Chapter 96: To Hell With This and That
Chih!
Green pulled out his blade and flicked the blood off it, his breathing slightly ragged.
"Damn, that was enough pre-battle cardio for a lifetime."
He took a long breath. He had originally intended to land directly in the town instead of fighting through levels like some Kingdom Adventure game, but the map was one thing; actually landing had put him far away.
"She's eating him—his memories, his beauty."
Wanda walked to his side, her eyes fixed on the white mist with a complex expression.
The mist was fading in color, becoming thinner and more transparent. Finally, it just seemed sparse; nothing changed, yet everything was lost.
"Huh?"
Green didn't understand. All he saw was the lead Soldierwalking toward a misty human figure by the roadside as if possessed. That figure didn't even have a form; it was just a clump of mist.
But he didn't need to understand. Killing them all would suffice.
"Aren't you affected?" Wanda turned to Green in surprise.
She could sense the high concentration of evil magicfactors drifting around. They were like countless tiny tentacles moving through the air, searching for any crack to crawl into.
Even she could only use her still-unskilled magic to resist, constructing a defensive barrier bit by bit to wrap herself inside.
Yet he was just exposed to it, completely unaffected.
"Evil power always uses desire as a wedge to absorb the souls of living beings. Do you really have no desires?"
Her gaze fell on his cold, hard profile, and she couldn't help but feel curious about this man.
Especially his cold-bloodedness and decisiveness from start to finish—it made her... fascinated.
"I do," Green replied without looking back.
"What?"
She asked impatiently.
"To screw you on that broken bench until dawn."
Green raised his blade and pointed at a public bench by the roadside not far away. The bench was old, its wooden slats cracked, and a skeleton woven from vines and flesh leaned against the armrest.
Wanda froze for a moment, then realized what he meant.
"...You really are a scumbag."
She cursed in embarrassment and anger. Sure enough, her first impression was correct.
"How romantic."
Green casually decapitated a Soldier lost in desire and moved on to the next.
He didn't touch those humanoids. They stood to the side like two silent puppets. The Beasts prowled nearby but didn't attack again, which showed the role of these variables.
He didn't understand the principle, but understanding the effect was enough.
"This is absurd!"
Wanda followed behind him, her voice filled with disbelief.
"How could you, here..."
She suddenly realized what she was saying and widened her eyes.
"No, no, no! I mean, there's a dead person watching!"
She waved her hands frantically.
"No, no, no, that's not right either!"
"Oh, let it watch."
Green lopped off another head, teasing her as the blade sliced through the air with a soft hum.
"If it can still get an erection, let it watch your heaving and your screaming."
"I've gained a few more insights into your perverted nature."
Wanda huffed. A flash of crimson flickered in her lowered palm.
Green suddenly slipped. He steadied himself and turned to look at her.
"Watch your step, Mr. Pervert."
Wanda shrugged, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
"Tch."
Green raised his blade, about to strike down the last one.
The blade stopped in mid-air.
The last Soldier, a Mutant, gradually regained clarity in his eyes.
"Nice willpower."
Green had no intention of letting him go. The blade fell, but then stopped in mid-air again.
A strong sense of danger surged from his heart. He narrowed his eyes at the Soldier, who wasn't resisting at all.
"Do it."
The Soldier spoke.
"If you cut me, I explode. If you don't cut me, I still..."
He didn't finish.
A blue light suddenly lit up in his chest, and his face contorted in pain.
"Psychopath!"
Green raised his foot, preparing to kick him away.
"Wait!"
Wanda's voice came from behind.
Simultaneously, the Mutant Soldier's pupils glowed crimson, like flames dancing in his sockets. The blue light in his chest began to tremble, flicker, and then gradually fade. The self-destruction was aborted.
"He was born in the wrong country. Suicide bombers aren't popular in America."
Green stepped back a few paces, looking at the Soldierstanding dazed. The sense of crisis was still there, very strong, indicating that this explosion would have killed or severely injured him—and it was damn near instantaneous.
"He is very sad. He has lost so much..."
Wanda spoke softly. Her fingers twitched slightly, the crimson light at her fingertips like invisible puppet strings, controlling the Soldier to step back one pace at a time.
"None of my business."
Green stared at the Soldier, his gaze sweeping over the chest. Though the blue light had faded, it was still faintly pulsing under the skin, clearly becoming unstable.
"But he's useful."
He turned his head to look at Wanda.
"Take him and retreat to a safe area."
Wanda's role wasn't to support him; she was too fragile. Her task was to seal the passage, while he was responsible for taking down the gatekeeping Boss.
"What use is he?" Wanda asked.
"A gift for another World."
Green followed up with a few more words. Wanda's expression became strange, her eyes flashing with confusion and a bit of... wordlessness.
"Do I really have to say that? It feels a bit..."
"Chuunibyou," Green finished for her.
"What's Chuunibyou?"
"It's us."
"Huh?" Wanda didn't understand. She tilted her head, frowning slightly. The word was clearly outside her vocabulary.
"After all, what kind of idiot would come to this hellhole to challenge a Great Demon King?"
Green stabbed the soul-releasing blade into the ground, the blade sinking into the soil with only half the hilt showing. He struck a Cross pose and stretched his arms.
Wanda looked at him, a strange glint in her eyes and a faint smile on her lips.
"True."
"But I'm no hero."
Green turned back to look at the town.
Rather than a town, it was more like a barracks—low buildings, a burger joint from some unknown era.
[Liberation Degree: 100%]
His body began to change. His protective suit tore open and hung around his waist.
Muscles swelled, bones elongated, and black scales surged from beneath his skin to cover him. From shoulders to chest, from waist to thighs, they encased him in a ferocious suit of armor.
A dragonoid.
Wanda's eyes widened.
Her beautiful eyes were filled with horror and something else she couldn't quite name.
She watched him, watched that familiar face turn into a stranger's, watched the man disappear beneath scales and fangs.
"You... don't die."
She tried to steady herself, her voice trembling.
For some reason, her heart was beating very fast. The heartbeat surged from her chest and hammered against her throat, making it almost impossible to breathe.
But she gritted her teeth and calmed her mind. Crimson light poured from her palms as she controlled the MutantSoldier and the two silent humanoids, retreating into the distance.
"Heh heh, I'm going to have a lot of fun."
"But I don't want to play hide-and-seek."
Fire flared in Green's throat as he unleashed a full-power Dragons Breath.
Boom—
A searing wave of gold-red Fire swept out in a fan shape.
The buildings first touched by the flames were instantly shattered. Wooden wall panels and stone foundations were as fragile as paper before the Fire wave, bursting apart, scattering, and then carbonizing into dust in the high heat.
That dust didn't disappear; it became fuel to propel the Fire further.
The flames devoured them, burning brighter, fiercer, and more crazily. The Fire waves pushed forward layer by layer, stacking up until everything in sight was turned into a inferno extending over a hundred meters away.
Ten-odd seconds later.
Green stopped his breath.
The searing gold-red Fire waves were still burning. The air was thick with the stench of scorching and ash. He stared at the buildings faintly emerging from the flames—though they could hardly be called buildings anymore.
Only a single wooden wall stood lonely.
The wall was already charred black, its edges still sparking with tiny embers.
On the wall was a glowing opening, about two people high and one person wide.
The edges of the opening weren't wood, but pink flesh. The flesh was curled and writhing like the inner wall of some organ.
A thin cocoon membrane covered it, semi-transparent, revealing traces of liquid flowing beneath.
Light filtered through from the other side of the hole—bright red, warm, and suggestive, like a lover's gaze or candlelight in a bedroom.
The light seeped from behind the membrane, illuminating the ground around it and the object in front of the wooden wall.
An upside-down Saint Statue.
The pure white stone body glowed with a faint red light under the firelight, as if stained with blood. The surface of the statue was covered in fine cracks, as if something were bursting out from the inside.
Crack.
The statue's face shattered, revealing a pair of wings beneath. The transparent wings had fine veins that shimmered with a faint golden light in the fire.
They flapped.
Slender arms were pulled from the stone shell, like the languid stretch after a short nap. The arms were as white as jade, fingers long, and nails tinged with a faint pink.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The statue's chest split open, stone fragments peeling away to reveal white skin beneath.
The abdomen split, firm muscle lines faintly visible behind the debris. One could see the outline of abs and the two shallow V-lines at the waist.
The thighs split, long lines extending from the hips all the way to the knees.
Stone shells peeled off piece by piece, hitting the ground and crumbling into powder.
A body broke free, as white as jade and glowing. It wasn't reflected light, but a warmth emanating from within, as if a single touch could ignite the fires of lust.
It slid onto the candlestick.
The movement was as light as a falling feather. Slender fingers toyed with the white candle on the inverted Cross. Wax ran down the candle and dripped onto its fingertips.
It lowered its head, hanging off the edge of the candlestick.
"Hunter, do you want me?"
The voice drifted from that mouth—ethereal, elusive, as if coming from all directions at once. It bored into the ears and echoed directly in the mind, making one's scalp tingle.
Without a hint of hesitation.
Without a shred of doubt.
A rapid shadow tore through the curtain of Fire. The wind from the punch howled like a ghost, suppressing the tongues of flame all around.
At the fist's edge, the air was compressed into visible white rings of air, rippling outward layer by layer.
"Rider—Punch!!!"
Chapter 97: Holding Back
Whoosh—
His physical body vanished, replaced by a large number of carbonized Beast corpses.
Those corpses appeared out of nowhere, manifesting in the direction his fist pointed.
The force of the punch exploded from the center of the mountain of corpses, blasting them into fragments. Shards splattered in all directions, and sparks drifted through the air like a flurry of orange-red snow.
Green halted his movements, his gaze sweeping over the scattered remains and ashes.
"Spatial replacement?"
His thoughts raced as He appeared in mid-air, standing upon the void.
"Truly not cute."
"Then, simply come and please Me."
He pressed His palms together, His ten slender fingers interlacing.
Pa!
Green's vision blurred. In that instant, the World distorted; the Fire was stretched into thin lines, and buildings were crumpled into blurry blocks of color. His body felt as if it were grabbed by a giant hand and violently yanked.
The next moment,
he was falling rapidly through the air.
The surrounding scenery changed instantly—it was no longer the burning town, but some kind of cylindrical arena.
A massive cylindrical space with no visible ceiling, only endless darkness where tiny points of light occasionally flickered past.
The surrounding walls were covered with yolk-colored embryos.
The embryos were densely packed, stretching from the bottom to the edge of his vision. Each was the size of a placenta, translucent, allowing him to see the curled-up living creatures wriggling within the egg fluid.
[Warning! You have entered a high-radiation, high-dark-magic zone!]
[Physical Mutation Level: 1.3%]
[Soul Mutation Level: 0.5%]
[You will undergo corruption in 5 minutes and 12 seconds.]
[True Sky Tyrant adapting...]
[You will undergo a benign evolution in 24 minutes and 37 seconds.]
"Damn, another Domain!"
Green adjusted his posture, his legs slightly bent as he landed on a horizontal iron ladder.
The ladder was very narrow, barely enough for one person to stand on. Its edges were covered in rust, and it creaked under his weight.
He steadied himself and looked up. More iron ladders crisscrossed in every direction like a giant metal spiderweb extending to the limit of his sight.
Corpses hung from some of the ladders—shriveled bodies with skin clinging to bone, eyes still open, staring hollowly into the darkness.
And beneath the ladders—
was a hanging nuclear bomb!
The massive bomb hung in mid-air about twenty meters away from him. Countless tiny tentacles extended from the embryos on the walls, connecting to its wires like blood vessels.
They pierced into the bomb, penetrating the casing and burrowing inside. The ends of the tentacles wriggled slightly, contracting and expanding as if they were siphoning something.
"Didn't they say 'stray dog' had already been activated?"
Green stared at the nuclear bomb, his golden pupils constricting slightly.
"Then what the hell is that thing down there!"
He seemed to know where he was.
"This is the damn missile silo inside the Canyon."
He had no more time to observe as the surrounding embryos suddenly burst. Mucus splattered everywhere, and flesh-colored tentacles shot out like woven threads, whistling toward Green with a hiss.
Green kicked off, leaping high into the air. The tentacles brushed past the soles of his feet, piercing the opposite stone wall before emerging again, twisting and turning to continue their pursuit.
Green's figure flipped and leaped among the iron ladders, his eyes locked onto Him, who stood in mid-air.
He exerted force through his feet, shattering the iron ladder beneath him as he soared into the sky. Gripping the soul-releasing blade, he carved an arc through the air, slashing straight toward His head.
"Refuse."
He raised His hands,
pointing His fingers toward each other to form a triangular void aimed at Green.
Invisible telekinetic force surged from the void,
like a hundred-ton hammer—silent yet incredibly fast. With a low hum, it slammed into the caught-off-guard Green.
Blood blossomed and black scales splattered. Green's body fell straight down like a swatted fly. Tentacles swarmed from all directions, instantly wrapping him in a flesh-colored cocoon.
The next moment, a web of blade strikes tore it open.
A cold gleam burst from the cocoon, breaking through the telekinetic barrier like a flash of lightning to pierce His chest.
Blue blood flowed out, the color of the deep sea, glowing with a faint luminescence.
"Mmm~"
He lowered His head, looking at the short blade embedded in His chest.
"That really hurts!"
His body trembled slightly—not from pain, but from pleasure. His legs rubbed together slowly in the void, as if savoring something delicious.
The Chain of a Thousand Miles tied to the end of the Inverted Spear of Heaven's hilt suddenly snapped taut.
Green, from below, grabbed the chain and yanked hard, pulling His body into a downward tilt.
The wings on His wrists slashed down in a cross.
Clang! The chain snapped upon impact.
Green didn't stop; taking the chance to break through the swarm of tentacles, he flickered and appeared behind Him. Raising the soul-releasing blade, he aimed at the back of the neck and slashed down!
The moment the blade fell, Green's eyes widened slightly.
His pale palm opened and then closed, catching the blade. The edge sliced through the flesh of the palm and lodged against the bone. Blue blood surged from the wound, trickling down His wrist.
"You are a warrior, and so am I."
He spoke, His voice ethereal and deep. His other hand formed a fist and struck toward Green.
Green raised his knee, blocking with his shinbone.
Bang!
The sound of bone cracking.
Green's body was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through a large section of the stone wall. Shards of rock splattered, and dust filled the air.
He pulled the Inverted Spear of Heaven from His chest.
That hand gripped the hilt and slowly withdrew it. The blade slid out of the flesh with a faint sucking sound.
Blue blood welled from the wound, but the injury soon began to heal. Granulation tissue grew, the skin closed up, and within seconds, only a faint white scar remained.
He tossed the Inverted Spear of Heaven into the mist, but there was no sound of it landing.
"Hehe."
He reached into the void before Him as if grabbing something, His fingers spread and slightly curved.
The stone wall ahead shook violently as a layer of rock was forcibly torn away by telekinetic force, crumbling down.
Within the dust and mist, a golden light flared.
Like a black owl, Green burst through a hole in the dust, brandishing twin blades.
"Still trying to struggle?"
He raised His hands and clapped.
Pa!
The embryos covering the stone walls burst simultaneously. What emerged were not complete monsters, but merely hands.
Pale women's hands—slender, long, with nails painted a faint pink. They extended infinitely like countless white snakes, weaving and stacking in the air before swatting at Green.
Green swung his blades in a series of strikes.
The twin blades crossed, their light forming a net. The hands were severed, severed limbs flew, and a crimson mist of blood filled the air.
But the blood mist did not dissipate. Those tiny droplets of blood suspended in the air, then eerily sprouted new flesh.
From every drop of blood, tiny buds of flesh grew, tangling together to form new palms.
Including those stuck to him—they sprouted flesh buds, burrowing into the gaps between his scales and clinging to his skin.
He could even sense them; the flesh felt as if it were growing on his own body—warm and damp.
[Physical Mutation Level: 21.4%]
[Soul Mutation Level: 13.3%]
"That's a dirty trick."
The palms swarmed him. Rushing in from all directions, they wrapped his body into a massive lump of flesh suspended in the air in the blink of an eye.
The mass of flesh continued to wriggle, its surface occasionally bulging as if something inside were struggling—or perhaps being digested.
"Mmm~"
He tilted His head, looking at the flesh mass. From that featureless face drifted a voice of pleasure.
"Let me think..."
He raised His hand, His fingers gently rubbing the air as if kneading some invisible object.
The large mass of flesh before Him began to squirm.
Its shape changed, from an irregular lump of meat, gradually elongating and narrowing into a certain silhouette.
The palms were like a sculptor's clay, being kneaded and molded by an invisible force.
"Such a proud male like you..."
His voice grew even more delighted.
"How interesting a scene it would be if I transformed you into a female livestock and ravaged you."
The silhouette of the flesh mass became clearer and clearer.
The waist narrowed, the hips curved upward, and the legs grew long and slender. Feminine curves were taking shape, and it looked as if it were about to become a complete form.
Suddenly,
the flesh turned red.
Lava-colored cracks exploded from within, spreading across the entire surface of the flesh, revealing a scorching, golden-red light from inside.
The flesh turned into meat juices, pouring down like melting wax and steaming as it hit the ground.
A mangled, blood-colored figure burst out, consisting only of partial flesh and a skeleton. In some places, stark white bones were visible.
In an instant, he appeared before His eyes.
His eyes widened, revealing a hint of surprise.
"To think... you would tear off your own flesh with your own hands to forcibly break free from the fusion!"
But then, that surprise turned into admiration.
"Truly magnificent! Hahaha!"
He did not choose to dodge.
And in the very next instant, He struck back.
"Rider—Punch!!!"
Green's fist pierced through His heart.
It entered from the front and emerged from the back, blue blood trickling down his arm and dripping away.
And His hand-blade likewise broke through Green's heart.
The two hung in mid-air.
Their eyes met.
"I misjudged you."
He smiled, His face gradually forming into a stunningly beautiful one, grinning radiantly.
"You are young, but you are the craziest of all those hunters."
"Not running?" Green spoke.
"It would be a pity to dodge such a self-sacrificing strike."
He leaned forward, ignoring the blood-hole in His chest deepening further, and pressed against Green's blood-stained lips.
A light touch, then He pulled away, looking at him with smiling eyes.
This time, the voice lacked its usual ethereality and gained a bit more of the breath of life.
"I'll be waiting for you in Hell, Hunter. Hehe..."
She laughed, her body shattering into a sky full of poppies.
Red. Vibrant. Like blood, like fire, like a lover's kiss.
Slowly drifting down.
[You have slain a clone of Asmodeus, the Pillar of Lust, one of the Seven Demon Pillars.]
[You have obtained the qualification for Demon King candidacy. You may choose your own sin to become the corresponding Demon King—You possess: Seven Sins.]
[You have been noticed by the Seven Demon Pillars.]
[Hell has cast the emotion of "Affection" toward you.]
[Heaven has cast a "Scrutinizing" gaze toward you.]
[You have received the recognition of "Gabriel." Heaven extends an invitation to you: upon the death of your physical body, you may be directly accepted into Heaven.]
Green fell, crashing onto the iron ladder, his form reverting to human.
The surrounding embryos were melting, their translucent yolk-colored shells turning into pools of mucus that flowed down the stone walls and into the abyss.
"What a mess."
He raised his hand, looking at it.
No skin, no scales—stark white bone was visible, with bits of flesh still hanging from it.
His entire body was like this.
"At least I'm still alive," he grinned, baring his teeth.
Suddenly, the remaining petals on Green's chest turned into blood, seeping into his flesh.
A heart began to form, changing from a mist of blood into a beating organ.
The hideous wounds on his body began to heal visibly. Granulation tissue grew, skin covered them, and scales regenerated.
[You have obtained the "Demon Kings Heart."]
[Demon Kings Heart]
Origin: Canyon (Hell's Shallow Superposition State)
Requirement: Green Morgan (Unique)
Trait: Physical Rank +1
Passive Trait—Lust: Greatly increases charm value toward "Hell" creatures.
Description: You possessed me, and I possessed you.
Chapter 98: Magik, Flight
"Hiss—"
White smoke rose from Green's body. The newly grown flesh was healing, but the process was extremely uncomfortable; the itching was often harder to endure than the pain.
That itch burrowed out from the gaps in his bones and surged up from every nerve ending, making him want to claw his own flesh open.
Sweat dripped from the tips of his newly grown hair, splashing onto the iron ladder and pooling into a small puddle.
He gasped, the new heart in his chest beating with a rhythm different from before—stronger, carrying a strange cadence, as if something was seeping out from within.
"It seems I don't have the right to refuse," he whispered.
His self-healing intensity couldn't create something from nothing. That last strike had been a pure attempt to trade lives with the opponent; even if he failed, at least he had struggled.
The opponent's ability rank was too high and far too bizarre.
The moment he was enveloped, he could even feel what that meatball felt—warm, soft, and moist—as if that were his true body, the body he was meant to have.
It was hot and made him drowsy, like drowning in amniotic fluid; that primal, chaotic peace where one didn't have to think about anything. Just those few seconds...
[Physical Mutation Rate: 78.21%]
[Soul Mutation Rate: 56.37%]
"Damn, I almost became a plaything." Green felt a rare sense of lingering fear; he didn't want to be violated by that monster—at the very least, it should be the other way around.
Yes, he could hear what "He" said. Although he didn't know what kind of organ that "ear" was, he could indeed hear while inside that meatball.
Fortunately, the embedding of the [Demon Kings Heart] reset the physical mutation rate to zero. The soul's mutation also stopped rising, though it decreased very slowly, grinding down bit by bit.
And it was accompanied by various complex whispers.
Those whispers came from different timbres, different voices, and different desires, intertwining within his mind.
Green shook his head, suppressing the chaos, though it still lingered at the edges.
He stood up; it was time to regroup with his cheap teammate.
He looked down at the "stray dog." The nuke was still suspended in mid-air, its tentacles now withered and falling off the casing.
"Luckily it's a dud." Green still held a sense of reverence for "nuclear peace."
Just as he was about to look away,
Suddenly, he noticed a jumping string of numbers on the shell—more accurately, a countdown.
"Holy crap?" Green's eyes widened.
[00:01:36]
[00:01:35]
...
"Holy shit!"
He turned and leaped toward the stone wall, grabbing a vine that looked like an umbilical cord to pull himself upward, his body surging toward the top.
On the other side,
Wanda stood before the cave entrance, both hands stretched forward.
With palms facing forward and fingers slightly spread, Crimson Light surged from her palms, intertwining and coiling into countless slender ribbons of light that enveloped the glowing wooden wall.
The stray hairs at her temples were wet with sweat, sticking to her cheeks.
The sensation was like a fat man wearing a suit that didn't fit.
She exerted herself desperately, trying to pull the fabric together and close that rift.
The Crimson Light acted like countless invisible hands, grabbing both sides of the rift and pulling them toward the center inch by inch.
From the other side of the rift, something was pushing outward, locked in a stalemate with the Crimson Light, neither side willing to yield.
But soon, that resisting force suddenly vanished.
As if its support had been withdrawn or its source severed.
Wanda sensed it; Green had succeeded.
Her expression relaxed.
Her tense shoulders slumped, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, spreading to her eyes and softening her entire demeanor.
"That stinky guy is actually quite reliable."
The cave entrance was about to close, leaving only a sliver of a gap through which the scene inside was barely visible—a bright red void where something was writhing and rolling like ocean waves.
Wanda took a deep breath.
It was a very deep breath, her chest heaving as if she wanted to suck all the air in the World into her lungs.
Obeying Green's instructions, she controlled the Mutant Soldier to walk toward the cave entrance.
Though she felt some pity, Wanda did it anyway.
Because Green was right.
Furthermore, she had used her ability to figure out what his talent was, specifically collecting a large amount of flesh and those mist-like substances that seemed to be souls, stuffing them all into the Mutant Soldier's body.
Now, the energy accumulated within him made Wanda feel a sense of heart-pounding dread just by being near.
But before Wanda could throw the Soldier in,
A human girl suddenly flew out from the other side of the hole.
The figure burst out of the bright red void, her long golden hair flying behind her, her fair skin tinged with a faint pink under the reflection of the red light.
She looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, with features as exquisite as a doll's, a high bridge to her nose, and an alluring smile.
She landed on the edge of the cave entrance.
Her feet stepped onto the rubble, making a slight cracking sound.
"Enemy attack!"
Out of instinct, Wanda raised her palms, and Crimson Light condensed instantly, spinning and compressing in front of her until it turned into a destructive hand cannon.
The orange-red light orb was as large as a basketball, with tiny electric arcs dancing on its surface, letting out a buzzing hum as it smashed straight toward the girl.
The light grew brighter and larger, illuminating the girl's face.
Just as it was about to hit,
The girl's eyes glowed with blue light; the blue light surged from the depths of her pupils, instantly covering her entire eyeballs—cold and sharp, like two burning sapphires.
At her right shoulder, her skin rippled like waves.
A layer of golden-iron armor spread down from her shoulder, eventually extending into a blade that lit up with a brilliant white laser.
She raised her hand and swung.
A flash of blade-light passed.
The hand cannon was sliced in half.
The light orb split down the middle into two halves, smashing into the ground on either side.
Boom! Boom!
Two loud explosions rang out.
Two shallow craters were blasted into the ground, sending rubble flying and dust into the air. The fragments pelted the surrounding ruins with a pitter-patter sound, their power comparable to hand grenades.
"Rude woman, do you want to die?"
The girl pointed her blade at the ground, her expression dangerous.
"The magic on her is mixed with an evil aura," Wandathought to herself, her eyes wary.
"Did you expect me to fire a salute when you jump out of a 'rabbit hole' like a Witch?"
The girl tilted her head, her lips curling into a mocking arc.
[Note: The rabbit hole comes from "Alice in Wonderland," a passage connecting reality to a fantasy World.]
"Then your salute is quite loud; it could turn a person into minced meat," the girl sneered.
"Who are you?"
Wanda shouted, the crimson in her palms becoming thicker and deeper than before, carrying a hint of a threat.
"Illyana from Limbo. You may also call me Magik."
Her gaze swept over Wanda, landing on the pulsing Crimson Light.
"Furthermore, I am a sorceress, not a Witch."
"The scent of a Witch on a certain someone is much stronger than mine, the fake one."
The girl said coldly. Her gaze swept over the surroundings—the burning ruins, the drifting sparks, and the remains of the Beasts that had been blown to pieces.
"Is this still Earth? How is the environment worse than Hell?"
She looked up at the sky. The sky was shrouded in yellow fog, with occasional sparks drifting down like a never-ending rain of ash.
"Is it the end of the World?"
"Are you human?"
"Do any other races look as beautiful as I do?"
The girl gave a wicked smile, provocatively adding,
"Old woman."
*Crack!*
Wanda's heart took a critical hit.
Old?
She was old?!
"Truly lacking in manners!" she hissed through gritted teeth, the crimson in her hands jumping violently as if echoing the rage in her heart.
"I smuggled myself in from the pocket dimension on the other side."
Magik raised her hand, pointing toward the shrinking cave entrance.
"But the Soul-Sucking Demons over there have noticed the gap here. Close it quickly."
"No need for your reminders!"
"Hmph."
Magik was about to retort when her gaze was drawn to something.
A feeling of heart-stirring joy sprouted like mold in her heart, which had long been soaked in the aura of Hell.
"What... person?" She was somewhat dazed.
In those eyes, the light faded, leaving only a trance-like state.
Wanda also followed her gaze.
In the distance, a tall figure was rushing toward them.
It was Green.
He was running frantically as if being chased by a dog, trailing a long plume of dust behind him.
"You—"
Before Wanda could speak, Green had already charged in front of her, grabbed her, and hoisted her onto his shoulder to keep running.
"What's the situation?"
Magik was still standing there dazed, her gaze instinctively following that figure.
A crimson chain shot out from the distance, binding itself around Magik's waist.
"Eh?"
She looked down at the band of light around her waist.
Before she could react, the chain suddenly went taut.
She was yanked up, her feet leaving the ground as her body took flight. Her long golden hair trailed behind her in a straight line, and her skirt fluttered loudly, revealing her fair calves beneath.
"Waaaaah—" Her tailing cry stretched into a long line in the air.
"What is going on!"
Wanda shouted from Green's shoulder. She held onto Green's scales with one hand and gripped the Crimson Light band connected to Magik with the other.
The light band was stretched taut; Magik, at the other end, was like a kite on a string, tumbling up and down in the thick smoke.
"It's going to blow," Green said.
"What's going to blow?"
"The stray dog."
"Run, run, run, run, RUN!!!"
"I am." Green was silently counting down in his head.
The light and heat generated by a nuclear explosion weren't something one could escape in an instant; he could only get as far away from the core zone as possible.
Wanda was frantic for a second, then lowered her head and fell silent.
Only the sound of the whistling wind remained.
"We're going to die, aren't we?"
Her voice was very soft, scattered by the wind yet drifting into Green's ears.
"I don't know."
"I'm fighting for the right to live."
The scenery on both sides was retreating at high speed. By now, he had run out of the town's boundaries and into the middle of the human-body region; all those terrifying things flashed past him.
The nearby Beasts were also sprinting outward; they were running too. The entire environment seemed to be permeated with the scent of decay; this ecosystem was in fear, yet helpless.
[00:00:12]
[00:00:11]
...
At that moment,
Crimson Light glowed on Wanda. The light supported her body as she slid down from Green's shoulder and into his arms. She tilted her head up and kissed his lips.
There were tears in her eyes, along with a stubborn refusal to give in.
She kissed him very hard, as if she wanted to pour all her emotions into this kiss. A few seconds later, she pulled away, panting, her forehead resting against his.
"Take me with you."
"I only guarantee we'll die together."
"I know."
Wanda hugged him tightly.
In the arms of Green's full Dragonman Form, she appeared very small. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she buried her face against his scales, closing her eyes.
"Then let's die together."
"Aaaah—" Magik was still being buffeted by the wind behind them.
Perhaps at the end of this second, or the beginning of the next,
Everything went silent as a white light exploded.
Without giving a moment to react, that white light covered the eyes of the three, swallowing them completely. Nothing could be seen anymore—only White. An endless White, and their silhouettes.
The town crumbled into ash, and along with everything around it, vanished into this blazing White.
[Detected host's strong desire to survive.]
["True Celestial Tyrant" entering forced adaptation sequence.]
[Boosted by Crimson Power, adaptation process accelerating...]
[Adaptation progress: 30%...57%...79%...99%...100%]
[Adaptation complete.]
[Evolution Judgment: Benign breakthrough achieved.]
[New organ generated: Nuclear Fusion Reactor (Thoracic cavity, organ-like structure)]
[Fire Resistance: Rank +1]
[Environmental Radiation: Being actively absorbed, converted into evolutionary fuel...]
[Physical potential broke threshold, growth cycle forced transition...]
[Form reconstruction complete.]
[Dragon Wings—Deploy!]
Chapter 99: Nuclear Peace, Die if You Can't Fly Out, Murmurs
White light spread,
At first it was just a speck, piercingly bright, so bright one couldn't look directly at it,
Then it turned into a death fire that could incinerate everything, spreading in all directions like countless burning warhorses charging from the core zone,
Those warhorses had no physical form, only light and heat, only destruction and death; their iron hooves crushed the air and smashed through all obstructing enemies,
Wherever they passed, rocks melted, soil turned to glass, and steel bars became flowing liquid, vaporized and vanishing upon contact with the death fire, leaving nothing behind.
The canyon was like a wanton peasant woman,
Under the hellish cold night, she received a wild man who ignited the fires of desire within her,
Starting from the deepest depths, spreading outward inch by inch—first the core zone, then the periphery, and finally the entire valley—burning away the lush green vegetation of the surrounding valleys like fine down.
The original fissures of the canyon were forced open,
The originally steep cliffs were flattened by sheer force, their surfaces covered in a layer of flowing glass that still dripped down like a melting candle,
Occasionally, massive chunks of rock broke off from the cliff walls and crashed into the sea of fire below, splashing a shower of sparks,
A mushroom cloud grew from this region, its canopy covering the entire canyon and even spreading to the surrounding ridges, tearing through the clouds.
"I can do it! I can do it! I can do it! I damn well can do it!!"
In this zone of death, a pair of burning dragon wings tore through the sea of fire, dragging that figure as they climbed frantically, fleeing toward the dawn cast between the high-altitude clouds,
Those dragon wings were fully unfurled, with a wingspan exceeding ten meters; the skeleton was pitch black, but the wing membranes were burning, trailing two scorching wakes behind them,
Wanda and Magik in his arms were enveloped in a crimson halo,
That halo was thin and transparent, like a fragile bubble, with multiple layers of light blue magic barriers nested inside,
They huddled against his chest, faces pressed against his scales, their gazes falling upon that roaring face,
The drifting ashes around them were like countless black hands tearing at his body, trying to keep him there,
But time and again, he smashed through them,
Finally, he arrived,
The sunlight did indeed shine upon him,
But it was only brief, because Green Morgan had lost his strength,
"Hey! A bit short on oxygen..."
Those burning dragon wings suddenly faltered, then stopped flapping, hanging like two shredded banners.
"I'm a bit sleepy, call me in ten seconds..."
He began to fall, his vision going black, only hearing a few curses in his ears.
"Hey! Bastard! Don't sleep! We're still in the air! If you're going to die, do it later!"
"We're falling!! I can't carry the three of us and fly; most of my magic was used to resist the nuclear blast!"
"I know, sharp-tongued girl! Use your magic to lighten the weight of this heavy-as-death pig, and I'll slow us down!"
"What do you think I'm doing, old woman! He almost broke my ribs hugging me just now! I want him to take responsibility!"
"Is this the time to bring that up! Besides, in your dreams! Flat-chested girl!"
"Oh, you...!"
Green Morgan's body was still falling, the wind whistling in his ears,
"So noisy..."
His consciousness faded into chaos.
When he woke up again, he found himself less than five meters from the ground, with those two stepping on his back, grabbing his wing bones and using him as a cushion,
"Fuck!"
Although the crimson and blue magic had minimized the gravitational potential energy, Green Morgan's body still slammed into the grass, biting a mouthful of dirt,
The two of them jumped off his back and landed on the nearby grass,
"Woohoo—perfect landing, except for a certain unreliable pilot."
Wanda clapped her hands while Magik straightened her skirt; both were panting heavily, but their faces bore a look of... disdain after surviving?
"Well, thanks a lot."
Green Morgan helplessly spat out the grass roots from his mouth and chewed a few times; the juice of the roots was tart and fresh, with a faint sweetness and an earthy scent,
He propped himself up and stood, looking down to check himself, making sure no parts were missing,
This miracle was likely thanks to the magic of these two girls as well,
"Where on earth did this come from? Wasn't it said that the 'stray dog' had already been activated?"
Wanda's gaze fell on the mushroom cloud still roiling in the distance,
Her face was still stained with ash, with several sweat trails carving light streaks down her cheeks, carrying a hint of lingering fear,
Within several kilometers of the Impact's spread was scorched earth,
From the clouds in the sky came occasional muffled thunders, as if from another World, while red nuclear lightning flickered between the layers,
"Just the sick joke of a god."
As Green Morgan spoke, he patted the ugly treasure on his shoulder; it retched hard, and a sealed bag slid out of its throat into his hand,
Inside were his cigarettes, his camera, and his lighter; his clothes had been shredded by the aftershocks during the battle, but fortunately, he had prepared in advance,
He opened the bag, took out the camera, and snapped a photo of the mushroom cloud, then pulled out a cigarette and held it in his mouth; the filter was a bit damp, but it was still smokable,
With a click of the lighter, the flame danced on his face, clearly illuminating the scar that slashed down from the corner of his lip,
"By the way, I forgot to ask."
He looked up at Magik,
Those eyes appeared exceptionally deep in the firelight, his golden pupils constricting slightly like two burning gems,
"Where did you crawl out from?"
"Uh... I am..."
Magik seemed somewhat flustered, her eyes darting around; she brushed back the damp hair clinging to her forehead, tucking it behind her ears to reveal a smooth forehead and slightly reddened ear tips.
"Just think of me as a mage lost in another World."
Her voice had lost the aggressiveness she had with Wanda.
That voice was soft and sweet, like freshly made marshmallows, the end of her words rising slightly with a hint of testing and caution,
It also had a bit of the seductive magnetism unique to precocious girls, making one want to listen for a few more seconds,
Her heart was still beating very fast,
Why?
She peeked up. Through the gaps in her eyelashes, she stole another glance at him,
"Hmph."
Wanda quietly walked in front of Green Morgan and stood still, perfectly blocking Magik's view, arms crossed, chin tilted up, looking at her sideways,
"I recall someone being quite bold with their words when they fell; why have you lost your voice now?"
That angle and expression carried a familiar provocation, and a bit of... possessiveness,
"Stupid woman!" Magik gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath, staring at her in annoyance,
"Then work for me, as payment for saving your life."
A mage? Sounds like someone who can make a lot of money,
"Do I have the right to refuse?"
"Refuse and I'll kill you."
"Fine." Magik tilted her head to look past Wanda, a flash of cunning in her eyes,
"Anyway, after all these years, I'm a stranger to this World; you have to take me with you."
He looked like he knew the dark side of this World well—a perfect thigh to cling to—and she admired the strong; someone who crawled out of Limbo knew best what kind of existence was worth following.
This man was definitely worth her investment.
"Of course." Green Morgan exhaled a puff of smoke, his gaze falling on Magik through the swirling mist with an ambiguous meaning,
"Tsk." Wanda was unhappy with their rapport; she walked straight to Green Morgan's side, her slender fingers taking the cigarette from his mouth, and leaned up to kiss him,
In her peripheral vision, she saw Magik's slightly stunned expression,
Even though Green Morgan was sitting, he was still too tall for the standing Wanda,
She had to stand slightly on tiptoe, one hand resting on his shoulder for balance; the moment their lips touched, she could feel the lingering scent of tobacco on the corner of his mouth,
And Green Morgan did not resist, or rather, he couldn't resist as the murmurs in his mind grew louder, urging him to pin this beauty beneath him,
And he was doing just that.
His hand climbed up her back, his palm feeling the curve of her spine through the fabric, gradually exploring downward,
As his fingertips brushed her waist, he could feel a slight tremor in her body,
"Mmph!" Wanda's eyes snapped open,
No! Too fast!
But what she didn't know was what she had provoked,
Oh no, she just wanted to... assert her dominance; it shouldn't have progressed this fast!
Her gaze gradually drifted, like a pool of spring water being stirred, her pupils dilating slightly and reflecting Green Morgan's face; her hand rose stiffly to touch Green Morgan's face,
"This is my first..."
But Green Morgan suddenly froze, shaking his head violently.
Those murmurs were still circling in his mind, urging, coaxing, tempting,
But instinct told him that if he listened to these voices, his will would be corrupted, becoming fragile and vulnerable to invasion,
He looked at Wanda,
Only to find Wanda biting her lower lip, her gaze carrying a hint of resentment, a hint of expectation, and a hint of an unexplainable... longing,
The two looked at each other,
The atmosphere was a bit awkward,
After a few seconds of silence,
"...One more time?"
"No!"
*Slap!*
Green Morgan took a heavy slap to the face from Wanda, reinforced with Crimson Power,
The force was not light; the crimson light exploded on his face with a crisp sound, his head snapping to the side, and he was momentarily stunned.
"?"
Green Morgan clutched that side of his face, his eyes looking somewhat clear.
"No more! No! Nothing happened!"
Wanda glanced downward.
Her gaze moved away from Green Morgan's face, sliding down to quickly sweep over a certain spot, then quickly retracted as if burned,
Her eyelashes fluttered, a complex mix of emotions flashing in her pupils—shock, embarrassment, and something she couldn't even explain herself,
She was secretly relieved that the slap just now had interrupted what shouldn't have continued,
This is so wrong!
At least... not in this form...
She wanted to ride the dragon, but it was an overload!
No, no, no! What was she thinking!
With this man?! Doing that in front of a scene that looked like the end of the World...
It seemed... quite romantic too...
Chapter 100: Wrapping Up, a Mushroom Bomb in Another World
No, that's not right!
She shook her head violently, as if trying to shake something out.
How could she think that! She must have been infected by this pervert!
"Scum."
She turned her head away stubbornly, a lingering blush still on her cheeks; she could feel the heat, so hot she wanted to cover her face with her hands.
But she didn't.
She just kept her head turned, pretending nothing had happened.
Magik stood to the side and gave a mocking sneer.
Wanda snapped her head around, glaring at her.
"Let's go."
Green's voice rang out; acting as if nothing had happened, he placed his half-finished cigarette on a rock by his feet.
The cigarette butt faced the direction of the mushroom cloud, a small orange-red ember still glowing as thin blue smoke rose, merging into the wind and drifting far away.
He stared fixedly at the canyon beneath the mushroom cloud for a few seconds, then turned and walked toward the rendezvous point.
"You're going over there naked?" Wanda asked.
"Yes."
"Well, that's certainly not right. Let me."
Magik snapped her fingers.
Green's lower body was covered by a layer of black wool skirt that hung down to his knees.
Magik withdrew her hand and looked at Wanda.
"No way?"
She raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a mocking arc.
"A certain Witch doesn't even know basic magic like this? She just throws her mana around like a primitive?"
"It's enough to crush certain self-righteous, clumsy magicians to death," Wanda retorted.
But Green paid them no mind as his body gradually reverted to its human form.
The cold wind touched his skin, clearing his consciousness slightly.
The issue with his soul left him in a state where he wanted to sleep but couldn't fall into a deep slumber.
Those whispers still lingered on the edge, like a pack of rats hiding in the shadows, occasionally squeaking a few times before being suppressed by his reason.
He tightened his sagging belt, then turned and walked toward the rendezvous point.
"Hmph!"
The two women, clearly annoyed with each other, followed Green in sync.
Their footsteps on the scorched earth made a faint rustling sound.
"By the way, was that gift sent in?"
Green didn't look back; his voice drifted from ahead.
"Of course, I added quite a few extra ingredients!"
Wanda quickened her pace to walk beside him, her head held high and the corners of her mouth turned up in a proud smile.
She paused and glanced back at Magik with a hint of showing off and provocation.
"What? That's not my hometown. I don't care what you do; it's better if it's blown clean," Magik shrugged.
The three figures gradually faded into the gloom of the dawn.
Shortly after,
Sparks emerged out of thin air.
Those sparks crawled out of the void, hissing like countless tiny eyes blinking.
They swirled and expanded, drawing a circular outline in the air before suddenly flipping outward to form a portal with burning edges.
On the other side of the portal, snowflakes drifted out from an opening that clearly didn't belong to this region, landing on the heat-soaked earth and turning into small water stains.
"Oh my, I wanted to see more. Why stop now?"
A female voice came from the other side of the portal, carrying a hint of lingering interest and a bit of lazy regret.
A monk in yellow robes stepped out.
She pulled back her hood to reveal an androgynous face, bald, with peaceful features and a sense of transcendent serenity in her eyes as she scanned the still-billowing mushroom cloud.
She made a grasping motion in the air.
Around her right wrist, several magic arrays instantly unfolded—golden, circular, and layered like countless overlapping gears.
They rotated and hummed, and from the center, an invisible force surged out.
A heart appeared, held within her palm.
The heart was still beating, covered in distorted facial features—eyes skewed, nose collapsed, and lips opening and closing.
Blood dripped from between her fingers, as if it had just been forcibly stripped from a still-beating husk.
Whether it was the The Foundation or Black Lake, they may have severely underestimated the intelligent evolutionary process of the active ecosystem; it had already crossed the threshold of simple reflex reactions and possessed basic cognitive and decision-making abilities.
"Don't kill me... don't kill me..."
The heart spoke, its crooked mouth opening and closing to emit a tender, childlike voice.
"Mama..."
The voice was soft and sweet, carrying a sob.
Its eyes looked at the Ancient One, pupils full of pleading; if a child had said this, it would inspire pity.
But a heart...
It was utterly grotesque.
"To save your life, you even use a word like mother?"
The Ancient One looked at it with some amusement, a flash of mockery in her peaceful eyes.
"Or do you think that in the latent human consciousness, this word is great and forgiving?"
The heart's mouth opened, wanting to say something.
"It is, indeed. But you are not worthy of using that word."
"And you certainly shouldn't have connected to Hell."
"Die."
The word was spoken.
Bright golden flames erupted from within the heart, spewing out from those distorted facial features.
The screams lasted only a few breaths before it turned to ash, drifting down from between her fingers.
"Finished, and just in time for the tea to be ready."
She clapped her hands, and the ash rustled down from between her fingers, dispersing in the air and being scattered by the breeze, vanishing from this scorched land.
She turned and walked toward the passage; the passage sensed her movement and floated toward her like a fallen leaf on water, pushed by invisible ripples as it slowly approached.
In the blink of an eye, it enveloped the Ancient One; the yellow-robed figure was swallowed by flames, her outline vanishing behind the sparks as if held and swallowed by a burning mouth.
The passage contracted with a swirl and then disappeared, leaving only the residual sparks in the air to quickly extinguish.
The surrounding greenery seemed to lose the suppression—or rather, the exploitation—of a certain will, becoming even more lush as if finally catching its breath, desperately absorbing every tiny ray of sunlight.
At the same time.
Within the World of another dimension,
The sandy-yellow atmosphere sat very close to the vast, desolate land, so close it felt as if one could touch those churning yellow clouds with an outstretched hand.
There was no Sun in the sky, yet there was light—a dim, sickly light that permeated from all directions.
Giant stones of varying sizes hovered in the air.
Black particles gathered into clouds like swarms of insects, tiny as dust but dense as fog.
There were also manta-ray-like Beast swarms flying past.
The size of backpacks, with flat bodies and fine tentacles along the edges, they emitted sharp cries.
In the sky, a spatial passage also existed, closing much slower than the one at the canyon.
On the ground,
Beasts with Kaiju-like heads roamed in packs, yet they turned a blind eye to a boy in pajamas.
The boy wore blue pajamas and was barefoot, standing in the middle of the Beast swarm.
He looked obsessively at the black particle clouds in the sky.
In reality, he was no longer satisfied with torturing and killing animals to vent his desires; he wanted to kill something larger.
But although he discovered he had the ability of telekinesis, it was still not enough to fulfill his longing.
His longing and his own uniqueness attracted a certain dimension, forcibly opening a passage in his bedroom.
He entered.
He could feel his mind gradually contacting and merging with that more powerful life form in the sky.
Those consciousnesses surged like a tide, wave after wave, rushing into his mind and occupying his nerves, but this was truly what he wanted; he was becoming stronger, and even his field of vision was expanding, like a god's-eye view.
He even discovered another residual consciousness and devoured it as well.
The devouring process went very smoothly; that consciousness didn't even show any sign of struggling, even though his brain gained many non-existent memories and a name.
"Vikna..."
He murmured, clutching his throbbing head.
Those memories churned in his mind—unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar scenes, and unfamiliar emotions intertwined.
"Who... am I?!"
He collapsed to the ground, curling up.
"I am Billy! No! I am Vikna? Why am I Vikna? Am I Billy? Aaaaah!!"
His screams echoed across the empty land.
The surrounding Beast swarms stopped in their tracks.
They turned their heads and closed in on him, as if observing something.
It wasn't them.
It was a higher existence, observing through them.
To Him, it didn't matter who won or lost, or even if they merged into a brand-new personality.
He was Him.
And at that moment,
A strong sense of crisis forced the Beast swarms to look up.
They felt it; something was approaching.
In the sky, a person was thrown out from the spatial passage.
The figure burst from the swirling light like a spat-out pebble, tumbling in the air; the blue light from his chest was blinding, almost enveloping his entire body.
The crimson in the Soldier's eyes faded, and he regained consciousness.
A tearing pain erupted from his body; the flesh and souls that had been stuffed into him were now boiling, burning, and searching for an exit. He couldn't help but scream.
"What... is that?!"
The boy squinted his eyes and raised a hand, trying to shield them from the blinding blue light.
"Is it judgment?"
He murmured.
"No!"
His voice suddenly rose, his eyes filled with terror.
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!!"
Inside his body, the two half-merged personalities reached an agreement under the extreme danger warning.
He scrambled up and ran toward the distance, swaying unsteadily.
The Soldier in the sky fell rapidly.
The face beneath the mask was twisted in pain; blue light shot out from beneath his cracked skin, and he could no longer slow it down with his will.
He understood that his mission was at hand.
He was going to explode!
"Fu..."
A roar rushed to his mouth, but the lines had been changed by the subconscious suggestion set by Wanda.
Similarly, it was also someone's bad taste.
"Art! Is—"
A white light drowned him before he could finish.
The light exploded from his chest, instantly expanding and swallowing him whole, along with this entire sky and earth.
"He—"
The boy struggled, reaching his hand toward the particle cloud; his hand stretched toward that black cloud, fingers splayed as if trying to grab something.
But he was still enveloped within.
His final fingertips vanished into the white light.
And of course, so did those particle clouds that were also trying to flee.
In 0.0001 seconds of time in this dimension, the Soldiermiraculously unleashed a self-detonation comparable to the Omega level.
The Impact is still spreading.
The destruction continues...