Chapter 10: The Miko and the Red Knight (Part 2)
What would you do when a notorious yet powerful and hateful enemy suddenly appears in front of you?
If this person is really powerful enough to end your life in an instant, can you still accuse him of his crimes in your heart and put them into practice as before?
Can your sense of justice really overcome your desire to survive and influence your actions?
──Now, Beichen is facing such a problem.
When Beichen heard about his crimes from Rui's mouth, he naturally had the following second-year thought in his mind: "Ah, such a hateful guy, he should die a hundred times to be worthy of those poor weapons."
However, when this hateful sinner really stood in front of him, he lost the courage to uphold justice. His palms were sweating, his back was cold, and even his legs were trembling slightly.
Anger and righteousness all flew away into the sky, and what remained was only the pathetic "fear".
The strength of the stand that fought Yaye to a draw was enough to shock her, but the man in front of her was almost to the point where his murderous aura could make people despair - although at this moment, he had put away his murderous aura.
Darim Fertadis, the former governor of the Protoss Mines of the Heyang Kingdom, is so powerful.
Just like a rabbit being stared at by a wild beast, Beichen mechanically assumed a defensive posture, unable to even escape, and could only stand still.
"……you……"
It was the other party who spoke first.
The tall, military-like man, propping his long-handled axe on the ground, gave Beichen a seemingly calm smile, like a long-lost friend. His expression didn't change much, only the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, but Beichen's hair stood on end at his expression.
——His eyes were filled with ecstasy that almost distorted the air.
"You are here, Your Highness the Miko."
"!?"
Beichen was so frightened that his entire body shook violently—he knew I was the Red Moon Priestess?! How did he know?! What was he going to do?! What was his plan?!
Seeing her frightened expression, Darim retracted his smile, leaned the long-handled axe against the wall, and then spread his hands towards her, as if to show that he meant no harm.
"I didn't expect you to come see me on your own initiative. This is truly a dereliction of duty on my part. The attack just now was a misunderstanding. Please forgive me."
“──”
But Beichen, who had no idea of Darim's thoughts, was so frightened by his strange show of goodwill that he took a few steps back.
Darim didn't catch up, but just stood there and looked at her.
"I apologize for causing you such a panic. Please allow me to introduce myself. My real name is Agard Barumunk Selland. Knight of the Red Moon, your shadow, Your Highness the Miko."
"Are you the 'Red Moon Knight'!?"
Beichen screamed with a hoarse voice.
Despite all her calculations, she had never imagined that the greatest sinner in Heyang Nation would be the Scarlet Moon Knight, second only to the Witch in power—thus completely shattering her wishful thinking. Furthermore, the mere thought of how much negative impact a knight like him could have on the world, let alone the Witch, was enough to make her scalp tingle.
"Yes. It seems that you have already known my existence. I am very happy."
The man opposite her spoke in a steady tone but had a terrifying, almost twisted smile on his face. He gave Beichen a chivalric salute that made her shudder.
No, no, I can't lose my mind. The more times like this, the more I need to stay calm!
Beichen tried hard to suppress the panic that was rising from the bottom of his heart and swallowed.
That’s right.
He admitted that Beichen was a witch and that the knight was a shadow loyal to the witch. In that case, there was still room for him to survive and turn the situation around.
She spoke in a trembling voice.
"Are you Darim?"
"Yes, that's my most common alias."
"Governor of the Star Spirit Mines of Heyang Nation?"
"Yes, in order to successfully carry out my mission, I need a position with power."
"You've secretly hidden many high-level weapons, illegally occupied the Star Spirit Mine, and colluded with the underground Chamber of Commerce?"
"Yes, I need a lot of combat power and money."
"You... you even tortured the war weapons in various ways, leaving them in a state of suffering, and you even took pleasure in it. And you even had over two thousand female war weapons sleeping with you?"
"No,"
Darim finally shook his head, but his next words made Beichen's heart burn again.
"It's not me who has many bedfellows, but my double. As a Crimson Moon Knight, I'm not allowed to have material desires. As for torture, while it may be true in the end, that wasn't my intention. I'm researching weapons, not for the pleasure of torture. I don't have the deformed and tasteless hobbies of humans."
The man, as ferocious as Shura, commented on his crimes as a matter of course in a tone without any mercy.
What is the most hateful thing about a sinner? It is that he does not think he is wrong at all.
Anger finally defeated fear, causing Beichen to grit his teeth and stare at the man in front of him.
"But you did abuse the war machines, didn't you?"
"Yes, but the data is different from the rumors. The number of weapons involved in the research is not tens of thousands, but more than 3,700 in total."
“────”
Are more than 3,000 not enough? More than 3,000, that’s enough to make people grit their teeth!
Her voice became colder and colder.
"You said 'human'? Aren't you human?"
"Physically, yes, but I have a special identity, so I don't see myself as a human being."
"You said you have no material desires?"
"Yes, the desire for power, the desire for money, the desire for sex, the desire for food, are all meaningless to me."
"That's completely contrary to what you did! Don't the crimes you committed seem to be based on your excessive material desires?!"
Darim's brow furrowed slightly as she roared.
"Crime? Did I do something wrong, Miko-sama?"
"you!!"
Beichen was so angry that he didn't know how to refute:
"You...in your eyes, what is wrong?! What is worthy of respect?!"
"Of course, the only thing that matters to me is you, Your Highness. Everything else is meaningless. I don't have any notion of 'right' or 'wrong'. I will do anything that can help you."
“────You…”
Unable to communicate.
No, it's impossible to communicate. This person is probably completely immersed in his own world.
Is this person the Crimson Moon Knight? His own shadow?
Are you kidding me?
Beichen raised the sword in his hand angrily.
"Xiang Beichen's shadow is only Xiang Ying. A guy like you... is impossible!"
She moved, and her white combat armor left a swift afterimage in the dim corridor, and the sword light of Xiangying rushed straight towards his heart.
She launched a surprise attack on him, launching a lightning-fast and despicable attack when the enemy was unarmed!
But Beichen had no regrets about this, because perhaps in this world, the only one who could kill the Red Moon Knight was the Red Moon Priestess, and Darim could not be left alone no matter what.
——Not only for the world, but also for myself.
With a "swish", Xiang Ying's sword tip successfully pierced through the cloth armor on his chest and buried itself into his chest cavity, but that was all. No matter how much strength Beichen Beichen increased in his hand, the sword tip could not penetrate any deeper.
"Master...his...his muscles...are stuck on my sword──!"
Xiang Ying's voice sounded in disbelief. Perhaps because he was afraid that Hei Huo and Su Jie would be distracted, he did not communicate with them through telepathy.
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Beichen wanted to put away his sword, but he found that the sword body seemed to be firmly clamped by something and could not move at all!
How did he develop these terrifying muscles?!
"Damn it! Let...let go!"
Beichen awkwardly pulled out Xiangying's sword hilt, while unconsciously shouting in anger.
"OK."
The next second after Darim's voice sounded, the sword suddenly loosened. Beichen gripped the sword too hard and stepped back a few steps, but still couldn't keep his balance, and finally sat down on the ground.
Beichen felt angry and ashamed of her own powerlessness and jumped up from where she was standing. Darim withdrew his hand that was about to go forward to help her and spoke quietly.
"You want to attack me? Got it. I'll disarm you this time. Please attack."
"You...what are you talking about?" Beichen was stunned, holding the sword. "You knew I was going to kill you, and you didn't resist?"
"You want to kill me?"
The man opposite showed an expression of extreme sadness for a moment, causing his fierce face to twist slightly again, but he quickly regained his composure and lowered his head to Beichen.
"Okay, please kill me. My weak spot is my right chest, where my heart is."
“You…! What is this… What the hell is this!!”
Surprise, helplessness, panic, confusion, and the enthusiasm to really take action, several emotions boiled in Beichen's chest, almost driving her crazy.
What was going on? He just let her kill him? He didn't resist. Why? Was he mentally ill? Or was he plotting something? Wasn't that right? With his strength, would he need to use tactics to deal with a minor character like her? Wouldn't he just attack and take her down?
“…”
She bit her lower lip. The other party had clearly agreed to let her kill him, but she didn't know how to do it.
"I don't know what you are asking, Your Highness. You want to kill me. If that is your wish, I will grant you your wish."
Darim muttered this with his eyes downcast, then walked to the side and picked up the long-handled axe by the wall. Then, he actually took the middle of the long handle and swung it towards his neck without hesitation!
“Stop it right there!!”
Beichen was stunned by his behavior, which she didn't know whether to describe as calm to the point of madness or madness to the point of calmness. When she came to her senses, she had already shouted the words to stop him.
Darim stopped his movements instantly, with the axe blade less than ten centimeters away from his neck.
Beichen breathed a sigh of relief, but then regretted her decision to stop him. Didn't she want to kill him? If she hadn't called out, this biggest hidden danger might have died.
But──
No. She found a reason to comfort herself. At least before she figured out what was going on with this guy, she couldn't let him die. If he really took her wish as his life goal, killing him would be easier than crushing an ant. He would even end his life without her having to do it herself.
But because of this, she developed a subtle sense of rejection.
She shook her head, trying hard to stop her thoughts which had become so chaotic and illogical.
"Are you really the Crimson Moon Knight?"
"Yes, Your Highness the Miko."
"Tell me, why did you do those things? If what you said about not having material desires is true, then why did you do such things one after another?!"
"Of course, it's for you, Your Highness. I've prepared for you a treasury rich enough to rival a nation, a variety of top-tier weapons, and a private army of 100,000 elite soldiers, the 'Night-Walking Cavalry,' capable of annihilating a nation in a single day. With just a single command from you, they can sweep across this continent—"
"I never said I wanted to destroy any country!" Beichen was so angry that he cried and laughed at the same time. Tears flowed down his face inexplicably, but the corners of his mouth twisted and curled up: "Don't tell me you did all this for me!"
"Of course. Even if you don't mean it now, you will need these things one day. As your knight, I should prepare them in advance. Your Highness, you—"
"So you're planning to put the blame for your heinous crimes on me?! Are you telling me that the huge amount of money lost by this country and the suffering endured by these thousands of war machines are all because of me?!"
Beichen roared sharply, stepped forward and stabbed his shoulder with a sword. A stream of bright red blood spurted out from the wound - he really didn't resist anymore.
Darim was indifferent to the wound on his shoulder, but he took this opportunity to hold her wrist with one hand and wiped the tears from her face with the other hand as carefully as if it were a fragile object.
"Miko-sama, why are you crying?"
The man who didn't think he had done anything wrong was looking at her distorted face with a slightly innocent look and heartache - this made her feel even more anxious and creepy.
“Why… don’t you really know? You bastard… you bastard!!”
Beichen struggled hard, but although the movement of holding her hand was as gentle as the touch between lovers, the force was so great that it was terrifying.
"If you're talking about those three thousand abused weapons, don't worry. I did it. Don't blame yourself. I chose to assist you in a way you couldn't accept. It's not your fault."
"Let me go, don't touch me!!"
Darim's expression darkened, and he let go of her hand with a look of confusion and grievance.
Beichen took a few steps back, looking at his puzzled face breathlessly.
At that moment, she finally understood.
No matter how evil they are, even those typical notorious corrupt officials and bullies, they at least survive in society. Even if they have no conscience, they still have the most basic social outlook and outlook on life - even if it is distorted.
But this person is different.
In his eyes, there is no right or wrong, no good or evil, no black or white. He is not ignorant, but he knows that what he does is wrong from a broad social perspective, but he still does it for his own goals and does not feel that there is anything wrong with it. He does not care at all, completely, at all, what anyone in the world thinks of him except the witch.
He has completely escaped from his own social existence. In his world, there are only two kinds of judgments: "witch" and "something other than witch".
Ahhh—he was right, his heart wasn't human at all.
Compared to those fat-headed, greasy-haired, corrupt officials, compared to those thugs and scoundrels who bully the good and oppress the good, compared to those bloodthirsty and barbaric possessed moon angels, such people are more terrifying. Such people... are—
A real, genuine devil!
“…”
Beichen took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
She began to want to escape—to escape the huge crime that had been thrown at her head out of nowhere.
"Master, are you okay?"
Xiang Ying's worried voice sounded, but she just shook her head.
"How do you know I'm the Red Moon Priestess? What if I'm a fake?"
Yes, if it was fake...if being able to see the red moon was just a coincidence...then those charges...
Darim chuckled as if he had heard something funny.
"Miko-sama, what are you talking about? I've been observing you through the 'false shell' of a miko for seventeen years. How could I be wrong?"
"...You...what did you say? You've been watching me for seventeen years?! And what is a fake shell?!"
"Your name is Xiang Beichen, a resident of the paradise of Feinheim. You are eighteen years old and will be responsible for taking care of your pseudo-shell. Your name is Xiang Zhiyan."
"What……"
Why... did I hear grandma's name, Xiang Zhiyan, from his mouth?
A fake shell? Isn't Grandma just a normal human? Why is she even connected to the Red Moon Priestess?!
Frightened again and again, Beichen's body staggered a little. Xiang Ying quickly returned to human form and hugged her, but found that the body in his arms was terribly cold!
"No, that's not entirely correct," Darim corrected, frowning. "When I saw you seventeen years ago, you hadn't yet become a Red Moon Priestess, you were merely a candidate. But the False Shell finally chose you to become the next Red Moon Priestess a year ago, and I'm delighted."
"You...what are you talking about...I don't understand, I don't want to listen to it──what nonsense──"
Beichen waved his hands absentmindedly, trying to interrupt Darim's speech.
"Yes, if you don't want to hear it, then I won't tell you." Darim looked at her pale face with concern. "So, what are your orders?"
"I……"
Beichen looked up and met Xiang Ying's worried expression, and then all the muscles in his body tensed up in an instant.
Yes, I am not alone now. I cannot collapse in a place like this, nor can I die at this time. There are still too many things waiting for me to do. I must not let this become my end!
She turned her head and looked at Darim with a gamble-like expression.
"I came here this time to release the weapons that are imprisoned here. If you are willing to respect my opinion, then go and release them."
"Of course we can," Darim nodded without hesitation. "However, if Your Highness wishes these weapons to survive, it would be best if they remain here."
"What does this mean?"
Darim pondered for a few seconds, then picked up the strange long-handled axe on the ground, kicked the still unconscious Lingwu Si away, and bowed slightly to Beichen.
"Please follow me, Your Highness the Miko."
Beichen and Xiangying exchanged glances, kept their distance, and walked slowly behind him cautiously.
"arrive."
When they arrived at a certain place—Beichen looked at the map and it seemed to be the place where the weapons were imprisoned—Darim put his hand on the handle of a big door and slowly pushed it open.
The moment the door opened, countless eyes were cast at Darim and Beichen Xiangying behind him with intense fear, and then suddenly looked away as if they were afraid of being noticed.
“──”
Beichen covered his mouth silently, and even Xiang Ying beside him suddenly tensed up.
The scene before them was so bizarre that their brains were so shocked that they couldn't think anymore, and they were just blank and buzzing.
She finally understood why Yaye was so persistent in hunting him down. Seeing this scene, no matter how angry he was or how much he hated him, she could understand.
"This long-handled axe cannot be humanized. It would be too inconvenient for the signatory. No one would want it."
In the middle of a large room that looked like a giant dormitory, Darim pointed at the long-handled axe in his hand and placed it on a shelf to the side. He then pointed at a gaunt young man with four arms in front of him.
"This claw has been modified to have two additional blades. Its power as a weapon cannot be underestimated, but after being transformed into a humanoid form, it has become like this. If it appears in front of people, it will cause a great disturbance."
Then he looked to the side and saw a tall man in black standing in the shadows in the corner.
"It's a poison dagger. The blade was modified to have poison grooves installed in it to reduce the sound it makes when swung. His eyes were half-blinded by the poison, and he can't make any sound."
“────”
A trembling breath came from Beichen's throat.
"That spear," Darim pointed at a young girl. She was the first Spiritual Martial Division warrior Beichen had knocked unconscious. She was huddled beside a small bed, her still unconscious master lying at her feet. "She and her master were forced into a life-and-death contract. They've become a community. If one dies, the other can't live alone."
Then he picked up the long-handled axe in his right hand:
"The one I have is a top-grade Yeyue seed. Because it has been immersed in active star mineral solution for a long time, its hardness and regeneration ability are excellent. However, the price it pays is that it cannot restrain its own power. Even in human form, it may still cut others' skin if it touches them."
Seeing Beichen's face getting paler and paler, Darim stopped explaining and turned to stare into her eyes.
"They are all weapons far more powerful than those outside, but they have also become alien species that the outside world cannot accept. Therefore, they can only survive here, under my care. If I give them freedom, they will only die a more miserable death, a death in the fear and rejection of the crowd."
"Stop talking!"
Beichen covered his ears and yelled, and Darim immediately shut up obediently.
After a while, she raised her head and stared at all the strange and deformed weapons in the room.
"Do you hate him? Don't be afraid, I do... He wouldn't do anything to you without my request. Just tell the truth."
The room was silent for a moment.
"Hate it, of course I hate it."
A female warrior, who was lying huddled on the bed with the skin color of her hands obviously different from that of her face, said this softly and weakly. She didn't even look at Beichen, as if she didn't care at all who she was.
"We've been aware of the commotion for a long time. The door wasn't locked, but no weapons escaped. Some of the weapons you rescued even returned here on their own. Why do you think that happened?"
She turned her head and glanced at Beichen with her lifeless eyes.
"Lord Darim is right. We can no longer survive anywhere else except here. Their attempts to rescue us under the guise of saving our war machines are nothing more than wishful thinking and self-satisfaction in our eyes."
She said with a mocking chuckle, "Clowns dreaming of being heroes."
“Shut up!!”
Beichen couldn't help but speak.
"You can say our actions are futile, you can laugh at us for overestimating our capabilities and not knowing the truth, but if you want to insult Yaye's painstaking efforts for you, I will absolutely not allow it! He risked his life to sneak in here several times, and spent tremendous effort to draw such a detailed map. Do you think he has nothing better to do?!
Who would chase someone across half a country just for self-gratification?! He's a Fallen Darkling, yet he's constantly worried about you, his suffering compatriots. You have no right to say that about him! You don't have the right to do that!
As she scolded, waves of sadness surged in her heart.
You can't blame them... Having faced Darim for so long, not only their bodies but also their minds have been twisted.
The one who should really be blamed is, after all—
"It's me... It's all me... Ah."
Following the anger, sadness welled up from her bones and a dull pain from her heart. Her voice became smaller and smaller, finally turning into a whisper, but because the room fell into silence, the sound was still clearly transmitted to everyone's ears.
"I should be the one who really hates someone..."
Her legs no longer had the strength to support her body. She knelt on the ground exhausted and covered her eyes with her hands.
"Master—"
Xiang Ying hugged her tightly, trying to warm her body, but it was all in vain. He didn't even know what to say to calm her down.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Everything is the fault of the Red Moon Priestess.
If it weren't for her imminent appearance in this world, if it weren't for the terrifying Red Moon Knight she brought with her—
“Ugh…ah…”
At this moment, a hoarse sound like tearing silk sounded in front of Beichen.
Beichen looked up and put down his hands, and saw a pair of cloudy eyes - it was the man with black hair and black clothes, the poisonous dagger that Darim mentioned, who was half blinded by the poison and unable to speak.
He was looking at her with unfocused but gentle eyes, then he took her hand and began to write something on her palm with his thin fingers.
Beichen's eyes suddenly widened after he realized what he had written.
"I", "forgive", "pardon", "you".
She took a trembling breath and pulled Xiang Ying's sleeve hard.
Unable to bear it any longer, it was as if these few words gave her a ray of vital light and salvation in the midst of boundless despair.
The Red Moon Priestess finally knelt on the ground in the cold room filled with deformed weapons, tightly hugging her long sword.
Bursting into tears loudly.
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