Forge a path to success.

Chapter 152 Retribution Will Eventually Come
The blazing, illuminating flames cleaved the dark sky. The fiery sword cleaved through the currents and eddies, carrying the power of justice and love to shatter the demon's final tricks, causing its hideous behemoth to vanish into the light.

The intense heat melted the snowfields, causing a brief downpour over the city. A spark drifted in the drizzle, falling towards a desolate place... towards the ruins where the fierce battle had begun, the site of the assassins' duel.

It plowed a burning line through the ground, the divine fire fueled by black blood burning silently. Gradually, the flames were extinguished by the drizzle, and a charred, putrid lump of flesh lay at the end of the burning line. The lump of flesh attempted to regenerate, but was repeatedly burned by the divine fire, finally exhausting its life force, leaving only an empty shell lying in the ashes…

The final manifestation of the demon of misfortune is such an ugly and unbearable thing.

His boots trod across the wet pavement, the knight's face reflected in the puddles. Ji Huaisu switched to ice armor, standing in the rain, greatsword in hand. The demon managed to grow a mouth, its surface covered with tiny, densely packed eyeballs, observing the knight's expression.

"So that's how it is... You used the concepts of ancient dragons, martial arts practitioners, and knights as symbols of power... By using different manifestations of runes, you jumped between three parallel points..." the demon whispered, "Therefore you were able to unleash that absurd power, but you also imprisoned yourself... You will become the most difficult Discipline Knight to ascend to in history, and you will no longer have the hope of soaring through the sky."

"Who cares? I'm a genius anyway!" Ji Huaisu said nonchalantly.

Olek was speechless for a moment. The girl was exhausted but full of spirit, her every move exuding confidence, reminding him of the first knight a thousand years ago. That knight was once just as confident and young, singing praises of love and courage with his companions.

Perhaps this bloodline cannot be defeated by misfortune. It can crush a knight's body with its strength, but it cannot make their spirit bow down.

"You've won this round, but your misfortune won't end here," Olek said calmly. "My true form will act, and one day you will face the raging torrent of the forsaken. In places unrelated to me, you will still face your destiny. The more you pursue the truth, the more you will be shrouded in mist. Even if you close your eyes and turn a blind eye to the past, fate will always be chasing after you."

I have no need to curse you; you are the last knight of the Realm of Submersion, you are already bound by a curse.

The demon fell silent, remaining as calm as before the battle. With victory or defeat decided, superfluous emotions were unnecessary. It had withdrawn from the game from the moment of defeat, and thus needed no further reaction to the actions of those involved.

Ji Huaisu looked at the dying enemy and suddenly laughed.

"I finally understand why you're so infuriating—it's because you always look down on people. Now you're putting on that nonchalant act again, because if you lose, you can just walk away. To you, this defeat is just another game lost; no one can really hurt your bad luck demon. You can always be ready to try again, can't you?"

“I’m glad you’ve learned how to deal with demons,” Olek said.

“I’ve dealt with you demons since I was a child, I know all too well the nature of you delusional demons… so I’ve prepared a great gift for you!” Ji Huaisu snapped his fingers, “Ah Kong! Vande!”

"Oh!"

"I'm coming!"

Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky. The two were unarmed, yet both were eager and ready to fight, displaying a strong desire to battle. They stood behind Ji Huaisu like lackeys and bodyguards in the household of a wicked rich girl.

The young knight stood with her hands on her hips, a sinister grin spreading across her face: "Ha! Olek, now you can start screaming!"

Olek was amused by this and almost laughed: "What are you thinking? You think I'd care about you desecrating my corpse?"

Chu Hengkong swung his tentacles wildly as if he were warming up: "No problem, Vande?"

"You haven't forgotten your old tricks!" Vande grinned maliciously. "Old man, falling into our hands today is like hitting a hidden reef on your way out and returning home to a raging torrent—utterly unlucky!"

"...?"

Olek was utterly baffled, wondering where these people's confidence came from. He stared at the incessantly talking Eye Demon, feeling a strange, inexplicable unease.

this thing……

What is this demon?
It seemed somewhat familiar, but I'd never seen such a face before. The way it possessed the body was also strange, as if it truly possessed a physical body, utilizing it at an abnormally high rate… That body should have two tentacles, but half of it was missing; could it be Chu Hengkong's left arm… Was the contract completed in this way? So the mechanism of possession was…

Then, a sense of shock washed over me like a chill.

This isn't the time to think about these things. More important than the apparent anomalies is the extremely distorted reality. This thing called Vande is undoubtedly the mouthpiece of the ancient beings behind everyone. But why wasn't this thing included in the scheme?
Why didn't it realize the existence of this thing until its defeat?

"Wait!" Olek shouted, "What exactly are you...!"

The time for vocalization had ended, and a stream of transparent, viscous liquid suddenly smeared onto the flesh, sealing the pitiful mouth with an adhesive strength comparable to superglue. Having finished his warm-up, Chu Hengkong swung his tentacle high, unleashing a silver whip in the demon's incredulous gaze!
Snapped!
A third of its vision vanished, and excruciating pain surged through its body, causing the split spirit to emit an imperceptible shriek. Its senses contracted rapidly, its power dissipated like evaporation, and the world it could perceive instantly shrank. Something was slipping away, flowing into that viscous fluid. It was something irretrievable, something it absolutely could not afford to lose.

That whip ripped away a part of its "self"!
“Stop…” The whip. “Stop…” Again. “No!!” The whip! The whip continued! An invisible whip, like a judgment! The tentacle whip lashed down mercilessly, the world spinning, converging and tightening with the pain. Olek’s ego crumbled and dissipated, leaving only an “eye” in just a few breaths. It had almost lost the ability to think, only able to stare at the Eye Demon with that eye—staring at the twilight-colored gaze beneath that strange surface.

"Who are you……!"

With the final lash, the Eye of Self vanished into ashes. The demon of doom's fragmented spirit completely disappeared at that moment, its power unleashed by Vand's tentacles, its slime turning a sinister deep purple.

Van der lunged forward to collect the slime: "Quick! This is all essence!"

Chu Hengkong touched his sleeve: "Damn it, the Immortal Machine ate everything..."

“I can make ice pots!” Ji Huaisu held up a transparent jar of rock sugar.

"Okay, let's use this! Hurry up, don't let this good stuff slip away, you'll regret it for a year if you waste even one drop!!"

The two of them, with a glance and a touch, swiftly scooped the remnants of the cursed demon into the jar. Chu Hengkong solemnly closed the lid and held the candy jar high: "Spoils of war!"

Ji Huaisu tossed a spark, burning the remnants of the Moon's Blood to ashes, and wiped his eyes: "Finally! It wasn't a wasted battle..."

"Take your spoils; this thing can be made into a very high-grade relic." Chu Hengkong handed her the jar.

Ji Huaisu pushed the jar back and grinned.

Since I stole your talisman anyway, consider this a return gift.

"Then let's use it together..."

"No, what's yours is yours!" Chu Hengkong knew her personality and accepted it without refusing. At this moment, the gloom brought by the black moon finally dissipated, and a ray of sunlight pierced through the dark clouds, the snowfield in the sky melted away, and the ice shards sparkled like stardust under the light.

In the distance, he saw the figures of people landing one by one. Standing quietly, overwhelmed by the relief of surviving the ordeal, he felt a long-lost, deep-seated ease.

"It's finally over!" Van der slumped to the ground, saying weakly.

It noticed that Ji Huaisu's hand had not loosened its grip on the sword hilt.

“…No.” Van der trembled slightly. “Don’t scare me?”

Ji Huaisu looked down, her gaze piercing through the ground to the underground cavern guarded by the spirits of the dead. Deep within that place once watched over by knights, a crack opened in the pitch-black door.

"I'm afraid it's not the right time yet."

·
A small coffee shop in downtown Jinye.

"Check, dear lady."

The dark-skinned man called out, and the waitress came over with the bill. The little boy by the table had disappeared; she had assumed the old-fashioned, priest-like man would pay, but instead, this carefree fellow was the one who took out the money.

"Here is your bill for three days, um..." The waitress glanced at it and announced a dizzying number. The three of them tried all the dishes in the restaurant, commenting on them with great enthusiasm.

This was truly the strangest customer she had ever encountered in her career; they stayed in the shop for a full three days… but that didn’t seem like a big deal, because the shop owner didn’t object, and neither did she… but they should have had some objections, right?
She shook her head, handed over the receipt, and habitually asked, "Do you have any comments on our food?"

“Oh, to be honest, most of the drinks are terrible,” the dark-skinned man said. “The coffee is watered down, the chocolate is full of cheap saccharin, the fruit might die before I do, and the juice is full of the desperation of being dragged out of hell to work.”

"Uh..." The waitress's throat bobbed.

"But the freshly made light meals were quite good, and your service was excellent." The dark-skinned man grinned warmly. "So overall, I'll still give you a good review! The extra is your tip, please keep it."

He placed a small coin purse on the plate and left with the silent priest. The coin purse was zipped up, and as she hesitantly unzipped it, perhaps influenced by the unique aura of those guests, two strange, premonition-like thoughts flashed through her mind.

Perhaps she will find immense wealth inside the bag, enough for her to enjoy a lifetime of luxury; or perhaps the bag contains an unspeakable monster that will kill her, this little shop, and everyone in the city.

She nervously unzipped the zipper.

There were four perfectly round beads in her bag. Even after deducting expenses, they were worth three months' wages plus her year-end bonus.

The waitress rushed out the door, wanting to thank the strange customer, but couldn't find him. She heard several angry curses coming from the kitchen; it seemed the juicer and coffee machine had malfunctioned.

One after another, many people, like her, went out and stared blankly at the road that looked like it had been plowed by a giant crusher. Unbeknownst to them, many things seemed to have happened and ended, like a mischievous ghost passing by, but never disturbing their lives.

·
Vansalar walked down the deserted street with his hands in his pockets. He said lazily, "Get the cleanup done."

"As you wish, King of Nightmares."

Bernfar bowed and floated into the air. He opened the large book he always carried with him, and gray mist drifted from its pages, dissipating into the sky. The effects of the Dark Moon's descent were smoothed over by the mist, and the island would return to normal, unnoticed by the Abyss.

Slowly, Vansalar's lips curled into a terrifying grin. He clapped his hands loudly, the applause as enthusiastic as an opera curtain call, and roared at the ruins after the fierce battle, making no attempt to hide his excitement or his joy.

They started shouting wildly.

He started laughing loudly.

"--marvelous!"

"Hope to turn the tide in desperate situations! An unwavering will to never give up! A beautiful ending finally achieved after overcoming numerous difficulties and obstacles! Love and courage to persevere in the face of despicable and filthy malice!"

"This is exactly what I want to see! I love happy ending stories the most!!"

Like an audience member immersed in the play, like an actor captivated by the plot, he stretched out his arms, releasing his fervor through voice and body language. His genuine laughter contained emotion and gratitude, an equal expression of affection for all those who had struggled here.

Just like the thousands of games that had been played before. Just like the end of each game.

—A competitive game requires two sides with different stances to be established.

The demon of misfortune, Olek, is responsible for piling up malice and misfortune as obstacles.

The Nightmare King, Vansalal, spared no effort in securing victory for the righteous.

“Well done, Olek! I knew you could do it. Only you are worthy to be the villain in this story. Only insurmountable misfortune can force them to show their potential!”
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my old friend. Without your efforts, how could I have experienced this miracle!

Vansalar closed his eyes and clasped his hands.

Like a prayer, pouring emotions into the palm.

"To those of you who have fought so hard to get to this point, I offer my best wishes—"

A new story is about to begin!

He vanished amidst his maniacal laughter, transforming into billions of bat shadows in the sunlight. Dark shadows danced around the city, piercing the earth before everyone's eyes, disappearing into the void created by misfortune, and entering the half-open doorway.

And so, the gates sealed by the knights opened once more. From the dark, distant horizon, a destiny-bound pull was cast upon the survivors!

(End of this chapter)