Falling from a High Building Once More

Boom! Boom! The illusion that had just been tranquil and serene suddenly turned upside down. Torrential rain and thunder shook the sky, magma burst from the earth, and hideous sea monsters rose from the ocean. Yet unlike before, when it was a mental apocalypse brought by the "Fiend," this time was a catastrophe of heaven and earth actively unleashed by the Secret Guard! "You seem to know a great deal of intelligence that Princess Lisdia shouldn't know." Standing amid the howling storm, the Secret Guard opened the Book of Gospel. "Yet if you think these words can shake my heart's will, you underestimate the Secret Guard far too much. "I need only confirm two points: first, that you are not Princess Lisdia, but a sorcery spirit that has deceived and bewitched the Princess; second, that I must slay you to escape this illusion. "Accept the Gospel's sanction. To destroy phantoms like you who plot against the Princess, I shall pray for the Gospel's harshest retribution." Amid the world-destroying roar of cataclysm, the sacred, solemn Gospel remained incomparably crisp and resonant. Even serving as the overture to judgment and execution, it effortlessly bestowed utter despair upon the condemned. First came eight dark thunderbolts resembling black vipers. This was the miracle once used to pierce through hell, "Eight-Forked Fangs," which had even carved an immortal wound into hell that would never heal, leaving behind malicious thunder that hissed like venomous serpents to this day. The Eight-Forked Fangs obliterated the Black Witch in an instant, yet the Secret Guard had no intention of stopping there. Rainbow light rippled across the Book of Gospel in her hands. The raging storm in the sky abruptly turned into a downpour of liquid gold, focusing upon the spot where the Black Witch stood to form a Flowing Gold River that pierced through heaven and earth! Miracle: Years Flowing as Gold! The Omniscient Weaver could borrow a Flowing Gold River from the Time Continent, using time to destroy all corporeal life in the world—even sorcery spirits could not withstand the decay of time! The Secret Guard turned the Book of Gospel to another page. She suddenly shifted to the sky ten thousand li away, watching a colossal meteorite tear through the clouds, shock the air, and batter the earth into a sinking abyss! Miracle: Stars Fall! Though a world-ending miracle belonging to an alien evil god, borrowing it for an execution was fitting indeed! Then a tsunami submerged the continent. Countless frenzied waves formed a massive maelstrom, within which the sea faintly seemed to turn into two heaven-swallowing serpents chasing and entwining around each other, ruthlessly crushing continents and grinding life to dust! Miracle: Twin Whirlpool Serpents! A miracle borrowed by the Omniscient Weaver from ancient history—it was said that the vortexes and undercurrents in the current Sea of Knowledge were merely the aftershocks left by the ancient Twin Whirlpool Serpents! Blazing flames suddenly erupted skyward from the murky deep sea, forming an expansive citadel of fire. Within the city walls, blistering magma boiled the ocean, and the air filled with scorching currents hot enough to incinerate one's lungs—a terrifying scene of hell descended on earth! Miracle: Billion Evil Souls Molten Iron Hell! This was a miracle of punishment created by the Omniscient Weaver by capturing a fragment of hell's landscape. Its heat, capable of melting steel, was beyond even the endurance of the dead; every emotion and thought within it would be evaporated into nothingness, leaving behind only the most refined essence of knowledge and memory! Watching the molten iron hell gradually shrink and vanish, the Secret Guard slowly closed the Book of Gospel. The clouds gathered around her, constructing a sacred, majestic palace in the clouds. Standing upon the white jade floor, she looked down at the distant embers like heaven gazing down into hell. In a mental illusion, miracles could destroy all corporeal things, yet they could not annihilate the formless heart. Just as Yaxiu's "Fiend Awe" conjured an apocalyptic scene to intimidate a target, the Secret Guard could only use miracles to torment her target, seeking to extinguish the light of their soul. In a mental illusion, giving up was the only defeat. Yet the terror, agony, and torment inflicted by miracles were not diminished in the slightest. Merely standing in safety and observing, the Secret Guard was shaken and terrified by the miracles she had prayed for. She could not imagine what bone-deep agony the sorcery spirit facing them had endured, nor what shrill despair she had bathed in. Theoretically, under the ravages of such concentrated miracles, that sorcery spirit should have collapsed and perished in less than a second. And yet... She still hadn't broken free of the illusion. "It hurts..." From the burning embers came a plaintive female voice that chilled the blood: "It really hurts so much." The Secret Guard's body trembled slightly; she could barely hold the Book of Gospel steady. Hastily flipping the pages, she brought a fiery rain of meteors down from the sky, carrying out a saturated cleansing of the pile of ashes! From the burning debris and skeletal remains walked a fragile wisp of humanoid black smoke. She took light, drifting steps. With her first step, the black smoke coalesced into bone; with her second step, flesh sprouted from the bone; with her third step, exposed nerves spread across the flesh; with her fourth step... The eight dark thunder serpents descended once again. Then came the Flowing Gold River, thunderous tempests, falling stars, vacuum warping, corrosion of the Black Coffin, the molten iron hell, neural riots... Several, dozens, even hundreds of miracles capable of crushing cities and destroying kingdoms piled on one after another. Yet their significance was as bland and flat as this plain narrative, failing to inspire fear in the condemned, and bringing no peace of mind to the judge. Useless. Useless! Useless!! By now, the entire mental illusion had been ravaged and battered into a hell by the miracles. The light here would melt all corporeal objects; the air here would corrode all physical matter; fingernails would flee in the chaos, and neurons would rebel to butcher their host. Were the Secret Guard not shielded within "Heaven Hall," exposing herself to the outer air for even a single second would subject her to the excruciating torment of ubiquitous curses until death, tearing her body apart into pieces. Such despair was enough to make any living creature willingly abandon their lingering struggle! Thus, she could not understand at all why that sorcery spirit still hadn't given up—why she was still pressing forward! Whoosh!— Surpassing the hindrance of countless miracles, the black shadow finally set foot upon the white jade floor. First coalescing bones, growing flesh and blood, and weaving nerves, she restored herself to the form of the Black Witch before long. The horrific sight of flesh and blood regenerating alone was enough to shatter the mental defenses of most people. The Secret Guard stared dumbly at this woman who had walked out of hell, her legs giving way as she collapsed limply onto the floor. No armor, no matter how sturdy, could protect her vulnerability. No heaven, no matter how grand, could conceal her insignificance. Her will to fight had long been ground to dust, step by step, under the Black Witch's feet. She murmured, "Just what kind of creature are you? Why can you endure so much pain? Why won't you just give up?" "The questions you're asking—honestly, I want to know too." The Black Witch looked down at her hands. "Unlike me right now, she was only a year and a half old back then. She hadn't experienced betrayal or setbacks; she hadn't seen disaster and death. She was like a flower in a greenhouse, bolstering her resolve only with stubborn words. Beneath that superficial strength, she held nothing more than a trembling, anxious girl's heart. "My heart is far stronger than hers. The pain she had to endure could only have been thousands of times worse than mine, while the torment I experienced was merely an insignificant blink of her own. "Just how did she crawl out of hell and drag you into the abyss along with her?" The Secret Guard stared blankly at the Black Witch. "What are you talking about? I don't understand." "It doesn't matter. I wasn't speaking to you." The corners of the Black Witch's mouth curved upward. She walked over and squatted down in front of the Secret Guard. "Auntie, can you tell me... I'm clearly your niece, so why didn't you show me any mercy at all?" "I..." A flicker of conflict passed over the Secret Guard's blank expression. "I only..." The Secret Guard stammered for a long time without producing a word, yet the Black Witch seemed immensely patient, in no hurry at all. She reached out, stroked her aunt's head, and took the Black Knight into her embrace, soothing her just as an elder sister would a younger sister. The Secret Guard gradually relaxed, going limp in the Black Witch's arms. Her voice was barely audible. "I... because I hate Lisdia." "Why hate her?" "Because she is the successor chosen by Her Majesty the Empress... She is the future Yisu Empress... the future god on earth, the Gospel Incarnation, the worldly walker of the Omniscient Weaver." The Secret Guard murmured, "I look identical to Lisdia, and I'm even better than her... Yet why is she so blessed with good fortune, while I can only hide inside this armor, becoming a nameless Secret Guard forever denied happiness? "I wanted to wear dresses, too. I wanted to fall in love, too. I wanted to be pampered and loved, too... What did I do wrong to be left with nothing? "I hate Lisdia. I envy Lisdia. I hate that I'm not Lisdia... That's why... that's why I..." Hearing the weeping in her arms, the Black Witch gently caressed her aunt's hair and whispered, "I understand. I understand it all. I know what it feels like to yearn for what can never be had. "So, I hope you can understand me, too." The Secret Guard stared blankly at the Black Witch. Cradling her face, the Black Witch wiped away her tear marks with her thumbs. "Someone once told me that so-called 'making amends for regrets' is nothing more than 'self-consolation.' In my heart, I understand that even if I take revenge here, it won't lessen that person's agony in the slightest. "Yet I've kept wondering: if the one who died that day hadn't been Red, but me, would everything have been different? So I'm not here to make amends for regrets, much less to seek revenge. I came here... "To choose again." Whoosh! Four turbid, pitch-black wings unfolded behind the Black Witch. Held in the Black Witch's embrace, the Secret Guard looked upon the sight, plunged into unspeakable shock. A Four-Wing... sorcery spirit? "Thank you, Auntie." The Black Witch held the Black Knight tightly as the sky palace began to disintegrate, the two of them plummeting together into the burning world. "You've granted me my wish." ...... ... "Aaaaaaargh!" The Black Knight suddenly let out a deafening roar. A shockwave exploded outward in all directions through the air, sending Yaxiu flying straight back to slam against the wall. With a muffled groan, he slapped a "Joy Sword" onto himself to keep fighting, only to see the Black Knight clutching her head and rolling across the floor, screaming hysterically. Yaxiu immediately connected this to his "Fiend Trench Coat," breathing a sigh of relief. "Hmph, this is what happens to anyone who dares look upon me!" Diya was slightly dazed as well. Were the rewards from the Weaving Ceremony really so potent that even a Royal Secret Guard was vulnerable? Right then, a small section of the ceiling near the window caved in, creating an opening. Igola thrust out a dust- and blood-covered hand from above, shouting, "Get up here! The Secret Guard has a miracle blessing that absorbs all damage—you can't kill her! Run!" Fuck, she even has an invincibility blessing? How are we supposed to fight that? Yaxiu immediately dashed toward the hole, signaling Diya to hurry over. "Ugh... aaaaaaargh..." The armor that had once felt light as a feather now seemed unbearably heavy to the Secret Guard. The stomach acid she heaved up pooled inside her helmet, scorching her face. She felt every bone in her body decaying, every nerve warping, every blood vessel flowing backward. The tremendous agony welling from the depths of her soul permeated her entire body in an instant, even bleeding into real-world imagery! Through blurred vision, she saw the Princess running toward a man, and her jam-like consciousness squeezed out a sliver of remaining sanity. Four-Wing sorcery spirit, Lisdia, the Isu royal family, Gospel Incarnation, jealousy, discontent, longing, loneliness, the Weaving Ceremony... Chaotic thoughts and emotions made her soul even more bloated and cumbersome, until she recalled a snippet of conversation before departure: "If an unexpected turn should occur that even the Gospel cannot hear, and the Princess is about to fall into another's hands forever..." "Then she will no longer be the Princess." The Secret Guard shakily raised her right hand, and the Book of Gospel faithfully manifested before her. "For..." The Secret Guard didn't even realize she had spoken aloud in reality—this was the first sentence she had uttered in the real world in over a decade. "...the Gospel." The moment the Secret Guard slammed her hand onto the Book of Gospel, her consciousness plunged into a bottomless abyss of pain. Diya, who was running toward Yaxiu, suddenly lost her balance. She stepped into empty air. The floor beneath her collapsed into absolute powder. The floor below that, the floor below that one, and the one below that crumbled away completely like weathered relics from an ancient tomb, leaving a gaping hole in the Sennheiser Building that let the night air flow freely through. Having leapt up in time and grabbed Igola's hand, Yaxiu did not fall. The instant he saw Diya step into nothingness, he flipped Honeyed Words and Daggered Heart around, gripping the tip tightly with his palm and extending his arm fully to thrust out the hilt, hoping Diya could catch hold of it. Diya gritted her teeth and reached out as well, never hating her small, young body more than she did right now. And yet. And yet. This could not even be called a near miss. Even though Diya exerted every ounce of strength in her body, even though she wished she could dislocate her arm, her fingertips remained more than a full meter away from the hilt. The only thing that crossed between them was their gazes. Then, tracing a parabola, she plunged into the embrace of the night. Once again, she fell from a high building. Only this time, no Bronze Dragon was watching over her.