Volume Four: Fading from the World of Men - Chapter 354: Hostage

"Ah... ah ah... ah..."

On the shattered ground of the warehouse area, Little Ying sat blankly beside the deep pit created by Tianlu's Demon Extermination Holy Thunder Burial, uttering a low, unintelligible murmur.

Tianlu used that move to completely destroy his sister's body.

Long, deep purple hair, purple eyes, fair skin, elegant appearance, and a slender figure—a beautiful body that embodied all these qualities was destroyed, leaving not a single cell behind.

At this moment, Little Ying was in a state of near-shutdown.

If things had unfolded according to the typical literary works she had read, she should now be running to her sister's body, grieving and sobbing uncontrollably, then glaring at the murderer with gritted teeth.

However, there was no corpse, and Tianlu didn't even glance at her.

To be precise—before that, Little Ying was completely at a loss.

What filled my heart was not a deep sorrow, nor intense anger, nor hysterical madness, but a profound emptiness, utterly devoid of feeling.

Everything happened too suddenly and too fast.

It happened so fast that she couldn't emotionally accept this fact yet.

So now she doesn't even know how to proceed.

However, this situation is only temporary.

Even if a still somewhat immature mind finds it difficult or even refuses to accept the facts, as time goes by, the cruel truth will slowly dissolve in a solvent called the spirit, spreading to every corner of her existence, impossible to dispel or eliminate.

"Waaah..."

The seeds of sorrow have been sown in my heart, inevitably growing and flourishing, stretching out vines called pain to entangle my soul and inject poison.

"Waaah... Waaah..."

Sadness and pain spread, raged, overflowed, and finally spilled from the heart, turning into tangible tears that flowed outwards.

"Waaaaah... Waaaaahhhhhh..."

It's so ugly.

Feeling completely lost, all I could do at that moment was cry.

Too weak.

I thought I had become strong enough, but I never imagined that I would only be able to watch my loved ones leave me.

That's utterly useless.

The most tragic thing is that he couldn't even kill Tianlu to avenge himself; the difference in strength was simply too great.

That's ridiculous.

Xiao Wu can be enraged by the death of her friend, and she can commit suicide alone against the Heavenly Law in order to avenge him. If she could, she would like to be like the protagonist in a novel, and she would completely erupt and kill her enemies because of the death of her loved ones, instead of being here and unable to do anything but cry.

Thinking about it carefully, Xiao and Little Ying actually had very little interaction. Although they were sisters and from the same family, they were very different in terms of ability and personality. The older sister spent most of her time alone in her room reading. After being admitted to the Central United Academy, she only went home during holidays. Most of their memories of being together were of the older sister forcing a smile and playing around with her when they were very young.

Logically speaking, their feelings for each other shouldn't be very deep.

Sometimes Little Ying couldn't help but think that if the two, who were from the same family but lacked communication, were to be separated forever one day, the one left behind wouldn't feel too bad, would they?

Thinking about it now—I wish that were true.

The truth was that she was already sobbing uncontrollably over her sister's death. Watching her own sister being dismembered and blasted to smithereens before her eyes shattered her will in an instant, leaving only a thick, dark mass of grief and fear that clung to her, tormented her, and mocked her.

Just then, I heard footsteps.

The smell of blood is so strong.

The smell of blood was so strong that it overpowered the smell of gunpowder and dust; even Blood Corpse could not compare.

When it comes to blood, only one person comes to mind.

"Waaaaaah... Xiao Ye?"

"Hey, Little Ying, I was worried something had happened to you too, but you're all fine."

Little Ying wiped away her tears and turned to look. There she was again, with her beautiful long pink hair and stunningly beautiful face. She tilted her head and greeted herself.

"Are you really okay? Why are you crying so hard..."

"I... I'm fine! But, but, but! Sister, sister..."

My sister is dead.

He was killed by the Heavenly Law.

Not even a corpse was left.

Before these words could be uttered, they were choked back by sobs.

"Yes, Xiao... I saw it from afar, but it was too far away to get there in time. If only I had set off sooner."

"...?"

At this moment, emotions other than sadness and pain finally appeared in her heart.

She suddenly felt confused.

Why... does it feel so out of place?

"Let's sit down and talk, you bitch Tianlu, otherwise I might accidentally cut off this useless Saintess's head."

"Eh... Eh? Where is this? Where are the bishop and the captain of the guard? Why--Eh!? Below is--ruins? What, what happened--" The Virgo Saintess, who had just been woken up and was confused, twisted her body and looked around like a startled rabbit. The person facing her was the last to notice her.

"Your Excellency is... eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh lord Tianlu!!!??? Why why did you come here!? What happened--woo!"

Startled and speechless, Vergo suddenly fell silent.

The reason is simple.

Snow Moon's sword blade sank slightly into her neck, and the flowing blood stained the blade red.

"You have no right to speak here, little Saintess, so shut your mouth."

In fact, Haoyue didn't even need to say a word; the killing intent she emitted was enough to make this novice Saintess go limp.

Why, why did this happen to me?! I've only been in office for a month, and this was supposed to be my first important official trip, but suddenly there was a riot outside, all the guards died inexplicably, and after being unconscious for so long, I woke up to find myself a hostage, facing the incomparably noble, holy, and majestic Lord Celestial Law! Viergo felt like she wanted to die!

"... Don't touch the Saintess of the Holy See with your blood-stained hands, Blasphemers!" Tian Lu's voice was filled with both murderous intent and rage.

"I really don't want you to say things like 'bloodstained hands.' Since we're all civilized people, why can't we resolve this through negotiation?"

"Presumptuous!"

Never in his past life had Tianlu lost his composure so easily! What was this newly appeared sinner up to? How dare he use the Saintess to blackmail him into negotiations?

"... You mean, outrageous?"

Crack! A flash of sword light.

Vergo's left ear flew off.

The moment she screamed, long, slender fingers pressed down on a point on her neck, forcibly silencing her.

"You!!!"

"I'm not kidding."

The bright moon is still smiling.

A sweet, perfect, and absolutely beautiful smile.

Too much beauty makes it seem unreal.

Like a mask about to crack open.

"Please get this straight, you bitch, to be honest, I'm in a really bad mood right now..."

Her eyes, which had been narrowed into two crescent moons, opened slightly.

"To be honest, I've never disliked Xiao. Although she's a gloomy woman with a tragic aura, I've seriously considered her as one of my threesome candidates, you know?"

The corners of his mouth gradually drooped.

"She wouldn't disturb anyone by staying there quietly. Before I knew it, I'd gotten used to seeing a girl reading and blending into the scenery, and I'd even considered giving her some encouragement..."

His eyebrows furrowed.

"When I get angry, even I can't guarantee what I might do."

The grip on the sword tightened.

"Hostage hostages? Guilty or not? Cruel or not? Innocent or not? Moral standards? Conviction? Who cares about any of that?"

Another flash of sword light, and two of Vergo's fingers were severed. With her throat being choked, she could only groan and moan.

"I just want to end this mess through normal means before I do anything completely irreversible... Do you understand now?"

Tian Lu frowned deeply, almost squeezing out the words through clenched teeth.

"So, you're using her to threaten me?"

"She's just a bargaining chip; what matters is her status Saintess. The Vatican, which claims to be the embodiment of love, justice, kindness, and peace, certainly won't let their precious little Saintess die at the hands of thugs, right? Because that would be tantamount to slapping themselves in the face."

"So, what are your requirements...?"

"Stop your pointless and meaningless slaughter, stop all aggressive behavior, and stop interfering in today's affairs, and I'll give this little brat back to you, how about it?"

How?

Heavenly Law replaced words with actions.

She slowly extended her hand to Vergo.

The Hand of Redemption.

To Vergo, who was on the verge of collapse, this hand seemed like the hand of God that had pulled her out of danger.

"Gulp... Heavenly Law... My Lord... Thank you..."

Then,

"Demon-Slaying Holy Arrow"

"--Why!?"

At the last moment, Haoyue suddenly tilted her head, and the wind stirred up by the arrow of light pressed down on her cheek, leaving a bloody mark.

"You..."

Turning my head to the side, I saw Vergo's headless corpse.

Her head had been struck head-on by the beam of light, leaving only the severed part of her neck still emitting wisps of smoke.

"Hey, hey, hey... no way... you... you really dare to do that?"

Even Haoyue was a little surprised.

Although we had prepared for the worst, such a thing—the Second Goddess of the Divine Law Cult killing one of her Saintess without hesitation—was truly unheard of.

That attack was clearly aimed at both of them at the same time, but Haoyue dodged it by tilting her head, while the defenseless Vergo didn't even have time to react.

Even the most sacred beings will be corrupted if they are used by evil. To prevent a grave mistake, action must be taken; therefore, priority... is postponed.

Priority is applied later.

These five short words determined the life or death of a Saintess.

"Haha... Hey... Isn't that a bit much?"

The bargaining chip that had been specially sought out was thus destroyed, simply because the Heavenly Law judged that "Velgo being captured by the Rebel Army and used as a bargaining chip would further damage the interests of the Papacy."

So he decisively killed his own people.

"You bitch... you're even more ruthless than me."

"Once we get back, we'll have the spirit medium perform a ritual to help her pass on. But you... prepare to die!"

"Xiao Ye? You... you're acting a bit strange."

"Really? I think I'm pretty normal..."

My hair wasn't messed up, and I didn't break any arms or legs; there was nothing strange about it.

"Huh? No, that's not what I meant, but..."

She was somewhat incoherent. Was it because her sister's death had hit her too hard, or was she simply unsure how to organize her thoughts to express her feelings?

"Xiao Ye..."

"Yes, I'm listening."

"My sister... she's dead... ah?"