Volume Six: What She Lost · What I Gained - Surprise

"Hey, Sin Annihilation- chan, I've come up with a battle plan... or rather, a method that might influence the course of the battle at a crucial moment, and I need your help."

The pink-haired woman spoke to the gray-haired girl.

"Use your chest to block their view?"

"When did you learn to be sarcastic... I'm being serious!"

She cleared her throat, sounding rather affected.

"Xiao Wu told me about the general process of how you teamed up to take down the boss. You used some kind of special skill back then, right?"

Which one are you referring to?

If we're talking about special moves, each one is quite unique.

"That's it, the feeling of completely breaking down your body into countless interconnected cells, and then merging with Xiao Wu, right? Like some kind of enhanced armor worn inside your body."

"Well... it's possible, but my current strength is equivalent to when I was sealed away, so this kind of thing..."

"Oh, so it's not possible now?"

"That's possible, but let alone strengthening her physique, just breaking her body apart and infiltrating it into Xiao Wu's body would be extremely difficult."

"I see... But 'very barely' means it's still possible with some effort, right? Can I ask you for a favor?"

"... Um."

Sin Annihilation tilted his head. This woman could so easily ask others to do such difficult things. Was she oblivious to other people's troubles? Or did she notice but deliberately turn a blind eye? It must be the latter. Just as Xiao Wu said, she was very reliable but had a terrible personality, a double-edged sword.

Her face held an expression that didn't match her friendly and approachable tone; it was a half-smile, her eyes seemed empty and murky, and to be honest, there was a hint of eeriness in her beauty.

Suddenly, Sin Annihilation understood why Xiao Wu had told her, "Beginners shouldn't approach Ye rashly; spending too much time with her will make you act strangely."

So says the beautiful creature:

"Suppose I wanted you to humble yourself and play the role of a wooden doll inside the body of the woman you love most for at least three hours, not coming out until you're sure you can take down at least one of the Extra Weapon, and not making a single move even if your beloved woman's life is threatened... Would you agree?"

So he agreed.

He could only watch helplessly as Xiao Wu Sin Annihilation before the perfect moment to strike—something that Zimei should never have done. But why did he agree to Ye's request and faithfully carry out the mission to the very end? Perhaps Ye truly possessed a captivating charm... or perhaps even a bewitching allure.

When Xiao Wu was struck by an unknown power and lost herself in excruciating pain, Sin Annihilation in the same agony. If her body hadn't disintegrated, she would have screamed, but she held back, because if she couldn't control herself, all her efforts over the past few hours would have been in vain.

And now, finally--

"... Finally, the flaws were exposed!"

Countless extremely fine cells reassembled into a human shape, and the arms transformed into tentacles with sharp teeth the instant they recovered, sweeping towards everyone present except for Ye Xiao Wu, who was lying on the ground!

Not only that, her whole body emitted a shimmering light. During her time inside Xiao Wu's body, she used her ability to control her body to create cells that could emit powerful bio-light. During the recombination process, she distributed these cells evenly throughout her body, making herself a luminous being. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about her shadow entering the Shadow Domain!

Gurgle...

My body is in so much pain.

My current physical condition is equivalent to that of myself during the period when I was sealed away.

Even ordinary combat requires effort, let alone advanced techniques like "breaking the whole body into cellular plasmodesmata," which can only be used in a fully evolved state.

To have managed to remain hidden inside Xiao Wu's body in this state for over three hours was nothing short of a miracle.

But the price is extreme physical discomfort, a pain that feels like it will completely collapse at the slightest relaxation, a pain even the Sin Annihilation cannot endure.

When Ye proposed this plan to himself, did he also consider this miracle?

At that time--

"... However, no matter what, even if Xiao Wu agrees, maintaining that state for more than three hours is still too strenuous for me."

"First you said 'very reluctantly,' and now you say 'it's too hard,' but neither of those is a complete denial. So, do you want to accept or reject it? Are you chickening out?"

"No, no! But if I can't hold on while she's inside me, both of us might..."

"Then you'd better endure it."

"... Eh?"

Sin thought he had misheard, but found Ye looking at him with an expression that said, "It's only natural that you've gone this far."

"Is this all the love you have for Xiao Wu?"

"Of course not! I'm willing to give my all for Xiao Wu! But love, love and all that..."

"Isn't that enough? This level of pain and risk can be overcome with love. Love can work miracles—that's the truth, so give me some faith in love."

At the time, it sounded like a completely illogical and absurd statement.

As she said, she succeeded.

His love for Xiao Wu kept him going.

As long as we hold on until the very last moment--

"What--"

Seeing the sharp blade on the tentacle that was closing in on him in an instant, Wanhua Xing's mind went blank.

His soul seemed to have detached from his body, watching from a third-person perspective as the blade pierced his chest, yet his body remained completely immobile.

Why wasn't the gray-haired woman Shadow Seal? The answer is obvious.

Chi Ying can only seal those whose "shadows have entered her Shadow Domain".

She remained hidden inside the White-Haired Girl's body, so her shadow naturally wouldn't be exposed to the outside world or cast into the Shadow Domain.

After the gray-haired woman appeared, her body kept glowing, so she wouldn't cast any shadow!

A humanoid weapon suddenly appeared in front of the four people in the room who had no close combat skills.

He will die.

Wanhua Xing had no doubt that he would die.

In that case... wouldn't I no longer be able to be affectionate with Meng Li- chan?

--After all that, only this one thought remains.

Just as the blade pierced his chest—

"Onii-chan!!!!"

As if her soul had left her body, Wanhua Xing instantly snapped back to reality, feeling as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and at the same time, a soft impact sent her flying.

Pfft!!!

What came into her view was her dearest person, whose chest had been pierced by tentacles and sharp blades.

Large amounts of blood flowed from his mouth and chest, and his delicate limbs twitched.

Even so, he still tried his best to smile and said,

"Unnie... chan... let's go..."

Wanhua Xing was stunned for a moment, then rushed out the door like a madman, and the moment he stepped out, a deafening wail erupted.

As for the attacker, Zui Sin Annihilation was also taken aback by this turn of events. She never expected Su Mengli to suddenly rush over and risk her life to save Wanhua Xing. The momentary distraction caused her to stop her movements, and the brief pause prevented her from killing all the enemies at once.

"Damn it... damn it... damn it, damn... a bunch of useless trash!!!!!!!!!"

Just as Casey was about to unleash her powers, she was interrupted. Seizing the opportunity, she took advantage of being closest to the door and ran out of the lounge, roaring as she ran. Sensing danger, Sin Annihilation reacted immediately, his tentacles unleashing blades like darts at him. But he had already made a sharp turn and disappeared around the corner. One blade pierced his shoulder deeply, and another grazed his side, but this was certainly not enough to stop Casey, who was fleeing with all her might.

(Hateful!)

Overwhelmed with Sin Annihilation, she realized that killing these four people would have been a piece of cake under normal circumstances, yet she had let two escape! A momentary lapse in concentration was not the main reason; the problem lay in her body, which had become sluggish due to intense pain!

"At least..."

At least two remain.

Sin Annihilation glanced at Su Mengli, who was bleeding profusely from being pierced by tentacles, and had the tentacles disperse into a thin film to wrap her up. In just a few seconds, she was completely decomposed into pure nutrients and absorbed by Sin Annihilation, but this amount was not enough to eliminate the physical pain and fatigue.

"One left..."

Forcing himself to stand up as if he could collapse at any moment, Sin Annihilation turned to the large box on the shelf.

Everyone had previously ignored it. After all, Ye and Sin Annihilation had investigated, and there was a warning net set up by the Sick Spider outside. Everyone naturally assumed that there was no one in the room before them, but they had clearly made a big mistake.

Judging from what Casey just said, the person hiding under this cardboard box and trembling seems to have some special means of evading Ye's Blood Energy perception.

"No... please... don't kill me... don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me, I don't want to die..."

A weak, incoherent plea for mercy came from under the box. It was a very delicate female voice, sounding only thirteen or fourteen years old, and quite pitiful.

Unfortunately, she faced the Sin Annihilation.

It's colder than winter when facing the enemy.

"... Who cares about you? You must die."

Xiao Wu and Ye almost died once because of negligence during a room inspection; now, even the slightest bit of womanly compassion could lead to a terrible mistake.

"No--no no no--don't--"

"Goodbye." Click!

The box, along with the person underneath, was split in two.

One of the earliest Extra Weapon, the strange man who had been hiding his body under cover, has finally revealed his true identity.

"... What is this?"

What appeared beneath the box was a small body that had been cut in half at the waist.

Its entire body is made of metal.

The first thing that came to mind when thinking about Sin Annihilation was some kind of mechanical doll, but if it was a doll, it was far too intricate. Although the face only had a black lens of unknown purpose (acting as a camera for eyes) and a hole covered with a black net (like the mouth of a mini speaker), the dense lines exposed on the cut surface were still quite astonishing.

There was also a line of text above its head. "Julia - Carbon-based Biological Backup Body No. 14".

"..."

I think I understand the meaning of Sin Annihilation a little better now.

This girl named Chi Ying should have been in an ordinary physical body during the container ship incident, but later, in order to remain hidden and avoid Ye's Blood Energy perception—

"Replacing the entire flesh body with metal? What kind of technology is that...?"

Sin Annihilation, who knew nothing about technology, naturally had no idea that Julia was behind it.

But whatever happens, happens.

The important thing is--

"Uh... cough cough... recovered...?"

"This is really, really bad..."

Su Mengli's death, her supernatural powers naturally dissipated, and the two who had almost fallen into an abyss of no return finally woke up slowly.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a bit late to update...

Midterms are finally over, but there's no time to rest... Sigh.