Beautiful.
That was the only word that could describe what Du Ze saw when he opened his eyes. It was as though the sun had been crushed then sprinkled on him. His light blond hair was floor-length with a pure and clear texture. His face was perfect, as though the world's best sculptor had painstakingly carved a statue with the most exquisite features. There was no expression on his face but it had an arrogant charm. His most striking aspect was his eyes. His two irises were both bright gold, but in different shades – one was the pure gold of the midday sun while the other was the platinum of a solar eclipse.
When he saw that Du Ze was awake, the person with heterochromatic eyes reached out his hand to touched the black-haired youth's face. His action was cautious and wary, as though he was touching a dream bubble that might burst.
Behind this person were three pairs of huge snow-white wings were spread open, fanning the air as the wind fluttered the gorgeous feathers. This person was so beautiful that he looked like he belonged in the most blissfully happy paradise. This is ...
Xiu?
Even though Du Ze had already extrapolated from his conversation with the God of Creation that Xiu had awakened his angel blood, now that he saw it for himself, Du Ze was still shocked – it's too dazzling! Just looking at that person made someone feel ashamed, as though even one's gaze on him was like a blasphemy.
Du Ze wanted to speak but his throat was choked with cotton – no, rather he couldn't control his mouth and make a sound, as though his body was broken. It was probably the aftereffects of the resurrection. Being brought back to life was against heaven's will, therefore if resurrection were to work perfectly then it wouldn't be called magic: it would be called a BUG.
Perceiving that something was wrong with Du Ze, Xiu's fingers paused for a moment. He stared at Du Ze, carefully examining the black-haired youth from head to toe, not missing even the smallest speck of dust on his fingernails.
That person's expression was very normal. His eyes were normal. He sounded normal... but all of these "normal" qualities, when taken together, made Du Ze realize that it was concealing a terrible fear.
"Du Ze," said Xiu. His fingers started moving again and were covered with the light of healing magic. "You'll be fine, nothing will go wrong."
Du Ze's eyes widened. At first glance, because Xiu's new form took all of his attention, Du Ze failed to notice that Xiu's condition wasn't as bright and neat as it had first appeared.
Above the gold was a layer of scarlet.
As he gradually regained his senses over the parts of his body that the healing light covered, Du Ze felt the sticky touch of Xiu's skin. The blood was half clotted and half fresh – the old blood had clotted and dried, but fresh, new blood was added. The layer of scarlet wasn't just flowing blood, there were also a lot of wounds. Though Xiu's clothing covered more than half of his body, Du Ze could still glimpse numerous hideous wounds.
Although "the rules" will ensure that Xiu won't die, this doesn't mean that Xiu escaped from the verdict unscathed. "The rules" only make sure that the protagonist doesn't die; it doesn't guarantee that Xiu will not be injured. Du Ze can't imagine what kind of situation Xiu is in after he awakened his angelic bloodline. When Du Ze's brain tried to think of it, he thought that even breathing must be extremely painful.
"You'll be alright." The curve of Xiu's thin lips were subtle. His voice was slow and graceful, as though singing a hymn, but the light tone ended with a trace of hysterical fear and angel continued: "I'll make you better."
Don't worry, I'm fine! – Du Ze wanted to shout this out. Even if there was something wrong, he has his 0-point restore!
As soon as it's midnight, he will fully recover!
But Du Ze can't control even the tip of a finger so he could only watch helplessly as Xiu, who had not even healed his own wounds, bled as he healed Du Ze. The angel's beautiful red and gold colors flowed into each other.
– You'll be fine.
Even if I'm not fine, you'll be fine.
Xiu's fingers ran through Du Ze's hair then stroked the delicate skin on the back of the black-haired youth's neck. Shades of darkness flashed through Xiu's eyes.
His beloved's life had been shattered, even if there was no trace of it now, "he had been killed" was a fact.
"There won't be a next time." Xiu whispered, "I promise."
Du Ze immediately understood what Xiu meant. Henceforth, Xiu will not let him suffer any harm. That person can promise that, not only because he has awakened all his bloodlines and is stronger now, but also because he can acquire the right to stand at the peak of this world.
The Tower of God: whoever reaches the top first will become the Supreme God. Du Ze tried to keep his breathing even but he still felt dizzy from lack of oxygen.
After discovering the truth, Du Ze was very wary of Xiu becoming the Supreme God. He felt he had to stop anyone from becoming the Supreme God because it meant the death of the Creator God.
The God of Creation said: When I die you will disappear from this world.
Perhaps because of Xiu's treatment, or because of his intense emotional excitement, Du Ze was able to reach out and grab Xiu's wrist. Half propped up, Du Ze found the strength to speak, even though his voice was extremely hoarse as though it came from the depths of his throat.
"Xiu-"
Du Ze had just shouted Xiu's name when a yellow light suddenly appeared and hit them on the tops of their heads. Du Ze felt a slight jolt before the scene immediately changed into the Tower of God's hall.
There is no doubt that the beam of light was the portal that appeared each time Xiu passed a trial, but normally it wouldn't have appeared right on top of them, "graciously" teleporting them.
"The rules" seem to be impatient.
During the instant that thought flashed into Du Ze's mind, he barely had time to look around at the hall and the stone statues when a light shone from every one of the Tower of God's entrances, revealing a man's shadow.
Du Ze closed his eyes then opened them again, but no matter how he wanted to escape from reality, the image of the last person he wanted to see was seared into his retina.
Black hair, black eyes, glasses and hearing aids- it was the Creator.
Xiu stared at the God. The Creator that was reflected in his different colored eyes was a blond, gold-eyed, six-winged angel that looked very familiar. When their eyes met, the whole space seemed to become turbulent.
"BUZZ."
By the time Xiu regained his composure, the surroundings had changed. Below him was ground that looked like ice crystal with an upside-down sky inside. If there had been a huge pillar of light, it would have looked like the Lost Land. A vast sea of clouds came rolling in from a distance and their shadows fell on Xiu's body, dark and ominous.
Xiu's first reaction as he sat on that crystal ground was to turn around to look for Du Ze, but the black-haired youth was no longer beside him.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Xiu's nerves, which had already been stretched to their limit, snapped. He called the blood contract beast. It was eager to pursue Du Ze, but somehow stayed in place. Its rune-filled face seethed, out of control. Upon seeing it, Xiu asked the six-winged angel: "Where is Du Ze?"
The other's response was a beam of light that hit Xiu's cheek, leaving, a deep wound. The God of Creation stared at Xiu, not bothering to conceal his killing intent. He knew the truth of this world now and the God's way of thinking had changed subtly. He doesn't care that the world is a novel but why is he the "villain" and this person is the "protagonist"?
If there is a gap, there will be a contrast. If there is a contrast, there will be an imbalance. If he is to survive, he must act now. In addition to his desire to survive, the God also wants to kill Xiu because of a twisted envy and resentment. Even if "the rules" have arranged this fight, he will not perform the way "the rules" want him to. The Creator looked around at the stone statues of the eight races. "The rules" have been written but, despite everything, the Creator wanted to kill this person who was under the protection of "the rules."
"Bang"
A faint pulsation vibrated and diffused outward, like a heartbeat shaking the air. Xiu turned his head and saw that the angel statue was falling apart, the falling fragments turning into yellow clusters of light. The yellow light clusters trembled slightly, wandering in between Xiu and the God of Creation. Xiu couldn't figured out what this meant.
The God of Creation raised his hand and the yellow light clusters quickly gathered around him and turned into countless angels that looked identical, as though they had come out of the same mold.
A sense of extreme danger pricked Xiu's skin as though he was poked by countless needles. Xiu looked silently at the legion of angels led by the Creator. Each angel was almost as strong as the god of light. Therefore, it was as though he was now facing an army of gods of light.
The situation was desperate. The angels flapped their wings and, one after the other, launched an attack on Xiu.
Xiu sprang up, wings spread open, and the wounds on his body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even in the face of these terrible odds, Xiu's attitude was still cool, calm, and domineering. By the time the first angel reached him, Xiu had more or less healed all his wounds. Xiu then changed his form. Angels are good at buffing and healing but their attack power is not very strong.
His heterochromatic eyes closed. When they opened again, they were amber-colored. The gnome raised his little hand and a giant eight-star mechanical puppet slowly rose, unstoppable.
The others were gone, but the Kabbalah and Old John did not disappear, though they were subjected to varying degrees of damage as a result of the verdict. Old John was completely incapacitated while some parts of the Kabbalah were destroyed, but it could still fight.
Xiu looked at his hand. Changing his form was very smooth this time. The fatigue he felt when changing his form was no longer present.
Xiu smiled. Small dimples dotted the white face. He looked unusually cute but also very dangerous.
No after effect ...
"BOOM!"
Even the Kabbalah, which no one can rival, was in danger when thousands of "gods" attacked. Large chunks of the mechanical puppet fell off. Gears and metal parts flew everywhere. The gnome that the Kabbalah was protecting was suddenly nowhere to be found. The God of Creation perceived the fluctuation in space and turned around, but the God's wings slightly impeded his movement and he was unable to avoid the attack.
The silver-haired, red-eyed dragonkin tore through space and stabbed with his dragon spear. The God of Creation's wings were spotted with blood and torn white feathers.
Although it was surprise attack, Xiu wasn't able to follow through since the God of Creation fled. Xiu's ear fins twitched slightly as he smiled: "Trying to escape."
At the moment he said the word "to" and before he said "escape," the red-haired beastkin's claws had already grabbed the Creator's shoulders.
The God of Creation's eyes reflected the image of Xiu. The beastkin's lion ears were twitching and he had a bloodthirsty smile on his face, like a wild beast who had just captured his prey. Too fast! The beastkin are the fastest in melee combat. No other race can surpass the beastkin's speed. However, even if caught, he is still the mighty God of Creation. The God's expression did not change much. While the angels fighting the Kabbalah continued to drive it back, the nearest two angels lifted their light swords – one was poised to cut Xiu's arm while the other was about to cut off Xiu's head.
As the angel's sword struck down, Xiu's eyes did not blink. He seemed to be blind to the fact that his arm and head were about to be cut off by the light swords. Xiu's claws stabbed into the God of Creation's chest, closing around his beating heart.
"Shhhunk"
That was the sound of the swords that pierced the flesh and cut the bones, but also that of a heart being cut off from its blood vessels.
Scarlet blood spilled down on the ground as a head and arm fell on the floor. The body parts soon became vapor and dissipated into the air.
The God of Creation's heart was only connected by a single blood vessel as he stuffed it back into his chest. The Creator looked gloomily at the Lich while the undead also looked back it him with gloomy eyes. Both of them had the same thought.
– Just a little bit more and he would have been dead.
The God of Creation's moment of regret was brief. He spread his wings and flew up higher. Xiu was completely surrounded by angels. The God looked down at the suppressed Xiu. The enemy was now an undead but the God knew a way to kill him – if he destroys the Lich's body, he can search for the Lich's life box and destroy it.
The angels in the innermost circle surrounding Xiu lifted their swords. The second layer of angels chanted a blessing while the angels at the outermost layer erected a barrier to stop Xiu from teleporting away. This was not a 1-vs-1 but a 1-vs-group fight of an individual vs the representatives of a race.
The angels' swords cut Xiu's head, limbs, and trunk. Though he cannot die, the feeling that he was being trampled on by the enemy was pretty bad.
Xiu raised his pale, handsome face. The soul fires in his eyes suddenly flared, like sparks setting off an arc of electric power.
"BOOM!"
The next angel's sword that struck was stopped by the Burning Desire sword. The angel looked at the purple-eyed demon that was surrounded by electric arcs. The wooden face finally showed a reaction.
"Don't go too far." The demon's lips curved up.
Violent streams of gold-colored electricity spread outwards. The arcs were very fine, like thin wisps of golden hair strands, but it turned each angel that it came into contact with into chunks. The golden thunderbolt spread 10 meters then turned purple. Although the amount of arcs rose, their strength also weakened. The angels around him were all injured and Xiu stood at the center of a newly cleared space. His face was white and there was a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
It was easy for him to change forms now that he had awakened all of his bloodlines. Nevertheless, this type of intense battle still puts an enormous strain on his body. In the next battle, he won't be able to change forms so freely anymore.
The battlefield was quiet for a little while. When the angels saw the demon, their faces changed. Their dull eyes showed their hatred. Suddenly, a familiar booming sound resounded through the battlefield. Xiu looked around for the source. Not far away was the demon stone statue that had exploded. Its falling fragments were turning into purple light clusters.
In contrast to the yellow light clusters' hesitation, the purple light clusters seemed to know what their goal was. They gathered by Xiu then turned into countless demons. None of them spoke as the demons and angels immediately started fighting each other. The entire space instantly turned into a battlefield for the angels' and demons' fight. The pressure on Xiu lessened. Though some angels did attack him, their efforts were rather perfunctory this time.
Xiu could feel a special connection with the demons. He couldn't direct them but they would fight together with him because they were bleeding the same blood. Every second, an angel died.
In the days of the ancient war between the angels and demons, the angels lost because they were good at healing but bad at destroying their enemies. The angels' ranks were shrinking rapidly at a pace visible to the naked eye. The God of Creation killed a demon who was attacking him then saw Xiu standing in front of him.
"Tell me where Du Ze is." Xiu flicked off the blood that was on the Burning Desire sword. His voice was low and magnetic. There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone as he said: "I'll let you die easy, hmm?"
The God of Creation glanced coldly at Xiu but did not speak.
Xiu's purple demon eyes narrowed as the six-winged angel in front of him suddenly turned into a silver-haired, green-eyed elf. It was a copy of his elf form. At the same time, a stone statue shattered once again with a booming sound. Green light clusters emerged from the wreckage and flowed towards the God of Creation.
The beautiful elves that were born from the green light were armed with bows and arrows. They joined the fight between the angels and demons by shooting at the demons.
The scene was now very lively as the battle raged on.