Dark clouds still blanketed the glittering city of Magic City, shutting out every last glimmer of starlight.
The vast city resembled a giant's body. Its illuminated roads crisscrossed in a dense web, while countless red lights flowed through it like blood.
Even at midnight, it kept moving, like a giant's heart beating without pause.
But in hidden corners and shadowy places, forces clung to the city like parasites, tumors, and worms. Overnight, they faced a sweeping purge.
Uprooting them might tear flesh and bone, but everyone knew that leaving them alone could cost the city whole muscles—or even a vital organ—the next time they struck.
For the sake of everyone living within this giant city, there could be no mercy when a ruthless hand was needed!
That night, every member of the Judgment Hall fought on. The students could not see this war, nor could the ordinary people already asleep, but it had happened all the same.
That night, Mo Xie was so exhausted that he went straight home, lay down on the sofa, and fell asleep.
His sleep was restless, and he had a dream so vivid it felt real.
In the dream, Mo Xie received a message from Xu Zhaoting and rushed to an abandoned processing plant.
But he arrived too late. Zhang Lulu lay there barely alive, while Xu Zhaoting had already been taken away.
The next night, Xu Zhaoting returned, but the Black Vatican had turned him into a Cursed Beast Demon, and the curse was eating away at him.
He had killed the girl he loved most. He begged Mo Xie to kill him and end his suffering.
As Mo Xie met Xu Zhaoting's pleading, agonized gaze, his heart felt pierced by a thousand needles. It seemed to stop beating.
*No... That's not right. I