Light in his hand with interest. Oliver turned away a little uneasily; his eyes were wandering from guilt.

Adrian still had that cold face and his attitude didn’t improve at all. It was just that when Ann approached, he took the initiative to open his mouth and say something at a volume that was so loud, everyone could hear it.

“Then, this lady who doesn’t want to reveal her origins.” He asked slowly, “Why are you following them?”

“None of your fucking bus—”

“Is it because of the prophecy?”

---

The author has something to say:

Nemo: (Boulder falling off his chest)

Oliver: (Crazily guilty)

Ann: ??? I can’t keep up with the thinking of young people.

Adrian: Indifferent.jpg

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Kinky Thoughts:

Does this count as a confession of sorts?

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 34: Disrupted Plans

It seemed that Mr. Cross had no intention of confiding from the bottom of his heart before his death. Nemo coughed lightly, searching for words that could lead to a breakthrough. As a result, before he could determine where the particular illusory breakthrough was, the former Knight Commander opened his mouth again and sealed said breakthrough tightly.

“I also have a question to ask. Which one are you in the Abyss?” Adrian Cross’ tone was still damn calm, like he was talking about the weather.

Nemo shuddered. The person in the cell wasn’t clearly visible, but his momentum was already suppressed. The sense of oppression didn’t come from power, but the bloody spirit of war on the battlefield.

“What?” he laughed dryly.

“You’re also a superior demon, aren’t you?”

Besides the fact that he wasn’t sure, even if he was, he didn’t have a fluorescent sign hanging above him. Weren’t superior demons supposed to be difficult to distinguish? Nemo moved back and began to contemplate the possibility that Adrian Cross himself was also a superior demon.

“I’m not your kind.” As if he was reading Nemo’s thoughts, the man in the cell added.

For a moment, the atmosphere was even more awkward.

“But you…”

“The demon I know will never expose his identity to humans, and you yourself can get out of the deep cell. You don’t sound like a demon warlock.”

Nemo wiped his face hard. Just great. He hadn’t even said a word, yet the other party had already turned him upside down. Thinking from another perspective, if he were to be executed, and his nemesis came to greet him in person… The fact that Cross didn’t spit on him showed that he was extremely self-restrained.

It was impossible to talk like this.

Nemo sighed and crouched down, hugging his head, trying to come up with a few solutions before time ran out. The two cells behind him were restless. The rag-like thing continued to shout passages that he didn’t know whether they were verses or scriptures, while the woman scratched the stone slab with her six hands. Her long nails made harsh squeaking noises as they scratched across the surface. Then there was Adrian Cross, who kept quiet in front of him, seemingly to have lost interest in him.

Time passed mercilessly, and the magic array behind him became hotter, but he still had no idea how to proceed. In such a quiet environment—wait, quiet?

The shouting and noise had suddenly stopped, giving Nemo a bad premonition. In the next second, his premonition came true. A large hand as thin as a mummified corpse leaned out of the darkness above his head and went straight to Nemo, casting an unpleasant silver light on him. Nemo crawled up and stuck to the steep stone wall. It was so close that the hand got caught, leaving deep scratches on the stone wall.

“What the hell is this?!” Nemo exclaimed subconsciously.

“It’s to prevent someone from using Garland’s biggest dungeon as their own backyard,” the commander explained indifferently.

Seeing that the hand was about to grab him again, Nemo hastily acted. He rushed to Adrian Cross’ cell, pulled the railing apart and quickly squeezed in. Then he turned around and quickly straightened the bent railing again.

His actions soon paid off. The hand seemed to have lost its target. It groped around for a moment before slowly retracting into the darkness. Fortunately, the cell for sacrifices was big enough to hold them both. Nemo sat down slowly against the wall and let out a sigh of relief.

“Is this interesting to you?” Adrian asked, his tone having become colder. “Please go back. You won’t get anything from me.”

Although his tone was still polite, there was no doubt that his attitude was as if he was facing an enemy. At this moment, the formation on Nemo’s back became increasingly hot, indicating that there wasn’t much time left.

Nemo took a deep breath. He had an idea that might be a little bad, or rather, particularly bad.

He stood up slowly and dusted off the dirt on his body, then walked straight to Adrian Cross. In the darkness, he could only faintly see the outline of the other party. The knight was taller than he was, and although he had been imprisoned in the dark dungeon for nearly half a year, his physique still looked quite good. The chains on his body reflected a little white light of the emblem that was enough to bind him.

Nemo grabbed Adrian Cross by the collar and almost lifted him up.

“Okay, let’s stop playing around.” Nemo desperately recalled Ann’s tone when they first met, trying to make himself sound colder. “If I killed the sacrifices, guess what they would think?”

Adrian did not answer. Nemo was sure he could speak, but the former commander was like a closed mussel shell that refused to open up.

“I really don’t like that guy. He even made Witherspoon trouble me just because I stepped into his territory and he thought it would be more interesting.” Nemo apologized desperately in his heart, trying to keep his voice steady. The darkness really helped him cover his horse’s feet*. “Can’t you cooperate and have some fun with me? Do you really think that ridiculous seal can save your life?”

*Reference to exposed the horse’s feet (露出马脚 ) It’s a metaphor for revealing the hidden truth/inadvertently leaking out information. || In this context, he’s saying the darkness is helping him cover it up, so it won’t reveal (his facial expressions) that he’s putting on an act.

“Save my life?” The person being pulled on finally opened his mouth, showing a sneer. “That’s probably the only thing your rotten head can think of.”

“Actually, I’m quite interested in seeing the person who’s so desperate and worthless that he made a deal with a bastard from the holy church.”

“As I said, you can’t get anything from me,” Adrian said quietly. “Do you want to do it? Go ahead.” There was even a smile in his voice.

“…I have a clear conscience.”

This is it.

The white light on the magic array suddenly lit up, and the scenery in front of him quickly changed from a dungeon where he couldn’t even see his fingers to an abandoned house. Nemo felt like he was stepping on air with one foot, which directly caused him to land hard on his ass. He let out a hiss. Oliver was standing in front of him, holding an amulet in his hand that was still emitting a warm white light, and Ann was leaning against the wall, crossing her arms, looking relieved.

“Ow. Ollie, lend me a hand.” Nemo collapsed on the ground and didn’t want to stand up by himself. “That Adrian Cross is too difficult to deal with, but I can be sure that he’s really innocent. We have to find a way to help him… Hand?”

Oliver didn’t pull him up but looked behind him stiffly. Ann ran her hands through her hair, pulling it back hard.

“Tell me.” There was a trace of despair in her calm tone. “The one behind you is not who I think it is.”

Nemo gulped with difficulty and slowly turned his head. The moonlight in the abandoned house was bright, and this time he could clearly see the figure.

A strange young man was standing behind him. Perhaps because he was prepared to be a sacrifice, he didn’t have long hair or a messy beard. Adrian Cross looked about thirty years old, with short dark brown hair, clean shaven, had deep facial features, and a bit of a melancholic temperament. His good appearance immediately made people think of the word “knight”. He was still wearing the high-necked monk’s uniform of the Laddism Church, but there was a hole on his chest where the holy emblem should be. It seemed to have been roughly torn off.

He did have some shortcomings; he felt too cold, especially at this moment. Adrian’s dark brown eyes were firmly attached to Nemo. Nemo turned his head numbly and stood up, feeling that winter had arrived early. If there was substance in his gaze, his back would be full of marks left by ice skates by now.

“…I’m very sorry for just now.” He exhausted his last remaining courage for the day and stepped forward to help the other party tidy up his messy collar, desperately trying to confirm there were no hard feelings. “M… Mr. Cross.”

After that, he took three steps back and slipped behind Oliver.

“You’re up, pure humans,” he muttered while pushing against Oliver’s back. “The evil demon has been slain.”

Oliver pointed to Ann wordlessly. The female warrior was facing the wall at this moment, punching it weakly with her fist.

“The task at the beginning was very simple,” she said blankly to the wall. “Forge a document, take advantage of the festival to sneak him out for a walk for a meet and greet, and then complete the task! Why do you always make things difficult? …What went wrong in my life?”

“Ann, I’m sorry. I’m not—” As soon as Nemo wanted to apologize, he was stopped by a weak gesture from the female warrior.

“It’s not your fault.” She stared stubbornly at the broken brick on the wall, refusing to turn her gaze away. “Abyssal magic can’t interfere with the magic array from the Laddism Church. It’s my fault… What’s wrong with the magic array I drew? Fuck, it has never had a problem before!”

“If you look at it optimistically, at least we got him out.” Oliver tried to adjust the atmosphere.

“You know what? If we had followed the normal process to break him out and bring him back, it would have been a trivial matter if we were found out. Like bread crumbs sticking to their clothes, they would easily just brush it off and wouldn’t bother with us. But now… Now we’ve got shit stuck on their pants—”

“We’re not going to send him back, are we?” Nemo whispered..

“Well, ideally no. If we can get a hold of Cahill and gather sufficient evidence—capture the target, find the evidence, and buy some time, everyone will be happy in the end.”

“That sounds good.”

“There’s still a week left before the festival, and we can’t even get ahold of our own asses, and you expect to pull the wool from directly under their eyes?!” Ann tugged at her hair. “They’ll kill us! This is equivalent to slapping the Laddism Church in the face in front of everyone my friends…”

“What should we do now?” Oliver asked cautiously.

“I don’t know. Don’t ask me,” Ann replied exasperatedly.

“Allow me to interrupt.” Nemo cleared his throat. “The movement outside shouldn’t be something, uh… Like a special evening clock?”

“It’s an alarm.” Adrian spoke coldly, causing the three of them to turn to him at the same time.

“The highest alarm. It means that a sacrifice has escaped from the dungeon.”

On top of the belltower of the Church of Penitence, the giant golden bell made a dull and rapid sound. The scarlet array representing the warning signal turned slowly, reddening the night sky above the church. The angel statue at the top of the church showed a strange ferocity under the red light, and a figure was mingling on it. The blonde young man, who looked overly beautiful, put his legs on a pair of marbled wings and leaned his head on the cold arms of another statue.

He hummed a minor tune, stuffed a jam-coated dessert into his mouth, and then dipped his fingertips in the remaining jam, using them to put a set of pupils on the statue’s blank eyes. The young blond man was amused by his own work for a few seconds, and finally put down his other hand. The somewhat distorted miniature magic array slowly faded in the night sky; its style was exactly the same as the one Ann had drawn.

“The sky will fall, and the Abyss will rise.” He tried to hum, then raised his eyes to look at the pupils covered in jam on the statue with a serious conversational posture. “That’s a good description. I like the word fall, baby. The sky is falling, so where did the Morning Star go?”

With that, he titled his eyes at the knights who were leaving the Church of Penitence in an orderly manner. He stretched, revealing a black badge on his chest…

There was a five-eyed sea scorpion carved on it.

---

The author has something to say:

The five people in the team have finally shown their faces! Although the last one will not officially appear until the next story…

In fact, the security of the dungeon is very tight. Even if Ann had the internal spells of the Laddism Church, it was theoretically impossible to take Adrian out. Her original plan was to go the normal way and use deception and fake documents to get the Knight Commander out.

So it’s not that the dungeon security is too weak, it’s just that the last friend is too strong…

It will be mentioned later, but in order to explain everyone’s (possible) doubts, I want to mention it first~

—Useless little knowledge—

The Opabinia sea scorpion really has five eyes, and it is a Cambrian creature that did exist.

……The appearance of ancient creatures and underwater creatures is really cool and very much in line with my personal imagination of demons. XD

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 33: In the Dungeon

Nemo walked through the streets in the afternoon while wearing the holy shackles and ignoring all the curious stares. Ann had reinstalled the holy shackles on him again, but this time there was a trace of blackness wrapped around the white light chain.

“You have to control it.” After a brief exchange of information, Ann patted Nemo on the shoulder. “Imagine yourself holding a pudding. Don’t break it. It’s long past the arranged time, so we have to give the Church of Penitence a good reason. Even if Oliver has his charm technique, it’s best not to leave any omission on your side.”

However, “holding a pudding” was not a simple task. Nemo had to stop every three steps he took, making sure that the holy shackles were still completely wrapped around his wrists. Oliver followed him with a bitter look on his face.

“You’re not really turning me in.” Nemo’s soles rubbed against the road, moving very slowly. “Relax.”

“They won’t go soft on you.” Oliver sighed. “That’s the dungeon of the Heretical Judgement Hall.”

“So, I should just stay back and say nothing?” Nemo laughed dryly. “There’s no other way. It’s a superior demon attack and a blessing festival sacrifice. ‘Cahill’ really doesn’t want us to continue. Since he’s putting in this much effort, there’s definitely a secret to this matter.”

“I’ve been thinking…” Oliver touched his chin. “Why did he ask another superior demon? He should know that his identity has been exposed. It was late at night, so he must have ways to hide from Mrs. Edwards, assuming she really doesn’t know the truth. Humans would rarely help out for nothing in return, and superior demons aren’t that kind either.”

“After all, he was the only one who had the motive to attack us. If it wasn’t for me suddenly… Er, something went wrong, Witherspoon would’ve killed us. I’m a bit reluctant to say that it might’ve been a test.” Nemo was distracted and almost caused the light chain to snap off, scaring him so he immediately stopped and adjusted his strength.

“What if he knew in advance that you might have a ‘problem’?”

Nemo frowned.

“He might know something about you,” Oliver said. “Otherwise, this approach is too odd.”

“I don’t think he’ll be kind enough to tell us.” Nemo let out a sigh. “Let’s figure out the matter with Cross first. Take it step by step.”

When they finally moved to the stone steps of the Church of Penitence, Oliver walked even slower than Nemo.

“Sorry,” he said in a solemn tone as he looked directly into Nemo’s silver eyes. “I assure you, I’ll never do this kind of thing.”

“I know.” Nemo grinned and the black air on the light chain rolled even more violently. Holding a pudding for a long time was extremely technical, and he couldn’t hold it for much longer. “Let’s go.”

The two of them quickly messed up their clothes, making it seem like they had been fighting. Oliver grabbed Nemo’s collar and dragged him all the way up the stone steps. “Guards—!”

Alarmed by the holy shackles, the soldiers in the church moved quickly. They hastily blocked the stone steps in formation, and in less than five minutes, the fat bishop appeared in front of them again. Fortunately, this time, the fake Cahill wasn’t there.

“What’s the matter, my child?” The bishop still had a smile on his face, but that was only directed at Oliver. He just glanced at Nemo quickly, and then put his scepter against Nemo’s throat.

“My friend… He doesn’t want to give up his hands.” Oliver looked at the scepter a little nervously. “He almost broke free of your spell, and I wanted to inform you about it.”

“Why must it be hands!” Nemo yelled cooperatively. The dissatisfaction in his tone was almost overflowing that Oliver seriously suspected that he was voicing it from the bottom of his heart. “Why not the toes? …Half the sole of a foot? Even if it has to be the hands, one should suffice, right? I didn’t do it voluntarily!” He tossed and turned so much that the light chain was almost broken by the black air.

The bishop didn’t answer but raised his chin. Then Oliver held his breath for an instant. One of the soldiers drew his sword and pierced Nemo directly in the back. Blood quickly splattered, dyeing the white stone steps dark red.

“Don’t worry, my child.” As if perceiving Oliver’s stiffness, the bishop explained gently, “We won’t execute your friend so hastily. If you have something to say to him, there’s still time.”

“We’re just… a little late.” Oliver didn’t move. He clenched his fist under his sleeves, trying his best to suppress the unhappiness in his voice. “And like he said, he didn’t voluntarily—”

“Unfortunately, your friend is no longer a pure human being. My child, he can even resist the holy shackles. Look at those dirty shadows. He has been eroded too deeply.” The bishop’s voice became softer, almost soothing. “I can understand your mood. It’s normal to be sad. You have to know that that thing is no longer your friend. Its screams and pleas are to shake you, so you must not be blinded by it.”

“…I know.” Oliver squeezed an answer through his clenched teeth. When Nemo was picked up by the soldiers and dragged into the church—that bastard even took the time to give him a wink. “What will happen to him? Will he be put on trial, or…?”

“Judgment is reserved for mankind, thus the blood of demons need not to be judged,” the bishop replied. “According to procedure, he needs to be purified in the dungeon and publicly executed three days later.”

“Can I go to the dungeon to see him?”

“I’m sorry, my child. I’m really sorry, but you have to know that your sacrifice today will never be forgotten. You protected the city with your selflessness and piety. What is your name…?”

Oliver took a deep breath and tried to ignore the lurching of his stomach. He raised his eyes, and the emerald color was replaced by dazzling gold. “You should know. It’s Owen Roma from Knott Lang of Lower Town. Can you give me an amulet of holy light, your lordship? I don’t want to see such a tragedy happen again.”

“Of course, dear Owen.”

Nemo wasn’t bothered by the wound on his chest. He was sure that it had already completely healed by now. Fortunately, the bloody clothes helped him cover it up, so the guards who escorted him didn’t notice. He didn’t even feel much pain, but Oliver’s face was pale. He hoped this didn’t leave Oliver with some lasting psychological scars.

He tried to look feeble and peeped through his hair. The guards walking in front fiddled with a mechanism that made the magnificent statue of Zenni move backwards, revealing a wide passage leading underground. Although it was daytime, torches were still burning on both sides of the passage. Two old clergymen followed him closely while chanting prayers. He had to admit that after mixing it with the sounds of the torches, it made their hypnotic effect absolutely first-class. The steps seemed endless and almost made Nemo fall asleep.

What kind of appeal does this damn place have? He thought in a daze. He should persuade Oliver when he returns.

When he arrived at the Wall of Sighs, Nemo had to admit that it was much more spectacular than he thought, and at the same time disgusting. The huge gray wall had a strange sense of transparency with countless faces flowing on it, murmuring vaguely. The ceiling of the underground hall was extremely high, but it filled the entire space. If it wasn’t placed underground, it could probably reach the height of the Church of Penitence.

“Guilty—” As soon as Nemo approached, the faces screamed. “The smell of killing, the smell of blood! Guilty—Guilty—”

It was so noisy that it gave Nemo a headache, so he couldn’t hold himself back and quietly flipped his middle finger at them. The faces suddenly screamed more fiercely.

However, the elderly clergymen didn’t react in any special way. They cut down using the palms of their hands and pressed on the Wall of Sighs at the same time while they recited a mantra. The “wound” that they made overflowed with brilliance, and the faces were stirred into a ball, reluctantly giving way to a gap just enough for two people to pass at the same time.

The tallest guard grabbed Nemo’s collar and dragged him mercilessly into the wall. The thickness of the Wall of Sighs deserved its reputation. They walked more than ten steps before they fully passed through the narrow gap.

Nemo gasped at the sight in front of him.

He was greeted with a snow-white judgment seat that floated above a huge pit. At the bottom was the brilliance of a magic array that flickered constantly. The downward darkness seemed endless, as far as the eye could see, and there were dense spell arrays embedded in the stone walls of the pit that were like lines on a snail’s shell.

This was quite different from the dungeon he had imagined.

“The sinner has been accepted.” A cold female voice exploded in Nemo’s ears. Nemo subconsciously wanted to look back but found at some point he had been bound by metal. Those things were like insect feet, binding his limbs firmly together. Human-like metal arms encircled his neck.

It’s a puppet. He panted with difficulty.

“No trigger status arrays were found.”

“No surface magic props were found.”

“No abyssal magic props were found.”

“No special potions were found.”

“The sinner has been polluted by the Abyss and is an immediate threat. He’ll be taken and purified soon.”

What followed was a rapid fall. Nemo’s eyes were sore from the wind. As he continued falling, the surroundings became darker and darker. When he firmly believed that he was going to puke unceremoniously, the puppet’s speed finally slowed down. At that moment, Nemo could see the bottom of the pit. There was a huge holy emblem that emitted a soft white light. He raised his head, and the distant inquisition trial looked like a white pea.

The girl-like puppet hands were still wrapped around him before he was stuffed into a narrow empty cell. As soon as Nemo gained a foothold, there was a click behind him. The light of the magic array lit up, causing the falling prison railings to be covered with runes. He couldn’t tell whether to say the shapes were beautiful or weird. The puppet vibrated its mechanical wings and smashed Nemo in the head with a shining ball of holy water.

It was an incredible purification. Nemo wiped his face stiffly. He could feel the magic array behind him faintly heating up under contact with the holy water.

After confirming the puppet had left, Nemo, who was completely soaked, turned around. The cell was horribly narrow and smelled like oily decay. He couldn’t lie or sit down, as if he was locked in a standing coffin. The area was amazingly dark, and only the shimmers from the magic array provided a little illumination. He took a deep breath, subconsciously; this feeling of being immersed in the darkness was inexplicably familiar.

The surroundings were very quiet. There were no strange cries or painful chanting. He couldn’t even hear the sound of breathing. Nemo stretched out his hand and carefully touched the railing in front of him. The patterned runes instantly made a hissing sound, like water dripping into hot oil.

It was a bit hot, but it wasn’t unbearable.

He carefully adjusted his posture, held the stout metal railing, and pulled them apart. The hissing sound became louder, and the sound of metal bending was particularly loud in the silence. Nemo almost stopped his movement guiltily. However, given the time limit, he gritted his teeth and continued. Within a few minutes, Nemo had liberated himself from the coffin-like cell.

He thought for a moment in silence, then broke down two more railings to use as a tool to advance to the bottom. Ann repeatedly warned him that rash use of abyssal magic might trigger an alarm, so he could only solve his problem using brute force.

There was no turning back now. Nemo inserted the two sections of the railing into the stone wall in turns as he carefully navigated towards the bottom.

The darkness was too thick. The flow of time became unpredictable. It could have been an hour later, or maybe even a day, when he finally stepped on the huge holy emblem, completely out of breath. The three corners of the holy emblem pointed to three cells. These should be the holding areas for the sacrifices. The dim light revealed faint outlines of them, which were much larger than ordinary cells.

The answer was at hand. Nemo took a deep breath and walked towards a dark cell, guided by a glimmer of light.

“Help me.” From the railing came a soft female voice. It was weak and sweet. “Help me, kind sir.”

Three pairs of snow-white arms protruded from the railing. The skin on them was glowing, but the length was unnatural. Nemo was still five to six steps away from the cell, but they were about to entangle him.

Nemo swallowed his spit. He was quite sure that this was not Adrian Cross. He quickly took a few steps back and changed direction.

There was no sound coming from the next cell. When Nemo moved closer, he peeped inward and used the light from the holy emblem to scan the cell.

A group of half-human-tall, rag-like things slammed into the railing and then screamed because they were burned by the runes. “The sky will fall, and the Abyss will rise!” He—or she—laughed in an old and coarse voice. “The sky will fall, and the Abyss will rise—”

Then it should be the last cell.

“Adrian Cross?” He squatted in front of the railing and asked softly. The figure of the other party was hidden in darkness, so he couldn’t see it clearly.

“You are?”

The other party responded to him politely, with a calm tone and a low, pleasant voice. It was as if they had met each other on a sunny street.

“My name is Nemo Light.” Nemo came closer unconsciously. “I… Well, we have something we want to ask you.”

“Ask away, Mr. Light.” The other party didn’t question his identity or intention, and his tone didn’t sound half as eager.

“We know that Cahill Edwards is now a superior demon,” Nemo whispered. “We know you’re not lying. Can you tell me what happened…?”

“No comment.” The other party was silent for a moment before he responded softly.  

---

The author has something to say:

Mr. Former Knight Commander: …Why should I confide my past to a suspicious person who appeared in a suspicious place?

Nemo: … (At this moment was eager to acquire Oliver’s communication skills.)

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 32: Bad News

Oliver washed quickly. He didn’t seem to have any desire to chat as he climbed straight into bed and wrapped himself into a cocoon with the blanket and turned his back to Nemo.

Nemo had lost his only nightgown, so he had to wear his daytime clothes. He moved back to the bed, drenched. There was still a hole left by Witherspoon’s giant sword on his bed. As soon as he tried to lie down, it made a sharp, unpleasant creak.

The sharp noise echoed in the quiet room with an inexplicable sense of embarrassment. Nemo crossed his fingers, laid on his back like a corpse, not daring to move again. However, his endurance was limited. It didn’t feel good to lie on broken wood, so when he tried to turn over, the noise cut through the silence again.

“…Come here. We can squeeze in together,” Oliver said, with his back to him.

Nemo grabbed his pillow and turned over and sat up. He hesitantly said, “But you know, I…”

“We can’t sleep like this, or do you honestly think that I’m too scared to sleep?”

After that, he moved to the side of the bed, leaving a space barely enough for one person. Nemo put his pillow down and laid down carefully. He turned to the edge of the bed, and the extra soft mattress quickly occupied his mind.

“Are you really not afraid?” He turned his back to Oliver and muttered vaguely.

“Afraid,” Oliver replied simply. “I’m afraid you’ll keep thinking about it. Do you remember ‘Dirty Jack’?”

“The lunatic who hacked his wife and children to death?”

“That’s the kind of person that makes me really scared. Now, go to sleep.”

“You’re right.” Nemo yawned. “Compared to him, I’m very… Upstanding.”

His breathing became softer and he soon fell asleep.

Oliver rolled over carefully. One side of the mattress was sunken because of the other person’s weight, which was something that he wasn’t used to. He had never slept in the same bed with anyone since he could form memories. The other person also had some wet, black hair scattered on the pillow, revealing one side of his neck. He could touch it with his hand.

This person had just split the sky, but now he was sleeping in front of him in an ordinary manner, making a small snoring sound.

Oliver quietly stretched out his fingers and dried the other person’s hair. Nemo, who was no longer bothered by the humidity, smacked his lips with satisfaction, turned over, and arched into the soft pillow. Oliver slowed down his breathing for an instant, afraid that his breath would spray on Nemo’s face. His calmed heartbeat began to accelerate uncontrollably again. His gaze slid from Nemo’s eyes to his lips, and he couldn’t help but recall how he felt when they covered his wound for a few seconds.

He quietly propped up, approached carefully, and gently kissed Nemo’s forehead.

“Good night,” Oliver whispered.

Nemo slept well. In fact, he was counting on himself to have another dream. It was best if he could have an encyclopedia about his life in his dream, but when he opened his eyes again, it was already daytime and the light was shining brightly. Oliver had already changed his clothes and he was looking through the books in the room while sitting on a chair as he ate some fruit.

Nemo looked to the side expectantly. His bed still showed a miserable gap, and wood chips were scattered on the floor next to him.

“Don’t look. It wasn’t a dream.” Oliver mercilessly delivered the final blow. He raised his hand and threw a fruit to Nemo. Nemo hurriedly tried to catch it, but it still hit him directly in the nose.

“Are you trying to kill me?” He covered his nose and complained bitterly.

“Then I’ll throw the Zenni statue. Maybe that’ll be more effective,” Oliver said thoughtfully. “Okay, sorry. You better get up quickly. Ann had just tried to break in. “

As soon as he finished, a hurried knock on the door immediately sounded.

“We have business!” Ann roared angrily outside the door. “I don’t care what Nemo Light is. If he dares sleep until noon, I’ll fucking hang him on the ceiling—”

Nemo jumped from the bed, stumbled to the door, and quickly opened it. “I’m awake, sir!”

Ann bared her teeth at him.

“Bad news this morning.” She scratched her maroon hair that was shorter than Oliver’s, looking a bit agitated. “The sacrifice for the blessing festival has been set.”

“What is that?” Nemo asked cautiously.

“A holiday of the Laddism Church. They need to let the big wigs smoke a few unlucky people to ‘dedicate’ to God.” Ann didn’t bother to hide her sarcasm. “Guess who it is this time… Forget it. Guess my ass. That guy Cross was chosen as a sacrifice—hell, I should’ve known!”

“Is this why you were in a hurry before?” Oliver threw a fruit to Ann, who caught it without even looking.

“That’s right. The entire Heilem will become a festival. It’s a good opportunity this time of year. Now it looks like it’s not just us who’s considering this matter. The fake Cahill must’ve thought of this as well, so he’s trying to get rid of Cross. Things are getting troublesome. Let’s go and refund the deposit. Wait until the next quarter to retake the test…”

“So, they’re going to execute a person who’s innocent?” Oliver put down the book.

“Cross has the demon seal. Do you know how many people the old sect executed just for the word ‘blasphemy’?” Ann tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“But the deal may not be voluntary. Didn’t he lose his powers? We’re just quitting?” Nemo frowned.

“What else? The guards of the sacrifices of the inquisitions are a lot heavier. There will be a lot more trouble if we continue to go deeper. To say the least, even if we can bring him out, Mrs. Edwards still doesn’t know if he’s under the control of a demon. Adrian Cross is dead,” she concluded bitterly as she bit into her fruit.

“We may be one of the few people who know that he’s not lying,” Oliver said slowly. “I… I don’t really want to give up now. In my opinion, even if we don’t take the plunge, it’s still good to try and figure out the truth within the limits of our abilities.”

“I agree.” Nemo raised his hand. “I suggest asking Cross in person, that is, if it can be done.”

“I wanted to ask before, what’s wrong with you two?”

“He may be innocent. I don’t want to turn a blind eye… Besides, we have nothing else to do now. Ann, is there really nothing we can do?” Oliver’s voice was very sincere. “This isn’t a requirement. After all, you’re the most experienced of us. If there’s really no way, we won’t force it.”

“My opinion is very simple. The only person who knew the truth at the beginning didn’t turn a blind eye for fear of trouble.” Nemo stood up and pulled the folds of his robe tighter. “I think that’s a good feeling. If possible, I’d like to share it with Mr. Cross.”

The female warrior fell silent and began to pace the room repeatedly. Her expression was uncertain. When Nemo began to formally consider the lunch menu, she finally stopped.

“That’s it.” She took a deep breath. “I’m going to visit Mrs. Edwards to see if I can get more information. Oliver, Nemo, are you sure you want to go through this muddy water?”

“Yes.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, there’s no way to approach the sacrifice.” She raised her eyes. “Unless you’re imprisoned in the depths of the dungeon. Going by yesterday’s script, Oliver, go and report Nemo.”

“…What?” Oliver blurted out.

“Cross has been imprisoned for less than a year. He’s a human who has lost his powers. They will not lock him in too deep. Originally, we could reach him by pretending to be guards, but the sacrifice is different. They are locked at the bottom. Places close to the bottom are generally reserved for things like demon warlocks and, if any, more powerful demon worshipers. Tell me now, do you still want to go through with it?”

“I… Well, is there a way to come out again?” Nemo pinched the fruit as he asked, almost turning it into jam.

“Yes, but it’ll be painful,” Ann said, “and Cross may not be willing to talk to you.”

“How painful?”

“Sorry, I don’t have experience as a demon warlock or a superior demon, so I don’t know, but we can try it first. If you can stand it, we’ll talk about the next step.”

“Try it?” Nemo looked at Oliver with a little uncertainty. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“If Nemo agrees, then I have nothing to add.” Oliver stared at the stone in his hand. “After all, he seems to be the more unfortunate one.”

“Okay.” Ann nodded. “I thought I was crazy, but you two boys take the cake. Nemo, come here and take off your shirt.”

Nemo stopped in place awkwardly and blinked.

“…Or do you want to stay in the dungeon for the rest of your life? I need to create a unique refuge array from the Laddism Church. It’ll really hurt at first. After all, the magic of the holy church has always been aimed at the Abyss.”

“You… You’re a woman. This is a bit…”

“I’m only interested in older men.” Ann took out a pen for drawing magic arrays and then pulled out a small bottle of silver ink from her innermost pocket. “Cut the shy shit. Where did you come up with so much nonsense? Hurry up and take it off.”

“I’ll go talk to the people at the inn about compensation for the bed.” Oliver got up uneasily and left the room quickly.

Ann raised an eyebrow high as she looked at his back and let out a meaningful snort.

However, Nemo didn’t feel any pain. It was true he felt something, but it was only a little itch. In order to not make Ann’s doubts worse, he didn’t share this discovery. Ann drew an extremely complex magic array behind him, which took a full two hours. The slender lines were like molten silver. The magic array flowed on the skin of his back, like it was a living thing.

After drawing the final mantra, Ann put away her pen and sighed bitterly at the flowing brilliance, while Oliver watched with a wooden face. He took care of the issue with the innkeeper in less than fifteen minutes and went back to the room to watch. The rest of the time, his gaze changed from discomfort to amazement and finally to sympathy.

After all, the drawing of the magic array didn’t allow too much jitter. Nemo took root on the floor like a mushroom, looking numb for hours.

“When you enter the dungeon, they will wash you with holy water… Uh, it’ll be poured all over you. The mana inside should be enough to trigger it. You have one night, Nemo, then it’ll send you out at midnight. As a special magic array of the Laddism Church, it will not trigger the alarms in the dungeon.”

“Oliver, after you send Nemo over, meet me at Edward’s home. Remember to ask the bishop for a holy light talisman. If you’ve done a good job informing, he won’t be stingy. We must ensure that the Wall of Sighs is open at midnight. Nemo can’t get out with just the magic array alone.”

“Now go. If Adrian Cross is indeed guilty, your debt will be doubled.”

---

The author has something to say:

—Age setting—

Ann is thirty-two years old, and the remaining two are twenty-three. Forget about the parrot. It’s destined to be a single parrot anyway.

Ann: There’s an urgent need for a steady friend of the same age to share the feeling of tiredness.

Adrian Cross: ……

Ann will not have any emotional entanglements with anyone on the team. She is their reliable companion, and her CP is still waiting for her in the future main plot…

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Step 3: Return kiss. Check.

Oliver is so cute. I’m loving all this subtle action between the two of them.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 31: The Aftermath of the Battle

Nemo wished this was a continuation of that strange dream and that they were still lying in bed at the inn, and what they had just experienced was some wonderful illusion. Even he felt it was like a dream. He wasn’t controlled by some unknown will. In those short ten minutes, he really knew what he was doing and what he could do. It was like floating from the muddy bottom of the water to the surface. All the puzzles in his life were answered in an instant.

Then he woke up, leaving only vague fragments in his mind. This made him hold his chest, uneasy and angry, anxiously trying to hit the ground. What followed was panic and blankness. Nemo had read countless biographies of adventurers and countless legends about war and magic, but no book had recorded anything remotely close to the spatial magic he had just cast. If this was just a trick that wasn’t worth mentioning, he wouldn’t need to convince himself.

It was no longer a matter of “origin”. He couldn’t even be sure if he was still human. Nemo subconsciously touched his waist, only feeling the damaged fabric. His wallet should still be in the room at the inn. The gold pendant wasn’t on him at this moment.

He needed it now more than ever before, as if it was his last lifeline that maintained his cognition that “he’s human”.

Oliver now had a good reason to leave. There was little hope of successfully completing the mission. The team would not last long. His companions didn’t even know what was going on with Nemo himself. It was estimated that only God would know what he was. Nemo sighed heavily. He knew very well that there was no point in entangling himself, so he hesitated for a moment and opened his mouth.

But Oliver’s answer was completely beyond his expectations. His attitude didn’t seem to be hypocritical as his emerald eyes didn’t turn away. He even dared to reach out and touch him. The panic instantly faded, part of it turned into ecstasy, and Nemo only felt that his feet were grounded again.

So when Nemo waited for Oliver to withdraw his hand, he quickly stepped forward and gave him a strong hug. “I love you¹ so much.” He was so excited that he referred to Oliver honorifically¹. He couldn’t help but put his chin on Oliver’s shoulder and patted him on the back. “I promise I’ll never hurt you. Oh God, Ollie, I–”

¹He’s using [nin] (您) which is the honorific form of [ni] (你)) which means you.

He had no words and didn’t know how to describe or express his mood at the moment. Oliver’s back seemed to stiffen, but Nemo didn’t care. He probably couldn’t get used to it right away.

“You wanted me to see this?” A somewhat low female voice suddenly sounded. “Bagelmaurus, I need an explanation.”

The female warrior crossed her arms and looked over where they were with great interest.

“It was indeed a superior demon! I would never mistake it,” the gray parrot yelled. It flew close to the two of them with a little hesitation. “Don’t you humans like to let corpses rot in places that no one cares about? I didn’t know they would still be alive. Hey, idiots. Where’s that black-armored guy just now?”

Good question. Nemo slowly loosened his hold on Oliver, who was as stiff as a stone statue, and carefully pulled on his nightgown to cover himself up so he wouldn’t look indecent in front of a lady.

“I am…” he pretended to cough a few times and decided not to care about how the gray parrot addressed him. “We defeated him, sort of. Bagelmaurus, why did you call her over? Didn’t I tell you to run away?”

“She wanted to come,” the gray parrot shouted, landing on Nemo’s shoulder. “I’m just following and taking a look.”

“It was serious enough this time for the two of you to die ten times over. Superior demons don’t have the habit of standing still and admiring corpses.” Ann approached and frowned at the scarlet icicles in the desert. “Even if I wanted to escape, I have to confirm the characteristics of my opponent. You know, your body can reveal many things.” She raised her hand and waved a teleportation parchment at them that was full of runes.

“It does look serious, but you’re not seriously injured.” After extinguishing the magic array, her sharp gaze swept across the two of them. “What happened?”

When she said this, it was unknown whether it was coincidental, but her eyes stopped on Nemo.

Nemo turned his gaze away, causing his head to ache. He didn’t mean to hide it, but he really didn’t know how to describe what had happened just now.

“He saved me. That’s all I’ll say,” Oliver spoke. He put his hand on Nemo’s shoulder, and his finger exerted a slight force. “It’s best for him to tell you the rest.”

Nemo instantly understood what the other party meant; this was to leave the decision on whether he wanted to reveal the truth up to him. Perhaps concealment would be more beneficial. Ann had a poor friendship with them and could leave at any time. Without the guidance of an experienced female warrior, the two of them could only bump into each other like headless flies.

“Well,” Nemo stood straight up, “Ann, I may not be human. This possibility is quite high. And it’s not the kind like a demon warlock either. I might—” he paused, struggling. It seemed like if he didn’t say it, it wouldn’t come true. “I may be a superior demon.”

The female warrior didn’t respond, but simply narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t want to keep it from you since it’s not fair to you.” Nemo licked his chapped lips and tasted the saltiness of blood on them. “I split a crack of space in the sky and then threw the superior demon in, assuming that it was a superior demon. I seem to know him.”

“It sounds like spatial magic.” Ann pondered for a moment. “And what does it mean that you seem to know him?”

“It’s not ordinary spatial magic. I knew what was over there. Ann, I threw him back into the Abyss.” Nemo shook his head. “When I did that, I knew who he was, but not now. I can’t remember very clearly.”

“Impossible.” The parrot flew off Nemo’s shoulder. “No one can connect to the Abyss from the surface. If you are a superior demon, I would be able to recognize you.”

“Do you know Witherspoon and Telaranea from the Gravity Maze?” Nemo asked.

“I know of the Gravity Maze,” the gray parrot said. “It’s close to the bottom of the Abyss. An annoying place. I’ve never met Witherspoon, so I don’t know him. I haven’t heard of any race called this. I know Telaranea. He’s quite famous in the Abyss.”

“I said that he’s a little guy with a personality problem.” Nemo smiled briefly. “I think only your kind can say that.”

The gray parrot looked at Nemo steadily and stopped making a sound.

“But you don’t remember it yourself,” Ann said. There was no emotion in her voice. “You don’t remember anything.”

“Yes.”

“I see.” Ann nodded. “Then when we go to the dungeon, you’ll still have to stay outside and watch the wind.”

Nemo raised his head abruptly.

“Thank you for your trust. Your choice is right. If I had noticed this by myself,” after a few seconds of icy pause, Ann continued quietly, “I’ll definitely kill you.”

Nemo shivered. Although he had prepared for the worst, he couldn’t help but look at the female warrior in shock.

“I’m not a believer in Zenni, but I am a human. I hope you can understand this. Don’t look like that. I won’t turn you in, even though I really wanted to.” Ann shrugged.

“It’s just a guess,” Nemo quickly defended himself. “It’s just a possibility. Not 100%—”

“Enough.” Oliver patted him on the back. “Let’s go back first.”

“Maybe Cahill did a good thing.” Ann handed the slowly burning teleportation paper to the two of them, looking as she usually did. “The superior demon who took you away was very careful. The most common teleportation paper was used in your room. It seems that he wanted to kill us quietly.” As soon as she finished speaking, they returned to the familiar room at the inn. The parrot fell to the floor, its eyes wide open, as it stood dumbfounded in a strange posture.

“You guys rest first. We can talk about it in detail tomorrow morning. The other party is very cautious, so they won’t attack us again so soon.” Ann smiled reluctantly at them and then left the room, not forgetting to close the door.

The heavy wooden door closed behind her. The corridor in front of her was dark. The female warrior leaned against the door and slowly slid to the ground. She buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

“He believes me,” she whispered to herself. “He believes in me, I know. Am I doing the right thing, brother?”

However, the darkness did not respond to her.

“Do you need to change rooms?” After there were only the two of them left in the room, Nemo spoke carefully. “I can understand. I won’t mind, really.”

“No.” Oliver simply refused. He pulled out the nightgown prepared by the inn from the cupboard, took off his blood-stained top, and exposed his muscular upper body. “You go wash, or should I go first?”

“You go first.” Oliver behaved so naturally that it left Nemo tongue-tied.

Oliver nodded and stepped into the bathroom first. After a while, the sound of water could be heard.

Nemo’s nightgown was full of blood and sand. He didn’t want to stain the clean sheets, so he sat down on the floor. Bagelmaurus was still lying on its side on the ground. If it hadn’t been for its breathing, Nemo would’ve thought it was dead.

He poked the stiff gray parrot with his hand. “You said you know Telaranea. Who is he?”

“We call him the Sage of the Abyss,” the gray parrot explained weakly. “No one knows how long he has lived. He’s the only polymer in the Abyss.”

“Polymer?”

“Our race has names, but we also have our own names, just like you humans, but he doesn’t. His name is the name of the race. There is only one Telaranea in the entire Abyss. He has been staying in the corners of the Abyss, so no one has ever seen his body. He only relies on his eyeballs to communicate with us. His eyeballs crawls everywhere in the Abyss, so he knows basically everything except the bottom of the Abyss. Rather than a sage, he’s more like a voyeur.”

“……”

“Being a polymer is why he’s famous. You see, even if the flesh is separated like mine, the soul can only be in one of them. He’s different. His eyeballs share a will, but they can act separately, so he can possess multiple targets at the same time. Damn, it’s really enviable.”

“Is he strong?”

“I don’t know. He usually doesn’t participate in fights. Almost the entire Abyss feels that there is a problem with his character. I don’t admit that you are my kind. If you really have another piece of flesh in your body, I’ll definitely find out. Besides, there’s no such thing as losing your memory. Our true consciousness is in the body, so it’s impossible to be affected by the flesh on the surface. My judgment is not wrong.”

“You previously stated that no one can connect the Abyss to the surface.” Nemo looked unsteadily at the ceiling. “Perhaps it’s just that you don’t know.” Great. Even a superior demon doesn’t know what he is.

The candlelight cast a long shadow on the statue of Zenni in the room.

Nemo tried to grab the remaining fragments of consciousness, hoping to find more clues. The moment he split space, he knew exactly who he was, and he knew the answer, but now, he could only grasp a trace of the emotion at that time.

He didn’t mention it to anyone, because that emotion made him feel bad. He had envisioned many absurd possibilities, from a superior demon in the Abyss to some unknown monster, from a harmless ordinary person to a ghost. He could have been prominent, or he could have been born in nothingness, just like a meaningless speck of dust.

No matter what the answer was, he shouldn’t have that emotion…

It was like the joy of childlike simplicity that was close to happiness.

---

The author has something to say:

—Discovered that a teammate/self may be a superior demon—

Parrot: I’m not going to admit it! I’ll repeat it again. I won’t admit it!

Nemo: Who am I? Where am I? Friends, don’t leave me behind—

Oliver: (Being impacted by his own orientation)

Ann: Am I an accomplice in concealing the scourge? Is this a betrayal to mankind? I’ll never pick up teammates in strange places again!

…The whole team isn’t mistaken, except for the last point, which is really gratifying.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Oliver reaching enlightenment. Who needs the church when you have Nemo?

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 30: King’s Landing

The black-armored warrior’s right arm didn’t shed much blood. He froze in place like a stone statue as an uncomfortable red light lit up in the gap in his helmet.

“Wait, I remember your smell,” Nemo said, taking two steps closer. From this distance, Oliver could see his eyes clearly. The silver-gray eyes glowed pale in the dark night, and the light was like a full moon covered by the clouds, similar to a pearly ghost. His pupils were no longer the normal circle of human standards but split into four directions and became cross-shaped, which were unique to demons. “You live near the Gravity Maze. Let me think… Witherspoon?”

Witherspoon, the black-armored warrior, took a small step back without saying a word.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak; he actually wanted to scream. Oliver Ramon was just a human. Naturally, he couldn’t understand the fear engraved in the souls of demons—if they really have souls.

Even if the Demon King of each generation were different, when they unreservedly showed their hostility, a superior demon would never get it wrong. It wasn’t just a simple sense of oppression, but the heavy terror brought on by the natural course of nature. That cold sense of horror gnawed at his nerves, biting his flesh that was attached to this human body. His tongue became numb from fear, and his mind seemed to be frozen. He even forgot how to breathe. He instinctively wanted to escape, but he didn’t want to expose his back to his opponent. He was like a young bird trying its best to fluff up its feathers in front of a predator. Witherspoon stood there, awkwardly inching back, even though he subconsciously knew that it was just a futile struggle.

This was clearly impossible. Everyone knew that that monster couldn’t leave the bottom of the Abyss.

“A suggestion.” Nemo raised his hand in a brisk tone, as if he was discussing the dinner menu with the black-armored warrior. “Don’t get too close to Telaranea. That little guy has a problem with his personality.”

Witherspoon and Oliver stared at the hand.

However, Nemo didn’t attack. He made a simple gesture; he raised his hand slightly to the sky, with little movement. It was like he was repelling mosquitoes rather than casting a spell. There was no chanting, no complex magic arrays, not even any dazzling brilliance.

Suddenly, the sky cracked.

It may not be accurate to say that it cracked—the space was torn apart, as if the sky above them was like a painting on the side of an eggshell. At this moment, the fragile shell cracked, creating a gap, revealing the hell on the other side. Inside the crack, fire burned in the dark, and from time to time, huge creatures wandered by the gap, or peeped out from it with weird eyes.

“It’s time to go home,” Nemo announced. There was no condescending sarcasm or cold anger in his tone. “It’s only fair; this is self-defense after all. Get a good night’s sleep, Witherspoon. It’ll be good for you.”

From about ten steps away from them, he flashed like a ghost in front of the black-armored warrior, stretched out his hand, and pushed down on the opponent’s breastplate. The air suddenly twisted into wave-like ripples, accompanied by a shrill roar. Witherspoon instantly shot away as dark shadows unceremoniously caught him. This time, the dark shadow no longer appeared out of thin air. The huge crack was like a hideous fresh wound, and its edges dripped with dark and sticky shadows. They swallowed Witherspoon’s figure like a creature, then flowed back into the crack.

Everything was calm again.

The terrifying crack in space was still wide open. There was a low and strange hissing that came faintly from it. The fire was burning among the stars, and ashes fell from the sky like snow on a winter’s night. Nemo retracted his hand and looked down at Oliver, who was lying on the side.

Oliver Ramon knew he was about to die.

In the battle just now, Oliver’s arms became completely mangled. His flesh and bones were mixed together. In addition to the unstoppable flow of blood that was dripping down his arms, blood also gushed from the wound in his abdomen. There was a deep bruise on his forehead, and the blood made his handsome face a bit more tarry.

Oliver grasped the air with difficulty.

He was facing a huge crack; a burning crack that was embedded in the dark night sky. The ashes floated towards his eyes but did not melt like real snow. They blurred his vision, and everything in front of him seemed like a dream.

Nemo stopped in front of him and leaned down slightly. With his back to the firelight, Oliver couldn’t see Nemo’s expression clearly. He could only see the flickering of non-human eyes. He didn’t restrain his momentum. Oliver couldn’t help coughing a few times. His throat was full of the sweet smell of blood, and the oppression he felt was like a mountain crushing him.

With what little strength he had left, Oliver thought dimly he could try to move like Witherspoon and try to escape or ask for help… or for mercy.

Nemo just stared at him, doing nothing and saying nothing, as if he was in a state of contemplation.

Oliver’s consciousness began to blur. He raised his head slightly and looked at the familiar companion in front of him and the gorgeous blazing fire behind him. He subconsciously decided how he would use his last bit of strength—to give Nemo a smile.

The next moment, a pair of warm hands held his face.

Nemo half knelt down beside Oliver and supported his head with both hands. He leaned forward and imprinted his lips on the wound on Oliver’s forehead. The black shadow dripping from the cracks gathered from all sides, spreading across Oliver’s deformed arms and flowing over the wound in his abdomen. It felt light and cold, not soft, like the pain of a razor rubbing against his skin.

The broken bones in the area where the dark shadows crawled past returned to their place. New skin grew, and all the hideous wounds closed. His intact skin came into contact with the moist air, and the sense of being alive returned to Oliver again. He found that he had the strength to move, but he didn’t want to move at this moment.

“You didn’t run away.” Nemo stood up and wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. “…Thank you.”

Oliver was finally able to see the other person’s expression clearly. It was the person he knew. The face of Nemo, which was mixed with calmness, relief, and a little joy. Oliver stretched out his right hand, which was no longer bleeding and had fully healed, and stroked Nemo’s cheek as if to confirm something. The unique warmth of life came to his fingertips, and he unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth into a more obvious arc.

“You’re welcome.” His voice was clear, even if the terrifying sense of oppression was still crushing his brain. “It’s me who should be thanking you.”

Nemo was taken back for a moment, then gave him a smile back.

Oliver suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn’t tell what it meant. His brain was screaming danger, and instinctive fear made all his hair stand up. Anxiety and tension pierced his back like steel needles, but he couldn’t remove his gaze.

The ashes continued to fall like snowflakes, accumulating a thin layer of gray on the sand. The flames on the other side of the crack were so ominous, but they filled his vision with light, and everything was shining brightly…

Just like a summer day a few years ago.

“You rejected Susanna?!” The father, in his memory, shouted at him. “God, Oliver, how could you break a lady’s heart like this?”

“She’s indeed a lovely girl, but…”

“You dare say but? God, what did I teach you? Euphemism, Ollie. You have to be euphemistic, not ‘I don’t have any feelings for you’!”

“There are many lovely people in the world, dad. It’s impossible for me to be attracted to everyone. You haven’t told me anything about mother yet… But you’re telling me how to fall in love with someone? Stop saying crappy lines like ‘she’s the most beautiful woman in the world’ and ‘she’ll make your world lose its color and your food lose its taste’—I can’t understand that kind of feeling.”

Piper strained his face. He put back the shoe he had just grabbed in his hand, and his expression became serious.

“Then listen up.” He sighed and looked away. “She may not be good or beautiful. You may have a lot of quarrels and frictions and even feel disappointed in each other from time to time, but there will be a moment when the scenery that person gives you will be unparalleled. You’ll know that you’ll never see anything more beautiful than that in your life.”

“Love does not necessarily mean total acceptance or self-sacrifice, Ollie, but it will make you want to live more.”

Is that so?

Oliver lowered his arm.

At that moment, he was blindly convinced that he would never be able to see such a beautiful and shuddering scene for the rest of his life. He could still feel the warmth left by Nemo’s hand, and that warmth made him… want to live for a moment longer.

Nemo remained half-kneeling when he suddenly shook his body and gasped in pain. The cross-shaped pupils began to shrink, returning to their normal human appearance, and the slightly flickering silver light went out. The cracks in space that stretched across the starry sky closed abruptly, and nothing could prove it ever existed except for the pile of ashes.

“Oliver, I…” he panted laboriously, inserting his finger into the blood-soaked sand.

“You…” Oliver was still in a daze. Too many emotions were mixed, and he didn’t know what to do with them. “Are you good?”

“I’m not good. I’m particularly bad!” cried Nemo. “Did you see what I just did? Does this look good to you?”

“You remember?”

“Remember! …Part of it.” Nemo muttered in a low voice. “It was like a dream. I could understand everything in my dream, and when I woke up, that feeling was completely gone.”

“But I do remember what I said and what I did… Now I can even do this.” Nemo stretched out his hand and black flames ignited on his fingertips, making his face paler.

“At least now we can all be sure of one thing. Oliver, I don’t seem to be human, and maybe I’m the kind of dangerous…” Nemo couldn’t find a suitable term that wouldn’t make him uncomfortable, so he had stopped mid sentence awkwardly.

“Oh.” Oliver lay solemnly on the ground and stretched out his hand. “Anyway, do me a favor first and give me a hand. I’m a mess now and I’m not in the mood to stand up by myself.”

Nemo’s sadness was completely stirred up. He rolled his eyes and pulled Oliver from the sand dune.

“Come on.” Nemo lowered his head with courage akin to dying generously*. “Say it.”

*Comes from: It’s easy to die generously, but difficult to die gracefully (慷慨赴死易，从容就义难). A generous death refers to passionately or impulsively, while a graceful death refers to calculated or meticulously planned.

“Say what?” Oliver raised his eyebrows.

“…Don’t you have any feelings? Just say what you want. Otherwise, I… uh, I will think we can still act together in the future.”

“Okay?” Oliver said absent-mindedly, brushing the ashes off of Nemo’s black hair. “I promised you before, didn’t I? I won’t be afraid of you because you’re ‘whatever-it-is’. That’s still valid now.”

Perhaps it was too effective. Oliver stared at the ash on his knuckles.

Not only did he not want to escape, but he wanted to go on longer with Nemo. The sense of oppression had long since disappeared, but his heartbeat did not slow down. In contrast, it became even more rapid. Something was wrong. Oliver rubbed off the ash from his hand and sighed secretly in his heart—I must be crazy.

---

The author has something to say:

Oliver: Super fierce, it’s hard not to be moved.

Nemo: ??? Wait a minute.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Second step, kiss. Check.

This chapter is EVERYTHING. We’re making some progress, people. Are these two not the cutest couple ever?

This is the last of the free chapters on jjwxc. If you’ve been enjoying the novel so far and are able to, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. You can use Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.

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