Broken Wings

Weixi was unconscious, Niya was on the brink of death, and Feili was grievously injured. Among the three, Weixi was certainly the one who ought to be abandoned most. If she died, Yaxiu wouldn't shed a single tear for her—and if he did, he would definitely curse himself for being an idiot. But for the exact same reason Yaxiu hadn't killed her, if she died here, she would reincarnate from her soul phylactery, return to reality, and potentially even break free from the Ruby Chains. She was like the arch-villain in a cliché fantasy tale who could only ever be sealed away. Her death would only sow catastrophe for the future, so binding her to Yaxiu was effectively sacrificing him alone for the greater good of the entire world. Moreover, even Yaxiu had to admit that Weixi was an outright treasure trove of a girl. Her breadth of knowledge, her sorcery attainments, and even she herself held immense value. If Yaxiu wished to tread further along the path of a sorcerer, there was no better guide than Weixi. Not to mention, Weixi had saved them from crisis time and again. Granted, she was forced to save them only because of the Ruby Chains' constraints; had it not been for the chains, not backstabbing Yaxiu immediately would have been her showing immense restraint for the sake of the bigger picture. She was indeed a devil reviled by the whole world, an insidious and vile viper, a brutal and tyrannical python—yet at this very moment, she was also a comrade fighting side by side with Yaxiu. Feili was an indispensable key figure. Without this demon, Yaxiu and the other legendary figures were no different from mortals; they would be unable to take part in the angel hunt, let alone contend against other teams. And unlike Weixi, Feili had been dragged by Yaxiu into a war that wasn't hers to begin with. Yaxiu had promised to keep her safe, so he owed her that responsibility. Yet she demanded nothing and questioned nothing. She did whatever Yaxiu said and gave whatever Yaxiu asked for. Even when the city descended into utter chaos, she had rushed over without hesitation. No matter how badly hurt she was, she didn't utter a single whimper, trailing closely behind Yaxiu like a tail. Just a month ago, she had been nothing more than an ordinary student... How could Yaxiu stand by and watch her die? So when the floors collapsed, Yaxiu didn't think for even a fraction of a second. He hurled the sword in his hand straight across— *Clang!* The sword plunged upright into the floor right in front of Feili. Just as reinforced concrete came crashing down, a warm amber barrier rose high, firmly shielding her and Weixi inside. Miracle · Sword Body Barrier. Feili looked up in pleasant surprise, only to catch a fleeting glimpse through the gaps of falling rebar and rubble of a back spreading its wings. Like an angel charging into Hell alone. *** Black. Pitch-black. Nothing could be seen. A wave of nausea churned in her head, and not a single part of her body was free of pain. Niya coughed violently several times. Only after coughing up a mouthful of bloody foam did she regain a shred of cognitive clarity. It was then that she realized it wasn't pure blackness before her eyes. The Golden Holy Grail still circled around her, though the light it radiated couldn't illuminate any tangible object, resembling an illusion that belonged to another world. Apart from her own Golden Holy Grail, she also saw another floating Golden Holy Grail. "Awake? You were out for nearly a minute." Yaxiu's voice sounded from behind her, so close it felt right against her hair. Only then did Niya realize she wasn't lying on the gravelly ground. Her buttocks and back were pressed against another body, her legs curled up, her entire form sheltered in someone's arms. *Crack!* As Niya tried to pull away, the ominous sound of shifting rubble immediately echoed around them. Yaxiu didn't physically stop her, only speaking softly, "Don't move around. We got lucky. We happened to slip into the corner between large floor slabs and a wall. Even though we're buried under the very bottom, there are wide gaps between the stones, so air can get in. Moving recklessly could trigger a secondary collapse, and then we'd be in real trouble. "If this physical contact makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry." Niya had already recognized the dire circumstances, but hearing Yaxiu say that irritated her for some inexplicable reason. "I'm sorry too. After all, I'm neither your maid nor your silly girl, so I don't find physical contact with you pleasant in the slightest. Could you stop facing your head toward my hair? Your breath makes me sick." Yaxiu didn't get angry or reply, merely turning his head away in silence. After taking a few deep breaths, Niya gradually recovered her senses and asked, "What about them?" "They're fine," Yaxiu said. "I used a miracle to protect them. The miracle is still active right now, so they shouldn't have suffered any harm." Niya reached up to touch her still-bleeding forehead and said calmly, "Of course. They're the ones you care about, so naturally you had to protect them first... So why are you here? Take a wrong turn?" "I thought I had a way to protect all of you," Yaxiu said with a wry smile. "It's just that after I flew over and grabbed you, the pain knocked me unconscious, and I couldn't erect my Sanctuary in time." Yaxiu only had two ways to protect people: the miracle "Sword Body Barrier" and his Sanctuary. His original plan had been flawless—shield Feili and Weixi first with Sword Body Barrier, then protect himself and Niya with his Sanctuary. Unfortunately... At that moment, Niya also remembered. She vaguely recalled seeing Yaxiu spread a pair of gold and silver wings and fly over to scoop her into his arms... She had seen it. "Aren't you guys unable to use superpowers in front of 'non-special' people like me?" "Yeah." "But just now, I saw your wings," Niya murmured. "Gold and silver. You looked just like an angel." "Yeah," Yaxiu said softly. "You saw them." "What happens now that I've seen them?" "Nothing much. It won't make a big difference." "What will actually happen? Don't brush me off!" Yaxiu gestured for Niya to lower her voice. Immediately after, they heard faint roars and rustling noises above. "The Six Nations Legions know we aren't dead yet; they'll dig us out," Yaxiu said. "Until then, though, we can rest a bit. Bullets shouldn't be able to penetrate down here." "So... what will really happen?" Niya clutched Yaxiu's clothes, her voice subdued. "Tell me." "It just means I can't pretend to be an angel anymore." Yaxiu shrugged. "The wings you saw have already been snapped." Silence fell over the dark space, with only faint, shallow breaths hovering in the air. Yaxiu wasn't lying either. The loss of his Golden Wings and Silver Wings wasn't particularly catastrophic; even with secret poison converting them, that little bit of sorcery power was merely icing on the cake. In contrast, during the earlier kitchen explosion, Yaxiu had subconsciously deployed his Sanctuary using rainbow sorcery power, resulting in his rainbow void wings being shattered by the mysterious chains. He had to consider that through the Colorless Dream Secret Poison, all of his rainbow sorcery power could be converted into sword-colored sorcery power with high efficiency. Losing his rainbow void wings was the true, grievous loss. Looking back now, Yaxiu also realized he had been foolish—a Sanctuary could be constructed with any sorcery power, varying only in the rate of consumption. In other words, he could have built the Sanctuary with silver sorcery power, which would have meant losing only his silver void wings. Yet had that happened, Yaxiu—lacking the pair of gold and silver wings—would never have made it in time to fly over and protect Niya. The golden void wings sat on his upper shoulder blades, while the rainbow void wings rested across his mid-back; their positions were not on the same level, making them impossible to use together for flight. So one could only say that everything had unfolded for the best. While Yaxiu was weighing his gains and losses, Niya suddenly asked, "Back then... you clearly could have just left me behind." "Is that what you were thinking about in silence?" "They're obviously far more important to you, and I'm nobody to you." Niya shifted slightly. Even though he couldn't see in the dark, Yaxiu could feel her gaze fixed on him. "Why did you have to come save me?" "I don't know what's going through your head, but it's not as complicated as you think," Yaxiu chuckled. "The situation was dire. I didn't have time to weigh pros and cons; my body moved before I could even think. "You don't need to feel indebted to me, either. You saved me and Weixi before, and now I've saved you back. Consider it paying off Weixi's debt... We're even." Yaxiu's reassurance was purely meant to keep Niya from feeling burdened, but for some reason, one of his words struck a nerve. She let out a cold snort and said nothing more. Still, Yaxiu had never been able to read Niya's temper anyway, so he didn't dwell on it. He continued, "Just waiting around here isn't a solution either. Let's treat our injuries. My 'Joy Sword' can provide sustained health regeneration, and it can also heal specific wounds targetedly. But I must ensure it doesn't give off light when I cast, otherwise my last remaining wing will get snapped too." Joy Sword was originally meant only as a sustained buff, but miracle sorcery procedures were created by sorcerers after all. Having played the role of a healer for so long, Yaxiu had continuously tweaked the Joy Sword procedure through practical application, developing a technique capable of rapid localized healing. Yaxiu's sword-colored void wings were still intact, which was why he could continue sustaining the Sword Body Barrier over on Feili's side. It was also fortunate that his sword-colored void wings were already nearly half-formed; otherwise, he wouldn't even have been able to sustain continuous casting. Niya said nothing, offering neither agreement nor objection. Yaxiu hesitated for a moment before adding, "If we're treating specific wounds, my palm needs to cover the injury—" "Then I won't be treated," Niya said calmly. "Treat yourself. I'll keep my eyes closed." Yaxiu urged, "You're heavily injured too. Relying solely on health regeneration won't be enough. If we get into another fight later, your wounds will definitely tear open." "Tear open then. Bleed then. I don't care." "If we don't do targeted healing, your body will very likely be left with scars. You don't care about that either?" "Do you think scars are ugly?" A subtle shift occurred in Niya's voice, carrying both a mocking edge and a hint of relieved gratification. "In your eyes, is the cross-shaped scar on my face very ugly?"