The Long-Awaited Return from Beyond the Grave: My Dearest (3)
"So... tell me, how many times have we met for the first time?"
"..."
She didn't answer me; instead, her smile grew even brighter.
Like a rose in full, dazzling bloom.
Roses don't need acting skills; their blooming is their performance in itself, requiring no further action.
Therefore, it is both a performer and a spectator.
While displaying their own beauty, they also expose the ugliness of others.
When I thought I had just stepped onto the stage and the curtain hadn't even risen yet, she was already enjoying my ugliness as both an actor and an audience member.
"Don't play dumb... Answer me, how many times has this been? How many times have I repeated this boring 'first meeting' before my daughters accidentally found out?"
"Hmm... how many times did I repeat it? Who knows? But this is the first time I've found out you have two daughters. I didn't even notice in those mountains. Was I too excited and my attention was all on you?"
She was tidying her sideburns, which were curled into exaggerated spirals, and her tone was very cheerful.
"Then let me rephrase my question..."
My hands clenched involuntarily.
My jaw is chattering.
Because of fear? Not really, it's probably because of excitement.
There were simply too many flowers—a total of 700 million—so even if there were a slight reduction, I wouldn't have noticed it immediately. That's probably the root cause of the flaw, isn't it?
Am I at a disadvantage? Not necessarily. What she's doing right now proves it from the opposite perspective—she's given up on fighting me to some extent. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
"I ask you, in my world, how many of those blooming Lycoris radiata are missing?"
"..."
"To be precise... Winsani, how many times have you tried to kill me without success before being forced to resort to this second-best method?"
"'Forced'? You're mistaken, Ye. I've never been forced by you, or rather, I hate being forced to do things. Part of the reason I'm like this is because of my own desire. The most information is always obtained at the first meeting. I want to understand you better, and understand the heir of that guy I both love and hate..."
"So you chose to repeat yourself endlessly? Just to understand me? Or perhaps you want to wear me down or toy with me? You're probably going to be disappointed. My resistance to so-called 'reincarnation' is now incredibly strong! You know what? My thirst for power is actually extremely intense, so strong that I even doubt if I'm a villain! I hate being bound, but I don't hate the so-called shackles of fate. Even if fate is locked, the heart remains free. Calculating the results of deviating from fate using its formula—that feeling is simply amazing! But power is absolutely essential. I hate dying, and I hate losing. I've been tortured to the point of near death countless times by all sorts of enemies." Many times, I crawled on the ground like a worm, writhing and struggling, gasping for breath, just to live a little longer! It wasn't suffering for nothing, after all, I was always the last one standing! But it wasn't enough, not nearly enough. Every time I defeated a powerful enemy, I felt empty. I never understood this emptiness before, but now I do! I've never felt the joy of battle, never enjoyed fighting; I've only been forced to face one incomparably strong bastard after another! You probably don't know, but until a year ago, I was just an ordinary college student, never experiencing a life-or-death struggle, not even the most basic thrill. Completely lacking in all areas, I had absolutely no combat awareness, fighting skills, or warrior mentality! So think about it, what sustained me through all this time? Was it the incomplete power of my Blood Fiend back then? The cliché of companions or friendship? A sense of responsibility? Wrong, it was instinct! It was the survival instinct etched deep within the genes of any living being! I don't know how I did it, but when my body and mind were pushed to their limits, my consciousness became even calmer, so calm that it felt like I was controlling a character through a screen rather than actually fighting! Do you understand now? Everything under extreme conditions felt like an incredibly realistic game; those who survived... Instinct screamed and roared, whipping my consciousness to force myself to calm down. Following my instincts, I devised one scheme after another, unleashing one random skill after another, all while remaining passive! But that was before my super evolution. Thinking about it now, I should really thank that bastard. I now have power, power comparable to your high-ranking members. This means I can finally take the initiative in battle, not forced by survival instincts but fighting you out of my own will! I can finally engage in an equal contest, finally enjoy the battle. So I'm incredibly excited right now!
I blurted out everything I wanted to say in one breath, my breathing becoming a little erratic. Even my wife was taken aback by my sudden outburst of emotion. A strange surge of emotion welled up inside me. Oh no, I'm so excited! What's with this uncontrollable excitement? Joy? It must be joy! I'm wildly joyful to be able to compete on equal footing with a high-ranking villain I'd always thought was unattainable! I will give it my all for her, I will use every trick in the book to win, even if—
"--Even though I'm trapped in this illusion that's repeated countless times, and I've forgotten our fierce battle before, I'm still full of fighting spirit!"
"Mom, Mom? What happened? I don't understand—ah!"
I grabbed Little Butterfly and the Sick Spider, who were still bewildered by what was happening. The gushing blood pushed them off the stage and into the audience. Then came my resistance.
"You realized that killing me outright was too far off, so you used your voice to interfere with my will and create this illusion, right? Actually, we'd already started fighting, and I was quickly killed by you in my first battle against the higher-ups. You were disappointed, but then a surprise appeared! The life force within me far exceeded your imagination; no matter how you kill me, I'll revive. So you used some special skill—blocking my memories—to create this illusion, making me 'meet you for the first time' in this tower again and again—and each time it restarts, the previous memory is erased! You keep repeating this, keeping me locked up here, letting me wear myself down without realizing it, while you just act and watch the show!"
But--
"My beloved daughter, whom I've been separated from for so long, just happened to barge in, adding an element of complexity. Ultimately, I realized this was just a recurring hallucination, a simple yet dangerous form of brainwashing! But the solution is equally simple: if you're doing this to subdue me without killing me—then I just need to die again!!!"
The heat in my chest was pounding wildly, the powerful throbbing almost making me forget that I no longer had a heart. The immense energy was compressed, burning, burning even more fiercely, preferably to the point of blasting away the annoying holy light filling the sky!
Why do these two people look so alike?
Especially the point about "going crazy with a very rational mindset"—doing extremely extreme and biased things with a calm mind and passion mixed with reason.
But they're not quite the same.
This woman named Ye is fundamentally different from Blood Fiend, and her differences are difficult to describe in words and cannot be explained.
But it doesn't matter anymore.
The lady now even felt that it didn't matter if the woman in front of her wasn't Heir of Warrenstein.
If her interest in Ye was previously based on her being Heir of Warrenstein, now it's purely out of interest in the character of "Ye".
"... Ha, hahaha... That's amazing! You're so amazing! Every minute with you is full of surprises! Come on, let me see how much more surprising you can be!!! Haha..."
Never before has the passion in my heart erupted so intensely.
Even the air, thick with the heat of the Blood Flame, couldn't extinguish the burning passion within her.
Right before her, an immense, chilling heat was churning and coalescing. Wisps of brilliant, crimson flames shot from the peach-haired woman's body, circling her once before flowing into her heart! Thump, thump, her heartbeat grew increasingly violent. A hazy light emanated from her left chest, like a lamp illuminating a lampshade, and it was vaguely visible that what should have been her heart had been replaced by something else!
"Flowers... the flowers of the Lycoris radiata!? Flowers of the underworld, the condensation of life... Is this why you possess so much life? Truly—"
How beautiful!
At first, the flower was just a hazy shadow, but in a few breaths it turned into a bright red, and finally the whole thing turned into a dazzling gold! However, in contrast to the increasingly bright colors, the Lycoris radiata itself began to wither, the overblown petals became loose, the stamens began to wilt, and only the golden light grew stronger and stronger!
"How... how about this? This is for you... it's the life I'm currently using... plus several lives combined... a truly great gift..."
Her fragmented words mirrored her physical condition perfectly—cracks spread across her body, and scalding blood flowed continuously, instantly obliterating the corundum floor tiles upon contact with the blood! Blood oozed from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, leaving eerie, crimson streaks! Yet even so, her eyes retained a rational madness, controlling her frenzy with an unexpectedly powerful rationality!
"Although... you probably already know... I'll still remind you... that life... is... a consumable for me!"
Just as the flowers began to wither—
"The crimson of the other shore... blooms in the sky... burst forth, Summer Blossom Fireworks!!!!"
Outside the Cathedral of the True God, and in the Gloria City, monsters roam freely, presenting a striking scene.
The area within the Cathedral of the True God presents a completely different scene.
Everywhere you looked, there was blood, blood, and more blood.
The blood in this entire complex had accumulated to a depth of over two meters, covering the streets and other buildings. Blood patterns were also visible on the buildings, with flames or Blood Beast emerging from them from time to time. Holy light shone on the surface of the blood pool, creating eerie ripples. The buildings, which were already partially destroyed, were now completely mangled—collapsed, burning, or pulverized by some unknown force—making it a veritable postmodern ruins art gallery.
And at the very top of the only relatively intact spire.
A dazzling display of fireworks swept away everything.