The Final Gamble

"This is your mental world. Theoretically, you can revive infinitely, and with a time dilation of ten thousand to one, you have at least a dozen hours to try. But Black Demon is a Sorcery Supreme. In terms of combat prowess, she's only a fraction worse than me... If you could suppress her, there wouldn't really be any need for you to pay a quarter to gain her power, because only a Sorcery Supreme could possibly defeat her." "What's more, to Black Demon, you're merely a substitute for the Observer. She can't vent those cruel, venomous desires of hers on the Observer, so you become the perfect vessel to take out her rage." "Which is why I have another option," Dead Frenzy said, glancing at him. "I can suppress her." Yaxiu opened his mouth, but only after a long pause did he ask, "What price must I pay?" "Theoretically, for me to act, you would have to pay your final quarter. But this time we're only operating inside your mental world, so you can keep that last quarter... As a cost, you must surrender your memories of Sonia." "Can't you just—" "No," Dead Frenzy said, shaking her head. "Both Black Demon and I are lingering remnants of thoughts, like candles flickering in the wind. Right now, she has descended into reality by burning your memories of Lisdia. If I am to deal with her, I must likewise burn your memories of Sonia... That is the base cost." Two choices. One was to figure out a way to suppress Black Demon himself, but there was zero chance of success; Black Demon was an authentic Sorcery Supreme, whereas he wasn't even a God-Leader yet. The other was to sacrifice his memories of Sonia in exchange for Dead Frenzy's intervention. And there was a final path: do nothing at all. Let Black Demon rampage, completely shattering the precarious situation Fanxing and the others had fought so hard to maintain, stomping on the accelerator of this train already plunging downward at breakneck speed, dragging the entire world straight into Ouroboros's serpentine maw. "Why didn't you..." Yaxiu lowered his head, staring down into the pitch-black abyss of the seabed. His voice sounded like a wail wrung from the deepest folds of his soul. "Why didn't you warn me?" "Did it ever occur to you," Dead Frenzy said calmly, "that perhaps I hate you and Sonia too?" Yaxiu looked up at her and opened his mouth to retort, but slowly closed it again. Just moments ago, Dead Frenzy's description of Black Demon's inner thoughts had been far too detailed, far too brimming with genuine emotion. It was impossible to tell whether she truly understood Black Demon that well, or if she had merely used Black Demon as a mouthpiece to utter the words she had kept pressed beneath her tongue for so long. Though Dead Frenzy paid great attention to him and Sonia, acting as if she was fond of both of them, no rule dictated that love and hate could not coexist... In fact, more often than not, love and hate walked hand in hand. Hate never bred love, but love often gave rise to hate. Yaxiu said nothing. Dead Frenzy sat beside him quietly, exhaling rings of smoke. Black Demon believed she had no chance of surviving, which was why she wanted to drag Lisdia down into the grave with her; in truth, Dead Frenzy likely harbored similar thoughts. She surely had no expectations of surviving. That was why she had wanted Yaxiu and Sonia to find happiness so badly—partly because she had witnessed their love all along the way, and partly because she wanted to make up for her own regrets through Sonia... Seeing Sonia live a happy and fulfilled life was equivalent to possessing a happy life of her own. "I can't suppress Black Demon." Dead Frenzy looked over at him. Yaxiu said earnestly, "But I don't want to give up my memories of Sonia either." "Help me, Dead Frenzy." "Did you not understand what I just said?" Dead Frenzy replied. "Or do you truly believe this world is benevolent enough to let you have whatever you want?" "Help me, Dead Frenzy." Yaxiu repeated the exact same plea. "If you want my help, give up your memories of Sonia," Dead Frenzy said. "Right now, you should already be starting to forget Lisdia. Soon, you won't even remember the name 'Lisdia.' You've already forgotten so many people and so many things—why can't you let go of Sonia as well? Are you really so partial that you can forget the Witch, the Silver Lantern, and Vichy, yet only Sonia is irreplaceable?" "A sacrifice made out of helpless necessity is entirely different from thoughtless reliance." Yaxiu stared straight at Dead Frenzy. "If there is even the slightest possibility, I am unwilling to pay such a price... Help me, Dead Frenzy." "Sonia is also a sacrifice of helpless necessity—" "Help me." Yaxiu simply repeated those words again and again, lowering his head. "Help me." A complex swirl of emotions surfaced in Dead Frenzy's eyes. She asked coldly, "Why should I help you? On what grounds?" In any era or nation, such a tone and response meant a refusal. Yet Yaxiu seemed emboldened. He fixed his gaze on Dead Frenzy, his eyes shining brightly amidst the darkness of the deep sea. "On the grounds that I am betting all my hope on myself, and I bet that I will win," Yaxiu said. "Isn't that worth placing a wager on? Win or lose, I will be the final gamble of your life." Dead Frenzy froze, then couldn't help but chuckle. "This arrogance of yours... really is a bit like the Observer." "You're the one who knows everything about me. Everything I ever spoke, everything I left unsaid—you know it all. I don't know how to convince you, but if even you refuse to bet your hopes on me, it only proves my life has been an utter failure," Yaxiu said softly. "If every sorcerer's life is a sorcerer's handbook, then you are my very first reader... A book that cannot even captivate its first reader must be terribly written." "Or maybe it's just because the protagonist is trash." Dead Frenzy mocked him with a scoff. Watching the white plume rising from the cigarette into the sea, she suddenly reached out and placed the cigarette into Yaxiu's mouth. "I will still take some of your memories of Sonia," Dead Frenzy said. "Just a tiny fraction... That way, during your battle with Black Demon, I can guide your thoughts on how to counter her." "Think carefully, though. Even with my guidance, you won't be able to defeat Black Demon right away. It might take dozens or hundreds of attempts to bridge two major realms and suppress a Sorcery Supreme... Every single failure means Black Demon gets a new plaything... Are you ready?" Yaxiu exhaled in immense relief and politely took a puff of the cigarette. "Thank you." "I'm not betting my hopes on you." Dead Frenzy cast him a sidelong glance, took the cigarette back, and continued puffing on it. "I'm just casually placing a chip on the final gamble." * * * On the battlefield of Fantasy Hell, the God-Leaders were preoccupied with fighting Ouroboros, utterly lacking the leeway to mind their rear. Right then, a sudden chill shot up the Supreme Lord of the Blood Moon's spine. A terrifyingly acute premonition of death ignited a feral frenzy in his blood, every single cell in his body screaming at him to flee! With no time to react, he could only throw up his Blood Moon Barrier to shield himself— Boom! The Supreme Lord of the Blood Moon was blasted straight through along with his Kingdom of Heaven, half of his body detonating into a crimson mist. Though he regenerated to his original state in an instant, that split-second delay caused the defensive line under his charge to collapse! Nor was he the only one. Weaver, the Lord of Joy, and the Lord of the Endless Abyss all came under attack simultaneously! The defenses the God-Leaders had nurtured for thousands of years—the Cobweb Bulwark, the World Tree Barrier, and the Infinite Path—were all pierced through. The God-Leaders themselves suffered overwhelmingly devastating strikes; though not fatal, without exception, they were thrown into brief disarray, opening glaring gaps in their line of defense! Looking at the eerie, seven-winged silhouette dominating the battlefield, their eyes nearly split with fury, yet they were utterly powerless. Ever since the battle in Senluo, they had strived to overestimate his strength as much as possible, yet they had still underestimated him—now that they had borrowed their Kingdoms of Heaven from Heaven, they were remarkably close to their peak states, yet they had still been broken through so effortlessly! They had long noticed Yaxiu, but apart from lacking the time to attend to him, their primary reason had been that they believed he was not yet qualified to step onto this supreme battlefield that held the fate of the world. What they never imagined was that after a mere month, Yaxiu had become even more unfathomable, surpassing six-winged God-Leaders and drawing infinitely close to— Disaster. Weaver's voice resonated instantly across the mental link: "Watch out for Yaxiu!" At the same time, Ouroboros, noticing the chaos among the ants, did not seize the chance to expand its momentum across the field. Instead, every single one of its eyes locked onto Fanxing. Instinctively, it had recognized that this particular ant was the strongest of them all. Taking advantage of the other four God-Leaders being unable to share the burden, it moved to annihilate the supreme ant in a single stroke! Fanxing soared across the vast sky wielding twin swords. Though she had noticed the undisguised malice and hatred surging from behind, the onslaught of Ouroboros before her left no room for distraction. Facing the dual offensive of an eight-winged creature and a seven-winged supreme, she was not nearly as composed as she appeared. She had to commit everything to defending against one side... In front or behind? In the flash of a spark, Fanxing made her choice. Boom! Boom! Sorcery gazes clashed fiercely with ringing sword light. Ouroboros's colossal body shuddered faintly, and it was actually forced back half a step. Looking at the two figures standing upright in front of them, the four God-Leaders finally relaxed their taut nerves, only to let out a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle—to think they had fallen to the point where they had to gaze upon the backs of others. "You look like you've just crawled out of hell," Fanxing remarked, turning her body slightly to the right, crossing her twin swords as her starlight-blue tailfeathers swayed gently. "What price did you pay this time to wield power that doesn't belong to you?" Beside Fanxing, turned slightly to the left, stood Yaxiu. His hair had turned almost pure white, yet with every passing second and shifting angle, it refracted into a dazzling spectrum of gradient colors, appearing like an iridescent, kaleidoscopic white. Holding twin swords, his youthful face betrayed an exhaustion that spoke of endless weariness, yet his eyes shone razor-sharp and brilliantly bright, like the cold glint of steel tempered through a thousand beatings. "No," Yaxiu answered calmly. "I didn't pay any extra price."