I Will Find You (Thanks to Ruomeng Aidoma for the Alliance Leader Sponsorship)

Ellen kept backing away.

She instinctively wanted to find that last refuge, just like after she killed her parents—but she discovered that the Demon cat that Lu Xiu had been trampling underfoot had somehow turned into a puddle of black water and vanished without a trace.

Even the Demon who guided her and gave her power has abandoned her!

"Got you!"

But Lu Xiu wouldn't stop because of her words.

Without any hesitation, she grabbed the fake Viola by the collar and lifted her off the ground.

"Let me go! Ah!!"

Amidst Ellen's desperate screams, Lu Xiu dragged her all the way to the back of the front hall, then pushed her next to the purple-haired girl.

Two bodies that had swapped souls were finally forced to face each other in a tragic manner at this moment.

A young girl with a healthy body, yet carrying a tormented and decaying soul; a monster with a broken and terrifying body, yet carrying an innocent and pure soul.

"The game is over."

Lu Xiu stood in front of the two, gripping the hilt of the [Soul-Severing Blade] with both hands, raising it high.

With her movements.

The purple patterns on the blade began to move, while simultaneously emitting a faint, eerie glow.

Lu Xiu suddenly thrust downwards.

Those dark red lines of soul Effect and Cause, twisted and intertwined, are completely invisible to ordinary people.

In an instant, it was cut in two.

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

The moment the Effect and Cause link of her soul was severed, Ellen let out a piercing scream.

The healthy body that originally belonged to Viola began to convulse violently as if electrocuted.

Immediately afterwards, a decaying shadow was forcibly torn from that healthy body!

At the same time, the purple-haired girl also let out a painful groan, her soul being instantly extracted and streaking through the air like a faint light.

Drawn by magic, the two souls crashed back into their respective bodies.

Next.

The healthy girl's body trembled slightly.

He slowly opened his eyes.

A pair of clear, bright eyes, yet filled with fear, reflected Lu Xiu's figure.

----That's the real Viola.

She stared blankly at Lu Xiu for a while, then looked down at her undamaged legs and touched her cheeks.

Finally, his gaze fell again on his good friend in front of him, who was holding a short knife and covered in blood.

At this moment, the fear that had been building up in my heart, the despair of being betrayed, and the ecstasy of being reborn all burst forth completely.

"Lu, Lu Xiu ----"

Viola looked at Lu Xiu and burst into tears.

She reached out and grabbed Lu Xiu's blood-stained clothes. "I thought I was really going to die—it was so dark—my body hurt so much—I was so scared—"

"Will you dare to run around like that again next time?"

to be honest.

Lu Xiu looked somewhat disgusted.

Despite her disdain, she didn't do what she had done to Ellen earlier, such as grabbing her or headbutting her.

After all, she's just a teenage girl.

She simply reached out somewhat roughly and ruffled Viola's hair a couple of times, making it look like a bird's nest. "Alright, stop howling. Anyway—welcome back."

Upon hearing the words "Welcome back," Viola cried even louder, but finally released her grip on Lu Xiu's clothes.

Lu Xiu didn't comfort her anymore. Instead, she stood up and went straight to the Hunter who had fainted to the side. "Don't cry, come and lend a hand."

"----dad!"

Upon hearing this, Viola hastily wiped away her tears and rushed over in a fluster.

The two men, one on each side, struggled to drag the unconscious Hunter out of the Witch's House.

During this process, Viola subconsciously glanced back.

The Witch with purple hair and no legs was lying there blankly.

She returned to the body that had tormented her day and night for hundreds of years, but instead of screaming or going mad, she lay there as if she had lost her soul—lost in thought, or perhaps simply waiting quietly for death to come.

Viola shuddered, unable to look any longer, and continued to drag her father out of the Witch's House.

Although she was angry—she was, after all, just a child.

But as soon as he stepped out of the Mansion's gate...

The gloomy, oppressive atmosphere of the Witch's House, so intense it was hard to breathe, vanished instantly.

A cool breeze brushed against my cheek.

Viola knelt on the ground—a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her as she felt revived.

"Call----"

On the other side.

Lu Xiu tossed the Hunter onto the grass, clapped her hands, and turned back to look at the Mansion: "That's fine. When your father wakes up, have him take you home."

"Then, what about you?" Viola paused, seemingly realizing something, and looked at Lu Xiu with some anxiety.

"I?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiu raised an eyebrow and weighed the purple dagger in her hand. "I still have some things to take care of inside."

"No! It's too dangerous inside!"

Viola panicked and instinctively reached for Lu Xiu's clothes. "That's the Witch's territory, full of deadly traps!"

"It's gone now."

Lu Xiu replied with a smile.

Viola wanted to say something more, but Lu Xiu had already strode forward. "Alright, just stay here obediently."

Seeing that Lu Xiu had already turned and walked back, Viola gritted her teeth and subconsciously wanted to follow her.

Although I was scared, those were my friends!

But as soon as Lu Xiu stepped into the Mansion, she decisively turned around and pushed him away.

Bang!

The wooden door slammed shut in front of Viola, completely sealing away all the sins and chill within the Mansion into darkness.

Lu Xiu closed the door bolt.

Viola seemed to be crying out outside the door, but she was quickly shut out by the wooden door.

They're just kids.

I always felt that I should be with the other person at this time, even if it meant dying together.

Ultimately, she's a kind-hearted girl.

But I'm not here to die. I finally managed to complete the main storyline of the dungeon—what's the point of bringing her in?

As Lu Xiu pondered this, she slowly walked towards Ellen, who was lying motionless.

I heard footsteps.

Ellen slowly raised her head.

That once delicate and lovely face was now numb, with only two bloody holes oozing out, facing Lu Xiu.

He watched as Lu Xiu walked forward step by step, finally stopping in front of him.

Ellen's mutilated body trembled slightly.

But this tremor was far less intense than before.

Lu Xiu slowly squatted down, looking at the purple-haired girl in front of her.

Why do this?

Looking at her two bleeding wounds, Lu Xiu's tone held no mockery or condescending pity, only the sigh of an observer, "Who told you that only those with healthy bodies can be loved? Aren't you quite adorable?"

Ellen's body stiffened slightly.

Ultimately, it's because of poor health and the parents' poor upbringing.

Lu Xiu reached out, showing no disgust at the blood and grime covering her, and just as she had done with Viola earlier, gently placed her hand on Ellen's now dull purple hair, ruffling it softly. "Of course, it's also possible that hundreds of years of illness and torment have completely warped you, making you equate being loved with Plunder— "

Lu Xiu slowly withdrew her hand and shook her head. "But it doesn't matter anymore. There's no point in saying these things. Black Cat did take advantage of you, but you can't be considered innocent. Your ability to empathize has long been corroded by illness and loneliness."

One thing at a time, extreme suffering cannot justify all evil deeds, and your choices and atrocities can never be forgiven.

So—go die with the Witch's House, Ellen- chan.

That's all.

Lu Xiu stood up and walked directly past the mangled body.

She walked into the corridor, tiptoed slightly, and reached out to take down a candlestick hanging on the wall shelf.

The dim candlelight flickered in her pupils, illuminating the cracked walls surrounding the Witch's House.

Having just obtained the Soul-Severing Blade, Lu Xiu is now being hunted down by all the vengeful spirits in the Witch's House.

Lu Xiu then used her knife to kill almost all of them—plus the Demon's departure.

now.

This once eerie and terrifying the Witch's House, now devoid of magic and the bond of Demon, is just an ordinary house, exuding an aura of decay.

Lu Xiu raised the candlestick in her hand and tossed it aside casually.

The candlestick traced a graceful parabola in mid-air before landing on the corridor floor.

Then, a faint flame rose into the air, greedily licking at the rotten planks.

It then spread rapidly.

The flames blazed brightly.

The scorching heat instantly dispelled the centuries-old chill that had lingered Mansion.

Lu Xiu turned around, her back to the rising fire, and quietly looked at Ellen on the ground, waiting for something.

Ellen tilted her head back.

Although her eyes had long been cruelly gouged out, leaving only two horrifying holes oozing blood, as the former owner of this Mansion, she was clearly far more skilled than Viola in using the remaining magic within her.

The remaining, faint magic extended outwards like invisible tentacles, replacing vision in the physical sense.

She saw it.

Crimson flames were raging as they devoured the cage that had bound her for hundreds of years.

The twisted, old wooden planks carbonized and cracked under high temperatures, turning into ashes that filled the air.

And in the raging flames that could incinerate everything—

The girl named Lu Xiu stood there quietly.

The girl's simple country dress still clearly showed traces of blood.

Behind her was the Witch's House, slowly crumbling away.

They were clearly in the midst of flames that would soon reduce everything to ashes.

Right behind them was a scorching heatwave that could bake a person alive.

But Lu Xiu remained calm, showing neither condescending pity nor anger towards her as Witch, nor even the satisfaction of avenging her friend.

The firelight outlined Lu Xiu's silhouette, stretching her shadow infinitely, which then mingled with the raging fire of the Western-style Mansion, creating a striking and impactful scene.

----As if the Deity.

"Ellen, who was lying down, stared blankly at this scene."

She watched as the girl who ruined her plans, pushed her back into the Abyss, and then closed the door at the last moment, staying behind to perish in the flames with her.

In the heatwave.

Amidst an extremely contradictory sense of despair and indescribable shock.

Ellen's riddled soul seemed to break through some kind of limitation in an instant.

In a daze.

The flickering flames in her vision began to distort.

She seemed to see through the false exterior of that country girl and see her directly!

----I finally saw the real Lu Xiu!

She was tall, with a stunningly beautiful face and breathtaking curves.

That was the most perfect being that Ellen had ever seen in her hundreds of years of life.

In an instant.

Ellen's previously lifeless and numb soul seemed to be ignited.

Even if she reverts to her original ugly form, even if this place is about to turn to ashes, even if this the Deity is merely a puppet to toy with her—

But the Deity ultimately remained here! They stayed by her side in this sea of fire! In this raging inferno, in the final moments of their lives, there were only the two of them!

I will definitely find you----

Sudden.

Ellen made a sound.

Lu Xiu looked away from the checkout window and raised her head.

The instance ended the moment the fire was lit, so she didn't bother running away and simply stood there waiting for the countdown to finish.

Suddenly, a sound is heard.

She was somewhat surprised.

Wasn't the instance finished?

Besides, isn't Ellen's throat damaged? Theoretically, she shouldn't be able to produce such a clear sound at all.

But for some reason—she made a sound, even piercing through the crackling of the burning wood.

"I will find you!!! I will find you!!!!"

Ellen stared intently at the exquisitely beautiful phantom in the firelight, her voice rising until it became hysterical. "Even though you lied to me!!! You are my friend!!!! You will always be my friend!!!!"

Lu Xiu looked at the Witch who had gone mad.

----Was it because it was provoked that it used its internal magic to speak?

I thought about it.

Lu Xiu shook her head, too lazy to dwell on such matters.

After all, the dungeon has been cleared.

That's the thought that crossed my mind.

Lu Xiu smiled, then calmly stood before the raging fire, arms outstretched, letting the flames gradually engulf her. "Then I'll wait for you."

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Ellen paused, then looked at Lu Xiu, whose arms were outstretched in the firelight, and repeated, "I will find you—"

Lu Xiu did not reply, and as the countdown reached zero, she turned into Bai Guang.

But in the very last moment before turning into Bai Guang...

"I will find you—player Lu Xiu."

"----?"

Lu Xiu seemed to have heard something about a player...?

But the sound of the burning wood was too loud; she didn't hear it clearly, and before she could think any further, she vanished completely in a flash of Bai Guang.

In the Witch's House, only flames filled the sky.

Friends—always friends—

Ellen remained lying in the same spot, repeating that phrase over and over, until the crimson flames swept in, completely engulfing her broken body and her obsession, turning her to ashes.

At the same time.

Outside the Witch's House.

Viola slumped onto the grass, staring blankly at the Mansion engulfed in flames.

Thick smoke billowed into the sky, the crashing sounds of breaking wood were incessant, and scorching heat waves swept over us.

----All evil has ended.

But the childhood sweetheart who pulled her out of despair was also forever lost in that sea of fire.

Viola looked at the Witch's House, tears streaming down her face, unstoppable.

On the other side.

Behind the Witch's House, on a tree stump.

A dense shadow slowly crept in, and a completely black cat emerged.

It sat gracefully on the tree stump, looking at the completely burned-down the Witch's House before it, and gently licked its forelimbs with its pink tongue.

"Ah--

The Black Cat flicked its tail and let out a remarkably human-like, intrigued sigh, "Truly astonishing—"

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