“Is it pretty?” Within a blur that was indistinguishable from reality or a dream, a blue haired girl placed a flower wreath she had made herself on her head. Snowy white Cecilia flowers had been woven into a ring by the girl’s nimble hands, carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.
She and the girl sat under the sunlight, looking at a field of flowers that seemed like it could only appear in a dream.
The scenery before her began to flicker, and she could faintly hear a few blurred words.
“My magic can rewrite fate.”
“I cannot save myself, but I will definitely save you, no matter the cost.”
She saw the scenery outside the window constantly changing. The girl sitting opposite her just looked at her. The two remained silent, but an atmosphere of happiness filled every corner of the carriage.
How wonderful. Is this an illusion? No wonder so many people want to be lost in one.
“Wake up!”
She saw Clo looking at her with eyes full of tears.
“Please, do not become like that...” Clo’s entire body was trembling as she embraced her tightly. “I am sorry... I cannot do anything.”
“Where have we reached?” she heard an ethereal voice ask, filled with exhaustion and confusion.
“An ending... can also be a beginning.”
“Start over?” Clo’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“Yes, this time let us walk the path of fate once more.” The ethereal voice echoed in the space. “In any case, there will be no more prices to pay here.”
“You will forget this journey, forget the things you have walked through, the things you have always cherished...” Li Yue looked at the sorrowful Clo. Clo looked at the void of the illusion in the distance, her thoughts unknown.
“I will remember you. Or rather, I will remember eventually.”
“No, do not remember.” Clo shook her head, tears seemingly unable to stop falling. “Forget everything... including now.”
Clo looked at her. It seemed to be the first time she had seen Clo so sad. Her heart ached. Even if it was an illusion, she wanted to try to respond to her.
“I will find you again. I will wait for you at the crossroads of fate. I will remember everything you forget!”
“And... I love you.” She heard the girl’s sobbing voice echo in the space. It seemed as if those last three words had exhausted all her strength, and she collapsed into “Li Yue’s” embrace.
“In any case, you will... forget it all, right?”
She felt a sharp pang in her heart. Regret, emotion, anger, sorrow, joy, irritation, anxiety, unease... Memories flashed like fragments. Though they were unclear, the emotions they brought struck her soul with absolute reality.
Thump!
The “heart” within her bloody chest cavity gave a beat. She opened her eyes amidst a haze, accompanied by a series of massive shattering sounds. Her thoughts were like a tangled mess, and she didn't know where to begin sorting them.
It was as if everything was fake, including this very moment.
“It worked! It actually worked!”
She heard a manic voice say.
The wound on her chest gradually healed, revealing fair and tender skin. Then, a blood crystal that was even more crimson and dark appeared in her chest. Along with the booming heartbeat, the surrounding blood began to boil.
The fresh flesh and blood within countless crystals were instantly squeezed into liquid blood. The shells of the nuns exploded one by one. The blood filling the air was pulled into long blood lines, weaving into a long dress around her body.
“How pathetic...” The space behind her was shrouded in darkness. Beneath the boundless darkness, a ring shaped independent space was slowly being generated.
The gloom radiating an unsettling aura instantly swallowed the nun standing nearby. When she opened her eyes, beneath her feet was only a tranquil sea. In the sky, a crimson moon poured dark red moonlight toward the earth.
“Why do you still have your own consciousness?” The nun gripped her steel spike. At this moment, she had lost connection with all her shells.
“Why wouldn't I?” There was no expression on her exquisite face, not even a hint of disdain. She sat down sideways as a throne slowly rose from beneath the water to support her body.
She rested her chin on one hand and looked at the space in the distance, seemingly completely ignoring the nun.
“Nothing has changed?” she muttered to herself. She raised her hand to look at the ring on her ring finger and instantly realized something. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and her mood seemed to improve quite a bit.
“A little trick. To think ‘I’ would actually accept it so openly. It seems there will still be an influence.” She summoned little Clo and teased her with her fingertips for a very long time. It was only when she finally realized time was running out that she stood up reluctantly.
She waved her hand as if bored. The crimson moon became blurred, and blood colored moonlight poured from the sky toward the ground like a physical substance, as if someone had painted a heavy stroke beneath the moon.
The tide slowly receded, revealing countless corpses hidden beneath.
“Who are you?” The blood colored moonlight instantly submerged the nun, and her life flowed away within that light.
“Jormungandr. I have only ever had this one name, in the past and in the future.”
Looking into the distance, her gaze pierced through the sea surface, seeing all the way to the world on the other side of the water. A girl sitting on a small boat leaned against the gunwale, seemingly having a good dream.
The dark space shattered into pieces. With a slight smile on her lips, she sat back upon the black throne.
“What... happened?” Li Yue forced her body up. Looking at the shattered crystals around her and the corpses of the nuns scattered about, she felt a moment of confusion.
At some point, she had changed back into the casual clothes she had taken off inside the ring. All of this made her feel as if the present was also not reality.
Her hand moved back to the blood crystal in her chest. It was quiet, with no heartbeat or vibration, just like before. There was only a slightly greater sense of fulfillment.
A figure in the distance slowly stood up. One of the original shells stood up on its own, as if it had regained life.
“Originally, this body was meant for me to leave my final words...” The nun’s expression struggled. “But since the recipient is you, I have nothing left to say.”
“See you in hell.” She smiled, and the steel spike in her hand pierced her own heart. Then, she collapsed weakly to the ground.
Li Yue was stunned. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she suddenly felt waves of magic. She turned her gaze toward the concentrated magic crystals in the corners of the room, and a terrifying thought was born in her mind.
It couldn't be. She suddenly began running toward the upper floors. Closely following behind her were violent explosions and raging flames.
This madwoman had hidden fire and explosion magic throughout this building, along with a large number of concentrated magic crystals. She had kept one body not just to leave final words, but to handle her aftereffects and destroy everything completely.
She rushed into the building on the surface. The thick gunpowder smoke made it hard for her to breathe. She looked at everything on the ground, feeling that this place looked even less like the human world. Everything was burning, and the booming explosions were mixed with intermittent cries.
She seemed to suddenly realize that this place was still an orphanage.
No... I have to save those children. Even if no one has ever loved them, their right to live should not be stripped away by a madwoman.
She rushed into the raging flames, almost single handedly lifting burning wooden beams and scorched furniture. She felt her consciousness beginning to haze over again.
In the darkness, she seemed to hear intermittent cries again.
With her right hand almost completely useless, she finally found the children huddled together in the innermost room. This room didn't seem to be affected by the fire and explosions yet, but the air inside was foul and the temperature was very high.
Perhaps the nun had a sudden moment of kindness and had privately trained the children in fire escape techniques. they stayed together, waiting for someone to come and save them.
Li Yue believed that if any other Demon Hunter Team had reached this point, they would have made the same choice she did.
“Don't cry... I have come to save you.” Li Yue coughed violently a few times. She looked at the blood on her palm and felt her body’s condition, sensing she hadn't reached her limit yet.
Going through the front door was impossible, but I can try... this.
She squeezed past the children sitting on the floor and clenched her fist, smashing it against the wall over and over. She listened to the explosions behind her, feeling deeply that time was running out.
The sound of the wall and her bones cracking echoed. Her bloody fists left bright red stains on the wall.
She felt waves of weakness.
Am I already at my limit? No, I can't be. Just a little more.
With a loud crash, her fists smashed a sizable hole through the wall.
“Hurry, go.”
She tore a strip of cloth from her clothes and dipped her fingertip in the blood from her fists. After thinking for a moment, she wondered who would have the ability to take in these children right now.
Mr. Roland was not at the association. Miss Kelly could not suddenly take in dozens of children. Clo was too far away.
Caesar? A high noble, he should be able to do it.
She forcefully wrote down an address, followed by her signature and the name Caesar in large letters.
She handed the cloth strip to the last child to pass through.
“Go here. Find him. Say it is Nolan’s request.”
The child’s clean eyes were filled with fear and the hope of a new life. He looked at the exhausted Li Yue, his small mouth moving silently, and then bent down to pass through the small hole in the wall.
Li Yue collapsed weakly to the ground. The small hole in the wall only reached her chest, but it was too narrow for her. To pass through, she would probably need to land two more punches.
She felt like she couldn't move a single finger. She waved her hand at the children and sat in the corner of the wall. Her consciousness gradually blurred. The sound of explosions and fire outside the room drew closer, as if announcing something.
She closed her eyes, seemingly without any regret for her kindness or stupidity.
After a long time, a faint coolness seemed to touch the tip of her nose. She opened her eyes. The sky was overcast, and a light rain was falling. She lay in the ruins. Though her entire body was in agonizing pain, she truly felt that she was still alive.
A small hand reached down from above the ruins, seemingly wanting to pull Li Yue up. Through the gaps in the rock walls, she saw clearly—it was the girl who looked very much like her.
Li Yue struggled, grabbing the shattered rocks beside her hand and forcefully pushing away the stones and burnt pillars pressing down on her. She dragged her bloodied body, draped in charred clothes, and knelt to tightly embrace the girl who had come for her, weeping loudly.
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