A Battle of Myth, the Falling Mountains!

"What stance did he say he'd deploy in?" "What just happened?" "Where did that thunder giant standing on the earth even come from?!" Sword of Winter: "?" Emerald Flame: "?" Rusted Silver Knight and the trio of Explorers: "!" Every Extraordinary present tilted their head back, looking up at this colossal figure standing over a dozen meters tall—bearing a building of flesh on its back with a sky-shrouding cloak billowing in the wind—their scalps tingling with numbness. The earth shook, and the heavens rumbled. By now, nearly half of Reflected Tinghai could likely see the towering silhouette of this knight mecha shouldering a building, and hear the deafening, thunderous echoes of the two gigantic titans colliding! As modern people, every one of these Extraordinaries had dreamed in their childhood of piloting a mecha to battle kaiju or aliens. Not even the three Titled Extraordinaries were an exception. Except Emerald Flame, whose childhood dream had been to become a magical girl. Yet even after becoming Extraordinaries and mastering all manner of miraculous abilities— They had only come to realize with painful clarity that while "monsters" truly existed in this world, dealing with those bizarre horrors relied on underhanded rituals, eerie curses, mystic arts, and secret techniques—not romantic, fist-to-flesh mechas! Only that bunch of iron hunks from the Special Control Bureau's Mechanical Walker pathway could be considered to barely touch the realm of "piloting a mecha" once they reached Rank 5 or higher. Only a handful of high-ranking figures, such as the three Titled Extraordinaries, knew that if one truly wished to pilot a mecha, heading to the North or South Pole might offer a chance. Yet on those battlefields, even the three of them could hardly guarantee surviving past thirty-six hours! And now— What did he mean by, *You will deploy in Knight Form*? —*You call this a knight?!* Did someone truly get whatever they wished for, actually living out the life of their dreams?! Everyone was stunned. Could an Extraordinary's combat actually look like this? After a moment's hesitation, Rusted Silver Knight asked the two standing beside him in a low voice, "Does Director Liu know the Thunderous Heavenly Bow can be used like this?" Emerald Flame was speechless for a while before finally murmuring, "I'm afraid the Heavenly Bow's true master has come for it." "Wait, wasn't the Thunderous Heavenly Bow seized from the ruins by Director Liu?" Just who was the true owner of the Thunderous Heavenly Bow?! Senior Zhou... What an unfathomable Senior Zhou! Though they were temporary allies, the three Extraordinaries still regarded Bai Zhou with deep wariness. Beyond any doubt, this was an exceedingly dangerous individual! It was fine while facing the demon, but once the demon was gone, Senior Zhou himself would be the greatest threat within the Yuanmeng Middle School secret realm! *Rumble!* Bai Zhou clenched his palm tightly around the Thunderous Heavenly Bow. A bizarre connection forged itself between Bai Zhou and the bow. *Hm?* With a thought, Bai Zhou stimulated that connection. *Rumble, rumble, rumble!* The sound of thunder echoed out, vibrating the eardrums of everyone present. The very next second, Bai Zhou's field of vision was engulfed by surging, blood-red lightning. First was sight, then hearing, taste, and touch... Bai Zhou's five senses seemed to vanish and recede into the distance, yet in the blink of an eye, they reassembled anew. When his vision cleared once more, the scene before Bai Zhou had undergone a drastic transformation. It was no longer the bloody, fouled ground, but an enclosed chamber crackling with leaping electric arcs. Right in front of him sat a projection reflecting the outside world in vivid detail, showing the twisted flesh hell beyond. The Thunderous Heavenly Bow hovered before Bai Zhou like a steering wheel. As Bai Zhou turned it, the projection shifted in tandem, as if the mecha were creaking and turning its head along with him. *I'm... inside the Thunder Knight!* Bai Zhou came to a sudden realization. He was steering the thunder! —Or rather, piloting the "knight"! The moment this thought crossed his mind, an indescribably wondrous sensation welled up within Bai Zhou's heart. Without any need for intricate control sticks or a series of up-up-down-down-left-right-B-A buttons, a cold, granular physical sensation surfaced across every corner of Bai Zhou's body. *Buzz, buzz, buzz!* Soft rumbles of thunder echoed beside his ears. The whistling wind and the rustling sound of decaying meat falling from the flesh building were conveyed clearly into his hearing. Bai Zhou felt as though he had returned to the battlefield—feeling as if he possessed a massive, heavy, yet incomparably agile body magnified countless times over. With a single thought, the Thunder Knight moved accordingly. Every part of the Thunder Knight's body felt like an extension of Bai Zhou's own flesh. When Bai Zhou slightly shifted his gaze, the crosshair in the center of the projection screen followed left and right. Beside the crosshair, massive streams of dynamic data flickered and recalculated continuously, deducing the target's weak points. He could even distinctly perceive the sticky, gelatinous sensation of the flesh-covered ground beneath his "feet"! At this moment, Bai Zhou was Bai Zhou, yet he was also the Thunder Knight! This reminded Bai Zhou of the words he had faintly heard amidst the thunder earlier: *Neural synchronization: 100%. Confirmed.* *So this is 'neural synchronization'...* Bai Zhou understood. The multicolored cloak woven of spirituality behind the Thunder Knight billowed without wind. Boundless spirituality surged and roared alongside thunder within the body, and mountain-shaking might coursed through the flesh, making Bai Zhou feel as if he were practically omnipotent. Rumors spoke of that lost, formidable pathway once feared by all—the Spirit Warlock. Its peak practitioners likely amounted to nothing more than this. This was pure, unadulterated strength, devoid of any superfluous tricks— There was neither the mighty force of "Mind" nor the domain of "Qi," neither the profundity of "Intent" nor those wondrous powers that Bai Zhou could not comprehend. There was only spirituality as vast as mountains and seas! And colossal thunder capable of sundering all things! Righteous, grand, and majestic—it was an absolute crushing of raw power! Yet spirituality was the foundation of all spirits, and the essence of thunder was inherently supreme. In countless myths and legends, lightning was the most unyielding, potent, and fierce bane of evil, even directly linked to certain king gods. Confronted by the combination of these two, any fancy, bizarre tricks would be dragged onto the arena stage to honestly clash over raw numbers and arm-wrestle! "Something's not right... Why can't I see Senior Zhou anymore?" "Isn't he right inside that Thunder Knight—wait, no! Where is the Thunder Knight?!" The Titled Extraordinaries reacted in an unusual manner. As Rank 6 Titled Extraordinaries who had touched the divine, they possessed a perception independent of physical sight, capable of capturing the dynamic presence of their surroundings. Just moments ago, everyone had clearly witnessed Bai Zhou being lifted into the air by blood-red lightning, his silhouette merging into the Thunder Knight's heart— Yet now, within their perception, Bai Zhou had completely vanished! Even that Thunder Knight standing over a dozen meters tall seemed to have abruptly disappeared from their senses. Yet the knight clearly towered right before their eyes! So massive and unmistakable! What the eyes saw was utterly divorced from what they perceived—an unprecedented sensation that made the three Titled Extraordinaries frown deeply. "Look at him—look with your bare eyes!" Sword of Winter spoke abruptly, his tone grave. Hearing this, Rusted Silver Knight and Emerald Flame knitted their brows and cast their gazes upon the Thunder Knight. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. At a second glance, they suddenly froze. Then, the two of them looked several more times. *Hiss—* Emerald Flame took a sharp breath, her chest heaving, unable to calm itself. As her gaze locked onto the colossal Thunder Knight, what her naked eyes "saw" gradually ceased to be the knight's armor and cloak. Instead, it became the sports field, teaching buildings, tree-shaded pathways, cafeteria, small grove... At this moment, she "saw" the entire school upon the Thunder Knight, yet could no longer see the knight itself, much less "Senior Zhou"— "This Senior Zhou... he seems to have become the incarnation of the entire secret realm!" Emerald Flame wore a look of utter shock, as if understanding everything. "We've all become part of his body, which is why we can't perceive him!" Emerald Flame's intuition was spot on— Whenever the Thunder Knight incarnated by Bai Zhou breathed, the spiritual tides of the entire school pulsed in rhythm with his breath. Bai Zhou stood upon the earth, and extending out from beneath his feet, the whole school merged into one with him, ceaselessly supplying him with near-infinite power. He threw a punch, he raised a hand; every single motion carried the limitless might of the entire Yuanmeng Middle School secret realm resonating in unison. Here and now. The Thunder Knight stood tall upon the earth! The teaching building was me, the cafeteria was me, every blade of grass and tree was me, Bai Zhou was me, the knight was me... Hundreds of scenes were me; my body was the secret realm itself! Bai Zhou termed this miraculous state—Heaven's Heart Above! He was the secret realm; he was the realm's heaven! More of a King of Wicked Desires than the true King of Wicked Desires, an emperor of the secret realm backed by its near-frenzied empowerment! It could be put this way— The existence standing opposite the demon, withstanding the crushing weight of the flesh building at this moment, was Bai Zhou, was the Thunderous Heavenly Bow, and was the entire Yuanmeng Middle School! The transformed Thunderous Heavenly Palace was already deeply enigmatic. Combined with the power of the whole school, the Thunder Knight formed from their fusion could hardly fail to be overwhelmingly powerful! And as a demon birthed within the Yuanmeng Middle School secret realm, the School Demon was extraordinarily formidable and virtually immortal here, yet by that same token, she was barred from deploying many of a demon's unique methods against the people within the realm. By the same logic, if anyone in this world could stop the demon's descent or even slay her, that person would most likely be tied to this school! At this precise moment, Bai Zhou had inadvertently taken up the mantle of the "gatekeeper," becoming an unprecedentedly formidable "nemesis" to the demon! *The Thunderous Heavenly Bow, and the Thunderous Heavenly Palace hidden within it... just what is their origin...?* Boundless spirituality flowed through his body, and vast thunder coiled in his palm. Bai Zhou was inwardly astonished, his heart pounding. Without the Thunderous Heavenly Palace serving as a vessel, even if he drained the entire school secret realm dry, he would still be negligible before the demon. The Thunder Bow, the Blood Bow, and the Heavenly Palace—to think it possessed three hidden forms. Did Deputy Director Liu know this bow was so miraculous? Without doubt, the Thunderous Heavenly Bow harbored many secrets; it was a true treasure. Yet now was not the time to ponder such matters. Bai Zhou knew opportunity knocked but once. The leaping roar of the lightning chains echoed in his ears, seemingly reminding him— Without the empowerment of the secret realm's spirituality, once he left, who knew how long it would take for him to unlock the Thunderous Heavenly Bow's hidden forms again. Operating under an overload to maintain the spiritual conduit at every moment, Bai Zhou was now pouring everything into a final, desperate struggle! Every second was precious beyond measure! With his thoughts settling, Bai Zhou snapped his head up. Simultaneously, the Thunder Knight looked up in sync, the howling, rancid gale whipping the red tassel atop the knight's helm—though the tassel was also woven of blood-red lightning. "Speaking of which, I've had a feeling lately..." "No one gets to stand in the heavens forever." Bai Zhou clenched his fist, and the Thunder Knight clenched its gauntlet in response. *Hum!* With a low resonance, the massive knight bearing the building lifted its indifferent visor, gazing upward at the inverted demon suspended in midair. The knight seemed to be calculating something, the crimson crosshair on the internal projection locking firmly onto the demon's form. The next second. *Clang!* The Thunder Knight's foot stamped into the ground, unleashing a heavy metallic crash the instant the earth fractured. *Boom! Boom!* Dark red thunderfire jetted from the joints. Muscles in both arms straining, the colossal figure rose slowly, pushing the flesh building back up inch by inch. The descending flesh building was forcibly shoved three meters upward into midair by the knight! Then, the Thunder Knight abruptly released his grip, and the thunderous wings resembling those of a gryphon suddenly snapped open behind him. *Crash!* Without anything to hold it, the flesh building plummeted violently. A span of three meters was covered in the blink of an eye as it crashed down. The earth trembled! Dust billowed into the sky, swirling chaos that made the distant onlookers stumble, their panicked figures swaying unsteadily. Yet that three-meter cushion had been plenty of time for Bai Zhou to spread his wings and take flight. The Thunder Knight had already vanished from the spot. With a booming roar, a piercing rush of wind shrieked through the billowing dust. The colossal silhouette unfurled both wings, boldly soaring into the sky in a fierce assault! Bai Zhou threw a violent punch, electric arcs leaping along the Thunder Knight's arm as a screeching roar nearly ripped the air apart. The iron fist forged of thunder rapidly enlarged before the eyes of the inverted maiden. Bai Zhou's unfinished words from earlier arrived belatedly at this moment: "—And even less does anyone get to press down upon people's heads forever!" No one could look down on others forever. The Black Robes back then, the Major later on, and the demon right now—none were exceptions. If anyone insisted on riding atop people's heads, the people would tear them down! The flesh building shuddered at the sound, the teeth-grating rattling of desks and chairs ringing out in rapid succession. The inverted demon snorted coldly. Facing Bai Zhou's approaching figure and smelling the acrid stench of air scorched by thunder, her expression revealed unmasked disgust: "—Superfluous tricks!" As her voice fell, the demon let out a sudden, shrill shriek, the "π" symbol atop her head bursting with strange brilliance: "*Ahhh—*" *Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!* Innumerable battered test papers flew out from the crevices of the flesh. *Clatter—* Twisted crimson glyphs flew out from them, turning into a translucent coiling chain that rippled through the air wherever it passed. Simultaneously, broken, rusted desk legs and tabletops assembled into jagged spikes, whistling through the air as they stabbed toward Bai Zhou. Bai Zhou's fist landed, and lightning detonated. Countless glyphs composing the chain shattered at the impact, fluttering down like rain alongside the exploding arcs of thunder. A fierce battle erupted. Metal spikes blasted apart, and fragments of rusted desks and chairs scattered across the sky, hammered into rotten kindling by the Thunder Knight's iron fists. The chains of crimson glyphs locked down heaven and earth, amid which clouds of multicolored spirituality churned violently, and strange, explosive dark-red lightning darted frenziedly. The π symbol atop the inverted demon's head flashed wildly, while the cloak behind the Thunder Knight danced without pause. The giant knight forged of thunder and spirituality, and the inverted demon composed of yellowed test papers, desks, severed limbs, and mathematical laws, clashed in an earth-shattering duel deep within the mist-shrouded school. "*Hallelujah! Oh, hallelujah!*" A bloody crimson haze looked like the setting sun, while eerie blue thunder roamed the horizon. The demon's hymn echoed in all directions, and the thunder's roar paraded across the eight winds. This was a battle in an unknowable realm. A scene resembling myth come to life left all the Extraordinaries watching from the ground pale-faced and empty-headed. Framed by blood-red hues and thunderous light, god and devil slaughtered each other in the sky. Neither had any retreat; both were staking everything on a desperate struggle. The youth wrapped in thunder threw punches and spread his wings amidst the hopeless impasse. The maiden known as a demon danced gracefully in the final chapter of farewell. —A grand stage was about to greet its final curtain! Amidst the symphony of hymn and thunder, they slaughtered, they danced together, traversing the fractured sky blanketed in vibrant spirituality. Flesh scattered, heaven and earth convulsed, and the world resembled an apocalyptic wasteland. No one could clearly make out their fighting silhouettes. In the end, observers could only see shadows of red and black light intertwining, darting swiftly through the heavens, clashing briefly and tearing apart. The atmospheric changes rippled outward. The clash between the giant knight and the suspended mountain was simply too magnificent— Not only did every creature within the school witness it with their own eyes, but throughout Reflected Tinghai tonight, countless more people hiding in shadowy corners looked up and saw this unfolding, etched into their memories forever. Word had already spread. Many high-ranking officials were closely monitoring everything occurring here. Countless "big figures" witnessed an unforgettable spectacle tonight, and firmly committed to memory the image of Bai Zhou piloting the Thunder Knight. No one knew how many phone calls were placed, nor how many professionals fretted over the direct order: *Find this person's information at all costs.* This eighteen-year-old Extraordinary youth— Though his face was hidden and his origins were a mystery, he was destined to make a name for himself across Tinghai tonight, stirring up monstrous waves! "I always thought of myself as remarkable, that reaching today proved my undeniable talent." "Even the Destined I met in the past might not have walked as solid a path as my step-by-step progress." Silently looking up from the ground, suddenly understanding how others had once viewed him, Rusted Silver Knight spoke with a raspy voice, "Yet only today do I realize—" "The heroes of this world truly cross like carp in a river. Which of us, through an entire lifetime, manages to avoid being slapped with the word 'mediocre'?" At these words, Emerald Flame remained relatively calm— Yet Sword of Winter's cold face, already covered in frost, seemed to turn noticeably paler. Though Bai Zhou had remained masked throughout, never once revealing his true face— To Rank 6 Extraordinaries who had touched the divine, the vigorous, youth-filled life force radiating from Bai Zhou was impossible to overlook! This mysterious Destined who called himself "Senior Zhou" and pretended to be a native of the Ruin Realm was young! Likely young beyond their wildest imaginations! Yet an outrageously young fellow like him was using methods completely incomprehensible to these veteran Titled Extraordinaries, fighting high in the sky against a demon straight out of myth! That was a trial meant for people like them to face... "Look!" Emerald Flame suddenly called out, her eyes widening, thick eyelashes trembling slightly. The deadlock in the sky seemed to be gradually shifting. After thousands of clashes, the thunder that countered evil was steadily gaining the upper hand. And once the Thunder Knight found an opening to retrieve the meter-long, evil-breaking giant arrow he had shot earlier and wield it as a dagger— That advantage expanded into a crushing dominance! *Boom! Boom! Boom!* Every breath Bai Zhou drew resonated with the mechanical roar of the Thunder Knight! Every beat of Bai Zhou's heart synchronized with the leaping blood-red lightning swirling around him! At last! Seizing the opening, the eerie-red thunder fist tore across the trembling sky, and the evil-breaking bolt pierced straight through the slender neck! In that instant, heaven and earth seemed struck dumb; the entire school secret realm fell into unprecedented silence. Then. "*I won't... forgive you!!!*" A vast consciousness, like thousands of resentful shrieks coalescing into one, resounded across the heavens. And then cut off abruptly. Under the nervous, expectant, and even prayerful gazes of countless onlookers— The two intertwined silhouettes parted. A grotesque, mountain-like silhouette plummeted powerlessly downward. The School Demon, along with the rotting flesh building, stripped of all former arrogance, crashed motionlessly from the sky. Like an unbroken mountain range falling from the edge of the firmament. *Rumble, rumble, rumble—* Deafening tremors rose and fell in waves as the ground was smashed into a bottomless crater. Layers of flesh shattered upon impact, rancid corpse fluids pooling into a lake, and terrifying shockwaves rippled outward, snaking countless massive fissures across the ground. Yet the ceaseless thundering here also formally announced to the world—the long night was giving way to dawn. The dance of destiny between thunder and demon had reached its end! Everything quieted down, and the ominous crimson haze cloaking Yuanmeng Middle School and the nearby streets dissipated of its own accord. —The dreadful School Demon had exerted all her might, only to fall before the new gatekeeper of the secret realm who summoned the Thunderous Heavenly Palace! This terrifying conspiracy, plotted for so long by the mastermind—under the interference of Bai Zhou, this uninvited guest—had finally come to naught. —Beyond all doubt, this was a legend. A legend witnessed firsthand by numerous Extraordinaries! *Crackle... crackle—* In the quiet midair, several soft crackles of flickering lightning broke the stillness. The Thunder Knight hovering over a dozen meters tall in the sky gradually disassembled. Countless blood-red lightning arcs dispersed into midair, and a multicolored cloud woven of spirituality gently lowered Bai Zhou's figure toward the ground. The protagonist of this legendary tale, a pale-faced Bai Zhou, touched down upon the earth. Ignoring the complex gazes of awe and wariness around him, an expressionless Bai Zhou forced himself to steady his faintly swaying posture. One hand gripped the evil-breaking giant arrow serving as a crutch, while the other clenched the Thunderous Heavenly Bow, holding it behind his back. For the hand gripping the Thunderous Heavenly Bow could not stop trembling. Fighting a demon naturally did not come without a price—in fact, it was far more severe than anything visible from the outside! His clothes were tattered and disheveled, his chest heaved violently, bouts of dizziness and darkness flickered before his eyes, and his ears rang so loudly he could barely make out the surrounding sounds. If not for leaning on the giant arrow to support his weight, he likely would have collapsed on the spot! *Finally...* This grueling, near-hopeless battle was finally over. In the end, Bai Zhou had lived to see the dawn! While letting out a long breath, Bai Zhou dared not let down his guard. After all, with the fall of their mutual enemy, their fragile and fleeting alliance was likely to fracture alongside it. He had to remain wary of those Extraordinaries! He could not let them see how utterly exhausted he truly was! Fortunately— Their attention was completely diverted by something far more urgent. "Move! Quickly!" "Check on the demon's condition! Confirm whether the demon is dead immediately!" "A demon in the 'womb' might still resurrect and return in the future—we must cut it out!" Several Titled Extraordinaries seemed to receive transmissions through their earpieces, realizing in an instant what needed to be done. Resounding commands echoed across the messy battlefield, like a piercing air-raid siren sweeping over people's heads, snapping the Extraordinaries awake from their reverie. Yuanmeng Middle School, which had just plunged into quiet, seemed to abruptly awaken from its brief stupor, growing bustling once more. *Rustle, rustle—* Coordinated by whistles, the agency specialists from the FZDC displayed their seasoned professionalism. Footsteps scurried across the fractured battlefield. Having survived the disaster, they had no time to sort through their emotions as they swarmed forward across the ruined ground, carefully scouting toward the deep crater where the mountain of flesh had fallen. "..." Taking advantage of this moment, Bai Zhou finally looked around at the ground. For along with the mountain's fall, countless chunks of flesh had exploded and split across the earth. And bursting out alongside them were fragmented last words blanketing the ground, visible only to Bai Zhou. Bai Zhou had almost never seen so many last words all at once, even though they were all mangled beyond recognition— [Where is this?! Wasn't I on my way home from school...?] [Can't escape... The door... is locked...] [They are... feeding us... to eat... black...] Looking at these broken, incomplete dying words, the expressionless Bai Zhou's eyes flickered as he lowered his gaze, trying his best to pick out whatever complete phrases he could find. Across several tangled severed arms, there were overlapping yet similar bloody last words: [Red Spider! All of their arms seem to have red spiders tattooed on them...] Upon a slender leg bone that likely belonged to a girl, disordered handwriting hovered bewilderedly in the air: [Cold... The floor is so cold... Mom said she was making braised ribs tonight and waiting for me to come home...] On a small scrap of greyish-blue human skin clinging to uniform fabric, dark-red handwriting squirmed: [Why is Teacher Sun here too? He...] And upon a severed palm possessing ten fingers, all ten twisted grotesquely together, suspended scribbled, terrified handwriting: [Monsters! They're turning us into—] All the last words were fragments, with almost no complete sentences to be found, as if they had been brutally smashed apart. Bai Zhou surmised that this was perhaps because the source of these last words was merely these mutilated limbs. The other parts of these organs had been separated, so the last words were shattered as well. If he could find the other body parts, perhaps he could piece these last words together into a coherent whole. Except— This task was destined to be immensely difficult. Bai Zhou even had reason to suspect that the severed limbs composing the flesh building were merely scrap material, while the core portions had already been used for other purposes— For instance, "crafting" the demon, or "crafting" the tender pink masses of flesh surrounding her. At this thought, Bai Zhou suddenly recalled the words the Principal had spoken before everyone: *"You may not know, but people once died here."* *"Everything here is intimately tied to them."* *"And I am them, or rather... a part of them!"* Recalling this, Bai Zhou's eyes narrowed slightly. "Many people..." The owners of these severed limbs and the owners of the dead dreams upon those yellowed papers were likely the exact same group of people! It seemed the students abducted by the Major were not just the dying girl from Fang Xiaoxia's graduation photo—that mysterious female classmate who shared the inverted demon's face. There were many more people Bai Zhou did not know about. And in the end, for certain purposes—such as summoning a demon—the ones who murdered these poor souls were undoubtedly the Major and his subordinates. "...Many people." "...Red Spider?" Beyond doubt, the ones who committed these atrocities were those mysterious individuals with red spiders tattooed on their arms. Yet Bai Zhou had one question he could not understand. The severed limbs composing the flesh building were countless. How had the Major managed to transport so many students into the Reflected Ruin Realm without alerting anyone, and without any official agency detecting anything amiss? This question might find some answers within the last words, or it might not. —Monsters? Teacher Sun? What was the black thing they were forced to eat? *Plop, plop—* Lost in thought, Bai Zhou's gaze was suddenly drawn to a mangled piece of corpse flesh that had landed by the roadside. This piece had fallen in an inconspicuous corner of a wall. Nearly half of it was shattered, while the remaining half bore a tender pink hue. At this moment, it squirmed resentfully, spouting corpse fluid in small fountains. It seemed this fragment was a core part located close to the inverted demon, part of the tender pink meat clusters that had crowded around her... Bai Zhou looked down and saw bloody last words faintly surfacing above the meat fragment: [I don't want... I don't want to become a monster...] The handwriting was scribbled, panic and despair clinging to every stroke, leaving one in somber silence. And so, Bai Zhou forced his heavy legs forward. *Tap, tap!* The evil-breaking blood arrow tapped against the ground like a cane. Though every step felt as heavy as lead, Bai Zhou walked over in silence. *Squelch!* The blood arrow plunged mercilessly into the squirming pink flesh, causing the meat to emit a screeching wail. In the blink of an eye, the pink meat on the ground rapidly blackened and shriveled like a deflating balloon. In the end, it turned into a pile of charred cinders. *Now, you're not a monster anymore.* Bai Zhou looked down at the cinders beside his feet, whispering softly in his heart. Though no one could hear him, his internal tone was unconsciously gentle, as if afraid of startling something: *Everything is over... Rest in peace.* As if hearing Bai Zhou's unspoken thoughts, the charred cinders drifted up slightly on the wind, swirling in circles around Bai Zhou's feet. Yet in the very next instant. A sudden change occurred! As the cinders drifted lightly through midair, the scribbled last words suspended in the air also shattered along with them! *Buzz, buzz, buzz!* Hooks, turns, slashes, and presses—the blood-red characters broke apart. The shattered strokes converged in midair into a small stream, dancing in a brisk whirl before rushing toward Bai Zhou with a rustling swoosh! —Melting straight into Bai Zhou's weakened body!