This Girl Is Mine

The person who emerged from the wind and snow was Daphne.

She looked at He Wei Ni Ya with a smile, but her eyes no longer held the warmth and naivety of the past; instead, they held an unfathomable abyss.

After being pierced by those silver threads, He Wei Ni Ya's body was riddled with holes, but she still instinctively grabbed the staff.

However, before she could make any move, the four musicians beside Daphne had already taken action. They congealed the blood gushing from He Wei Ni Ya's countless wounds into thin threads, which spread in all directions, trapping He Wei Ni Ya in place. The staff she had just picked up was also smashed to the ground.

"Even in this state, you still think of resisting?" Daphne said with a light laugh. "Truly, as expected of you. Since that's the case..."

Daphne gently shook her staff.

So the blood lines were manipulated and slowly pulled upwards, causing He Wei Ni Ya's feet to leave the ground.

This made her look like a helpless doll bound by countless red ropes, or a mosquito trapped in a spider web, waiting to die.

"In that case, you won't be able to move, will you?" Daphne smiled radiantly.

He Wei Ni Ya struggled to lift her head and look at Daphne in front of her.

"Still didn't expect it to be me, did you? Just like I didn't expect it to be you," Daphne said with a smile. "We were originally planning to deal with that stupid woman, but we didn't expect you to actually kill her. Well, well, it's not that we didn't expect it at all, after all..."

Daphne walked up to He Wei Ni Ya, grabbed her hair, pressed her forehead against hers, and whispered in her ear.

"You killed my dear sister to get here."

Auger slammed the book shut, panting heavily.

He had been feeling uneasy ever since.

I don't know if it's because the "Advancement Magic" recorded in this book is too terrifying, or for some other reason.

He turned his head and looked out the window.

The Seven Sound Festival has arrived.

The dazzling fireworks were continuously blooming in the night sky.

To be honest, Auger, who came from the Seed Zone, didn't quite understand why the Academy would set off these Magic Power fireworks when there were almost no people around. Wasn't that a waste?

He couldn't understand it.

But it wasn't just because of that. Everything about this academy puzzled him. Although he was a student here, everything about it made him feel out of place.

Apart from...

Auger lowered his head and looked at the small pendant hanging around his neck.

He gently twisted the pendant, and a very cheap, whirring melody came from it.

This small sound seemed to be able to drown out the loud fireworks outside.

Auger held the pendant in his hand and softly murmured, "He Wei Ni Ya..."

"You should know what kind of person He Wei Ni Ya is, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to disguise yourself so successfully, but you don't know her that well," Daphne said to He Wei Ni Ya with a smile. "On the surface, she does seem very harmless, with both talent and beauty. In the Upper City District, she is a well-known lady, and many people like her. You portrayed that very well. Only a very few people know her true face, which is what she showed in the Seed Zone."

"Very unique, right? It's completely unlike the personality of someone from the upper class who possesses Gold Tier Note; it's more like a psychopathic Butcher."

"But she has kept it very well hidden. Only a very small number of the Hai Luo Family's servants who work in the Seed Zone know about it. Even her parents don't know."

"So in your opinion, after taking her identity, as long as you don't get close to the Seed Zone and maintain that good girl image, no one will find out about you."

"Actually, there's not much wrong with the idea itself, but the problem is..."

Daphne slowly straightened up and then began to unbutton her collar.

"He Wei Ni Ya's two faces were innate, but her outbursts in the Seed Zone happened after she turned ten. Have you ever thought about who she vented to before she was ten?"

He Wei Ni Ya strained to open her eyes, watching Daphne pull open her collar, revealing her proud breasts and the dense, spiderweb-like scars covering them.

"Of course, it's me, the one who grew up with her."

Daphne said softly.

"I was the one who sensed her other side even earlier than you. My family was a vassal family of the Hai Luo Family, and she established her talent early on. So, although I was nominally her good friend, I was actually a person more humble than a servant. Because servants might tell her parents, but I... dared not tell them."

"You seem to envy my breasts, right? Although that's supposed to be your persona, she doesn't like it, and she never hides it. When I started developing early, she wanted to cut off those two pieces of flesh from me more than once, but she didn't dare to do it because of pressure from our parents. But she would still dare to vent her frustration. And I never dared to tell anyone, or even show any displeasure, because I'm her best friend. In front of adults, she would hug me and laugh and giggle... just like I hug you."

Daphne wrapped her arms around He Wei Ni Ya's neck again, just as she had done during the day.

Then, she whispered in He Wei Ni Ya's ear, "So I really thank you. When I was about to collapse, her family allowed her to go to the Seed Zone, and she finally had another way to vent."

"You not only helped me distract her, you also helped me... kill her."

"So, more than her, I'd rather have a sister like you!"

He Wei Ni Ya stared coldly at Daphne. She wanted to do something more, but the blood lines on her body completely blocked her movements.

If Gold Score hadn't been born with a vitality far stronger than that of ordinary people, this injury would have been enough to kill her a hundred times over.

Daphne could see that He Wei Ni Ya still wanted to resist, and her smile became even brighter.

"You really are something, still thinking about struggling at a time like this." Daphne gently patted He Wei Ni Ya's face. "Impossible. I'm well prepared for tonight. The methods I'm using to deal with you are the same ones I'm using to deal with that stupid woman. Although she's only a Silver Rank, she's still a professor, and we need to take her seriously."

"Oh, right, after talking for so long, I forgot to mention why I'm here tonight."

"It's actually very simple. The reason that stupid woman knows you're Gold Score is because I 'told' her," Daphne said with a smile. "You must have wondered why I come to see you from the Second Academy every few days, right? Do you think I'm only doing it for you? Of course not. Haven't you noticed that I mostly come to see you after that stupid woman's classes?"

"She is quite talented, very cunning, and wants to get more women."

"So, all I need to do is casually mention to her, 'Oh, little He Wei Ni Ya isn't the same as before,' 'Sigh, she's suddenly not as cute as she used to be since starting school,' 'Ah, I miss the less obedient little He Wei Ni Ya from before.' And she'll naturally focus her attention on you." Daphne smiled at He Wei Ni Ya. "For those self-righteous, self-important fools, you just need to casually point them down a path, and they'll run wildly down that path, regardless of right or wrong, until they die."

He Wei Ni Ya saw undisguised mockery in Daphne's eyes.

"Ah~ don't look at me like that, I wasn't talking about you," Daphne said with a grin. "You've done very well. To come out of the Seed Zone all by yourself and achieve what you have today, in that respect, you're much more capable than those two stupid women. If He Wei Ni Ya had your brains, she wouldn't have died so easily. Backed by the Hai Luo Family and possessing the Golden Sound, yet she died so quietly, it's truly..."

Daphne shook her head with a "tsk tsk," her tone full of regret, but her eyes were full of mockery.

He Wei Ni Ya lowered her head.

She still didn't give up.

She still had one last chance: the remaining third of the secret poison in her body that Ariana hadn't completely extracted.

If Daphne can absorb it directly like Ariana did, then she can at least...

"You're not waiting for that secret poison, are you?" Daphne asked slowly.

He Wei Ni Ya's eyes widened little by little.

Daphne extended her hand to He Wei Ni Ya, her palm burning with a flame in which He Wei Ni Ya could see herself.

"While you were watching me, I was also watching you," Daphne said with a smile. "It's just a three-tone spell. Do you think it's difficult to break? Any family that's qualified to live in the Upper City District has the means to do so, even the Hai Luo Family. But you don't know, do you? After all, you've only lived as a player for a year."

Just then, Daphne's men dragged Ariana's body from the church to the two of them.

Upon seeing this, Daphne slowly walked forward, squatted down, picked up a twig, and gently poked Ariana's corpse.

"Actually, you and she are the same kind of people," Daphne said with a smile. "You always feel that you can change something on your own."

"I don't know why, but you want to play the Seven Sound Divine Song all by yourself."

"And she, too, wanted to prove herself at the Grand Ceremony, to prove that she was no less than those nobles, or even as bad as the Primordial Family."

"But what was the result? This guy will never know that she was used by me until he dies. From her perspective, that's all she'll see. Just like you, you don't think I went to such lengths to have this stupid woman deal with you because you're difficult to handle, do you? No, that's not it." Daphne shook her head. "I just wanted to make you disappear from everyone's sight in a reasonable way. Otherwise, do you really think that your identity is well hidden and that no one but me has discovered it?"

As she spoke, Daphne lightly tapped her staff, and Ariana's corpse immediately burst into flames.

The flames reflected in He Wei Ni Ya's eyes, and she saw the Seven Sound Song that Ariana regarded as her spiritual pillar turn to ashes as quickly as cheap firewood.

"Alright, it's time to end all of this." Daphne slowly stood up and stretched. "Next is the final step. Professor Ariana of the Third Academy killed He Wei Ni Ya, the Seventh Sound Gold-level expert, and skinned her alive. This way, everyone will wonder if Ariana got the Gold Score, and no one will notice us anymore. After all... I left the academy this morning to go home for the Seven Sound Festival."

Daphne turned to look at He Wei Ni Ya and said with a smile.

"How about it? Compared to our family's plan, doesn't your scheme seem rather childish?"

"In the end," Daphne pointed at He Wei Ni Ya, "You're nothing but a piece of mud that came out of the Seed Zone. Even if you're Gold Score, you're still mud."

"What makes you think you can exchange your efforts for the accumulation of thousands of years by us, the Holy Sound Noble?"

As soon as she finished speaking, two sharp blades pierced through He Wei Ni Ya's heart, one after the other.

He Wei Ni Ya's eyes widened.

She stared intently at Daphne, watching as the latter leisurely pulled out a small knife.

"Actually, I should thank you," Daphne said. "The fact that you can still look like that guy makes me feel like I've gotten my revenge, so I've decided... to skin you alive myself."

She smiled at He Wei Ni Ya.

That cruel, devilish smile was just like He Wei Ni Ya herself a year ago.

Finally, He Wei Ni Ya's vision went black, and she lowered her head completely.

With a "thud".

That cheap pendant is broken.

Auger stared blankly.

Then an unprecedented sense of panic welled up inside me.

"He Wei Ni Ya ..."

He Wei Ni Ya stared blankly at the vast sky.

Something was falling from above and landing on her body.

Is it... rain?

He Wei Ni Ya squinted her eyes subconsciously.

Then she realized it wasn't raining.

It is soil.

Scoop after scoop of soil, reeking of blood.

He Wei Ni Ya subconsciously looked around, and when she turned her head, she saw a head.

A solitary head.

He stared wide-eyed, dying with his eyes wide open.

Below that head were more heads, and more corpses.

For children and adults.

Countless.

He Wei Ni Ya slowly remembered where she was, and then gradually understood.

The Seed Zone Corpse Pit.

She's back.

So... it was all a dream?

She killed the young lady who wanted to kill her, entered the academy as the young lady, and wanted to accomplish something big.

It was all a dream.

Was the person who was killed actually herself?

He Wei Ni Ya took a look.

Sure enough, her heart had stopped beating; she was indeed dead.

The soil was still falling, little by little, and soon it buried half of her body.

Looks like the dream is over.

He Wei Ni Ya thought to herself.

She slowly closed her eyes.

"Are you really willing to die like this?"

A male voice suddenly rang out.

He Wei Ni Ya instinctively opened her eyes and saw a black umbrella appear overhead, shielding her from the scorching sun and blocking the dust.

The person holding the umbrella was a young man with a smile in his eyes.

"Are you really willing to die like this?"

The young man asked another question.

Are you willing to accept this...?

He Wei Ni Ya's eyes were filled with confusion.

"Since this path has failed, why not try another one?"

... Another path?

He Wei Ni Ya didn't know what the other person was talking about, but instinctively, a sense of resistance rose in her heart.

However, this resistance was suppressed by another emotion that suddenly arose.

That feeling is called... discontent.

Clap clap clap clap

A sudden burst of applause.

The young man was clapping enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes, that's the real you."

"To die here would be too pathetic."

After he finished clapping, he extended his hand to He Wei Ni Ya.

"If you're not satisfied, grab my hand," the young man said with a smile, "And then swear allegiance to me."

Oath of allegiance?

He Wei Ni Ya had no idea what the other person was talking about.

She was clearly dead.

How can a dead person hold her hand?

That was what she originally thought.

But by the time she realized it, her hand was already clasped with the young man's.

"A name is needed to swear allegiance," the young man said. "A real name."

Real... name?

He Wei Ni Ya felt disoriented once again.

What was her real name? She had almost forgotten it herself.

That was what she originally thought, but her mouth answered first.

"... Nia".

The moment the words left his mouth, the umbrella was tossed aside.

The sunlight shone down again.

The young man grabbed her hand and suddenly exerted force, using seemingly infinite power to pull her out of the mud with unstoppable force.

The stopped heart resumed beating.

She watched the young man smile in the scorching sunlight.

"Very good."

"Your life is mine now."

Daphne's eyes widened little by little.

Because the hand that was stabbing He Wei Ni Ya with a knife was grabbed by another hand.

This is... He Wei Ni Ya's hand.

She instinctively looked up and saw He Wei Ni Ya, who should have been dead, smiling at her with her mangled face.

"Thank you so much," He Wei Ni Ya said with a light laugh. "Thanks to you all."

"This girl is mine."