Chapter 9: The Return of the Scythe and the Sword
Bang!!
The black panther's huge body left long scratches on the ground, making an unpleasant metallic squeezing sound.
Beichen maintained the action of swinging the sickle in mid-air, staring at the enemy's voice and shadow in a daze, and slowly swallowed his saliva.
"...What's going on? It really doesn't hurt anymore? Yaye, have you mutated?"
"You are the mutant!"
Yaye let out a somewhat unpleasant groan in Beichen's hand.
"Why, wouldn't it be better if it didn't hurt?!"
"B-but..."
"Shut up—Anyway, this way you can officially use me. Go!!"
"oh!"
The black panther on the opposite side had already climbed up and lunged towards Beichen again. Beichen swung the hilt of his knife to block its horizontal bite, then slashed backwards in the direction of its force, causing it to deviate and crash into the wall behind. The panther, already in mid-air, had no way of turning around and could only crash into the wall!
Bang!!
There was another loud bang, and Beichen succeeded again, but she would not give the other party a chance to breathe. Before the black panther's body hit the ground, she had already flown above the black panther and chopped down hard on its head from top to bottom - with a clang, the black panther's head could not withstand the sharpness of the sickle, and a big gap was cut out.
Roar──Awoo!
The black panther roared, but before it could finish, Beichen's figure appeared at its side again. The black scythe flashed in the air like a strange crescent moon, and once again cut cracks in the armor at the neck. The huge body slid towards the center of the room.
What a powerful force!
Beichen sighed for half a second, but in the blink of an eye, he saw that the figure was about to hit one of the pillars in the room. In order not to destroy the system, Beichen landed, arched his foot, and the figure shot out like lightning, instantly catching up with the speed of the black panther. Then, before it hit the pillar, he struck it in the opposite direction, hitting it back like a volleyball.
After a few blows, the Black Panther was dizzy and opened his mouth to condense the Star Spirit Cannon, but Beichen cut off a corner of his head first, and he just lay there quietly and became a corpse.
"……call."
Beichen wiped the sweat from his head with excitement, loosened the handle of the sickle, let Yaye return to human form - and then threw himself into Yaye's arms.
"It really doesn't hurt anymore! After exerting all my strength, I realized how powerful Yaye is. Wow! So refreshing!! I must have looked so cool just now!"
"You're still thinking about whether you're handsome or not at this time, you damn thing."
Yaye rubbed Beichen's hair with a wry smile.
"But Yaye, do you know why? ... Your hair and eye color haven't changed, so you should still be considered a Fallen Dark Race, right?"
"Well, it's still the Dark Seed."
"...Strange." Beichen lowered his head and thought for a few seconds, then clapped his fists in sudden realization, "...I see. Yaye said this kind of pain was the pain of backlash, right? And at that time, I also saw some hallucinations - could it be that this pain actually comes from the Fallen Dark Seed's instinct to resist being used?"
"Whatever you think."
Yaye turned his head away, which was rare, and kicked the corpse on the side with a grin, showing a rare expression of embarrassment.
"In other words, if there was no gap between Yaye and me in his heart, this instinctive rejection wouldn't exist, right?! Because of what I said, Yaye's last bit of worry was dispelled, right?! Right, right!!"
Looking at Beichen's sparkling eyes, Yaye suddenly became angry and poked her forehead with his finger:
"Don't be so self-indulgent. Why are you feeling so good about yourself? Maybe it's just a coincidence. You look so happy. It's so embarrassing! You are the Queen of Elytheon!"
"Anyway, I'm just being a spoiled brat to Yaye, no one else can see it—"
Beichen, however, seemed to have taken the wrong medicine. He did not flinch when Yaye glared at him, nor did he retreat when he was poked. He burrowed into Yaye's arms like a sticky candy:
"Hehehehe──that's great... Yaye can be used!"
Yaye's intimidation was futile, so he had no choice but to hug Beichen fiercely for a while with some helplessness and a bit of embarrassment.
"In other words, you've completely messed with me. It's too late to regret now. If you betray me too—then..."
Before he could finish his words, Beichen covered Yaye's mouth.
"Don't even assume it. It's absolutely impossible. ...But on the other hand, if Yaye gets tired of me, he can leave at any time. It's okay."
"—What do you mean?" Yaye narrowed his eyes and tapped Beichen's head unhappily. "You mean, you don't care if I leave?"
"No, it might be very sad. But if it's Yaye who wants freedom, no matter how much I want to pull you back, I can hold it back."
"Damn Matcha still loves to say sweet words."
A gentle and warm look shone in the red eyes of the Dark One.
"Don't hold back. If you don't want me to leave... you'll have to use all means to keep me by your side. Even if I long for freedom, you'll have to rack your brains to restrain my steps. ...Because, I would do the same to you."
As he spoke, he pulled Beichen's hand, first gently kissed the palm, then pierced the skin with his blood-sucking fangs - then he bit his own palm and put their palms together.
When the blood flowed together, a faint light appeared in the palms of their hands. At the same time, Beichen felt a sharp pain in her back and she screamed in pain. Yaye reached out and pulled open her collar to take a look, then smiled.
—That was the wing-shaped totem engraved on her back.
Although he hadn't seen it for a hundred years, and although its appearance was slightly different from before it fell into darkness, Yaye still recognized it.
This is his branding.
"Did it work?"
Looking at Beichen's hopeful eyes in his arms, Yaye took a deep breath, suppressing the long-lost emotion and the sour feeling that surged into his nose.
One hundred years. … A full one hundred years.
He finally became a weapon again, the fighting force and shield of his beloved, and once again stood in this world as a weapon, as someone who was possessed.
Unlike the dark, despairing sense of liberation he'd felt when he fell into darkness, the bond and warmth brought by this contract was like a warm current, completely washing away the last traces of loneliness and coldness in his heart. He had never known that satisfying a weapon's instincts could bring such joy and fulfillment.
Yeah. That's right.
Here, next to this dead Matcha, is probably the place called "home".
"Did it succeed? Yaye?"
Seeing him in a daze, Beichen shook his arm in his arms.
He suddenly came back to his senses, reached out, and slowly stroked Beichen's cheek with his thumb.
"I'm back."
He answered softly.
"……I'm back."
Fallen Dark Seed repeated the same words again word for word. Beichen stared at his face for a few seconds, then smiled as if he had realized something was wrong.
"Yes. Welcome home. You've been waiting for a long time, Yaye."
Then.
A few minutes passed and the two came back to their senses from their excitement. Under Yaye's guidance, Beichen quickly found the most important thing in the room.
It was a small pillar sticking out from the ground. There were many tiny grooves on the pillar. It was about one meter high. There was a hole as thick as a finger at the top of the pillar that connected these grooves.
"Bear with it."
Yaye hugged Beichen's waist from behind, bit the wound on her palm a little bigger, and then stretched her hand over the pillar. Drops of bright red blood fell into the small hole at the top of the pillar, and then flowed in all directions along the groove connected to the small hole.
For a moment, red mechanical lines covered the entire pillar. When all the grooves were filled with blood, the pillar suddenly creaked and broke into several pieces from the center, falling to the ground in all directions... and all that was left was a small glass dish, and in the glass dish, there lay a small thin piece.
"—It's the same thing, after all."
Yaye took out another circuit board from the storage space and compared them. He found that the two were indeed very similar, and maybe they could really be put together.
"Let's study it slowly later, put it away for now." Beichen said, groping on the glass dish, trying to find the switch to turn it on - then, she saw a line of small words engraved on the metal frame on the edge of the glass dish.
"My final gift to my successor—the Holy Book of the Divine Tomb"
"The Holy Book of the Divine Tomb. ...So these fragments are the Holy Book."
Beichen muttered a few words, then finally found the switch and opened the glass dish. Then he took out the holy book and handed it to Yaye for safekeeping.
Let’s put the matter of the holy book aside for now—it’s time to return to the surface and reunite with everyone.
Then, an hour later.
Just before Beichen was about to run out of oxygen, she and Yaye finally removed the last huge rock blocking the exit and crawled out from underground covered in dust.
With Yu Yaye's support, they walked through the messy stone ruins for about ten minutes. Finally, she saw a familiar figure faintly appearing in the dark night - it was the shrunken Ragnarl. In the shadow of the rocks under his feet, the injured people were sitting or lying, as if they were resting and healing.
Beichen and Yaye exchanged glances, took a few quick steps, and came to Ragnarl.
"You're here."
The dragon looked down at Beichen and blinked helplessly.
"...It came too quickly. Their injuries haven't recovered yet."
Beichen was stunned, then looked at the injured people - only Xifeng and Gu Yinyue were awake. They nodded to her and used their eyes to let her know that they were safe.
──Great, everyone is fine.
"Okay. I think we should talk."
The giant dragon moved its tail slightly, and its long tail drew an arc in the air, hitting the ground between Beichen Yaye and the wounded - obviously telling Beichen not to get close.
Beichen tilted his head expressionlessly.
"So, Ragnar, did Sumo ask you to take them hostage to challenge me?"
"Yes."
Somewhat unexpectedly, the dragon nodded readily.
"I'm here to persuade you to surrender. Please go to Youyu and seek protection from Lord Selland... Don't think of going against him anymore. This will only lead to your true destruction."
"……What?"
The dragon was unwilling to say more and just shook his head.
"In short, please make peace. This is my purpose."
“…”
Beichen was silent.
Yan He? And Su Mo?
What does it mean to make peace with him?
Does this mean that only a million people will survive? Does it mean that, besides these people, billions of people will be eliminated and die due to the "selection rules" they have established?
Does it mean admitting that one's views are wrong and futile?
If they make peace with him now, what will be the point of all their previous efforts and sacrifices?
“…How, is it possible… to compromise!!”
Beichen answered bitterly with gritted teeth.
The giant dragon remained silent and exerted pressure with its breath, but Beichen didn't even look at him, only staring at the wounded man opposite the dragon's tail.
She couldn't bow to Su Mo just because they became hostages, because once the blood of billions of people was on his hands, Xiang Beichen would never be the Xiang Beichen they loved.
But at the same time, she would not let these most important people make any mistakes because of her persistence. If something happened to them, she would also lose the meaning of her existence.
Therefore, there is only one way left - even if it is unbearable and painful, there is only one way to go.
As if sensing the murderous intent and pain in Beichen's eyes, the dragon slowly stood up from its lying position.
"Little witch... Do you want to kill me?"
"I don't want to. But if you insist on making me choose between them and the billions of lives in the world, I will have no choice but to defeat you who made me make the choice."
"So you want both? You're so greedy."
“How can we be considered human if we are not greedy?”
The Queen of the Wasteland raised her eyebrows and laughed heroically.
"It is precisely because of greed—because they want everything, precisely because they want love, food, clothing, and the right to survive—that humans live so desperately and energetically!"
When the last word fell, Yaye tacitly transformed into a weapon and came into Beichen's hand. The black bone wings behind the light armor suddenly opened and took her to the sky.
At the same time, the dragon also raised its head, its golden eyes slowly narrowed, a look of helplessness flashed in its eyes, and then its forelimbs slowly pressed down, as if preparing for takeoff.
A fierce battle with little chance of winning is about to begin.
Xifeng on the ground thought to himself that something was wrong and wanted to help Beichen, but he was concerned about the many wounded behind him and could not move. He could only stop where he was anxiously and conjured up a sniper rifle, thinking that he could at least help Beichen launch a disruptive attack on the enemy. However, just as he began to concentrate and prepare bullets, the air suddenly rumbled, and then a light came from a corner of the sky.
──A silvery-white light, accompanied by the whistling sound of the air and gusts of wind pressure, slowly approached this side.
Because of the loud noise, everyone looked in the direction of the light. Then, everyone, including Ragnarl, stopped everything they were doing because of the scene before them.
It was a creature slightly smaller than Ragnarl's true form, dazzling enough to bring tears to the eyes, and so beautiful it took my breath away—
──A giant silver-white dragon.
Its graceful, streamlined lines glowed an ivory-white against the black sky of the waning moon;
A pair of long golden horns that bend backwards, with fiery biological stripes arranged densely and finely;
The flawless and smooth holy white scales rose and fell with the perfect bone curves and graceful movements, reflecting a warm light that was sometimes strong and sometimes weak, almost illuminating the dark clouds on the horizon;
A pair of wings covering the sky, covered with golden mechanical patterns, with little fireflies flickering between them, jumping to the rhythm of life -
And the pair of golden animal eyes with vertical pupils were staring at Beichen without blinking with an extremely warm look.
"...Wait, damn Matcha..."
Yaye spoke in a daze while lying in Beichen's arms.
"Is the moon waning today? ...If the moon is waning, it means..."
"Today... is Blade Cry Night..."
Beichen's voice trembled, he covered his mouth and couldn't continue.
The days were so intense and fast-paced that she forgot to count them. So when Wan Zuzan Zhekarla talked about "the next Blade Night", she subconsciously thought that she would have to wait for a long time.
...It can't be true, can it? It can't be true, can it?
The surprise came so quickly and so shockingly that it even made her brain stop thinking. She just stood quietly in the wind, staring at the beautiful white dragon.
Instead, the giant dragon let out a long and melodious roar in the air, and then spoke:
"Sorry, I'm late, Miss Beichen."
“──”
The moment he heard this familiar voice, tears as big as beans flowed out of his eyes uncontrollably. Beichen wiped his face frantically for a long time, but still couldn't wipe it dry. Instead, his hair became messy and his face was covered in stains. Tears and sand mixed together, making him look very miserable.
Seeing this, the dragon lowered its huge head and carefully and gently moved its nose towards Beichen.
"Please don't cry. My purpose in this world is to make you smile all the time."
But Beichen just pounced on it incoherently, lying on the dragon's nose and clinging to it like an octopus, mumbling something in his mouth.
The dragon froze all over, fearing that its movements would hurt Beichen. Apart from flapping its wings, it dared not even move its neck. So, it could only carefully find an open space with Beichen on its nose, slowly landed, then lowered its head and put Beichen on the ground.
"Agad—Agad..."
"Miss Beichen, please don't cry. I... this... I... Miss Beichen..."
So there was a man and a dragon, one was incoherent and unconscious, and the other was so frightened by the other's tears that he couldn't speak clearly. He could only carefully nudge Beichen with his nose to show his obedience.
Seeing Beichen still stubbornly holding on, the dragon blinked in frustration:
"Miss Beichen... I chose this form for myself... Are you dissatisfied? If you are not satisfied, I will go back and tell Master Wanzu—"
“No, no, no—”
Beichen looked up with tears and snot, and then he found that the scales on the dragon's nose were all wet by her. Embarrassed, he took out a piece of cloth from Yaye's storage space and wiped it carefully.
While removing his weapon form, Yaye wanted to complain that the cloth was a dirty rag that he had accidentally collected for wiping the dining table, but seeing the atmosphere, he really couldn't say it so he gave up.
"It's not that I'm dissatisfied, it's... I'm just too happy. No matter what form Yagad comes back in, as long as it's Yagad, I'll... woooo."
As she spoke, she sniffed and rubbed the dragon scales on her cheek.
"Miss Beichen needs me, I will naturally do my best to rush back to your side."
The dragon let her roll around on his nose and act coquettishly, and spoke in a very soft voice with a smile.
"...You said that a being like me should exist as your sword. Only you can allow me to realize the greatest meaning of being a weapon. I once imagined living as your weapon. At this moment, I feel that it has come true in another way. I am very happy."
"...Yeah. No problem. Agard's needs are what I need—so, my needs are what satisfy Agard's needs."
Beichen lowered his head and gently kissed the dragon scales on his lips.
The dragon was silent for a few seconds, then gently closed his eyes.
"I'm back. Miss Beichen."
"Well!!...Welcome home, Agard."
She wiped her eyes, smiled, and said the same thing she had said just two hours ago.
"Welcome home, my sword—Agad Barumunk Celand."
The giant dragon lowered its head with joy and satisfaction in its eyes and remained motionless. Yaye stood aside and watched the reunited two people with a smile. Xifeng and Gu Yinyue in the distance put away their sniper rifles and spirit crystals, breathed a sigh of relief, and exchanged a thankful and happy look. Ragnarl had also put away his battle preparations long ago, and stood quietly in the night, looking at Yagad - the newborn, his own kind.
The warm atmosphere lasted for a few minutes. Beichen stood up from the dragon's nose, smiled and was about to say something - but was interrupted.
“A-choo!!”
The dragon, whose nose had been harassed for so long, finally couldn't bear it anymore and sneezed loudly.
Then suddenly a hurricane came over, and Beichen was hit by a sneeze and rolled out, floating more than ten meters away before stopping.
"Miss Beichen!? Miss Beichen, are you okay? I didn't mean it—A-choo!"
Gurgle gurgle gurgle──
Beichen rolled farther and farther away, while Yaye and Ragnarl, who were left behind, looked at this strange scene and twitched their lips at the same time.
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