Chapter 51: The Devil’s Sacrifice (01)
“It seems we’re thinking the same thing.”
Xie Yanchuan lowered his eyelids and, slowly and deliberately, took off his jacket, the movement as elegant as a pre-dinner ritual.
“How annoying,” Xie Zhenye clicked his tongue. “To be on the same wavelength as you at a time like this.”
Xie Zhenye casually rolled his neck, the muscles in his arms tensing.
Their gazes met, and they exchanged a silent, tacit understanding. Just like every time before.
“It seems you’ve made up your minds!”
Outside the arena, the Archbishop clapped his hands in delight, looking like he was watching a fire from across the river, completely confident.
The twins were silent, their eyes only on each other, both assuming a battle stance.
It was unclear who fired the first shot, but the interrupted battle began again, though this time, there was something more, something unspeakable.
The two of them fought fiercely, their fists and feet clashing and then separating, leaving deep marks on the ground. The battle raged around the unconscious young woman in the center of the field, yet Yu Jiao was not harmed in the slightest.
The sound of cracking, muffled grunts, coughing up blood…
The Archbishop was watching with great interest when he saw the two, who had been locked in a fierce, evenly matched battle, suddenly stop and stand at opposite corners.
One of them threw away his scabbard and held a sharp dagger, his gaze cold. The other casually knocked a crystal from the wall and toyed with the sharp stone.
An eye for an eye.
Just as the Archbishop thought the battle was about to escalate, he saw—
At the same moment, both of them slashed their wrists with their sharp weapons!
The two tall, slender figures stood opposite each other, their movements so synchronized they were like a mirror image, unhesitatingly cutting their wrists. A large amount of crimson blood fell.
Because of the synchronicity, it was like some strange, evil ritual.
“You… what are you doing?! Do you want to die?” the Archbishop cried out in shock.
The two of them paid him no mind, focused only on letting their blood.
The blood fell to the ground, not scattering randomly, but flowing along the grooves that had been formed during their fight. On the iron-grey floor, which was covered in rubble, a blood-red, linear drawing appeared.
A strange rune.
“A… a sacrifice?!”
The Archbishop almost bit off his tongue, staring in horror at the two madmen. “Are you insane!?”
The blood was no longer flowing at a steady rate, but was being strangely sucked into the array. Amidst the blood, an invisible energy was gathered by the array and, in a very gentle way, was being infused into the young woman who was lying flat on the ground.
Feeling the strange sensation in her body, Yu Jiao’s eyelashes trembled.
At this moment, her heart was filled with a complex emotion. Yu Jiao had originally just wanted to go along with the Archbishop’s plan, to trick the twins into a trap where they would kill each other so that she could clear the game and leave this world. But she had never thought that they would choose this method to break the stalemate…
Even Yu Jiao couldn’t accept it without a stir. Just as she was about to open her eyes, she felt a pair of cool, cold hands cover them.
“Don’t look.”
Xie Yanchuan’s voice was a little weak. As if he had suddenly thought of something, he made a rare joke. “You’re not the only one who worries about not looking good when you’re about to die.”
Xie Yanchuan paused and said softly, “Me too.”
Just as Yu Jiao was about to speak, a finger touched her lips, and a wet liquid was smeared on them. Xie Zhenye’s husky voice was a low laugh. “Jiao Jiao looks better with red lips.”
The sweet, metallic scent of blood seeped into her taste buds.
It’s his blood.
Yu Jiao realized.
A hot body drew near. Xie Zhenye gently wiped the dust from her face, his fingers propping up the corners of her drooping lips.
“Our Jiao Jiao will always be healthy, beautiful, and happy from now on.”
Another body came over. Cool fingers squeezed hers and Xie Yanchuan added, “And have absolute power, so you don’t have to be a vassal to anyone or any force.”
Then, a large hand enveloped her fist, a perfect fit.
“And the right to say no to anything you don’t like.”
A steady stream of power filled her body, saving her from its continuous collapse.
In contrast, the twins’ power was slowly being weakened.
Now, Yu Jiao could have easily pushed away their hands, which were covering her eyes and mouth—they didn’t have a shred of strength left to resist—but she just went along with their wishes.
Yu Jiao closed her eyes, silent.
In a vast, dark, and silent space, she felt their power, gentle and firm, rushing towards her.
“…”
Outside the barrier, the Archbishop was cursing, a picture of impotent rage.
—Who would have thought that such a meticulous plan would be ruined by two love-struck fools!?
…
The array was nearing its end.
Yu Jiao felt the two of them press against her, one on each side, their fingers intertwined with hers.
Two voices sounded in her ears, soft and low, as devout as a child, making a wish on a birthday cake.
“After our blood has mingled, we’ll never be separated again—alright?”
“…Alright.”
As if their wish had already been granted, they contentedly kissed her cheeks, but then, with a look of deep regret, they pulled away. The familiar warmth and the gentle restraint disappeared at the same time, and all was quiet.
Yu Jiao slowly opened her eyes.
【Congratulations, you have reached the ending—[Slaughter is Atonement]】
“…”
The auditorium, which had been through countless battles, looked even more desolate and dilapidated. The residual bloodstains were surprisingly vivid.
The twins were nowhere to be seen.
Yu Jiao lowered her eyes and calmly looked at her hands, then slowly clenched her fists, feeling the abundant power within her.
As she moved, her sleeve rolled up. On her pale white wrist were two pale blue runes, one on each side, like a pair of lingering bracelets, or a prisoner’s handcuffs.
Like the color of their eyes.
With a loud crash.
The broken door was blown open by the wind—the Archbishop, seeing that things had gone south, had long since fled.
It was time to end everything.
Yu Jiao patted the dust from her clothes and walked out of the auditorium.
***
In the night, the Archbishop was scrambling, summoning dozens of followers to intercept the newly minted god of death behind him.
The Archbishop hid behind a wall of people and, in a flash of insight, shouted, “Tree Lizard!”
“—I can help you resurrect the Tree Lizard!”
“Ah,” the young woman drawled. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ll need this, right?”
The leisurely strolling young woman’s white hair was flying, a smile on her lips, but her red eyes were cold. Yu Jiao nonchalantly raised her hand, and the followers were instantly on high alert.
“…”
There was none of the imagined, overwhelming power. Between her two slender, pale fingers was a familiar badge.
A faint golden light flashed, and the followers became wooden puppets, maintaining their ready-to-fight posture as Yu Jiao, without a glance, passed them by.
The Archbishop’s eyes were blazing. He almost crushed the fake badge in his hand.
“You! You dare to deceive me!?”
“Likewise.”
Yu Jiao’s fingers slowly closed.
Crack.
The tracking array shattered. The Archbishop suffered a backlash and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Good, good, good.”
The Archbishop wiped away the blood, a sinister look on his face. “You wouldn’t dare to kill me! Do you want to make an enemy of the Church?!”
Seeing her dazed expression, the inwardly terrified Archbishop felt a little more at ease.
A scream.
A giant shadow, as fast as lightning, pounced.
It pinned the Archbishop to the ground. A hot breath brought the premonition of death, and sharp fangs drew near his carotid artery.
The series of events made the Archbishop dizzy. “This… how could the werewolf be out of control…”
The werewolf, which should have been controlled by the Church’s array, was now completely bestial. Its light brown mane had faded to a silver-white! A killing intent flashed in its mismatched, beast-like eyes, one golden, one blood-red.
It bared its fangs.
The silver-haired, red-eyed young woman approached, looking down at him.
The Archbishop realized. “You! You fed it the Holy Blood?!”
Yu Jiao was noncommittal. She picked up the staff he had dropped and twirled it in her hand.
“I remember the Pope’s robes are red, right?” Yu Jiao raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want to be the Pope?”
“No—”
Yu Jiao, completely unconcerned by his resistance and fear, raised the staff high and smiled.
“Then allow me to crown you.”
Squish.
The snow-white robe was stained with blood.
…
…
An unforeseen earthquake.
The once-magnificent and mysterious vampire academy was buried under earth and stone. The clamor was gone, returned to the forest.
The higher-ups of the Church sent people to investigate, but they only found a few bodies of followers. No one knew what had happened, nor where the remaining blood-race students had gone.
The Church was on edge for a long time, afraid that victims, drained of their blood, would suddenly appear in the city. But after a few months, all was quiet, and they gradually assumed that the blood race had been wiped out. That is a story for another time.
After that bloody night, the next day.
“It’s over.”
Amidst the rustling branches, the young woman’s silver-white hair was lifted by the wind, shimmering like water in the sunlight. Her glistening red eyes were unblinking as she looked at the white-robed followers, working in the ruins.
Yu Jiao let out a long sigh, then suddenly felt a tug on her clothes. She looked down and saw a white wolf, biting the hem of her clothes, its mismatched eyes blinking, a low whimper coming from its throat, as if in comfort.
“I’m fine, let’s go.”
Yu Jiao put on her hood and was about to mount the crouching white wolf.
【Congratulations, you—bzzzt, bzzzt—】
The usually flat, cold system voice suddenly distorted.
It had a demonic quality, as if countless little demons were hiding behind the words, laughing with ill intent.
The static stopped, and the strange system voice continued:
【Congratulations, you have reached the final ending—[Rebirth is ____]】
【A. Death】
【B. Hell】
【C. Reincarnation】
Yu Jiao paused and curled her lip coldly. “What kind of trick are you playing now?”
【Please… you… choose】
“…”
“I choose D.”
“Rebirth is rebirth.”
【…Rebirth… is… rebirth】
【Arc One ending has been collected】
【Arc Two loading—】
…
…
An endless crack in the darkness.
The eternal end of time.
In the vast emptiness, there was only a single figure, like a candle, about to burn out.
He was propping his head on his hand, sitting in the darkness, a thin layer of holy light covering him. In the posture of listening to a saint’s prayer, he was disturbed by whispers:
“You like her too, don’t you?” a soft voice whispered. “Then just keep her.”
“It’s just a matter of lifting a finger.”
Another voice asked flippantly, “Why not follow your heart?”
“Hypocrite,” a voice sneered.
“After all, he is a noble god,” a voice mocked.
“…”
All movement was annihilated, and the place returned to a dead silence.
Drip.
As if a drop of water had fallen.
Ripples spread beneath the divine throne, and the god’s reflection was distorted. A soft hiss:
“You’ve broken the rules too many times.”
“…”
“For the sake of fairness, I will be in charge of the next game.”
“…”
“Remember, your mission is to kneel at my feet. Don’t do anything extra. Otherwise—”
The reflection swayed, like a clawing ghost, and gradually calmed.
He was silent from beginning to end, sitting alone for a long time.
…
【Arc Two: The Devil’s Sacrifice】
Along with the familiar system sound, a cheerful notification tone sounded.
Yu Jiao subconsciously lifted her hand and looked at the source of the sound.
—A watch.
As if sensing her gaze, the watch beeped, and a glistening blue light projected into the air, like a peacock’s tail.
A few large words were written on it.
[Darling, see you at the old place at nine tonight.]
Under Yu Jiao’s gaze, the contact, who was named “lover,” sent another message:
[^_^]
…What a tacky emoticon.
Yu Jiao silently looked up and met a dark, cold face.
—To be precise, a dark, cold, black and white photo.
It startled her.
To be fair, the man in the photo was not ugly. He could even be called handsome, a very proper kind of handsome.
Thin cheeks, thick, straight, black eyebrows, downturned eyes, and a rather dark lip color. Black, choppy hair, a proper, archaic collar, and a few thin braids, hanging on his shoulders.
A melancholic, classical, and plain face.
Paired with the black and white filter and his indifferent expression, he looked like a vengeful ghost who had died unjustly hundreds of years ago and had come to claim her life tonight.
Looking at the offerings on the table, this must be someone who had just died.
And she—
Was in a semi-archaic black cheongsam, with a large white flower in her hair, kneeling before this fierce portrait.
She looked as if she were in mourning.
But she didn’t know her specific identity. Was she this person’s older sister, younger sister, daughter, or—
“Hey, has anyone seen my new mom?”
A loud, flippant voice came from afar.
Outside the door, a servant answered in a low voice, “Young Master, the Madam is inside, paying her respects.”
Thump!
The silver-grey automatic door was kicked, paused, and then slowly slid open.
With her back to the newcomer, Yu Jiao hid the watch in her bosom and fumbled with it, frantically trying to turn off the high-tech display. After all, it still said [Darling, see you at the old place at nine tonight].
It looked like ironclad proof of a lonely widow’s affair.
“Yo, what’s our mom doing in here?”
A large hand seized Yu Jiao’s wrist and yanked her up from the ground.
In the second before the other man was exposed, Yu Jiao finally turned off the watch and cursed in her heart: What is this, a mix of East and West, retro and new wave worldview? Ptooey!
“So you’re the new wife that old guy married.”
A rough voice sounded above Yu Jiao’s head, with a disrespectful, teasing tone.
The painless mother’s wrist was hurt by her cheap son.
“Let go.”
The cheap son grinned. “I won’t.”
He simply held both of Yu Jiao’s struggling hands with his large one and, with his free hand, seized her chin.
Yu Jiao was forced to look up.
She finally saw the true face of her rude, cheap son.
And that one look made her forget to struggle.
That… was a pair of eyes that were the opposite of a normal person’s. The whites of his eyes were black, and his pupils were white.
They were like the eyes of a devil.
He curved his eyes.
“Ya, you’re quite a looker. It really makes me want to—”
“—Eat you up in one bite.”
As he spoke, he licked his lips with a great show of pretense, revealing a mouthful of sharp, shark-like teeth.
He looked extremely perverted.
Yu Jiao held her breath and leaned back, trying to break free.
“Don’t move. Let me have another look,” he pulled her closer, the hand on her neck releasing her and, instead, caressing her face.
A cold touch slid past the corner of her eye. The sense of danger made Yu Jiao flinch.
—This… this person’s nails were all sharp, curved hooks, three or four centimeters long, like the talons of a bird of prey.
“What’s your name?”
Yu Jiao was silent, glaring at him with a frown.
This person had a thick head of long hair, which had an orange-red tint in the indoor light, as fluffy as a lion’s mane.
His expression was also like that of a large predator, arrogant, fierce, and fearless.
“I’m asking you a question. So rude,” he grumbled.
In a bad mood, his hand was not gentle. The sharp nail instantly cut the delicate skin beneath his palm.
A startling line of blood appeared, exceptionally conspicuous on her snow-white neck. A bead of blood rolled down and disappeared into the high collar of her cheongsam, like a mischievous child, playing hide-and-seek.
Inviting one to search.
The cheap son raised an eyebrow and, with great interest, tapped her conservative collar with his nail. He immediately cut a slit in the expensive cheongsam. The delicate skin, rarely seen, was like the flesh of a peeled fruit, even more alluringly sweet.
Before he could do anything more outrageous, the woman frowned and, as if she could not bear it any longer, closed her eyes. “Yu Jiao.”
“Hmm?”
“My name is Yu Jiao!”
As if his attention had been drawn to something more interesting, he let out a long “oh.”
“Yu Jiao? You married that old guy and took his surname?”
“…”
Yu Jiao looked up and looked at him with suspicion.
He raised an eyebrow and looked back at her, brazenly.
Just as the two of them were staring at each other, not on the same wavelength, suddenly, a gentle, ethereal baritone sounded:
“Young Master, the Madam’s ‘Yu’ is this ‘Yu’, not the Master’s ‘Yu’.”
As he spoke, a glistening blue screen was projected from somewhere, displaying the difference between the two ‘Yu’s, with a helpful note of the pinyin and definition on the side.
Yu Jiao looked at the source of the sound.
It was a floating sphere in the center of the ceiling. As the baritone spoke, the blue light in the center flashed.
The young master said “oh.”
“Alright, alright, shut up, eleven. I don’t want to know the story and meaning behind Yu Feng and that old guy’s names.”
The sphere obediently stopped projecting. “Alright.”
Catching Yu Jiao’s gaze, it said again, “Madam, this is the Young Master Yuan Cang I mentioned to you before, Mr. Yu’s adopted son. I’m very sorry for not introducing you sooner. I saw that you and the Young Master were having a pleasant chat just now, so I did not interrupt.”
…A… pleasant… chat?
Yu Jiao, who was still being held by this Young Master Yuan Cang, curled her lip silently.
I have a reasonable suspicion that this is an artificial idiot.
Wait!
Yu Jiao suddenly froze. She realized:
If this ball has been here the whole time, then didn’t it see the message from the other man?!