You Don't Deserve It

Love and hatred locked in mutual slaughter! Dripping with fresh blood! Honeyed Words with a Dagger pierced straight through Yaxiu’s chest and emerged from his back, trailing scattering droplets of blood! Harvey's eyes seemed to burn. The cold flowing fire upon his body flared to life once more, and clutching his chain-sword, he charged at Silver Lantern! Chikala hesitated, holding back. He was no fool—he knew that jumping into the fray now could easily inflict friendly fire on Yaxiu. Before, he wouldn't have cared about injuring him—or even killing him by mistake—but now he had to consider his future work environment. In situations that risked offending people, it was better to step back. Seeing Harvey charge over, Silver Lantern expressionlessly ripped out the longsword, inflicting secondary damage on Yaxiu before kicking him toward the necromancer. Harvey had no choice but to abandon his attack and catch Yaxiu, watching helplessly as Silver Lantern escaped through the hole in the wall Chikala had smashed open! The moment Silver Lantern escaped the bottom floor and breathed in the fresh air outside, the crow-masked monster descended from the night sky right on cue, his butchering hand axe already primed. She looked up, feeling as if she were staring into a pool of bare, unvarnished killing intent. Black Crow Tamashi! His abdomen, severely wounded by Silver Lantern earlier, had been forcibly staunched using muscle restoration techniques. Even if he hadn't fully recovered his combat power, an ambush task like this was second nature to him... Black Crow employed the 'mental method' he had comprehended from Blind Town, merging his presence almost completely with his surroundings. Even if Silver Lantern used an investigative miracle, she would struggle to detect him. Raising his hand axe high, he struck down, fully intending to grant Silver Lantern no chance to plead her case! This was both the creed of Slay All Crows and Tamashi’s own deepest wish. As a wicked crow, as Silver Lantern, she had no right to defend herself or clear her name. The only fate awaiting her was a bloody, howling execution—disembowelment! Clang! The butcher's axe and the sword blade clashed in a furious burst of sound. Black Crow stared at the sword Silver Lantern had used to parry— That was Yaxiu’s sword. Why was it in Silver Lantern’s hands? A split second of confusion and subtle dread registered in Black Crow's wounded body, causing his movements to lag slightly and scattering most of his killing intent. Seizing the opening, Silver Lantern slipped past to flee, unfurling her gold-and-silver wings in an attempt to soar away! But hesitation could linger in a Slay All Crows’ heart for only an instant. Without sparing a glance at the ruins below, Black Crow boldly stepped across midair rubble to give chase! From their brief clash just now, he could sense that Silver Lantern was already out of strength! Grasping the chain linked to his hand axe, he lashed it out like a rope while swiftly closing the distance. Evading Silver Lantern's backward slash, he struck out with an open palm! Fearless, Silver Lantern struck back with a palm strike of her own! Smack! The moment their palms collided, Black Crow looked at the expressionless Silver Lantern in shock. He had just employed his proprietary combat technique, 'Malfunction.' If Silver Lantern were still in her prime, it would be one thing, but with her sorcery power depleted and her stamina spent, she shouldn't have had any strength left to resist Malfunction. The soft, insidious force of that strike should have coursed through her entire body, plunging her into a two-second stun. Yet Silver Lantern was completely unaffected—because she had used the Malfunction technique as well! The two currents of soft, yielding force cancelled each other out! More importantly, the fact that Silver Lantern could still use combat techniques proved she had only been faking exhaustion just now— Flipping in midair, Silver Lantern unleashed a fierce kick that sent Black Crow flying backward, then turned to fly away. Just then, she spotted the hand axe whirling toward her from the flank and casually swung her sword to deflect it. But the hand axe curved in a bizarre arc; Silver Lantern's slash hit nothing, and the chain trailing behind the axe bound itself tightly around her arm instead. "That sword..." The chain snapped taut, and the sudden violent pull dragged Silver Lantern backward. Gripping the chain with one hand like a vengeful spirit clawing its way out of hell, Black Crow dragged the soaring Silver Lantern down into despair! "You don't deserve it!" Black Crow gripped his Grey Fox blade and thrust it toward the falling Silver Lantern! At those words, Silver Lantern’s face twisted, her eyes welling with boiling fury and venomous malice. Without dodging or evading, she raised her left arm, using it directly to block the Grey Fox blade! The Grey Fox blade wedged right between her ulna and radius, splashing drops of silver blood, but the deflection altered its trajectory and spared her head. Silver Lantern didn't let go of Honeyed Words with a Dagger, nor did she try to back away from Black Crow. Instead, she raised her right arm, pulled Black Crow toward her, and kicked him again and again! Every kick slammed into Black Crow’s injured abdomen, and every kick tore more bloody filth from his wound! Not making a sound, Black Crow endured Silver Lantern's onslaught with sheer grit, only tightening his left hand's grip on the chain with greater force. The chain attached to the pommel of his hand axe had already been sharpened to angular points; as he hauled it taut, it coiled around Silver Lantern's arm like a lingering death by a thousand cuts, gouging into her flesh and splattering silver blood, shaving away meat! Still, Silver Lantern refused to let go. Reversing her grip on the sword, she stabbed toward Black Crow’s face. Dodging the feeble thrust, Black Crow suddenly yanked back the Grey Fox blade. Rather than attacking another part of her body she might dodge, he plunged it straight into the arm bound by his chain! More precisely—into the hand Silver Lantern used to hold the sword! The blade impaled her palm. The hand gripping the sword shuddered slightly. "Let go!" Beneath the venomous threat, Black Crow could hear an undercurrent of weeping and pleading. He saw tears welling in Silver Lantern’s eyes as she gritted her silver teeth, her face showing a sorrow completely unfitting for who she was. Yet Black Crow did not hesitate for a second. The Grey Fox blade carved onward, tearing brutally through her palm and ripping out through the gap between her index and middle fingers, nearly cleaving her hand in two! Weakly, Silver Lantern released her right hand. With one last ounce of strength, she kicked Black Crow away. The chain coiled around her arm slid off like a rotary pencil sharpener, leaving behind only a flayed, mangled silver arm. His reopened wounds worsening, Black Crow could hold on no longer. Falling through the air, he caught Yaxiu’s sword, then plummeted toward the earth like a broken-winged crow. Thud. What met Black Crow was not the cold, unyielding earth, but a pair of warm, steady arms. Black Crow turned his head to see Yaxiu attempting to heal his wounds with a miracle. He shook his head: "It's useless... I am immune to all sorcery spirits. Silver Lantern..." Taking Honeyed Words with a Dagger from his hands, Yaxiu set him down on a nearby rooftop. Black Crow looked up and saw Silver Lantern streaking past an exterior wall of a distant building. Everywhere her wings swept over and shadowed, all recorded writing was erased, leaving behind only chaotic gouges. "She—she must be destroying the most crucial clues!" Chikala shouted as he rushed over. "Now none of us will ever get out!" Earlier, the only ones who had a chance to stop Silver Lantern from destroying the clues were Igola and Gwen, who had been guarding outside. But after Igola noticed Silver Lantern's intention, he hesitated for a moment and chose not to intervene—he wasn't afraid of the clues being destroyed, having already deduced the answer himself, and had instead brought Gwen along to inspect the ground-floor ruins. "For Silver Lantern to place such importance on it, that information was probably indispensable for deducing the third 'Truth Link,'" Harvey remarked. "Now, no one besides Silver Lantern will ever know the secrets of the Dead City." Igola asked, "How did Silver Lantern escape your siege?" Harvey: "Yaxiu almost had her subdued, but she found an opening to inflict a fatal wound and used him as a shield. My hands were tied." Yaxiu was severely wounded by Silver Lantern? How could that be? Did she do all this just to... Countless thoughts flashed through Igola’s mind. He turned to look at Yaxiu. Yaxiu shook his head to indicate he was fine, murmuring softly, "I used 'Three-Second Cicada Concealment.'" When his chest had been impaled by Silver Lantern, his mind had gone completely blank, but his body had instinctively activated Round Cicada. In an instant, the injury vanished without a trace, as if nothing had ever happened. Returning to the past, escaping the future where he was harmed by Silver Lantern. By now, Silver Lantern had flown to the top of the high tower. The distance between them was enough to make Yaxiu and the others give up the pursuit. The Dead City was vast and nearly devoid of light; if Silver Lantern was bent on fleeing, cornering a flying sorcerer was next to impossible. Yaxiu gazed out at Silver Lantern atop the tower. Her back was turned to them, clutching her battered right hand. Her head tilted slightly, as if she wanted to turn around and see what kind of expressions they wore right now. But in the end, she did not look back. In life, the most futile thing was looking back. Unfurling her wings, Silver Lantern dropped from the high tower and vanished into the night. Watching this unfold, Igola faintly understood something.