Meeting the blonde girl's eyes, the cult leader, having just bragged so boldly, suddenly felt his throat go dry.
Only then did Yaxiu realize he had gotten ahead of himself. He was merely an ordinary legendary sorcerer; he had plenty of unfulfilled wishes of his own. Silver Lantern was still waiting for him in dark Senluo, getting Weixi to willingly abide by the rules was still a distant impossibility, not to mention the irreconcilable conflict between the Sword Princess and the Witch... How dared he make such grand promises before this young girl like some wish-granting genie?
Yet perhaps it was precisely because he was in front of Feili that Yaxiu had spoken those words. She was like a seed blown onto barren earth; not a single spring had ever welcomed her to sprout, yet she still fought to blossom in the wrong winter. She trusted him so deeply, naive enough never to doubt him, genuinely looking out for him from the bottom of her heart... Yaxiu had already let her down once. How could he bear to let her down a second time?
"Feili," Yaxiu exhaled. "Do you know that when the weather turns cold, wrapping yourself in a blanket keeps you warm, but it isn't the blanket warming you up—rather, it's you warming the blanket?"
"So... do you understand what I mean?"
Feili blinked, hesitating for a moment. "...It's cold lately, so I should sleep with a blanket at night?"
"...Right, it's cold, so don't catch a cold!" Yaxiu slapped his own cheeks hard. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end, he steeled his resolve and said seriously, "Back to the point. Any wish will do. Even if I can't fulfill it, I'll strive to help you realize it; if I can help, I will definitely give it my all."
Yet Feili asked instead, "If our world is destroyed, will you and the others return to your world and keep on living, Yaxiu?"
"Yes." Yaxiu nodded and said frankly, "Except we wouldn't be able to keep living. That's one of the reasons I finally told you the truth... We are infected with Hell's secret poison."
"If we leave this world, Hell's secret poison will claim our lives sooner or later. Although we could seek shelter under other Divine Lords to fight for survival, the risks would only be higher, not lower. So you could say that if your world is destroyed, we will meet our end as well."
He gave a self-deprecating smile. "Maybe I'm just projecting my own pettiness onto others, but if someone told me the world was about to be destroyed while they themselves could escape unscathed, no matter how rational I tried to be, I'd still resent them. But if everyone dies together, it doesn't feel quite so awful. Even going to Hell won't feel lonely."
Feili shook her head. "You wouldn't think that way at all. If it were Mr. Igola and Mr. Harvey, you would definitely want them to live on well."
Yaxiu twitched his lips. "Though if the survivor were Weixi, my stomach would definitely burn up with rage... Yeah, I must have been contaminated by Weixi, which is why I judged your intentions with my petty mind when you're clearly not that kind of person at all."
Feili giggled, but quickly composed her smile and asked earnestly, "Is there truly no way to save this world and everyone's lives?"
Yaxiu's first instinct was to deny it outright. False hope was poisonous after all, like the matches the Little Match Girl used to warm herself, and they didn't even have matches. They had no way to alter the outcome, nor could they even delay it in the slightest.
Yet noticing the plea and yearning in Feili's eyes, Yaxiu suddenly realized that he was the only lifeline she could cling to. If even he pronounced this world utterly hopeless, the young girl would spend all her remaining time sinking into the mire of despair.
"...Strictly speaking, it isn't entirely impossible."
The gloom on Feili's face visibly gave way to radiance. "What way?!"
"The Country of All Stars exists solely to hunt the Prime Angel," Yaxiu explained. "The reason we believe the Divine Lord of Stars will destroy the Country of All Stars is because once the Prime Angel is hunted, the Divine Lord of Stars will have no further need for it. However, it's also possible that the Divine Lord of Stars might choose to spare the Country of All Stars. In that case, the world would be safe and sound. But the downside is..."
"The survival of the entire world hinges on someone's whim." Feili bit her lip lightly. "Must we simply pin our hopes on the mastermind showing mercy?"
"There is another way: force the mastermind into showing mercy," Yaxiu said. "Since the Country of All Stars was built to capture the Prime Angel, as long as the Prime Angel escapes, the Divine Lord of Stars will naturally preserve the Country of All Stars until the next Angel Hunt."
"And if the Prime Angel can't escape, we help it resist the Divine Lord of Stars—turning a death sentence into a stay of execution, or best of all, a life sentence. That way, the Country of All Stars will endure alongside the Prime Angel for eternity."
Feili asked, "Then can we help the Prime Angel escape?"
"Hard. Extremely hard." Yaxiu shook his head. "If we could help the Prime Angel escape, we would have left All Stars long ago. The Cage of All Stars exerts absolute suppression from within, and compared to the Divine Lord of Stars, we are simply far too weak. Unless other Divine Lords are willing to shatter the cage, there's no way the Prime Angel can escape."
"Yet the other Divine Lords also wish to hunt the Prime Angel. On that front, the interests of all the Divine Lords align; they only disagree on how to divide the Prime Angel's legacy. It's hard to imagine them destroying the Cage of All Stars."
"By contrast, helping the Prime Angel stay alive might be somewhat simpler. After all, as long as the Divine Lord of Stars cannot find the Prime Angel, they will never destroy the Country of All Stars."
Feili nodded thoughtfully. "What about your Hell's secret poison?"
"As long as the Prime Angel doesn't die, the Divine Lord of Stars will never unlock the Country of All Stars, so we'll remain trapped here too," Yaxiu smiled bitterly. "In that sense, we'd also be spared the threat of Hell's secret poison."
Yaxiu's words were no joke. If the Divine Lord of Stars couldn't kill the Prime Angel, they would lock down the Country of All Stars until the end of time. If maintaining the lockdown proved too costly, the other Divine Lords would even supply resources to support the Divine Lord of Stars; either way, they wouldn't let the Prime Angel have any chance to regain its freedom.
The rewards from the first two Angel Hunts alone were enough for sorcerers to grasp the monumental significance of the Prime Angel—it was the key to a sorcerer's seventh virtual wing, as well as the obstacle on the path to the supreme realm!
Why were the greatest beings in this world Six-Wing Divine Lords? Because the current version hadn't updated to the seventh virtual wing yet!
If the past thousands and tens of thousands of years belonged to the 'Six-Wing Divine Lord' patch, slaying the Prime Angel was equivalent to updating the world's version, allowing all sorcerers to explore the 'Seven-Wing Supreme' realm!
That was why the Divine Lords would never permit anything to go wrong with the Angel Hunt. What they fought over was merely who could take the first step into the supreme realm. Even if the Divine Lord of Stars truly attained supremacy, the other Divine Lords would still have a chance. But if the Prime Angel escaped, everyone would remain stuck in the previous patch, with nobody having any chance to enter the supreme domain!
Conversely, as long as the Prime Angel was not dead, the Divine Lords would keep the Cage of All Stars running even if it drained them of every drop of blood!
To tell the truth, Yaxiu was actually somewhat looking forward to a timeline where the Prime Angel survived. After all, sealing the Country of All Stars was tantamount to sealing Ruby Mountain. If the lockdown lasted a few decades, until the previous generation of legendary sorcerers had completely withered away, the ceiling for newly emerging sorcerers would become Sanctuary sorcerers—the Divine Lords would effectively be monopolizing an entire layer of the Void Realm, barring all sorcerers from advancing to legendary!
"Protecting the Prime Angel..." Feili murmured. "That must be very difficult too, right?"
Yaxiu said tactfully, "Aside from us who might entertain such a thought, every other demon and sorcerer came here solely to slay the Prime Angel. Even Igola and Weixi probably wouldn't approve of such a plan."
"Mm." Feili looked down at the tabletop. "In other words, I'll likely die a few months from now..."
"And you," she lifted her eyes to look at Yaxiu, "will face a mortal crisis from Hell's secret poison once you return to your world."
"Neither of us has long to live. We only have these few months left to squander in the Country of All Stars."
"The most precious time in our lives is the time we have right now."
Feili spoke as if to encourage herself. Pressing her lips tight, she gazed at Yaxiu with wide eyes. "So we shouldn't leave any regrets. We must follow our hearts and fight with all our might for everything we want. That way, even if fate truly deals us a cruel hand, we can freely curse this era instead of loathing our own hesitation."
Yaxiu felt as though he could barely withstand the searing intensity of Feili's gaze, but he forced himself to hold her eyes and nodded heavily. "That's right."
"I've decided on my wish." Feili sat up straight and proper. "Are you ready to hear it, Yaxiu?"
Yaxiu quickly gulped down a big mouthful of water and took a deep breath. "I'm ready."
Feili said slowly, "Yaxiu, I need you to..."
Yaxiu closed his eyes, pinching his thigh hard.
"...train me to become the strongest demon."
"I understand. If that is your wish, I will..." Halfway through his sentence, Yaxiu suddenly caught on. "Wait, did you say become the strongest demon?"
"Yes!" Feili said crisply. "I'm still too weak to be of any help to you all. But if I get stronger and help you defeat the other demons, won't we be able to protect the Prime Angel?"
"Even if there are only a few months left and I don't have much combat talent," she looked down at her fingers, "if we don't try our best, there truly won't be any hope at all. I don't want a villain like the Divine Lord of Stars to have their way. I want to shatter their evil plot together with you all."
"Yaxiu, are you willing to work hard with me?"
Yaxiu blinked. "That's your wish?"
"Yes." Feili nodded firmly. "Knowing the world is ending, if I don't try my hardest to avert this tragedy, I won't be able to rest in peace even in death."
Yaxiu stood stunned for a good while, then suddenly burst out laughing and slapped himself hard across the face a few times.
Feili panicked. "Even if my wish is ridiculous, you don't have to slap yourself!"
"No, it's not about you. I just suddenly felt like eating Lalafell has rotted my brain, making me keep having these bullshit thoughts that the whole world revolves around me." Yaxiu smiled. "Of course I'm willing to train you. Not just me—all of us will help you. We will definitely make you the strongest demon."
Exactly. How could there be so many love-struck fools in the world? Faced with the imminent end of the world, any normal person's first reaction would be to find a way to save themselves, not fall for some strange man who maintained 'pure love' relationships with multiple women. Ah, Yaxiu, Yaxiu, your shallow assumptions didn't just insult Feili; they insulted the Sword Princess and the Witch as well. You truly deserved every scolding Weixi gave you.
"Then... are you willing to protect the Prime Angel with me?" Feili asked timidly.
"Of course," Yaxiu replied readily. "But before finding the Prime Angel, we must keep this from Weixi and Igola. If they learn our true objective, they'll either slack off or try to change your mind—you definitely don't want to challenge the Spectre Prophet and the Deceiver when it comes to psychological manipulation."
Feili nodded hurriedly. Over this period, she had become well aware of how terrifying those two were. "But won't you be trapped in the Country of All Stars as well, then?"
Yaxiu nodded. "Yeah, but that also means our Hell's secret poison can be kept in check by the mysterious chains. Killing two birds with one stone."
Feili looked at him worriedly. "But... don't you want to go back and reunite with the Sword Princess and the Witch?"
"We'll find another way," Yaxiu smiled. "Don't worry about us. We can put the extra time to good use preparing for Hell. In short, all you need to do is focus on being your demon savior; we sorcerers will find our own way out."
Feili pressed her lips together, her eyes curving into crescents, and said softly, "Thank you."
"I'm the one who should thank you. Your willingness to remain with the team is already the greatest help to us." Yaxiu stood up and said, "Come on, we should head out. By the way, do you have any other wishes?"
Yaxiu was only asking casually, but Feili nodded shyly. "I actually do have one more wish."
"Hmm?"
"Well, today I officially turn twenty and reach adulthood." Feili blinked. "I can finally legally do some things I've looked forward to for a long time."
Yaxiu's body suddenly stiffened, his voice wavering nervously. "...What kind of things?"
"A birthday drinking party!" Feili clapped her hands energetically. "I've always wanted to throw a drinking party with friends, get completely wasted, fall asleep in a heap together, and wake up bleary-eyed and dazed the next morning! Since I didn't have many friends and never celebrated my birthday after Mother passed away, whenever I saw scenes like that in movies and plays, I yearned for it so much."
"Did you forget there's usually a step in the middle where everyone throws up...?" Yaxiu let out a sigh of relief. So the good girl just wanted to experience a wild party. Opening the door, he said, "I'll go tell Weixi—"
He turned his head and saw Weixi, Igola, and Harvey pressed right against the door.
"A birthday drinking party, right? I'll arrange it immediately." Weixi sprinted off in a flash.
"I'll go prepare too." Igola bolted right behind her.
"Happy birthday, Feili." Harvey calmly waved at Feili. "If you want it livelier, I'll go fetch a few family members to be guests—"
"Don't!"
Chapter 897