Die!!!
Hislay abandoned defense.
He let the sharp, blood-red threads carve blood grooves into his body.
He's like a mad dog.
Despite the deadly cuts, he crashed into Marie Onette's arms!
"Madman!"
Marie Onette gasped in surprise.
You forced me to do it!
Hislay's eyes were bloodshot as he swung his Deboning Dagger!
"Snap!"
With a cracking sound of bones breaking, Marie Onette's right arm, which controlled the threads, was severed at the root!
"Aaaaaah!"
She screamed in agony as blood gushed out.
Hislay gave her no chance to breathe.
He tackled her to the ground and grabbed her slender throat with both hands!
The fingers tightened continuously!
With just a little more force, I could crush her throat!
"Die! Die! Die!"
Hislay gritted his teeth.
But, at this very moment when everything was about to end...
Hislay caught a glimpse of the chair next to him out of the corner of his eye.
It's completely empty!
That rag doll that Marie Onette used as a shell...
It's gone!
"Creak!"
The door to the grocery store slowly opened.
"Let her go..."
A voice came from a tattered wooden puppet.
Hislay turned his head.
Pupils constricted sharply!
The strange rag doll had somehow slipped away.
At this moment, it was standing on little Hislay, whom it had dragged out.
The doll held a pair of Tailor's scissors in its hand, pressed against the little boy's carotid artery!
Little Hislay was terrified; his mouth was agape, and tears streamed down his face.
Marie Onette, pinned beneath him, coughed up blood, but a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.
Do you think I would be unguarded?
"Just now inside the house, my doll left Origin Curse on this little guy."
She looked directly into Hislay's desperate eyes and uttered the cruelest verdict.
"As long as he lives, then I live too."
"My soul has become a part of his body."
"Kill me, and he'll die too, going to hell with me!"
Boom!
Hislay's brain almost completely shut down on the spot.
He looked at himself, the one being held hostage, at that helpless face.
And in that fraction of a second of his stunned silence!
"Sizzle!"
Marie Onette suddenly opened her mouth, and a blood-red thread shot straight towards Hislay's forehead!
She's going to fight back!
Right now!
"Whoosh!!!"
The tightly closed window of the grocery store was smashed apart by a tremendous force!
A huge, dark creature covered in seaweed flew in from outside!
Marie Onette's previously smug pupils dilated.
That is...
Anchor!!!
Seeing this, Hislay rolled away to avoid it.
"Bang! Splat!!!"
The cast iron anchor smashed into Marie Onette's face!
The girl's face, which had just been peeled off, was smashed to pieces on the spot!
The floor of the entire grocery store suddenly shook.
Seeing this, the rag doll immediately brandished its scissors at Hislay, intending to finish him off.
However, he was pinned to the wall by a harpoon gun the next second.
"Who?!"
Having narrowly escaped, Hislay scrambled to the side.
He stared in shock out the broken window of the grocery store.
In the thick fog.
A figure stepped into the room.
I said that.
Jiangnan gazed at Hislay.
You can't die yet.
"Dragon God..."
Hislay looked at the man, her eyes reddening.
He never expected that it would be his greatest enemy who saved him.
"Please... give me some time."
"Just one minute, and then I will definitely keep my promise..."
Jiangnan glanced at the little boy who was still trembling.
He probably guessed what was going on, but didn't ask any further questions.
He simply nodded, turned and walked out of the grocery store, leaving the space to them.
Inside the room, only Hislay and the little Hislay with tears streaming down his face remained.
Marie Onette is dead, and the rag doll is under her control.
But Hislay knew the curse was still in effect.
As long as I, the person living in this era, don't die.
Marie Onette will be resurrected someday in the future using this body!
Hislay stood up, trembling.
He walked up to Hislay.
A deep sorrow welled up in those weathered eyes.
"Don't be afraid... it's alright now."
He didn't tell Hislay the truth.
He simply knelt down on one knee and opened his arms.
He gave a wry smile to his younger self.
Come here, can you hug me?
Hislay stared at him blankly.
Although he was still afraid, he could sense that the strange man in front of him didn't seem to want to hurt him.
He timidly stepped forward, reached out his little hands, and wrapped them around Hislay's neck.
"Good boy..."
Hislay closed his eyes, and tears silently streamed down his face.
Then, he cupped little Hislay's cheeks in his hands.
No Supernatural Ability were used, and there was not a single fluctuation of the laws.
"Click."
A crisp, yet cruel, sound of bone cracking.
Little Hislay's body trembled violently, and then he collapsed into Hislay's arms.
"Aaaaaaah!"
This coincided with the death of Hislay Jr.
A piercing scream echoed through the house!
That was Marie Onette's final lament!
At this moment, Tailor were officially and completely erased from the annals of history!
Sensing something amiss, Jiangnan immediately turned around and went back to his room.
He stopped in his tracks as soon as he entered.
Hislay was kneeling on the ground, cradling the small corpse.
Meanwhile, the edges of Hislay's tattered suit were transforming into countless starlight particles, gradually dissipating upwards.
Why do this?
Jiangnan frowned, watching the god gradually disappear.
Killing your past self means that your future self will be erased and vanish into thin air.
Hislay looked up, a relieved smile on his blood-stained face.
"I'm paying off my debts."
He stroked the little boy's cheek.
"Back then, if it weren't for my stupidity in believing that woman's lies and bringing her home..."
"My parents wouldn't have died so tragically that night."
"So, even if the price is my complete annihilation, I will protect them."
"But."
Jiangnan asked, puzzled, "How do you know they won't die from some other accident in the future?"
"Moreover, the laws of the River of Time are absolute; once a major anomaly is detected, it will forcibly repair the cause and effect."
"No, it can't detect it."
Hislay shook his head, his body already dissipating into his chest.
"I don't know where you, Dragon God, got that power from."
"However, the divine power that was shielded within me just now told me..."
"As long as I don't use any supernatural powers to interfere, and end all of this as a mere mortal."
"Then, the correction of the River of Time will not be affected."
"In other words..."
Hislay grinned like a triumphant child. "I did it."
The moment the words left his mouth.
His lower body had disappeared.
In his final moments, the mortal's disguise faded, and the divine body of the Deception God was revealed once more.
The mask, half laughing and half crying, looked particularly eerie in the dimly lit general store.
Just like his current mood, he was caught between laughter and tears, a mixture of joy and sorrow.
"So... from now on, it's up to you, Dragon God."
The voice behind the mask grew increasingly ethereal.
"Let's strive for that Ordinary Sequence future for my parents..."
"With my power..."
"Phew~"
A night breeze blew by.
Hislay's divine body, along with the soul of the Clown, transformed into countless stars and vanished without a trace.
On the ground, only that face, half-crying and half-laughing, remained.
Or rather...
That Divine Grade artifact that was extracted from his soul.
"Clatter."
The mask fell onto the wooden floor, making Echo.
Jiangnan stepped forward and picked it up.
The moment they made contact, information flooded his mind:
[Item]: Deception God's Mask
[Level]: Divine Grade
[Type]: Item
[Function]: The wearer can perfectly impersonate any known person and replicate all of their abilities 1:1.
(Note: The copied ability must be logically clear. If the wearer's understanding of logic conflicts with the principle of the ability, the copying will be invalid.)
[Information]: The most ingenious scam in the world is never about deceiving people.
Instead, they spend their entire lives weaving a lie, until they even blind their own soul.
The condition for becoming a god is to personally kill one's true self.
To that lovelorn soul who has forever lost his smile.
"This should be the last thing Jiang Li needs."
Jiangnan looked at the mask in his hand and whispered.
"Well..." "It's time to go back."
He looked down at his empty hands.
Over River of Time, the extraordinary power within him has indeed dried up.
But...
The Word Spirit hasn't disappeared!
Jiangnan raised his right hand.
The divine sound quietly echoed within the dilapidated general store.
"The Eternal Torrent pauses in my palm..."
"The River of Time!"
"Buzz!"
The greyish-white phantom of the river tore apart in mid-air.
Jiangnan put the Deception mask into his arms, stepped into it, and left this world.
And shortly after he left.
"Squeak!"
An old steam-powered police car was parked outside the grocery store.
Sweating profusely, the sheriff drew his service pistol and solemnly pushed open the half-closed shop door.
"Mr. Steven, please follow behind me; the homeless robber might be inside."
"Yes, Sheriff..."
Steven's voice trembled.
But when they reached the door, they smelled a bloody odor.
The next second, he rushed in without hesitation!
"Mr. Steven!"
The sheriff followed closely behind.
But when they went inside, they saw Steven kneeling on the ground.
When he looked down at the ground, he froze in place.
Janet, who was the last to enter, collapsed to her knees when she saw the figure lying on the ground.
No! Hislay! My child!
She rushed over and picked up the cold body.
The sheriff stared at the little boy's broken neck, his expression grim.
He turned and went outside, looking at the several trucks that had followed him.
These are all police officers from this town.
He waved to indicate.
"Seal off the streets immediately! That Madman in the purple suit is definitely a demon!"
That night.
Florida, the Eagle Country in the 1910s.
We have lost an innocent little boy forever.
But the archives now contain the name of a missing murderer who can never be found...
At the same time.
A thousand years ago, in the Kindling Flame Realm.
Dragon City Outer City
Inside a dilapidated wooden hut that let in drafts from all sides.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
The little hand held up a rough porcelain bowl with a chip, filled it with warm water, and handed it to Zhang Lingqi.
"Thanks..."
Zhang Lingqi took the bowl of water and let out a long breath.
Oh, why are you being so polite!
The little girl plopped down on the long bench and waved her hand triumphantly.
"We're all traitors!"
"Who knows, maybe one day the rebellion will fail, and the three of us will be taken to the execution ground together, sitting in a row on the Dragonhead Guillotine and eating fruit!"
"Smack!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
He flicked her forehead.
"Ouch!"
The little girl covered her swollen forehead and glared angrily at the person next to her.
Jiangnan withdrew his hand expressionlessly.
"Shut up."
Don't say such unlucky things.
Looking at the two of them, Zhang Lingqi's lips twitched involuntarily.
The art style of these two is absolutely astonishing!
One was as cold as ice, the other as reckless as a hothead.
Is this the future Dragon God will reign supreme, and the forbidden [Fool] who strikes fear into the hearts of extraordinary beings?
However, Zhang Lingqi had not forgotten the real reason he came here.
He put down the bowl of water, his expression turning serious.
"Seriously, you two... why did you rebel?"
"Ha! Now that you've mentioned it, I'm no longer sleepy!"
Upon hearing this, the little girl's eyes lit up like two little light bulbs.
She jumped off the bench.
With hands on hips and chin tilted back at a 45-degree angle, he struck a cool pose.
"Let me tell you the truth, you mortal!"
She took a deep breath and uttered the words.
"Actually, I am that peerless beauty, unparalleled grace, innate intelligence, unmatched talent, ruler of all wastelands, a true dragon descended from heaven..."
"The late Empress's beloved daughter! The first in line to the Dragon Emperor Throne, the most powerful heir!"
"Ying Liyi!!!"
She looked at Zhang Lingqi.
"How about it?"
"Isn't that awesome?"
Zhang Lingqi was stunned.
He nodded blankly and repeatedly.
"Awesome... really awesome..."
"Smack!"
Another flick on the forehead.
"Hey! What are you doing now!"
Ying Liyi covered her head and jumped up and down angrily.
Jiangnan looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"You've revealed your entire past, including your ancestors for eighteen generations."
"Did you ask who this guy is?"
"Well..."
Ying Liyi froze instantly.
"Oh yeah~ I forgot to ask who he is!"
She suddenly realized.
He looked around and grabbed the gun leaning against the corner of the wall.
But that gun was just too heavy for her now.
She shakily raised the spear.
"Bang!"
The spearhead slammed down!
The sharp tip of the spear was less than half an inch away from Zhang Lingqi's elegant posture!
The cold air went straight to my vitals!
Zhang Lingqi's soul almost flew out of his body on the spot!
He put his legs together!
Ying Liyi, however, was completely oblivious. She struggled to point the gun at Zhang Lingqi and questioned him with a fierce yet endearing expression.
"You audacious madman!"
Who are you?!
Tell the truth!
Looking at the blade that could slice off the rest of his life at any moment, he glanced at Jiangnan beside him, whose eyes were cold and indifferent.
Zhang Lingqi swallowed hard.
"I... I am..."