The girl was dressed entirely in black, wearing black over-the-knee socks, a dark purple Lolita dress, and a black Gothic bonnet.
She hung her head slightly, her black eyes dull and lifeless. One of her hands was curled in front of her chest while the other nervously clutched her skirt, her feet turned slightly inward. She looked incredibly tense and aloof.
In stark contrast, pitch-black flames seemed to be constantly burning on her body. From a distance, Matthew could not even tell if it was fire or the actual color of her clothes.
“...Please leave this place. Just let me be alone... and quiet for a moment.”
Her voice echoed softly through the dark alley, crystal clear yet carrying a hint of sorrow.
Around her, within his field of vision, Matthew was astonished to see dark, fire-like substances drifting slowly through the air.
They sometimes gathered into swaying, giant shadows, and at other times scattered into countless drifting tentacles. They seemed almost alive, as if wanting to swallow the entire world into darkness.
“Alright, alright, I'm leaving right now...”
Matthew backed down instantly.
No kidding. With that outfit and eerie vibe, she was clearly a witch from the High Tower!
Those people were a bunch of obsessive maniacs. If they ever targeted him, his life would be over—forever!
Dealing with just one was bad enough, as they would chase you across half the continent. But if you managed to kill the one chasing you, an entire pack of them would show up to gang up on you. They were absolute demons!
Phew, they were not to be trifled with. He had to get out of here while he still could...
However, when he turned around, his expression froze. He realized that the path behind him was completely blocked by flames...
“...”
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm really sorry...” The girl lowered her head slightly, her ethereal voice echoing again, filled with soft, sorrowful sobs.
Yet the surrounding eerie flames seemed to mock him, crackling softly as they flickered between light and dark.
Son of a bitch!
How the hell was this not on purpose?!
Hiss... With the path completely blocked, was he really going to have to fight this freaky thing?!
But she was also a Rank One of the Demon pathway! His abilities from the Demon pathway—mental pollution, manipulating desires, and the spreading pollution of his lantern—would all be useless against her!
More importantly, judging by her flame abilities, she was likely also a Beyonder of the Elemental pathway. That pathway allowed one to release elemental power at Rank One, and it was famous for its high destructive power right from the start!
In other words, she was not only immune to his abilities, but she could even use her flame powers to kill him. She was a Rank One dual-pathway Beyonder!
Matthew felt that he was truly done for. But before he met his end, he grabbed his communication crystal and roared into it:
“Didn't you say no one would get in our way today?! What the hell is going on?!”
The calm voice on the other end seemed to waver slightly. “This shouldn't be happening. I checked several times beforehand, and everything was fine. Unless... that witch appeared out of nowhere...”
Was this a joke? Could she teleport?!
Matthew found the situation utterly absurd, but now was not the time to dwell on it. He quickly brought the conversation back on track:
“Hey, forget about that for now! In this situation, you're the only one who can save me. This is supposed to be part of our cooperation!”
However, the person on the other end did not reply.
“Hey! Anyone there?”
“Hey! Hey!!”
“Damn it, you coward!”
Staring at the bizarre witch in front of him and the pitch-black flames surrounding her, he knew he was going to die anyway. He chose to fight for his life; perhaps there was still a sliver of hope.
“Tch, I don't have a choice anymore!”
Clang!
Dropping his lantern, he drew a dagger from his sleeve and instantly lunged straight at the girl in front of him.
Before the whistle of the dagger slicing through the air could even fade, a bizarre sense of daze struck without warning. Matthew's mind went completely blank, and his feet stumbled. The dagger grazed the girl's hair, plunging into the shadows behind her.
What was going on?
He retreated sharply, wanting to pull back. At that moment, his mind went blank once again, causing him to freeze right in his tracks.
Seizing this opportunity, the black flames around the girl surged violently. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded the man as if they possessed a mind of their own.
They constantly emitted mist, attempting to pollute his mind. However, since they both belonged to the Demon pathway, this mental pollution did not have much of an effect.
Seeing that the pollution was ineffective, the temperature of the flames began to rise rapidly!
The man wanted to struggle and escape, but he did not dare to move due to the extreme heat.
Damn it, if not for just now...
Wait, what happened just now?
He realized his consciousness had fallen into a blank state twice in a row, almost as if he were being controlled by someone...
Was it pollution from the Demon pathway?
No, that wasn't right. Although both targeted the mind, the feeling of having his consciousness and actions controlled was completely different from that kind of pollution.
What could it be then...
At that moment, a hypothesis suddenly popped into his mind.
Could it be... there was another Beyonder here?!
Damn it, what kind of day was this? Why were there so many Beyonders!
As the black flames rose, the air itself warped and distorted from the heat. A stinging, needle-like pain began to prickle Matthew's skin, and a sense of powerlessness instantly spread through his heart.
Just then, a sweet voice rang out:
“Don't move.”
Looking toward the source of the voice, Matthew's gaze was instantly drawn to the figure wearing the holy robe.
It was her?!
How was that possible? Wasn't she his assassination target?
Wait... He suddenly seemed to realize something!
The Saintess knew she was going to be attacked! That was why she had intentionally lured him here, and then brought along a witch from god-knows-where to kill him!
No, it was more than that. The anomalies he had experienced earlier might have also been her doing!
Was she a Beyonder too? When did she advance?
How did she find his location under the concealment of his cloak back then, and how did she summon this witch?
Why didn't he know anything about this?!!
Countless questions flooded his mind, throwing his thoughts into utter chaos!
He felt as if he had slept through an entire century!
Why had the world suddenly changed so much?
At this moment, that gentle, sweet, and youthful voice rang out once more: “Why do you want to kill me?”
As the girl's voice reached his ears, Matthew snapped back to reality and realized his current predicament.
Now was not the time to be dwelling on those things!
Although he had no idea how this brat had pulled it off... a warrior could be killed but not humiliated! Even if he died, he would never betray his organization!
Thus, the man scoffed disdainfully, “Heh, brat, as if you're worthy of knowing!”
“Solana, do it!”
“Wait, wait, wait! No! I was wrong, I was wrong!”
Matthew hastily fell to his knees, slamming his head against the ground.
Uh, he's surprisingly adaptable, Celia marveled in her heart.
However, just as Celia thought Matthew was genuinely repenting and admitting his mistake, she suddenly noticed his gaze turning bizarre.
Sensing trouble, Celia quickly controlled her doppelganger to summon the black flames.
Just as she expected, Matthew suddenly lunged forward in a frenzy, charging at Celia with his dagger.
He was fast, but the flames were faster!
Before he could even get close, clusters of pitch-black flames erupted across Matthew's body, searing his flesh.
Finally, the man collapsed just a few meters away from Celia, his hand holding the dagger dropping limply.
Realizing his attack had failed, the man glared at Celia with a contorted, furious face and roared:
“Heh, brat! You won't escape! Once I'm dead, they won't let you off, and the Abyssal Order won't let you off either...!”
He then glared deathly at the girl in the Lolita dress. “And you, traitor! Traitor of the Abyss!!”
“Dual-pathway... how laughable! Do you really think you can stitch two pathways together? No, that will only get you hunted by multiple factions, not to mention endless mental disorder and spiritual pollution!!”
As his voice faded, his entire body was gradually reduced to ashes within the flames, leaving behind only an intact black robe.
“What is wrong with him? Why did he suddenly charge at me like a lunatic and start shouting all that nonsense?”
Celia was completely bewildered.
Was that really necessary? And just how much did this guy hate her to be cursing at both of her bodies at the same time!
“Sigh, at least the crisis is temporarily over,” she sighed.
Rate on N.U.
