What Cannot Be Done, Cannot Be Done.

The demon, resembling a warrior, knelt on the ground, its body riddled with sores, like residual blood within a corpse. Slow, waning purple flames seeped from the massive wounds, already showing signs of drying.

The countless human faces attached to the skull demon vanished like smoke and disappeared. The demon held two katana that had never touched an enemy before, as if this was the last bit of pride a samurai should have, and gripped them tightly.

But it was all in vain. From the moment the smoke and dust dissipated into the air, fine and tight cracks spread all over the demon's armor and katana.

With a crisp, mournful cry, the katana and armor shattered, disappearing into the air along with the destruction of [Calming the Tempest].

Given the severity of the Herrscher's evil intentions, this funeral was already quite grand.

Jizo Mitama is dead.

The now empty ground, apart from the still-burning flames and debris, is occupied by a katana whose blade is concealed by a black scabbard.

It stood still, the end of its scabbard embedded in the wrecked ground.

The blood-red hue covered the hilt, forming eerie yet beautiful patterns. However, upon closer inspection, one would find that the patterns gradually distorted into a ghostly face that resembled both crying and laughing.

This was the prototype of the Divine Key.

With the shell of malice shattered, it finally manifested itself.

As long as Su Qing'an fails to draw it from its sheath, the demonic warrior will reappear shortly afterward.

Jizo Mitama is a complete upgrade of the Living Doll; it is not only much stronger than the Living Doll, but also much more troublesome.

The original Living Doll was only able to barely approach the form of Jizo Mitama thanks to the Honkai Energy accumulated over hundreds of years, and it lost the ability to revive.

Jizo Mitama, on the other hand, is a demon that can resurrect infinitely, and is far stronger and more ferocious than Jizo Mitama.

Jizo Mitama doesn't need defense; most of the Honkai Energy within its body is condensed in its two katana. If Su Qing'an had continued fighting it for a little longer, he would have faced an extremely difficult battle.

A boss that only requires you to deal damage without worrying about losing health is no different from cheating, but the resulting weakness in defense is precisely the key factor that enabled Su Qing'an to achieve a near-instant kill.

Before attempting to draw his sword, Su Qing'an addressed the Stigmata on his back:

"It's about to begin, Rin."

Without waiting for the girl's reply, the boy placed his hand on the hilt of the knife.

There were no unexpected dangers or difficulties; everything was fine once the skin of my palm touched the texture of the knife handle.

But that's only on the surface.

Su Qing'an could clearly feel the constantly changing texture of the hilt. That strange sensation was like countless sticky and cold things gradually closing off his consciousness. The touch in his palm made him have an impulse to abandon the knife for a moment.

But reason suppressed the sense of crisis and aversion that came from my intuition.

It's very dangerous.

The changing patterns represent the evil intent of the Jizo Mitama, which is likely reviving. Before long, that demon will descend again, wielding a giant katana to slash at him.

The fact that Jizo Mitama hasn't chosen to attack him yet is evidenced by the fact that his emotions haven't fluctuated unexpectedly, his will hasn't been attacked, and his body hasn't been eroded by any unusual Honkai Energy. This proves that as long as he doesn't choose to draw his sword, this unfinished Divine Key poses no threat to him for the time being.

But if one wants to end all of this, drawing the sword is inevitable.

Without hesitation, Su Qing'an drew his sword.

In the instant when the hand grips the hilt tightly, as if trying to drag the knife out.

A myriad of phenomena flashed before my eyes.

Evil thoughts.

Evil thoughts as deep as the abyss, as vast as the ocean, as boundless as the sky.

Consciousness, like a small boat, was slapped into another world where only evil remained.

Countless murmurs swirled around his ears, and chilling delusions, like vines, gently grew and spread throughout his body.

As emotions surged, the boy's body was forced to experience incredibly realistic hallucinations.

It felt as if thousands of fine, sharp blades were carefully slicing open the outer layer of skin, blood dripping out little by little. In just a moment, a wet, sticky sensation covered the entire body. All this strangeness stimulated consciousness, and a certain hard discomfort overwhelmed the softest part of the nerves, causing the body's senses to become violently confused.

Su Qing'an couldn't tell for a moment whether it was blood licking her body or evil thoughts entangled her mind.

But this is an illusion.

This is all an illusion.

But a wavering arose within the boy. This was the Stigmata Space; were the illusions he experienced here truly just that—illusions?

Su Qing'an couldn't help but lower his left hand from the scabbard and cover one ear, trying to block out the auditory hallucinations. This proved that even his willpower was nearing its limit on such a battlefield.

But this was futile, like pouring countless streams of information into his soul; as long as his other hand was still gripping the hilt of the knife, the medium could not be severed.

This is an unfair battle because the opponent is completely at ease and has endless malice. However, no matter how strong Su Qing'an's willpower is, there is a limit to his endurance. Once he crosses that limit, he will be defeated.

As long as the sword remains undrawn, this unfair battle will never end.

The boy abandoned the pointless act of covering his ears and put his hands back on the scabbard, intending to continue exerting force.

But at this moment, suppressing the instinct to protect oneself is also a difficult thing. For a moment, Su Qing'an felt extremely weak, and he could hardly continue to draw his sword.

Blood seeped from his pores, and hallucinations gradually eroded his physical body. The pain of reality and illusion intertwined in a blood-red symphony.

He had heard of cruel punishments like the Ten Great Tortures of the Qing Dynasty in his previous world. Just watching others suffer such tortures made him unable to imagine what kind of hell it would be like to be subjected to such pain.

But now he has tasted it for himself.

This was a torture comparable to slow slicing, but the boy's face remained unchanged. Blood beads slowly oozed from his pores, and the nerves in his eyes suffered excruciating pain as if they were being sliced off. The whites of his eyes, which were dark, were covered with abnormal blood vessels. It was a chilling scene, like that of a vengeful ghost.

But he remained quiet and composed, his eyes wide open.

His gaze was fixed on everything before him, yet it seemed as if nothing concerned him.

Perhaps, the Su Qing'an of today is already a far cry from the Su Qing'an of the past.

In his previous world, he was a seasoned international master of backing down, avoiding anything he could, shirking any task he could, being terrified of and hating pain, and disliking and hating effort.

That same man has become what he is now.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Perhaps by quietly escaping into the world of the past, he will eventually come to some realizations and mature a little one day.

He will then reconnect with the outside world, build bonds, get married and have children, and live an ordinary life without war.

Instead of repeating the same cycle of constant fighting and struggling to survive.

He hated fighting, hated the cruelty of not being able to escape, hated the apocalypse and tragedy, hated the high and mighty gods, and hated the so-called Honkai.

He really, really hates this world.

Even in this world that he despises, there are reasons why he lives.

This also explains why Su Qing'an is now risking his life for it.

The boy drew his sword, overcoming the corrosive and tormenting thoughts of evil, and tried to draw it once more.

State of Still Water cannot stabilize the probing questions from the soul, but it can stabilize the lower limit of skill.

With a twisting force, ignoring the blood constantly seeping from the pores of his palms, Su Qing'an gripped the knife hilt tightly.

Once again, draw your sword!

The result was that it remained completely still; the blade seemed to be rusted inside the sheath, and the force was like a surge into the deep sea that did not cause the slightest ripple.

Su Qing'an smiled.

He knew that his counterpart from another world had extremely poor Honkai Energy adaptability and resistance, so hoping to possess the so-called Divine Key adaptability was undoubtedly a pipe dream.

Su Qing'an absolutely cannot Jizo Mitama.

This is fate, this is the limit, this is the ending we all foresaw.

What cannot be done, simply cannot be done.

Just as he absolutely cannot use [Thousand Stars] without activating the Stigmata, the same applies to trying to pull out the Jizo Mitama.

Without the Divine Key's adaptability, he was not qualified to draw it.

But perhaps Su Qing'an hasn't changed. He's still the same stubborn person, still as foolish and naive as ever.

Look.

Even knowing that [Thousand Stars] was such a demanding skill that it could never be used without burning one's life force, he still went and learned it.

It's probably true what Nishikujo Sara said: you can't just listen to those kinds of things like "you won't be satisfied until you've hit a brick wall and bled." Su Qing'an is clearly the kind of idiot who wouldn't give up even if he crashed into a wall to his death.

"Big brother... you've already tried your best."

It was Rin speaking; the girl's voice seemed faint and distant in the boy's consciousness, as if she were offering comfort.

Su Qing'an pulled out the knife, his body like a wet towel being wrung out, blood gushing out like a prisoner desperately escaping from his cage, yet his back remained straight and his steps steady.

When a man is fighting for his life, he can't afford to look so pathetic, right?

Men are sometimes creatures who care about strange things, and Su Qing'an was no exception. He thought he was already ugly enough, and it was a real pity that he couldn't look handsome when he was working hard.

Every time it's the same mess, but maybe this is the last time.

The boy's back gradually hunched over. He was still human, and even with his extraordinary physique, the massive blood loss eventually led him toward weakness.

The pool of blood beneath him caused him to slip, and the boy scrambled to his feet, managing to steady himself in a half-kneeling position, his hands never leaving the hilt of his knife.

It's just that when you're working your butt off, it's really hard to look cool.

Strange thoughts flashed through the boy's mind, which was beginning to descend into chaos. The Void Sword Qi reconnected with the Honkai Energy cycle of the outside world. As his consciousness was about to disappear, the erosion of evil thoughts seemed to have temporarily left him.

Su Qing'an spoke softly to the girl within the Stigmata:

"It's okay, it's not over yet."

Yes, it's not over yet.