I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Joseph couldn't believe that his wise and brave brother Duke was dead.

Joan couldn't believe that the terrifying Duke, who had so easily defeated her, was dead.

In their hearts, Duke is the strongest player who is omnipotent, the wise man who always has a backup plan, and the monster who constantly creates miracles.

But even monsters get tired and lie down one day.

The battle between the hero Talia and the monster Duke was a victory for the former, a victory for the heroes of this world.

Talia closed her eyes, and before she could savor her victory, she placed her hand on her chest. As long as the three lines of the Soul Requiem continued to resonate throughout the world, she believed she still had a chance to turn the tide.

As Talia listened to the Soul Requiem, she calmly considered her next steps. There were no more obstacles ahead, as long as she could…

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt, because she suddenly realized that the singing she was hearing was not coming from the Soul Requiem, but from another direction.

Someone is humming the melody of a soul-soothing requiem.

Talia looked in the direction from which the singing came and saw the child named Jasmine, a student of the Thunder Witch Rose.

She remembered the circumstances of her possession of Jasmine; it was during the Witch's Game in the Tower of Casinos, when Duke, Cecil, and the Silent Ones of the Sympathetic Faction were fighting. She possessed Jasmine to watch the spectacle. Originally, she planned to intervene at the right time, since, for her, whether Cecil was gone or the Sympathetic Faction was gone, she was already smitten.

However, she unexpectedly didn't get her chance. Not wanting to leave empty-handed, Talia kidnapped her after they left the casino tower and took her into the world of the Witch Game.

This wouldn't normally be considered a big deal; Talia had quite a few hostages like Jasmine and Joan, with Jasmine being just one of the most ordinary. But no one knew what role Jasmine would play at this moment.

Aside from the mysterious mechanical intervention.

Jasmine smiled at her and continued singing, and the world... a world already on the verge of collapse, was finally thrown out of balance.

The first thing to happen was an earthquake.

Then came the deafening thunderstorm above.

Secondly, there were the eruptions of distant volcanoes and the roar of tsunamis.

A sudden downpour.

The intense heat of the sun.

The frozen earth.

The world was just counting down to its destruction, barely maintaining a peaceful and prosperous state until the countdown ended. But when Jasmine's song started, everything seemed to be suddenly accelerated, accelerated, accelerated!

"The Song of Destruction".

At this moment, after witnessing the destruction of the world (albeit in a dream), Jasmine comprehended her unique spell. As the dream world was destroyed, the melody of the Soul Requiem echoed within it. This led her to connect the two events, making the song that urged the world's destruction her stepping stone to becoming a witch, and even her future stepping stone to becoming a legend.

In short, the world was destroyed.

……

"Help! Help!"

Duke heard a sound in the chaos, and he suddenly opened his eyes and his mouth: "Meow...meow?"

He could only meow when he tried to speak, which surprised him. Duke quickly looked down to check the situation.

[Mission: And who did I kill? Complete.]

[Item: Nine-Tailed Cat, already generated.]

[Prop name: Nine-tailed cat. 】

[Item Description: The idea that cats have nine lives is a common misconception... Cats actually have eighty-one lives.]

[Item Effect: After use, you will temporarily gain nine lives, but as a trade-off, your soul will be weakened until you have your last life. Currently: 8/9.]

"Meow... I remember the quest requirement was 'kill Talia'? She's dead? I did it? Am I dreaming about killing someone?"

Duke was stunned. He examined his situation. The Soul Requiem was working, and the whole world was under his control. However, because the world had been destroyed, this control seemed to be less necessary.

The players returned to the floating city after completing the game. With Amber around, Annie's problems could still be treated.

A large number of lives have already been lost in the world. In the face of such a catastrophe, the power of a few strong individuals is insignificant. However, there are still many humans who can be saved... and many have already been saved.

They were somehow transported by Talia to a certain location in the floating city. Unbeknownst to them, Talia had already opened up a spatial channel for the transfer of people in the floating city.

However, she died not long after implementing this backup plan. Talia was also at her last gasp. By forcibly activating this backup plan, she forcibly shouldered the fate of the world.

She couldn't take it, so she died.

Having completed the mission and obtained the item, Duke, who was reborn directly within her body, survived.

Until the very end, Talia was an enemy of the floating city and a hero of the Sleeping Beauty world. She could have given up when she was exhausted, but she fought to the point of death.

"Help...help..."

Her obsession resonated in Duke's soul; it was as if she had etched this thought into her own soul. Duke, who inherited her soul through usurpation, was directly influenced by her.

"I'm not you, I wouldn't risk my life like that... Fine, I'll save them, okay? After all, these people are innocent, I'll save as many as I can."

Duke sighed and took over control of Soul Requiem.

"I must say, I loathe you and wish I could get rid of you as soon as possible... but I also have to admire you, Talia."

"Farewell, my despicable yet respectable adversary."

Chapter 175 Let's elope!

Cecil slowly woke up, sat on the ground somewhat dazed, yawned, then looked around at the scattered passersby and fell into deep thought.

What's going on here?

Guangbao shook his head vigorously, trying to recall what had happened before he fell into a deep sleep. Before his memory was cut off, Cecil was doing his usual chivalrous deeds, relying on her best friend Amber's superhuman teleportation ability to wield a two-meter-long sword and hack and slash through several streets, looking incredibly dashing.

But at that moment, Amber suddenly disappeared. After Cecil dealt with her opponent, she began searching for her best friend. As she searched, she... collapsed and fell asleep.

Why is that?

After recalling the cause and effect, Cecil seemed even more confused. Logically speaking, she had gone to bed very early last night, so how could she suddenly fall asleep on the street?

Moreover, so many passersby around them had also fainted. Were they affected by a legendary hypnotic spell?

She could sense that the floating city was shrouded in some kind of power, but she couldn't pinpoint the source of this ever-growing power or who was wielding it.

It's clear that Cecil is unlikely to figure out what happened on his own. But Guangbao is no longer the same Guangbao; the old Guangbao is now starting to speculate wildly, and the answers he comes to are most likely wrong.

But Cecil now... will ask Duke.

You're kidding me, I have connections!

So Cecil prepared to set off for Duke's house to find him. Based on her experience, if Duke wasn't at his own house recently, he was most likely at Amber's.

I'm so envious of that silly couple!

Cecil was so angry at the thought of that silly couple who were always clinging to each other that she felt like grinding her teeth... But here's the problem: why did she feel so uncomfortable when her best friends were together?

"First, let's rule out that I'm just jealous... cough, I think it must be because those two were completely oblivious to everyone else, like they couldn't see anyone else. Although I can understand that it's not surprising for newly in love couples to be all lovey-dovey, they should at least be mindful of where they are..."

Cecil grumbled bitterly, clearly feeling a lot of pressure from Duke and Amber's relationship. Watching the two of them flaunt their love every day was making the kids feel suffocated.

She muttered to herself as she walked briskly down the street, and soon Cecil realized that people were either asleep or unconscious... filling the floating city.

Five minutes after she woke up, she still hadn't seen a second person who was awake.

At the same time, Cecil vaguely sensed that on the far other side of the floating city, there seemed to be a fierce battle taking place, with all the participants being legendary or above. She even recognized the power of time.

"Are those Carol and the others fighting?" Cecil raised an eyebrow, muttering to himself in surprise, "Someone actually dares to attack Carol in the floating city?"

Cecil was the one Carol brought to the floating city, and they had a pretty good relationship. When she sensed that Carol was fighting, she immediately wanted to rush over to help.

But at that moment, the power that had been enveloping the floating city and growing stronger suddenly weakened in her perception. At the same time, spatial fluctuations occurred very nearby.

Cecil had a sudden thought, and with a stomp of his foot, he transformed into a shooting star and arrived at the place where the spatial fluctuations were occurring. Then, in the center of a square, he was astonished to see a huge portal.

It connected to some unknown world, and a group of simply dressed humans emerged one after another from this random portal, gathering in the plaza in a daze. The sheer number of humans made Guangbao's scalp tingle.

"What...what is this thing?!"

Guangbao voiced the biggest question of the day.

“These are the residents of the Sleeping Beauty game… I’ve brought back all the ones who are still alive and in relatively good condition.”

A familiar voice sounded behind him, and Cecil turned around with a look of surprise and cheered, "Duke, you... Pfft! Who are you?!"

Before Cecil appeared a spirit that resembled Duke in general, but with cat ears on its head, a tail swaying behind it, and organs that were clearly not Duke's own appearing on its body from time to time, such as arms, legs, and even a delicate female face, chanting "Save people... Save people..." like a vengeful spirit.

"Stop arguing, you're so annoying! I've already saved the person, now you can go die..." Duke rubbed his temples, looking at himself with a headache, not knowing who he was arguing with. After a long while, he turned to Cecil and asked with a serious face, "Don't you recognize me, Guangbao? I'm Duke Meow."

"'Meow'?! Hahaha, Duke, what are you doing? Is this your hobby?"

Cecil's expression was no longer just a suppressed laugh of "Pfft, who are you?", but also mixed with "I'm so awesome!" "I never expected you to be like this, Duke." "A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation... I admit I've been blinded." The richness of her facial expressions made Duke wish he had a camera so he could film her expressions and use them for blackmail later.

Duke's lips twitched slightly.

His current state is a combination of the side effects of the Nine Lives Cat and his current consumption of Talia's remains. His cat ears, cat tail, and meowing habit are naturally due to the former, while the foreign objects that occasionally appear on his body are a rejection reaction to the latter.

"My situation is a long story, but in short... Cecil, please help me!"

“Of course, no problem.” Cecil nodded without hesitation. After reconciling with Duke and becoming good friends, she basically didn’t use her brain much in front of him—she was completely obedient, second only to her ace support character, Amber, in terms of loyalty. She asked excitedly, “So, Duke, who do you want to target?”

But Duke didn't say who he wanted to fight. He didn't need Cecil's help with the fight itself, but rather...

"Let's elope, Cecil!"

"Okay, I didn't ask... what?!"

She stared wide-eyed at Duke's face, trying to find even a hint of a joke in his expression. However, Duke looked very serious, deep in thought, seemingly oblivious to what he had just said, but it didn't look like he was joking at all.

She should have scolded Duke, denounced his betrayal of Amber, called him a shameless scumbag, then gone back to Amber to reveal his disgusting behavior and write a long essay with her sisters.

But as if by some strange twist of fate, Cecil didn't say those words. Instead, he nodded, as if something had occurred to him, and agreed:

"Okay, let's go."

Chapter 176 Epilogue

"The word 'elope' means to run away with one's lover despite all obstacles. In the past, it referred to an unmarried person secretly running away to their lover. Now it refers to two people abandoning everything for love or running away to escape gossip."

Cecil held a Continental Common Language dictionary, read out the words written on it word by word, and then glared fiercely at Duke.

"Do you understand now? Do you understand what 'Let's elope, Cecil' means?"

Duke tilted his head, looking completely bewildered, and said, "I was just kidding, didn't you realize?"