Chapter 32: The Fall of the Evil Star (Part 1)
In the secret meeting room of the imperial palace in the capital of the Sazam Empire.
Beichen looked at Carina, who was trapped in the center by several binding spirit crystals and was struggling and roaring in pain. Then he looked at the pale and haggard King Firello of Sazam. His eyes were sunken deep in his eye sockets, and there was stubble on his chin. His originally heroic and ruthless face now looked decadent and helpless.
She called out softly a few times to Karina, whose skin had turned gray—but it was obvious that she could no longer hear. The illness had destroyed her sanity, leaving only the violent impulses of a wild beast.
"How long has Carina been ill?"
Beichen signaled Heihuo Sujie to come forward and give Karina the sedative drugs brought from the Yagard Laboratory - only then did she slowly calm down.
"Three hours. I told her not to check the blocked area!"
Ferrello slammed the table hard, making a loud noise.
"Three hours. ...Nine hours left."
Beichen murmured, took a step forward, and wanted to check on Karina's condition, but was held back by Gu Yinyue and Yagard on the left and right.
"Ms. Beichen, we are all human beings. It is better not to get close to those who are sick."
“…”
After pondering for a while, Beichen placed his hand on the secondary sword at his waist.
"Xiang Ying, can you hear me?"
"Yes. ...I have reached the outer structure of Chita, Master."
"You said last time that we could monitor the entire Senagard from Chita, right?"
"Yes. "
"Well, Xiang Ying, please pay more attention to Xifeng and Yaye's research on empathy. Combined with the data they've generated... look in Chita for any information on plague viruses with similar symptoms."
"Master...what do you mean...?"
"I saw the patient at the scene... I think the symptoms are very similar to those of ten thousand years ago... except that they don't have the crystal that possessed the Moon Envoy..."
"I see. ...Okay, Master, please wait. I'll find this information as quickly as possible. ...I just tried it. I touched the Red Tower's operating platform with a glove soaked in Master's blood, and the authority was transferred to the Red Moon Priestess. This time, I should be able to obtain better information!"
"Yeah. That's good. Come on, Xiangying."
Beichen nodded, holding the hilt of the sword.
When Xiang Ying was about to leave, Beichen recalled her adventure in the ruins at that time - Xiao Ying opened the ruins with the remains of the previous generation of witch, which means that the products of ancient civilization would react to the bodies of "qualified people". So she cut her hand and stained the blood on the thin gloves made by Xiang Ying with star spiritual power. It seemed that it was successful.
Then she loosened her grip on the hilt and looked towards King Sazam.
"I will do my best to save Carina. King Filello, I know you are worried about her, but could you please take a moment to tell me about that fake witch?"
"A fake?" Filello glanced at her with lifeless eyes. "Actually, when it comes to the image of a 'witch', she is far more suitable than you. I even half-believed that she was the real one. But Carina insisted that you were the real one, so she refused to accept the selection test, and ended up like this."
"Carina..."
Beichen looked at the woman who was sleeping uneasily in Heihuo's arms with some emotion.
"I will save you, so as not to betray your trust."
She looked at him and said this softly.
"The selection test consists of three levels. The first level is a defensive line formed by violent iron ghosts. The second level is a defensive line formed by top-grade Yeyue weapons. The third level is a one-on-one battle with the witch herself. As long as you can encounter her, you will be selected successfully."
"...What does this mean? Does it mean that those who can't fight...or those who lack wisdom and judgment don't deserve to live?"
Heihuo and Sujie had put down Jialina and walked back to Beichen. Sujie couldn't help but frown and complain when he heard King Sazam's description.
"That's more like a heartless historical landmark." King Sazam sneered, "Are you planning to meet that guy?"
"certainly."
"Yeah."
Fierello looked at Beichen for a few seconds and blinked with a complicated expression.
“You might run into someone you don’t really want to see.”
“—Huh?”
But King Sazam did not answer.
"I'll have someone show you the way. I'll ask you to pay more attention to Carina's situation. I still have to direct matters related to epidemic prevention. Also, there's been an overwhelming amount of people entering the border lately. What on earth are they doing here? They might die at the hands of the virus before they're even selected."
Fierrero complained and waved his hand while asking people to send Beichen and his companions away.
Then, the "selected place" on the outskirts of the capital welcomed the most special group of guests.
The Queen of the Wasteland of Elysien, the Queen's twin claws, General Gu Yinyue and his weapons Longyun and Naraka, and the national teacher Yagad - they are still the talked-about figures of Senagard, and now they are standing in the so-called priestess' examination room.
Among the crowd of people who came to participate in the ceremony, some people recognized them immediately, some began to feel uneasy, some began to doubt which of the two witches was real and which was fake, some began to curse Beichen and his group, fearing that she would disrupt the selection ceremony and make them lose their chance of survival, and some people started to make a fuss - in short, the scene was a complete mess.
However, no matter how chaotic it was, the crowd still consciously kept a distance of nearly ten meters, leaving a lot of space for Beichen and his companions. No matter how fiercely someone shouted and cursed, they didn't dare to step into their attack range - naturally, no one dared to throw anything insulting at them.
Because, at this moment, they were feeling with their own skin the strong murderous aura emanating from these seven people - it could almost cool the air and make their bodies feel tingling.
The team headed by Beichen advanced slowly, and the empty space left by the crowd also moved forward slowly until it reached the front of the 'examination room'.
——There, there were several huge, dragon-shaped, violent iron ghosts, quietly guarding like gatekeepers. A challenger, covered in blood, was trying to rush in, but was hit by the powerful tail and rolled several meters away in a mess. However, the man seemed to feel no pain, and immediately got up, found a blind spot and continued to rush forward. What was even more terrifying was that there was more than one such person, as if something was bewitching them.
This is too crazy. If this continues, even if I pass the selected test, I won’t live for a few days.
Beichen frowned and exchanged glances with the people around him.
Then, Hei Huo and Su Jie turned into sharp claws with beautiful and fierce light and complex structure and came to Beichen's hands. Gu Yinyue stretched out his hand and raised the giant sword that was as tall as a person to kill horses. Yagad put on the dazzling silver and red armor in the red light, and Naraka raised the silver-white crossbow in his hand, aimed the muzzle at the group of giant beasts in front, curled the corners of his mouth, and shot out a bright purple thin beam of light.
What?
When the crowd saw the beam of light dimming, they thought that the attack was just like that. Then, a huge thundercloud was formed from overwhelming purple electric balls, which made an earth-shaking sound and enveloped the sky above the entire battlefield. The violent iron ghosts were also stunned by the sudden lightning!
"Well done Narada!"
Heihuo roared excitedly, and Longyun also roared in encouragement.
——Then, just as the large thunderclouds had not yet completely dissipated, several figures moved at the same time.
The petite white figure swung its hooked claws like a ghost, stabbed the sharp blade into the dragon's neck, and then threw it to the ground with force;
The tall, gray-haired warrior roared as he swept the red giant sword in his hand. The shrieking sword energy directly cut through the carapace of the giant beast that was dozens of times his size, and the strange internal organs inside flowed directly to the ground;
The armored knight, with a force that crushed the air, swung a silver-white long-handled axe, striking a charging giant beast so hard that its bones twisted and shattered in an instant, sending it flying backwards for more than ten meters.
And amidst the nimble figures of the few, the white light of the crossbows tacitly and swiftly launched a supporting attack, interrupting the giant beasts' counterattacks countless times.
From the beginning to the end, it probably took less than ten minutes. Those violent iron ghosts had all turned into muddy corpses, lying on the ground, with golden blood flowing everywhere.
At this point, the onlookers began to discover that
These people are not here to take the exam, but to disrupt the exam.
But even if they knew this, what would it matter? Would anyone dare to intervene? Would they dare to express their dissatisfaction in front of these people whose murderous intent was as sharp as a blade?
There was Wu Sihuang among the crowd, but even he was timid.
So, under the mixed gazes of countless people, Beichen and his party left and arrived at the second examination room.
Guarding the gate was a team of warriors, and the two leading warriors looked very familiar to Beichen.
"Moye of the Curse-Destroying Staff and Ranxiang of the Shattering Night Staff. I remember you disappeared after the defeat of the Holy Cult of Selland—why are you here?"
"This has nothing to do with you."
The Curse-Destroying Staff Moye made a sound as gloomy as a black quagmire.
"Are you here to take part in the selection test... or to disrupt the ceremony?"
Gu Yinyue sneered, which was rare for him.
"What do you think? Two years ago, I was defeated by you. This time, I will definitely avenge my previous defeat!"
"It looks like the latter."
Moye laughed strangely, completely ignoring Gu Yinyue's fighting spirit.
"The commander has given instructions. If it were you who came... if you weren't here to take part in the test, but to disrupt the ceremony..."
He and Ran Xiang beside him suddenly made a gesture to the weapons behind them, and then the weapons moved to both sides at the same time, making way for Beichen and his party.
Beichen's voice turned cold:
"What's the meaning?"
"Please go ahead, the commander is waiting for you."
“…”
"Did they really expect us to come?" Su Jie laughed sarcastically. "Our enemy is a prophet. He knows everything."
"It's not that hard to guess." Beichen patted the Su Jie on his wrist. "Since the other party is so polite, let's go. To be honest, it would be difficult for us to avoid getting hurt and destroying this place after fighting with so many weapons. It's better to save some breath to deal with the final general."
Yagard and Gu Yinyue nodded and looked at a huge platform built a thousand meters away - that must be the last examination room.
"Well, Miss Beichen, everyone—let's go."
A few minutes later, Beichen and a few others successfully arrived at the huge platform.
But when she saw the figure standing on the platform, her heart sank suddenly, and then - no matter how hard she tried to suppress it, anger and hatred still surged up.
In the middle of the platform stood a girl who looked exactly like her, but unlike her, her expression didn't have a trace of warmth or kindness, but was sharp and sarcastic, as if she was full of disdain and disgust for the whole world, and her eyes were as cold as ice.
Let’s not worry about that for now.
Next to her stood a person whom Beichen would recognize no matter what he said.
Yes──I had this premonition when I saw Moye and Ran Xiang just now, but I didn’t expect it to come true.
She raised her claws towards the red-eyed boy with waist-length white hair and black clothes.
"Ling Shuang. I didn't expect it to be you again."
The young man standing opposite her looked at her with a complicated expression. When he heard her speak to him, ecstasy suddenly ignited in his eyes - but the next second, the flame dimmed again.
Because──
"It seems that you stole the Soul-Killing Sword?"
Across from him, the woman he had been thinking about day and night was looking at him with an extremely mocking look.
He gritted his teeth and endured the severe pain in his heart, revealing the same cold smile.
"I stole it. If you want to blame someone, blame your lack of strong defense."
"It's been two years, and you've become increasingly adept at using this theory of shirking responsibility."
Ling Shuang was so irritated by these words that a look of instability appeared on his face for a second - but he quickly controlled himself.
"But you, Beichen, weren't you determined to ignore me before? Why are you breaking your promise now?"
"Ignoring too much is also a form of caring."
Beichen curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled at him politely.
But when Ling Shuang saw this smile, she not only did not feel happy, but once again experienced the heart-wrenching pain.
She could smile at him so naturally and without any reservations - it meant that she no longer cared about what kind of person he was and just treated him as a passerby.
And to make matters worse, her next words.
"Also, please don't call me Beichen. I don't think I'm familiar with you. I'm happy to be called Yaxiu, Miss Yaxiu, or Your Majesty Yaxiu."
"You—"
"Okay, Ling Shuang, now is not the time to worry about what to call you."
A cold voice sounded beside Ling Shuang. Beichen turned his head and saw the girl who looked exactly like her looking at her with a malicious sneer.
"You should understand now. The fact that I, as a projection, like you means that the original person you like hates you. So you should understand that now, you are mine. Let me see - heh... It's no big deal, the reversed me."
The girl took a few steps closer to Beichen, looking at her repeatedly with aggressive eyes - but Beichen's gaze was still on Lingshuang.
She probably understood what was going on.
Ling Shuang was probably used by Su Mo again, and maybe he was willing to be used.
"Lingshuang." Beichen said softly, "How did you escape the surveillance of the Night Cavalry?"
"The Darkborn's concealment ability is quite useful. Besides... they've been monitoring me for two years without making any moves, so they must have relaxed their composure a long time ago."
"...In other words, you have also been in Elysion for the past two years, and have been able to enter and leave the palace?"
"I was a member of the Fallen Dark Force, though I didn't use my current appearance or name."
"So, after I got into trouble, you sneaked into my room, overheard the information about the Soul-Killing Sword, and stole it after Glenshe fell asleep, right?"
"……yes."
"What's the reason?" Beichen tilted his head at him, "Don't tell me... you think I hate you, so... you want to use my reversed personality... to create a me who likes you?"
Ling Shuang was silent for a few seconds, then smiled with a hint of madness and sadness.
"Ah, you're right, that's the only reason."
"So after you got the knife, you found Su Mo again and worked with him again? Asked him to help you get the witch's body?"
"yes!"
"No matter what kind of disaster she brings, it has nothing to do with you - as long as she likes you, that's all that matters."
"……yes!!"
"It's really a rotten tree that can't be carved."
Beichen laughed in anger and shook the claws on her wrist. Then she met Ling Shuang's dark and complicated eyes again.
"So, now, how do you feel? Lingshuang...are you happy about being liked by 'me'?"
"Of course."
Ling Shuang did not answer, but the girl next to her spoke.
"I gave him all the love I could have."
As she spoke, the girl showed a creepy smile and took Ling Shuang's hand - but Ling Shuang did not seem very happy. She just lowered her head with a complicated expression and smiled bitterly at her.
Even though he knew that the person was not him, seeing his appearance and being so close to Ling Shuang gave Beichen goosebumps for no reason.
"Is that so?"
Beichen took a deep breath slowly.
"Well, what should I call you, my other self? ...Should I call you the pseudo-mikoto, or should I call you one of the Star Killers—the 'Hate of All Things'?"
As soon as these words came out, Ling Shuang stared and looked at Beichen in confusion, while the expression of the girl beside him immediately became ferocious.
Seeing this, Beichen raised his eyebrows and curled his lips.
"The matter of the Pandora's Box within me—Xifeng explained it to me in detail last night. ... Pandora's Box is a very delicate object. It cannot be contained by anyone who is not worthy. I am the miko of this great disaster, that is undeniable. It is impossible to create a miko outside of my body. Even if you are my projection, there is no way to change this.
"Well, it would be a shame to waste your dark personality if you can't take over my body—that's what the person who awakened you must have thought. So, your superiors obtained your body and, using technology unknown to us, transformed you into a Star Killer. After all, the title of All-Hateful One—it suits you so well."
“…”
The girl opposite Beichen was silent for a few seconds, then narrowed her eyes and chuckled.
"Yes, you're right. I am indeed a star killer disguised as a miko—you can call me Seraphim. But even if you know this, what does it matter? Do you think that with your current strength, you can defeat me and regain the trust of the people and the title of 'Miko'?"
"Whether I can defeat you or not, let's try it first."
Beichen took a breath, took a step forward, and lowered his upper body.
After receiving this signal, Yagad and Gu Yinyue also raised their weapons silently.
At the same time, Ling Shuang and the Star Killer Serafinil, who were opposite them, summoned a black spear and raised his hand to condense a golden star sword.
The battle between positive and negative has begun.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
