You Know I Hate This

For this descent into the mortal world, Sword Law had been granted unprecedented backing for his expedition: the Sword Rain Pool and the three wonders nestled within it. Yet he had never believed he would actually have to use all three wonders. Put more bluntly, he had never imagined that Mr. Yaxiu would refuse the Supreme's favor. However, seeing that Yaxiu truly had rejected the offer, Sword Law could better understand why the Supreme was willing to stop at nothing to claim this man—Yaxiu's personal worth was by no means inferior to the Supreme Wings. Perhaps not even Yaxiu realized just how rare a sorcerer was who viewed the world as his equal. It might also be called the reckless insolence of a fool, but without insolent sorcerers, this world might never have seen the birth of a single Divine Lord. Sword Law deeply admired the first Divine Lord who had stolen a world secret realm. Even though that deity had faded into the long river of history, it was precisely because they had crossed the boundary that the thriving sorcerer civilization of today could exist. Just like his lord, the Divine Lord of Stars: precisely because He had exhausted every scheme to slay the Prime Angel, sorcerer civilization could step into its next great era. Unfortunately, the Prison of Self-Harm was ineffective against Yaxiu. Sword Law's three wonders were the Bitter Sea Boundary, the Curtain of Sorrow, and the Prison of Self-Harm. The Bitter Sea Boundary was integrated seamlessly with the Sword Rain Pool, completely sealing off the interior of the secret realm from the outside. The Curtain of Sorrow was an absolute defense, converting incoming enemy attacks into spell swords. The Prison of Self-Harm quietly infiltrated the enemy's soul, distilling sufficient negative emotions to forge an irresistible blade. Throughout their clashes with the spell swords, every burst of sound and light produced as the swords shattered and collided would seep into their soul bodies. Though it could not inflict direct harm, it gathered intelligence on their consciousness. As long as enough was collected, it served as forging material for the Prison of Self-Harm. The Prison of Self-Harm could normally be resisted, but inside the Sword Rain Pool, it became an almost inescapable trap. The rain of the Sword Rain Pool existed not to slaughter, but to pierce through heaven and earth, linking together things that were meant to be eternally separated... "Piercing" was merely the appearance; "connecting" was the core. Thus, the swords forged from the rain of the Sword Rain Pool and the hearts of the enemy became threads of connection, perfectly aligning with the true essence of the Sword Rain Pool. This was no longer merely Sword Law's power or the Supreme's power, but the Sword Rain Pool itself pouring all its might into fulfilling this wonder, warping even fate in the process. The more the enemy struggled, the faster the swords were forged, and the heavier the harm inflicted would be—such was the origin of the Prison of Self-Harm. The greatest flaw of the Prison of Self-Harm was the possibility of failing to forge a blade. Sword Law had believed he would never encounter such an individual, yet one stood right before his eyes. In fact, Yaxiu had been the primary target of the Prison of Self-Harm, yet Sword Law could not distill enough negative emotions from him to forge a blade capable of harming him. Could it be that he harbored no negative emotions in his heart...? Filled with suspicion, Sword Law stirred another storm of spell swords. The Prison of Self-Harm required no additional manipulation from him; no one could escape the shadow swords. No matter how fast they ran, they were bound to be overtaken, because... Those shadows had existed within their hearts from the very beginning. Exhausting all her techniques, Sonia barely dodged the purplish-red and blood-red shadow swords pursuing her. Of the nine glazed swords in total, she, Diya, and Weise were each pursued by two, leaving only Weixi besieged by three. Though she felt a faint urge to mock Weixi, the Paw-Extending Sword Saint had no leeway to spare. The Witch's scream earlier had been entirely genuine; she had nearly passed out from the agony. And when a shadow sword brushed against her skin, Sonia had truly felt a chill akin to plunging into an abyss. This was by no means pain a demigod could endure; it might even shatter one's mind. Yet... Refusing to yield, Sonia slashed out a Blood Moon Shattered Lake, but the two shadow swords behind her were utterly unaffected. Unbreakable, indestructible, agonizing to the touch, and inflicting heart-wrenching despair—this was almost like... The Sword Princess tilted her head, dodging a purplish-red shadow sword grazing past her hair. Seeing the eerie, writhing purplish-red hue swirling across it like a twisting centipede, she faintly guessed why the Witch had suffered so acutely. "I'm fine now." Struggling free from Yaxiu's embrace, Diya drew the two shadow swords away on her own, panting as she spoke: "These blades are shadow swords forged jointly by the sword rain and our hearts. They cannot be resisted by any means. Once they touch you..." She paused. "...It's as if you've encountered your most terrifying, hopeless nightmare. It makes you wish you were dead." *Clang!* Bathed in the pouring sword rain, a hundred spell swords gleamed with a cold, haughty radiance. Yet these spell swords were not aimed at the female sorcerers—they surged together toward Yaxiu! The Sword Princess and the others felt as though they had plunged into an ice cellar, the blood in their veins freezing over. If the spell swords attacked them, though their movements were hindered by the pursuing shadow swords, they could simply weather the storm using their Sanctuaries. But the six-winged angel had keenly deduced that Yaxiu was their weakest point—without his timely rescue, the Witch would have perished moments ago! Depleting Yaxiu's source energy first was the optimal choice, both for the battle and for his mission! More importantly, Yaxiu still had to protect Felix and Daedalose! "Don't worry." Yaxiu deployed his Sword Body Barrier, maneuvering and dodging through the air while carrying his two burdens, actively tangling with Sword Law. He kept his tone as light and cheerful as possible: "I've still got plenty of source crystals! Leave Sword Law to me, just look after yourselves!" "I'll test it!" Weise declared resolutely. "Have the Gospel monitor my condition! I refuse to believe it can harm even a god!" Weise abruptly manifested a silver mirror and vanished into its surface. Guiding the mirror to evade the grey-silver shadow sword, she let its corner lightly graze the hilt of the blade. *Crack!* The entire silver mirror shattered violently. Weise, the light completely gone from her eyes, tumbled out and was on the verge of being impaled by both the grey-silver and jet-black shadow swords. Fortunately, Weixi, being the closest, charged forward decisively and kicked her away, not only breaking her out of the shadow swords' path but also instantly snapping her out of the numbing agony. "Don't mention it!" the maid shouted while fending off her three shadow swords. Yet Weise was in no mood to squabble with her. Looking like a drowned dog dragged from the water, her voice trembled: "Did the Gospel... find any clues?" "The shadow sword diminished by about five-ten-thousandths," Diya said. "Though they can't be blocked, contacting us wears them down!" "What about your soul body?" Sonia suddenly asked, "Witch, you were grazed earlier. Did your soul body suffer any injury?" Diya startled, instantly realizing what the Sword Princess was getting at. "No, only my mind... but that pain is absolutely unbearable!" "If we cannot bear it," the red-haired girl said softly, "then a truly unbearable pain will unfold right before our eyes." From the corners of their eyes, they glanced at Yaxiu locked in combat with Sword Law. Although Yaxiu could shred the spell swords with Heart Hunter, Sword Law could continually produce more. Crucially, if Sword Law could forge shadow swords to pursue them, he could naturally forge shadow swords to impale Yaxiu! Diya wrapped her arms tightly around herself, cautiously evading the shadow swords in midair. With disheveled hair and a terrified expression, her voice resonated in a fourfold harmony: "B-But it hurts so much..." Weise fell silent as well. This zealot who had once sought to destroy the world, completely indifferent to death, appeared as fragile as an ordinary girl in this moment. Weixi glanced at Yaxiu, who was nearly engulfed by the storm of spell swords, and then back at the three shadow swords chasing her. The maid gritted her teeth in resignation. "Then—" "I'll do it," Sonia said calmly. "Have the Gospel monitor it and see if we can find a way to dull the pain." "Sword Princess!" "Wait!" the Witch and the Silver Lantern shouted in unison. Yet Sonia had already stopped, turning around to face the purplish-red and blood-red shadow swords rushing toward her. She could roughly guess what kind of pain it was. Even before contact, the mere thought of it felt agonizing. Time suddenly seemed to slow. Her crisis instincts as a sword sorcerer flared to their absolute peak, adrenaline screaming desperately for her body to flee, every cell shouting for escape... For Sonia, this was no blessing, because she was truly terrified. A pain that neither the Witch nor the Silver Lantern could endure was certainly beyond her own limits. She was standing her ground purely on forced courage; perhaps in the very next instant, she would lose her resolve and flee once more. She had never been a strong person. She wanted nothing more than to live idly, indulging in a lavish, carefree life, traveling the world in ease and happiness... And so, she could not run. Because the only person who could share that idle life with her was waiting for her to stand by his side. Is there any miracle that can numb the pain...? Sonia suddenly remembered something. In the slowly trickling flow of time, she retrieved the cigarette pack she had carried with her all along. *If I really can't take it, I'll smoke one,* she thought. The red-haired girl drew a cigarette from the pack, feeling a faint glimmer of strength seep into her body. Gathering her courage, she watched the shadow swords plunge toward her soul body. Yet what met her eyes was a familiar back. The purplish-red and blood-red shadow swords pierced through his chest and emerged from his back, shedding not a single drop of blood nor driving any deeper. The roiling blades froze right in front of the cigarette, searing the most powerful soul of all. "You know I hate this." Yaxiu glanced back at Sonia, his voice trembling faintly as he pointed at the cigarette in her hand.