Act 6: Who Are You?

[Part 1: The Torture and Bitter Battle]

You won't survive two rounds.

Meteor rose to his feet, sword in hand, and declared his attack to his opponent.

"At this point—I can smell the stench on you! It's the smell of Blood-giving Monster!"

"This scent slowly began to emanate from me."

"This is fucking infuriating!"

Old Bones: "It's an eye for an eye provocation, and a tooth for a tooth retaliation. Mr. Derrick Jokic, you're in for the next two rounds to face the wrath of the General of Tears."

The unicorn warrior vanished silently.

--Bu Liuxing has dispelled the special psionic power of [Mr. Wei Meng Rap]. His attacks will no longer be hindered by his own soul power. The duel contract he made with Old Bones has expired, and he can freely choose his target.

His heavy yet steady steps crushed the bench and stomped on the cabinet door. His seemingly long run-up and jump carried the meteor into the air in just two or three seconds—this was what he excelled at.

Find a high vantage point, utilize your weight and weapon advantage, and combine the power of your muscles with the immense potential energy generated by your charge to perform a powerful leap and strike!

The die slid down the hem of the meteor's garment from its inner pocket, and when it landed, it left a less fortunate number.[7]

Derrick Jokic's head-on dice result was [13], and the old man was lucky.

What will happen at this moment under the interference of [Sing For Me]'s spiritual power?

Faced with the powerful and heavy slashing execution, the Grandfather was almost scared out of his wits. He didn't have time to dodge at all— the General of Tears was like a human cannonball, using the momentum of the tables, chairs, cabinets, and doors to leap and jump, his downward slashing strike was so fast and so ruthless!

But the result was not as expected. Berloberg landed squarely on the ceiling beam of the porch, falling down with Meteor's body—he jumped too high!

The Old Bones, not even looking up. "Ouch, it must hurt so much!"

It really hurt. A Xing felt like his spine was about to break. He first slid forward on both legs, his vest slamming hard against the floor. Then, his unbalanced body carried Berloberg in a tackle, dragging Derek onto the porch. The two rolled onto the lawn outside the church, covered in bruises and looking utterly disheveled.

When Meteor got up, he could see that the little finger and ring finger of his right hand were broken and could not be closed properly.

Derrick Jokic was sent flying by the General of Tears's tackle. He fell even further, but suffered few external injuries. He looked at his enemy, who was now within arm's reach, panting and still shaken.

The Old Bones slowly floated out of the dressing room; the meteor's turn was over.

"General of Tears, in the next round you must keep your promise. Sometimes, your own words can become a knife that stabs you—it makes you feel ashamed, it makes you lose patience."

Meteor wanted to say something, but he was too unable to speak.

[Sing For Me] displayed terrifying psychic power during the dice reconciliation, far exceeding Meteor's comprehension.

--This seems to be a power that transcends the boundaries of time and space, capable of arbitrarily altering cause and effect.

He had clearly already taken eighteen steps, perfectly utilizing his diligently practiced greatsword skills, making a full-force stepping motion to maintain his aerial posture, and the timing was perfect for his slash.

But all because of a single die! Berloberg actually managed to strike a steel beam in the ceiling?!

He doubted himself more than once.

Was it because I didn't observe my surroundings carefully? Was I just careless?

--Berloberg can't cut through the beam? He can even shave a gap in the church's coffered ceiling, yet his greatsword is blocked by this beam? The moment the dice landed, my fate was completely in the hands of Gloria Sebastian!?

No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you struggle, even if it's a three-year-old child rolling dice, it seems that as long as you're lucky enough, you can defeat the world's strongest martial arts master.

"It's my turn," Mr. Derek stammered, terrified by the power of the General of Tears.

Hehehehe.

He gave a dry, cold laugh, trying to bolster his courage.

"I never imagined your spirit was so powerful."

"Don't worry, I won't approach you in spirit form again!"

"If I take another punch, [The Grand Design] will probably be completely destroyed, and then I will definitely lose!"

"General of Tears, how much more blood can you bleed?! If this attack succeeds, you'll lose all your mobility due to blood loss, won't you?!"

One after another, sharp shuttles were thrown from Derek's hands!

With just one action, his exquisite and swift masterful technique unleashed thirty-two deadly hidden weapons.

These projectiles, almost hemispherical in shape, pierced the vital points of the stationary meteor.

--They hovered in mid-air, the nearest shuttle only fifteen centimeters from A Xing's eyes.

"You've conquered your fear!" Old Bones applauded Mr. Derek's masterpiece. "Under such high pressure, you were still able to calmly assess the situation, utilize your expertise, and launch a brilliant attack that cornered the enemy! Will it work? Roll the dice!"

Even as Derek lost his mobility, he remained in the throwing motion, making no defenses and no plans for the next round of cooperation. The dice emerged from his sleeve and ultimately landed on [8].

Meteor was covered in cold sweat. He slipped the dice out of his collar and saw the enemy's roll. He was somewhat relieved. As long as it was higher than [8], he would be exempt from the attack.

But the result was still unsatisfactory. His dice rolled into the weeds on the ground. It was originally going to go towards [20], but it ended up stopping at [1]. The dice was tilted and leaned against a slender blade of grass.

"Ah," the Old Bones said with a face full of regret, "It was so close, General of Tears, what a pity, so close. Life is like that too, as delicate as a tender blade of grass, it weakens with the slightest effort."

"Pfft!"

The spinning shuttle pierced firmly into the meteor's body!

He could barely mount any effective defense! Because the offensive action in the previous round would inevitably recall [Wham Rap], Mr. Wei Meng's attack worked, and it landed a critical hit!

Four shuttles were driven into Meteor's face, blinding him in one eye on the spot. The cold iron rod pierced his eyeball, causing the vitreous humor to rupture and blood to gush out. He felt that part of his brain tissue was being compressed!

A large, bright red hand emerged from the skull. [Mr. Wei Meng Rap], the one-horned warrior who had not yet sworn an oath of protection and had no duelist, was desperately trying to save himself. However, he was weak and powerless, and could only deflect these deadly arrows near his fragile skull, unable to protect the flesh around his eyes.

Six holes pierced his heart and lungs, and his forearms, upper arms, and both legs were riddled with bloody wounds. The large spinning shuttle had almost squeezed his muscles to a whole size larger! Derek Jokic's dart-throwing technique, combined with his monstrous strength, could produce projectiles at a terrifying speed of 130 meters per second!

Blood was everywhere! From the meteorite as the center, radiating streaks of blood sprayed out four or five meters away—he was on the verge of death, completely on the verge of Gate of Death!

He could no longer hold onto Berloberg; he was almost exhausted. Although he was only two or three meters away from Derek, he could no longer get close to his target.

If I were to attack Derrick Jokic with [Mr. Wei Meng Rap], the damage I could inflict would be very limited. Furthermore, in subsequent rounds, Soul Might would target this enemy, and only with this battered and tattered body could I inflict any damage. This is [Mr. Wei Meng Rap]'s dueling rule, and it is also my soul!

My left hand has lost a layer of skin and flesh; it has lost too much blood, it has become cold, and it is unresponsive.

What about my right hand? With two fingers missing, I can't even hold the sword; it's a burden to Berloberg!

I still have the Universal Elixir on me, right in my inner pocket, but without pulling out these spinning shuttles, even after stopping the bleeding, I still won't have the strength to finish the fight with a single blow! My body will be worn down by these accumulated lumps, pustules, and blood clots!

Bu Liuxing! Calm down!

Your right eye is blurry! You've lost your ability to judge distances! You can't afford to lose your fighting instincts too!

Think carefully! How do we keep our promise? How do we defeat this monster this round?

Observe carefully, observe carefully.

[Part ②: Deceiving the Devil]

At that moment, Meteor suddenly turned to look at the entrance to the porch.

He looked at the girl who had been following Derrick Jokic—

--The singer's attire was somewhat strange. From the beginning, Meteor felt that the father and daughter were frighteningly thin, eerily thin.

He had been watching stage plays with Bu Mei's mother since he was a child, and he had seen many costumes and props on the actors, but he had never seen such a form-fitting, exquisitely tailored, and seamless dress. It was like a parasite, clinging tightly to this little singer.

Thinking of this, Meteor suddenly twisted his body and exerted force, causing more blood to spurt from the wounds on his waist and abdomen.

The skin and muscle fibers that were attached to Berloberg and his arm, influenced by [The Grand Design], continued to exert their effects, restricting Meteor's upper limb movements—Meteor held the greatsword almost in a suicide pose, resting it on his right shoulder.

The blade began to glow, and the near-thousand-degree heat rapidly melted flesh and blood. Since the little finger and ring finger of the right hand were already fractured, the process was very smooth.

The Old Bones also became dazed; he couldn't understand what the General of Tears was trying to do.

The meteor wants to sever this arm, to unleash the White God's blade.

He only has one chance.

Derrick Jokic's daughter is dead!

He saw things clearly and understood them thoroughly.

The fabric of that singer's costume was almost identical to the "flesh and blood fabric" of his twisted and deformed hands and arms—it was a garment tightly woven from muscle and skin, conforming to the fascia and bones! This was also part of [The Grand Design], the spirit body of Derrick Jokic!

At the moment Berloberg severed his arm, tearing flesh from his body, no dice appeared.

The old tailor's face turned pale, suffering further mental damage from the spiritual trauma.

Immediately afterwards! The scorching hot blade emitted wisps of blue smoke, and along with the arm, Meteor hurled Berloberg away!

The old tailor could only watch helplessly! He wanted to roll the counter dice, but he was powerless! Because the greatsword wasn't aimed at him at all, but at the singer!

His greatest work! His most talented design!

His most precious daughter, Christina Don! The apple of his eye!

Under Berloberg's hammering and cutting, the blade pierced the zombie singer's shoulder and neck, then into her abdomen, almost cutting her in two!

A clump of dark hemp thread emerged from the singer's dress, and was torn into pieces of rag by the scorching red blade!

The meteor's rotation ended, but Derrick Jokic couldn't move an inch anymore!

His soul power was severely damaged, and he was unable to maintain his basic form. He fell into a state of limbo and stepped into the Gate of Hell.

His body trembled, his face was deathly pale, his eyelids drooped, and he almost fainted on the spot. His mind was shattered, and he knelt down heavily on the grass.

"The outcome is decided." The Old Bones gently tapped the castanets, signaling the end of Derek's turn.

Returning to the meteor's turn, as he drank the Universal Elixir, he began to remove the spinning shuttle from his body. In that moment, he triumphed over fate and escaped from the devil's terrifying claws.

After he regained his senses, his clothes still had more than twenty round holes, and the ground was covered with blood-stained iron shuttles.

Mr. Derek remained motionless, skipping the action wheel once again.

--Until Berloberg returned to his shoulder, resting on his neck.

The meteor throws the die of fate, and the result is [15].

Derek's good luck ran out, and the result was [5] points.

The greatsword swung, and heads were severed.

The Old Bones put away the clappers, and everything resumed its normal operation, returning to the normal flow of time.

Miss Christina's body finally collapsed in the porch. Her body stiffened, and as she fell back down the steps, her skin cracked. The instant her father's spiritual power failed, many White Lady emerged from this stinking zombie. Derek Jokic used his spiritual power to turn his daughter into a doll—using the power of holy blood and spirits to keep her "alive" in the form of a zombie.

The meteor's right arm had just grown out; it hadn't yet grown nails or hair.

He was still shaken as he looked at Derek's headless corpse, finding it hard to imagine how the father and daughter had gotten to this point, and what story had unfolded between them.

"It's a pity," the Old Bones as he approached the General of Tears and helped the winner up. "East Horse Port has lost a fine tailor."

The jade-like, withered bone finger felt very strange to hold. Meteor heard the Old Bones continue, "It's also fortunate that East Horse Port has one less heartbroken person. Everything returns to dust."

Meteor wasn't in a hurry to go back to the dressing room. He leaned against his Old Bones, too weak to take a step. The Universal Elixir had just finished digesting the holy blood in his stomach, and his body needed rest.

"I... I don't understand."

"Why? Why does this guy always want to fight to the death the moment they meet?"

"I still want to reason with him. Let's go kill Gloria first, then come back and fight him to the death."

The Old Bones interrupted, "Mr. Derek Jokic made a deal with the devil. This deal granted him Soul Power and gave his critically ill daughter a new lease on life, even if the meaning of this 'new lease on life' is slightly different from what we understand it to be."

As they said this, Meteor and Old Bones looked together at the gradually decaying female corpse by the steps.

Meteor: "Just a little bit."

Old Bones: "I must say, this is a follower of Gloria Sebastian. He is utterly loyal and won't give way to you just because of your few words or one-sided statements."

"Let's get back to you." Bu Liuxing wiped Berloberg clean. "Hunter King? How did you end up in this woman's hands?"

"Who are you?"