Kill Yaxiu's Girls

"Longing," Yaxiu said softly. "The authority of longing granted to me by Rose, the Lady of Brilliant Fireflies, allows me to connect myself with all of you—to rejoice because you rejoice, to grieve because you grieve... The shadow swords that can only harm you can harm me as well." "So..." He turned his head to Felix and Daedalose. "Stay close to me." At first, Felix had no idea what he intended to do. But when Yaxiu flew toward Diya, she couldn't help crying out, reaching out in an attempt to pull him back! None was more terrified than the Witch. Never in her life had she wished to get away from Yaxiu more than at this very moment: "Don't come near me! Get away! Get away from me!" Yet the Witch was still cornered by Yaxiu and pulled into an embrace. Her chin rested on his shoulder as she watched, helpless, while the shadow swords pierced into his back. Her hair grew increasingly muddled and chaotic, like countless buckets of paint stirred together. Watching four shadow swords piercing through Yaxiu's body, she let out a sob as fat teardrops fell. In a trembling voice where one could no longer tell how many voices made up the chorus, she murmured, "It looks so painful..." "I'm fine." Yaxiu gently pushed her away. Looking at the black-and-white shadow sword and the multicolored shadow sword piercing through his chest, his voice sounded like a groan wrung from the deepest folds of his soul: "Actually, it's not that painful. Just a little... refreshing." Yaxiu's body was shivering, looking as dispirited and miserable as a puppy just hauled out of the sea. The agony brought by the black-and-white shadow sword was boundless darkness; all sounds receded into the far distance, all colors faded away, leaving only him standing in the center of an abyss of darkness... It felt as though he had returned to his very first day arriving in the Blood Moon—everything was so foreign, and the world was truly so cold. The multicolored shadow sword plunged him into a bottomless abyss. From the dazzling light at the distant end came warm laughter and chatter. He ran and climbed endlessly within the abyss, wearing his soles to shreds and scraping his palms raw. He was clearly just one step away from happiness, yet he could never draw closer to that light, quietly rotting away in the abyss. Truth be told, the Witch's shadow swords affected him even more, warping his very perception. But if the Sword Princess's pain made him suffer in equal measure, the Witch's terror aroused tender pity in his heart. "Go on. It's a pity I can't hold you right now." Yaxiu looked at Diya and pointed to the shadow swords in his chest. Exhaling a breath of terrified cold air, he forced a strained smile: "But later, I'll want to hold you to warm up." Although others couldn't touch the shadow swords, as the original targets of the spell, they would still be wounded by the corresponding blades. The Witch's shoulders trembled—whether from anger or grief, none could tell. Yet when she turned her head toward the six-winged angel, though her hair had become crisp and distinctly colored once more, her voice remained a fourfold chorus, every suppressed tone laying bare Her Majesty the Empress's unrestrained fury: "You won't have to wait long." When Yaxiu looked toward Weise, she had already thrown herself into his arms of her own accord. A god's body was supposed to possess no warmth at all, yet Yaxiu felt as though he were embracing a blazing physique. Her soft, supple body pressed tight against his contours, her legs wrapping around his waist, her softest curves flattening against him. The pure warmth that seeped completely into his soul body slightly eased the torment he was enduring. "I only hope," Silver Lantern kissed his lips, then gently pushed him away, saying, "that you won't despise me too much..." The ash-silver shadow sword and the pitch-black shadow sword pierced through Yaxiu's shoulders at the same time. His pupils lost focus; had Felix not been holding him up, he would have nearly plunged downward. The ash-silver shadow sword was somewhat like the Witch's black-and-white sword—likewise casting him into a pitch-black world devoid of sun and sky. The difference was that in this despairing loneliness, Yaxiu felt at every single moment as though he were being devoured alive by thousands of emerald beasts brimming with resentment. Once they finished consuming him, the emerald beasts tore into one another in slaughter until he was shattered into countless fragments, immobilized forever, imprisoned in darkness for eternity—an agony that would not end even when the world perished. But what made Yaxiu shudder even more was the pitch-black shadow sword. Everyone beside him would turn to silver and shatter; every girl he cared for would dissolve into a pool of liquid silver. No matter where he fled, silver light surrounded him, until the entire world turned silvery-white, leaving him nowhere to run, thoroughly consumed in the embrace of silver light. Although it seemed very similar to the Sword Princess's purplish-red shadow sword—both being shadows that buried him alongside other girls—if the Sword Princess's was an angry vengeance, Silver Lantern's was more like a despairing double suicide. The Sword Princess, at least, directed her malice only at him and those tied to him, full of the bitter resentment of "I actually fell for someone like you—it stains my entire record!" Silver Lantern, on the other hand, wished to drag the entire world into a silvery purgatory, as if putting a magnificent full stop to a sacred love, brimming with a self-destructive, religious aesthetic. He raised his head, looked at the uneasy Weise, and used all his strength to smile. "Didn't you promise me that even if it's an illusion, you wouldn't bear to let go?" "As long as you hold tight to my hand," Weise replied softly. She opened the Silver Grimoire, raised the Silver Lantern, and looked toward the six-winged angel besieged by the Sword Princess and the Witch. The superfluous emotions in her eyes vanished like smoke, leaving only cold, ruthless calculation. Next, only one was left... Yaxiu looked toward the pink-haired elf maid fleeing every which way. The latter yelled, "Don't worry about me! I will definitely find a way to break this, no need for you to interfere!" "You wouldn't happen to be slacking off, would you?" Yaxiu said. "As if I would—" The moment Vichy answered, Yaxiu tugged at the air. A Ruby Chain connected to Vichy's collar was gripped tightly in his hand, and he hauled it toward him with force! Vichy didn't even have time to react. After all, Yaxiu had never used the chain like this before—or rather, Yaxiu never manifested the chain at all under normal circumstances... She knew what this fool was usually thinking; he probably felt using the chain was too disrespectful of her dignity as a person. Even though they were mortal enemies on opposing sides, he still worried about moral laws and human rights... Yet at this moment, with Vichy being dragged by the chain so unreasonably, pulled into his arms without the slightest power to resist just like a possession of his, an intense sense of shame surged in the maid's heart. Even if Yaxiu had simply refused to bear the shadow swords for her alone, that would have been better than this... How could the Spectre Prophet be so frail as to accept someone else's shelter? "I... let me take it myself..." She struggled to break free of Yaxiu's grasp. "I don't need you—!" "Be good and listen." Yaxiu held her in his arms and used his back to receive the final three shadow swords. The agony, coursing through his entire body like lightning, made him gasp sharply. His laughter trembled: "I am your supervisor... and your master." The others each had two shadow swords; only Vichy had three. Yet that was only natural: the longer a life, the more unbearable shadows it harbored. But compared to the others, Vichy's shadows were surprisingly simple. If the Sword Princess's shadows were "being betrayed and toyed with" and "love turning to hatred," the Witch's shadows were "loneliness" and "happiness forever sought yet never attained," and Silver Lantern's shadows were "being abandoned in the apocalypse" and "losing the illusion," then Vichy's shadows were "fear of death," "fear of having no hope," and "fear of missing an opportunity." She feared dying completely and never being able to pursue power again; even more, she feared that no path lay ahead and that she would lose all hope of ascending to the supreme summit. Yet what she feared above all was having the chance to touch the supreme summit, only to let it slip away in the end. This was also the shadow that surprised Yaxiu the most—because the opportunity she feared missing was Yaxiu himself. Yaxiu was her ultimate answer to solving every problem and fulfilling every dream. But precisely because of this, her third shadow sword was the one that hurt Yaxiu the most. The first two concerned only herself and thus did not deal as much harm, but the third was intimately bound to Yaxiu, and Vichy's terror far surpassed that of the other operators. Yaxiu hurt so badly that he felt as if he were seeing the gates of Hell. Although he was trembling from head to toe with pain, inside his heart, inexplicably... he felt a little bit happy. "Are you not going to make it?" Vichy panicked a little as well. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Let me take one... let me take two of the shadow swords!" "Hurry up and fight!" Yaxiu kicked her away exasperatedly. "That kick was on Silver Lantern's behalf—don't think I didn't see what you did." Vichy looked at the fool bristling with swords before her eyes. Complex emotions she had long since forgotten welled up within her—so complicated that she couldn't even put her thoughts into words... Or perhaps she was simply unwilling to say them aloud. She only felt a sting in her eyes and her heart pounding fast, aching as though it were being wrung tight. She turned toward the six-winged angel at the eye of the storm, gently exhaling a breath of stale air. The complicated emotions in her eyes swiftly faded, leaving only the savagery of the Spectre Prophet. Sword Law watched the four women besieging him. He could see killing intent, anger, indifference, and cruelty. Yet no matter how heightened their emotions ran, their assault remained ever precise and fierce, methodically whittling away his source power. Seeing the cold glint in their eyes, Sword Law had no doubt that when his source power was finally exhausted, their true vengeance would begin. For the first time in over a thousand years, Sword Law felt a premonition of death—and even... a shred of fear. They truly were worthy of being the girls Yaxiu held dear; whether in talent or battle instinct, they surpassed all imagination. Sword Law had no doubt that if he had lived in the same era as them, he would have been no match for these girls. Their achievements would certainly not stop at demigods; given the right opportunity, they would be four Divine Lords ruling over Heaven. And with Yaxiu's support, they might even have a chance to reach for that supreme throne. No wonder the Supreme gave me two missions, Sword Law thought to himself. His first mission was, naturally, to welcome Yaxiu to enter and preside over Heaven. And his second mission was... Kill Yaxiu's girls.