I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Since following the normal procedure is so cumbersome and difficult, and there is clearly a shortcut right in front of them... why don't they choose to skip the steps?

"Why?" Xingyin asked hesitantly, "Isn't this big hole obviously a trap?"

In the eyes of the cautious little queen, this seemingly bottomless pit leading directly to the forbidden area was definitely a trap! Xingyin knew full well how cunning and terrifying Talia was, and she felt a deep-seated fear of this devil who had once controlled her.

She had only spent a short time with Duke and didn't know much about him. At this moment, Xingyin couldn't understand Duke's arrogance at all.

Is this guy a brainless brute?

The little empress had this question flash through her mind.

But Xiao Hei ignored Xingyin's words at all. It only listened to Duke. After confirming that Duke did not hesitate, it directly ignored Xingyin's questioning and controlled the mimic monster costume to take a step—why should it listen to Xingyin? She wouldn't cook a whole fish feast for it.

Thus, under Xiao Hei's control, all the clothing monsters witnessed a shocking scene.

Suddenly, one of the guards in the audience hall went mad. He shoved aside another guard beside him, then strode towards the monsters' ranks. After knocking over two or three monsters, he arrived at the bottomless pit and leaped down.

"Meow!" "Eeya!!!"

Amidst the excited cheers of Xiao Hei and the screams of the Star Sisters (mainly Star Flower), Duke revealed a somewhat manic smile.

Are Duke players just mindless brutes?

Of course not. If Duke were truly a brainless idiot (Cecil: Are you being polite?), how could he possibly dominate and complete so many witch games in a row?

He knew perfectly well that this bottomless pit was a trap, but it was also a calculated move by Talia that forced Duke to step into it. They simply couldn't possibly reach the forbidden area through normal means. Even with the magic wardrobe to replenish their equipment, they didn't have the fighting power to fight their way to the Queen's palace.

Rather than wasting our strength on these small fry, we should face Talia directly.

The situation has reversed.

Now, the one who needs to create an opportunity for a direct confrontation is no longer Talia, but Duke. With "Deus Ex" in hand, he is not afraid to fight Talia head-on. The problem now is how to find Talia and the core of this game.

"boom--"

With a deafening roar, Duke and the others crashed heavily to the ground, creating a large crater in the forbidden area like a meteorite falling. They landed on the humans who had been thrown in by the monsters in the clothes. Fortunately, in this world, human bodies are immune to injury; even after being slammed down by Duke and the others, the humans used as human cushions remained unharmed.

However, the monster-mimicry suit was destroyed by the fall from the sky, leaving only Duke and the others, who were dizzy from the fall, tumbling out and standing in a crater filled with humans, looking dazed.

"%！@＃￥"

The Voice of All Things that Duke had put in his ears suddenly emitted a strange sound, which startled Duke and made him turn around abruptly.

Then, he saw a humanoid monster, about the height of a person, appear in his field of vision. It was impossible to tell whether it was male or female, or even have a face. Its skin was made of silk fabric, its limbs were made of sturdy linen, and it was wearing a sexy bikini swimsuit. However, the doll's uninspired body was utterly unappealing.

"That is the divine garment passed down from the royal family!" Soon, Duke heard Xingyin's voice, but he also sensed a hint of doubt in the little empress's tone: "But what is it that is wearing it?"

The humanoid monster paid no attention to Duke and the others. It casually grabbed someone nearby, then pulled out a large number of threads from its body, wrapping them around the human in its grasp at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and then exerted its strength...

"Pfft-"

Fresh blood splattered out.

That person was crushed into a pile of mangled flesh. The rules of the alternate dimension seemed to have no effect on this monster, and could not stop it from slaughtering humans.

"What—" "Ugh..."

The bloody scene caused Xingyin to gasp in shock, and Xinghua to cover her mouth, nearly vomiting. Both of them were experienced warriors, but under the unique rules of this alternate dimension, they had never seen such a bloody sight.

Duke narrowed his eyes.

The humanoid monster's body began to absorb the pile of rotten flesh, and then its body underwent some changes... Although the changes were very subtle, Duke was certain that after eating that person, it became more human-like.

Then, it grabbed a person next to it.

"THEWORLD!"

The next instant, Duke vanished from his spot and appeared on the other side, closer to the monster. The human in the humanoid monster's hand also disappeared, reappearing in Duke's arms. He casually tossed the unconscious Lucky Guy aside, then stared intently at the monster before him, raising the neon light that he had somehow acquired.

"You've come, savior of the world?"

Talia's voice rang out from afar. Duke looked up and saw the gown that Talia was controlling appear in his field of vision. Under the control of her soul, the gown transformed into a lifelike and adorable young girl who looked much more human than the humanoid monsters around her.

She floated and danced outside the human pit, seemingly in a very good mood.

“Talia.” Duke narrowed his eyes and asked coldly, “What exactly is this thing? Did you create it?”

“Of course not.” Talia waved her hand with a smile. “It is the core of this witch’s game, humanity’s natural enemy, the ‘predator’… That’s the name I gave it. Does it sound nice?”

"Why do you allow it to prey on humans?" Duke shook his head, temporarily suppressing his murderous intent, and questioned, word by word, "Or rather, why do you help it prey on humans?"

The clothing monsters must have been acting on Talia's orders to bring humans here, but he simply couldn't understand why she would do such a thing. Why would she help these monsters prey on humans?!

A requiem for the soul suddenly began to play.

The stirring music seemed to echo Duke's emotions, resounding throughout the center of the world.

"This is the truth of this world and its original trajectory. I neither condoned nor helped it; I merely observed it from the sidelines." Upon hearing the Requiem, Talia let out a joyful and captivated sound. "Fantastic! I knew you'd be so furious seeing this, Duke. You're such a naive person, so naive that you actually believe you can be the savior, achieving a perfect ending every time!"

The Bottomless Pit was indeed a calculated scheme, but she didn't rashly approach Duke to assassinate him. Instead, she maintained a safe distance, bringing the predators right to her doorstep. Her trap took everything into account, including Duke's newly acquired killing move, "Deus Ex."

So that's what you were after.

Duke, expressionless, reached out and pressed his hand to his chest, feeling the constant stabbing pain in his heart.

What exactly is Soul Requiem?

Duke didn't know the answer to that question. He listened quietly to the music around him, and his initially excited emotions gradually cooled down, but the requiem that resounded throughout the world did not stop at all.

He tilted his head back and said softly:

“I don’t see myself as a savior, but what’s wrong with pursuing a perfect ending? Since I don’t want anyone to die, shouldn’t I follow my beliefs? In the Cinderella game, I will bring everyone back to reality. In this game, I will also kill the monsters that prey on humans… and then kill you, Talia.”

Soul Requiem: Cinderella.

The remnants of the Crown-level Witch Game remain within the strains of the Requiem; the last power of the omnipotent wish-granting machine before its destruction blossoms with Duke's soul song. In the Witch Game, whether it's the power of words or the fulfillment of desires, it all boils down to one point.

The power called "wish".

Duke stood in the Soul Song, took a deep breath, and then slowly said:

"The night is still young."

Although they were in a huge underground cavern, at this moment, everyone could see the moon rising in the sky.

Chapter 114 Madman Duke

"The night is still young."

As Duke uttered those four simple words, a full moon suddenly rose, transforming the vast underground cavern into a moonlit night, just like a scene from the Cinderella game.

Talia looked up at the rising moon, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. Although the Cinderella Game had only been over for a short time, it was an unforgettable witch's game for both Duke and her.

But soon, she showed a somewhat solemn expression—to be honest, it was really difficult for her to make so many rich expressions with such a realistic rag doll face; the power of her soul was truly strong.

"So the power of Cinderella's all-powerful wish-granting machine still has some residue." Talia clicked her tongue, silently preparing to leave, then continued to provoke, "What's going on? This is a power that could destroy the world! You're really not going to be a savior anymore? Are you planning to create another Cinderella game in this alternate dimension?"

She could sense that Duke had used the remaining power of "Cinderella" from the Soul Requiem to replicate the world of Cinderella's Game that he saw in this world. Talia didn't have a good impression of that world where wishes could come true and words could be obeyed, but Duke couldn't possibly recreate the Crowned Witch Game here.

Whatever he intends to do, it will only be a poor imitation of that game.

"The essence of clothing-tearing battles in this world is an attack on the soul, which is why Tom suffered amnesia after being attacked by you. It's a sign of a damaged soul." Duke placed one hand on his chest, feeling the soul-soothing sound playing in his heart, while pointing the other hand at Talia. "Therefore, in this world, I have the opportunity to kill you."

Talia shrugged: "You can try."

"It's not a 'try'; I've already decided that I must do it."

Duke is not a brainless brute.

However, Duke has never been a cautious person. He is essentially a gambler. He is willing to gamble on any plan with a success rate of more than 50%!

In this respect, he was a complete madman.

Adventurers always crave legends, and in the floating city, every renowned adventurer receives numerous titles. For example, Joseph, famous throughout the city for his terrible singing, earned the nickname "Mad Singer." Meanwhile, Song Yue, who dominated the newcomer rankings for three whole months before finally stepping down, is known among adventurers as "The Spokesperson of Death."

The player who took over the top spot on the rookie list from Geyue was Duke, who surpassed Joseph in the rankings.

After all, the experience of successfully conquering the Crown-level Witch Game with a dominant position is a huge plus, so it's only natural that Duke surpassed Joseph to become the Rookie of the Year.

Among all the previous Rookie of the Year winners, Duke has the most titles among adventurers.

The living legend of the floating city, the master of time management, the nemesis of all witches and their dream lover... cough, none of these titles sound very respectable.

But apart from that, as Duke's battle reports from several witch games were released to the public, another title gradually became popular.

"Madman Duke".

He was so insane that he was willing to kill himself and use "corpse manipulation" to control himself in battle.

He went so far as to fire an evolutionary bullet into his own body without knowing the consequences, hoping to gain the power to turn the tide in the end.

He went so far as to activate thirteen consecutive loops, searching for a way to achieve the perfect ending in the deadly Crowned Witch Game.

The title "Madman Duke" isn't as popular in the Floating City as titles like "Super Scumbag" or "Witch Killer," but among high-level adventurers and the leadership of the Floating City witches, everyone knows about this newly crowned king's madness.

This time, faced with what was almost the only chance to take down Talia, Duke once again made an incredibly reckless decision.

"The change I've brought to this witch's game is simple—I've engraved the cycle of death we experienced in the Cinderella game here. We will fight endlessly as you wish until your soul is shattered by my own hand, at which point this cycle of death will end."

Duke burst into maniacal laughter, and the stirring requiem rose and fell with his emotions:

"Come on, let's fight!"

Talia instinctively took a half step back.

Although she has appeared to be in complete control so far, Talia has actually maintained a safe distance at all times, daring not to take any risks. Even when her assassination attempt on Duke failed and her sneak attack resulted in a slash hitting Tom, who was blocking the attack, she chose to turn around and leave instead of relying on her own strength and skill to continue the assassination.

These actions prove that Talia is not as nonchalant as she appears. In this witch game where the rules target the soul, she dares not expose even the slightest danger to a terrifying opponent like Duke.

But the cycle of death that Duke initiated exceeded her expectations.

"Whoa, this guy really is a madman..." Faced with the threat of death, Talia naturally couldn't remain a detached spectator. Without even uttering any threats, she turned and ran, shouting, "Predator, use your power!"

“＆＃￥%＆”

A non-human roar rang out, and the humanoid "predator" pounced on Duke. It unleashed an extremely terrifying speed, and Duke's naked eye could not catch its movements, nor did he have the reaction speed to dodge its attack. However, his strongest defensive measures floated behind him.

Megan.

The saint's soul appeared behind Duke at some point, holding the misaligned coordinates Duke had given her beforehand. Facing the predator's attack, she narrowed her eyes and slightly rotated the cross medal in her hand.

"boom--"

The impact of the predator's attack, due to the misaligned coordinates, landed entirely on itself. It was knocked to the ground, struggling in pain, while Duke, without even glancing at it, issued a series of commands:

“Megan, don’t let Talia get away. Blackie, use your shadows to cover everyone. If necessary, try to control the predator. Star Sound and Star Flower, you two are in charge of that predator for now. The God’s Scissors should be able to do some real damage to it. The only problem is, can you two stay calm?”