Volume Three: The Academy's Rampage - Chapter 247: Love

"You—you bastard!!!"

The exploding black feathers tore through the air and shot towards Givinia's projection. Each shot had the power to easily pierce through a building. However, physical attacks are useless against a spiritual entity. The projection merely swayed in the air and was unharmed, while Givinia's true form was probably observing the situation from several kilometers away.

"Please calm down, Miss Black Crystal. Why don't we have a proper talk?"

Givinia smiled, intending to negotiate, but was met with a barrage of black feathers. However, it didn't cause any harm.

"Illusion? Or physical illusion?"

"Unfortunately, neither is the case. Since you have no intention of negotiating properly, then I have no choice but to... join forces with Miss Xiao to oppose you."

As soon as the words were spoken, countless Givinia appeared from the void, each one with the same appearance, expression, and clothing, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake.

"Guess which one is real?"

"Tsk..."

Countless black feathers transformed into sharp swords, slashing at each of the Givinia, but without exception, they all passed right through them, clearly none of them were real. Although Black Crystal was extremely angry, she did not lose her mind. After her initial impulsiveness subsided, she immediately summoned many black feathers to envelop herself, to avoid being caught off guard and approached unknowingly as before.

The black feathers coalesced into a cocoon, with the Black Crystal inside, calmly analyzing the situation.

First, this Cheng Yaojin has the ability to create illusions, but sometimes the illusions can switch into physical forms. In other words, it can be understood that she can switch the positions of her real body and the illusion. Then she also has considerable attack power. Although the attack from behind was partly due to her carelessness, it was more due to the strength of her attack, which was close to a single small black feather.

"The two abilities seem unrelated... Could he be a hybrid ability user?"

"(O゜▽゜)o☆[BINGO!]~ You reacted so quickly!"

"Varied--"

As a defensive skill, the Black Feather Cocoon doesn't have a large internal space, but it's more than enough to accommodate two people.

Givinia smiled sweetly at her—the next instant, a feathered sword pierced through her chest.

"Physical attacks can't harm a spiritual body~"

She chuckled as she passed through the feathered sword, then her illusory form suddenly swayed, gaining a touch more texture—

"Please don't hesitate to offer this as a gift."

As Givinia switched back to her original form, she clenched her fist with incredible speed, and when she opened it again, a small, transparent sphere began to take shape. At the same moment, Black Crystal shuddered violently, an unprecedented pain engulfing her entire body! A strange noise filled her ears, like a siren, but this noise originated from within her body! The sweat on her skin, the saliva in her mouth, and the fluid in the connective tissue near the surface of her body disappeared at an alarming rate—not evaporation, but boiling! Something inside her seemed to come alive, trying to burst outwards; her vision blurred, and her lungs felt like they were about to explode!

Givinia vanished into thin air, leaving behind the transparent sphere. Her remaining consciousness compelled the Black Crystal to immediately spread its wings, allowing a rush of fresh air to flow in, while simultaneously using its black feathers to separate itself from the sphere.

Boom!!!!!

A terrifying gust of air swept over Black Feather, but it only lasted for a moment before disappearing on its own; it was some kind of small bomb.

"Haa... haa... haa... This is... instantly compressing the air in a certain area into a sphere, creating a local vacuum? And the air sphere created can even explode..."

"Clever."

She didn't know when, but Givinia reappeared in front of her—again, as a projection, of course. Black Crystal wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, still feeling a bit scared.

That kind of ability is truly ruthless...

The idea that the human body would boil and explode if exposed to a localized vacuum is nonsense; that's just hearsay and wishful thinking. In fact, the cavities within the human body have their own encapsulation and pressurization functions. The bodily fluids that boil are mainly those close to the skin and mucous membranes, such as tears, saliva, and sweat. And it's not the whole body that bursts, but rather the capillaries.

Even so, a vacuum is extremely deadly. Gas will quickly escape from the body, and lack of oxygen can cause a person to lose consciousness in less than fifteen seconds. Ruptured capillaries can lead to brain hemorrhage, paralysis, and other serious injuries. The eyeballs will bulge, the body will swell to twice its size, and the death will be extremely gruesome.

The immediate aftermath of the partial vacuum is the explosion of the Air Bomb. After being subjected to the vacuum for an instant, the resulting burst of compressed air is simply hellish. Even if someone with slightly weaker defenses doesn't get extremely close to the bomb, they could still suffocate from the blast.

Not to mention that it was in the small, enclosed space of the Black Feather Cocoon just now.

But why wasn't the girl injured? Shouldn't she have experienced a vacuum at the moment the explosive bomb was formed? Why was she unharmed?

"I see... Since you can compress a large amount of air into a bomb, it shouldn't be difficult to condense a small amount of air around your body to balance the air pressure... However, thanks to your attack just now, I've figured out your two weaknesses."

"... Oh? I'm all ears."

"First, when you switch places with the illusion, the illusion cannot overlap with anything else—whether it's a person or an object, otherwise, who knows how gruesome the corpse will be when you switch back; second, only your real body can create a localized vacuum condensed Air Bomb, those illusions can't do that."

"... Who knows? I don't know!"

"Don't get me wrong..." Black Crystal had returned to normal by now, her breathing even. "I'm not 'asking' you, I'm 'stating' you, which means I'm confident I've seen through your weakness."

"..."

"That makes things easier."

Fine Black Ghost feathers spread across Black Crystal's body, not forming a cocoon as before, but rather clinging tightly to her body like a carapace, leaving no gaps for Givinia.

"So, once we know your background, cracking your superpower won't be difficult."

The Black Feather Armor is immune to point-blank attacks, explosions, and vacuum isolation.

Sealing Givinia's powers was a piece of cake.

Givinia's expression also turned serious.

"So my special ability is more suited to assassination. If I fail in one strike, it won't be easy to succeed... It seems I'll need Miss Xiao's help."

The boy ran swiftly through the darkness.

On the road ahead, all living things are enemies and should be slaughtered.

The knife swung down, and blood-splattered carnage flew into the sky.

A powerful punch was delivered, and dark red internal organs splattered everywhere.

The sensation of kicking with both legs, breaking my spine, was so clear.

Occasionally, I'll stop and look back.

All that could be seen were bloodstains and corpses.

His gaze dimmed for a moment, then he rallied and continued his attack.

Time flies, and boys grow into young adults.

He is taller and more slender, his face is more handsome, and his strength is greater.

But his life remained unchanged.

They eke out a living day after day amidst extreme bloodshed and darkness.

There is no past, no present, and no future.

Even if you step onto a higher platform, the essence remains the same; it's just that you're now "at the mercy of others."

I thought I would live like a walking corpse, until my body and soul were buried in darkness.

But a simple undercover mission brought about a turning point.

He's in love.

When he saw the girl, who was like a flower blooming proudly in the wilderness, he felt his heart pounding for the first time in his life.

He probably never imagined that... simply falling in love with someone would revive his heart, which had been ashen.

While surprised and delighted, he also felt uneasy.

How should I express my love for her? Should I boldly pursue her? Am I, with my tainted past, truly worthy of her? Do I, with hands stained with blood, have the right to love someone? Will she dislike me if I rashly strike up a conversation? What kind of guy does she like? Will I be rejected right away?

If he could, he would imagine himself as a seasoned veteran in love, handling relationships with ease, but the reality was quite the opposite. Love was a completely new experience for him, who lived in darkness; his experience was even less than that of an elementary school boy.

Anyway, let's try to get closer to her.

Using his undercover identity, he initiated conversations with her under the guise of assigning tasks. He would arrive a few minutes early each time to inspect a mission so he could admire her fighting prowess. Occasionally, he would muster the courage to invite her out for a meal or a walk, though he was always rejected. But it didn't matter; if she disliked him, he could just give in. Even the feeling of being humiliated was wonderful when he was with her.

But that won't work.

He gradually realized that he couldn't truly communicate with her through ordinary methods.

Both he and she grew up in very extreme environments, and the number of times they had the opportunity to communicate properly with others using language was very limited.

His most effective means of communication, more than language, was killing.

Her preferred mode of communication is violence.

Upon realizing this, an unprecedented surge of exhilaration coursed through his mind.

From then on, he had a strong desire in his heart.

I want to fight her.

Because I love her, I want to understand her better.

Because I want to understand her, I want to fight her.

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.

He wanted to cut off her limbs, tear her throat, break her bones, and suck her blood.

But what if I actually kill him? What should I do then?

She was the light that shone into my heart; what would happen to me if that light were to fade?

At that point, we'll have no choice but to move forward.

Not as the self born in darkness, nor as the self infatuated with a young girl, but truly as "Ling Ye," forging my own path to live by my own will.

This was a true rebirth for him.

But what if we lose?

Need I say more?

To be killed by her would be the highest honor for him.

But simply dying is not enough.

Dying in an extreme battle that makes your brains boil is the only meaningful way to die.

"So..."

In the deep pit, which was more than ten meters deep, Ling Ye propped himself up.

"Kill me, my love..."

A stunningly beautiful girl is approaching him.

"Or, let me kill you—"

It stimulates every cell in the body, releasing the surging power within the flesh.

Cracks may appear on the skin, but that's okay; a moderate amount of pain is actually the best state.

The body's activity level has reached its peak.

Skip the complicated middle part and go straight to the climax.

He couldn't wait any longer.

"Sound speed, ten times faster!"

The items he carries are all specially made, made of specially processed super alloys, which can withstand speeds of up to ten times the speed of sound for a while.

A kick at ten times the speed of sound easily sliced through the earth, and the resulting storm of flying rocks forced even the girl to temporarily evade its force. With a light touch of his foot, spiderweb-like cracks instantly covered the entire ground. He shot into the sky at ten times the speed of sound, creating a sandstorm like a long dragon, and abruptly stopped in mid-air, amidst Xiao Wu's astonished gaze—if she could even see it clearly—scattering his entire body of small knives at ten times the speed of sound!

"Breaking Army - Give it your all!!!"

The explosive force of the scattering was earth-shattering. Most of the knives were caught in it, and the collision of kinetic energy and the explosion destroyed them completely. Nearly twenty knives broke through the defenses, but their speed was greatly reduced to less than twice the speed of sound.

Xiao Wu seemed to relax for a moment, probably realizing that the remaining throwing knives could no longer cause harm.

Little did she know that she had fallen into Ling Ye's web.

Ling Ye remained suspended in mid-air.

The knife was still less than ten meters from the ground.

Although it was close to the speed of sound, it appeared stationary to Ling Ye.

"Secret Technique--"

At Ling Ye, it kicked the air and swooped down!

" --Slaughter Space!"

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The exams are over! Although there were many unpleasant things, they're finally over!