Meeting

Within the raging white fog and Black Sea, the final act of the angel hunt was unfolding. The Golden Fish was shrinking. Under the watchful eyes of Yaxiu and the others, the Golden Fish guarding the Silver Wing took the brunt of the sword light without bleeding, without scarring, and without even crying out. It swam quietly around the Silver Wing, pressing its scales against the feathers like a mother comforting her child, or an elder sister looking after her younger brother. With every stroke of its fins, it left behind golden ripples, turning the entire battlefield into its personal stage. Its proud movements mesmerized the sorcerers; its utter disregard for everything around it caused the white fog to stall; its graceful brilliance put even the Black Sea to shame. For a moment, it felt as though the entire world had been reduced to a dance of gold and silver. As the Golden Fish grew smaller and smaller, the sorcerers heard the distant sound of popping bubbles. Then, the Golden Fish dove into the Silver Wing and vanished. The fearless Spectre Prophet murmured, "I have a bad feeling about this..." "It's like a chaste, virtuous woman committing suicide rather than submitting, choosing death to defy a gang of vile, shameless thieves," Yaxiu offered in vivid detail. Disperse. The noble, immaculate Silver Wing suddenly disintegrated. No longer drifting upward or falling one feather at a time, all of them—hundreds of thousands, millions, perhaps nearly a hundred million falling feathers of silver light—scattered at once. In them, the sorcerers saw pride, saw rage, saw exhaustion, and above all, saw danger. Even the Void Realm—eternal, imperishable, devoid of desire—seemed to have children it cherished. The white fog pressed down! The Black Sea surged upward! The Divine Lord of Stars had prepared for everything long ago. Anticipating that the Void Realm would not allow her to slay the Prime Angel so easily—even if it were merely a single wing—she had painstakingly arranged this environment. The fog was an angel's blood; the sea was an angel's flesh. The Divine Lord of Stars had forged the angel's flesh and blood into the most grandiose weapon of murder, all to dissect the child of the Void Realm within this slaughterhouse known as the Country of All Stars. The scattering feathers were snared by the white fog and drowned by the Black Sea. When it came to feeding upon an angel, the Divine Lord of Stars held an infinite advantage—the entire Country of All Stars was her stomach! "Hurry!" Weixi was practically turning into Heart Sword herself as she shot like a beam of light straight toward the center of the storm of falling silver feathers. "The angel's remains are inside!" It was not just Weixi. The Gospel team's demon Yinzhi, Amilo, and Igola; the Blood Moon team's demon Yejian, Tiramisu, and Harvey; and the other Divine Lord factions lurking in the surroundings almost simultaneously rushed into the storm of falling silver feathers. The angel hunt had officially entered its second phase! Yaxiu and Feili naturally did not lag behind either. Yet the moment they stepped onto the mountain ridge entwined with flying feathers, every sorcerer felt a sudden chill run through their hearts. For within the storm of feathers, they caught a glimpse of fleeting golden light and a pair of pearlescent fish eyes. The Golden Fish had not forgotten them at all. It had merely been waiting for them to take the stage. This very moment was the climax! All the drifting feathers began to glow with faint silver light, transforming into true flying feathers of silver radiance. They no longer floated outward; instead, they danced around the mountain ridge until they turned it into a cage of silver light! Yaxiu instinctively moved to escort Feili out first, yet facing the sweeping flurry of silver flying feathers, he was utterly powerless to resist—his Sanctuary might as well have been nonexistent! "Yaxiu? Yaxiu!" Yaxiu was blown away in an instant by the silver flying feathers. Feili reached out instinctively to grab him, but their fingertips only grazed past each other. By the time she tried to give chase, Yaxiu had already been swallowed by the silver feathers and swept away to who knew where. "Yaxiu?! Where are you?" Feili's voice could not carry at all; the dampening effect of the silver flying feathers was even stronger than the white fog. What was more, Yaxiu could not make a sound either. The silver flying feathers continuously pierced his soul, diffusing like silver ink across it. He felt like a sopping wet paper towel now, weighed down so heavily he could barely move a muscle. Where are my sorcery spirits? Sorcery spirits, help me out here! Yet without sorcery mana, the sorcery spirits would never work for Yaxiu for free. And Yaxiu could not mobilize any mana—he could not even unfurl his Void Wings, because his sorcery mana was completely contaminated by the silver ink. Wait. Yaxiu suddenly realized something. He decisively cycled his sorcery mana back and forth, converting among the four types: sword-colored, prismatic, golden, and silver. Because conversion ratios resulted in net losses, each transformation inevitably drained mana. When Yaxiu's sorcery mana dropped to the 10% danger threshold, he finally regained control of his body and was no longer swept away so easily by the silver flying feathers. He had tumbled who knew how many times down the mountain just now, bruising himself all over and splitting his forehead open. But he could not cast any healing miracles, because this mountain had turned into a forbidden zone for sorcerers. These silver flying feathers targeted neither flesh nor soul, but Void Wing sorcery mana! That was precisely why Feili hadn't been blown away like him; after all, Feili was essentially a demon without mana of her own. If Yaxiu had guessed correctly, her Void Wing mana was likely "loaned" to her by the Void Realm, and since the Golden Fish and the Void Realm were on the same side, the silver flying feathers naturally wouldn't enforce their rules against her. Sorcerers were different. A sorcerer's Void Wing mana was personal property, steeped in the sorcerer's individual imprint. This storm of silver flying feathers was aimed specifically at these sacrilegious sorcerers! Fortunately, Yaxiu possessed the secret poison for converting mana, allowing him to rapidly exhaust his reserves without needing to activate sorcery spirits. If the other legendary sorcerers lacked such a secret poison, they probably wouldn't even be able to expend their mana, leaving them to be blown about like fools by the storm. Yet among those capable of reaching this place, there were only sorcerers and demons... In theory, did that mean all the competitors could now only rely on the demons to snatch the angel's remains? At the thought that the other demons might be just as rookie-level as Feili, Yaxiu could already picture them bumbling into a chaotic catfight on the mountain peak. Of course, Yaxiu could move freely now as well, making him eligible to tread upon the peak. Thinking of this, he slightly regretted having infected Weixi with the secret poison earlier—that creature would surely realize this immediately, and was likely already burning through her mana to sprint toward the storm's center. Unable to deploy his Void Wings, Yaxiu had no choice but to trudge step by step through the storm toward the peak. As time passed, his breathing grew heavier and his calves felt like lead. Yaxiu realized that this was his weakest state yet—no teammates, drained mana, covered in wounds, and utterly exhausted. He could only force himself to redirect his focus: he wondered how Igola and Harvey were doing. He hoped they were fine... they had to be fine. If something really had to happen, it would be best if they died together. Otherwise, Yaxiu would have to deal with Igola alone or Harvey alone in the future—a prospect that made him prefer dying himself. Besides, if they died together... no one would stop Yaxiu from going to Hell to find them in the future. While Feili was a bit timid, she was reasonably smart; in all likelihood, she would stay put. As for Weixi, she had better come away empty-handed. If she really got her hands on anything, Yaxiu would strip her bare if necessary to pry her spoils away. He could never allow this viper the slightest chance to rise again. And what if it's me who claims the angel's remains? Yaxiu suddenly remembered Weixi's fanatical declaration: "Sights no sorcerer has ever seen! The world's sole throne! The scepter of boundless power!" If he could obtain the angel's remains and attain power surpassing every sorcerer, would he be able to solve every problem, fulfill every wish, and satisfy every longing? Would all people have to submit before him, and all things in the world be his for the taking? Just how much power did one need to grasp in order to possess happiness? He looked up, staring blankly at the mountain peak shrouded in silver flying feathers, a glimpse of greedy ambition surfacing in his eyes. But soon, Yaxiu gave his head a shake and dutifully continued walking. Overthinking it. Not that power couldn't solve problems, but it couldn't solve all of them. For instance, even if Yaxiu became a Divine Lord right now, he still couldn't resolve the predicament between him, Sword Princess, and the Witch. A wish where no one was slighted and everyone found happiness—no amount of power could ever grant that. At this thought, Yaxiu felt a twinge of dread at the prospect of meeting Sword Princess once they got out... "You." Yaxiu lifted his head and saw the Golden Fish. It had shrunk to about a meter in length now, its pearlescent fish eyes staring down at the battered sorcerer. "The four of you," it said. The voice seemed to emerge from its gills, neither male nor female, resembling the sound of ocean tides. Yaxiu looked around at the empty surroundings and held up a single finger. "How many fingers is this?" The Golden Fish paid him no heed, murmuring on its own, "The four of you." "The four of you." "The four of you!" Its voice grew louder and louder. Its eyes turned murky and crimson, and its beautiful golden scales were tainted with a filthy black sheen! "The four of you!" With a piercing roar, the Golden Fish actually charged straight at him. Yaxiu instantly flicked the short sword out from his sleeve to counter, but he had forgotten: this was merely a toy sword he had purchased. It had only been lethal before because it was reinforced by sorcery mana and sorcery spirits. And now, drained of mana, he was no different from an ordinary mortal. Thud! Yaxiu was sent flying ten meters, coughing up a mouthful of blood and foam. The toy short sword shattered on impact, and the tremendous force fractured the bones in both arms shielding his chest, seemingly breaking one of his ribs as well! He rolled repeatedly down the mountain path until slamming into a boulder. His sharp swordsmanship instincts forbade him from pausing for even a second; forcing down the foul blood in his throat, he rolled forward immediately! Boom! The boulder shattered under the Golden Fish's collision. Yaxiu turned his head, locking eyes directly with those crimson fish eyes. "I..." With a retch, Yaxiu coughed up bright red fragments of visceral tissue and crawled along the ground with great difficulty. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that, instead of dying at the hands of the other legendary sorcerers or Weixi, he was going to die in the maw of a golden fish! Right now, the Golden Fish possessed no special abilities; it could only ram blindly, and any ordinary sorcerer could easily deal with it. Yet inside this storm of silver flying feathers, sorcerers were not only barred from channeling mana, but had to completely drain their reserves just to earn the basic right to move! "I... I..." Boom! Yaxiu dodged the Golden Fish's ramming charge by a hair's breadth. Flying shards of rock sliced his face open, sending blood streaming down his cheeks. Suddenly choked by blood in his throat, he broke into a violent coughing fit to clear it. By the time he looked up, the Golden Fish was already poising to charge again. No escape. Yaxiu had no intention of running any further either. He pushed himself to his feet, gripping the broken toy short sword. He suddenly recalled what Tamashi had told him about rallying one's spirit in dire straits—precious wisdom accumulated by the Black Crow across dozens of brushes with death. "I won't die," Yaxiu muttered to himself. "I won't die. There's no way in hell I'm dying here!" Unleashing a blood-tinged roar, Yaxiu charged straight toward the Golden Fish and swung his sword with all his might! At that exact moment, a dark shadow dashed out from behind him. Slash! Golden blood splattered all over Yaxiu as the Golden Fish was sliced in two, dropping dead to the ground. Yaxiu stared at his toy short sword, which hadn't caught a single drop of blood, and looked up at the red-haired girl with a cross-shaped scar on her face standing before him. "Why are you in such a pathetic state?" She sheathed her sword and said coldly, "There. You covered for me once last time, and now I've repaid the favor. We're even." "Brace for the shockwave!" As the final starry barrier verged on shattering, Daidalos signaled for everyone to pull back and avoid the ensuing deathrattle explosion! Seeing the white pillar of light inside the bulwark on the verge of fading, Sonia and Diya had no choice but to strategically retreat, burning with anxiety though they were. The spatial explosion of the starry barrier was far too lethal; they had survived the first time purely by luck, the second time thanks to Diya's Time Stop Sanctuary, but for the third time their only option was to stay far away, or lives would truly be lost. Crack. The moment the starry barrier shattered, everyone held their breath, bracing for the raging explosion to follow. Whoosh. Suddenly, over a hundred streaks of starlight flew out from inside the bulwark, darting across the sky and vanishing in the blink of an eye. The Four Pillar Cult sorcerers were stunned. Were those just now... church sorcerers fleeing? Why were they fleeing so hastily? In the next second, everyone saw the answer. Boom! Thousands upon thousands of Four-Wing phantoms surged into the bulwark's pillar of light like mad dogs unleashed from their cages, or like water rushing into an uncorked drain. As they charged, they even lashed out at the pillar of light, as though an enemy they loathed to the bone lay within. If the church sorcerers hadn't fled immediately, they would undoubtedly have been drowned beneath a deluge of sorcery miracles! "This..." Daidalos was dumbfounded, having prepared no contingency for such an occurrence. "What do we..." Suddenly, a Blood Moon Shattered Lake slashed toward the pillar of light, butchering an untold number of Four-Wing phantoms, yet the pillar of light remained largely unaffected. "It's useless," Sonia said immediately. "Attacking the pillar of light from the outside has no effect, but inside there might be an item or ritual connecting the two firmaments... Is there any way to get me in?" The crowd exchanged glances. Right now, the area around the pillar of light was a boiling nest of roaches; plunging in meant facing tens of thousands of miracle strikes. Even for a legendary sorcerer, it would be impossible— "There is." The greatest beauty beneath the starry sky took a deep breath. She produced a pair of earplugs and fitted them onto Sword Princess. "From now on, you will hear only my singing. The moment you can no longer hear it, you must deploy your Sanctuary immediately and pull out!" Sonia gave her a deep look and gave a slight nod. The Witch chimed in at once, "I want to go too!" "I can only protect one person," Chaos Diva said apologetically. "There's no need for both of us to go. I'll be back shortly," Sonia assured her. Unfurling her wings, she dove into the frenzied swarm of sorcerer projections. Countless miracles whizzed past her, yet none could affect her in the slightest. Listening to Daidalos's live performance, she broke into the fortress with ease. Even though the bulwark had been largely decimated by the Four-Wing phantoms, the village girl could still tell that the church had prepared here for a long time, fully equipped with fortifications and quarters. Watching the shrinking pillar of light ahead, Sonia took a deep breath and charged resolutely into it. Yet the instant she entered the pillar of light, Daidalos's singing vanished... "Repaying this favor wasn't easy," the red-haired girl said, casting a glance at the carcass of the Golden Fish. "I originally planned to step in when someone tried to kidnap or attack you, but you keep such a low profile that even criminals won't bother you. Who would have thought that you either don't encounter trouble at all, or you stumble into earth-shattering catastrophes?" Yaxiu took a few deep breaths. After confirming that his broken rib hadn't punctured an internal organ, he smiled and said, "You followed us all the way in? Did you swim across?" "You make it sound as if you didn't swim here yourselves," the red-haired girl said, frowning slightly. "I didn't see you with a boat." Yaxiu chuckled and said warmly, "Thank you. Thank you for swimming such a long way to save me." The feisty red-haired murderer felt a bit awkward. Turning her head, she muttered, "Whatever. I brought it on myself." "It's very dangerous for you here. You should leave quickly," Yaxiu said earnestly. "There are a lot of people here who want you dead." "There are lots of people everywhere who want me dead." The red-haired girl shot him a look. "What about—" "I'll leave with you. You can ride in my car." Yaxiu made a swift decision; with his injuries, he couldn't participate in the angel hunt any longer anyway. "I know you don't want to accept my protection. I'll drop you off once we get back to Jiashi. But it's really dangerous lately. Unless absolutely necessary, don't expose yourself, and definitely don't commit high-profile crimes like that incident at the Police Department headquarters. If there's someone you truly must kill, tell me and I can help you. And also..." Watching Yaxiu nag and fuss over her, a fleeting look of delight flashed across the red-haired girl's face, but it quickly shifted into confusion, and finally settled into deep vigilance. "I don't want it." "Huh?" Yaxiu froze. "I don't want any of your help," the red-haired girl said coldly. "Why would the esteemed Yaxiu Heath be so good to a wanted criminal like me?" "Because... because you saved my life!" Yaxiu instantly found a flawless reason. "Isn't it only natural to treat my savior well?" "I told you, we are e-ven!" the red-haired girl retorted. "You being nice to me—is it so I'll owe you a favor? So I'll kill people for you?" "No, I don't need any payback, I just want—" "Just want to help me unconditionally?" The red-haired girl sneered. "We've only met twice! What right do you have to do so much for me? Why don't I see you treating random passersby this well?" "Or are you going to trot out that lame excuse again?" Disdain dripped from her face. "Saying you like me?" Yaxiu took a deep breath. "I know you don't trust me, and that's fine. But right now, so many people have their eyes on you. It's best if we head back to Jiashi together..." The red-haired girl suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Yaxiu by the collar. Her murky, blood-red eyes bore straight into him. "I don't need any help. Especially not from you." "I've repaid my debt. From this day forth, I will never appear before you again, and you are forbidden from appearing before me. Otherwise, I will kill you." With that, she shoved Yaxiu away, turned her head aside, and spat venomously, "I already regret saving you. Nobody has ever disgusted me as much as you..." Yaxiu thought to himself that he really might be hopeless at communicating with women. This was clearly Sword Princess's projection, yet he had somehow managed to turn the conversation into bitter mutual hostility. It made him wonder if meeting Sword Princess in reality would end up the same way—after all, they had only ever met "online" in the Void Realm before, essentially making them internet friends. Just then, Yaxiu noticed that the red-haired girl's voice was growing quieter. She stood in a daze for a moment, then reached up to touch her ear, as if trying to clean out her ear canal. When she turned her head back to look at Yaxiu, both of them froze. After a brief silence, Yaxiu asked tentatively, "Sword Princess?" The red-haired girl stared blankly at him. She stepped closer, touched his face, and wiped away the blood on his cheek. Then she opened her arms, gently embracing Yaxiu and nuzzling against his chest like a kitten. Yaxiu's whole body relaxed as he softly held her. Amidst the storm of silver flying feathers, the two held each other close. After a moment, a voice sounded: "I'm not dreaming?" "No... probably not?" "Mm. I'm Sword Princess."