157. Returns After Mission, Unlocks Function, and First Encounter with the Lord Ravagers
[Kevin] lost this battle. It wasn't that he was weaker than Kevin; in fact, he was slightly stronger at the end. However, this wasn't a fight to the death. Neither intended to kill the other, but they both used their full strength, holding nothing back.
At the last moment, the Holy Sword severed [Kevin's] weapon. Even then, [Kevin] could have defeated Kevin with a single punch, but he didn't.
This was a trial.
The other had passed his test. Even if he was still somewhat immature, he would grow.
The other still had time, time to grow. The current Kevin was capable of handling all calamities except the final catastrophe. And when the final moment arrived, he believed in the other, believed in the other's potential, and believed in the other's companions.
"Take it," [Kevin] said calmly, sitting in his wheelchair.
"This isn't right. Isn't it your weapon?" Kevin looked at the Cleaver of Shamash, somewhat bewildered.
Looking at the face before him, so much like his own youthful self, yet still bearing a hint of naiveté, [Kevin]'s thoughts seemed to drift back to a distant past. He slowly closed his eyes, his voice still calm:
"In this world, there is no longer any opponent worthy of me drawing it."
He paused, then continued, "Take it. At least for now, you don't have a truly suitable weapon to use, do you?"
Having said this, Kevin no longer refused. He took a deep breath, solemnly reached out, and slowly grasped the hilt of the Cleaver of Shamash.
As the heavy weapon truly settled in his hands, feeling the immense power and historical weight it contained, Kevin couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This size... is too exaggerated! It's so inconvenient to carry..."
As if responding to his thoughts, the Cleaver of Shamash instantly disintegrated and transformed into two sleek, restrained pistols, Judgment of Shamash form!
"Wow! This is amazing!" Kevin's eyes lit up instantly, and he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Shut up, it's as if you've never seen anything like this before. Don't embarrass yourself here." Xiling immediately curled his lip in disdain, his tone utterly contemptuous. However, his burning gaze was fixed on the dual pistols in Kevin's hands, completely betraying his true thoughts.
Kevin keenly caught Xiling's gaze, expressionlessly and deftly sheathing the dual pistols back into their specially made holsters on his back, his tone slightly wary:
"Don't even think about messing with my weapons."
"Damn it, I lent you my Holy Sword, what's wrong with me playing with yours!" Xiling immediately became annoyed.
"Ahem…"
Lemuen, who had been quietly observing, coughed softly at the opportune moment, successfully interrupting Xiling's impending personal attack on Kevin.
Looking at [Kevin]'s expressionless face in the wheelchair, Xiling coughed lightly.
"Well, this time is really a goodbye."
[Kevin] nodded slightly in response. As the four agreed to complete the mission, a beam of light descended upon them, so intense that even [Kevin] couldn't perceive it. What force had transported them away from this place?
[Ding!]
A cold, mechanical notification sounded unexpectedly deep within their consciousness.
[Mission settlement in progress…]
[Mission completion: 73% Rewards assessed based on exploration progress…]
[Each person receives: 14,600 points. Mission rewards distributed.]
[Ding!]
[New chat group feature unlocked: [Campfire] Death cannot separate you. The consciousness of the deceased will be rebuilt and returned at the 'Campfire' node after a specified time.]
(Cooldown time and cost fluctuate based on individual strength and the circumstances of death)
[[Contract Summoning] Those with deep bonds can summon each other across world barriers. After establishing a two-way contract, both parties can initiate or respond to cross-world support requests.]
(The contract can only be activated if the bond strength reaches a certain threshold.)
"Wow!"*8
In different worlds, the eight people in the chat group exclaimed in shock almost simultaneously.
[I Don't Want to Be a Hero Anymore]: Chat group is awesome!
[Fire Moth Warrior]: Chat group is awesome!
[Great Magician Tarnished]: Chat group is awesome!
[I Am the Savior]: Chat group is awesome!
[I'm not Him]: It can even resurrect?!
[I'm a Witch]: I have to say, the chat group is really amazing!
[Wheelchair Sniper]: Indeed.
[I'm Not a Foodie]: Suddenly, I feel like there's nothing to be afraid of anymore.
[I Don't Want to Be a Hero Anymore]: Stop! Don't make promises you can't keep! This thing just came out, and we haven't even tested its effects yet!
[I'm not Him]: Has everyone seen the other feature?
[Great Magician Tarnished]: The other feature is quite interesting, too.
[Great Magician Tarnished]: Calling friends from other worlds for help, it looks like I need to make more friends in the future.
Tarished looked at himself, at the several avatars on the contract summoning bar, and suddenly wondered if he didn't have many friends?
Meanwhile, Xiling stared at his summoning interface, feeling his eyes blur.
A dense multitude of avatars nearly filled the entire scroll bar, and a large portion of them sported the signature silver-white hair—their distinctive features were too obvious.
Xiling couldn't help but mutter, "Wow, looking at it this way, my popularity in the Lands Between is pretty… spectacular?"
He casually tossed a screenshot of his spine-chilling friend list into the group chat.
[I Don't Want to Be a Hero Anymore]: Countless, absolutely countless.
[Great Magician Tarnished]: You… truly deserve the title of Silver King.
Just then, Kevin also sent a picture.
Xiling glanced at it and froze.
Because those were 13 Heroes, or rather, Memory Bodies in it.
Theoretically, they couldn't be called people or living beings.
But the chat group had made this judgment; if they were transported to other worlds, what would happen to these Memory Bodies, to these beings who had left the Elysian Realm?
Xiling thought for a moment, then slowly uttered a few words.
[I Don't Want to Be a Hero Anymore]: Want to give it a try?
Kevin took a deep breath. The memories of the 13 heroes had been in the Elysian Realm for countless years, but Kevin was certain they still yearned to see the wider world.
[Fire Moth Warrior]: I want to try. Please help oversee it, Xiling.
[I Don't Want to Be a Hero Anymore]: Leave it to me.
With the application approved, Xiling arrived in Kevin's world, and the two nodded.
"I'm ready. Let's go."
Xiling was prepared; if anything happened, he would do his best to prevent anything from happening to the other party.
Kevin took a deep breath and clicked on [Kevin]'s avatar.
Elysian Realm.
While eating instant noodles, [Kevin] suddenly saw a screen invitation in his field of vision.
[[Kevin Kaslana] initiated a contract summons to [Kevin Kaslana]. Do you agree to establish a connection?]
[Yes.]
[No.]
[Kevin] slurped up a mouthful of noodles, chewed a couple of times, and stared gravely at the screen in front of him.
Could it be… that Elysian Realm is malfunctioning?
Just then, more words appeared on the screens. After reading them all, Kevin fell into deep thought, finally clicking [Yes] on the [Screen].
The next second, he felt as if he were enveloped by an invisible beam of light. When he opened his eyes again, two familiar figures appeared before him.
[Kevin] stretched his body slightly and finally nodded.
"Looks like it worked."
Hearing him say this, Kevin and Xiling immediately clapped their hands excitedly.
"Holy crap!" *2
"Awesome, this even works!" *2
"Calm down, calm down," Xiling then said to [Kevin].
"[Kevin], can you go back now?"
[Kevin] sensed for a moment and nodded.
"I can go back anytime."
Kevin took a step forward.
"Then please go back and tell everyone in the Elysian Realm about these things."
[Kevin] nodded and quickly disappeared from their sight.
Not long after, all 13 heroes appeared in Kevin's room.
They all looked at each other, seemingly unable to believe it, but what they saw told them that this was reality.
They had returned to...the past.
Just as they were lost in thought, Lemuen teleported and arrived here.
"Thank you for your help, Lemuen," Xiling said.
Lemuen nodded, closed her eyes, and then suddenly opened them. Stars appeared in her pupils. Her gaze fell on the thirteen figures in the room, and a flood of information rushed into her mind.
She quickly arrived at the conclusion, closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, she had recovered. Lemuen explained their condition, "You are still in a memory state, but some kind of energy is sustaining you. Without further expenditure on your energy, you can maintain this state for 2-3 days. After that, you must return to your own worlds immediately, otherwise you may be in danger."
"Oh? I see."
Elysia broke the silence first, turning with a bright smile, like the opening of a grand festival:
"Hey, everyone! Such a precious holiday, are we going to spend it all sitting in this little house? Think about it! We're back here! Although things may have changed… but those streets, those landscapes, those corners etched deep in our memories…"
Her voice, like leaping musical notes, was infectious.
"Why don't we follow the path of our memories, embarking on our own unique… time travel journey? What do you think?"
"A brilliant idea."
Eden's lips curved into an elegant, nostalgic smile, and she was the first to agree.
Sakura raised her hand.
"I want to go somewhere."
Mobius spoke as she walked towards the door.
"Looks like we'll have to split up."
Xiling called out to the figure leaving through the door, "Don't cause trouble, or I won't let you come next time."
"Shut up, I'm not a child."
Mobius's somewhat unfriendly voice rang out from outside the door.
"Oh dear~ It seems our Professor Mobius is indeed 'busy with work'!" Elysia shrugged playfully, then turned to everyone again, opening her arms wide.
"So~ who else wants to join Elysia's wonderful journey planning team?"
The selection was quickly finalized.
Except for Mobius, Vill-V, Sakura, and Su, who had other commitments, everyone else chose to follow Elysia into this era that belonged to them yet didn't, to revisit the past.
The group surged toward the gate with great fanfare. Xiling, like a worried old father, stood at the doorway:
"Remember! Keep track of the time! After a little over two days! If you sense anything's wrong or the time is almost up, immediately! Right then! Go back to your world! Do you hear me? Be good! Don't fight! Don't… sigh, never mind, I guess it's pointless to say anything more…"
"Okay, okay~ We got it!" Elysia's energetic voice drifted from afar.
Watching the departing figures, Xiling sighed.
"The contract summoning isn't bad, but that campfire... I guess we won't be able to try it."
"After all, that thing requires death to activate; who would bother dying for no reason?"
Xiling himself wanted to try, but he couldn't die anyway.
"Speaking of which, doesn't Dan Heng need some help?" Kevin remembered this.
"Yes, I'll go see what's going on."
"Well, if that's all, I'll head back. I have some work to do in Laterano, waiting for me." Lemuen said with a smile.
"Take care." Xiling waved.
Just then, Remian stopped what she was doing and smiled at Xiling:
"Please come over when you're done. I need your help with something."
"Okay." Xiling agreed without much thought.
After Lemuen returned to her own world, Xiling sent a request to Dan Heng to teleport to his world. With a flash of white light, he was already beside Dan Heng.
Xiling's appearance immediately alerted the surrounding people. Several Cloud Knights drew their weapons, looking wary of Xiling.
"Who are you? Why are you here all of a sudden?"
Welt, recognizing Xiling, immediately stepped forward to explain.
"Please don't be alarmed, everyone. This is our companion."
After Welt's explanation, the Cloud Knights finally lowered their guard.
Just then, a foxian woman approached with a smile.
"My name is Tingyun. May I ask your name?"
Xiling looked at the foxian woman before him, completely aware that she had the "Danger" written on her forehead.
Or rather… one of the Lord Ravagers, Phantylia.
Xiling's hand almost drew his holy sword, ready to strike her on the head, but he restrained himself.
"My name is Xiling. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tingyun."
"Oh, it's Lord Xiling! Apologies for my rudeness."
"Not at all, not at all, Miss Tingyun, you're too kind." Xiling scratched his head shyly.
Tingyun, meanwhile, watched him with a grin.
"How did that guy suddenly appear? I didn't even sense him."
She was the Emanator of Destruction, the Lord Ravagers, a pinnacle existence below the Aeon. Unless the other party was also an Emanator, he couldn't do what he did earlier.
Yet, she was so close to him just now, yet she didn't sense any aura of Path from him. The other party wasn't even a Path Strider. So it was probably just his racial talent.
The universe is vast, containing countless races. Some races possess strange abilities; this isn't unusual. Perhaps the other party was simply a race she had never seen before.
"I worried for nothing. I thought something unexpected had happened."
But when Phantylia met Xiling's eyes, she felt as if some kind of affection was hidden within them.
Phantylia (inner monologue): "Bewitched by this beautiful body?"
Xiling (inner monologue): "Hold on a little longer. A fight here might hurt innocent people."
And so, one retreated to the Cloud Knights, and the other returned to the Star Train.