It was as though they were at a class reunion in Heaven.
After a long passage of time, familiar old friends met once more. As they smiled and gazed at one another, they could no longer conceal the malice and coldness surging beneath those smiles.
Bone-deep hatred and killing intent.
Born from the same source, yet utterly incompatible.
They had once trusted one another, but now stood on opposite sides of a chasm. When they raised their blades against each other, they could not help but fall into a daze, remembering one another's smiles beneath the brilliant sunlight of old.
The days when their ideals had not yet collapsed, when Heaven had not yet fallen.
Back then, they...
Back then, we.
Mathers shook his head and sighed silently. "Luo..."
Smack!
A sound like a bubble bursting rang out.
He froze in place. A bloody line appeared across his neck.
Only then did he see a dim flash of light, swift as lightning, sweep around his throat. Then blood burst forth.
Divine Inscription · Light of Fabuti!
The primordial light of lightning, sharp as a blade, was held in a familiar hand.
That mocking breath was already behind him.
When?!
Mathers' eyes widened.
Could it be... from the very beginning?
Beside Huai Shi, the aged figure still wore the same smile, only gradually fading away.
Revealing the true nature of the illusion.
"No way, no way. Does anyone seriously think there's time to chat while fighting?"
Russell skillfully pressed down on his shoulder. The lightning blade swept across his old classmate's neck. Like a breeze passing by, the ripe fruit fell from its stem, and a head easily rolled into his hand.
In the eyes that still held nostalgia and shock was reflected Russell's pitying face. "After all these years, Mathers,