[Twilight Alley] Purge Mission (Continued)

The man nodded in acknowledgment and headed toward the bathroom... Though their home was small, it was warm enough for them.

He took off his clothes, revealing an upper body covered in bruises and scars. He looked like someone who got into fights often, but considering this was Twilight Street, it was hardly surprising.

He casually tossed his clothes into a bucket for his wife to wash later, then stepped into the shower, lowered his head, and turned the faucet.

"...Hm?"

Almost the instant the water touched him, a pungent, fishy smell flooded his nostrils. Realizing something was wrong, the man's eyes snapped open, and he discovered that the water flowing over his body seemed to be mixed with a large amount of blood.

What... is this...

As the man was still wondering, his thoughts rapidly faded. His control over his body vanished in an instant, and he collapsed limply to the floor in a twisted posture.

The showerhead above him continued faithfully spraying warm water, but the water on the floor was no longer clear. It had been stained bright red with blood, and the entire shower gradually filled with the stench of blood.

Splash—

The sound of the shower echoed through the house. At some point, the woman outside the bathroom had also fallen silent. The home that should have been warm now felt terrifyingly quiet.

Click—

A crisp sound came from the front door. Along with the grating creak of the hinges, the roar of the torrential rain outside poured into the house.

Tap—

Xi Wang skillfully opened the Candy box and fed himself a piece of candy. He glanced at the woman collapsed beside the sink and gave a slight gesture. A mass of water slowly wrapped around her corpse, and the flowing blood gradually dispersed through it, dyeing it pale red.

Then, with another slight movement of his fingers, the man's corpse in the bathroom was also enveloped in a sphere of water and slowly floated over to Xi Wang.

Having collected both corpses, Xi Wang nodded and turned back into the downpour, the water spheres containing the bodies following after him.

Splash—

The rain poured down in sheets, yet Xi Wang showed no signs of getting wet. The rain automatically veered away just before reaching him, forming a strange umbrella around his body. Behind him trailed more than a hundred water spheres containing corpses—people he had cleaned up.

Xi Wang followed the route he had memorized back to the cemetery. He had already dug out a large area here, and the rain had even formed a modest pond—but none of that was a problem. Xi Wang diverted the water inside, then placed the corpses into the pits one by one. He used water to scoop up the piled dirt nearby and bury them properly. His movements were practiced; clearly, he had done this several times before.

Fortunately, the cemetery here was large enough. Otherwise, there would not have been enough room to bury all the hundreds of people on Twilight Street. Xi Wang was also glad that his control over "water" was strong enough, or this kind of project would have been difficult to handle.

"Now... that place should be the only one left."

After burying this batch of corpses, Xi Wang looked toward the final small section of pits. Though they had accumulated plenty of water again because of the heavy rain, it did not matter. That was not a problem.

"..."

It was somewhat troubling, but this was something he had to face. Leaving it until last had also given him time to prepare himself mentally.

He raised his hand, and a small sphere of water hovered at his fingertips, swaying lightly with his movements. Slowly, the originally transparent water turned the deep azure of the sea, and he closed his hand around it.

During that brief moment of thought, he had already made up his mind.

Giving those children a peaceful, tranquil death was the only thing he could do for them now—the only mercy he could offer them.

So, he walked toward the sanatorium.

The night had deepened, but the torrential rain outside continued without any sign of weakening.

The clamor of the rain covered many sounds, such as the nearly inaudible footsteps in the dim corridor.

Xi Wang had already entered the sanatorium and cleared out several rooms... But rest assured, those obedient children had long since fallen asleep. Not a single child woke in the middle of the night, and thus every one of them quietly passed away in their sleep.

Xi Wang moved quickly and caused the children no pain. He simply, cleanly, efficiently took their lives, then used spheres of water to wrap up their small bodies and transport them outside, keeping the children's rooms from being tainted with too much blood.

Xi Wang walked soundlessly, carrying a faint dampness with him as he searched every room one by one. At last, he reached the end of the hallway and opened the final room—there was no one inside.

The room was merely quiet, empty, and dim.

The person who lived there appeared to be absent. The window had not been closed either, and the cold night wind carried countless raindrops into the room, soaking the curtains and floor.

"..."

It seemed the task was over.

Thinking this, Xi Wang casually manipulated the water and closed the window.

Yet at that moment, Xi Wang suddenly froze.

Drip—

A faint dripping sound came from behind him.

It was weak, utterly unremarkable amid the noisy rain outside, but Xi Wang keenly sensed the water continuously dripping.

"Why?"

The man behind him asked.

Xi Wang could hear the anger and killing intent hidden beneath his deliberately calm tone.

He turned to look at him, his gaze settling on the crudely made mask he wore. He wondered whether the man's expression beneath it was as twisted by rage as the mask itself.

He was dangerous.

Xi Wang thought so.

Like a lurking beast—quiet, yet brimming with ferocity, enough to make one shudder.

"You're still alive?"

Xi Wang was certain he had not missed just now. The "water" he controlled had pierced the other man's neck. It had definitely gone through his throat and cervical spine.

Yet now, he stood there perfectly fine and could still speak. The bloody hole in his neck had vanished, as if it had already healed.

"I'm the one asking you."

He glanced out the window. Even under the cover of the torrential rain, he could vaguely see countless water spheres containing corpses in the courtyard. Then, as though forcibly suppressing his anger, he emphasized his question again, his tone impatient.

"..."

Xi Wang frowned. With a slight movement of his fingers, he turned the water dripping around the man into blades and thrust them upward toward his heart.

Squelch—

The "blade" pierced the man's heart, and bright red blood flowed out, mixing with the azure "water."

"Hehe... Hahaha... Good... very good!"

He seemed utterly unconcerned by his injury. Covering the mask on his face, he laughed wildly.

He still did not die. His presence did not weaken in the slightest. Instead, it became increasingly dangerous, like an enraged beast.

"I like your attitude—so direct, so decisive! Good!"

One step forward! The immense force instantly blasted away the surrounding water. Ignoring the "blade" piercing through him entirely, he charged straight at Xi Wang, swung his fist at Xi Wang's face with a hollow bloody hole in his chest.

"Come! Unleash your power! Let me have a good look! Let us fight! Slaughter each other!"

"..."

Ignoring the man's near-mad ravings, Xi Wang shifted half a step aside and tilted his head to evade the punch. He raised his hand slightly, drew it back to his waist, then gave a gentle push. Azure "water" surged forth, transforming into a fierce current that rushed at the man before him.

Yet the man endured it head-on. He only retreated a single step before forcibly withstanding the torrent, then violently swept it aside with one hand and charged forward again, throwing another punch at Xi Wang.

"That's right! Just like that! Keep going! Keep going! If this is all you've got, I'll tear you to pieces!"

He was becoming more dangerous—Xi Wang sensed it instantly.

And he was probably not normal either—Xi Wang thought as he watched the man's punch blow apart the wall.

This was troublesome. Better leave first—Xi Wang frowned at the man who was almost indiscriminately destroying everything around him, deciding not to remain here any longer.

...It was only because this was not a good place to deal with him. After all, Xi Wang still had to control the water spheres holding the children's corpses... And if this guy kept going, the children's former home would be gone.

He retreated, leaped through a gap in the wall, and landed outside. Using the torrential rain as cover, he swiftly headed toward the cemetery with the water spheres.

"Stop! Where are you going?! Trying to run away?! Hahaha! Why are you leaving like a homeless dog?! Stop! Come! Face me!"

The man displayed physical abilities that were absolutely beyond human. He caught up almost instantly, cracking the ground beneath his feet and sending pooled water flying everywhere. He charged Xi Wang in a nearly crazed manner, forcing Xi Wang to repeatedly divert his attention to knock him back.

As for the man's injuries, he seemed not to care at all. They disappeared before long, as though the wound Xi Wang had made through his heart had already vanished.

He merely attacked Xi Wang madly, destroying everything he could destroy without regard for anything, seemingly venting the fury in his heart.

Finally, amid the man's repeated harassment, Xi Wang reached the cemetery. He carefully placed the children's corpses into the final pit, then manipulated the water to cover them with dirt and bury them.

"Whew..."

Xi Wang let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Not running anymore? Good! Come! Fight!"

That unceasing voice rang out from behind him again. Even the torrential rain falling from the sky could not extinguish the rage within it.

This time, Xi Wang did not use water to push him away or knock him back. He merely sidestepped the attack, then spun around at incredible speed, his hand shaped like a blade as he struck straight at the man's neck. Azure "water" rapidly gathered with Xi Wang's movement, turning into a sharp spear that stabbed into the man's neck, then swiftly extended and drove his body back a hundred meters.

"...Have you had enough?"

After the man's endless trash talk and constant harassment, Xi Wang was, just a little... somewhat irritated.

He advanced a short distance. Relying on his perception of water, Xi Wang could vaguely sense the man a hundred meters away even through the torrential rain.

He brought his five fingers together, using his hand as a blade, and slashed upward. The pooled water on the ground began gathering in response to his movement, forming a crescent-shaped "water blade" in an instant. It tore through the curtain of rain and shot toward the man who had barely managed to stand.

Before the first water blade had flown very far, Xi Wang swiftly made a horizontal slashing motion with his hand, creating another identical water blade. He stepped forward half a step and launched it, then took another half-step forward and repeated the process again and again.

The relentless attacks continuously suppressed the man. Countless water blades either struck at fatal areas like his neck, head, and chest, or targeted his shoulders, waist, hips, and knees—places that could rob him of his ability to move.

This was not a battle at all. It was merely one-sided domination... If that man had not kept getting back up again and again, it would have been more accurate to call it a massacre.

Even when he occasionally erupted with tremendous strength and dodged water blades that would have severed his head or cut him in half, the moment he tried to rush toward Xi Wang, Xi Wang would raise his hand and summon the gathered water to slam down from above, forcibly knocking him to the ground before repeating the same actions.

If this guy's recovery ability had not been even more abnormal than Xi Wang's, and if his combat instincts had not been so terrifying, Xi Wang would have killed him long ago. At the very least, he would have severed all four of his limbs.

In the end, Xi Wang even grew bored and annoyed by this futile approach. He raised his hand in a clawing shape. At that moment, the falling rain and pooled water on the ground both paused briefly, then rapidly gathered into an azure claw that forcefully seized the man. It then split into six blue spheres—one large and five small—imprisoning the man's torso, limbs, and head separately.

Yet even at this point, the man did not stop resisting. He struggled continuously, his head submerged in the water sphere constantly twisting. Bubbles kept spilling from the edges and gaps of his mask, and his muffled curses could still be heard.

He still had not died. Even the countless wounds inflicted earlier had disappeared without a trace.

"What exactly are you...?"

Xi Wang looked at the man still struggling, his head continuously twisting toward him, and murmured softly. At the same time, he raised his hand, gathering azure water into a "blade." Its tip hovered at the man's neck—Xi Wang was curious whether this man could still live if his head were cut off.

But in the end, Xi Wang dispersed the "blade" in his hand.