Ouroboros

An ouroboros magic rune appeared before Li Yue. She cast the spell toward the man in mid-air not far away, while simultaneously affecting the bullet that had just grazed past him.

The man’s figure froze in the air for a split second. Soon, the familiar scene replayed—he dodged the incoming bullet by the narrowest of margins, wearing that same smirk as before.

But this time was different. Another bullet flew precisely toward his landing point. Before his wide, startled eyes, the projectile struck his body true, and shards of ice instantly tore through his internal organs.

“I missed the head; it actually veered off.” Li Yue raised her hand, spinning the revolver once. Blood crystals encircled the barrel, emitting a translucent red glow.

“Let’s try that again.” Li Yue raised her hand and quickly fired two more shots. Although the man was wounded and unable to dodge, he could still cast magic normally. His spirits fended off the cleric’s chains while a small portion of them moved to protect his own body.

“Cycle once more.” Li Yue snapped her digits, and time returned to the moment the man was about to cast his magic with a smirk. Only this time, two bullets were already right in front of him. Propelled by a massive surge of force, the two ice-blue bullets pierced through his forehead in succession, their fragments shredding his brain.

A beautiful flower of blood blossomed in the air. Li Yue let out a sigh of relief, a smile touching her lips. That moment brought her an inexplicable sense of pleasure. Although this magic wasn't as violent or powerful as blood magic, she was already very satisfied with the properties she had discovered so far, which shared the same effect as time retracing.

She walked forward to inspect the corpse and fired two more shots into the heart. After confirming there was no possibility of the body coming back to life, she happily put away her revolver.

The man dressed as a cleric walked over to her side. After saying a few prayers, he sighed silently. He raised his hand, preparing to retrieve the rainbow-colored prism above them.

“Ah, sorry. Did you want him alive?” Li Yue blinked, momentarily stunned.

“Ah, no, not at all. I am merely lamenting his death. It is truly a pity for such a young life to end because he went astray.” The cleric shook his head. He looked at Li Yue, and for a moment, the girl’s appearance seemed to flicker in his eyes.

The smiling girl before him suddenly seemed much more terrifying. Her eyes were a void of darkness, save for those blood-red vertical pupils. A pitch-black crown floated above her head, and behind her stretched an endless sea of blood. In this place, no concept existed other than death.

“Is something wrong? You look quite pale,” Li Yue said, looking at the stunned man with some surprise.

“Ah... I was just distracted. It might be the mental influence of that kind of magic. Let me disperse that unpleasant aura for you as well.” The cleric smiled slightly, opened his Sacred Book, and began to chant softly. A golden halo appeared at Li Yue’s feet, radiating a holy aura.

Li Yue frowned. Although the holy light had no actual effect on her, she felt an inexplicable sense of disgust and repulsion. However, considering he meant well, she did her best to maintain the smile on her face.

“There, young lady. If you feel unwell or see hallucinations in the future, you can come to Heathrow Cathedral. There are colleagues there who are far more skilled than I am.” The cleric smiled. “Thank you for your help today. May the Lord protect you.”

“How should we handle the body? Should I chop it up and bury it as fertilizer?”

The cleric’s mouth twitched. This young-looking lady showed no aversion to slaughter or death whatsoever. Her earlier action of double-tapping the body had been elegant and practiced, as if she were long accustomed to it.

“I pray that your life will see less slaughter in the future...” The cleric prayed softly for Li Yue. “My colleagues should be arriving soon. After we cleanse the impure aura from him, we will bury him as quickly as possible.”

“Then I’m done here. I’ll be going now.” There was a hint of displeasure in Li Yue’s tone. Her mood had soured slightly, likely due to the influence of the ritual just now.

She gave a slight bow and departed, pressing a hand to her forehead. An odd sensation stimulated her—a surge of pleasure rising from her heart and a joyful thrumming within her organs. For a brief moment, she felt as if the power of the God's remains had leaked out slightly.

She quickened her pace toward home. To her, the larger a house was, the more shadows it contained, and the heavier the resulting loneliness became. But because Clo was there, this house was a home. And one would not feel lonely at home.

She opened the locked, wrought iron gate decorated with curling vines and pushed open the mahogany door. She had no interest in the marble reliefs or the various carvings on the windows, even if such things provided an elegant visual experience.

“You’re back late, but welcome home.” Clo seemed to have been waiting for a long time. She walked up slowly, leaning her face close to Li Yue’s, and gave a mischievous grin. “Do you need a kiss to welcome you back?”

Li Yue pressed a finger against Clo’s lips, which were inches away. The latter froze, a shy blush creeping onto her face.

“Not right now~ I’m hungry. I want to eat something first.” Li Yue smiled in spite of herself.

“I already bought the ingredients.”

“Mhm, and then?”

“And then I put them on the kitchen table.” Clo gave an embarrassed smile. “They’re all fresh ingredients.”

“Fine, fine, I get it. I’ll do the cooking. What do you want to eat?” Li Yue laughed and tapped Clo’s nose, letting out a sigh that was both helpless and entirely expected.

“Hehe, A Yue is the best.” Clo grabbed Li Yue’s hand and gave it a playful shake.

The house was large, but the shadows within were no longer filled with the sickness-like, persistent loneliness she had felt in Yakutsk. So what were they now? Who knew—maybe it was a carefully nurtured ambiguity.