In the crimson flame ring of the Flaming Binary, there was a small planet named Milantu. It was only a quarter the size of Old Earth and was located at the Lagrange point of the binary stars, rotating at a very slow pace. It has a thin atmosphere with a high content of hydrogen and helium. Generally, such small planets weren’t suitable for human habitation, but because of the rich metal deposits in its strata, colonists established mines here, creating an artificial atmosphere and ecosystem suitable for human survival, along with a spaceport for ships transporting the ore.
During the First Galactic War, the colonists evacuated Milantu. In the dark years that followed, this gem in the flame ring was forgotten in the passage of time. Technology declined, civilization regressed, until the first group of Earth survivors brought lost technology to the “Unfallen Star”, and the colonists saw the dawn of hope.
Another fourteen hundred years passed, and Joanna Begrel’s fleet, defectors from the Federal Army turned space pirates, arrived here. They discovered that once the abandoned base’s energy was restored, it could still operate. Within forty-eight hours, the artificial atmosphere filled the base’s sky, the ecosystem began to recover, and various plants and animals were automatically cloned and revived by the computer. Even the thousand-year-abandoned mines resumed operation, with machinery extracting tons of ore from the rock layers according to the ancient colonists’ programs. Everything was orderly, as if the base had merely taken a brief nap, rather than being abandoned for a millennium.
Joanna immediately decided to make Milantu the base for her pirate fleet. After some renovation and expansion, the base became a small town, including pirates, their families, and reserve members of the pirate group, with a population of nearly a thousand. Almost every week, black market merchant ships came to Milantu’s spaceport to sell weapons and buy stolen goods. During the off-season, the base would open the mines and rely on selling ore for income. Over the years, they had accumulated quite a bit.
The female pirate leader returned to the Flaming Binary at the end of the off-season. The Lady of the Night passed by the last merchant ship buying ore for the year under the deep red light of the red giant star. The merchant ship sent a message to the Lady of the Night: “Isn’t this the mad queen? We thought you died on Hecate!”
“What? Is this how Old Highway’s caravan welcomes me back?” Joanna, sitting in the command seat, said unhappily to Leo. “Curse him for me!”
“At your command, Captain!” The dutiful AI sent a message back to the merchant ship. “Fuck you!”
The merchant ship immediately fled from the Lady of the Night like a scared rabbit.
“Oh, Captain, look at what you’ve done,” Leo chided. “You scared Old Highway away. He might not come to buy our ore next year.”
“It was you who scared him away, not me!” Joanna wanted to swing the command seat at the AI. Fortunately, the base was sturdy enough to avoid a disaster.
“Dear crew members, the Lady of the Night will dock in five minutes. A large crowd is waiting at the port to welcome us. Finish your work, bring the gifts you bought for your family and friends, and put on a tearful expression! We’re going home!”
After Leonard’s announcement, cheers erupted in the dining hall. Ibb Descartes was so excited he almost jabbed a fork into Alois’s nose.
“Sorry, brother!” Ibb threw down the fork and started waving a napkin to express his joy.
“Are we arriving at Milantu?” Alois calmly forked a piece of potato into his mouth.
“Yes! Milantu! Our base! We’re going home!” Ibb was as excited as if he were on a stimulant.
Alois glanced at Joshua, ensuring he had no intention of stealing his meat, then asked, “Is your family also on Milantu?”
Ibb wiped the tears of excitement from his left eye with his left hand and vigorously patted Alois on the back with his right hand, nearly causing him to choke on the potato he had just swallowed. “Of course! Where else would they be?”
So when Alois disembarked and saw the “family” Ibb embraced, he started boasting about his wide mouth. Joshua, with his mouth shut, boasted about his large eyes. The cat-skin scarf Schrödinger around his neck boasted about both simultaneously.
“Let me introduce you. This is my mechanical teacher, Maxim, but everyone calls him ‘Spider’.” Ibb pointed excitedly at the two people and one cat. “They are the new companions the captain recruited, Joshua Planck and Alois Lagrange, along with their pet, Schrödinger.”
“Welcome to Milantu, newcomers and new cat! Your expressions are priceless!” Maxim’s voice was bright as he shook Joshua’s and Alois’s hands and Schrödinger’s paw simultaneously. Saying “simultaneously” was appropriate because his hands were two mechanical prosthetics, and he had two additional pairs of mechanical arms on his shoulders. With his legs, Maxim had “eight limbs” in total, hence his nickname “Spider”.
“Don’t make that face, Alois.” Ibb looked a little hurt. “Spider lost his hands in an accident and installed six mechanical arms to better repair machinery. He’s the best mechanic in the fleet.”
Alois stiffly nodded.
“It’s okay, Ibb.” Spider Maxim smiled. If one ignored his six arms, he looked like a quiet, intellectual reader rather than a sweaty technician who worked on machines all day. “I love seeing expressions like theirs. It’s exhilarating!”
Alois and Joshua silently exchanged a look, wordlessly saying, “Milantu is terrifying! I want to go back to Hecate, really!”
Joshua understood, nodding. To confirm he wasn’t dreaming, he pinched the black cat on his neck hard. The black cat let out a miserable cry, and Joshua resignedly sighed.
Captain Joanna, upon disembarking, was immediately surrounded by a sea of people, receiving an even warmer welcome than when she returned to the Lady of the Night. She had to punch a few people to break free from the crowd, then climbed onto a transport vehicle and raised her hands. Usually, when the captain made this gesture, it meant she had something important to announce. The bustling crowd immediately fell silent, and the once lively spaceport became quiet, with thousands of eyes focused on the red-haired female pirate.
“My companions,” the captain began. “Not long ago, due to my foolish mistake, I caused trouble for everyone! I’m sorry!”
The crowd burst into laughter. Someone shouted, “It’s okay, Captain, we’re used to it!” This was met with many agreements.
Joanna continued, “Even so, you all risked your lives to rescue me… You are truly my good brothers!”
Another round of cheers. “And sisters!” several girls shouted from the crowd.
“And sisters.” The captain nodded. “Now, we, the Lady of the Night, have finally returned to Milantu. We are home!”
Applause, cheers, and screams drowned Milantu’s sky. The grandeur of this scene was no less than a concert by the Galactic Diva, Alois thought.
To quiet the crowd, Joanna raised her hands again.
“Here, I want to formally introduce two new companions, my fellow prisoners from Hecate.” Joanna keenly pointed out Alois and Joshua in the crowd. “The Mourner—Joshua Planck, and his family—Alois Lagrange, who is also the fourth pilot of the Lady of the Night!”
The crowd’s burning gazes turned towards the two. Alois didn’t know what to do, so he looked at Joshua for help. The assassin calmly raised his right hand, greeting the crowd with a solemn nod, as if he were a leader inspecting his troops.
“Ahaha, two S-class wanted criminals,” Spider said. “The average bounty in Milantu just went up a lot. Congratulations.”…There’s nothing to be happy about in this! Alois thought mournfully.
Joanna Begrel stood gaping, staring at the silver-white machine in the maintenance bay. “Leo, what is this?”
“Captain, has your eyesight deteriorated that much in just a few days?”
“If I’m not mistaken, this is a ‘Bard’.”
Titia stood next to her, holding an opened bag of chips, but hadn’t eaten any. “Captain, you lied.” She stared at the machine and said, “You said we couldn’t afford a ‘Bard’.”
“It wasn’t me who said that. It was Mrs. Mota.” Joanna grabbed a handful of chips from Titia’s bag and stuffed them into her own mouth. “And it… it wasn’t me who bought it!”
Leonard, arms crossed, squatted on top of the machine, directing a group of small robots to reinstall the removed pilot seat. “In fact, it wasn’t bought at all.”
“Then how did we get it?” Joanna looked at Leo in horror. “What did you do in Neo Venice that was so terrible?”
“What kind of look is that? We’re pirates, aren’t we? Whether it’s stolen or robbed, it’s perfectly normal!”
Joanna’s eyes welled up with tears of excitement. “So… was it stolen or robbed?”
“Lagrange kidnapped a hostage, and this is the ransom.”
The female pirate sniffled. “Really? Lagrange has learned to kidnap hostages and even brought back a ‘Bard’?” Her emotions mixed, like a mother bird seeing her chick learn to fly, with feelings of both joy and pride intertwined. “I need to give him a raise, Leo!”
“I’ll relay that to Mrs. Mota for you.”
“Can I pilot the ‘Bard’ now?”
“Absolutely not.” The ship was currently traveling at near-light speed, leaving the Lalage star system, and flying out now would be equivalent to suicide.
Joanna sadly grabbed another handful of chips from Titia.
“Let’s not talk about piloting it. Can I at least touch it?” Titia asked. “Or sit in the cockpit for a bit?”
“Don’t even think about it.” Titia had a knack for dismantling fighter jets while piloting them, and no one knew how she did it.
The female pilot wanted to eat a chip to ease her frustration but found that the last one had been silently taken by Joanna. She glared at the captain as if she were her arch-nemesis, and the ‘Bard’ was instantly forgotten.
Sensing the rising tension between the two, Titia’s two observant brothers immediately stepped in to separate them. “Captain, your dog needs you to take it for a walk.” “Titia, I bought a bag of Neo Venice specialty seaweed yesterday. It’s delicious.”
After they left, the maintenance bay quieted down. The elevator doors silently closed, cutting off Titia’s loud “I’m tired of seaweed! And I’ve named it ‘Nasha’. How’s that?” leaving only the sound of robots clanging on the pilot seat’s base echoing in the empty room.
Alois and Ibb Descartes had been hiding behind a Godot II, not daring to breathe, afraid of being caught up in the crazy women’s battle. Now they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ibb elbowed Alois. “Hey, did you hear that? The captain’s giving you a raise! Shouldn’t you treat us?”
“I think so too. But I’ll have to wait until she gives me last month’s salary first.” Alois shrugged, unfazed.
On June 17, 1416, Standard Calendar, the Lady of the Night finished its repairs at the Neo Venice ship repair yard. Amidst the cursing of the yard’s manager (“An AI dared to bargain with me! And it actually convinced me! Damn!”), the ship departed at near-light speed, leaving the Lalage star system and entering warp, heading towards the binary star system Rylier at the border of the Empire and the Free City-States Cluster. Rylier was famous throughout the Empire for its stunning scenery. One of the binary stars was in the red giant phase, pulsating and ejecting massive amounts of matter into space, forming a beautiful nebula that glowed bright orange and dark red, resembling a ring of deep red flames on optical displays. It was also known as the “Flaming Binary”.
The “Flaming Binary” was also notorious for another reason. It was the border between the Empire, the Federation, and the Free City-States, and a major trade route between them. A notorious, ruthless female pirate with flaming red hair and her gang prowled here, eyeing the passing merchant ships. When they found a suitable target, they pounced like hungry wolves, plundering the ships and their cargo, kidnapping the crew, and demanding ransoms from the shipping companies. This notorious pirate was Joanna Begrel. The Empire and the Federation had attempted to dispatch troops to eradicate the pirates but were too preoccupied with fighting each other. The Free City-States couldn’t muster a strong enough military, and the area around the “Flaming Binary” was filled with unstable magnetic vortices and mines left over from the First Galactic War, making it a death trap for anyone unfamiliar with the terrain. Thus, the pirates became increasingly rampant.
“Rampant enough to break into a prison planet and rescue prisoners?”
Major General Darius Bayes sat in the command chair on the bridge, his gloved fingers rhythmically tapping the armrest. A holographic star map was displayed before him, with one region marked in red. In fact, even without the marking, that region was already quite red.
The Major General’s adjutant, John Leibniz, stiffened upon hearing the question, unsure how to respond. The Major General’s thoughts were always inscrutable, the adjutant thought. Sometimes he highly praised Joanna Begrel’s tactics, almost treating her as a model of strategy, while other times he loathed her, wishing to personally take her head. Was the Major General currently admiring her, or hating her? John Leibniz couldn’t figure it out.
The Major General didn’t expect him to. “Order the entire fleet to head towards the ‘Flaming Binary’,” Darius said. “That wicked pirate must have returned to her lair to recuperate.”
“To the ‘Flaming Binary’?” John Leibniz asked in disbelief. “But there… Sir, it’s very dangerous, full of…”
“Full of strange magnetic vortices and old mines that can’t be cleared, right?” The Major General finished his sentence. “I’ve been to places more dangerous than that. Besides, we can’t let this matter drag on, or the Empire’s reputation will be in tatters. We can’t let these pests disrupt the Empire’s peace.” He waved his right hand, closing the star map. “We have great things to accomplish in the future. Let’s use Joanna Begrel’s blood to inaugurate our campaign!”
“Yes, sir!” The adjutant straightened up and saluted. “Additionally, there’s one more thing to report!”
“Speak.”
The adjutant cleared his throat, lowering his voice. “Colonel Gilbert Gauss has been acting strangely lately.”
“What happened to him?” Gilbert Gauss was an officer from a noble family, holding his position thanks to his family’s influence. Rumors said he was one of Prince Sorey’s many illegitimate children. Though Darius Bayes outwardly dismissed these rumors and warned his subordinates not to slander others, he secretly harbored hostility towards Colonel Gauss. Darius, with royal blood and practically raised by Her Majesty the Queen, had little fondness for the philandering prince and his illegitimate offspring.
“Colonel Gauss publicly accused you of cowardice and refusing to fight the pirates,” the adjutant said, glancing around as if his words might be overheard. “He also said that if he were in command, Joanna’s head would have been presented to Her Majesty as a gift long ago.”
“Oh? How interesting.” Darius’s lips curved. “If Colonel Gauss has such ambition, then let him lead the charge against that ‘Mad Queen’!”
On the outskirts of Nami, the spaceport city where the imperial capital and the royal palace were located, stood a three-story mansion with red tiles and white walls, surrounded by fiery maple trees. A winding cobblestone path led to the entrance, lined with pink and white roses meticulously tended by the gardeners, complementing the maple trees around the mansion. The scenery was as beautiful as the famous ancient Earth painting [Sunset in Fontainebleau Forest].
The locals referred to this mansion as the “Maple Pavilion”. Although it was beautiful, no one dared to approach it, for its owner was Duke Winnet, a prominent figure and the cousin of Her Majesty the Queen. To some, the Duke was a formidable and ambitious man. Rumors circulated that he was recruiting troops and amassing an army with the intention of staging a coup to seize the throne. Naturally, the Duke himself denied such claims. “How could I possibly take my sister’s crown? What a ridiculous notion!” he said calmly in a televised interview—though this did little to reassure those wary of him, instead making them more anxious about his manipulation of public opinion.
Today, the Duke had finally managed to escape his busy duties and returned to his long-neglected home. Since the death of the Duchess, he had grown increasingly estranged from this so-called “home”, preferring the company of his ship, the “Stella”.
But today was different. Today was a special day for the Duke, necessitating his return to the Maple Pavilion. After getting out of the car, he hurried along the cobblestone path, cutting across the neatly trimmed lawn to save time, much to the gardener’s anger, and arrived at the front door of the mansion. The butler, along with a group of male and female servants, was already waiting under the porch. The Duke waved them off, indicating they need not stand on ceremony, and went straight inside.
“Where is my daughter?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” the butler bowed slightly. “The young lady is in her study.”
“I’ll go find her. You all may return to your duties.” The Duke dismissed the servants.
“Uh, but sir, the young lady has ordered not to be disturbed, ‘even if Her Majesty the Queen arrives’. Those were her words…”
The Duke’s eyes widened. “I am her father!” Ignoring the butler’s attempt to speak, he hurried upstairs.
The Duke’s daughter, Musaya, had her quarters on the third floor of the mansion, an entire floor to herself, including half the attic. It was filled with her rare collectibles, from first-edition anime chips to limited-edition figurines, all meticulously categorized by the Duke’s daughter. There was even a room dedicated to life-sized pillows, the images on it which deeply concerned the Duke about his daughter’s mental health.
There were several studies in the Maple Pavilion, and the Duke had a rather large library of his own. However, it paled in comparison to the “study” of the Duke’s daughter. Her study was as large as a basketball court, with shelves connecting the floor and ceiling, so close together that only one person could barely pass through. The shelves were packed with the Duke’s daughter’s beloved books, mostly comics and novels, with some classic literature she bought to appear deep (none of which had been opened). Even so, the study was filled to capacity, with no room for more books, so the Duke’s daughter had to move some older books to the attic to make space for her “new loves”.
The Duke was troubled by his daughter’s peculiar hobbies. Unlike other noble ladies, she didn’t care for jewelry, fashionable clothing, parties, or social balls (in fact, she loathed such events, preferring to stay home with her computer rather than dance with handsome young men). She was not particularly interested in politics or business and had only a casual interest in literature and art, without delving into their principles. She majored in literature at university but took an indefinite leave of absence halfway through, citing “social anxiety and inability to write papers” and had since been idling at home. Fortunately, the Duke’s wealth could support her lavish lifestyle. However, the Duke had grown increasingly worried: he could take care of her now, but what would happen after he passed away? He had been planning to find Musaya an excellent husband who could manage the family business, treat her well, and help him achieve his ambitions.
Years ago, the Duke had discussed this with his daughter. “Would you be interested in marrying Prince Annot?” the Duke asked. “He will be the future ruler of the Empire, and you would be the Queen. You could buy any book you want.”
“Mm…” Musaya seemed slightly swayed by the last statement. “But Annot is my cousin.”
“The Empire’s laws don’t prohibit cousins from marrying.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Musaya said dejectedly. “I mean, I know him too well. His cowardly nature annoys me! Marry him? I’d rather buy an inflatable doll!”
“Watch your language!” the Duke retorted angrily. “Even if Annot is a coward, you shouldn’t say it out loud!” And what on earth is an inflatable doll?! Don’t bring strange things into the house!
Later, news broke that Annot had fallen in love with a commoner woman. “That’s wonderful—a prince and a Cinderella, just like a novel!” Musaya was happy for her cousin’s romance. Thus, the idea of a political marriage was abandoned. However, the Duke couldn’t easily swallow his anger. Of course, he would never tell Musaya what he did to that commoner woman.
Standing in front of the study door, the Duke hesitated. The urgency from earlier had completely faded from his face. He had traveled thousands of light years back to the capital to see his daughter, but now, in front of her door, he hesitated. He paced for a moment, then took a deep breath and knocked decisively.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Hearing his daughter’s long-missed voice, the Duke felt both joy and sorrow. He turned the door handle and opened the door.
In the center of the study was a large computer desk, cluttered with empty drink bottles and half-eaten snacks, and several magazines of varying sizes piled beside them. The Duke’s daughter sat at the desk in a swivel chair, her back to the door, typing on a tactile keyboard.
“Emma, is it my delivery?” Musaya asked without turning her head.
“Yes, miss, your delivery has arrived,” the Duke said, mimicking a female voice.
Musaya pushed the tactile keyboard away and spun her chair halfway around to face the Duke. “Dad, why are you back?” Her tone lacked the joy of reuniting with her father and instead had a hint of reproach, as if saying, “I told you not to disturb me, so why did you come in?”
“What’s with that attitude?” the Duke said. “We haven’t seen each other in nearly six months, and this is how you greet your father?”
“What should I say? ‘Oh, Dad, you’re finally back. I’m so happy!’ like that?” Musaya raised an eyebrow. “Come on, you barely come home, and when you do, it’s never for a good reason. Last time, it was because the terrifying assassin killed Leia, and before that, Prince Sorey had a falling out with Her Majesty. What’s wrong this time?”
The Duke turned away. “If I’m so unwelcome, I might as well leave. I had prepared a birthday present for you, but I might as well return it to the store.” He played a little trick, thinking Musaya would surely change her attitude and beg him to stay.
To his surprise, Musaya crossed her legs and smirked. “Go ahead and return it. I don’t care.”
In the end, the Duke conceded defeat. He considered himself more cunning and capable than anyone else in the universe, but he always lost to his daughter. “Alright, alright, I admit defeat,” he said with a smile, taking a small box tied with a silver ribbon from his pocket. A golden tag on it read, “Happy Birthday, Musaya, love from Dad.”
“Oh, my god, what’s this?” Musaya exclaimed in surprise, untying the ribbon. Inside, on a red velvet lining, was a teardrop-shaped pendant, intricately carved with totems. Upon closer inspection, the totems were actually melted and solidified rubies, shining with a noble and mysterious light against the velvet.
“This is the ‘Tear of Blood’! Just like in the anime!” Musaya’s eyes sparkled. “Oh my god, even the official merchandise isn’t this realistic! Dad, where did you get this?”
“Had it custom-made. The butler told me you liked that anime and always wanted a pendant just like this.”
“Oh, my god.” Musaya hugged her father. “Dad, I love you so much!”
The Duke smiled helplessly. Only at times like this did Musaya act like a sweet daughter. He patted her head. “Though your birthday is over a week away, happy early birthday.”
“Won’t you stay and celebrate with me?” Musaya asked.
“No, I have many things to do. Besides…” the Duke looked at his daughter apologetically. “I’m afraid you can’t stay in the capital for your birthday. Start packing today. You need to leave for the territory by Friday.”
“Why?” Musaya asked, dissatisfied, “Why do I have to go back? I don’t want to leave! Besides, I have so many things here at the Maple Pavilion…”
“Listen to me, my child,” the Duke said softly. “It’s for your own good. In the near future…” His gaze passed over his daughter’s shoulder, over the holographic computer screen, through the study window, beyond the tall mutated maple trees of the Maple Pavilion, into the blue autumn sky of the capital, and out into the boundless stars beyond the atmosphere. “It will become very dangerous here. Everywhere will be very dangerous. I need to send you somewhere safe.”
“What’s going on, Dad?”
The Duke withdrew his gaze. “Nothing major,” he said. “Just start packing. Travel light. It’s only for a while. It’s not like you can’t come back. Emma and Garn will take care of your collections. I promise, they won’t gather a speck of dust by the time you return.”
After the twenty-ninth song [The Sound of Silence] ended, the grand theater once again fell into darkness. Across the wide circular stage, the fluorescent audience seats glowed like a river’s surface glistening under the moonlight at night, and the fans’ waving glow sticks resembled fireflies dancing by the riverbank.
“Thank you all very much for coming to my concert.” Camilla’s voice echoed from the stage. “Our time together is always short, and farewells are inevitable. Before we part, I want to sing one more song for you all.”
The melodious sound of an accordion drifted in from nowhere, like a light and nimble bird fluttering gracefully around the grand theater.
“This is a very old song, passed down from the ancient days of Earth. I dedicate this song to all of you here. No matter where you are in the future, my voice will always be with you.”
The accordion music abruptly ceased. For a moment, time seemed to freeze, then it slowly started flowing again. Dark blue lights lit up on the theater’s ceiling, and flakes of snow drifted down from the sky, tinted blue by the lights. The singer standing at the center of the stage, draped in silver brocade, shone brilliantly in the darkness, like a bright moon in the night sky.
“Moon river, wider than a mile. I’m crossing you in style some day. Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker. Wherever you’re goin’, I’m goin’ your way. Two drifters, off to see the world. There’s such a lot of world to see. We’re after the same rainbow’s end. Waitin’ ’round the bend. My huckleberry friend. Moon river and me.” [Note 3]
This was an a cappella song. There were no magnificent electronic accompaniments, no dazzling holographic effects—only starlike snowflakes and a silver-haired girl singing while strolling through the snow. Camilla sang the song twice, ending with a gentle hum of the melody. As she hummed, the lights gradually dimmed. First, the snowflakes stopped falling, then the blue light faded away, leaving only the silver light dancing on the singer. As the humming weakened, the silver light finally disappeared like melting snow.
There was complete silence in the darkness, lasting for several minutes. It wasn’t clear who started clapping first, but the audience, as if waking from a dream, realized that the enchanting performance had ended. Everyone joined in the applause, accompanied by cheers and whistles, and the theater’s ceiling lights came back on, revealing an empty circular stage. Camilla must have left during the brief darkness, leaving only a blue rose in the center of the stage and colorful memories in the minds of the audience.
The seats suspended in mid-air descended row by row in order, and all the doors of the theater opened, letting in a warm spring night breeze.
The staff began to guide the fans out of the theater in an orderly manner, although most people still sat in their seats, unable to extricate themselves from Camilla’s singing.
“It was truly wonderful,” Kepler said as he walked out of the theater hand in hand with Jolene. “Being able to hear the voice of the Galactic Diva with my own ears, I have no regrets in life.”
“Look at you.” Jolene covered her mouth and laughed. “You’re so old and still joining in the fun with young people. I had to spend a lot of money to get two tickets!”
“More than I did? I not only missed out on front row premium seats but also lost a ‘Bard’!” Kepler’s heart ached at the thought of the significant loss a few days ago.
“Alright, alright, it’s just a plane. You can always earn it back. I heard they’re going to launch a new model in a few years. They’ve even thought of a name, ‘Lucia of Lammermoor’…” Jolene suddenly stopped talking.
Seeing her stop, Kepler asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with Lucia?”
“Nothing.” Jolene shook her head. Just now in the crowd, she seemed to have seen a familiar figure flash by, but when she looked carefully, that person was gone. “Maybe I was mistaken.” She turned to the loan shark and smiled sweetly. “Let’s go.”
Joshua Planck piloted the Gondola back to the Lady of the Night from the Whirlpool Grand Theater, with Alois sitting beside him, sighing deeply as he held the album Camilla had given him.
“Haa, why does she have to be a man?” Alois felt deeply sad as he looked at the beautiful girl on the cover. He hugged the album to his chest, as if this could bring him closer to the diva.
Joshua didn’t respond, not bothering to correct the logical error in his words.
“But she’s right, whether she’s a man or a woman, I like her.” Alois stared at the sky, the image of the diva’s graceful figure still lingering in his eyes. “I liked her in the past, and I will in the future…”
Suddenly, a hand covered his eyes.
“Hey, stop it, Joshua,” Alois said.
“I really want to gouge your eyes out.” Joshua’s voice was so close to his ear, so low, that it could almost burst his eardrums, making Alois tremble all over.
“What for? To put them in your formalin cabinet at home?” Alois pulled away his hand and turned around. The assassin was staring at him with a subtle and complex expression.
“No.” Joshua said, “So your eyes would only see me.”
Alois was stunned. Was this a joke? It didn’t seem like it. Joshua liked to joke with him, usually to tease him. But this time, it wasn’t funny at all. He opened his mouth to ask if Joshua was feeling unwell, because the assassin had been sullen throughout the concert and had kissed him so many times (Alois was actually quite happy about that). Before he could speak, the assassin pressed a finger to his lips.
“Shh, don’t talk,” Joshua said, touching his lips. “Look at me.”
Alois felt very confused. He obediently stared back at Joshua, trying to find clues in the assassin’s expression as to why he was acting so strangely, but before he could draw any conclusions, Joshua shook his head dejectedly.
“Alois Lagrange, you’re really sly,” he said. “You say you like me, but your eyes are looking at someone else. When you look at me, your heart isn’t thinking about me.”
“I didn’t!” Alois retorted. “I definitely wasn’t thinking about Camilla just now!” As soon as he said it, he felt like he was being defensive, even though he really wasn’t thinking about Camilla just now.
“You know, your eyes look so adoring and passionate when you look at him. But when you look at me, it’s completely different.” Joshua’s voice sank. “Do you like him more than me?”
…Hey, wait. What does this mean? Is Joshua jealous? Alois blinked, suddenly feeling a surge of unnamable pleasure. Joshua is jealous, he thought. Does this mean he also has a little bit of… a little bit of affection for me?
“Why don’t you answer? Is this question hard?”
“No, no, Joshua, listen to me. It’s different.” Alois felt his cheeks start to heat up. “I’ve liked Camilla for many years, since before I met you.” He paused, observing Joshua’s reaction. The assassin’s face was expressionless, but a murderous aura could be sensed rising.
Alois smiled triumphantly. He wrapped his arm around Joshua’s shoulder and leaned closer. “But I love you.”
Close enough to feel each other’s breath, he was satisfied to see the murderous aura around Joshua dissipate immediately. “What about you, Joshua?”
The assassin’s eyes softened considerably. He awkwardly lowered his head, lifted Alois’s right hand, and pressed it to his own heart.
“Don’t look at Camilla anymore.” Joshua said, “I’ll be jealous. I…”
He cradled Alois’s head in his arms and kissed his wind-tousled black hair.
“…like you.”
The words drifted away with the wind, disappearing into the starry night sky.
Alois felt his blood boil, only to be doused by a bucket of ice water.
“…Srosie?” he asked in disbelief, his voice trailing off.
“Oh, yes!” The “Srosie” in the silver foil dress nodded, his gaze strange as if saying, “We just met yesterday, how can you not remember me?”
“…Camilla?” Alois asked again.
“That’s right.”
Instantly, words like “trap”, “femboy”, and “crossdresser” flew through Alois’s mind, like meteors crashing on a planet’s surface, causing an earthquake!
“You’re… a man?” He stammered, barely getting the words out.
“What’s wrong with your eyes? Isn’t it obvious?” Camilla, or rather Srosie, put his hands on his hips, looking quite displeased.
“Then why are you dressed as a woman?!”
Srosie, or Camilla, pouted. “Is it wrong to like wearing women’s clothes?”
Alois’s mind exploded. What the hell is going on?! His heart was racing like a herd of wild horses, but his face remained as calm as a still lake. Camilla is a man! Camilla is a cross-dresser! Oh Lord! Asimov! Tell me, I’m not dreaming! I haven’t crossed into some strange parallel world! Someone give me a wall to bang my head against! I’ve heard that on some remote planets in the Federation, there’s a weird religion where believers scream to express their dissatisfaction with reality when they’re stressed. I want to join and scream too!
“What’s with that expression?!” Srosie frowned his delicate eyebrows. “Aren’t you my fan? Now that I’ve told you my biggest secret, you should at least pretend to be happy!”
Alois continued his deadpan expression. How can I be happy! This is not something to be happy about! Why haven’t I realized Camilla is a man all these years! Why didn’t I realize Srosie was Camilla when I met him! Makeup! It’s all because of makeup! Makeup can make a person look completely different! Yes, it’s all the makeup artist’s fault!
“Why do you still look like a dead fish?” Srosie stretched out a slender finger and poked Alois’s face. “Does being a man make you stop loving me?”
Alois’s expression remained blank.
Srosie looked at him with frustration. He grabbed the young man’s collar and roared, “Do you like me or not? Answer!”
His eyes were deadly serious, the blue pupils like the sea, glistening under the bright lights. Alois suddenly felt that if he said “no”, Srosie would immediately cry in front of him.
…The makeup would be ruined.
He patted the boy’s head, feeling the cool, delicate texture of the silver foil against his palm. “I do like you,” he said. “Whether you’re Camilla or Srosie, I like you.”
“Mm.” Srosie let go of his collar, quickly turning to Rita standing nearby. “Bring one of my albums.” Alois saw him rub his eyes with the back of his hand, the light revealing a sparkling trace of tears. But he pretended he saw nothing.
“Already prepared.” Rita smiled, handing over an album and a permanent marker. The album was the newly released “Eighth Galaxy Hymn” from half a year ago, with Camilla on the cover, her blue hair flowing freely as she spread her arms in the galactic wind, as if flying or embracing the world. Srosie took out the cover paper and signed a few lines in elegant script on the last page of the lyrics booklet.
[For Alois:
May the pirate of the galaxy have a prosperous career and always fly freely among the stars.
Your diva, Camilla.]
After signing, he roughly stuffed the album into Alois’s hands. “Hurry into the theater. I need to finish my makeup. You’ve wasted too much of my time!”
Alois didn’t even have time to say thank you before being pushed to the door. Whether it was because the makeup wasn’t well done, he always felt Srosie’s face was very red. He wanted to turn back and say, “Good luck with your concert,” but Srosie suddenly lunged forward and kissed him, silencing his words. The kiss was light as a breeze, brushing over and quickly separating.
Alois stumbled into the darkness outside. If not for the square-faced guard catching him, he would have fallen to the ground.
“Are you okay?” the guard asked expressionlessly.
“Yes, yes, thank you.” Alois found his balance, still dizzy. He held Camilla’s album to his chest, his heart pounding wildly again.
Joshua stood beside the square-faced guard, hands in his pockets, looking at him with a complex expression. Oh, Joshua. He almost forgot about the assassin. Since entering backstage, Joshua hadn’t said a word, silent as a statue.
The square-faced guard led them back to the theater entrance through the dark corridor. He pointed to the flowing crowd. “Follow them inside. The theater is right there. I have to get back to work.” Alois thanked him and apologized for taking up so much of his time.
Following the crowd, the two walked into the Whirlpool Grand Theater. The entire theater was over a hundred meters high, with a vast open interior. In the center was a circular stage, surrounded by concentric rings of seats. Alois looked for his seat number in confusion and found the “special seats” were in the innermost ring. There were very few of them, probably only about twenty.
‘This theater’s layout is so strange,’ he thought. The audience seats aren’t even tiered. How will the people in the back see? Or are they going to rely on holographic images?
After sitting down, staff pushed carts selling drinks, lozenges, and glow sticks. Alois unthinkingly bought two glow sticks, using Joshua’s card, of course. He sneaked a glance at the assassin, afraid he might be unhappy, but Joshua kept his head down, deep in thought.
After a few dozen minutes, the theater was full of people, and the surrounding noise was deafening.
Snap! The lights on the theater’s ceiling went out, plunging the theater into darkness. The seats seemed to be made of some special material, glowing faintly in the dark.
Ethereal music began to play. The buzzing whispers immediately stopped. Alois felt his seat vibrating and looked around in confusion, realizing that all the seats were rising! A chorus of surprised gasps sounded in the theater, quickly silenced by the music. The seats rose higher and higher, spreading apart. Alois noticed that the floor beneath the seats was made of separate magnetic levitation panels. The rows in the back rose higher, the ones in the front lower, with the special seats almost floating above the circular stage. Soon, the seats formed a conical shape, slowly rotating around the stage driven by the magnetic levitation panels. In the dark, the glowing seats looked like scattered stars in the universe.
No wonder this place is called the “Whirlpool Grand Theater”. It really does look like a giant whirlpool.
Alois and Joshua’s seats were connected. Looking around, he saw that the distant stars were also grouped in twos and threes. It seemed the theater had arranged adjacent seats when selling tickets.
In the darkness, a clear singing voice arose.
“You stand there, lined along the hillside, meeting, The sight of my dying self, fleeting. Add another page to this life’s story, On the burning paper, in all its glory, I have recognized you all! But fearless words escape with burn, ‘The Galactic Diva Camilla has return!’” [Note 1]
Snap! The lights flashed on! People, unable to adjust to the sudden brightness, quickly covered their eyes. When they opened them again, they found that the circular stage had also risen, with a girl standing in the center. Her deep blue hair floated like waves, her sleeves and skirt also fluttering, making her look like she was floating in water. A close-up image of her appeared above the stage. Her eyes were closed, and diamond-like light dust was scattered on her long eyelashes, as if she were asleep.
Though he knew it was a holographic image projected onto special foil, Alois couldn’t help but marvel.
The music abruptly shifted from ethereal to passionate. The sleeping girl opened her eyes, instantly radiating brilliant light like a shining star.
“Knowing you can soar in the sky, Makes you fear that moment of spreading wings and forgetting the wind’s sigh. Forget it, even if where you go is unclear, The distant mirage will soon appear, Fearing that someday it will come, it’s true, Reflects the future of me and you.” [Note 2]
The girl began to dance, turning the entire theater into her domain. In an instant, translucent wings spread from her back, transforming her from a fish in the sea to a bird in the sky, flying and singing freely, her voice echoing through every corner of the galaxy.
Alois stood up excitedly. Their seats passed right in front of Camilla, no more than three meters away. The diva saw him too, smiling and winking at him.
“When two hearts without solace stand close together, True sorrow begins to soar, untethered. Forget it, in the night’s embrace, Dreaming of the days’ shadowed face, It will surely fall, as dreams take flight, Heading towards that light.”
People screamed in excitement, singing along with Camilla. Alois was no exception. He knew every song by Camilla, could remember all the lyrics.
Joshua suddenly raised his head. He could no longer stay calm. In the dazzling holographic light, he clearly saw a red mark on Alois’s lips, probably left by Camilla’s kiss earlier. And the young man himself hadn’t noticed, bouncing around beside him, flirting with the cross-dressing diva.
Damn it!
Damn it!
How hateful!
The assassin grabbed Alois’s arm, pulling him towards himself.
“What’s wrong, Joshua?”
His question was silenced by a fierce kiss. Joshua pressed his lips against Alois’s, not letting him make a sound. He tasted the lemon-flavored lipstick left by Camilla, which only fueled his anger. He held the back of Alois’s head, preventing him from pulling away, giving him a dominant kiss amidst the diva’s splendid singing.
“Someday I will be with you, Sharing the moon, enjoying the dawn, basking in the sunlight, witnessing the morning. Weaving dreams together, wandering through summer, braving the cold winter, passing time together. Brushing the breeze, playing in the water, treading the dust, soaring in the sky. Walking farther and farther in destiny.”
When the kiss ended, both were panting, faces flushed. “What’s wrong with you, Joshua?” Alois asked again.
On stage, Camilla spun, the colorful lights flashing with her movements. Joshua stared at Alois, satisfied to see his lips still red, but now from the passionate kiss and bites.
“Nothing,” the assassin said. “I just suddenly wanted to kiss you.”
As Camilla finished a song, the theater plunged into darkness again. Applause and cheers swept through the theater, accompanied by waving glow sticks.
After each song, Joshua kissed Alois again in the darkness. He remembered that they kissed twenty-nine times until the final song, [Moon River].
In the end, Cheng Songyun’s fierce ghost accompanied Jia Xu.
Jia Xu and the fierce ghost entered the small courtyard one after the other. When they came out, Jia Xu’s zombie-like face was even more stiff than usual.
He said there was an old lady ghost inside the house, with sunken holes for eyes, nose, and mouth. She welcomed Jia Xu and the fierce ghost in, offering them two chipped tea mugs and pouring nonexistent tea.
She rambled on about many things, but Jia Xu couldn’t understand a single word, only responding with random “uh-huh’s”. Before they left, she insisted on giving them two pieces of candy, but the wrappers contained chunks of dirt.
As soon as they left the courtyard, Jia Xu removed his zombie disguise. “These things are imitating human daily life. There were only a few old magazines in the house, nothing particularly special to be clues.”
The creepy imitation was scarier than outright hostility, and not even the night could hide his goosebumps.
Once the visitors left, the sound of opera singing echoed from the house again. Fang Xiu listened for a while and noted that it sounded like it came from a radio.
Outside, the evil spirits were setting up stalls and chatting leisurely, just like villagers would. Jia Xu’s remark that they were imitating the villagers’ behavior wasn’t without merit.
Jia Xu collected himself. “Anyway, getting inside was a good thing. Tomorrow, we’ll adjust our schedule, and tomorrow night we’ll investigate properly.”
Everyone had been running around all day, and though no one felt particularly hungry or thirsty, they were in poor condition.
Blondie suggested heading to the shrine for a meal before returning to the warehouse to rest, and everyone agreed. With a plan in place, the shadow of the two experienced members’ sudden deaths faded somewhat. Cheng Songyun even suggested giving Lao Mian and Mai Zi proper burials once they returned.
After some discussion, Jia Xu prepared to lead the group back. He frowned at the dirt-filled candy in his hand and tossed them onto the side of the road.
The two candies fell crookedly into the mud, resembling a pair of squinting eyes—just looking at them was unlucky. Jia Xu clapped his hands and left without looking back.
Fang Xiu quietly walked over and picked up the candies.
The wrappers were made of wax paper popular in the last century, dyed in a festive bright red, with “Double Happiness Hard Candy” neatly printed on them. Though they were thrown into the mud, the wrappers hadn’t gotten wet, and instead, they seemed even brighter.
Fang Xiu held the candies in his palm, turning them over and over. Bai Shuangying didn’t detect any suspicious Yin energy from them, so he let Fang Xiu play with them.
It wasn’t until there was a commotion up ahead that Fang Xiu snapped out of it.
From that moment, Jia Xu, who had been leading the group, began walking slower and slower, occasionally scratching his face. After a few steps, he scratched his skin until it bled, but he kept scratching as if possessed.
Crunch, crunch. His fingers scraped against his moist skin, making an unsettling stirring noise. Jia Xu dug his nails into the wounds, using both hands to furiously scratch. Blood mixed with rain, staining most of his face red.
“So itchy, so itchy…” Jia Xu’s fingers were covered in bits of flesh, his expression growing more and more terrified. “What’s going on… Why is it so itchy…”
It seemed like he had triggered a taboo. The situation was sudden, and everyone was at a loss.
Jia Xu had gone into the ghost house alone earlier, and no one knew the exact details, let alone what taboo he might have broken. The brief sense of relief they had gained was completely gone, replaced by a heavy, oppressive darkness.
Jia Xu could barely stand. He curled up on the ground like a fetus, and the sound of his frantic scratching nearly drowned out the rain.
Fang Xiu rushed forward in one swift movement. He crouched in front of Jia Xu and forcefully stuffed the two candies into Jia Xu’s pocket.
The effect was immediate. Jia Xu gasped for air, and the scratching slowed down. “You…”
“It was a gift from a local after all. It’s not polite to throw it away as soon as you leave.” Fang Xiu explained, “Those spirits are pretending to be villagers. We should treat them like we would actual villagers… That’s my guess, anyway.”
“Thanks, brother, you saved me.” Jia Xu sat up, panting. The unbearable itch had finally disappeared, leaving only a burning pain on his face.
Thinking back, nothing had happened when he first left the house—it was only after throwing the candy that things had gone wrong. Thankfully, this taboo wasn’t fatal, but Jia Xu was still shaken.
“So, what’s this new taboo? ‘Don’t hurt the feelings of the locals’?” Jia Xu said with a stiff tone, touching his bloodied face. “If even the tiniest things are taboos, we won’t be able to do anything at this rate.”
Fang Xiu shook his head. “I don’t think it’s that bad. Just calm down.”
The “E” was just an object without any consciousness; the taboos couldn’t be that complex. Fang Xiu didn’t think it would come with an entire lawbook for Weishan Village. Jia Xu’s experience was just one incident, and as the saying goes, one must look beyond appearances to see the essence*.
*Saying referring to the importance of looking deeper into situations and understanding the underlying causes or reasons behind things (AKA don’t judge a book by its cover).
Bai Shuangying was amused by the scene. “I see why you picked up the candy so quickly—you knew you couldn’t throw it away.”
“No, I just guessed.” Fang Xiu glanced back at the small courtyard. “I just thought of my grandma. She used to force sweets on me all the time.”
“Used to?”
“Yeah, she passed away.” Fang Xiu pursed his lips.
Bai Shuangying hummed in acknowledgment. Thinking of that ghost arm from earlier, he decided to be a bit more polite to Fang Xiu.
“Don’t think too much about it. To become a fierce ghost, one must first die violently and with strong resentment.” At least your grandma won’t come back in the middle of the night to give you dirt chunks.
Fang Xiu replied, “Then she must have become a fierce ghost. I watched her die a violent death with my own eyes, and she died full of hatred, unable to rest in peace.”
“…Who did she hate?”
“Me,” Fang Xiu said.
For the first time, Bai Shuangying saw an expression on Fang Xiu’s face that wasn’t calm. It made him feel not as comfortable as he imagined.
He saw a faint trace of sorrow on Fang Xiu’s face.
But that sorrow quickly disappeared, replaced by a sense of gravity.
Fang Xiu furrowed his brow slowly. “Are we really okay with investigating like this? If every ghost gives Jia Xu something, and he can’t throw them away, is he supposed to carry a ton of things around… Weishan Village’s customs are too simple and pure…”
What could he expect? Bai Shuangying turned his head away, feeling numb.
……
Night fell heavily, and the wind and rain were relentless while evil spirits occasionally brushed past. No one wanted to be left behind, and everyone’s pace quickened. Before long, Fang Xiu found himself at the back of the group again.
To be precise, both he and Bai Shuangying had fallen to the rear. Bai Shuangying was strolling along, walking even slower than Fang Xiu.
“Do you smell something?” As they neared the shrine, Fang Xiu sniffed the air.
There seemed to be a faint burnt smell in the air.
Bai Shuangying’s expression vanished, and he grabbed Fang Xiu’s nape, his fingers tightening like iron clamps. Raindrops hit his pale pupils, but Bai Shuangying didn’t blink.
“Don’t go over there,” he said.
Just as Fang Xiu was about to ask why, he heard Mei Lan’s scream.
Then he saw Blondie rushing towards him, falling halfway and being dragged back into the darkness by something. A bone-chilling cold swept over him, and Fang Xiu tensed, preparing to run.
But at that moment, Bai Shuangying yanked Fang Xiu into his arms, and the surrounding rain seemed to twist. Fang Xiu suddenly realized that the sound of the rain had become much quieter, and his own breathing had disappeared.
It was Bai Shuangying’s power… Wasn’t his ability “disguise”? Fang Xiu wasn’t sure.
“Shh.” Bai Shuangying held Fang Xiu tightly. “Don’t move. He won’t notice you.”
Fang Xiu froze for a moment, then, instead of struggling, he wrapped his arms around Bai Shuangying’s back.
After all, an evil spirit was still an evil spirit. Bai Shuangying’s body was cold, with no heartbeat or rise and fall of breath, which made holding him feel a bit strange.
But Bai Shuangying’s scent was surprisingly pleasant. Instead of smelling bad, he had a rich, earthy, plant-like fragrance. Fang Xiu couldn’t help but close his eyes and take a few more sniffs.
“I see you, the one in red.” A rough male voice came with the sound of clanking chains. “Come out now, or you’ll suffer less.”
The man came closer and closer, and Fang Xiu turned his head, gradually making out the enemy’s appearance.
It was a man with a face full of flesh, wearing only a jade Buddha around his neck—likely a comrade of the Jade Buddha strongman.
The man had a scar across his chin and didn’t look friendly. He wore a black polo shirt and gripped a chain in his hand, which split into five ends, each tied tightly around the necks of Fang Xiu’s five companions. Jia Xu and Blondie were at the front, struggling to break free, but to no avail.
The man dragged them with ease, as if they weren’t five adults but five weightless balloons.
“Spirit-binding chain,” Bai Shuangying said with a tone of mockery. “The underworld’s even using that now.”
Fang Xiu cautiously whispered, “What does that mean?”
“Whether it’s an evil spirit or a ghost, once they’re bound, there’s no escape.”
“…That’s a bit unfair, isn’t it?” The difference between new and experienced players was too big. Fang Xiu almost wanted to file a complaint with the underworld.
Bai Shuangying added, “But it takes significant power to bind spirits. An ordinary human could only use it to bind other humans.”
Fang Xiu: “……”
So, it was a special weapon for dealing with fellow humans. Disgusting.
Wait, the life-saving Jade Buddha could be fought over, which he had chalked up to an underworld design flaw. But throwing in a spirit-binding chain felt like tossing a big wrench to stir things up. If the underworld expected them to work together to destroy the “E”, they really shouldn’t be pulling stunts like this.
Things are getting more and more interesting, Fang Xiu thought, lowering his gaze.
“Hurry up and come out!”
The scarred man’s gaze swept past Fang Xiu, shouting like he was herding cattle. “For every minute you don’t come out, I’m cutting off one of your friends’ fingers.”
At the end of the chain, Fang Xiu’s companions stiffened in unison, struggling even harder. Their ghost companions seemed to be affected too, their shadows swaying but not appearing.
Fang Xiu clicked his tongue softly, shifting slightly in Bai Shuangying’s arms.
Bai Shuangying: “You’re not thinking of going out there, are you? You don’t seem like a good person yourself.”
“He’s serious. Cutting off fingers doesn’t affect using someone to test taboos.” Fang Xiu whispered, “If I don’t go out now, and they get maimed, they’ll all hold a grudge against me. That wouldn’t be good for me in the next sacrificial ritual.”
“So, you’re deciding to die in this one?” Bai Shuangying concluded.
“No.” Fang Xiu smiled. “These guys are veterans. They must have gathered a lot of information, and I just need to go see it.”
“If they’re really planning to use me to test taboos, then I’ll test the taboos on them. Shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
The author has something to say:
This is a classic case of a villain meeting a villain (×
Here’s how it is: If someone piques the interest of something non-human, it’s probably not because they’re particularly exceptional by human standards, but because they’re just too strange…
Bai Shuangying: So strange, I’ll take another look.jpg
After a loud outcry, Abaddon suddenly fell silent. This was something Anakin had entrusted him to do, and of course, he knew Anakin was backed by Paradise, but so what?
He wasn’t interested in speculating about good and evil but inherited the simple values of the vast majority of Players—the huge monster in the sky looked too ugly to be good. Attacking it was undoubtedly the right choice.
He just needed to bring up this topic.
If the leader of the Homeward Saints Guild wasn’t familiar with the game, they wouldn’t possibly accept such an outrageous proposal. The problem was, the Homeward Saints Guild was precisely composed of professional players and amateur experts.
They still believe this was a game, and they knew best what “game” meant.
From creatively solving quests, challenging higher levels, and collecting bizarre endings, to exploiting bugs, killing enemies in plot twists, and achieving no-damage completions, for top-level players, “playing by the rules” was the least interesting way to play.
There were no cutscenes here.
The massive monster suspected to be the “Demon King’s true form” had appeared. Could one resist trying it out? Compared to the seemingly never-ending main quest chains, wasn’t it more interesting to leapfrog and attack the final boss?
The challenge was just within reach. Wouldn’t you be curious?
Wouldn’t you give it a try?
Above the night sky, the figure entwined with countless flesh limbs quietly waited.
“Leave a search team to continue looking for NPCs. The combat team follows me.”
Hot Ash quickly made a judgment, swallowing his saliva with a somewhat hoarse voice. “The strategy analysis team goes first. Don’t attack. Just probe its pattern and try to get the basic data within fifteen minutes.”
Abaddon knew about the strategy analysis team. They actually weren’t high level but possessed all kinds of unique skills. To ensure the core combat force didn’t lose levels, the strategy analysis team always went first when encountering an unknown boss—to measure the boss’ basic values, combat mechanics, and the like.
“This is just a trial. Don’t feel pressured,” Hot Ash added a few words immediately, calming the restless Players.
The monster was too far away. The first round of attacks flew towards that hovering figure.
Nol easily neutralized the first wave of attacks with a flick of his fingers. Now, with Enbillick trapped in [Mercy Countdown], Star Stealer Sol’s true form, lacking conscious command, instinctively entered a full defensive state.
The opportunity shouldn’t be missed.
But now wasn’t the time to attack.
Star Stealer Sol didn’t dominate Tahe for over a hundred years for nothing. Plus it still held most of the system permissions. Nol roughly estimated that, even with Teest and him together, they couldn’t cleanly finish off Star Stealer Sol’s true form within half an hour under its full defense.
So, he had more important things to do now.
Facing the attacking Players, Nol seriously cast magic, creating… a fake health bar.
He brazenly topped it on his head, dodging the opponent’s attacks while secretly modifying the values, making it look like he was losing health reasonably.
Magic mixed with arrows created colorful attacks that came like fireworks to his face.
Surrounded by blue flames, Nol felt oddly elated.
He recognized all the Player professions on the other side, remembered all the effects of their skills and their attack trajectories, and calculated everyone’s cooldown times and attack values. He could—only he in this world could—act like a real tough boss in front of experienced Players.
He hadn’t yet dominated the system, but for the first time, he felt like he was dominating the world. The barrage of bullets and fireworks turned into twinkling dots in those blue eyes.
For a moment, Nol forgot about Star Stealer Sol, forgot those cumbersome hatreds and pasts.
Come on, let’s play together.
Get tired and go home.
Blue flames swirled around him, turning into magic circles of various sizes. The Holy Land churned as white tiles flipped over. Above in the sky, on the ground, in the water, countless skeletons appeared, and their eye sockets ignited with blue flames. In the dark night, those flames looked like cold stars falling into the world.
Hot Ash drew his long sword, and the fire burned a swath of undead creatures around him.
Was the first phase using a sea of monsters tactic? Looking at the humanoid avatar’s rate of health loss, that guy’s strength was still within their tolerance.
He raised his head, staring directly at the beautiful incarnation of the Demon King.
“Combat team, follow up!” Hot Ash commanded loudly. “Focus on attacking the humanoid part first!”
The combat team, all equipped with flying gadgets and mounts, rushed towards Nol.
The attack went from a trickle of probes to a furious tsunami, Nol didn’t dodge them all, deliberately taking a few hits to make it look like he was injured—his long hair was disheveled, and there were several tears on the edges of his wing membranes. His dark, magnificent robe was tattered, revealing a shoulder.
Nol’s fake health bar dropped dramatically, entering the 10% range.
It’s about time. Nol smiled. Facing the many Players up close, he didn’t hide this smile. The next second, his body and the “umbilical cords” behind him were covered in blue fire, and the fake health bar rapidly filled up.
…I know what you’ll think.
“Group One, continue to draw aggro. Group Three, cut the connections!”
As Nol expected, Hot Ash immediately switched tactics. “It’s replenishing its health through the main body—!”
…I know what you’ll do.
“Report, the umbilical cords can’t be cut!” replied the Saints combat Group Three. “They regrow as soon as they’re cut. All attacks are ineffective!”
Because those umbilical cords were equivalent to his fake health bar, Nol thought. They were just the most basic fakes, containing no power. Since they were nothing more than ordinary, repairing and fabricating them was easy.
…I know how you’ll choose.
Nol could hear the whispers among the Player teams.
“Maybe it’s not time to fight this guy yet. The system’s locked the health with a mechanism.”
“This game’s freedom isn’t that low. Hermitage has said, in theory, anything’s possible…”
“If it really wanted to lock health, it wouldn’t drop to 10% and then recover. There’s definitely something here.”
……
On the ground, Hot Ash bowed his head in thought. Finally, he took a deep breath and personally mounted a crimson wyvern.
When they first engaged, he had the strategy analysis team perform a special appraisal. The name of that young man was undoubtedly “Demon King[?]”. That [?] probably hinted that it was just an avatar, not the true body.
“Group One and Three draw aggro. Group One follows me. Let’s check out the big one!”
Hot Ash issued a new command.
…Exploration, adventure, imagination. Wasn’t this the essence of gaming?
Nol pretended to panic, turned towards Hot Ash’s direction, and carefully missed all attacks. Hot Ash, leading the Saints elite, rushed towards Star Stealer Sol’s true body, but as they flew halfway, their mounts began to struggle desperately.
“Can’t get through! The monster’s pressure is too strong!”
“That thing tried to stop us. The approach is right. We have to try!”
“That thing is too big. We don’t have enough people, boss!”
Nol’s smile grew wider. He raised both hands as the blue shower of fireworks exploded in the sky. Immediately after, a powerful presence emanated from a certain direction.
At the same time, Hot Ash urgently controlled the trembling wyvern and quickly flipped through the communication crystal. When he spoke again, his voice was filled with excitement.
“Continue!” he ordered decisively. “Reinforcements have arrived!”
Hundreds of giant figures pierced the night, flying towards Bissus. People hadn’t yet made out the contours of the newcomers before feeling their terrifying aura—
Under the moonlight, dragons spread their wings and flew.
On the backs of each dragon, human figures could be vaguely seen. Following the main quest update, the long-missing Amazon joined the battle.
Led by Subelbot, the dragons glared at the monster in the sky, emitting roars full of battle intent. The ground’s tiles cracked and rose under the control of dragon magic. Dragons leaped towards the sky, leaving behind solid and massively magical floating islands.
Those were the Players stairways to the sky.
Under Subelbot’s instructions, the proud dragons directly attacked Star Stealer Sol’s true body, with the Player’s main firepower shifting accordingly. The new Amazon Players didn’t even glance at Nol. Their attacks rained down like a storm on the four “moons”.
Nol, pretending to be helplessly furious, exerted all his effort to call upon system permissions. He didn’t need Star Stealer Sol’s detailed panel or the system to spy on its skills. He only needed to do one thing—
Under the exaggerated attack of the dragon formation, accompanied by suspicious flickering. A dark red health bar appeared below the four eyeballs, shockingly only a third left.
Star Stealer Sol’s true body was fully defensive. Even such concentrated attacks only scraped its health bar by just a little. But it didn’t matter. This was enough—more than enough.
It showed its health bar.
Such a big scene, so many eyes watching, every minute and second would be remembered by the Players. Star Stealer Sol wanting to easily rewind time, wouldn’t be so easy anymore.
Skeletons exploded in mid-air, and a pale rain of corpses fell from the sky. Dragons danced under the crimson moonlight, while the immortal Saints charged towards the monster tearing the sky apart.
At the center of this gorgeous night was the terrifying health bar of Star Stealer Sol’s true body. It was like an exaggerated bloodline splitting the vast sky in two.
Below the health bar, Nol was wrapped in blue fire. Amid countless bright blue dots, Nol’s presence was incredibly striking—flames centered on him, sweeping in all directions, as if to ignite the entire sky.
Nol pursed his lips, trying hard to look serious.
Well, this fire mainly served three purposes. Defense, guiding, and exaggerated visual effects—it illuminated the many floating islands leading to the sky, making it easier for Players to proceed.
“Dorothy!”
Hot Ash found the Amazon leader, who was furiously poking at eyeballs. “Xiao Li calculated that our output isn’t enough. By dawn, we could only take down a little over half.”
“Our calculations are similar.” Dorothy shrugged. “The issue is this thing can be fought. Do you really want to find more people now?”
“I’m just thinking of other ways—”
Underneath the helmet, Hot Ash’s skin was burning. The bosses from Paradise were still going through the motions outside the city, and the Demon King’s true form was still on standby, only releasing a limited-power avatar.
This was an excellent opportunity!
They must unleash a barrage of attacks on the true body. Even if they couldn’t kill it, they had to make the monster shed a layer of skin.
What’s the next step? How can they maximize their output?
While madly outputting skills, Hot Ash feverishly pondered.
Below Hot Ash, the “Demon King’s avatar” being focused on was riding a rollercoaster of health. In the intervals of dodging skills, the avatar sneakily lowered its head, looking towards the ground.
Half an hour was almost up. Nol counted the seconds, continuing to wait.
Above the ground.
Eugene looked up at this lively and magnificent battlefield, his gaze fixed on Nol’s neck. His hand tightened around his sword. Should he go to assist? No, he couldn’t… It was the will of God to find people. He couldn’t go against God’s thoughts.
After praying silently for a few moments, Eugene’s cloak billowed, and he continued searching the vast church area of Bissus City. Suddenly, he slowed his pace—a few steps away, he sensed a peculiar aura.
A heretic knelt in a dark corner. Dressed in black, his shoulders and head were adorned with candles stacked with wax tears, and he was muttering strange prayers.
A follower of the Demon King? No, that’s not right. Their magical fluctuations were very strange, distinctly different from the Demon King’s power, with a strong sense of foreignness, like they didn’t belong to this world.
Eugene carefully sensed for a while and found hundreds of similar auras appeared in the city. They were near and far, scattered in different districts… When did these people appear? What exactly are they doing?
“Who are you?” Eugene placed his sword on the heretic’s shoulder.
Strangely, his “Dominator” had no reaction. The person seemed not to be an enemy of God.
“We pray for a bright destiny, for the bright eyes.” The person replied with an ethereal voice. “The God of Fate shields the warriors from filth, allowing them to look directly at the enemy…”
Facing the Captain of the Investigation Knights, this heretic bore no hostility. Not only was there no hostility, but there was also an out-of-place aroma of food emanating from him. Although this person appeared detached, Eugene still spotted a few soup stains on his collar.
Under normal circumstances, Eugene would definitely capture these sudden heretics and interrogate them thoroughly. Now… the immediate priority was to find the real enemies of God.
Don’t blindly follow doctrines. Trust your own judgment, Eugene.
Eugene decisively sheathed his sword. He passed the heretic, who resumed praying, and ran towards the direction of the cathedral. He hadn’t gone far when he bumped head-on into the deputy captain rushing over.
“Did you find them?” Eugene’s hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
“Captain!” His deputy captain gasped for air. “The Mad Monk appeared. He drove everyone away and sealed the main hall!”
Eugene’s breath hitched.
The main hall? Painter launched [Mercy Countdown] in the main hall, and the time limit was about to expire. The Mad Monk couldn’t possibly miss this piece of information. What exactly did he want to do?
“You continue searching for people with everyone else.” Eugene patted the deputy captain. “I’ll check the main hall!”
“God wants us to find…” the deputy captain hadn’t caught on yet.
“I have my judgment!” Eugene rushed towards the main hall without looking back.
Suddenly, a blaze exploded in front of him. Eugene came to a screeching halt, disbelievingly looking towards the cathedral.
The world’s largest Evergreen Church, the most magnificent prayer hall, was now engulfed in platinum flames. The golden flames, like a sword, pierced straight into the sky.
Blue fire in the sky and golden flames on the ground. The night was torn apart by them, making the surroundings of Bissus City as bright as daylight.
Eugene tasted blood in his throat. Before he realized, his body roared out—
“Mad Monk—!!!”
The author has something to say:
Nol finally starts a grand performance, fooling everyone. Poor Star Stealer Sol, ultimately couldn’t outplay a corporate slave who’s been mentally overworking for years.
Teest, who burned the biggest Eternal Church as a child, grew up to burn the biggest Evergreen Church. Such a promising child.
————————————
And yes, the followers of the God of Fate went to the battlefield after having their fill in the Tower.
After all, they are followers of the God of Fate (.
Enbillick decisively disappeared in front of Teest, slightly reversing time as he rushed with the crowd seeking refuge into the church. Should he worry about the teleportation raising suspicions? That was now the least of his concerns.
His true body was exposed.
At this point, he must completely eliminate Nol and Teest. Once he gained full system permissions, he would immediately destroy all Players and then erase Bissus City from the map.
Later, he would just package the incident as a disaster brought by the Demon King.
Now his greatest advantage was the power of his avatar—
Enbillick once again checked the panels of Teest and Nol. His control over the system wasn’t complete, so he was only able to access the most basic information, but it sufficed.
[Doom Knight[?] – Lv.200]
[Demon King[?] – Lv.200]
Enbillick had verified with the system. The power level of these two professions was roughly equivalent to the third advancement of the rarest class. The “[?]” was concerning. He tentatively applied the standards of a top-level boss to his enemies’ stats.
Currently, Nol and Teest couldn’t modify the system. Even if they were strong, they remained within the system’s analytical capabilities.
Enbillick looks at his own panel.
[Enbillick Alva [Avatar] – System Temporary Administrator]
This was the greatest power he could obtain under the system’s rules—his true body wasn’t this powerful, relying entirely on manipulating the system’s authority. What a wonderful power.
Pity. If he could fully control the system, he wouldn’t need such hassle and could simply grant himself the highest authority of [Indestructible].
Enbillick was pushed towards the church’s main hall by the crowd, cautiously observing his surroundings.
Judging by the panel, his avatar’s power was roughly comparable to Nol and Teest, but his true form was more than ten times stronger. The problem was, his true form was too large, attracting unnecessary attention, and it was difficult to carry out precise attacks—
He flattened Joy Garden with his true form, yet a large group survived. He “eliminated” Xu Yue with his true form yet left a significant aftermath.
Values didn’t represent everything. He shouldn’t underestimate his enemies based on numbers alone.
Thinking this, Enbillick quickly stabilized his breathing.
Yes, he shouldn’t fall at the same hurdle for the third time. This time, he must crush his enemies by hand, seeing them disappear with his own eyes.
Right now, others posed no threat. Those two had finally separated. It was the perfect opportunity to kill Teest.
He purposely acted as if fleeing, shaking off Drake with his tricky spatial skills. Now, Teest had no idea of his avatar’s power level. If Teest approached first, he could take him by surprise and cleanly kill him.
As for the God of Creation with system permissions… Enbillick preferred not to face him personally, but he still had the “Players” up his sleeve. That group of Players could be used as weapons or held as hostages. Once he killed the Mad Monk, dealing with Nol would be much easier.
Bring it on.
Underneath his cloak, Enbillick prepared his spellcasting gestures.
The crowd surged, yet there was no sign of the White Knight. Not Teest, not even Eugene followed inside. Closest to him was an Investigation Knight trying to bring order.
The knight was pushed around by the crowd, ending up next to Enbillick. Enbillick frowned. Just as he was about to dodge, his vision suddenly darkened.
The crowded church vanished, replaced by the empty ruins of the church. The ruins float slowly and weightlessly, surrounded only by deep darkness.
[Mercy Countdown], a unique skill of a “Saint”.
“Utterly foolish,” Enbillick remarked.
Behind him, the “Investigation Knight” removed his helmet, revealing sweat-drenched red hair. Painter casually discarded the helmet, the metal clanged against the ground, producing a series of crisp sounds.
“Reducing witnesses when facing me is the dumbest act.” Enbillick turned around. “Not to mention this lockdown is pointless—my old friend, you couldn’t possibly think you could last thirty minutes against me?”
“I know, I know. If my actions were truly threatening, you’d have rewound time already instead of talking to me,” Painter gestured with a pen-shaped magic wand. “I just wanted to talk to you alone, sir.”
Enbillick raised an eyebrow.
What could his former pope possibly have to say?
Painter took a deep breath, and his expression became earnest. “You know, you really are a terrible god—I’ve wanted to say this to your face for a long time. It feels great!”
Enbillick: “……”
Enbillick raised his hand, and black-red light arrows rained down towards Painter. Painter stood still, suddenly unfolding a circle of blue fire in front of him. At the same moment, a similar fire circle opened behind Enbillick, and the arrows shot straight towards Enbillick’s back.
“That’s why I don’t believe in gods,” a cold voice interjected. “I’ll add, you’re also a lousy trading partner.”
Drake emerged from the shadows, his long sword glowing with blue light. A ring of blue fire burned behind his head, reflecting his blue eyes that looked like the sea beneath a glacier.
The aura of death and dragons spread.
Enbillick flashed his figure, dodging the black-red light arrows. He gritted his teeth. “I see. At least three opponents… I didn’t expect the Mad Monk to give up even his dignity.”
With Drake’s ability, it was a bit troublesome, but the situation was still under his control.
“Is this [Mercy Countdown]?”
A female voice appeared. She seemed to have just been pulled into the space, so her movements were a bit stiff. “Wow, cooler than I imagined.”
Anakin fiddled with her magic wand. She was dressed in top-level healing gear. By her side, cowering, was Solo.
Wait. Enbillick suddenly realized something.
A magic swordsman with spatial abilities, a holy mage “Saint”, a high-level healing profession “Flawless”, a rare support “Night Ranger”. This was a standard battle team. Could it be—
“Teest said he’s busy and got other stuff to do.” Anakin waved at Enbillick. “By the way, don’t bother with rewinding—I’ve already greeted all the Players present before coming in. They know the important NPC Enbillick entered [Mercy Countdown].”
She was surprisingly relaxed now.
What god’s avatar? If it had a health bar, it could be beaten, and she confirmed with Nol. Enbillick couldn’t yet revoke Players’ permissions—even if the Mercy Countdown exploded, she wouldn’t die. She would just lose some levels!
Drake silently stepped to the front of the four, firmly grasping his long sword. “Let’s begin.”
Before the team of four, Enbillick laughed furiously.
Too arrogant—just too arrogant. First that damned woman, now these mere mortals. Nol and Teest must be crazy, actually leaving a god’s avatar to be handled by humans.
Around him, black-red magic continually overflowed.
So what if he can’t get out? There was no need to flee from mortals. He would destroy these four blasphemous defilers.
……
Knight Eugene had an uneasy intuition that something was amiss.
He quickly received an update for the main quest, preparing to pursue the impostor Drake at once. However, in just a moment, that Drake vanished without a trace.
The Players in the square were equally bewildered. Not only could they not find Drake, but they also couldn’t locate Avra and the two children. Eugene had specifically confirmed that no one recognized the Investigation Knight who had taken Avra away—the knight’s face was completely obscured by a helmet with not even a single strand of hair showing.
Recalling someone who had been lurking near Bissus and hadn’t yet appeared, Eugene had an uncomfortable suspicion. Upon hearing that Golden Sword had been captured in [Mercy Countdown], his suspicion turned into certainty.
Painter had made his move.
Damn it, with the dimensional isolation of [Mercy Countdown], he was completely unable to intervene. Eugene gritted his teeth in frustration.
Forget it. The priority now was to guide the Players who had lost their objective. Now that the protective barrier was broken, most of the Players were concentrated within the city, and monsters from the outskirts were soon going to invade…
“Tower!”
On the city walls, a guard player shouted using a sound amplification spell. “The Lost Tower has appeared! Paradise monsters are fighting the monsters outside the city!”
The Players immediately exploded into confusion—
“Wait, aren’t they on the same side?”
“Hard to say. Maybe the monsters just aren’t sentient.”
“Should we attack while it’s chaotic?”
“Let it go, Azu. It’s crowded with bosses outside. We won’t be able to retrieve our gear if it bursts.”
“The quest requires us to kill the target NPC. We need to get it done by sunrise. It’s better to stick with the quest…”
“Quiet!”
Seeing the Players falling into chaos, Hot Ash hurriedly stood on the statue’s pedestal. “No one is allowed to leave the city. Prioritize the time-limited main quest!”
Sure enough, Eugene wasn’t surprised by a fairly wise judgment.
“Fifth Brigade, assist in searching for people. Target Avra Alva!” Eugene made a decisive decision.
That guy Drake had considerable combat power and was very likely teamed up with Painter. Even if he was acting alone, ordinary knights were no match for him. Avra was different—Eugene knew Painter’s personality; that guy would never bring a mother with low combat capability into danger.
Avra had taken the children with her. They must be hidden somewhere by Painter.
“Boss, I have an objection!” After the noise subsided, a loud voice suddenly rang out.
Eugene quickly turned his head. He recognized the loudmouthed Player, who seemed to be called Abaddon.
“We can’t just blindly follow the quest. It’s too passive.” Abaddon specially used a sound amplification spell, his voice booming. “Didn’t we just follow the rules before, only focusing on city defense, and then we were infiltrated by the Demon King’s scouts?”
“We are veteran players. We need to analyze the quest properly—there’s more than one way to solve a quest.”
Around the square, Players buzzed with discussions, many voices in agreement.
“Continue,” Hot Ash responded gruffly.
“The core of the quest is to kill the scouts, protect Bissus, and prevent it from being destroyed by the Demon King’s army.”
Abaddon climbed onto the stone platform, standing beside Hot Ash, and continued theatrically, “But now the Demon King’s army is here, fighting the common monsters outside. Even if we kill the scouts during this time, we’ll still have to face that army afterward.”
Hot Ash: “Interesting.”
The Lost Tower had already stopped outside the city, and the Demon King’s scouts probably had a grasp on the situation inside. Even if they killed the scouts, the Demon King’s army would just attack a bit later.
The quests in “Tahe” were relatively intelligent, with causal relationships between them, and indeed, the solutions weren’t strictly limited.
Seizing the moment, Abaddon stretched out his arm, pointing to the sky. “We could take a step ahead and stealthily attack their general.”
“What did you say—”
Hot Ash looked up, nearly biting his tongue.
Above in the sky, a lone figure hovered. It was a rather handsome young man, with crown-like curled horns on his head. His black hair was gently fluttering in the wind. The man spread his wings, quietly suspended in the night.
His body was entwined with numerous twisted flesh limbs, which connected to the four moons like umbilical cords.
It was as if he was waiting for something.
The author has something to say:
Answering possible questions:
Why didn’t Star Stealer Sol go all out against the young couple from the beginning?
His thought process is roughly:
Wow, two cockroaches appeared at home → buy cockroach killer overnight and place it around the house.
The two cockroaches have surprising combat power, waking him up at midnight → start calling professionals to poison.
The cockroaches suddenly became the size of a palm → no choice, just have to burn the house down.
He wouldn’t just burn the house down upon discovering two cockroaches… Hard to get a house. He still has a mortgage to settle from the system (???
Sorry, young couple (…………………………
You guys are a cute dragon and cat! Star Stealer Sol is the real cockroach.
Before the sky collapsed, at a corner of the Endless Sea.
Teest only felt as if he had been doused in grease and set alight. His organs were burning, his skin was cracking, and his brain was boiling inside his skull.
It had begun.
Nol had officially started to repair his magic circuits, modifying the crude mix that made up the “Supplement Demon”. But they both knew this was going to be difficult, much more so than when he had worked on the General.
Even as a Supplement Demon, the General was still a creature belonging to Nol. She would continue to roam the land of Tahe, using powers 100% derived from the system. For Nol, healing the General was like repairing a machine he had designed himself. He was well acquainted with its principles, so it was hard for him to make mistakes.
But Teest was different.
Although Teest originated from his creation, he had now become a far more special existence.
The system couldn’t fully control Teest, and Nol couldn’t refer to existing magic circuits. He had to design an entirely new magic circuit based on Teest’s unique power characteristics.
Every time he miscalculated, every time he corrected a mistake, it caused Teest immense pain.
…As it should.
But Teest just looked at him, with a sweet smile. As if the sharp power cutting through his body wasn’t sharp at all, but a caress from a god. His expression was relaxed and peaceful, just like every day when he woke up beside Nol.
All was silent around them. Teest didn’t even groan. He just looked up at the gradually dimming sky. The evening glow spilled down like blood while his figure was shadowed by Nol’s.
[You need to be tougher, honey.]
Teest could feel the intense pain inside him, as if Nol wasn’t pulling at his circuits, but at his very nerves. He silently suppressed his agony, sending his thoughts to the God in the sky.
[Believe me. Compared to the fools of the Eternal Church, your methods are like a mother soothing her baby.]
Teest watched the wounded God of Creation, covered in dirt and blood. Those clear blue eyes focused on him as if they were the only two people left in the world.
Teest liked that gaze, but he wasn’t fond of Nol’s current state—the man was too focused, completely forgetting his own pain.
Under the golden threads, the mighty beast was still beautiful. The “mistakes” climbing along the threads on its body created one festering wound after another.
[Circuit Manipulation], a skill that could interfere with the magic circuits of other beings.
But modifying a twisted target like the “Supplement Demon” required a designated “Living Sacrifice” to bear the “mistakes”—these “mistakes”, like the original Demon King corruption, were born from contradictions in the laws and were difficult to erase.
Before the transformation was completed, Nol personally took on the role of the “Living Sacrifice”.
As the sun slid down the sky, Teest’s circuits were nearing completion. His pain had faded, while Nol’s decay and rot deepened.
Teest felt a shiver on his back. That strange tremor suppressed the pain, worry, and urgency.
It was just them here, the golden threads seemingly stitching the two together. They shared the same pain, the ache like the plunder and push of tongues during a kiss. Time stretched infinitely long, with each second feeling like eternity.
To him, the burning pain of his entire body became pleasure. The shock was so intense, it nearly overshadowed everything, almost making Teest forget the thrill of driving a blade through the throat of a cultist for the first time.
The blood-red twilight enveloped the scarred god, and that intoxicating gaze continued. Being shaped by a god while conscious felt sweeter than a kiss, more intimate than the entanglement of bodies.
For a moment, Teest couldn’t tell if his blood was boiling from pain or from excitement.
…So that’s how it is.
To him, there would never be anyone more special than Nol in the world. There had never been before, and there would never be in the future. He no longer needed to prove anything, to question anything. This moment was enough to leave a permanent mark.
As the moon was about to rise, Teest completely forgot his pain and opened his arms to Nol again.
Let’s embrace, honey.
In those blue eyes, Teest saw the blazing golden flames. Following the gradually fading silhouette, those flames outlined the god’s form, vaguely sketching a similar monstrous shape.
That was a strange outline—a cunning, ever-changing shadow.
As the sun finally set, in the last ray of light, the beautiful black beast hovered mid-air, and beneath it on the icy surface, lay a platinum-colored flame “shadow”.
The shadow, with its eerie sense of combustion, leapt towards the god above. It was hard to say whether the action was predation or an embrace. It tightly wrapped around the wounded, weakened beast, its featureless head pressing closely against the beast’s head.
The moon rose and all was dim. Only that chaotic shadow still burned, causing a moment of disarray.
The circuit modification ended, and in that moment, the being known as Teest truly came into existence.
Nol hadn’t expected Teest’s true form to turn out like this—a platinum shadow gradually tightening and condensing, then reverting back to the naked Teest.
With a flicker of light, Teest was clothed in the armor hidden within the pendant. The white armor pressed against Nol’s rotting skin, which felt cold yet comfortable.
At this moment, the severe pain that eroded Nol made it difficult for him to think. Thanks to the system, he was stronger than Teest at this moment, or else those deadly “mistakes” would have killed him on the spot.
So far, so good, and next…
Teest kissed the terrifying wound in front of him.
Countless golden threads shot towards the sky, piercing through the clouds, through the night. They accurately connected to a vulnerability at the edge of the sky—the marks they had left during their last moon exploration.
In the next second, the threads ignited with blue fire.
They pierced through the shell, through the membrane protecting the “moon’s eyeball”. In an instant, those golden threads connected Nol with the essence of Star Stealer Sol.
Star Stealer Sol would soon notice something amiss, but it didn’t matter. A moment was all they needed.
Initially, Nol had considered using Star Stealer Sol as the living sacrifice. The problem was the time it took to heal Teest; if he had connected to Star Stealer Sol from the start, Star Stealer Sol would have noticed something wrong.
But that didn’t mean there were no other methods—
In the end, a living sacrifice was just a container for mistakes. As long as some unfortunate soul took the damage, it was fine. The system didn’t limit switching. “Beating the drums and passing the flower*” should work.
*It’s an idiom referring to a situation where people are trying to avoid taking responsibility/blame and passing it on to another person (AKA passing the buck). It comes from a Chinese game where a group of people sit in a circle with one person chosen as the “flower holder”. That person passes the flower to the person beside them, and so on, while someone beats the drums. When the music stops, whoever is holding the flower is eliminated, and the game continues until only one person remains (similar to hot potato).
Now, like a snake injecting venom, Nol transferred all the “mistakes” accumulated in his body to the essence of Star Stealer Sol.
“Three.”
After the transfer, Nol immediately reverted to his human form and was caught in Teest’s arms.
Star Stealer Sol’s main body received the “mistakes” well. This strike couldn’t really finish it off, but it was enough to inflict terrifying damage.
“Two.”
Teest kissed Nol on the cheek, and at the same time, tens of thousands of golden threads broke simultaneously, burning fiercely.
Star Stealer Sol’s consciousness was on Enbillick, and by this time, Bissus City should have been sealed by Drake. Even if Star Stealer Sol noticed something was wrong with its main body, there would still be a lag in its reaction time.
“One.”
Nol hooked his arms around Teest’s neck for one last kiss before the battle.
The tip of his tongue was still numb from the intense pain, and he tasted only a warm breath.
It seemed like everything went smoothly in Bissus City. Star Stealer Sol didn’t notice the anomaly in time.
The azure-gold flames intertwined endlessly, burning through the traces Nol had left initially. The hard shell camouflaging the sky cracked open, and the shells hiding the four moons fell towards the ocean.
Perradat’s concealment arrived almost at the same time, perfectly weakening the influence of Star Stealer Sol’s main body, allowing everyone to witness the anomaly.
“You did very well.”
Teest, holding Nol in a princess carry, tore open a space magic scroll in high spirits.
“In a life-and-death situation, of course, we have to strike hard.”
Before the words fell, the figures of the two disappeared above the sea.
……
Bissus City.
Beside Enbillick, the residents of Bissus City ran to the church to hide. The bishop and knights of the Temple of Life stayed outside, and most Players didn’t move, looking up at the eerie scene in the sky.
The quest didn’t update. The scene was too horrifying, yet the Goddess remained silent. They weren’t sure if this was an actual attack or just a “patch” as a prelude to the quest.
The four ugly “moons” connected by twisted, rope-like flesh strips looked both like nooses and mutated, wrinkled umbilical cords. At the crack in the sky, its slimy, viscous surface kept swelling with pus, then bursting with a powder-purple liquid. The thing twitched non-stop, and as it struggled unconsciously, the crack in the night sky became more evident.
The elite members of the Saints Guild present all recognized these four damn moons.
…Absolutely, those were the strange moons that appeared with the birth of the new Demon King.
The moment he saw the moons, Enbillick finally realized the problem. His main body was injured, severely injured—his connection with his main body had been blocked by a protective shield, and the enemy took the opportunity to attack his main body!
Enbillick summoned the system in horror, checking his status. God knew what those two did, but with just one hit, his HP dropped by 30%.
30%!
Even in the war of the two gods two hundred years ago, he had never been so severely wounded. A fiery rage ignited in Enbillick’s mind instantly.
Enbillick was in a hurry to start the war for a simple reason—both Nol and Teest were growing too fast. Given time, they would only become stronger.
Enbillick was quite certain that, up to this point, those two’s strength was still not as good as his. He had even confirmed this with the system’s stats panel. But Enbillick still handled everything cautiously and wasn’t overconfident.
He had hoped to win quickly and beautifully, but now he had suffered such humiliation.
Indeed, he should have killed “Xu Yue” cleanly from the beginning!
No.
He could no longer be passive. He had to force those two out, not let them continue attacking his main body…
Yes, facing such crazy opponents, maybe he should have been more brutal from the start. For example, start a conspicuous massacre here.
Crack!
Under everyone’s gaze, the monster in the sky moved. Those four ugly eyeballs trembled non-stop, and a beam of black and red light bombarded the city’s magical protective shield—Mr. Drake’s protective shield naturally couldn’t withstand the hand of a god, and it instantly shattered and dissipated.
Another beam of light struck, but just as it reached the ground, it dove into a circle of blue fire. Beyond the circle of fire was the dead silence of the corner of the Endless Sea.
That fatal attack was swallowed up by the ocean.
Near the circle of fire, Drake swung his long sword, and many blue flames ignited and dissipated with his movements. This time, Enbillick saw it clearly—that was the power to break through space. That was…
“Ha!” Enbillick laughed in anger.
Was it the influence of the “God of Creation returning in a state of undead”? There seemed to be more and more undead being resurrected.
[★Main Quest “Demon Lord Subjugation” Update★]
[Emergency! There’s a breach in the city’s defenses, and darkness is invading. You failed to promptly eliminate the Demon King’s cunning scouts; thus, the quest has been altered. The invaders will soon bring the Demon King’s army. Please kill the impostor “Hero Drake” and save Bissus City from imminent danger.]
[Time Limit: Before sunrise]
[Quest Completion Conditions: Kill the target NPC; target NPC will change as the event progresses]
[Quest Reward: Divine Skill x 3; Holy Equipment Class Set x 1]
[Failure Penalty: Main quest difficulty significantly increases]
[Mission automatically accepted]
The target NPC at the forefront, strikingly, were two familiar names—
The fake “Drake”, the mad Avra.
Come, let the battle begin.
“It seems you’re really in a hurry.”
Behind Enbillick, a light voice came. “You forgot to limit the Player level. We saw it too.”
Teest’s voice was tinged with laughter. “The ‘Mad Monk’ should be the primary target.”
At the moment, Enbillick was staying in the Temple’s VIP guest room, reading the latest intelligence.
His children were napping on the bed, while his wife, with her back to him, was busy arranging flowers in a vase—snip, snip. The sharp scissors cut through the flower stems, producing a fine and crisp sound.
Outside, a joint squad of Players and knights was tirelessly protecting the “Golden Sword family” day and night.
Star Stealer Sol casually crumpled up the letter, a flame completely consuming it, leaving not even ashes behind.
Just as he predicted, those two had entered the city under the name of “Hero Drake”. Indeed, he hadn’t felt the presence of Nol and Teest, presumably, [God’s Forsaken] was still effective.
The Lost Tower had disappeared without a trace before, and Teest had come into contact with the remnants of Perradat’s avatar. He thought he had reason to believe that those two people had teamed up with that useless Floating Cocoon—even if that guy’s powers were incomplete, the “concealment” ability was still troublesome.
That was why he had specifically set up this scenario, letting them walk into the trap themselves.
Whether in business or in divine battles, Enbillick always liked kind opponents—evildoers could be evil in a thousand bizarre ways, but the moral codes of good people were largely similar.
Just like now, Nol knew Bissus City was a huge trap but still had to fight on his own terms.
“Strengthening city defenses—that’s your first move.” Star Stealer Sol tapped his fingertips on the edge of the table. “Too boring.”
Since the other party chose to appear as “Drake”, they would inevitably be restricted by the identity of “Drake” as the spokesperson, unable to do anything too outrageous.
Try to seal off Bissus City, cutting off the attacks from external monsters, then make the Lost Tower appear outside the city, drawing the Players’ attention.
Those two would take advantage of the Players’ relaxed period to quickly move out and assassinate Enbillick Alva.
…Too naive.
Even the former “Mad Monk” had been collared by Nol, tamed to a laughable extent. Once the plan failed, even if he did nothing, those two would face the furious onslaught of Players.
But then again, how could he possibly do nothing?
“Darling, things outside seem to be getting worse.” Enbillick approached Avra from behind and spoke in a gentle tone. “It’s my fault. I thought it would be safe here… I shouldn’t have brought you and the children here.”
Avra adjusted the bouquet of roses—the rose petals were radiant, sparkling with a silky champagne gold. Her hair, neither long nor short, was tied back, making her appear gentle yet capable.
“Of course, it’s not your fault.” Avra’s tone was playful, slow, and clear. “The children were clamoring for a change of place, and I agreed. Given the choice, I would also choose Bissus.”
“Let’s go to the Great Temple Square for prayers every evening starting today.” Enbillick suggested in a way that sounded less like a question. “This is the land of the Temple of Life, and in these dire times, we should still show a cooperative attitude.”
Avra stopped arranging the flowers. “The square is crowded, and it’s hard to guard. The children won’t be safe.”
“That’s the Great Temple Square, the holiest of holy lands,” Enbillick continued cheerfully, his hands resting on Avra’s shoulders. “Every morning and evening, the clergy lead the people in praising God. I promise, at that moment, the Great Temple Square is the safest place in the world.”
“Alright, I trust you,” After a moment of silence, Avra responded gently.
The children slept quietly. The freshly trimmed bouquet still glistened with dew, as if it would never wilt.
Enbillick nodded contentedly. This was good. Compared to staying in the Temple’s guest room full of innocent people, a spacious place was more conducive to assassination.
He hoped those two would make good use of this opportunity.
The Golden Sword family’s reasons were too devout and righteous, and the Players and knights responsible for their protection had no complaints. The sun slowly set, and it was soon time for the first evening prayer.
The children, having woken up, clung to their mother’s skirt and walked step by step towards the Great Temple Square. They curiously observed this unfamiliar place—not many important figures lived in the Temple’s guest rooms. Most people here wore the long robes of the Temple of Life or the armor of the Evergreen Knights. Players from the Saints Guild naturally dressed to match the Temple’s style, gathering like a flock of white sheep.
By contrast, the Golden Sword family stood out like a sore thumb.
The Great Temple Square faced east and backed west, strictly designed according to the sun’s trajectory.
Morning prayers on the square faced the sunlight directly, dazzling and vibrant like dew on leaf tips. Evening prayers on the square, just as the sun sets, would pass through the statue of the Goddess of Life right in front of the Temple. The Goddess of Life held a basket entwined with vines and flowers. From the square’s perspective, the setting sun would turn into a ripe fruit falling into the basket.
The scene couldn’t be more sacred.
Enbillick glanced over the square, spotting a high-ranking archbishop coordinating the evening prayer, along with the Fifth Brigade. Eugene Malloy, fully armed, was conversing with the elderly archbishop.
Following the archbishop was “Hot Ash” from the Homeward Saints Guild. This knight had devoted himself to training recently, gaining another level of strength. Encased in sealed new armor, his facial expression was hidden.
With Hot Ash leading, a dozen or so top fighters from the Saints Guild also stood on the square. Judging by this setup, they were guarding the two important NPCs: “The Archbishop of the Temple of Life” and “Captain Eugene Malloy of the Fifth Brigade”.
A decent arrangement. Enbillick withdrew his gaze.
With Nol and Teest’s caution, they wouldn’t make their move on the first day. Today, his appearance here was just to signal them… Huh?
Somehow, beneath the giant statue of the Goddess, a figure in a tattered cloak appeared. The man stood under the Goddess’s feet, facing the slowly setting sun, raising his arms high. Before the crowd could react, a beam of golden flame shot straight into the sky.
At this moment, the sky was burning with orange-red twilight, and this beam was particularly eye-catching.
It exploded above the sky, creating ripples. The vast city seemed to be covered by an invisible, transparent dome, making Eugene frown involuntarily—this strong magical aura reminded him of the altars hidden by the Eternal Church.
Concealment and protection imbued with dragon essence.
The man’s intentions were probably good, but such actions must be approved by the Temple. Anyway, he had to be brought down first.
Eugene drew his sword and charged towards the man beneath the statue. The man didn’t dodge or hide. He simply removed his hood.
The moment Eugene saw the man’s attire, he abruptly stopped. It was Hero Drake—his clothes was exactly the same as when he was in Eternal Day City. Although there were slight changes in facial features and eye color, Eugene remembered the man’s power fluctuations. Quiet and resilient, with a subtle hint of death’s chill.
A snow-white cat circled his feet, clawing at his bootlaces. Drake nodded to Eugene, still with a stern face.
Without a doubt, that was the envoy of the Goddess of Life.
“You didn’t contact the Temple.” Eugene maintained a certain distance from Drake, performing a knight’s salute. His words carried no emotion, more stating a fact than an accusation. “With high alert everywhere, and your previous associations with Paradise, it’s better to consult the Temple first.”
“I only act on the will of God.” Drake was terse, and his voice was somewhat hoarse.
His gaze passed over Eugene’s shoulder, looking towards Enbillick Alva on the square.
Enbillick: “…Hah.”
He hadn’t expected the other party to be so rash. Was it to catch him off guard?
Those two didn’t just “strengthen the defenses”. A massive magical barrier covered the entire city, also secretly incorporating Perradat’s “concealment”, weakening the connection between his avatar and true body.
Nol’s approach was stronger than he had anticipated, evidently planning for a quick resolution.
What a pity, that won’t work.
Perradat’s strength was still insufficient. This protective barrier could only weaken the connection between the avatar and the true body, not completely sever it—this approach was akin to numbing his senses, but his body could still move.
Once the battle really starts, just breaking the dome with his true body would suffice.
Perradat might protect the Lost Tower but couldn’t make the vast Bissus sprout legs and run. Such a large target, Star Stealer Sol could find Bissus with his eyes closed.
However, now “Drake” was in excellent condition, and Enbillick had no confidence in achieving a one-strike kill. It was better to wait and see, wearing down the opponent’s strength.
Thus, Enbillick pretended to know nothing, continuing to “seriously” pray. He gathered strength, silently preparing to rewind time.
Make your move.
Beside him, Avra prayed with focus. The children, not fully understanding, followed her, crossing their fingers in a wheat-sheaf gesture.
Make your move.
Drake drew his sword. The cat at his feet stared dead at Enbillick, continuing to circle Drake’s heels like an eel.
Make your move.
Time passed, and the sky gradually darkened. The sunset fell into the Goddess’s basket. The evening prayer was about to end, and the crowd called the name of the Goddess of Life Tilia, but Drake remained motionless.
He was still conversing with Eugene. Enbillick could make out their lip movements. Eugene was discussing the Temple’s difficulties, trying to reach an agreement with the envoy. Drake responded half-heartedly, occasionally scanning the square.
…Was the other side really just scouting? This was too reckless, and not Nol’s style. At this point, Enbillick was starting to become confused.
He tensed up, ready to rewind time at the slightest sign of trouble.
The evening prayer reached its final stage. As important figures from afar, Enbillick’s family, along with other distinguished guests, stepped forward to receive a special blessing from the archbishop.
As the blessing ended, those who had come for the evening prayer were about to leave. Was the opposition planning to wait until most of the populace had left to make their move during their return journey?
Or did that person accurately predict Eugene’s approach, intending only to steal the god-slaying sword this time?
Enbillick feigned devoutness, bowing his head as the archbishop babbled blessings. With the corner of his eye, he glanced towards Drake—Drake still stood obediently in his spot, his sword never sheathed.
As night fell, perhaps due to the deepening shadows, a vague smile appeared on Drake’s face.
The next second, the magical lamps decorating the surroundings of the square lit up together.
“…The Supreme Lady Tilia will protect your family and your lineage. The glory of the Goddess is with the four of you.”
The moment the lights flashed, the archbishop skillfully concluded the blessing—such an effect was perfect, ensuring the congregation wouldn’t miss this moment.
At that moment, Enbillick suddenly felt emptiness in his body. Before he could think, a flash of silver light streaked by.
“Thank you for your blessing.”
Next to him, Avra said it with a smile. Her right hand hung down, with blood dripping down the blade of the small knife.
Her cheek splattered with blood, just like the moment not long ago when Painter slashed open his throat. Only this time, someone else had their throat slit—
Enbillick touched his own neck. He felt the hot blood and saw astonishment in the archbishop’s eyes.
Damn it.
That knife… the so-called self-defense blade, was unremarkable. It had been concealed by Perradat at some point. It couldn’t hurt him. Even if his head was severed by that knife, it would have no effect—only because his avatar’s physical strength was ordinary, to avoid suspicion, he could “get hurt” like a normal person.
His attention had been on Drake, then drawn by the emptiness in his body. He had no defenses against that lifeless woman… Such a lifeless person, making such a move, Avra didn’t even emit any killing intent.
Just like cutting off a flower branch, her smile unchanged.
The moment he touched the wound on his neck, Enbillick quickly made a judgment.
Something was very wrong—very wrong. Drake definitely had a plan, taking advantage of the avatar not receiving substantial damage, he must rewind…
Enbillick Alva was only injured, not witnessed dead. This surely wasn’t a major event. Everything could still be changed…
…Could it still be changed?
…Why did he feel resistance from fate?
For the first time, Enbillick shifted his gaze from Drake, looking towards the people beside him.
“’Avra’ isn’t my name. I inherited it from someone else. ‘Alva’ is not my surname. I inherited it from you. Our story spread across the world. That is, the story of the great merchant Enbillick Alva and a fortunate slave.”
Beside Avra, the figures of the two children disappeared. Avra lifted her blood-stained skirt and curtseyed shyly to him amidst distant and near screams.
She still held the blood-dripping blade.
“The spirits say that from this moment on, everyone will ‘see’ me, remember ‘me’.”
“Darling, our story will spread across the world. That is the story of the mad murderer Avra Alva and a pitiful victim.”
She showed him the bloodied blade, as if presenting a crimson flower.
Fate acknowledged it.
This woman was right. The timing, location, and characters were too special. Their romantic tale was widely circulated, turning this attack into a legend… Fate acknowledged this crime worthy of history.
Wait… Damn. With this…
Enbillick abruptly turned his head, suddenly understanding the real intention of the opposition. At this moment, his avatar indeed hadn’t suffered substantial damage, but he could no longer use Avra as an “exit strategy”.
From this moment on, this woman was no longer a speck of dust, but a criminal with a mad legend.
When had his plan been discovered? When did the opposition act? Why did Avra cooperate?
He had been careful to confirm every day. There were no traces of control magic on Avra, no powerful artifacts, and no special powers…
He had been so careful…
“Right.” The moment her arm was raised by the Investigation Knight, Avra still maintained her everyday tone. “Darling, the spirits asked me to tell you something.”
“They say, this is just the beginning.”
The archbishop was just a few steps away, and in the glow of the archbishop-level healing magic, Enbillick’s neck wound rapidly healed. Drake leaned against the statue, while Eugene looked up towards the sky.
As the flesh completely sealed, Enbillick instinctively looked up. The beautiful night sky cracked open before him. The four moons were no longer present, replaced by four massive, wildly tumbling eyeballs, and the vague organs exposed beyond the “rift”.
They were blocked by some force, allowing everyone to barely look directly at them. The surrounding screams grew louder, and the faithful rushed towards the Temple in disregard. Darkness spread, and cries and prayers of madness filled the air. Enbillick stood in place, the murderous intent around him growing stronger.
Fate acknowledged it.
On this night, the people of the Holy Land of Bissus looked directly at the “moon”.
Kinky Translations 