"Fuck, what kind of piece-of-shit gun is this? How did I miss every single shot?!"
In front of a carnival shooting stall, the black-and-white lady cursed, slammed down the toy gun whose ammunition had run dry, and thrust a hand toward the teenage boy beside her. "Give it here!"
The youth stared wide-eyed at this big sister whose temper was awful and whose marksmanship was even worse. The word "no" was clearly perched in his throat, but he couldn't bring himself to utter it at all. He could only pucker his lips miserably and hand over the toy gun in his hands.
Seeing this, the stall owner hesitated to speak. After all, this black-and-white lady refused to spare a single coin, relying solely on snatching toy guns bought by little kids to play. In just a short while, over a dozen children had already fallen victim to her. Yet because none of the kids dared to resist, onlookers assumed the black-and-white lady knew them, so no one said anything.
If anything, a player of such abysmal skill sparked the competitive urge of passersby. Everyone was thinking, *If it were me, I'd definitely hit it*—and in truth, that was indeed the case.
"Her gunmanship is as abysmal as ever."
Beneath a lamppost not far from the stall stood a masked man in a trench coat and a gentle, quiet lady with long hair draping over her shoulders—none other than the Observer of the End and the Silver Lantern Mirror Master.
"Though every sorcerer has their shortcomings, for one who has stepped into the divine domain, a 'shortcoming' usually means being only at the silver rank, not being utterly incapable of grasping it." Covering her mouth with a soft chuckle, the Mirror Master said, "Cases like the Black Demon are truly rare."
"Mm."
"I guessed earlier that you would loosen their chains a little, but none of them believed me. The Black Demon said unless you'd gone mad too; the Nether Demon thought I was mad; and while the Sword Demon said nothing, she obviously didn't think you would do so."
"They all think you're cold and unfeeling, but I know better. Having finally descended into reality after sleeping for so long, if only to ensure we're in good spirits for the upcoming operations, you'd let us unwind a bit."
"What's more, unlike the rest of us, the Nether Demon's homeland has long vanished into history, the Black Demon's homeland is a tiny room, and mine... no matter which timeline it is, was destroyed by my own hands." The Mirror Master murmured, "Yet Jialesi is the Sword Demon's second home. Having a rare chance to return to her native soil, how could you not let her relive her past dreams?"
"Mm."
"The plan is moving along so quickly. What was supposed to be a five-year progression is mostly done in just over half a year. Senluo fell ahead of time, the Nether Demon was resurrected early, and the Origin Angel is about to fall early too. Still, this gives Yaxiu and the others more time to prepare—it's just been exhausting for them to cover such a long journey in such a short time."
"Mm."
Her voice was gentle and placid, and even in a plain one-piece dress she appeared demure and elegant, looking so lovely amidst the bustling pedestrian street that one would hesitate to disturb her. Though her remarks received no earnest reply, the Mirror Master didn't mind, gingerly speaking of the past, the present, and the future.
There was always someone wanting to speak, and someone who didn't want to listen. It was always like that.
"I hit it! I hit it! I got one!"
After squandering over a hundred rounds of ammunition, the black-and-white lady finally hit once, twirling in circles with glee. Breathing a sigh of relief, the stall owner hurried to settle the prize and send her on her way. In truth, he was already in the red—even though he had given out only a single prize, all the toy guns slammed onto the counter by the black-and-white lady were broken; the repair costs alone would be astronomical.
The owner had originally wanted to say, "Whatever you want, I'll just give it to you," but the black-and-white lady had pointed the gun barrel straight at him, loudly railing, "Are you looking down on us?!" "He definitely thinks we can't afford to play!" "We have to vent our frustration!"—and what's more, all three sentences came out of her mouth simultaneously. What could the owner do? He was utterly despairing too.
"Ah? You like that big fox plushie? Alright, since little sister wants it, big sister will grant your wish!"
Hearing the black-and-white lady talk to herself, the vendor's mental state nearly collapsed. He had hoped to make some money during the Starry Festival, but now it looked like he would lose both his capital and his shirt.
Just then, two ladies walked over. The elf lady finished the drink in her hand, tipped out the ice cubes from the cup, and dumped them straight down the back of the black-and-white lady's collar.
"Ah!" Shivering violently all over, the Black Demon hopped and jumped about to shake out the ice cubes.
Furious, she lunged at the Nether Demon with bared fangs and brandished claws, but the Nether Demon pulled out a milk popsicle, shoved it into her mouth, and said, "I bet you can't finish licking this popsicle using only your tongue."
"Ha, what's hard about that?!" Instantly forgetting the Nether Demon's complete lack of decency, the Black Demon snatched the popsicle, poked out her dainty pink tongue, and diligently licked the melting white cream off the top.
Just as the gazes of nearby passersby were about to be drawn to the Black Demon, Dead Frenzy spoke coldly: "Nether Demon, did you forget that we cannot draw attention—"
"Alright, alright, why be so serious? You're almost as boring as that bastard." Shrugging, the Nether Demon took the popsicle back, swallowed the entire ice pop into her mouth in a single gulp—her throat even bulging slightly—and pulled out only the wooden stick. This feat left onlookers wide-eyed, and a man not far away even whistled.
The Nether Demon leaned in toward Dead Frenzy, exhaling a chilly, milk-scented puff of breath into her face, draped an arm over her shoulder, and laughed, "Come on, let's head back. We've been away for so long, that guy probably thinks we went off to slaughter people and reap souls."
With a flick of her wrist, she sent the popsicle stick flying, piercing and bursting the whistling man's eyeball in the distance. Seeing that, the Black Demon was quite dismayed and trailed dejectedly behind them.
Dead Frenzy glanced at the distant chaos and agonized screams, saying indifferently, "He'd only suspect you."
"Listen to you, as if you're some well-behaved darling." The Nether Demon leaned closer, sticking out her tongue to lick away an oily smudge from the corner of Dead Frenzy's mouth. "You're the Abyssal Sword Demon who caught up to thousands of years of my track record in just a few short years. The Starry Kingdom struck gold indeed—to think that in over a millennium, it managed to foster a scarlet star of slaughter like you."
Faced with the Nether Demon's malicious, boundary-crossing touch, Dead Frenzy showed no reaction—perhaps unbothered, or perhaps simply indifferent, like a sculpture carved by time.
It was only when the Nether Demon mentioned a certain name that the frozen scarlet in her eyes stirred with a faint tremor.
"Still, your record will probably be broken by Sonia. After all, she reached legendary rank in less than a year. Down the line, she's bound to carve out an even more brutal, ferocious reputation than yours. But you are her, and she is you—surely you wouldn't mind that, right?"
"Impossible."
"Impossible for you not to mind?" The Nether Demon blinked. "So you care that much about hollow fame? Ah, right, you really are a vain person..."
"It is impossible for her to walk the same path as me," Dead Frenzy said slowly. "She doesn't need to rely on killing to protect herself."
"But she needs to rely on killing to protect others," the Nether Demon chuckled. "You should know full well that neither the Observer nor I can anticipate everything. In fact, the present situation has already deviated drastically from our plan. It's like a boulder tied to a thin thread, with the other end hanging from a cloud—whether the thread snaps or the cloud dissipates, either would be entirely expected.
"If the day truly comes when she must slaughter to protect everything, I believe her strikes will be even more decisive, more ruthless, and more brutal than yours."
Dead Frenzy came to a sudden halt. The Black Demon bumped into her back from behind and promptly hugged her, looking curiously at the confronting pair like a child.
"I also believe she will become stronger than me," Dead Frenzy said. "Yet she will never become a Sword Demon without a bottom line. As long as Yaxiu is there, Sonia will never be the Sword Demon.
"She is not me, and I am not her."
The Nether Demon neither agreed nor disagreed, stroking Dead Frenzy's cheek with the back of her hand. "Is that so? But all of this is only the beginning. The oncoming torrent of destiny will only turn more violent. If the people she cherishes fall into peril again, can she truly keep upholding those so-called morals, bottom lines, and principles? No one understands better than you and me just how frail and flimsy those empty, ornate shackles are."
"Shackles are frail and flimsy only because we had no attachments."
Dead Frenzy gripped her hand and said coldly, "Destiny already trampled their first encounter; they will never forget that sense of powerlessness in this lifetime. If a second time ever comes, even if it is destiny itself, they will tear it to shreds together."
"Such trust, completely ignoring the logic of reality," the Nether Demon remarked, arching a brow. "Yet the amusing thing is, compared to Sonia, you seem... to trust Yaxiu even more?
"I can tell that you're happy Sonia met Yaxiu. You watch over them every waking moment, you genuinely pray for their romance to flourish, and you're willing to pay any price to protect them. But deep in your heart, you can't suppress the thought that arises—
"'...Why couldn't the one finding happiness be me?'"
From behind, the Black Demon nodded repeatedly, seventeen voices ringing out in unison: "Right, right! Why couldn't it be us?!"
Dead Frenzy said coldly, "Nether Demon, even at your peak you couldn't bewitch me in the slightest. Do you think a few words now can entice me to be your vanguard?"
The Nether Demon spread her hands. "Don't you think the Observer is too dictatorial, too rigid? If we had resurrected in person, we would certainly have stepped into the divine domain by now. The angel hunt wouldn't have been triggered ahead of time either. We could devour the Origin Angel with far greater ease, instead of wiping those brats' asses like this."
"The danger of resurrecting in person is made abundantly clear by your own example." Dead Frenzy shook off her hand. "Back then, you walked against time, yet in two rebirths you accomplished nothing, your overall achievements falling short even of your first life. If you hadn't joined us, to your dying day you would have thought it was simply bad luck.
"'No one can return to the past; everyone can only begin anew.' You should have heeded this maxim of the Glazed Time Lord."
The Nether Demon tried to push further: "Yet the progress is more than halfway done now. The River of Flowing Gold has turned turbid and turbulent. If we take their places now, we should be able to resurrect perfectly without creating the slightest ripple... Sword Demon, let us launch a magnificent rebellion against that bastard and take back our destinies!"
"You're bewitching the wrong person." Dead Frenzy lifted her head and strode away. "I haven't the slightest interest in replacing them. You'd be better off trying to subvert the Mirror Demon."
"Is that so?"
The Nether Demon sneered. "Then why did you go out of your way to visit a restaurant just now and order a portion of Blazing Lalafell to taste? I couldn't even be bothered to call you out."
"Think whatever you like."
Chapter 854