Quadruple split.

Chapter 2788 Mischief

Chapter 2788 Mischief
"You killed her."

Originally rushing over at full speed, Qiu immediately slowed down when he noticed the 'monster' suddenly grabbing Artemis by the neck. Only after Artemis's breathing had completely stopped did he walk briskly to her side and chuckle, "Although this shouldn't be considered truly 'killing' her."

As the executor finished speaking, the girl, who had been suspended in mid-air with one hand and had already lost all signs of life, suddenly emitted ripples that were like mosaics, shimmering with iridescent light, or like blurry blocks of color. Then, within a few seconds, she collapsed in mid-air and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"..."

The monster simply lowered its arm expressionlessly and turned to look at the agent, whose expression, though hidden by a mask, revealed no trace of joy.

"It's clear that you didn't actually try to hide anything."

The self-proclaimed agent of Qiu shrugged, then reconnected himself to the 'monster' with the not-so-magical linen band, and said in a light tone, "Just imagine, that was... I'm sorry, it may sound arrogant, but that was a formidable enemy that even I am now helpless against and can only barely manage to deal with, and you simply and cleanly wiped her out. That's hardly a clever disguise."

"..."

The monster narrowed its eyes slightly, then raised its free right hand and gently brushed it across its cheek.

"Oh?"

The envoy from Tianzhu Mountain smiled and asked in a light tone, "So, you actually quite like my current look?"

He looked no different from before, but the face that was exactly the same as the 'Black Vanish Priest' now had a completely black mask covering 70% of the area above the lips, and even his eyes were covered. The 'monster', whose temperament had also changed subtly at the same time, still ignored Qiu. After a brief silence, he took a step and walked straight in the opposite direction of Tianzhu Mountain, the way the two had come from.

"Uh?"

The agent, who had been handling everything with ease from the beginning, was immediately taken aback and asked somewhat blankly, "Um, do you still have something to do back in the City of Light?"

"..."

The monster stopped, slowly turned around, and stood silently facing the agent.

"Sorry, maybe I was just too outgoing."

Since the other party had turned and walked towards the City of Light, their behavior logic had become incomprehensible. Even when facing Artemis, the Proxy, who had always maintained composure, finally became nervous and tentatively asked, "So... are you planning to come back to Tianzhu Mountain with me?"

The monster remained silent as always: "..."

"What I mean is, if you have any unfinished business in the City of Light or the Holy Church Union, I can help, cooperate, and accompany you."

Seeing that the other party remained silent and stared straight at a direction that was clearly off from Tianzhu Mountain, the Proxy, who was usually calm but was becoming increasingly uneasy, as if the lifeline he had been waiting for for thousands of years was about to slip away, took a deep breath and said seriously, "But let me make it clear beforehand that I don't have much time to move around freely like this, so... although I respect your opinion, I hope you can consider my situation a little."

monster:"……"

"I have shown you all my sincerity."

Seeing that the other party still did not respond, Qiu continued, "Although you may not be satisfied, I still hope to establish a certain degree of trust with you. I believe you may be able to answer my questions, and I also believe I can help you, so..."

"lead the way."

"what?"

"……lead the way."

"Ah, this is... which way to?"

Upon hearing the voice coming from behind the mask—a voice that, despite being severely distorted, still contained logic and was completely understandable to him—the proxy couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Tianzhushan Mountain".

The voice beneath the mask was deep and cold, concise and devoid of warmth or emotion: "That was your purpose all along, wasn't it?"

"That's right."

After realizing that the other party could actually communicate, the agent, who was finally somewhat relieved, immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "I just... didn't expect you to actually talk to me."

“You wanted to communicate with me, and I granted your wish.”

The monster chuckled softly and said calmly, "As for the reason, you can interpret it as me acknowledging your sincerity in 'helping me' just now, and I, in turn, have offered you all the 'sincerity' I can currently offer."

Qiu nodded slightly, confirming, "So... you're coming to Tianzhu Mountain with me?"

“This doesn’t mean I’m losing anything.”

The monster let out a hollow, grating laugh and said calmly, "Your attitude toward that person just now has already proven your stance."

"Position? It seems you know far more than I thought."

The person claiming to be the envoy couldn't help but laugh. As he slowly led the way, he casually asked, "Would you like to choose a more efficient way back? Although I personally would like to linger on the road a little longer."

"It doesn't matter."

The other party gave a casual reply, saying noncommittally, "But I'm afraid I won't have much time to chat with you."

"To be honest, the 'sincerity' you're showing right now has far exceeded my expectations."

The agent made a somewhat strange gesture, but it seemed to be a way of expressing gratitude. Then, changing the subject, he asked, "Speaking of which, would you mind telling me how I should address you from now on? After all, personally, neither 'Shadow of Madness' nor 'Monster' really suits you."

"Ah."

Upon hearing this, the other party immediately let out a slightly mocking laugh and said indifferently, "Didn't you already give me the so-called 'title'?"

Qiu Wei was slightly taken aback: "You've already taken it? You mean..."

"【Shadow of Apocalypse】".

Completely open, the Shadow of Sin, faithfully conveying its master's will, turned to the Agent: "From now on, just call me that."

“Yes, Mr. Shadow.”

"Just asking..."

"Please say."

"Do you, who are speaking to me at this very moment, represent the formidable and unfathomable power of [Tianzhushan], or are you a treacherous fool chasing after some forbidden and dark secrets?"

"neither."

"So you deny that you're an idiot?"

“I may not be a fool, and I don’t mind doing my best to fulfill the long-cherished wish of Tianzhu Mountain, but regrettably, the three words Tianzhu Mountain have never been ‘unrepresentable by anyone’, but rather ‘unrepresentable by anyone’.”

"That is to say?"

"I cannot pledge allegiance to an organization that doesn't even know what it wants to do, has no goals, no desires, no aspirations, no longings... and no hope. Although I long to pledge allegiance to it and am willing to burn myself out for it, I regret that I cannot fulfill a non-existent wish."

"Do you consider yourself pathetic?"

"My tragedy is that I don't even know if I am sad."

"So this is your wish? To know if you are sad?"

"not only that."

"..."

"I also want to know the truth."

"What truth?"

"The truth of everything, the truth of fate."

"You seem to be pursuing something very cruel."

"So in your eyes, the truth of everything and the truth of fate are actually the same thing."

"For me, nothing could be more cruel than our current situation."

"How naive." "See, that's where the cruelty lies."

"you are very funny."

"An unexpected compliment, but I am honored to receive it."

"You will regret this."

"Is it?"

"..."

"It doesn't matter anymore. After all, in the long years I've lived, I've long been used to the so-called 'regret' constantly haunting my mind."

"I'm going to rest."

Should we stop?

"No, let's keep going..."

"then you……"

"It will follow."

……

"It is not 'it'..."

At the same time, in the Mercury Courtyard of Salamune, the capital of the Violet Empire, Artemis, who had just barely regained her human form and was still in a distorted state like a stick figure, walked with difficulty into the courtyard and said to the petite figure who was slurping sweet honey water (but without honey) on a recliner, "I miscalculated."

"Huh~~?"

Wearing sunglasses made of obsidian magic chips, YOYO lazily turned her head to look at Artemis behind her, whose body was barely visible and seemed to be malfunctioning. She asked curiously, "What's the meaning of this?"

"I'm looking for that 'shadow'."

Artemis, who was gradually taking on a real form, slowly walked to YOYO's side and said in a somewhat indignant tone, "But..."

"But you bumped into the real person who happened to be 'glancing' at their own shadow, didn't you?"

YOYO grinned and said cheerfully, "I already knew about this."

"How did you guess..."

Artemis, who had just regained her original form, sighed, then her gaze suddenly sharpened, and she exclaimed in astonishment, "You're saying you knew all along? Didn't you guess?!"

"correct."

YOYO nodded vigorously, saying matter-of-factly, "I already knew that."

Artemis ripped the bizarre sunglasses off YOYO's face and demanded through gritted teeth, "What do you know?!"

"Uh... there are quite a lot..."

YOYO scratched her head, then counted on her fingers as she said, "For example, you go to the Holy Church Alliance to try and win over that 'Shadow' guy, or you get put in an awkward position by a high-level observer whose strength far exceeds your expectations, and finally you finally decide to take a gamble... Hey, guess what?"

Artemis stared at YOYO expressionlessly: "What's wrong?"

Snapped!
YOYO snapped her fingers with a particularly crisp sound and said excitedly, "I've run into the line of fire! I'm dead!"

"you……"

Artemis stared intently into YOYO's innocent, simple, and honest eyes, her face stiff as she confirmed, "You said you... knew everything?"

"You wouldn't say you know everything, would you?"

YOYO gently tapped her cheek with her finger while blinking her eyes and said leisurely, "For example, although I knew you would be killed, I didn't expect you to be sent back so easily. How about that? How did that person kill you? Poisoning, strangling, bombing, shooting, assassinating, luring, beating, trapping, or drugging you? I love this twisted way~ Lose and we'll start another round?"

Artemis stared at YOYO, who had inexplicably started singing, her face as cold as ice, and gritted her teeth, saying, "What are you doing..."

YOYO looked at the other person with a delighted expression and replied in a charming voice, "Singing? Haven't you heard this famous song by Teacher Xueyin? Although it's a cover with new lyrics, it's incredibly popular!"

"Have not heard."

Artemis shook her head and said coldly, "As far as I know, the 2.5D idol in the [Innocent Realm] named Princess, whose stage name is 'Snowy', has never sung the song you just sang."

"Ah! It's not that YOYO sings off-key! YOYO is amazing! If you haven't heard her sing, it's definitely your problem. Come on, let me sing it for you properly—"

YOYO cleared her throat and then began to sing loudly—

"Ingenious schemes and elaborate plans, a thousand tricks to deceive the world."

"A chaotic ode, a single tune bringing calamity to the mortal world."

"All beings are drunk, and ten thousand books are burned."

"A lone duo sings, laughing at the fools of all living beings~"

"A few scenes unfold amidst the flowers, villains and wicked plays~"

"Bowing down to kiss away tears, raising my head to long for parting~"

“OH~~~~OH~~~”

"Don't get OH."

Artemis impatiently interrupted YOYO's song, which wasn't bad but was a bit off-key, and asked irritably, "So the reason you've been staying at Mercury Garden and mooching off my house, even though you said you were going to the sea but haven't moved, is it because..."

"It's that 'Could it be...?'"

YOYO chuckled, stood up, made a face at Artemis, and grinned, "The reason I've been staying here is to see how you, Moon Goddess, manage to come back from the dead! After all, you always have this arrogant and cocky attitude, looking down on everyone, so it'll be really interesting to see you get your comeuppance!"

"Putting aside your perverse sense of humor..."

Artemis sighed silently, then raised her head again to glare at YOYO: "The reason you've remained indifferent knowing this must have something besides wanting to see me suffer, right?"

"Nothing."

"Varied……"

"No means no. YOYO may be good at saying nice things, but I think it's better to be a little more honest about our relationship, right?"

"So you really are just..."

"I really just want to see you suffer a setback, get frustrated, and cry your eyes out!"

"...I thought we shared the same stance."

"Same stance? Pfft, don't make your sister YO laugh."

"..."

“Little code, do you think it’s possible that YOYO, from the very beginning, has only ever stood with one person and shared the same stance?”

"Who?"

"Want to know?"

"Tell me, and I will decide whether to believe you again based on your answer..."