You Are Not the End Watcher

Igola watched the dagger stuck in the ground before Yaxiu. His parched lips trembled faintly, and a long-absent fear tore at his heart like a wolf. *So I'm afraid of death too? So I'm just an ordinary man after all? So I'm nothing more than an incompetent Swindler?* he thought. Fear was a Veela to composure, and composure was a Swindler's health bar. When composure was completely drained dry by fear, it meant the Swindler's life had reached its end. Igola had long forgotten the last time he felt fear. Ever since he successfully tricked another kid at the rearing institute out of his first lollipop, ever since he played the villain crying victim and framed the other children before the institute director, he seemed to have lost the sensation of fear. Later, after diligently delving into the mind faction, Igola came to believe he was born with an antisocial personality; if he hadn't become a Swindler, it would have been an utter waste of a trip to this world. To him, toying with human nature was not just for profit, but for survival—he was the kind of person who could only exist in the dark, unable to survive without scheming and plotting. The peculiar social environment and regional advantages of Blood Moon Country made his career smooth sailing. Even suffering a minor setback like being caught by the Sin Hunting Hall hadn't caused Igola fear; instead, he treated it as vocational training—though the inmates in Shattered Lake Prison were a bit harder to deceive, that had only fueled his enthusiasm for the challenge. Igola had never feared the vagaries of fate. In the past, he had faced situations far more perilous than this: surrounded by underworld assassins, held at gunpoint with a pistol to his temple, even pinned down while threatened with a Veela-clipper—yet in his heart, he hadn't felt the slightest bit of fear. Because the first person a Swindler deceives is himself. If a Swindler doesn't believe he is invincible, how could he dare to deceive others? If a Swindler doesn't even believe his next sentence can turn the tide, how could he fool anyone else? So Igola couldn't understand why he was afraid now. He was clearly in no danger of dying. He clearly still held one of Yaxiu's wishes in his hand. With a single command, Yaxiu wouldn't be able to harm a hair on his head. Yaxiu would probably go after Harvey first, Igola thought. As for the possibility of Yaxiu refusing the invitation, Igola didn't consider it at all—Yaxiu had no reason not to turn on them, just as a Veela wouldn't turn down an orc delivered to their doorstep. To this band of escapees from Shattered Lake Prison, fighting tooth and nail was practically their way of saying hello. If there was no opportunity, they would manufacture one to frame each other; if an opportunity presented itself, they would screw each other over to the bitter end. Between them existed only pure mutual exploitation; there was no room for mercy whatsoever. Come to think of it, it was strange: clearly, after their successful prison break, they no longer had any conflict of interest, yet Igola harbored a deep wariness toward the others. Even total strangers felt more trustworthy than these fellow inmates. They were kindred spirits who could never coexist peacefully; if they were forced to act together, it would inevitably be punctuated by death. Igola had once pondered why he felt murderous intent toward his fellow inmates. To erase his past? The Sin Hunting Hall still kept a hefty criminal record on him. To guard secrets? Now that they had left the Blood Moon, whether Harvey's or Igola's, their secrets were meaningless. To protect himself? Yes, exactly—precisely to protect himself. Because Igola had realized that no matter how distrustful and wary he was, when the need arose, he would still choose to cooperate with Harvey and Yaxiu, while Harvey and Yaxiu had grown familiar with his fighting style as well. They were as though they had become... mutually reliant companions. *Reliance is the most dangerous knife, handed by one's own hand to the companion behind.* — *Ansu's Fables: Companions, Concluding Summary* Exposing oneself was foolish, relying on others was a disgrace, and having companions was entering a countdown to betrayal. Under a different time and in a different place, perhaps Igola might have been willing to take the risk of making companions of them. But they were condemned convicts who had met in prison—companions picked out of a trash can, would you dare keep them? Igola didn't dare, and he knew Harvey and Yaxiu didn't dare either. Since they couldn't become companions, yet had been forced to develop a companion's tacit understanding, then they could only become enemies. This was how people of the Blood Moon treated others—others would always be outsiders, never one of their own. As long as you betrayed the other person first, you could never be betrayed. Such was the law of selfishness. So when Igola saw Yaxiu pull out the dagger without hesitation, there wasn't the slightest surprise in his heart. However, beyond Igola's expectations, Yaxiu didn't walk toward Harvey, but looked toward him instead. Igola's mind turned, and he immediately understood Yaxiu's reasoning—he wanted to force Igola to expend his wish before dealing with Harvey. That way, the Swindler would no longer have any means to deter this former cult leader. *As expected of you... As expected of the hateful enemy who has suppressed me from start to finish...* *You truly are a cult leader who brings misfortune to others, and I'm merely one of your victims.* Everything was within expectations, so Igola felt no anger. Yet for some reason, he felt a faint sense of disappointment. Yaxiu crouched down before him, tilted his chin up, and pressed the dagger against his dust-smudged face. Igola looked at Yaxiu, and a new thought suddenly surfaced in his mind—he was going to die if this went on anyway, so rather than use the wish to protect his final shreds of dignity before death, why not drag Yaxiu down with him, be buried together in the Void Realm, and become phantoms of the past together? *Since I cannot survive, there's no need to care whether you live or die.* *Or... use the wish directly to have you kill me, sparing me the agony and granting you rebirth?* Just as Igola's thoughts were churning in turmoil, Yaxiu stopped. He looked toward the Everlasting Presence and asked, "Can you guarantee that once I finish this, you'll let me go?" "If you can truly prove your loyalty to the Four Pillar Gods," the Everlasting Presence said, "you will naturally receive the treatment you deserve." "You're dodging the question with empty rhetoric," Yaxiu said. "In that case, let's put it in writing. I brought miracle contract paper. With the guarantee of the Void Realm, I'll believe you." The Everlasting Presence looked at him, a strange smile touching the corners of her lips. A wind seemed to rise around the silver throne, gently fluttering her dress. *Snap!* Suddenly, a loud crack resounded as the chain holding the hanging brazier above Yaxiu's head snapped. Though Yaxiu immediately hurled the dagger at the Everlasting Presence, the falling brazier slammed violently onto his back, leaving him curled up on the ground like a shrimp, convulsing in agony. Deflected by an invisible current of air, the dagger pinned cleanly into the surface right next to the Everlasting Presence's cheek, just a hair's breadth from slicing open that chubby, cute little face. The mechanical arm tucked the dagger back under her dress. She signaled the black-robed men to bind Yaxiu with a miracle, then said at her leisure, "Just as I thought, my judgment was correct. You are not a believer of the Four Pillar Gods, much less any End Watcher." "You are merely Yaxiu Heath."