Chapter 818: Chapter 629: The Demon King’s Choice
There’s a reason Harvey arrived at the battlefield so late.
His Five Consecutive Slash of Corpse Mountain and Blood Sea had too many flaws, allowing Silver Lamp to seize the opportunity to kick him away, sending him flying. Just as he was ready to regroup and charge back in, he was called by Igula who ca flying by.
Igula only had one request—for Harvey to pretend to stop if Silver Lamp wanted to pause and explain, and Ash was willing to listen, then, taking the opportunity when she was unwary, kill her.
Harvey didn’t ask why, nor did he say whether he agreed, and just returned to the battlefield. He saw Ash was still engaged in combat with Silver Lamp, so he drew his sword and joined the fray.
Silver Lamp no longer had enough magic power to maintain the Holy Domain. But that was because using it to block damage consud too much. She still had so magic power for casting. Facing the combined assault of Ash and Harvey, she seized the opportunity to use the Illusion Technique Spirit to create openings and relied on her close combat skills to barely hold on.
Thankfully, she had severely injured Black Crow earlier; otherwise, she couldn’t have lasted even for a second.
But Weiser actually didn’t need to keep fighting—she knew well that if she surrendered and confessed the truth, then until the “Truth Link” was deciphered, Ash would protect the evil Silver Lamp.
Wasn’t her goal to let Ash know the truth?
Why was she still holding on? What was she worried about? What was she afraid of?
At this mont, Weiser suddenly rembered a question. She was only focused on letting Ash know the truth, on being understood, supported, having a companion, but she never thought about what this would an to Ash.
She actually understood that Ash’s current rcy was mostly due to their shared life-and-death experience at the Flowing Gold River. This reason was justifiable, even Black Crow wouldn’t bla him for it.
But even so, it made Ash suffer trendously.
He couldn’t accept letting Silver Lamp, who had killed countless people, go unhard, yet he couldn’t bring himself to kill Silver Lamp, who liked him. These two opposite desires were entangled within him, tearing at him, forcing him to put on a poker face to conceal the turmoil inside.
If Silver Lamp was just a thorough villain, he could openly join Black Crow as partners in justice, executing evil and purifying the world; if Weiser was just an innocent, albeit misguided, girl who liked him, he could brood alone, pondering how to untangle his chaotic relationships.
But these two identities overlapped, forcing Ash to suffer incessantly during the battle—while joining others in attacking Silver Lamp, he rembered her kindness at the Flowing Gold River and how she had yielded to him during this half-month-long chase; but just earlier, when battling her alone and giving her a chance to catch her breath, he rembered all the people Silver Lamp had killed, the disasters she caused, and her callous heartlessness and cunning cruelty…
He neither had Black Crow’s decisiveness to sever bonds nor the ability to defy his own moral principles.
Weiser should have foreseen Ash’s feelings, why had she never thought of it?
The third “Truth Link” was actually to make people truly understand that Senluoians only had two outcos: enter the Void Realm early to obtain eternal freedom or et eternal death with Senluo. Weiser could accept the forr because she believed death wasn’t an end, but for Ash, death was just death.
So in Ash’s eyes, this was just a bad ending and a worse ending. Worse still, knowing this ant he’d have to make a choice too.
Because Weiser had already chosen one ending and acted upon it, even if Ash just stood by, it equated to supporting Weiser in slaughtering countless lives—Igula or Harvey wouldn’t think so, but people like Ash and Black Crow would bla themselves.
Perhaps ‘self-recrimination’ was too mild a term; for people like them, they might be imrsed in their own agony over helplessness for a lifeti.
So stop Weiser then? But did Ash and the others have a better way? Were they hoping for so miracle to save the Kingdom of Senluo, or relying on themselves to beco gods and co back to save the world? What if Lord Senluo couldn’t hold on for five or ten years? It was impossible to just empty promise ‘there must be another way’ to stop a firmly believing Silver Lamp, right?
In a daze, Weiser suddenly recalled that during her accidental entry into the Dead City, it took only three days to unravel the mystery of the third “Truth Link,” but a whole three months to accept this truth, inherit the will from the Gray Fox Era two hundred years ago, and beco the first to walk out of the Dead City.
Why did she forget this?
Swish!
Taking advantage of Silver Lamp’s mont of distraction, Harvey swung his chain sword, slashing out two Corpses of Blood Sea!
Weiser hurriedly dodged but still got her thigh grazed, losing a piece of flesh. The silver blood sprayed fan-like in the air, the wound deep enough to see the bone! At this mont, Ash’s sword edge attacked from the side, leaving Weiser no ti to heal and forcing her to continue fighting!
At this rate, she’d really die here; her magic power was nearly exhausted, but the Necromancer and Ash still had combat power, plus there was the ‘Ignorance Fire’ Qikara—
Weiser’s mind blared with alarm, a chill spreading from her spine throughout her body!
Where was Qikara!?
Just then, the wall beside them suddenly burst open, and Qikara, shrouded in thick black flas, crashed in like a speeding dump truck, charging towards Silver Lamp, Ash, and Harvey head-on!
*
On the rooftop outside, Gwen whispered, “The space below is so small, it’s unlikely anyone can avoid it…”
“That’s exactly what I want.” Igula fixed his gaze on the ruined high-rise, saying, “Ash and Harvey still have enough magic power to raise their Holy Domains; Silver Lamp doesn’t. Even if, at the last mont, they can’t manage it in ti, Ash can heal himself. At most, it’ll be Harvey and Silver Lamp getting crushed together.”
“So, I beg you, Silver Lamp,” Igula murmured, “you’ve lived long enough as a monster.”
*
Boom!
In the ruins of the bottom floor of a pitch-black skyscraper, Harvey and Qikara crawled out of a human-shaped pit. The necromancer spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, their stance unsteady, and Qikara’s magic power was completely depleted, unable even to maintain the Holy Domain.
Just as Qikara crashed in, Silver Lamp imdiately rushed towards Harvey. Harvey, on instinct, launched a Double Slash at her, and then—
Harvey collided firmly with Qikara.
Qikara’s Fire Magic Miracle, Harvey’s Blood Sea, and their Holy Domains shattered with imnse kinetic energy. Silver Lamp actually devised a counter-strategy in an instant, almost turning the crisis into an opportunity.
But it was only almost.
Perhaps there was not enough ti, or the magic power was inadequate. Silver Lamp ultimately couldn’t completely transfer the damage, her body grazed by Qikara’s impact, akin to a kite with broken strings crashing into the rubble. Now, she could only stagger to her feet, her body drenched in fresh blood, with flesh of her right hand peeled back, all exposed skin covered in wounds.
In the arena, only one person remained unhard.
After Silver Lamp diverted Qikara’s impact, Ash completely avoided the collision—he was so undisturbed that he didn’t even raise the Holy Domain.
He said nothing, silently advanced, and thrust his sword toward Weiser. Weiser suppressed her pain with Illusion Technique Spirit, mustering her spirit to continue to fight back.
But as soon as they engaged, Weiser felt sothing was amiss—not only because it was a routine they had practiced countless tis but more importantly, Ash’s sword was feeble, lacking any intent to harm her.
After two rounds of confrontation, Ash threw the long sword up and switched to close combat fighting, Weiser raised her hand to seize the long sword.
Here, Ash’s next move should be attack rather than defense, striking Weiser’s wrist to reclaim the blade, preventing Weiser from gaining the advantage. However, this ti, Ash unexpectedly broke from the routine.
He suddenly moved close, his right hand grasping Weiser’s throat, his left hand swiping like a whip to block Weiser’s escape path. If Weiser did not quickly counterattack, Ash would press his advantage on her vital spots, leaving her no choice but to surrender.
But Ash’s reckless advance also exposed many weaknesses, and with the sword in hand now, she could easily injure Ash to escape from the predicant!
What is Ash trying to do—
When Weiser saw Ash’s eyes like deep pools, she suddenly understood his intention.
Just like in the Flowing Gold River, Weiser gave him two choices; now he offered Weiser two options: either give up resisting and surrender, or harm him to escape.
There was a deeper aning within—if Weiser chose the latter, it ant she willingly severed this karmic entanglent, and Ash fulfilled the life-saving support at the Flowing Gold River, with no emotional ties the next ti they t.
Yet Weiser could choose the forr. Regardless of whether Ash intended to protect her, as long as she guided them to crucial information, she naturally absolved her own sins.
No matter how you think about it, she should abandon resistance, let Ash capture her, wait for the truth to be revealed, and perhaps even see Ash’s regretful expression. She might openly follow Ash, surpassing the Sword Witch, securing victory early…
But then what?
Does she really want to drag Ash into the dilemma of apocalypse choice? Forcing him to choose one acceptable bad ending from two?
Before night fell, Weiser would have certainly been unwavering, as she very much wanted to see what humanity would beco under interrogation, whether it would tornt Ash into becoming the ‘true Ash’ she needed more.
If there wasn’t the Divine Fire Trial, if there wasn’t the Flowing Gold River, if…
Weiser never expected that she would falter halfway despite her steadfast mind. Despite preparing the plan for so long, despite being just a step away from completion, she chose to ruin her own outco.
Perhaps soone would wait for you until nightfall.
But you shouldn’t seek him after nightfall.
Weiser gripped the long sword tightly, actively welcoming Ash’s advance, as if it was not a grasp aid at her vitals but a tender embrace. Suddenly, she recalled the bedti stories told by Vione, many of which were fairy tales of princesses and princes.
When she was planning to arrive at the Dead City, she was fully confident Ash was her prince. But she never realized that she was actually the Demon King who couldn’t be accepted by the prince.
The Demon King should be evil and fierce, detested by all, not a single redeeming quality on their body, so the story appears fresh, so the other characters won’t be troubled, and everyone could be happy.
Then, the long sword pierced through the prince’s back.
User Comments
0 comments from readers