[Fantasy] Divine Capital (Book) - 16-18

When I regained consciousness in Chapter 15

, I was frozen solid. I was thankful I hadn't frozen to death, and shivering, I struggled to sit up.

I hadn't suffered any external injuries; otherwise, blood loss alone would have surely caused hypothermia and killed me here. My head throbbed, and all my muscles were trembling uncontrollably—the aftereffects of the final energy acceleration and the opponent's magic array attack.

Because the opponent must have underestimated the Redemption Armor's defensive capabilities, the magic array's damage to me was reduced by at least eighty percent. In comparison, the energy acceleration actually caused me more damage. I was actually holding the Divine Palace tightly in my hand, and my heart, which had been pounding, calmed down. If I had lost this sword, I would have been in real trouble; it seems I subconsciously had a rather stubborn reluctance to let go of my weapon.

This was a dilapidated wooden hut, likely left behind by someone who had settled here before. The gaps in the wooden planks in the walls were large enough for me to stick my head out, and the windows were long gone. The temperature inside the hut was almost the same as outside. The fact that

I was still alive meant Paul hadn't caught up with me. He seemed to hate chasing people in this weather, so it seems I got a bit of an advantage over his previous opponent this time.

The house had two floors, and as a former "construction worker," I could almost immediately tell that this type of house usually had a basement. If that was the case, I could probably hide there until the blizzard stopped before going out.

Thinking this, I pushed open the door of the room and walked towards the kitchen, where the basement entrance to this type of house was usually located.

I froze as soon as I stepped out. I thought Asaga had already repaid my favor and left, but I didn't expect her to still be here.

It wasn't that Asaga didn't want to leave, but her leg was broken.

The girl's right calf below the ankle was gone, and her right hand was also severed cleanly at the wrist. She lay naked on the floor in front of me, her body covered in ice, and her once smooth, pinkish-purple skin had turned blue.

She was dead.

I stood there, stunned, with only this one thought in my mind.

My throat felt completely blocked. I knelt down beside her and gently lifted her head with trembling hands.

Her joints were flexible... not stiff... breathing... this woman was still alive!

I immediately started shaking her and calling her name, but she didn't respond. I

anxiously looked around, but found nothing that could help. I didn't know where her clothes had gone, nor did I understand why she was so naked in this place, but if I didn't get her something to warm her up, she was doomed.

I lifted the basement door on the floor and jumped in, carrying Asaga. I tried to summon a spirit, but the spirit itself didn't emit light, so I had to add a lot of energy to it to barely illuminate the basement. There were

some old pieces of furniture in the basement, including a sofa. I placed Asaga on it, then took off my armor, held her in my arms again, warmed her hands inside my clothes, and wrapped her in my coat.

Asaga was terribly cold; the moment I touched her, my teeth chattered. After a few minutes, her skin gradually returned to its original color, and her breathing normalized.

But her hands and feet were injured like this; if left untreated, they would likely continue to necrotize upwards. After her body temperature returned to normal, I tore off the outer layer of her coat and made some bandages, then picked up the scalpel.

I identified the necrotic area, took a deep breath, and slashed at the girl's calf with the knife.

"Ahhh!"

The intense pain jolted the girl awake from her unconsciousness. She was covered in cold sweat, her face as white as paper.

"Don't move. It's okay, it would have necrotized if I didn't cut it off."

I held her tightly, trying to bandage her.

"You brat! Let go!"

Asaka struggled violently.

"Don't move! I'm going to bandage you!"

I pressed her down angrily.

"Don't bandage me!"

she yelled in my ear, then broke free. Immediately afterward, I saw visible steam rising from the severed area of her leg.

I stared in disbelief as layers of flesh and bone twisted and struggled out of the wound, and within five minutes, a perfectly intact right foot, just like the rest of her body, grew back. After resting for a while, she regenerated her right hand.

After doing all this, Asaga's eyes were somewhat unfocused, she was breathing heavily, and covered in sweat. It seems that regenerating limbs, a racial trait, isn't something that can be used without a price…

“Hey, are you alright?”

I asked.

Asaga didn't respond to my question; her eyes looked strange.

“Hey! I only touched you to help you regain your body temperature! I didn't do anything else!”

I quickly explained.

But she didn't react. I looked at her for a while and noticed she seemed to be shivering, and the shivering was getting worse.

“Are you cold? Put this coat on.”

I handed her my coat.

She turned away from me, didn't take it, and her whole body was trembling violently. I leaned closer and draped the coat over her shoulders.

Just then, she suddenly sprang up, grabbing my arm tightly with both hands.

In that instant, I saw her pupils turn red, blood red.

Then she opened her mouth, and I saw that her two rows of neat, white teeth had all turned into sharp, gleaming white fangs.

Instinctively, I pulled my arm back, and a large chunk of flesh was torn from my hand. The instantaneous pain made my body go limp, and I fell backward.

Asaha pounced on me like a wild beast, opening her mouth to bite my shoulder and neck. Her strength was astonishing, and her speed was just as incredible; my mind went blank.

But she didn't bite.

I could feel the girl's warm, moist breath, and even feel the tip of her tongue sliding across my neck. But I didn't have the energy to think about any of that right now; honestly, I was terrified.

Asaha lay on my chest, her delicate body convulsing, instinct and will fighting for control of her body. A dozen seconds later, her body jerked off me. Asaha hugged herself and curled up in a corner.

Her pupils had returned to their original color, and her sharp teeth were gone, but her convulsions had become even more violent.

I clutched my injured hand and tried to approach her, but she stopped me.

"Don't come any closer! I... I can't help it..."

the girl cried, "I don't want to eat you..."

I didn't understand what was wrong with her, but I knew she needed to eat. I grabbed the shrine and jumped to the first floor, leaped out of the wooden house, and charged towards the nearby woods. I

recklessly blasted through the woods with my energy, exploding several snow chickens and rabbits. Luckily, I even killed a wolf on my way back.

I grabbed the animals and rushed back to the basement, where I saw Asaga huddled in a corner, her eyes red again.

When I saw her clearly, my heart clenched.

The girl had eaten one of her own hands.

I don't know how hungry one must be to disregard such pain and eat one's own body... I have absolutely no idea.

Looking at her, I felt a sharp pain in my heart, as if something had pierced it.

I went to her, held her hand, and stopped her from putting it in her mouth.

When Asaga saw me, her pupils regained their color.

Tears streamed down the girl's face like a spring.

"So hungry... Greedy Wolf... I'm so hungry... I can't take it anymore... I'm really starving... I can't bear it..."

I placed the prey I had hunted into her hands and then hugged her. The girl began to devour the food before her like it was a precious treasure, crying in my arms as she ate.

Everything was swallowed as if it had never existed. I used my energy to melt some snow, used the melted water to clean the blood from her body, and then draped clothes over her.

The frigid weather quickly wore down my strength, and I fell asleep holding the gradually calming Asaga.

Later, Asaga told me that the Devourers could easily heal physical damage, but they needed to eat large amounts of food to replenish it. Although the blizzard helped her when she rescued me, she still fought with the gambler Paul and his gang and was severely injured, so much so that she didn't have the strength to regenerate her severed limbs after escaping to the hut.

If they exceed their limit of endurance and can't eat, the Devourers will start eating themselves under unimaginable hunger. The more they eat, the more energy the injured parts need to repair, and the hungrier they become... a vicious cycle they call self-devouring. Self-devouring is a very shameful way to die for the entire Devourer race; it's the most extreme punishment.

Asaga wasn't out of her mind when she started eating herself, but her mind couldn't overcome the desire for hunger.

Fortunately, it's all over now, and when I woke up again, it was already dawn.

**********************************

Asaga curled up in my arms like a kitten, as if trying to absorb my warmth; I remembered that she was very afraid of the cold.

I shivered, breathed on my palms, and then looked down at the girl's sleeping face.

The girl was fast asleep, her body curled up in a ball, her hair falling across her face. Her little nose was wrinkled, and her eyelashes were still fluttering.

I couldn't help but brush the ends of the hair covering her face with my hand, but she didn't react at all.

It was strange; all her clothes were gone when we were in the cabin, but the headband I gave her was still on her head. I suspected that her clothes were destroyed because of some kind of power used in the fight, but I didn't know what power it was.

I gently twirled a strand of the girl's silver hair. Her hair was elastic and smooth, each strand like a stubborn thread. This reminded me of Fey; Fey's hair was as soft as satin, and I was once intoxicated by the fragrance of her hair.

I wonder what Fey is doing now; it's like we're two people in different dimensions. I wonder if she's thinking of me while I'm thinking of her... and I feel like I'm deliberately not thinking about what she's going through now, because such thinking is both childish and meaningless.

"Don't pull my hair..."

A familiar voice suddenly rang out, and I noticed that Asaga was awake. She turned her face to me, frowning.

I chuckled helplessly. "You're not going to kill me again for pulling your hair, are you?"

Asaja stared at my face for a while, gently shook her head, then snuggled closer to me, looking like she was about to take another long nap.

"You're going to sleep again? You'll freeze to death here if you keep sleeping."

The girl opened her eyes again. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Let's find a town to rest and warm up... and find something to eat..."

I was hungry after a whole night.

This time, she got up quite readily. Since she only had the coat I gave her, more than half of her long legs were exposed. I felt cold just looking at her like that.

"Can you travel like that? You don't even have shoes."

I frowned.

"I can fly with energy."

The girl seemed quite calm.

We set off, and after flying swiftly for twenty minutes, we saw a town. Because we had flown fast, we had basically left the snowy region, and there wasn't much snow on the road leading to the town.

To be on the safe side, just in case my identity as a wanted criminal was exposed, we didn't stay in a hotel. If gambler Paul really wanted to catch me, he would have planted informants in the hotels of the nearby town.

We found an ordinary family, gave them a good amount of money, and they agreed to let us hide for the time being. The family was a middle-aged couple, and they knew we were making this choice to avoid attention. However, for players who simply enjoy life in the game, they weren't too afraid of being implicated by us. Since they didn't have combat levels, even if they were killed, they could come back without worrying about any losses.

The couple prepared hot soup and a large bowl of mashed potatoes for us. The mashed potatoes were topped with hot, sweet meat gravy and sprinkled with salted moss. Asaga and I ate without any regard for appearances. Although I didn't want to be less elegant, if I didn't grab some food, this guy would probably eat it all in one go.

The husband went to town to buy clothes for Asaga, while the wife sat at the table, smiling as she watched us eat.

“You two look like you're from *Bonnie and Clyde*.”

I paused slightly, then smiled at her. That movie was very, very old, but I'd seen it; after all, my girlfriend and I were avid movie buffs when we were out.

“They were young, they loved each other, and they killed people,”

the hostess recited the lines with interest.

“They brought me justice, and I will attend their funeral with flowers…”

I also quoted a line from the movie, “Sounds good, but I don’t want to get shot.”

The hostess chuckled at my words.

“What do you mean?”

Asaga looked up, a bewildered expression on her face.

“She said we look like lovers,”

I said seriously.

Asaga didn’t argue or blush; I felt she didn’t quite understand what I meant.

“Is it true? Like?”

she asked the hostess, her face innocent.

The hostess laughed heartily, glancing at me. “Your girlfriend is so cute.”

I shrugged, inwardly praying that the girl next to me wouldn’t suddenly attack.

I had originally planned to rest and eat something before leaving, but after this exchange in "Bonnie and Clyde," I figured it wouldn't hurt to sleep a little longer. Ten million gold coins is indeed a windfall for ordinary people, but they don't have the qualifications of mercenaries to check wanted posters. In just one day, even if they wanted to betray us, they wouldn't have enough time to contact the relevant people. Besides, I think the lady of the house seems to like us, and we really need rest right now.

After the two of them logged off, Asaga and I stayed at their house.

“You’ve repaid your debt to me, so we don’t need to be together tomorrow. You can finally go back to the Demon Realm, and I have my own things to do.”

I lay on the comfortable bed, staring at the ceiling.

Asaga sat cross-legged beside me. “I can’t go back to the Demon Realm. I knew it when I was sent here; without the Eye of the Demon Dragon, I would stay here. Besides, we haven’t settled our debts.”

“You said you’d settled them when you saved me.”

I turned to look at her.

“I did then, but then you saved me again.”

I remembered; she was talking about the time of self-devouring.

“That was the price you paid to save me, so strictly speaking…”

Asaga shook her head, “Strictly speaking, I have no obligation to repay you anymore. But…”

“But what?”

Asaga looked at me for a moment, seemingly racking her brains to think of something, “Greedy Wolf, become my servant, like a severed tail.”

“No interest.”

I rolled my eyes at her, “The only people you have connections with are creditors and servants, don’t you find that ridiculous?”

“I am the princess of the Devourer Clan, being my servant wouldn’t dishonor you.”

As she said this, a strange panic appeared on her face.

“I’m still not interested, I don’t have the habit of taking orders.”

“Then, what should I do?”

Asaga looked a little lost.

“What do you mean, what should I do?”

I didn’t understand what she meant at all.

“I want you to come with me, but you won’t be my servant…”

I frowned. “Relationships between people aren’t just as simple as creditor and servant. There are companions, lovers, friends—there are many kinds. Why get so hung up on

this?” “What’s the difference? You humans are so complicated.”

I scoffed at her “you humans” comment and began to answer her question.

“Companions are those you can trust and share a common purpose; lovers are those you like; friends are those you have a connection with.”

“Then let’s be lovers. I like you,”

Asaga said earnestly.

I was speechless. “Do you even know what ‘like’ means? Explain that word to me.”

“It’s that I feel safe and happy when I’m with you. I like being with you,”

Asaga said without hesitation.

“That kind of relationship isn’t a couple. Only two people who love each other can be called lovers; that’s a deeper feeling than what you call ‘like’.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean? What’s the difference between ‘like’ and ‘love’?”

I opened my mouth, feeling like I was facing a child who hadn’t even reached puberty yet, and I really didn’t know how to explain it.

“This feeling… you’ll understand when you feel it.”

Asaga seemed still confused, but simply nodded. “Then can you still come with me?”

“I saved you, and you saved me. If I had to say, we could probably be considered friends. Friends should be frank with each other, so just admit it, you’re the one who wants to come with me! To be honest, you’ll encounter a lot of danger if you come with me, because I’m a wanted criminal now, and many powerful monsters like those from last night want to kill me. So, I don’t want you to risk your life for me.”

“Then I’ll follow you even more.”

“Why?”

“The thought of you being killed by someone makes me very uncomfortable.”

I hadn’t expected her to give me this answer. Asaga didn’t wait for my response but continued talking to herself.

“Last night, I was curled up in a corner, surrounded by darkness. Hunger made my whole body feel like it was being torn apart by insects. No matter how much I screamed inside, I couldn't stop myself from devouring myself. I slowly ate my fingers, then my palms, my wrists… It hurt so much, my whole body trembled, but the pain was completely overwhelmed by hunger. Just when I was in despair, you came back…”

She looked up at me, her eyes shining.

“So I didn’t want to see you killed, I didn’t want to see you hurt. As a princess, protecting your servants is the right thing to do… but you didn’t… I don’t know what to call this feeling, it’s never happened before. Just being next to you makes me feel safe, and I’m not cold anymore…”

This girl is really interesting.

“Want to do it with me?”

I looked at her face and blurted out.

“What?”

she asked, stunned.

“Making love.”

“No!”

“Oh, then let’s sleep.”

I laughed inwardly, then turned over and closed my eyes.

I felt her lie down next to me and pull at my clothes.

"What are you doing?"

I asked, my eyes closed and my back to her.

"Turn around,"

she commanded. Asaga always spoke like that, probably used to being a princess, so I never took it to heart. Men usually find it hard to care about such things with cute girls.

I couldn't resist her pulling me, so I turned over again, but still didn't open my eyes. I tried, and Asaga started pushing my arms away, squeezing herself into my embrace, then pulling my hand to her body.

Her soft, warm little body filled my arms completely.

"Just say you want me to hug you,"

I said, smelling the lingering scent of the snowfield in her hair.

Asaga didn't reply. I opened my eyes and looked down at her. The girl's eyes were closed, her face flushed.

"Just being near you makes my body feel warm and comfortable,"

she murmured, then stopped talking, her breathing becoming increasingly even.

I hugged her a little tighter.

I felt that peaceful, reassuring feeling again, though only a little. Just like when Fey was in my arms…though we may never be able to do the same thing again…but this familiar feeling makes it impossible for me to let go.

************

Asaka and I set off together.

Not because she owed me a favor, but because she chose to travel with me of her own volition. This relationship seemed to make her less reserved; although she still had that haughty, aristocratic air, I could sense that she was completely relaxed.

Perhaps she really wasn't human, because what I felt from her was something I had never experienced in my life.

A personality devoid of any logic, willful and uncontrollable…if this kind of woman existed in reality, she would probably give any man a headache.

Humans have two sides: rationality and emotion. Generally, men are more rational, while women are less so. But this girl gave me the feeling of being a purely emotional being; rationality was practically nonexistent for her.

She decides what to do entirely based on emotion, without looking for reasons or justifications, and once she's made up her mind

, she's determined to do it… I don't know if I should trust someone like that. If she's fickle, she might fight alongside me today, and tomorrow, because she's in a bad mood, she might help the enemy kill me. She's like an unstable bomb; no one knows what she'll do next.

But are rational people trustworthy? Decisions made after weighing the pros and cons are certainly rational, like Balgus… he clearly distinguishes between sacrificing the guild and sacrificing a member.

On the contrary, Melfis… such an emotional person, yet she has never disappointed me.

It's probably because of that bastard that I decided to trust Asaga. Someone like her can't be bought with money… but food might… but since she'd rather eat herself than eat me, what should I worry about? Strangely, I seem to understand some hidden message here. I trust her.

Whether I'll regret this choice is unknown.

"Asaja, what's the Demon Realm like?"

I asked myself as we walked.

"The Demon Realm you're talking about is actually just the dark side of our world. Our world is divided into two parts, the light side and the dark side. The inhabitants of the light side are called Ririn, and the inhabitants of the dark side are called Rioret. Ririn look exactly like you, but we Riorets have many different forms. Most of the humanoid Riorets like me are relatively advanced."

I didn't expect there to be such a thing in the setting of the game "Divine Capital"... But thinking about it carefully, I wasn't really clear about the background of the game "Divine Capital" to begin with, and the official information had never been similar. Now that I think about it, I was really playing it in a daze...

"At the center of our dark side, there is a huge pit called the 'Abyss' that leads straight to the deepest part of the earth, while at the center of the light side where the Ririn are, there is a huge tree-like tower that connects to the sky, and that tower is called 'Divine Capital'."

"So that's the game world?"

I asked.

Asaka shook her head. "I don't know. I was just talking about the structure of our world. As for what 'Divine Capital' is all about, I have absolutely no idea."

It seems asking is pointless; this guy seems pretty clueless too. But if I have the chance, I definitely want to go to the Demon Realm, even if it's just to hone my skills.

Originally, I was only interested in improving my strength, but after learning more and more, I've become fascinated by the structure of this world. If the game developers have such a grand design, why don't they release the information to all players?

It's this sense of mystery that drives me to want to go to the Demon Realm… but even if I go, I need to participate in that competition with Melfis first. And I'm not sure if I'll survive that competition.

Before that, I need to find out some information about the Shadow Eater mercenary group. Because I have a feeling I might encounter them in that competition.

Since conventional intelligence sources can't find any information about the Shadow Eaters, I'll have to find another way.

Not all high-level warriors are mercenaries; most people become mercenaries for the intelligence they can provide. Others naturally have other sources of information, and I happen to know one of them: information brokers.

These guys are extremely secretive, but I know a fairly reliable one. I don't think that guy knows anything about the Shadow Eater Mercenary Group, but he has layers upon layers of higher-level information brokers behind him, so ultimately I should be able to get some things I don't know.

The reason I know this information broker is because we did a deal.

Not that he sold me information, but that I sold him my house.

That guy's name is Tiggerson, and he currently lives in Red Pine City, where I lived before I became a professional warrior.

Back then, I was just an ordinary player, happily adventuring around like a fool, helping my girlfriend plant flowers, building houses, and earning some pocket money. Until one day, everything was shattered.

Yingfeng, Zhanglong, 774, Luanwu, Isaac… I haven't forgotten the names of these old friends. Maybe I'll see them this time, but I don't intend for them to recognize me.

I guess it would be difficult for them to recognize me anyway… So much time as a warrior has drastically changed me, both in temperament and appearance. Because of my irregular lifestyle, my hair was a bit messy and long. I smiled less and less, and my frozen expression made my facial muscles look lifeless. Coupled with the change in my equipment, I think even people who used to know me very well would have a hard time recognizing me unless they stared at me intently for a while.

"Does my expression look stiff?"

I forced a fake smile and turned to ask Asagi.

Asagi stared at me blankly for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.

I rubbed my face, finding it a little ridiculous.

After several days of trekking, we arrived at Wooden Barrel Town. Zhang Long and I had fought a fierce battle here against the Black Flame bandit gang; half the town was destroyed in the battle, but now it seemed to have recovered, and the traces of the battle had long since disappeared. Along the way

, I spent a lot of money to fill Asagi's stomach. However, she didn't seem to care at all, always stealing food from me, which made me eat several times faster than before. Honestly, she didn't need to eat so much; it was just a habitual craving…

“Where did all that food go?”

I asked, resting my head on my hand as I watched her devour the pasta in front of her.

This woman could eat so much without gaining weight—an ability that would make any woman who loves beauty and has a sweet tooth envious.

I suddenly realized that when I said that, I was already treating “Divine Capital” as a completely real world… Logically, this food was just data generated by the system; no matter how much you ate, you wouldn't actually gain weight. But looking at the girl eating, I suddenly felt that the food itself had become terrifyingly real.

I used my fork to skewer some pasta from her bowl and looked at it. The food in “Divine Capital” was no different from the outside world in terms of taste, texture, or portion size, so how could I tell if it was data or real food?

I picked up a strand and crushed it into fine crumbs with my fingers. It was too real. If I wasn't mistaken, everything in this world was detailed down to the molecular and even atomic level. I couldn't imagine how much computing power it would take to create such a world on a quantum network.

Asaja suddenly grabbed my arm, startling me.

"What are you doing!"

I glared at her.

She didn't say anything, but grabbed my hand and snatched the last bit of macaroni from her fork into her mouth, then looked at me with satisfaction, chewing away.

I couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to pat her head, but halfway there I realized something and quickly withdrew my hand. I didn't want her chasing me again.

Asaja noticed my action, and seemed to be in a good mood, having filled her stomach.

"You can pat me, I agree..."

she said, looking at me.

I snorted irritably; that fleeting feeling of affection vanished quickly, and by the time she agreed, I had already lost interest.

"Are you unhappy?"

Asaja looked at me, leaning on the table.

I deliberately turned my head away, ignoring her, secretly amused.

In that instant, I saw someone… and that person saw me too. We stared at each other, dumbfounded. Xia Xi was standing in front of the tavern counter, holding something in her hand.

I suddenly realized something, quickly pulled my hood up, and grabbed Asagi. “Let’s go!” Asagi

wasn’t stupid; seeing my expression, she knew this wasn’t the time to be impulsive and immediately followed.

“Wait!”

Xia Xi’s voice came from behind, seemingly deliberately avoiding calling my name. Because my name was now linked to ten million gold coins.

I ignored her, and Asagi and I dashed out the door, rushing towards the edge of town.

Energy fluctuations came from behind; Xia Xi had followed us. My heart sank. Rayout knew I was still alive, and now my whereabouts were exposed; there was no guarantee they wouldn’t send a large number of people to hunt me down. I didn't want to kill Xia Xi, after all, she was a former comrade, but she actually caught up with me... It seems things aren't so easy to resolve.

I forced myself to make a decision... If it really came to that, I would kill her. Even though we had been through thick and thin together, I still hoped that she would be the one to die, rather than myself.

As before, I wasn't as fast as Xia Xi, so she slowly caught up after we rushed out of town. I glanced back; it seemed she was alone, without any other companions.

I began to slow down and drew my sword, the Shrine, from my waist.

"This is my business, don't interfere,"

I said to Asaka.

The girl nodded, jumped onto a tree diagonally in front of her, and became a spectator.

After I slowed down, Xia Xi quickly rushed in front of me.

"Greedy Wolf! You're still alive!"

she shouted as she approached me.

I raised my sword and pointed it at her face.

"If you come any closer, I'll make my move,"

I spat out through gritted teeth.

Xia Xi froze on the spot. "You want to kill me?"

"If necessary,"

I said coldly.

“Can we not fight?”

she said softly, looking a little anxious.

I glanced at her, my heart softening. “That’s up to you. Tell me, why are you chasing me?”

“I…aren’t we comrades!”

Xia Xi cried out.

“That was before I died once. Hmph…what comrades now? Ridiculous!”

Back then, they all readily sided with Balgoth…and now they’re bringing this up again?

Anger began to ignite within me; the faint killing intent I had felt grew stronger.

Xia Xi stood there, looking utterly helpless. Her shoulders trembled, she bit her lip, seemingly completely confused and unsure of what to say.

“Greedy Wolf, do you know, after Azza killed you, she left the guild…fey too…after leaving, Fey joined the Seren guild with Azza…Rayout has completely changed since what happened to you.”

Xia Xi said, wringing her hands.

I froze, my knife falling to the floor. Seren was Rayout’s allied guild, and Azza used to be a member of Seren. But Fey left too? Didn’t she cherish her friends? I didn't know what this information meant, and my mind started to race.

"Tell me, did you never betray Rayout at all?"

Xia Xi pleaded, hoping I'd say something.

I gasped for breath, my chest tight.

"Does it matter? I'm Rayout's enemy now, and I always will be until it's destroyed."

I threw down those words harshly, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Then...then I'll leave too...that way we won't have to fight!"

Xia Xi shouted, then reached out and started manipulating something, seemingly summoning her own visual virtual panel.

"What do you mean by this?"

I yelled, frowning.

"Azza didn't say anything after he killed you, but I felt like he knew something... Then he left the guild, and Fey left Rayout a few days later... I've always felt there must be something going on, and from the beginning I never thought you betrayed us... It's true!"

I can't forget the expressions on my guildmates' faces at that time... Orange and Fronburn's anger, Fey's despair and disappointment, Azza's contempt... But Shashi... she seemed...

yes, she didn't... say anything...

"If you went to Dreams' castle to betray us, you didn't need to risk your life to save me in that ventilation duct! So I know what Balgus said doesn't make sense! Tell me, what's going on? I've been looking for you!"

I felt my blood rushing to my head and couldn't help but shout.

"Then why didn't you stand up for me back then? Even if it was just you alone! Is it so hard to say a word for me? Or do you just not care at all?! I fucking saved you, and you just watched me shoulder all this alone! Did you even see the look on their faces when they looked at me?! Do you know that if it weren't for good luck, I'd be a corpse lying in a graveyard right now?!"

I struggled to breathe, the pent-up frustration in my chest seemingly released after this outburst.

"No... I... actually... I..."

Xia Xi stood there, covering her mouth, unsure how to face my accusations.

"No need to say anything! I'm not interested in hearing it."

After throwing down those words, I left her behind and headed back into town. Asagi obediently followed.

Xia Xi watched me from behind, remaining silent for a long time before finally starting to walk in my direction from a distance.

"Who is she?"

Asagi caught up with me and asked.

"It's not anyone, I have nothing to do with her now."

"I don't like her. If you find her annoying, I can eat her for you."

I stared wide-eyed at Asaka, and she looked up at me too. "Just kidding."

I wasn't in the mood for jokes, but ultimately I couldn't argue with her, so I chose to remain silent.

Asaka could tell I was upset, so she stopped talking. It seemed she was just unreasonable, not stupid, and not annoying.

What Xia Xi said was making me very confused. Azza leaving the guild was undoubtedly because of me, I could understand that.

But what about Fey? She had already chosen between me and her friends in the guild, and now she's left Rayout, what does that mean? What is she trying to express with this action? Or is she not trying to express anything at all, just changing guilds?

But one thing I'm sure of now is that I no longer need to feel guilty about destroying Fey's guild. I don't care about other people, people can never do anything if they overthink.

Although what I'm going to do isn't something to be proud of, revenge is not something anyone can criticize.

Xia Xi followed slowly a few meters behind me, which annoyed me. Compared to the other Rayout members, I found myself angrier at her. Those who didn't trust me were one thing, but precisely because she didn't acknowledge my betrayal, she still didn't stand by my side.

If just one person had stood up for me back then, I wouldn't have made that extreme choice. I paid a heavy price for that choice: being hunted by Dreams, becoming a wanted criminal, losing Fey, being hated by my former comrades… and none of this should have happened.

“Greedy Wolf…”

After walking for a while, Xia Xi finally called out softly.

I stopped, sighed, and looked at Asaga. “Go back first, wait for me at the tavern.”

“I'll get something to eat, come back quickly and pay me.”

She said seriously.

I patted her head; Asaga squinted without resisting.

Watching the girl fly away, I turned to look at Xia Xi behind me.

I didn't speak, and neither did she. After standing there for a long time, Xia Xi suddenly seemed to have made a decision and bowed to me.

I frowned. Xia Xi bowed, stepped back, and then drew her sword from her waist, gripping it with both hands.

The series of movements was fluid and precise, a standard swordsmanship technique.

"Since you don't want to talk, let's try another way."

All the guilt and grievance on her face vanished; the moment she drew her sword, Xia Xi became a pure swordsman.

My only response was to draw my sword, the blade angled straight down.

This time, Xia Xi truly noticed the sword; a glint flashed in her eyes.

"A fine sword."

We both fell silent and began to raise our energy together. To our surprise, as we channeled our energy into our weapons, the two swords began to vibrate and resonate faintly. The sword seemed to have formed a strange connection with Xia Xi's. I felt as if my body was being controlled by the sword, an urge to rush forward and strike its opponent.

Xia Xi and I both struggled to suppress the sword intent within our weapons while simultaneously raising our energy to its maximum. Almost simultaneously, our energy levels were raised, and without a second thought, I lifted the sword and charged forward.

She did the same; the two swords, as if by prior arrangement, ripped through the air with a sonic boom, leaving two streaks, the remaining energy leaving two semi-circular arcs of light that slashed towards her shoulder.

My entire attention was drawn to Jingu; this was the first time this had happened. I wasn't paying attention to her attack trajectory or movement; all I could do was unleash the simplest and most familiar slash.

Perhaps it was the sheer power of Jingu's sword intent that had an immeasurable influence on me, but for the first time, I used a slash imbued with all my power, just like Mr. Fang had done.

Xia Xi's swordsmanship was terrifyingly strong, but this time I actually caught up with her speed. Our weapons collided with each other's frontal shields almost simultaneously. Xia Xi's sword sank into my shield, its speed drastically reduced, while my slash shattered her shield.

Her attack, after piercing the shield, could have struck my shoulder, but to attack her shield with my slash, the tip of my blade was still a few centimeters away from her body when the attack was complete. At that moment, I instinctively twisted my wrist, ready to unleash the final thrust, the most powerful move from the Divine Palace.

Everything was almost perfect; deep down, I felt myself merge with the sword intent of the divine art. The thought that this time I would definitely succeed dominated my mind.

A flash of light from a blade appeared beside my face, and a fleeting thought crossed my mind. This tiny thought made me abandon my first-ever thrust. I immediately lunged forward, dodging Xia Xi's slash that was about to land on my shoulder, and she didn't die from my thrust.

In my forward charge, I switched to a backhand strike, slashing at Xia Xi's ribs. Xia Xi's steps were steady; missing her attack, she immediately moved aside, followed by a magnificent spinning slash.

Instinctively, I wanted to parry with my sword, but suddenly realized that wielding the unguarded Divine Palace sword against her meant I was essentially giving up my hand.

This thought made my movements falter. I already knew how fast Xia Xi's sword was; in the time it took to hesitate, she had already slashed at me.

Without a second thought, I barely managed to tilt the blade of the sword to the side to protect my arm. The violent impact traveled down the blade of the sword I was holding in my backhand, piercing my entire arm, sending sparks flying that burned my cheek and forearm.

The burn from the sparks made me even more excited. Natsuki's sword slid behind me along the blade of the sword. She seemed to know that I wanted to use the momentum of my forward charge to attack her flank with the sword, so before the two weapons separated, she forcefully jerked herself away from my attack range.

Experienced and seasoned... I have to say, she had considered even the smallest details.

But I couldn't just stop there. Switching back to my forehand sword, I spun in mid-air, the tip of the sword of the sword tearing a crack in the ground. This time it was an upward slashing attack, and it was the first time I had tried a slashing attack from a different angle. The excitement throughout my body made the frantically secreting adrenaline seem like a drug to increase my focus. I knew that without sufficient focus, I simply couldn't execute this kind of disguised slashing attack.

Just as I was gloating over my move, Xia Xi slowly turned around and lowered her sword.

I was shocked. In trying to change the direction of my sword, I lost my balance. Jingu slammed into the ground beside me, and I rolled and collided with Xia Xi.

In the instant I regained my balance, I grabbed the front of Xia Xi's clothes and shoved her hard against a tree trunk. She coughed repeatedly from the impact.

"Do you want to die that badly!"

I shouted at her face. "Is it glorious to lay down your weapon and let the enemy cut you down?!"

"Aren't you angry with me? Why don't you kill me?"

Xia Xi said expressionlessly.

"If you want to die, go kill yourself! Don't dirty my hands!"

Xia Xi gasped for breath, saying nothing. Suddenly, she reached out and hugged my neck, kissing me fiercely.

I grabbed her neck, pushed her face away, and slammed her against the tree.

"This is what you wanted!"

A violent rage surged from the bottom of my heart. I forcefully tore open Xia Xi's clothes and grabbed her delicate breasts.

I pinned Xia Xi against the tree, her face contorted in pain, but she didn't utter a sound, only wrapping

her arms around my neck. I released her grip, and she tried to bring her face closer to kiss me, but I savagely pushed her away and bit her neck. The girl's breathing was rapid and fragile, her snow-white neck flushed pink.

Under my caresses, Xia Xi's nipples hardened. My hand moved downwards, tearing open her clothes to reveal her snow-white abdomen, then slipped my hand inside her panties. As I rubbed her delicate cleft with my fingers, the girl's body stiffened, and she closed her eyes. Xia Xi tilted her head, showing a hint of submission.

I hadn't done this in a long time, so my lower body was already hard. When my hot penis entered between the girl's legs, Xia Xi opened her eyes, fear flashing in her pupils.

That look consumed my reason, igniting all my rage; now, all I wanted to do was release.

My penis, pressing against her slippery, tender petals, forced its way in. The girl cried out in pain, wincing and shrinking back.

She wasn't tall, so under my relentless assault, she could only stand on her toes, using her hands to brace herself against my shoulders to try and avoid my thrusts.

I grabbed her wrists with one hand, pinning them to the tree, and with the other, I pulled her up by the waist, creating a perfect angle for entry. Xia Xi realized this, looking up at me with pitiful eyes, but I was too exhausted to discern whether those eyes held pleas or something else.

My grip loosened slightly, and the suspended girl fell downwards. Her already incredibly wet and tight vagina couldn't withstand the weight of her body pressing down on it, and my penis slowly burrowed into her warm, moist opening. Xia Xi couldn't go up or down; the edge of my glans was trapped inside her labia, causing her vaginal fluids to overflow.

"Uh... huff... ahh..."

The girl struggled to free her wrists, which were being held above her head. Her petals trembled, almost squeezing my lower body out.

I released her, my glans tearing through the thin membrane that blocked it, thrusting violently inside, scraping against the layers of tender flesh within her flower path, completely penetrating to the deepest point, even trying to drill deeper.

With a splatter, love juice splattered, and red virgin blood flowed down Xia Xi's thighs.

"Ugh!"

Xia Xi let out a short scream, then fainted from the immense and intense stimulation.

Her entire weight was supported by my hand and the erect penis inside her. The girl leaned against the tree, her body almost suspended above my lower body. This situation was far too stimulating for me; my penis trembled wildly inside her, and I almost ejaculated.

I took two deep breaths, then involuntarily began to thrust. Xia Xi collapsed completely onto me. This position made movement incredibly difficult; I could only hold her waist and thrust in and out slowly. With each movement, drops of fluid mixed with blood dripped from Xia Xi's lower body. Her panties, which I had pulled down, were soaked with her fluids and blood, the inner thighs stained, clinging tightly to her fair skin. It

was Xia Xi's first time, and being petite and young, her vagina was incredibly narrow. Moving was tiring, and the pressure on my glans was both tingling and numb. After a few thrusts, my hand holding her waist accidentally loosened, and the girl's body slumped down. My penis struck Xia Xi's cervix again, then forcefully pushed in halfway.

Xia Xi cried out, "Ah!"

and her head jerked back, her abdominal muscles convulsing in excruciating pain, her face contorted in agony. She repeatedly tried to push herself up on her toes, attempting to alleviate the intense pain in her lower abdomen.

"Didn't you want it? Why aren't you saying anything?"

I pushed her up, and the girl went from standing on her tiptoes back to being supported by my penis.

"Ugh... my stomach... my stomach is broken... I don't want it anymore... Waaah... it hurts... ahh... it hurts..."

My violent heart suddenly softened, and I released my grip on her wrist, using my other hand to hold her waist and lift her up a little. The cervix immediately pushed the invading glans out, and Xia Xi was covered in cold sweat, panting heavily, one hand pressed against her lower abdomen, the other tightly clinging to my neck, afraid of falling again.

After she woke up, her body weight was distributed from all angles, and my thrusting became much more powerful. Even so, she still chattered in pain with every movement.

It seemed I had gone a bit too far. I reached out and wiped the drool that had dripped from Xia Xi's mouth from her dazed state, and then touched her face. Xia Xi started crying as I did this, resting her face on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry... You can vent however you want..."

she cried.

It wasn't that I couldn't forgive her, and I didn't intend to ask anything of her for it. But in this situation, her words sounded like she was atoning for her sins by having sex, just to get my forgiveness?

I sneered uncontrollably to myself, and my anger started burning again.

Perhaps that was why my penis suddenly swelled up a lot.

But if I knew now that she had liked me for a long time, and that her initial motivation for pursuing me and her current intimacy were for this reason, I wouldn't have abused her like this. Unfortunately, people know too little when they are in the moment, and unknowingly hurt many people who are truly loyal to them.

"I'm so full... Ahh... Down there... Hah... It's going to break... Ohh..."

Xia Xi sobbed on my shoulder.

At this moment, I felt that desire and inexplicable hatred completely overwhelmed my pity for the girl, and I didn't care about her cries at all, and I forced my penis into her uterus again.

"Gahhh! Ohhh! It hurts!"

Xia Xi screamed in agony, her hands clutching my clothes as her body convulsed.

I remained unmoved, thrusting forcefully into the delicate walls of her uterus. The contrasting sensations of intense pleasure and excruciating pain had swirled in Xia Xi's mind. She wailed, unable to utter a complete sentence, her hands frantically clawing at my back, saliva and tears streaming down her face.

The storm of thrusts even gave me the illusion that I had torn her fragile uterus to shreds.

The thrill of revenge made me ejaculate inside her again and again. Xia Xi's eyes rolled back, and she had no strength left to struggle.

But I didn't realize that I shouldn't have sought revenge on her; she had no obligation to endure this.

After the climax, I leaned against the tree trunk, breathing heavily. Xia Xi slumped against me, trembling, her lower body still penetrated by me, the thick fluids making a mess of our lower bodies.

After resting for a while, Xia Xi, trembling, braced herself on my shoulders, trying to pull her body off my penis.

I didn't move, so she could only grit her teeth and use her toes to push against the ground, inching her body upwards.

The glans was still hard, scraping against her tender flesh as it was pulled out. Xia Xi gasped for breath, her lower abdomen cramping as if in pain. She frowned and pressed down hard on my shoulder, finally freeing her vagina from the invading penis. She collapsed to the ground, her body going limp.

Thick streams of semen gushed from her swollen labia, leaving a small, finger-sized opening in her roughly treated lower body, which slowly closed again after a long while. Xia Xi clutched her stomach, leaning against the tree trunk, breathing heavily.

"You're so good with your mouth, aren't you? Clean yourself up."

I looked down at her.

Xia Xi wiped away her tears, looked up at me, and then slowly took my now limp penis, covered in semen, vaginal fluid, and vaginal discharge, into her mouth.

The girl's tongue was incredibly agile, clearly trained. With a gentle turn, my penis showed signs of arousal. Her tongue lightly swept across the urethra, the pressure just right—not painful, yet providing a pleasurable penetration.

Her fine tongue rubbed back and forth against the sensitive glans, and my penis, though having just ejaculated, began to swell again.

As Xia Xi licked my genitals, she looked up at me with her swollen, red eyes. But this didn't evoke any pity in me; instead, I felt an overwhelming urge to torment her until she cried. Perhaps men inherently possess this kind of mad desire to dominate, we just haven't realized it…

My penis had become erect again, filling Xia Xi's small mouth, the glans reaching deep into her throat.

She tried to pull the penis out of her mouth, but I pressed against her. The girl's head was already against the tree trunk, with no room to dodge. She watched in horror as I slowly inserted the penis deep into her throat.

Unable to breathe, Xia Xi began to violently pound my legs with her hands, her watery eyes rolling upwards. I didn't go too far, so I pulled it out before she suffocated and passed out.

After I abruptly pulled out, Xia Xi immediately collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, thick liquid dripping from her delicate lips deep in her throat.

"Stand up,"

I said to her.

"...I...I'll help you...I'll suck it out with my mouth...it hurts down there...I can't do it anymore..."

Xia Xi shook her head in terror.

I grabbed her waist and forcibly pulled her up, then made her face away from me, pressing her upper body down. Xia Xi braced herself against the tree, turning her head to look at me with tears in her eyes.

I soaked my penis in the juices from her injured vulva, then pressed it against her very bottom.

The moment my hot, fleshy penis touched her, Xia Xi shuddered.

"No, no! Not there! It won't go in! Ahhhhhh..."

She tried to struggle, but I held her waist, and the girl couldn't straighten up at all. I slowly pushed my penis into Xia Xi's anus, and she screamed, her voice hoarse.

"It's torn! Waaah! It hurts so much... Oh... It's really there... Waaah..."

Her anus was slightly torn, but I finally pushed my entire penis in. The girl's tender anus almost felt like it was going to break my penis, and I began to thrust, enjoying the tightness that no vagina could provide from every angle.

Xia Xi only screamed at the beginning, but as I thrust, all she could do was sob softly.

Since I had already ejaculated once, this time I held her delicate buttocks and fucked her for a long time. Xia Xi's slender waist, honed through long-term training, was very resilient, but this long period of torment had left her exhausted and about to collapse. Just before she groaned and went limp, I slapped her snowy buttocks hard.

"Ooh...it hurts..."

she sobbed, her brows furrowed, and her anus tightened suddenly.

I thrust in dozens more times, then ejaculated inside Xia Xi's rectum. The girl groaned twice, clutching her stomach.

Suddenly feeling the urge to urinate, I picked her up and urinated inside her.

"Ahhh! What! What is this! Ahhh...it's so hot...my stomach...what...what are you doing!"

Xia Xi cried out, her voice trembling. She quickly understood what I was doing, and the girl covered her face in humiliation, sobbing.

Her stomach was full of urine, and I could even see her lower abdomen slightly bulging.

"No...no...not inside me...ahhh...my stomach can't take it...quick...quick, pull it out...please..."

After urinating, I left her body. Xia Xi curled up on the ground, clutching her stomach, her whole body trembling.

I knelt down and placed my hand on her stomach. Xia Xi screamed, unable to hold back any longer, and the liquid inside her gushed out. She completely collapsed, swaying precariously as she was about to fall into the mess on the floor.

I grabbed her, preventing her from collapsing.

Xia Xi bit her lip and slowly raised her head to look at me.

"Are you... satisfied now..."

she looked at me with red, swollen eyes.

"Are you satisfied now?"

I asked expressionlessly.

Xia Xi shook her head.

I frowned. "Want to do more?"

"No,"

large tears began to slide down Xia Xi's face as she struggled to hold back her sobs, "I just want a kiss from you..."

I was stunned.

"I've been looking for you for almost half a month, and all I want is this... You've had your fill of my body, can't you even give me a sincere kiss in return?"

she said pitifully.

Only now did I understand what she had meant back then. But only now did I understand her feelings, and it seemed I had already caused her indelible harm.

People always make mistakes, and at this moment, I suddenly felt that I couldn't forgive myself.

My heart ached as I picked her up and kissed her forehead.

Xia Xi was stunned. She didn't know what my initial thoughts were, nor did she know that I had mistakenly thought she was using her body to atone for her sins. So my sudden change at this moment left her mind blank.

The kiss I gave her wasn't an aggressive, verbal entanglement, nor a perfunctory explanation, but a genuine transmission of guilt and tenderness imprinted on her forehead.

I gently stroked her back, and she trembled, then hugged me and began to cry, as if to pour out all the grievances I had caused her and all the longing I had held for her.

At this moment, I knew at least that no matter what, she would eventually forgive everything I had done to her.

Perhaps we had already achieved mutual forgiveness, which was the best possible outcome for both Xia Xi and me after hurting each other.

**********

... The girl's eyes were swollen from crying. I placed her unconscious in the bathtub and carefully washed her body. Her delicate private parts had been treated extremely roughly during our first time together, so much so that the wounds deep inside her vagina continued to bleed after being soaked in hot water, turning the bathwater a pale pink. However, under the warm bathwater, the girl's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed. After washing her, I gently dried her off and then carried her to bed, covering her with a blanket. After doing all this, the girl woke up. She immediately let out a painful groan, curling up and clutching her lower abdomen. "Does it still hurt?" I asked softly. Xia Xi bit her lip and shook her head vigorously, struggling to throw off the blanket and get up. Even realizing she was completely naked, she still used one hand to hug her chest and the other to prop herself up and get out of bed. The intense pain in her lower body made Xia Xi's legs go weak as soon as she tried to stand up, and I quickly held her. "What are you doing? Lie down properly," I said. "No...no...I...I need to go to the toilet..." Xia Xi said softly, her face flushed, covering her chest with her hands. I pulled her into my arms and led her to the toilet. She clung tightly to my neck, so I couldn't see her expression. To prevent the girl, whose body was weak and aching, from getting dirty, I ignored her protests and stubbornly carried her to the toilet. Xia Xi almost cried again because of embarrassment, especially when her body made shameful sounds uncontrollably. After settling her back down, she buried her head in the blanket like a child. I found it amusing and reached out to pull it down a little. She peeked at me timidly, her eyes still a little red and swollen.

"Do you hate me?"

I asked her.

Xia Xi shook her head. "Then do you still hate me?"

I shook my head too, then ran my hand through her hair and gently ruffled it. Xia Xi closed her eyes, savoring the tenderness I was giving her.

"Where do you live? I want to come find you..."

Xia Xi suddenly broke the silence in the room.

I was slightly taken aback, then realized she was talking about the outside world.

"I live in a place no one can find,"

I said slowly.

Xia Xi didn't speak, and I pulled my hand out of her hair. That was all we could say to each other. Xia Xi didn't belong to me, and I didn't want to bind her to me with feelings. She was only a teenager; if she stayed with me, there would be no choice but to fall into a dark world together.

"Then can you tell me your name outside?"

Xia Xi continued.

"I don't exist in the outside world; I only live here, so Tanlang is my name."

The room fell silent again. I looked at her, and she looked at me. Xia Xi seemed to have a lot to say to me, but she didn't know whether she should say it. I was conflicted. Things had come to this point; taking a step forward or a step back would likely leave no room for regret.

If Xia Xi insisted on being with me, I didn't know how to refuse. But if we parted ways now, I felt we'd become strangers, our next meeting just a fleeting smile.

She seemed to sense this, so she remained silent.

"Who's the woman you're with?"

Xia Xi finally asked.

"A companion."

"Can I be your companion?"

This girl was clever; she tried to freeze the distance between us. Neither advancing nor retreating, and there was no need to advance or retreat…

"Just companions isn't impossible. But you don't have to do anything with me…"

"I can help you. I'll help you with whatever you want!"

I shook my head. "I want you to live well. To go to school, to be the high school student you want to be. The companion I need isn't someone who's solely devoted to me, but someone I can mutually benefit from."

Xia Xi looked at me, and then a tear suddenly slid from her eye.

"You don't want me?"

she said.

I felt a tightness in my chest, unsure how to answer her.

“Okay, I understand…”

Seeing my silence, Xia Xi began to cry uncontrollably. She kept wiping her tears with her hands, her sleeves slowly becoming wet.

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t know what to say to comfort her.

“…No need to apologize…but can you tell me why you don’t want me?”

Xia Xi asked, her head bowed and her voice soft with sobs.

“Because I don’t want you to follow the same path as me.”

“But I’m willing, I’m willing no matter what path you take…”

I shook my head. “I just hope you can find your own path. But I can make a promise with you, if we meet on the same path sometime in the future, then I will walk alongside you, okay?”

Xia Xi stopped crying, wiped the tears from her face, and nodded vigorously.

“Are you leaving?”

She looked at me.

“Yes, because I already know where I should go. Staying by your side makes me not want to move on.”

I took a deep breath, trying to stay strong. “I need your help.”

“What?”

“I need you to pass on a message to Fey.”

“You…and Fey…”

“We used to be secret lovers.”

Xia Xi seemed a little lost, as if this answer explained many of her questions, yet she didn’t quite want to accept it.

“What do you want me to say to her?”

“Tell her to start a new life, to stop dwelling on the past. Someone has died, and the memories of that person can be buried with him in the cemetery, even if there are no remains in that cemetery.”

“You don’t want to go see her again?”

I shook my head. This was something I had already decided, not a choice I made on my own. On the contrary, it was actually her choice that led to this outcome.

“I’ll tell her for you.”

“Thank you. Be careful when you get back. Don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me except Fey and Azza, because it will put you in danger.”

“I know, I’m not some clueless low-level warrior…”

“That’s good…”

I had finished speaking. Now, all I had to do was stand up, go out, and Xia Xi and I would be parting ways. And who knows if this parting would be our final farewell?

Xia Xi looked at me, her brows brimming with overflowing reluctance.

I leaned in to kiss her, and she immediately pounced on me as I leaned forward slightly. I kissed her cherry lips gently. She tried to put her little tongue into my mouth, entwining it with mine.

For a moment, I even thought of throwing away all the shackles and burdens, and loudly telling Xia Xi that I wasn’t leaving. Xia Xi would cry tears of joy, hug me tightly, unable to believe what I said, and we would start making love until she passed out and couldn’t move anymore. Then we left, no longer thinking about Rayout, Shadow Eater, forgetting the Elegy, forgetting everything I had lost, just holding tightly to what I had now.

But in the end, I still parted from her lips. As I got up, Natsuki tried to tug at my sleeve, but it slowly and resolutely slipped through her weak fingers.

I had to leave, because Melfis said that fate will find you one day, no matter how you hide.

**********

The moment I closed Natsuki's door, I heard the girl crying loudly in the room, and then the click of the lock separated us into two different worlds.

Asaka stood at my door, watching me.

"I didn't leave, I've been watching you,"

she explained. "I saw everything, and I heard everything."

I didn't say anything, nor was I angry, I just dragged my weak body outside. Asaka followed me downstairs.

"Why is she crying?"

Asaka continued to ask.

"Because of fear, fear of the unpredictable and unthinkable future,"

I said softly, looking at the road beneath my feet.

Xia Xi felt that way, and so did I. Now I inevitably start to wonder, when I die on the path of revenge, will I regret not staying by Xia Xi's side...?

Melfis repeatedly told me that forgetting the death of the elegy was actually a good choice. But I can't live in a daze; I must know what force pushed me to this place, and what the purpose of my struggle is. Moreover, I think Melfis himself might not be able to do what he says. Because in our conversations, I vaguely sensed that he also had a reason to stay in this world.

Out of love and hate? Out of memories? Out of searching or out of obsession? I don't know.

"I'm glad you chose me as your companion,"

Asaka said to me.

I turned to look at her; the girl looked serious. She was a qualified companion… Unlike Xia Xi, Asaka knew very clearly from the beginning what she wanted, a feeling built entirely on emotion. Xia Xi wanted to stay with me, but she didn't know what I could bring her; Asaka wasn't. Are

our paths the same? I can't say for sure. But I know Asaka is helping me now, and one day she will need my help too, and this bond is something I can't see in Xia Xi.

When I brought Xia Xi back to town, I was bound to attract the attention of passersby. To avoid being recognized, I had put on the mask-like mask I bought a long time ago. Besides, we were already very close to Red Pine City, so I had to be extra careful.

"Greedy Wolf."

Asahi and I hadn't spoken much on the way, and she suddenly called me. I was thinking about something, so I was startled.

"What's wrong?"

I looked at her, feeling that she was acting strangely, as if she had a lot to say but hadn't been able to say it the whole way.

"...In the woods...I was far away...I couldn't see very clearly...but..."

"But what?"

"Did you do that kind of thing to her?"

Asahi bit her lip and looked up at me. "

What do you mean?"

"Like what the people in that castle did to me..."

the girl said with difficulty.

I frowned, not quite understanding why she brought this up.

"Of course it's different. Although it was somewhat coercive...but she likes me."

As I said this, I suddenly felt a little despicable, but at that moment I was truly controlled by anger.

"But she looks like she's in so much pain... Would you do that to me too?"

So that's what she was worried about...

"I'm afraid you'll kill me, so I won't do anything reckless."

I tried to brush it off with that.

"You know even if you did, I wouldn't kill you now... because you saved me before I devoured myself..."

"You mean I could do that?"

I felt a little dumbfounded.

Asaga shook her head vigorously, "No! Because I'm terrified of pain, so I'm afraid you'll..."

"Don't worry, I won't touch you if you don't agree. I'm not a pervert..."

I said helplessly.

After saying that, I even heard Asaga let out a long sigh of relief... Was I really that scary in her eyes?

"Also, let me tell you, doing that kind of thing isn't just painful. If it's between lovers, it can be very pleasurable."

"But I fainted from the pain when they violated me..."

"That's because you hate them." That was

the only explanation I could give her.

"I see..."

She lowered her head, seemingly pondering something. I shook my head and continued on my way... wondering what strange questions this girl would come up with next.

"If you don't believe me, we can try it tonight."

I started teasing her.

"Try? Try what?"

Asaga didn't react at first, then frowned, and bent down to poke me hard with the horn on her head.

I yelled in pain, clutching my back and staggering, almost falling.

"What the hell are you doing!"

"Don't think I don't understand! You were just teasing me!"

Asaga squinted, her face unfriendly.

"But you can't use that thing to poke people!"

A casual remark had somehow stuck with her...

the horn on her head really did become a tool for stabbing people; I really brought it on myself.

Asaga smugly touched the little horn on her head, then left me and walked ahead.

"I'll saw off the horn after you fall asleep tonight!"

I threatened her fiercely from behind.

Asaga's body froze on the spot, her face turning pale when she turned to look at me. She seemed to take everything I said seriously, which made me always want to tease her.

I walked forward, and she kept backing away, clutching the horn on her head. I was about to burst out laughing inside, but I kept my face straight.

"I...I won't let you saw it off!"

she finally managed to stammer out.

"You can't stop me, it's your fault for sleeping so soundly at night,"

I said deliberately.

Asaga's face was a mess, finally turning into a pleading look with a hint of lingering pride.

"Please don't saw off my horns..."

she clapped her hands over her head.

"By the way, what's the use of your horns?"

I asked curiously.

"I don't know...but most royalty have horns...it looks good..."

I couldn't help myself and burst into laughter, clutching my stomach. In that instant, all my defenses crumbled. The pressure of being wanted, the powerful opponent I had to face, the sadness of parting with Xia Xi, the decisive battle with Fey, the guilt I'd carried for betraying my comrades...all of these things vanished as if they'd never existed in the brief laughter Asaga gave me.

This time, I felt that I might really be starting to like her...truly like her. The happiness Asaga brought me finally made me realize my own feelings.

I sat on the ground, laughing, laughing until tears streamed down my face. Fate truly knows how to play tricks on its people…

taking, giving, taking again, giving again… savoring the taste of these simple words time and time again… makes me deeply feel my own powerlessness and the helplessness buried in life.

“Hey! Stop laughing…”

Asaga looked at me laughing and crying at the same time, a little at a loss.

I coughed, rubbed my sore face, wiped away my tears, and stood up.

“No need to saw the corner, okay! But there are conditions!”

I said with a smile.

Perhaps my happy smile, which I had never shown her before, startled her; Asaga shrank back a little.

“…Wh…what conditions?”

“Let me kiss you.”

I held up one finger.

Asaga covered her head and looked at me for a while, then hesitantly lowered her hand from the small corner.

“Then it’s a deal, but…”

She looked up at me.

Before she could finish speaking, I had already grabbed her slender waist and pulled her sharply towards me. Asahi’s eyes widened, and before she could resist, I kissed her fiercely.

“Mmm… ooh…”

the girl murmured, seemingly unsure how to handle such an intense kiss.

I sucked on her smooth, soft lips, then probed her mouth with my tongue. Asahi’s teeth were clenched, completely unsure how to cooperate, her hands still frantically pushing and grabbing.

I wrapped my arms around her hands, binding them behind her back, leaving her no chance to resist.

After several attempts, I used my tongue to forcefully pry open her teeth, trying to invade her mouth. Asahi seemed to finally understand that this kind of kiss couldn’t be done with her teeth closed; she opened her mouth slightly, and my tongue immediately slid in.

“Mmm! Ooh! Mmmmm…”

I licked her mouth wantonly, then violently chased after her soft little tongue. Asaja let out a helpless and terrified whimper, her little tongue darting around, yet seemingly trying to appease the rough invader.

Asaja's chest was pressed tightly against my body, and I could feel her little heart pounding loudly. I leaned forward, and she pulled back, but because I was holding her body, the girl arched backward as I chased her. To avoid falling, she had to hook her arms around my neck.

Sweet lips and little tongue—I greedily possessed the kiss she had promised me. Asaja seemed to gradually succumb to it as well; she closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling.

The kiss lasted a long time, and Asaja's breathing became very rapid. Just as she was about to run out of breath, she bit my tongue, and I stopped. This girl was as stubborn as ever, actually using this method to resist…

I looked at her; Asaja's face was flushed, and a little bit of saliva inadvertently dribbled from the corner of her mouth. She looked at me, her chest heaving, her eyes filled with a color I couldn't understand.

"How could you stick your tongue in here!"

she yelled, glaring at me.

"What did you think? This is what kissing is like, you've learned it?"

I said with a smile.

"I didn't want to learn!"

Asaga shouted in my arms, "Let go of me! Don't hug me!"

I released her wrists, opened my arms in surrender, and looked at her bewildered expression with amusement.

"Don't you like it?"

I asked.

Asaga took a step back, pursed her lips, and glared at me without saying a word.

"Then you like it."

I said with certainty.

Her eyes began to wander elsewhere, her innocent yet stubborn look incredibly beautiful.

"Is this your first time kissing someone?"

Asaga nodded, looking elsewhere, then secretly glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. Knowing that I had taken her first kiss, I suddenly felt extremely satisfied, and my mood inexplicably improved.

"Aren't you very proud?"

she said angrily when she saw my silly grin.

"Of course."

I replied without hesitation, and then began to enjoy her exasperated yet helpless expression.

“You didn’t lose out either, you kept your horns, didn’t you?”

I laughed.

Asagi’s emotions calmed down a bit, otherwise, I really don’t know what she might have done.

“Greedy Wolf, when you kissed me, I felt my body acting strangely… my head was spinning, like someone was massaging my forehead, my heart was racing… my lower abdomen felt so hot, why is that?”

After calming down, Asagi looked up and asked me.

I shook my head, reaching out to cup her face in my hands, and she didn’t refuse. I gently stroked her smooth face with my thumb, my heart filled with a warm feeling. Being able to kiss the woman I liked, I felt happy, at least for that moment.

But I couldn’t answer her question; whether she liked me or not was for Asagi to find the answer herself. I would wait for her until she understood her own feelings.

“Let’s make a promise,”

Asagi said, not getting the answer she wanted. As always, she spoke as if giving orders, brooking no refusal… Heh, princess temper.

"What promise?"

I heard myself ask in a very soft voice.

"Unless I want to leave, you're not allowed to send me away,"

Asaga said firmly.

This was completely unfair to me, yet I nodded without hesitation. However, I didn't seem to be the kind of person who could keep his promises... I had said I would stay with Fey, but...

it wasn't that I didn't want to keep that promise... but...

am I an untrustworthy person? This wasn't something I could judge myself...

"What are you thinking about?"

Asaga tilted her head and asked me.

"Thinking about my ex-girlfriend... I once said I would stay with her and stop her from being lonely... but it seems I haven't fulfilled that promise..."

I looked into the distance.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my chest. I looked down and saw a sharp claw piercing the area in front of my heart, blood slowly seeping out. Asaga stared at me, her expression a mixture of conflict and confusion.

"...You're not allowed to mention other women in front of me..."

she spat out the words through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

I asked her, frowning as I endured the pain of my wound.

"I don't know... Hearing you mention her... makes my heart ache!"

Asaga said, biting her lip.

I took her proliferating finger and moved it away from my chest. "I promise you, I won't mention it again." This

girl is clearly a child who doesn't understand anything when it comes to emotions. But I do think this kind of personality , which doesn't hide her feelings, is good. At least I know that she is real, absolutely real, no matter what. ********** ... I only have 20,000 gold coins left, and besides food and lodging, there's not much I can do... If Tigger gets any valuable intelligence, I'll have to spend another sum of money to buy it, and that sum will definitely not be less than a million... After all, even the official intelligence network of the Mercenary Alliance can't find information about the Shadow Eater Mercenary Group and Runecion. I just hope that after completing that competition in Natharius City with Melfis, I'll get some prize money enough to cover the intelligence costs... But it seems Melfis didn't mention that the prize for that competition would be gold coins... Damn it...

I quickly abandoned these far-fetched thoughts. There's an old saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way." I'll take it one step at a time; there will always be opportunities to make money. Even a warrior of my level, at worst, can still diligently capture a few wanted criminals and slowly accumulate wealth…

Besides, if I help Melfis win the match, I should be able to extort some gold from him… I thought to myself.

I bought a bottle of wine at the tavern in Red Pine City.

Besides wanting to find that information broker, the more important reason I came to

Red Pine City was to see Elegy. It wasn't that I liked to dwell on memories, but I had something I needed to confirm. The familiar river… I used to come here often to fetch water when I was just an ordinary player. For me back then, planting flowers, fighting, chatting and sparring with friends was all there was to the game. When I treated this world as a simple game, I didn't realize that what humans do is the same everywhere. "

Life is like a game," that's what Elegy once told me, and now I clearly understand the emotions she conveyed when she said that. She and I had finally become the same kind of people, except that I could no longer see that woman.

"Where are we going?"

Asaga asked beside me.

"To visit a deceased friend,"

I said.

"Is there any point in visiting someone who's already dead?"

Asaga continued.

"I think... she would be happy if she knew I was going to see her."

"A dead person is dead. That thing you call a soul doesn't exist,"

Asaga said.

Whether a soul exists or not wasn't something Asaga could decide. But I did hope it did; it was a hope that humanity had always held, a hope that wasn't too bad.

In the distance, the ruins of Elegy's old wooden hut appeared before me. I thought I had overcome that inner obstacle, but seeing this familiar place still made my heart clench without a doubt.

A long time had passed; only broken frames and planks remained of the hut. I stood in front of the ruins for a while, feeling as empty inside as the ruins themselves.

Elegy and I sat here, sharing a cigarette. I had quit smoking since becoming a warrior, because I needed to keep my mind clear during battle. But standing here now, I wish I had a cigarette.

Next to me is the place where I buried Elegy, now overgrown with weeds, with only a small stone tablet I erected, inscribed with Elegy's name and the date of her death.

I started digging with the shrine, and a few minutes later I saw Elegy's hand, a hand reduced to bone. I stroked Elegy's hand, then filled the grave again.

She was truly dead, not resurrected…

"The Divine Capital" holds all sorts of secrets. I once naively fantasized that, for some reason I didn't know, Elegy was resurrected by some power, rising from her grave like me. But now it seems that was just a fantasy.

I wiped the tombstone with my sleeve, then sat down in front of it.

Asaga didn't say anything; she just sat far away in the ruins watching me do all this.

I took out a bottle of liquor and poured some in front of Elegy's grave.

"I never had the courage to come see you, you must have been lonely…"

Speaking to a tombstone is incredibly foolish, but I know there are some things I can't say anywhere else.

“I haven’t apologized to you until now, but I feel there’s no need anymore. You never needed me to apologize. Because apologies change nothing.”

The sound of the flowing river mingled with the birdsong in the woods, making the place seem unusually quiet.

“I really want to beg for your forgiveness… but I’ll probably never get an answer. I don’t want you to hate me, and if you did hate me, why didn’t you kill me back then?”

I asked a foolish question, wearing a foolish expression, and took a sip of wine in this foolish place.

A pungent smell… The taverns in Red Pine City never sell good wine…

“I’ve always missed you. If you knew this, would you be happy or scoff?”

“I really want you to see what I look like now. Back then, I couldn’t truly understand you, but now I understand everything… If I could fight alongside you, even just once, I would be content…”

“But as a level zero warrior, you probably aren’t used to cooperating with low-level warriors, right? Hahahaha…”

“I became comrades with Melfis. Remember that name? He almost killed me when he learned of your death… You know, there are very few things that would make him sad…”

“I was wanted, ten million gold coins, not a small amount, right? Heh… But to you, it’s probably just pocket change, isn’t it? A few times I had to fight against super-high-level warriors… Luckily, I’m still alive, and my limbs are still intact.”

“I also tasted betrayal… Although it wasn’t as intense as when I betrayed you… but I experienced it… You must have felt wronged back then… You should have killed me.”

“But I don’t want to die now.”

I poured her some more wine. “There are still many things to do. To understand what we’ve been through together, to avenge myself, to draw my sword for my comrades… so many things… and now I have a girl with whom I can risk my life… it’s interesting, and I’m happy, so I want to live a little longer.”

“If you still hate me, then get up and kill me… if you’ve forgiven me, then give me a little strength to continue struggling in this world…”

I gulped down the remaining wine, then poured it all out in front of Elegy’s grave.

I turned and left, my heart empty. All the words I had held back for so long were finally spoken, and my whole body felt lighter.

Asaga stood up to greet me, and I smiled slightly at her, while she pursed her lips.

This was a beginning, and also an end.

Elegy, please look at me… I looked up at the sky, the sunlight filtering through the leaves like golden silk. I listened for a while to the sound of the wind rustling through the trees, a sound like someone softly chanting something.

As

dusk approached, we prepared to leave Red Pine City early the next morning. Before settling into our lodgings, I decided to visit my old house, because having come all this way, I didn't want to leave so soon.

Familiar streets, familiar buildings, and occasionally, a few familiar faces. I covered my eyes with my hair, using my mask and cloak for concealment, and walked towards my old home from the game.

When I arrived at that familiar house, I saw the row of vibrant flowers. Someone was still watering them; whether it was Yingfeng or not, I didn't know.

Asaja exclaimed softly "Ah!" upon seeing the flowers, then ran over as if to pick them. I tried to pull her back but couldn't, and not daring to call out, I followed her.

But Asaja didn't pick them; instead, she squatted there, her eyes wide, carefully stroking the smooth petals with her fingers.

"So beautiful!"

she said, turning to me, then reaching for another flower.

Those flowers were indeed beautiful. When I was just an ordinary person, watering these plants was merely to please my girlfriend. However, looking at them again today, I felt as if they represented a peaceful world incredibly distant from me.

"Hey, if you dare pick them, the owner of these flowers will be angry,"

a voice called out.

The moment I saw that person, a very strange emotion welled up in my chest.

It was Zhang Long. My former best friend, I should be happy to see him again... but when I saw him wearing the standard officer's armor of the Red Pine City Guard, a very oppressive feeling welled up in my heart.

He once said he would leave this game, but it seems...

"I didn't mean to pick them,"

Asahi glanced at him expressionlessly.

At that moment, the door opened, and I saw Yingfeng walk out.

The girl I once deeply loved was now standing in front of me, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. She was still the same as before, her eyes bright and radiant... I suddenly felt ashamed of myself. I no longer had the right to stand beside her. My hands were stained with the blood of countless people—the innocent, the murderers, friends, enemies… I felt as if getting close to her would defile her.

“Do you like it? You can pick one if you like,”

Yingfeng said with a smile to Asajia, who was squatting there.

Asajia looked at her, then shook her head and ran back to my side. When Yingfeng and Zhanglong looked in my direction, I turned my head away, not giving them a chance to see my face. If it were them, they might recognize me even if they only saw my eyes.

Asajia and I walked back a bit, then turned to look at them again. Yingfeng and Zhanglong kissed each other and went into the house.

I breathed a long sigh of relief. In any case, Yingfeng had returned to a normal life, and Zhanglong was a reliable man. I felt at ease knowing he was taking care of Yingfeng. It seemed this trip was worthwhile; it had resolved many inner conflicts and relieved me of many worries.

I betrayed Wange to save Zhanglong, but it wasn't Zhanglong's fault, so I didn't truly resent him.

But the only thing I couldn't accept was that he was still in this game, and had even become a high-ranking officer in the city guard. If I remembered correctly, that armor was a high-grade item only captains could wear.

Red Pine City wasn't a big city, so the city guard under the city lord wasn't very large, and its members were probably just ordinary soldiers plus some batteries. To be conservative, what Zhang Long did wasn't beyond the scope of an ordinary player, and the gold coins he earned as captain could also supplement his family's income quite well. I had no reason to object, nor any grounds to object...

Asa and I checked into the inn. She started eating and drinking as usual, while I had absolutely no appetite. Logically speaking, I should have let go of many of my burdens, but I just inexplicably started to feel depressed.

Probably because the money in my pocket was slowly being emptied. "When you're broke, you can't even stand up straight," I thought to myself with a self-deprecating smile.

Just as I was idly stealing cauliflower from Asa's plate, a small squad of city guard soldiers suddenly burst into the tavern.

"What's going on?"

I asked the bartender at the tavern. It was a battery, so conversation was relatively easy.

"I heard some criminals have escaped to our city. The city guards have been checking every inn these past few days,"

the guy said casually.

Most cities in "Divine Capital" were built by ordinary people, and the surrounding areas weren't particularly high-level or adventurous places. Red Pine City was one such city. So even if mercenaries were here, they were mostly just passing through. Only a few towns became mercenary strongholds. Because I was a mercenary myself, it felt like large groups of mercenaries gathered wherever I went. Actually, most towns were similar to Red Pine City—quite peaceful places.

Otherwise, Elegy wouldn't have chosen to live in seclusion here in the first place…

Occasionally, wanted criminals would come to these ordinary cities to hide, but their levels were mostly low. If it weren't for that, the ordinary soldiers of the city guard wouldn't be so confident. There were

n't many mercenaries among adventurers who actually used level zero neural simulation, and those above A-rank were even rarer. There were probably fewer than one real murderer like me on average across several cities.

They weren't looking for me, I was sure of it. Because a wanted criminal of A-rank or higher combat level like me was simply not someone they could mess with.

The guards started seriously checking every customer in the tavern, and seeing them do that made me a little worried. If they recognized me, running away or fighting wouldn't matter, but I wouldn't be able to sleep in a bed tonight.

I just hoped none of them were particularly interested in the wanted list. Only extremely bored people would do that, after all, high-ranking wanted lists had nothing to do with them, and you needed a registered mercenary identity to see them. So I wasn't particularly worried.

*Slap!*

Just as I was glancing sideways at the guards, Asaga slapped my hand hard.

"You ate all that cauliflower!"

she said, her voice trembling with tears. Of course, I could tell she was deliberately being coquettish.

I'd been thinking about things, and I'd fallen into my old habit again—my hands were always busy, constantly putting food in my mouth. In no time, I'd eaten every last bit of her cauliflower.

"You're so stingy, I'll have another plate."

I said irritably.

"You're making me so angry! I've lost my appetite!"

she said, baring her teeth.

"You had no appetite but still ate three big plates of fried rice!"

I cursed. This girl, she doesn't care at all about spending other people's money. She's a real princess, she doesn't even have a concept of money.

We argued for a bit, and then a guard came over and patted my shoulder.

"What?"

I asked rudely.

"Give me your ID and the purpose of your visit to Red Pine City."

The captain of the guards frowned and looked at me before saying.

"ID: Cauliflower, just passing by."

I lied.

The captain wrinkled his nose; he instinctively felt that my ID wasn't very credible, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Don't try to play tricks on me. Just answer our questions honestly, and there won't be any trouble, unless you want to have some peace and quiet."

He threatened me.

I can only say he's really immersed in his role-playing in the game…

“Thunderbolt Warrior Cauliflower, haven’t you heard of him? I’m a high-ranking warrior.”

I continued my lie with a straight face.

Seeing me utter such a playful title so seriously, the captain was actually fooled, hesitating for a moment with a sheepish look on his face before deciding to leave with his men.

But then Asaga burst into laughter, completely exposing everything…

I covered my face, wanting to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. After all, it’s okay to get away with this kind of nonsense, but once exposed, it feels like a complete loss of face.

“Playing us for fools? Arrest him! Find out his identity first!”

The captain, furious, watched as Asaga laughed, his face contorted with embarrassment.

I stood up and began summoning the Burial Ghost. It wasn't a real fight, but rather a ploy to deter them.

The gray ghost wailed and began circling me, freezing the guards who were about to charge.

"I was lying earlier, but I don't want to reveal my name. If you know what's good for you, leave. Don't be a troublemaker. I'm not the person you're looking for, and I don't want any trouble."

If they were professional warriors, these words would have resolved the situation perfectly. I thought I'd done my job well, but I overlooked one crucial point: these ordinary players simply didn't understand the difference in strength. Like I used to be, they thought even a high level was just an A-rank, and that a few low-level warriors teaming up could easily defeat someone.

"Go call for backup! Report this to the captain!"

the leader shouted.

My head spun.

"Let's go,"

I said to Asaga. Even if they wanted to call for backup, these guys couldn't stop us from leaving now.

“I’m not leaving, you owe me a plate of cauliflower,”

Asaja said expressionlessly. I was so angry I almost vomited blood.

This girl…

“If you don’t leave, I will.”

“No way. You promised you wouldn’t abandon me,”

she said calmly.

My chest tightened, I just couldn’t do anything with this girl. When a woman gets willful, a tragedy is about to unfold for the man.

“Give her a plate of cauliflower!”

I shouted angrily at the waiter.

I was facing off with several members of the city guard in the hall, while Asaja was behind me, dipping her cauliflower in the salad and eating it bite by bite. If I were a bystander, I would have laughed my head off.

But there were no bystanders around; the other players had all run outside to avoid getting involved in any potential conflict. A few guys were peeking out of the door, and it was noisy outside.

I put on my mask, which made the city guards even more wary. They slowly retreated until they reached the door and guarded the exit. I paced back and forth impatiently, just hoping Asaja would eat faster.

The commotion at the entrance grew louder, and I sensed energy fluctuations. Someone was already flying towards us, not fast, but it seemed we couldn't leave peacefully anymore. And I could guess who it was…

Zhang Long walked in, sword in hand, and stood a few meters in front of me.

“I'm the captain of the city guard. We're investigating a wanted criminal who ran into the area. If you're not the person we're looking for, we don't want any trouble. Could you come with us?”

Zhang Long spoke with considerable restraint.

My mask obscured my voice, so I wasn't worried he'd recognize me. “Going with you might not clear things up, and I don't like taking orders,”

I said. After all, I was indeed a wanted criminal, and going to the mercenary headquarters to verify things would be beyond my control.

“Looks like a fight is inevitable.”

Zhang Long raised his sword.

A deep-seated disgust, barely perceptible, rose within me, and my words carried a murderous glint. "Zhang Long, aren't you afraid of death?" Zhang

Long frowned. "Do you know me? You don't need to worry about me. Whether I die or not is my decision."

That disgust was suddenly catalyzed into rage by those words.

I gave everything I had back then to save you… Many people died because of it, and you promised never to return to this game. But look at you now, it seems you've forgotten how to respect death…

Is it because you've become stronger? Is it because of the confidence built from winning so many tough battles? It seems the price I paid for you didn't teach you anything…

My murderous aura emanated uncontrollably. Zhang Long's expression turned grave, and he began to retreat, gathering his energy in preparation for battle.

I stepped outside and fired an energy blast. Zhang Long deployed his shield to block it, but I lowered my body and fired more energy blasts. He kept retreating diagonally backward, trying to deflect the power of the energy blasts.

This was exactly what I wanted—to control his movements and blast him in the direction I intended. Zhang Long jumped onto the roof, and I followed. Then, from an angle where no one else could see, I removed my mask, revealing it to Zhang Long.

Zhang Long frowned at first, then opened his mouth wide three seconds later. Seeing his expression, I knew he had recognized me, so I put my mask back on and dashed out of the city.

Zhang Long immediately ordered the others to stay put and then chased after me, flying out of the city.

If I flew at full speed, he wouldn't be able to catch me at all, so I maintained a speed below A-level.

I landed in a deserted wilderness, and Zhang Long landed as well.

"You're alive!"

He ran up, seemingly wanting to hug me, but I drew my sword and slashed at him.

Zhang Long was shocked. He thought my previous confrontation with him was just an act because there were many people around, but he didn't expect that I really wanted to teach him a lesson.

He also drew his sword and tried to fight back, but I bypassed his defensive weapons and shattered his shield in just two moves, then blasted him to the ground with an energy blast.

“Zhang Long, you said your life and death are in your own hands. If I kill you here, wouldn’t that prove you wrong?”

I said coldly, pointing my sword at him.

“Greedy Wolf…it’s been over a year…where have you been? You disappeared after the shop was bombed, but no one can find your body…”

His words felt so distant, so distant that I couldn’t even be bothered to recall the circumstances and my state of mind at that time.

“Captain of the city guard…it seems you’re not afraid of death anymore.”

I stared at him and said.

“I’m very strong now.”

He said.

When I heard that, I really wanted to kill him right then and there…but if I did, Yingfeng would be heartbroken.

“So strong that I could put my sword to your neck after just two moves?”

I sneered.

“I haven’t even had a chance to use…”

He tried to argue again…I didn’t give him a chance to speak, and instead unleashed all the energy I had.

When the energy storm on my body rose, I realized that I seemed to have surpassed level five…because only warriors above level five can create a storm during the pure energy explosion.

“Ahhh!”

I roared as I unleashed all the energy in my body. Rocks, soil, and broken trees, shattered by the energy, were swept away and crushed into dust by the storm. The energy pillar began to spread rapidly, eventually leaving a large circular crater more than twenty meters wide in the ground.

Zhang Long had been swept far away by the energy storm; he lay on the ground coughing incessantly, seemingly injured by the energy.

"You didn't even have time to use anything?"

I asked, my body still wreathed in residual energy flames, as I walked up to him and looked down at him.

Zhang Long was speechless. He was stunned by the energy I unleashed and realized how ridiculous his excuses were.

"Someone with my strength is still being chased and beaten to a pulp by someone stronger... Do you really think you're that strong now?"

I said fiercely. "Or I could just kill you now, so Yingfeng wouldn't have to watch you get killed..."

"You... you're still alive... why didn't you come back?"

Zhang Long didn't respond, but continued talking about the past.

I closed my eyes. "I have no interest in dwelling on pointless memories. I don't remember the past."

"Yingfeng... she misses you so much..."

Zhang Long said.

I wanted to tell him something like "treat her well," but deep down I felt those words were incredibly foolish.

"Perhaps I shouldn't interfere in your lives anymore, but you should think carefully about whether you really want to leave Yingfeng behind and die in this world."

"Yingfeng and I... you know..."

I nodded.

"This should also be your life... I've managed the shop very well for you, you can take it back when you come back... Yingfeng... I won't fight you for her..."

A feeling of powerlessness welled up from my limbs. I didn't want to say anything more. I know that no matter how hard I try, it's difficult to change other people's minds, just like Zhang Long... I can't really kill him, and he'll just continue to play around in "Divine Capital." I have no right to decide how others live their lives...

I sheathed my knife and turned to leave. I shouldn't have talked so much with Zhang Long, I shouldn't have even shown up...

The feeling of having my old life laid out before me again but being unable to touch it is incredibly painful.

I don't want to, and can't, go back.

Zhang Long called after me, and I knew he still had a lot to say to me, and he wanted me to see Yingfeng. But I still left, or rather, I ran away, a strange fear rising in my heart. I was afraid I would start missing those carefree days again.

When I returned to the inn, most of the people had already left. Zhang Long wouldn't bother me anymore, so I didn't need to worry about the city guards. Asagi had already finished eating, and she sat at the bar watching me.

"Did you have a good time chatting with your friends?"

she asked.

I frowned. "What do you know? I don't remember telling you I know that person."

Asahi stared into my eyes. "Not just that person, but also that woman who grows flowers. Did you go see her?"

I was a little stunned. "I didn't see her... but how did you know?"

"Although there are many things about you humans that I don't understand, I'm not stupid, and I learn quickly. I understand what that woman's eyes mean. You came here to see them, I know."

I thought about it carefully, and my brows furrowed. "You deliberately lured Zhang Long here!"

Asahi nodded with a smile. "I can tell you really want to talk to them. But you seem to be forcing yourself to hold back, so I'll help you this once."

"My affairs are none of your business!"

I yelled at her, already in a bad mood, and now I felt like she had played me.

Asahi didn't argue with me. Instead, she reached out and touched my face, quietly saying, "I'm so glad you didn't go to see your ex alone. Whatever you gave up, let bygones be bygones."

Hearing her words, I inexplicably calmed down, and the restless emotions I had been feeling slowly dissipated from my chest. Asahi ruffled my hair and then gently kissed my lips. Her movements were elegant and composed, as if she weren't that naive girl anymore. "What's this?" I licked the lingering fragrance on my lips and couldn't help

but ask her

with a smile. "The antidote to bad moods." Asahi smiled slightly as well. ********** ... The continent we're on is called the Brass Continent, and it has three port cities that connect to the Azure Continent: Haibo City, where the Hell Temple Guild is located; Dugard City, where Dreams is located; and White Sail City. I chose the last one because I was afraid of being recognized due to the dense population of the first two. The two tickets cost me another four thousand gold coins… Poverty makes one lose ambition, and now I have to count my money carefully. I've been to other continents before, but back then there were teleportation portals, which were much cheaper than sea travel. However, due to conflicts, the teleportation portal on the Brass Continent was destroyed, and the seaports became the only way to connect the other two continents. Our cruise ship looks quite large; I heard it not only has casinos and bars, but also swimming pools and other entertainment facilities. After all, going to another continent would take a full week at sea. The two thousand gold coins for a ticket seems like a good deal, including a double room and a free buffet. "Happy now? Buffet!" I pointed to the information on the back of the ticket for Asaga. "What's a buffet?" "It's like eating as much as you want." Asaga's eyes widened. "It's free!" I nodded with a smile. "Hooray!" As long as there's food, Asaga can eat forever. Even if she's not hungry, she can eat. I believe she could devour all the food on this ship if she wanted to, as long as she had the time. While waiting to board in the lounge, I secretly observed the people around me. Hundreds of passengers, and the vast majority were in groups of three to five, mostly warriors. This struck me as odd, because it's usually impossible to gather so many warriors on one ship; it was too much of a coincidence. However, after listening to the conversations around me for a while, I understood the situation. At this time, almost everyone traveling to the Azure Continent was going to participate in the "Battle of the Dome" competition in the Nazalius Royal City. This competition seemed to have reached many people's ears, and many high-level warriors confident in their strength were crowding towards it. I figured there were probably very few people below A-rank in this hall. I had to conceal my identity carefully; if these guys cornered me on the ship, I'd probably be dead. “From now on, don’t call me by my name. We’ll be in trouble if someone hears us,” I said to Asaga from outside. “Then what should I call you? Hamburger? Cauliflower?” I laughed in exasperation. “Can’t you use food names?” “Then you tell me yourself.” I glanced down at the sword at my waist. “Jingu.” The girl nodded.

With two hours until boarding, boredom drove Asahi and me to sleep, leaning against each other. Afterwards, I felt incredibly stupid for showing no awareness of being a wanted criminal among these high-ranking soldiers. But once you're tired, it's hard to stay awake; those guys who cause accidents due to fatigue didn't fall asleep intentionally.

When I woke up after a good nap, I found the lounge almost empty. Checking the time, boarding time was over half an hour past; everyone who was supposed to board had already done so. That was good; at least I didn't have to squeeze through the crowd.

I pinched Asahi's cheek; she rubbed her eyes, propped herself up from my shoulder, and stretched lazily.

"You're finally awake,"

a voice came from behind us.

I stood up and turned warily in that direction, inwardly cursing myself for being so careless as to fall asleep in a place like this.

There sat a man, resting his chin on his hand, smiling at me. He had short, blond hair, but deliberately left a long tuft at the back of his head, tied into a thin braid. He had a short stick tucked into his waistband, and a complex-shaped gauntlet on his left forearm. Based on my experience, the short stick was definitely some kind of energy weapon, and the gauntlet was probably a foldable shield-like item.

Generally speaking, this kind of equipment wasn't cheap, because the advantage of energy weapons is their lightweight nature and durability.

So if he had acquired these things through his own strength, it meant he was of a high level.

"What's up?"

I pulled Asaga to my side, glancing at him sideways as we walked towards the boarding stairs.

The man followed. "Are you going to participate in the 'Battle of the Dome'?"

This man seemed quite easygoing, and his smile was rather friendly, but for some reason, I didn't really like this type of guy.

"So what if we are, so what if we aren't?"

I asked coldly.

“Don’t be so cold… If you’re going to participate in the competition, I’d like to team up with you.”

This guy was being a bit too abrupt, suddenly making such a request to strangers was quite presumptuous. Leaving aside the issue of mutual trust, it’s rare for someone to do something like that.

I stopped and turned to look at him. “Do you think we’d agree?”

The man scratched his head. “I think so.”

“Why?”

“The ‘Battle of the Dome’ requires teams to have three to five members. You only have two people, so I think you’ll probably need a helper.”

I didn’t know this information because I hadn’t paid much attention to the details of the competition; that was Melfis’s responsibility.

“Sorry, we have other companions, but they’re not with us right now.”

His reason wasn’t great, but it wasn’t unreasonable either, so my hostility lessened somewhat.

“What a pity…”

The man shrugged and gave up trying to persuade us.

I nodded to him and boarded the ship before him. This man didn’t seem to have any intention of boarding yet; I think he wanted to try out a few more teams that hadn’t boarded yet before setting sail.

After seeing that he wasn't following us, Asaga suddenly spoke.

"That man..."

"What's wrong?"

I noticed the girl's expression was somewhat cold.

"He has a very unpleasant smell..."

"No, I didn't smell anything."

Asaga glanced at me, "I'm not talking about body odor!"

She's always eating, so when it comes to smells, I instinctively associate them with my sense of smell. It shouldn't be my fault... probably...

"What exactly happened?"

"I'm not sure, but we'd better not get involved with him... I feel very uncomfortable."

I wasn't planning on paying attention to him anyway, so I just nodded.

**********

This cruise ship is really huge, with a spacious main deck, about the size of a football field. The ship has several decks, and the huge decorative masts are dozens of meters high; I think calling it a floating castle wouldn't be an exaggeration.

When we got our tickets, we received our room keys, and following the numbers, we wandered around for a long time before finally finding our room. Once inside, I immediately felt that two thousand gold coins were really too extravagant.

It was a rather luxurious suite. The bedroom window offered a direct view of the sea, the floor had a very comfortable, thick carpet, and there was even a small kitchenette…

Having grown accustomed to sleeping rough and in small-town inns, I'd never really spent extra money on accommodation before. This

was my first time staying in such a high-class suite, and the feeling was definitely different. Just thinking about spending a week in such a room made me feel much better.

Asaga seemed completely oblivious to the room's lavish decorations, casually sitting on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window, peacefully gazing at the horizon, exuding princess-like elegance.

I strolled to the kitchen and opened the cabinet; as I expected, there were several bottles of wine inside. Not anything particularly good, but much better than the cheap stuff in ordinary pubs. I poured myself a glass, took a sip, and then looked around for ice.

"Want some?"

I called to Asaga, shaking the bottle in my hand.

Asaga quietly turned her head to look at me, her silver hair gently sliding down her shoulders. The afternoon sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling window onto her profile, making her appear languid and alluring. The scene before me left me momentarily stunned. The girl sitting there looked like an expensive oil painting, so captivating.

She nodded at me. I took a second glass from the rack, poured some, and handed it to her.

I'd expected her to choke, but she seemed quite adept at enjoying her drink. After a small sip, her face flushed slightly, radiant.

"Not bad,"

she said, wiping her lips and placing the glass on the small table beside her.

Just then, the surrounding vessels trembled slightly, and the cruise ship slowly began to move. I plopped down next to Asaga, propping my feet up on the table, savoring the rare tranquility. The crashing of the waves against the ship was clearly audible, and the cries of seabirds drifted in through the window.

I turned to look at the girl; she glanced at me too, but said nothing.

A strange feeling crept over me. Asaga seemed preoccupied ever since boarding the ship.

I'd initially thought she'd rush to the restaurant to grab a seat, but now she seemed to have little appetite.

Asaga had no appetite… This was the first time I'd ever seen her like this.

“What’s wrong?”

I asked casually.

Asaga shook her head. “Nothing.”

“This isn’t like you.”

“Then what do you think is like me?”

“I just feel you’ve become very depressed. Why is that?”

“This ship gives me a very bad feeling,”

the girl said in a low voice.

I glanced around our suite again. "Isn't a free buffet a good thing?"

Asaga frowned at me. "Do you think I'm just a gluttonous fool?"

Oblivious to the danger, I nodded.

She reached out and pressed her fingertips against my throat. "Do you want to die?"

Looking at her expression, I realized she wasn't in a good mood. I didn't know why, but she wouldn't say when I asked.

My plan to tease her and enjoy her cute expression failed. Asaga sat there with a "don't mess with me" look, and I suddenly felt bored.

Perhaps her earlier kiss had made me a little carried away; now, thinking back, that kiss probably didn't have any special meaning. Like she said, it was just a consolation prize…

I left her alone in the room and started wandering around the cruise ship.

This ship was truly huge, even bigger than it appeared from below. Fortunately, the signage was quite detailed, and I quickly arrived at the top-floor entertainment area.

A casino—probably the liveliest place on the entire ship. I exchanged some chips and then started looking for a table that interested me.

My luck was good; the 500 gold coins I exchanged at the beginning quickly turned into 800. But once I got immersed in the game, including what I had won before and what I exchanged later, I suddenly lost over 6,000... My

already bad mood plummeted, and now I only had 8,000 gold coins left.

Among mercenaries, someone like me is basically penniless...

In less than a month, my assets of over 7 million gold coins dropped to 8,000... Thinking about it now, I really was a spendthrift.

Casinos are really not for me; the thrill of gambling is far less exciting than fighting, especially when you lose a lot of gold coins in an instant.

After leaving the casino, it was already evening, so I went to a bar. What was more satisfying was that there was a striptease show. I ordered a drink and sat in front of the dance floor watching the dancers pass the time.

I thought things were going well between Asaga and me, but now I realized that was just wishful thinking. This woman couldn't be judged by common sense; all my previous experience with women was completely useless on her. That's why my possessiveness towards her grew stronger.

I admit I was a bit greedy, but why suppress my desires? I had nothing to lose right now.

A hand reached for my chest, and I realized the dancers on the dance floor were flirting with me. I slipped a hundred-pound note into her bra, then left my seat and strolled to the bar.

"Very generous, mercenary, huh?"

the bartender said, looking at me.

"Get me a drink."

I gave her a pound note in return. I didn't have much money left anyway, so I might as well be generous; otherwise, it would only be enough for Asaga's food.

"What would you like to drink? Our most expensive drink here won't cost a hundred pounds."

"Get me your best one, the rest is a tip."

The bartender smiled and began preparing the drink. Since most people were gathered around the dance floor, the place was relatively quiet, and she seemed quite relaxed.

Soon, a red and blue drink was placed in front of me. I frowned; the color didn't appeal to me at all.

“‘Deep Sea Sunset,’ as you said, is my specialty,”

she said.

I contorted my face and took a sip, finding it surprisingly delicious.

“How long have you been working here?”

I casually started chatting with the female bartender.

“Several months, the pay is decent, and the work isn’t too tiring. And you? How long have you been a mercenary?”

“I can’t quite remember, maybe a year or two.”

“Usually there aren’t this many mercenaries on the ship, but this time there are so many…”

She glanced at the customers in the bar; almost all of them carried weapons.

“There’s a competition in the Nazaris Royal City on the Azure Continent, and we’re all going to participate.”

“I see… Hehe, are you good? Can you win?”

she asked with a coquettish laugh.

“That depends on luck.”

I didn’t elaborate.

“You seem to be the more modest type… that’s rare among mercenaries.”

That’s because I know my own limitations and have tasted the bitterness of defeat many times.

“The drink is good.”

I raised my glass to her and changed the subject.

The female bartender's lips curled slightly upwards as she leaned towards me and whispered, "I get off work at ten."

I paused for a moment, then smiled; this could be considered a romantic encounter. The girl was pleasing to the eye, and I hadn't been with an ordinary woman in a long time.

With no reason to refuse, I nodded to her.

"My name is Cindy, what's yours?"

"Shin-gyo."

"Wait for me after work."

I sat back down at the bar, slowly sipping my drink. Cindy ignored me and started attending to other customers.

I rarely approach women in places like this, and few women approach me either. But this time, I inexplicably accepted her invitation, as if it were fate.

At ten o'clock, Cindy, dressed as a barmaid, came out from behind the bar and took my arm.

"Want to come to my place or yours?"

she asked, smiling at me with her eyes crinkled.

“Come to your place. There’s someone else in my room.”

Cindy stared at me, wide-eyed. “You have a partner but still go out and pick up women? You’re pretty impressive, aren’t you?”

I shook my head. “It’s not what you think.”

Cindy chuckled. “Okay, okay, come to my place.”

Cindy’s staff room wasn’t big, but it was fully furnished, similar to the small hotels I usually stayed in.

We started getting intimate. She pushed me onto the sofa, and I gently caressed her soft breasts through her uniform.

“Wait a minute.”

Cindy suddenly grabbed my hand as I was undressing her. “Don’t wrinkle my uniform… I’m going to change.”

I slapped her bottom, signaling her to hurry up. Cindy giggled and went into the bedroom next door.

I leaned against the sofa, waiting for her to come back, but a full three minutes passed, and my passion was almost gone, but she still hadn’t come out.

“Cindy?”

I stood up, annoyed, and pushed open her bedroom door.

The bedroom was empty; she was gone.

I stood in her room, frowning and at a loss, looking around several times. I opened the wardrobe and checked carefully, even looking under the bed. She was really gone…

“Damn it…”

I cursed in shock, a chilling premonition rising within me.

I peered out of the bedroom window, but there was nowhere to step, neither above nor below… Besides, it was the dead of night; there was no reason for this girl to play such a prank.

My hand instinctively went to the hilt of the shrine sword, attempting to boost my power, but I failed.

I couldn't use my energy… Cold sweat broke out all over my body.

Since boarding the ship, I hadn't needed to use my energy. But when I suddenly wanted to, it had been completely drained without me noticing.

A mercenary who had always danced on the edge of a sword felt like being stripped naked in the cold wind after losing my energy; a tremendous fear rose in my chest, choking me and rendering me immobile.

If this was a conspiracy… Cindy shouldn't be part of it, because if she wanted to lure me into this trap, there was no reason for me to be standing here unharmed.

As for whether I was the only one without energy, or if everyone on the ship was, I didn't know.

But I couldn't ask anyone, because that would be like alerting them and announcing my current vulnerable state.

Asaga…

Thinking of this, I immediately rushed out of the room and ran towards my own.

Along the way, everyone else stared at me as I ran, as if I were crazy. Everyone around me was calm; I didn't notice anything unusual, but it felt like the calm before the storm.

When I rushed into the room, I froze.

The huge French windows had been shattered by some force, large shards of glass scattered on the floor, and the sea wind raged relentlessly through the room. The sofa, table, and wine glasses were smashed to pieces, but Asaga was nowhere to be seen.

There was no blood, no trace of energy combat… she was just gone, like Cindy.

In fact, on the first night of the voyage, nearly a hundred people had gone missing, all of them alone.

A terrifying voyage had begun.

I didn't know that nearly a fifth of the ship's crew had gone missing that night, but soon the other passengers realized what was happening. First, more and more people searched for their missing companions, then some discovered they had lost their energy. It's easy to imagine the chaos that ensued on the ship's first night at sea.

I resisted the urge to go out and search for Asaga, as searching under these circumstances would be extremely difficult and risky, easily drawing me into the commotion. I was currently out of energy. While I might still have the upper hand in a one-on-one or two-on-one situation, I was absolutely incapable of dealing with more enemies.

Especially now, with everyone on board suspicious of each other, no one dared to be sure if the person next to them was the mastermind behind this incident.

I sat in a dark corner of the room, listening to the roars and shouts of the crowd outside. These chilling cries reached my ears intermittently; people were gripped by immense panic, and reason and composure were pushed to the brink.

It wasn't that I wasn't afraid, but such emotions were of no help at the moment.

Forcing myself to concentrate, I began to carefully analyze the information I had, trying to piece together some clues.

When did this energy-draining curse array take effect? How long would it last? And where were the array's runes located? If I knew all this, at least I could put up a fight against the guys hiding behind the scenes.

I've come into contact with cursed magic circles before. It was the very circle that trapped Asaga in Dreams Castle. That circle was extremely high-level; it would activate as soon as it came into contact with it. It was very efficient and didn't require continuous casting. I talked about that circle with Melfis afterward, and he told me it was practically a forbidden spell, usable only by top-tier mages or highly skilled magic warriors.

The magic circle on this ship must be different from the one from back then, because the ship has many levels, and we couldn't possibly have direct contact with it all the time. So I can only assume that the circle's influence is a cylindrical area centered on it, extending vertically.

The radius of the circle is very large; if I'm not mistaken, the entire ship will be affected. Although I'm not an expert on magic circles and magic, I at least know that with such a wide range of influence, its efficiency must be extremely low.

But this voyage itself is a completely enclosed space; once it sets sail, no one can leave.

So the masterminds had plenty of time to drain us completely.

However, one thing I'm certain of is that the mastermind behind it all, like us, has become energyless. Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to resort to a sneak attack. I have no doubt that a professional warrior, if they wanted to, could easily wipe us all out without a scratch.

So why would they do this? Using that level of magic array to affect an entire ship's crew is a bit too much. If their target was among the passengers, they could simply set up the array in the target's room.

The only answer I can think of is that they wanted to destroy the entire ship.

As for why, I can't say for sure.

What's certain is that the crew members are uninvolved, at least most of them. Cindy has been on this ship for several months, and judging from her, this situation has never happened before.

In other words, this was an unexpected incident.

To conserve my energy, I shamelessly crawled under the bed and slept for a while. I didn't find it shameful. Compared to being killed in my sleep, crawling on the floor a few times was nothing.

When I woke up, the commotion outside seemed to have subsided. I crawled out of my hiding place, opened the door, and went outside.

There was blood in the corridor, but not much or thick. Judging from this, last night's commotion wouldn't have resulted in many deaths or injuries; at most, it was just a brawl triggered by an outburst of inner fear.

But the missing people were different. I was deeply worried about Asaga. That guy had suffered greatly before because of the cursed magic circle, and this time... It

was already broad daylight, and the deck was a mess of filth. The crew, in their panic, didn't seem to be doing a good job cleaning up the mess from last night.

People huddled in small groups on the spacious, uncovered deck, seemingly afraid that if they were left alone, they would become the one who disappeared.

I scanned the crowd; most of them were warriors, and judging from their equipment and expressions, they were all around A-rank. I don't think I can find the culprit among them, because that magic circle wasn't something these mid-level warriors could create. While it's possible they were deliberately disguised as ordinary warriors, I have no way of seeing through their disguise.

If Melfis were here, things might be different; that guy's insight is far beyond what I, with my ordinary background, can match.

I'd love to search the entire ship, but I can't ignore what I'll face if I'm alone. Everyone's out of energy; those with a fighting advantage will have a huge edge.

I'm somewhat stronger than the average warrior, after all, Mr. Fang and Melfis's guidance has significantly improved my energy-less combat abilities. But that doesn't mean I'll be able to fight back against someone with truly skilled fighting techniques.

Several teams have already started searching the cabins, shouting the names of the missing members, trying their best to find them.

Suddenly, someone shouted something nearby, and a large group of people pushed and shoved their way towards it.

The crowd gathered at the base of a thick mast, over two meters wide, all craning their necks to look up. I walked over and looked up too.

The sight chilled me to the bone.

A young woman, completely naked, had her hands firmly nailed to the very top of the mast.

Two deep red streaks of blood ran down the mast from her palms. The mast was dozens of meters high, and I couldn't tell if the woman was dead or alive.

"Kelna!"

a mournful scream came from beside me. I turned to see a male soldier, his eyes bloodshot, clinging to the mast and frantically calling out the name of the woman nailed there.

Several men tried to climb up, but the mast was too thick and large; without tools, it was impossible.

Everyone could only watch helplessly as the man screamed in despair.

The girl nailed there, named Kelna, seemed to be awakened from her unconsciousness by her comrades' cries, because I saw her begin to move.

When she realized her situation, she seemed to lose her mind and began to struggle frantically.

"Kelna! Don't move! Wait for us to save you!"

But it was too late. The girl screamed as she broke free of one of her nailed hands, her body sinking downwards, and her other hand began to tear as it was pulled. She plummeted from the top of the mast.

A dull thud, the clear sound of bones breaking, followed by the man's sorrowful and furious howl.

The crowd stirred again; some rushed forward to try and comfort the man, while others used their cloaks to cover the woman's body. At that moment, everyone felt a shared sense of sympathy and fear.

I watched this scene, terrified that Asaga would be the next one nailed to the mast.

Nailing the victim to that place, letting her fall to her death before our very eyes… why did they do this?

What benefit did it bring them? Everything should have a reason, or, as Melfis would say, at least a desired outcome for those who did it.

To intimidate us? To be honest, we were already terrified by the disappearances on the ship; was it really necessary to continue like this?

“…How could anyone be nailed to that kind of place…”

A light voice suddenly sounded beside me. I turned my head and saw a male warrior. He had his hair in a braid and a thoughtful expression on his face.

This made me frown as well. He was right. Without special tools like ropes and crimping shoes for climbing masts, no one could climb to that place. And even if they had the tools, how could they possibly carry someone up there little by little and then nail them securely?

“…If you could fly with energy…”

I subconsciously replied.

The man turned his head and looked at me with a slightly surprised expression. “Yes…you’re right…but the entire ship is covered with a magic circle. How could anyone have escaped?”

“You also know about the cursed magic circle?”

“Yes, it seems I’ve met someone who knows the same information.”

The man smiled at me. “Singafaro, that’s my name.”

“Shingu.”

I pointed to myself.

“She is Yu Ying, my companion.”

Singafaro gestured to me, and only then did I notice a girl standing next to him looking at me.

The girl was the quiet type, her eyes sparkling behind her bangs. She nodded slightly at me as a greeting.

"Have any of your companions gone missing?"

I asked.

Singafro nodded. "An idiot… said he was going to relieve himself last night, and never came back. We're all frantic."

"My companion is missing too, but I don't know where to begin,"

I said frankly. "Do you have any leads?"

"We plan to search the entire ship. If he wasn't thrown overboard, we'll find him. But there are only two of us, and it doesn't feel safe…"

Singafro said in a low voice.

"Count me in,"

I said decisively. It wasn't that I trusted him so easily, but it was the only option if I wanted to do something.

Singafro looked at me for a moment, then at Youying. Youying nodded to him, and then we walked together towards a less crowded area. They seemed to be experienced adventurers, otherwise they wouldn't be so in sync with me.

"Do you think what I said earlier makes sense?"

I asked Singafro.

"To pin that woman so high up, as you said, it's almost impossible to fly without energy. But I'm not wrong either; there shouldn't be any area on this ship that the magic array doesn't cover. Even if there were, their energy would be drained when they came here to do their work, wouldn't it?"

I shook my head. "The absorption efficiency of this magic array can't be very high because the area of influence is too large. If it were them, it wouldn't be impossible for them to time their energy drained."

"That would be really troublesome... We could be facing a group of opponents who still have energy at any time... Wouldn't that mean..."

"Maybe that's exactly what they want..."

Youying, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly opened her mouth, her voice clear and melodious. With such a beautiful voice, I don't know why she's so quiet.

"You mean their purpose in pinning her down is to tell us that they themselves have energy?"

Singafro frowned and pondered.

"Is there any other possibility besides that?"

Youying said.

“Yes.”

I suddenly realized something. “Not everyone can think of this… I think they seem a bit guilty for doing this…”

“They’re just trying to warn those of us with above-average analytical skills, to prevent us from acting rashly…”

Youying continued, deep in thought.

“Doesn’t that just prove they don’t actually have the power? They’re just guilty!”

I said decisively.

A few words of conversation clarified things considerably for all three of us. Our analysis might not be correct, but the probability was very high. We looked at each other, feeling as if we had grasped a bit of the underlying logic.

“You seem to know a lot about this magic circle?”

Singafalo asked me.

I shook my head. "I don't know much about it. I've only encountered this kind of magic circle once before, but it was different from the one on the ship. The magic circle back then could only accommodate one person, and it could exist for a long time without a continuous supply of magic power. It only worked upon direct contact, and the energy loss rate was astonishing. It could drain a fully charged high-level warrior of energy in about thirty seconds."

At this point, I turned my attention to him. "What do you know?"

"A friend of mine was affected by this. I only know that this kind of magic circle is an ability possessed by high-ranking members of the Dreams Guild."

Upon hearing "Dreams," something flashed through my mind.

"That's right... the magic circle I encountered was also related to Dreams..."

I mumbled.

"Could it be that people from Dreams are behind this?"

Singafro exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down..."

Yu Ying tugged at him from behind.

What Singafro said made sense... but why would Dreams hijack this ship's passengers? What was their purpose in wanting to destroy this ship's inhabitants? How was that girl nailed to the mast without any energy? Was our deduction that they "also had no energy" correct? These questions flooded my mind one after another.

"Are either of you magic users?"

I asked, looking at them.

"I'm a magic warrior with a focus on magic power, and I know a few magic circles,"

Yu Ying said.

"Have you ever heard of magic circles that can have an effect beyond the array's runes?"

I asked.

Yu Ying thought for a moment, which made me think her answer was more credible. If she had immediately denied it, I could only say that I should only take her words with a grain of salt.

“Those kinds of magic arrays do exist, but they are extremely rare, and only low-level arrays with very poor effects can inflict that kind of effect, because the mana consumption is just too great… A curse array that directly drains energy like this could never inflict that kind of effect,”

Youying said seriously.

I nodded. “Follow me.”

Singafalo and Youying looked at each other, then followed me to a certain place.

There were many people on the deck, and we walked forward along the ship's side. As we approached the bow, I suddenly shoved Singafalo's shoulder. He was startled and took a step back before regaining his balance.

“Saying such sarcastic things at a time like this! You really deserve a beating!”

I drew my sword and pointed it at his face, yelling.

Singafalo froze for a few seconds, then immediately realized I was faking it, so he also drew his sword.

We pretended to argue for a few seconds, and some people watched us from a distance. I signaled to Singafalo with my eyes to start attacking me, and he did so quickly.

We were both out of energy, so we simply began to clash with our swords. I feigned weakness and retreated step by step until I couldn't retreat any further, because the sea was right behind me.

I deliberately created an opening, allowing Singafro to point his sword at my chest. Then I started to pretend to beg for mercy, and Youying joined in to try and break up the fight.

The whole charade made me uncomfortable; I'm not the type to lie without blushing. But I got the information I wanted, so it was worth it.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, I dejectedly followed Singafro off the deck. These two were actually quite reliable; they knew they had to leave quickly after doing something so conspicuous. I was starting to like them.

Once off the deck, Singafro and Youying immediately wanted to ask me something. I gestured for them to be quiet and continued walking from the second deck towards the bow.

After exploring three decks, I stopped and led Singafro and Youying to my room.

The room was still a mess, with sea winds constantly blowing in through the broken windows. However, the two of them didn't seem to care much; at this point, no one would be paying attention to such things.

"That act you put on was a bit too risky, wasn't it? Aren't you afraid I'm actually in cahoots with the mastermind and will take the opportunity to kill you?"

Singafro said as soon as he entered the room.

I smiled. "You can't kill me because I've discovered something."

"Judging from your expression, it seems you've found something?"

Youying asked quickly.

After getting to know me better, she seemed to have become more talkative, no longer the unapproachable person she once was. Short-haired girls should naturally give off a playful and lively feeling; a cold attitude didn't suit her.

I nodded. "I just recovered some energy. Even if Singafro really wanted to kill me, I could use that little bit of recovered energy to block it."

"Really!"

They both showed expressions of surprise.

"If I'm not mistaken, the magic circle is drawn on the bottom of the ship,"

I continued.

"Why?"

Youying continued to ask.

“Because when I was forced to lean out onto the protruding part of the bow, the energy started to recover. But when I tried the same spot downstairs, the energy didn't recover. This can only mean that the entire area covered by the hull is under the influence of the magic circle.”

“But why put on this show?”

“Because it's too dangerous to suddenly lean out to that spot. If there are enemies observing us, they'll immediately discover our interest in and threat to what's going on behind the scenes. It's better to keep a low profile than to be in the dark.”

I explained.

Singafro nodded. “If we gather at the bow, we'll probably be safe with the energy protection…”

I shrugged. “That's true, but we won't be able to rescue our companions. And once that location is exposed, I'm sure everyone will rush to grab it, which will only make us kill each other faster…”

As I was speaking, I suddenly felt a chilling aura that made my scalp tingle. The vigilance I had developed from long battles made me immediately draw my knife. It was my body's instinctive reaction to killing intent; someone was listening to us!

Singafro seemed to sense something too. We rushed out of the room together, and then we saw a figure flash past the corner of the stairs.

"Chase!"

I shouted, and Singafro and I rushed in that direction.

But without the energy acceleration, by the time we reached the spot, the person had vanished.

"Damn it! Now we're the target!"

Singafro said angrily.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later if we wanted to investigate further,"

I said to myself, trying to reassure myself.

I turned to go back to the room, but suddenly realized that Youying was gone. Singafro and I froze on the spot, a chill running from our feet to our heads.

"No...it can't be..."

Singafro quickly ran into the room, scanned the room, and the girl was indeed gone.

"Impressive...she hijacked the person she was trying to kidnap in less than ten seconds, without leaving a single flaw..."

I was completely shocked by this fact. To be able to carry out such a sneak attack was completely beyond my expectations.

If it were Cindy's incident, I could still accept it. After all, Cindy had no combat level, and she had been inside for a good three to five minutes, enough time for someone to take her hostage. However, Yu Ying was a warrior with rich combat experience; even the most terrifying enemy couldn't possibly capture her so silently.

Is this really something a human could do...? I couldn't help but think that.

Singafro's facial muscles were completely contorted, his hands were trembling, and his eyes were bloodshot.

That girl must be very important to him; you could tell from his expression. I don't know what my expression was when Asaga disappeared, but it probably wasn't much better.

"There's no time to waste."

I shoved him hard and ran to the broken French window.

We hadn't strayed too far from the door; if the kidnappers had run through it, we would have seen them. So the French window was the only way out. This kidnapping had just happened; I didn't think it was possible that no clues had been left behind.

There was some blood on the glass shards on the floor, probably from when Asaga was attacked. Other than that, there were no signs of a struggle. Chronologically, there couldn't have been a fight.

I leaned out of the French window; below was the churning sea. If I fell in, I would surely die; the ship's draft would suck me to the bottom and crush my bones. I could only pray that they had kidnapped us, and not simply thrown us overboard.

"Jingu! Let's search the lower cabins!"

Singafaro shouted.

Not quite used to the alias, I hesitated for a moment, then nodded to him.

We crept down into the lower cabins, one after the other. The pressure was immense; my hand holding the knife was drenched in sweat. We quickly left the lodging area and entered the staff-only zone. The corridors narrowed, barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.

I walked in front, while Singafaro and I stood back-to-back, keeping watch on the back. The shadows in the dark corridor twisted and pressed in, sending chills down our spines.

But nothing happened. We saw neither the killer nor the victim. We had spent the entire day anxiously searching every inch of the ship, but found nothing. This result left us bewildered and worried.

Failing to find a suspect could be excused by the mistake of passing by. But what about the nearly one hundred missing persons? They couldn't possibly be in a state of flux. Our inability to find them—did it mean they had all been disposed of?

When we finally cleared the last corner, we slumped against the wall, drenched in sweat.

Six hours of nerve-wracking searching had pushed Singafro and me to our limits.

The fruitless search filled me with frustration, and my sweat-soaked back pressed against the cold wall, sending chills down my spine. Exhausted both physically and mentally, I drifted off to sleep.

Just as I was resting in this half-awake state, a faint, almost imperceptible song drifted from somewhere.

"I gently picked up the axe,"

"and chopped my father forty times."

"When I saw what I had done,"

"I chopped my mother forty-one times."

"My mother killed me,"

"My father is eating me,"

"My brothers and sisters sit under the table," "Gather my bones,"

"Bury them,"

"Bury them under the cold stone."

"Who killed the robin?"

"It was I," said the sparrow, "with my bow and arrow,"

"It was I who killed the robin..."

I jolted awake from my half-awake state, trying to find the source of the song, but the sound vanished as if it had never existed.

"Did you hear that!"

I nudged Singafro beside me.

"What?"

Singafro wasn't confused; he frowned at me.

I shook my head, indicating I was fine. Was this just my imagination? I'd been starving all day,

and

if I didn't eat something soon, I felt my stomach would burn.

After the ship set sail, due to the risks of navigation, all players were automatically considered to be in combat and unable to exit normally. Therefore, passengers had their game pods' supply functions set up outside from the beginning. However, the feeling of hunger still lingered in the game; not eating for too long would make me dizzy and lightheaded.

Singafro had little appetite, but I kept stuffing all sorts of food into my mouth. Perhaps for him, the food was just a programmed sensory input, but for me, it was real food that could fill my stomach.

At night, many people went to the restaurant to sleep. Everyone seemed to feel safer huddled together, completely unconcerned about being robbed in their sleep.

I had nothing worth stealing; a sword and a suit of armor were all I possessed. Holding the shrine tightly, I could sleep peacefully. Even so, Singafalo and I took turns keeping watch for each other in the restaurant.

On the third day, another victim was found on the mast.

This time, it wasn't a nail, but a poor girl whose lower body had been impaled from the top of the mast.

When people heard her cries, she seemed to have been hanging there for a long time. With no foothold, the girl could only desperately cling to the mast with the strength of her legs to prevent herself from slipping. But after holding on for so long, the girl was exhausted.

A large section of the mast had penetrated her lower body; blood was everywhere between her legs, and the girl's cries were hoarse.

Everyone present could only watch helplessly as the girl cried out as the mast slowly pierced her body, just like yesterday.

The blood flowing from the girl's lower body stained the dark yellow mast crimson.

Finally, she fell silent. The mast pierced her uterus and plunged into the girl's stomach. Her body lost its soul, her legs and arms hanging limply.

To die in despair and struggle… this was the end no one wanted, especially not their own…

Singafro trembled. We were both the same; no one wanted to see their companion hanging there the next day, powerless to stop it.

The day before, many more people had gone missing, and strangely enough, the vast majority were women. There weren't many female professional warriors to begin with, and now there were hardly any women left on the entire ship who hadn't been kidnapped.

It wasn't that no men had gone missing, but it was clear that the enemy's main target was women, which gave me a very bad feeling.

"I don't believe it! Such a large magic circle must have someone continuously supplying magic power somewhere! Have we missed something?"

Singafro said anxiously.

"Impossible… we've explored every fork in the road, and they wouldn't just leave the person supplying magic power alone; they must need a space to establish a defensive line. We couldn't possibly miss such a place…"

I refuted his statement.

“I’m going to look again!”

Singafro shouted.

“It’s no use, that’s just a waste of time.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“Think of another way…”

“Go think of your own way! I’ll go look by myself!”

Singafro’s emotions were out of control.

I grabbed his arm. "Impulsiveness won't help at all. You'll just end up being kidnapped if you're alone!"

He shook my hand off. "Being kidnapped is fine! I can't let Yuying fall into their hands alone! I don't understand, how can you be so calm! Aren't your companions in danger too?"

He silenced me. I didn't know why either. Asaga was missing, and I was anxious, but I hadn't lost my mind at all. On the contrary, the more anxious I was, the calmer my mind became. It was as if I subconsciously felt that Asaga wouldn't really be in danger. This feeling was very strange.

When did this feeling appear? I thought carefully until I remembered that song.

The song I heard when I was half-asleep deep in the hull...

Yes, ever since I heard that song, I hadn't lost my composure. Because that song... seemed to be Asaga's voice!

I suddenly came to my senses, only to find that Singafalo was nowhere to be seen.

I cursed inwardly and rushed down to the bottom of the ship.

I didn't see any sign of Singafolo along the way, nor did I encounter any suspicious people trying to kidnap me. I ran all the way to the spot where I'd heard the singing, panting, and sat down against the wall.

Hoping to hear that sound again, I closed my eyes.

Not to sleep here, unless I were crazy. I just thought closing my eyes might sharpen my hearing.

For a long, long time, the entire hold was eerily quiet; the only sounds I could hear were the hissing of tiny pipes. I sat there, not knowing how long.

A strange noise jolted me awake. It wasn't the singing I'd hoped for, but footsteps.

I looked around; both ends of the passageway led into a dark, unending depth. With nowhere to hide, I climbed onto the overhead pipe and lay down, trying to calm my racing heart, listening to the approaching footsteps.

A man in a black cloak and a mask appeared in my field of vision. He lit a cigarette and leaned against me, smoking.

To be so leisurely smoking alone in a place like this… I can't think of anyone but the mastermind behind it all. But judging from his appearance, he's definitely not alone… at least not in their gathering place.

He'll leave after he finishes this cigarette… and what should I do? Pounce on him and use the divine palace to extract information? Follow him?

Kill him? Which is the best choice? I have to make the best choice in such a short time, which makes me very anxious.

Whether I can beat him is one thing, but if the ambush fails and attracts his companions, I'll be in big trouble. But if I follow him, how can I avoid being discovered in this quiet situation? Struggling with these questions is giving me a headache.

Just as I was racking my brains, the guy below moved. He started drawing something on the wall with a cigarette in his mouth.

When an energy hole appeared in front of him, it dawned on me.

This is why we can't find where our opponents are hiding! They've used illusions or some kind of magic array to block our vision, so we can't see that there are other passages here!

As the guy stubbed out his cigarette and was about to crawl into the energy hole, I jumped in front of him.

I struck him on the neck with an elbow, and with the force of his weight, his neck made a crisp sound as he collapsed to the ground as if his support had been severed.

Once I was sure he was dead, I immediately began to remove his clothes and put them on myself, then painstakingly moved his body onto the pipe. The body was incredibly heavy… if my muscles weren't so well-developed, I wouldn't have been able to throw him up there.

After doing all this, I took a deep breath and stepped into the energy cave. I didn't have time to look for Singafaro; who knew if he had already been taken hostage…

A new passage appeared before me, and I proceeded cautiously until the light grew brighter.

I concealed the shrine within my robe to avoid being recognized by the group's accomplices. Looking back, their attire actually provided me with considerable convenience.

I didn't think I could accomplish anything here, but at least I could gather some intelligence. I didn't care about the lives of others, but I needed to find Asaga. Of course, if given the chance, I didn't want to see the tragedies on the mast continue every morning.

I hadn't expected these people to use illusion magic to conceal such a large space... The purpose of creating panic through cruel methods was probably just to prevent crew members familiar with the ship's structure from going to the bottom...

I heard crying, muffled sobs, coming from a separate cabin not far ahead.

I tried to act normal as I slowly walked over, glancing casually into the cabin.

A man dressed like me was writhing on a naked, pale body. The girl beneath him was covered in bruises from being scratched and ravaged, sobbing helplessly as he ravaged her vagina.

The man glanced at me, then continued to focus on the beautiful flesh beneath him.

I walked over, doing nothing.

What difference would it make if I saved her now? I'm not the kind of person overflowing with a sense of justice, nor am I a heartless monster. Precisely because of this, I still need to ensure my own safety before I can even consider whether to save others.

Continuing forward, the cabin opened up before me. The first thing I saw was another dazed girl lying on the ground not far away, her lower body ripped open with a bloody hole. Dark red blood and semen stained the ground beneath her, and she convulsed, her eyes glazed over.

A group of naked women huddled in a corner, trembling as they looked at me and the two other guards around me, as if they were looking at a monster.

Another man was raping a randomly chosen victim in full view of everyone on the other side; the girl being violated knelt on the ground, convulsing from the impact, emitting pitiful cries.

This was hell. I had never imagined humans could do such things. But I wasn't surprised; what wouldn't humans do?

I carefully examined all the women in the cabin but didn't recognize any of them. So I continued forward, stepping on the liquid that had seeped into the ground—a liquid I couldn't identify—my stomach churned.

A larger cabin, more women, more guards… a chilling hell of gang rape…

Dozens of guards satisfied their desires on the victimized girls in various places, using all sorts of methods. The girls screamed and cried, their voices like the pitiful cries of birds entangled in a net.

I saw Cindy and Youying in the crowd. Cindy was pinned against the wall by a man, her face covered in tears, howling as she was being pounded in the groin by a large penis, then thrown aside after being filled with semen, lying on the ground, sobbing and panting.

I turned my head and pulled Youying up from the ground before one of the men could reach her.

“No! No!”

Youying cried, but her struggles were weak and feeble.

Some people here like to do this in front of others, while others don't, I noticed. So when I pulled Youying towards a separate small cabin, no one suspected anything. The guy who initially had his eye on Youying only glared at me unhappily after I beat him to it, without saying anything, which relieved me.

"Please...please..."

Youying covered her private parts and shrank back deeper as I pushed her into the cabin.

I gently lifted my mask, letting her see my true face. Youying was shocked, then grabbed my arm tightly and started crying loudly, as if afraid I would suddenly disappear.

Patting Youying's back, I patiently waited for her to calm down. Youying cried for a while, then I started asking questions.

"How were you captured? Why are there only women here?"

"Help me! Help me get out!"

Youying didn't answer my questions, but instead frantically grabbed me and shook me, her cries growing louder and louder.

I slapped her hard, trying to wake her up. Overwhelmed by fear and despair, the girl's subsequent actions, now incapacitated, were extremely dangerous for both of us.

"Answer my questions! Otherwise, no one will escape!"

I whispered harshly in her ear.

Youying seemed to regain some composure, and she began to answer haltingly.

"The men...all the men have been...taken their equipment...killed...killed..."

"How did they abduct you?"

"That day...I was going to chase after them with you...but suddenly someone appeared behind me and pulled me directly into the energy cave..."

Now things were basically clear. Outside the cursed magic circle, the other side had also set up a magic circle similar to spatial teleportation. Although it only worked within the magic circle, it was enough to accomplish those things within the enclosed cruise ship.

With the teleportation magic circle, getting someone onto the mast wouldn't be difficult.

"How many were there?"

I continued.

"About twenty...and one...one monster..."

Youying trembled as she spoke.

"Did you see a woman with horns?"

Yu Ying nodded. "I...I saw her...in the innermost cabin...with that...monster...that monster...it..."

At this point, Yu Ying was completely overwhelmed by fear; her teeth chattered, and she couldn't continue.

I nodded, locked the cabin door for her, and quickly walked in the direction she indicated. Asagi was inside; I wondered how she was doing. A strong sense of worry made my heart race and my breathing quicken.

When I finally entered the enormous cabin at the very center, I realized that the monster Yu Ying had described truly was a monster...

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