In the distance, the vice-captain of a beheading squad charged out of the Cursed Black Sea, wielding a blood-red Long Saber. Just as he was about to strike at Li Xiaoxiao, a huge, furry palm reached out from the Darkness behind him and snatched him back like a toy.
Then, chilling ripples from a battle erupted from that spot.
BANG!
A gunshot roared. A searing white light scread through the air, piercing Li Xiaoxiao's head and blowing her skull open, causing brains and blood to splatter everywhere.
His teammate had provided the perfect opening. Zhou Chen wasn't about to miss such a golden opportunity. The instant the Barrier shattered, he raised his gun and blew Li Xiaoxiao's head apart, then fired several more shots for good asure.
And so, the Summoning Secret Ceremony ca to an abrupt halt. Accompanied by a massive, thunderous roar, the Gate of Hell slowly swung shut.
The tide of battle shifted dramatically. The fight between the Crowned Kings grew even more intense.
But an intense chill shot up Zhou Chen's spine. His Ascender's intuition warned him that sothing truly terrible had just appeared.
"Kekekekeke..."
A strange, raspy cackle echoed from behind Zhou Chen. He spun around to see the black smoke rising from Erin's body gathering in the air. A hunched, chilling figure slowly materialized within the black mist.
She was an ugly Witch with a hooked nose, old and decrepit, with sparse white hair. Her few remaining teeth were yellow and snaggled, and her raspy cackle sounded like a crow heralding death. An unbearable stench radiated from her body.
"Elizabeth, your daughter's day to die has finally arrived."
The Old Witch smirked sinisterly at Erin. "Such a pretty face, such a beautiful body. She must be a very considerate young lady... Keke, and soon, she'll be all mine!"
'To think I'd see the light of day again after being dead for over a decade!' The Old Witch was in an exceptionally good mood. Not only was a perfect vessel waiting for her the mont she awoke, but more importantly...
Her gaze shifted to the wooden box on the altar, from which Darkness was flowing, and her entire body trembled with excitent.
'The aura of an Authority Object!'
"My plan succeeded, just as I expected!"
The disheveled, filthy Witch cackled with excitent.
Over a decade ago, she had been on the verge of death. It was all because of the Black Magic Book in her hands. Although the book was a creation that held the Authority of the Cursed Realm and had made her incredibly powerful, it had also inflicted a severe backlash, draining her Life Force every second of every minute.
Knowing she was not far from death, she concocted an utterly insane idea in her frenzy.
—To borrow the great power of fate and find a chance at rebirth at the intersection of countless important destinies!
After reading about the ultimate curse, "Destined Death," in the Black Magic Book, she knew that fate could be influenced, or even completely changed.
Thus, she spent several years fusing "Destined Death" with other Curses and even a Blessing Technique to create a Blessed Calamity Curse Technique.
This Curse Technique would cause its victim to continuously accumulate misfortune, while the Blessing Technique would ensure the victim could grow up safely and not die prematurely. Ultimately, due to the presence of "Destined Death," the victim was guaranteed to die before their eighteenth birthday.
By that ti, the imnse calamity accumulated over nearly eighteen years would be enough to influence fate—or be influenced *by* it.
If the intersection of destinies was a vortex, then the victim would have enough "weight" to be dragged into it. Moreover, because of the imnse misfortune, the Status of those involved in this vortex of fate was bound to be extrely high.
The Witch didn't know what the future held, nor if she would succeed. But with the shadow of death closing in, she had no choice but to carry out this plan, staking everything on a single gamble.
Now, it seed she had succeeded.
The Blessing Technique represented good luck, and Destined Death represented extre misfortune. By carefully mixing the two in a specific ratio, one could create a state of good luck that was tainted by the certainty of death.
Erin's misfortune was, of course, her destined death. So what was her good luck?
The Witch stared greedily at the wooden box on the altar.
'The Authority Object, of course!'
'No matter what Realm this Authority Object is connected to, as long as I can get it, I'll be reborn!'
'But first, I need to find a suitable body, then take the Authority Object as quickly as possible during all this chaos...'
BANG!
A pale white bullet flew into the Witch's forehead but dealt no damage. The Soul-Burning Fla failed to erupt, as if the bullet had just passed through empty air.
"Ignorant brat! How could the great Cassandra be hard by a re firearm!" the Witch sneered, her voice dripping with contempt for Zhou Chen's attempt.
With a wave of her hand, it was as if a thousand invisible blades sliced through Zhou Chen. Countless gashes instantly opened up all over his body, gushing blood. Unprecedented, excruciating pain washed over him as he was instantly drenched in his own blood.
"No... don't..." The still-conscious Erin stared, stunned. She wanted to cry but lacked even the strength to shed a tear. Her heart felt as if it had been struck a heavy blow, and a piercing pain lanced through her chest.
The Witch waved her hand again. Pain shot through Zhou Chen's mind, as if steel knives were slicing into his psyche while iron hamrs pounded his will into submission. He scread in agony, collapsing to the ground and convulsing violently.
"You weak, pitiful worm."
The Black Witch sneered, descending to the ground. She stepped over Zhou Chen's body and walked toward Erin, cackling.
"From now on, I will live on in your healthy body, while you... you will die completely..."
But suddenly, a blood-soaked hand shot out and clamped around her ankle, halting her advance. The grip was so tight that more blood stread from the wounds covering the hand.
A pale fla flared to life, dazzlingly bright, burning with pure Anger.
The Witch whipped her head around and saw a pair of resolute eyes, reflecting blood and fire.
"Stay. Away. From. Her!"
With that stern, deliberate warning, Zhou Chen slamd his palm against the ground and used the montum to flip over, sending the Witch flying. He fumbled for the Sand Shadow that had fallen nearby and fired several shots at her recoiling figure.
"Aargh..." the Witch shrieked as bullet holes appeared on her body, the pale flas sinking into her form.
The bullets had hit their mark.
Zhou Chen struggled back to his feet. The wounds on his body were slowly healing, and the damage to his mind was recovering as well. He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. His blood-stained face was grim and cold, his eyes blazing like a Divine Furnace, full of renewed spirit.
From her appearance, words, and actions, he deduced that this had to be the Black Witch of the Laine Kingdom.
Lingering spirits weren't uncommon, but he had read the reports. The Star Association had participated in the operation to hunt her down, and they had even used a specific Forbidden Object to utterly annihilate the Black Witch's Soul and Essence across the entire World. It should have been impossible for her spirit to remain.
Besides, several Crowned Kings and Great Sages had already examined Erin. How could they possibly have missed a contingency plan left by the Black Witch?
Zhou Chen had a nagging suspicion. That's why, after wishing to be restored to his peak condition, he had made two more wishes.
"—I wish to be able to touch Curses!"
"—I wish to be able to touch Spirit Bodies!"
And so, he had been able to touch the Black Witch's body.
"You're not that Witch. She died long ago with no chance of ever coming back. You're just the obsession she infused into her Curse, brought to life."
Zhou Chen had already seen the Witch's true nature. He stared at her.
"—You are the 'Destined Death' inside Erin's body!"
"..."
The Witch stood within the Cursed Black Sea. The calamitous Undead showed no intention of Assimilation, because in their eyes, she was one of them.
"I'm not Cassandra... I'm not Cassandra..."
The Witch stared at her rough hands, bewildered. Then, she began to scream like a madwoman.
"I am Cassandra! I am Cassandra! I am the greatest Witch! I am Cassandra! I AM CASSANDRA!!!"
"No. You are 'Destined Death.' A living Curse that has gained sentience," Zhou Chen corrected coldly, gripping his weapon tightly as he stared her down.
His heart began to pound violently, hot blood surging through his veins like molten lava. The phantom piano lody in his ears transitioned from solemn and sorrowful to passionate and soaring, like a raging Fiery Fire!
"—Which ans, if I kill you, the Curse will disappear."
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