Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

I must repay her; I cannot fail to do so. I love all of Alice, which naturally includes Loye, who is both Alice and not entirely Alice—because they are the same person, different ways of thinking of the same person, different facets of the same soul.

If I were to divide my love for 'Alice' into ten thousand parts, then 'Luoye' would at least occupy that insignificant part. Even if it's only one ten-thousandth, I do objectively admire her.

But she doesn't love me... she doesn't love anyone. From the moment she awoke, she anticipated her own utter annihilation. Everything she did was to make Alice grow to a sufficient height, and then, like a toddler sipping jelly, swallow her whole.

She doesn't love anyone, nor does she expect anyone to love her. I clearly realized this, and then drew this conclusion based on my understanding of this truth.

I cannot allow it. I cannot allow her to simply fade away and die silently. I have never repaid the debt I owed her; if she disappears like this, how can I ever ease the guilt and self-reproach in my heart?

...I'm so despicable.

Driven by my own desires, I interrupted Alice's progress towards a higher level. In fact, Alice could have confronted her inner demon—which wouldn't have harmed her—back in the Lord of the Rings era and during Resident Evil, yet I repeatedly thwarted her path to advancement. I made her hesitate before taking that final step, because of her love for me.

I was despicable; I betrayed her. Time and again, Alice and Luo Ye both thought that getting stuck at this final step was because Alice's talent was still lacking, but they didn't know that all the hesitation was intentional on my part in every 'unintentional' moment.

If hell exists, then I should fall to the lowest level. And when I discover, upon entering this world, that the curse I placed upon her hundreds of years ago still exists, and that I intend to reactivate it while participating in Chang'e and Chu Xuan's collaboration, perhaps there will already be no place for me in the basement of hell.

However, I activated it after reaching an agreement with Chu Xuan and Chang'e, and devising a plan to properly handle Luo Ye. That's why Alice was imprisoned in the Moon Palace for seven whole years; her talent and experience were enough for her to be wary of everything. But she was defenseless against the curse I placed on her.

I'm so despicable, I betrayed her.

Everything I did was nothing but despicable self-gratification. I thought it was for her own good, that preserving Luo Ye was a path to a more perfect ending for her. I thought…

Tsk.

To lie at this point, I'm truly beyond redemption. There's not so much self-righteousness involved; betrayal is betrayal. What drives my actions isn't these high-sounding excuses and reasons, but something far more despicable and petty—my possessiveness.

Alice is mine, Alice Margot Lloyd is mine. Everything she has is mine, everything she chooses and gives up is mine. If she is a wall, I am the ivy that seals it. If she is a tower, I am the threshold and railing that secures its foundation.

I want everything about her, everything... I know this kind of thinking is abnormal, but I don't care. I know this is very likely my inner demons at work. But so what? Aren't my inner demons my own things, thoughts that spring from my soul?

I won't give up, because I want to possess everything about her. Her happiness, her sadness, her disgust, even her hatred—before, I was content with just love. But now, I want more!

So come and fight, come and slaughter, hate me, loathe me, and I will swallow it all.

My love, my love. My love!

Chapter 41 The Victory of Twins

"Collapse..."

With Patchouli as the core, nine energy celestial bodies of different colors revolved around her gracefully, using the solar system as a template. She gently crushed one of them into dust, and within this small twenty-kilometer battlefield, more than ninety-nine percent of the spatial structure collapsed and destroyed in the same instant.

"Give me your full strength, Alice. I'm not the same as I was during Resident Evil." She watched Alice break through the collapsing space and cross the boundary, and another star silently disintegrated, turning into a wall of sighs that blocked the latter from the outside. "Half of you can't beat me. If you don't go all out, I'll just have to drag you here until the end of time."

The collapsed space is a chaotic void, and the void is a boiling sea of ​​energy. Alice stands on the waves of this boiling sea, her outstretched fingers gently touching the Sighing Wall that separates the inside from the outside.

The surging sea of ​​energy could not harm her, nor could the barriers separating the oceans hinder her. For a clear light shone from her eyes, then enveloped her entire body, illuminating a small area around her.

“You are not on equal footing with me, Patchouli. Right now, you are actually a step behind me.” The girl said softly, her voice ignoring the chaotic spatial structure and ocean of energy, and transcending the Wailing Wall that Patchouli used as a barrier as if there were still stable air in this battlefield that could allow sound to travel. “And this lack of a step is an obstacle that you cannot overcome with your curse.”

"So what? This barrier is bound to my heart, to my soul. You will never escape from here without defeating me. And I look forward to fighting you." Patchouli flipped through dozens of pages of her grimoire, and the two destroyed celestial bodies reappeared, aligning with the other seven in a straight line. The two ends of the line were her fingers and Alice's brow!

"Battles between mages don't solely depend on the level of their cultivation; they also depend on the prior preparation of the battlefield and the pre-arrangement of specialized spells. I've been preparing for this battle for seven years. I even collaborated with Chang'e, obtaining powerful spells from her that far surpass my current level. And there's even a curse I placed within you from ancient times! I've prepared so much, sacrificed so much, and you think you can dismiss it all with a single sentence?"

"Stop being so arrogant!" The nine interconnected stars formed a rainbow-like torrent of energy. It easily traversed time and space, colliding with Alice who neither dodged nor evaded, and directly blasting her head into at least ten million molecular fragments, each only a few nanometers in size!

An apocalyptic-level attack, without a doubt. Patchouli even detonated the curse buried within Alice's body simultaneously with the bombardment, ensuring she couldn't dodge for at least that brief moment. This was no joke; it was a genuine manifestation of killing intent. However, the next moment, Alice's voice rang out from this enclosed space in her usual tone.

"That's it?" Her head was gone, but her body remained upright. She could even take steps forward, as if the obstacle had never existed, as if she had crossed the invisible wall of sighs.

Patchouli had indeed become stronger than before, stronger than she had been at the end of Resident Evil. But Alice, who had then used more than half her strength to fight her and barely gain the upper hand, now seemed to have broken through her attacks and defenses with ease, as if she hadn't used a single ounce of her strength. The headless, crippled female body approached Patchouli step by step, unhurriedly, allowing various spells to bombard her without her even flinching.

She lost three fingers while crossing Pluto.

She lost part of her forearm while crossing Neptune.

When she crossed Uranus, she lost two of her ribs.

She neither dodged nor avoided, neither fled nor evaded. Those spells and incantations did indeed inflict some damage on her, but she seemed oblivious to it. Under the shroud of the clear light, enduring numerous spells specifically designed to counter her, she approached Patchouli step by step, and by the time she crossed Mars, she had lost three-fifths of her body's mass.

The little devil appeared where Earth was, severing her remaining half of body with a black blade. Yet she still passed through her, traversing Earth and heading towards Venus.

"Fight back! You promised to fight me, Alice Margot Lloyd! You promised me!"

A dense array of magic cannons, as numerous as the ocean, appeared behind Patchouli and then rained down on Alice's location, completely sealing it off!

You promised me!

As Venus crumbled, Alice, whose chest and abdominal cavities were completely erased, continued to move forward using only a partially intact spine. When Mercury also ceased to exist, the only part of her body that could still be considered intact was the tip of her hand, enveloped in a clear light.

“I’m already fighting back, Patchouli. I’m already fighting you, Patchouli Knowledge.” The severed hand, bathed in a clear light, pierced through the many obstacles Patchouli had placed upon it. Then it caressed Patchouli’s smooth, soft cheek.

"Because you are crying right now."

"Little devil!"

The black sword suddenly spun, and just as it was about to pierce Alice's remains and Patchouli from behind, Alice's broken and shattered form reappeared as if time had reversed. The blade pierced through her reconstructed body, but was completely imprisoned before it could touch Patchouli!

“I promised you I would fight you. But I also made a vow that as long as I have a breath left, I will not watch you get hurt before my eyes,” Alice said softly, gazing into Patchouli’s pale purple eyes filled with tears. “Although I only just learned what happened from you, in a practical sense, I don’t really care. I only know that you are in pain right now, and making you feel pain is, in fact, my fault.”

The mask of strength crumbled, and the pretext of possessiveness vanished. The purple witch trembled slightly, her supernatural self-control seemingly rendered useless.

“I…I’ve done so many things behind your back. I collaborated with your enemies, I cast a curse on you, I used schemes to keep you trapped in Dark Moon for so long. I even cornered you here just now, and I did so much to you…”

"Do you think you are guilty?" Alice asked gently, the imprisoned black sword vanishing silently, and the troublesome little devil being teleported directly out of the audience.

“I am guilty, please judge me, please punish me.” Patchouli closed her eyes, tilting her head slightly to reveal her snow-white neck. “I will accept whatever punishment you give me. Please… please…”

“Then I acquit you. Your actions did not cause any real harm to the person involved. In other words, your merits and demerits cancel each other out. From now on, everything before is null and void.” Alice embraced the trembling girl tightly, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. “Your tears are enough to atone for all your sins. Even if you think it’s not enough, I think it is. If you still feel you owe me something, then don’t hold back, just cry it out.”

"Alice, Alice, Alice—" A surge of emotion welled up within her, and tears finally flowed like a burst dam. All pretense was unnecessary at this moment; abandoning all restraint, the purple-haired witch finally broke down in her lover's arms, wailing, "Waaaaaahh ...

The inner demons retreated, proving that seemingly unsolvable problems often have unexpected solutions. The so-called possessiveness and selfish greed crumbled under the weight of genuine emotion. They slunk away, tail between their legs, into the deepest recesses of the heart. Perhaps they will resurface to cause trouble again in the future, or perhaps they will remain obediently in the heavily fortified abyss of the heart until the very end. But at least now, at this moment, right now, there is no place for them here.

The cube used for combat gradually returned to its original state under the operation of the magic. The chaotic space also gradually stabilized. And when everything returned to normal, the magical barrier entrusted to Patchouli by Chang'e also faintly appeared on the outside of the cube.

"I'll dispel the barrier here right away..." Patchouli shifted slightly, only to find herself held even tighter by Alice. Just as she was about to say something, she was horrified to discover that Alice's aura was visibly weakening rapidly!

Alice!?

“Don’t worry, this is just normal wear and tear on the Mimicry of Mind Light.” Alice shook her head slightly, her tone light. “Although I don’t know why you stopped me here, and I don’t know what you, Chu Xuan, and Chang’e are plotting, I believe that you will not lose your composure no matter what your mental state is. Since you made such a decision in the past, I believe that decision was correct. Since it was correct, then I don’t need to interfere.”

“Besides,” Alice’s voice trailed off, “I won’t force you to give in by hurting myself. This is a struggle, a fight. You have won the final victory, and as your reward, I will stay here until it’s all over.”

"Waaah—Alice, I, I!"

"Don't be sad, I won't die. There are some things I didn't understand at first, but now that I know so much information, there's no need to keep thinking about them. Leave the outside matters to Chu Xuan, and I... I just want to take a nap here."

“You stay with me. After seven years of separation and scheming, let’s get some rest,” she said, slowly closing her eyes under Patchouli’s gaze. Soon, the sound of her sleeping breath reached Patchouli’s ears. The imp, no longer in the way, came to prepare beds for the two witches. Then Patchouli gently placed the sleeping Alice beside the bed.

“I won’t go out and cause any more trouble on my own, Alice. Since this is your wish, I will fulfill it.” She gently laid Alice down and then carefully nestled beside her. She took one last deep look at Alice’s sleeping profile and then closed her eyes.

The witches' turn has come to an end. The 'flying to the moon' has become empty talk, and all their previous schemes will be put to use in another form. They have temporarily withdrawn from the chessboard of strategy, but their withdrawal has undoubtedly secured their own victory.

Because the prize for winning was already in their hands. And after learning the true intentions of the other schemers, worrying about the team's future became completely unnecessary for them at this moment.

....................................

"So that's how it is." On the surface, in the coastal area outside Meilan, Luo Ye, who had been listening to the information Xilin had given, also had a slight realization as the battle in the white moon came to an end. Because at this moment, she had finally gained all the computing power belonging to the individual 'Alice Margotrovid'. Unlike Alice, whose talent development was appalling, Luo Ye, who had long since developed and utilized her intelligence to the fullest extent, was obviously able to unleash a much stronger power.

"What's wrong?" Sirin clearly sensed the change in Luo Ye, and then immediately obtained the result. "Is the matter on the moon over? Judging from your expression, the outcome seems quite favorable to you? I guess Alice and Patchouli can no longer be an obstacle to your plans at this moment, is that right?"

“They have already won and received part of the winners’ rewards in advance. So there’s no need for them to return for the time being. Your judgment isn’t wrong, Sirin. The variables in the plan are now reduced to only one or two insignificant ones.”

"I'm guessing one of them is me, and the rest are Zhao Zhuikong and Zhao Yingkong, right? Or is my guess still wrong, and Zhang Jie and Ba Wang are the ones we should be paying attention to?"

"Partially correct, although slightly off, but insignificant."

"Is that so?" Celine remained noncommittal, shifting her gaze to Theresa, the young girl who was watching the two ladies' conversation with a bewildered expression. "Then, can I also receive my prize early and leave directly?"

"If you can be sure that she is the Theresa Apocalypse you met and knew in the past, and not just some random excuse to fool me, then your wish can be fulfilled. If not, then we'll have to wait until the next step to get a result."

Xilin closed her eyes, thought for a few seconds, and then slowly opened them.

"She is."

“Then all the effects are now connected to the causes,” Luo Ye replied. “Congratulations, you will soon be able to receive your reward as the winner of the strategy.”

"I need a detailed and convincing reason."

“You’ll have it soon,” Luo Ye replied, gazing at the sky.

At the edge of her field of vision, the outline of Pluto was already clearly visible.

Section 42 The Final Step (Part 1)

“Too fast. Pluto shouldn’t be in that position.” Sirin frowned. She hadn’t sensed any changes in the spatial structure for some time. “We still have some time before we reach Pluto, how could we be here now…”

"It's just that someone's plan has been brought forward," Luo Ye replied. "Since the biggest obstacle can no longer be an obstacle, there's naturally no need to wait for that period of time step by step. Someone is extremely impatient now. You didn't perceive the spatial displacement of Earth because it wasn't Earth that was displaced, but Pluto. If I'm not mistaken, someone has moved Pluto and the hundreds of thousands of light-seconds beyond Pluto, including the entire Trisolaran fleet, right in front of us."

"You can actually do something like that!?"

“She can do it at the high level of the fourth tier. After all, her true abilities are actually stronger than we expected.” Luo Ye gave a slow reply, while withdrawing his gaze from the distant sky. “I can give you part of the reason you needed earlier. Or rather, you already know part of it.”

"Chang'e is very strong, or rather, the woman who claims to be Chang'e is very strong. But that woman has been lying from beginning to end."

"Just as you guessed, Chang'e had already begun cooperating with Chu Xuan. I was just an extra character who joined in midway. One of the reasons Chu Xuan and I cooperated with her was that the plan we devised together wouldn't harm the Zhongzhou team. And as you can see, so far, the entire Zhongzhou team hasn't suffered any real damage. Apart from being startled, no one has even suffered a scratch."

"Her fierce demeanor was fake, her unreasonable demeanor was fake. Then, is it necessarily true that she claimed to have traveled through more than three thousand worlds and taken parts of those worlds as food?"

"What!?" Sirin's star-shaped pupils contracted sharply. "But I clearly saw—could it be?"

She abruptly turned her head to look at Theresa, who had just been sent off to play by herself.

“Yes, this is the evidence. This is the information I’ve always wanted.” Luo Ye nodded slightly. “Your memories in the Abyss of Death cannot be wrong. And since this Theresa is the one you met countless lifetimes ago, then it means that Chang’e lied at least on this matter—at least in your world, she really didn’t take anything. Nor did she treat that world excessively.”

“But nothing can leave my mother world!” Sirin shook her head vigorously. “No one, except the reincarnators, can take anything away from a primordial world. Any matter they take away is just an illusion, any soul is just an empty shell—the souls they take away are just empty shells?”

“Yes, it’s just an empty shell. No matter how strong a transmigrator is, at least below the fifth-tier saint level, the only things they can truly take from a world that doesn’t belong to them are their own memories and heart.” Luo Ye tilted his head slightly, glancing at the number on the timer that still had some leeway. “I heard your story before. In the lifetime you witnessed where you met Theresa, nothing unusual happened to you. You were the same as in every previous lifetime, and only in that lifetime did you meet her—so, since the abnormality wasn’t you, then it must be her.”

"I don't think I need to say it outright, do I?" — That incarnation of Theresa Apocalypse was actually Chang'e... let's still call her Chang'e for now. That's why she was able to appear here, because Chang'e couldn't take anything with her from the Honkai world; all she could take was her heart and memories.

"…………"

“…She has no memory, and no heart.” Sirin slowly but firmly shook her head. “She is not Chang’e.”

“But at least the essence of the soul is the same. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to be sure that she is her,” Luo Ye replied, looking at the girl who was playing freely on the beach with great interest. “She should be a part that Chang’e separated from her soul structure, representing only the girl you met back then, not the part of Chang’e the Traveler. Her tearing was even more thorough than mine. If I had to make an analogy, she should be like Zhao Yingkong’s main and secondary personalities.”

"...I should have thought of that sooner."

"You did think of that long ago, after all, you know a lot of exclusive information. It's just that you deliberately didn't think in that direction. You're smarter than expected, so Chang'e was able to deceive you seven years ago by showing genuine emotion. But after that, she sent Theresa to your side. She tried to hide it so well before, but then she revealed such a big flaw at this time... The ultimate conclusion that can be pointed to is obviously only one thing."

"...Her true purpose is related to this, but that part of me has already ended. She is a liar idealist, yet also a true traveler who has traversed many worlds. She took nothing with her, only her memories and her heart..." Sirin pondered for a full minute. "You just said that her true purpose was actually to disrupt the script of this world, to shatter the principles of civilization in this world?"