On the Ark.

As he spoke, he leaned forward.

"So, who can help you this time? The little girl behind you, or Enciodes, who is vying for power a hundred miles away? If neither of them, are you prepared to die?"

Looking at Mephistopheles' almost manic expression, Lin Ye sighed inwardly.

It was exactly the same as in his dream. Lin Ye had been wondering what kind of freak Mephistopheles would grow up to be, someone who had become a demon in childhood. Now he saw it; the madness in his bones was exactly the same as in his dream.

How should we deal with him?

Lin Ye was unaware that he had originally planned to ambush Mephisto from behind while he was capturing Chuxue and Yaxin, but now he had been caught red-handed by Mephisto.

While Mephisto in his childhood didn't seem to possess any special power, and could be easily subdued by Lin Ye in the dream world, the reality was different. Lin Ye didn't know what special abilities Mephisto had, but he was certainly no weaker than his childhood self in the dream. However, the current Lin Ye was much weaker than his dream self because his stamina hadn't recovered. Although he was much better than at his weakest point, it was still difficult to use in direct combat; he was better suited for ambushing from behind. If he were full of energy now, he would have immediately used [Maple] to unleash "Leaping Wave Strike," instead of continuing to talk to Mephisto, knowing that with Eileen's fate uncertain and Snow Cliff's condition unclear, it wasn't a good time to stall for time and try to recover as much stamina as possible.

But judging from this speed, it's still unreliable. The only thing Lin Ye can use right now is the Vector in his hand.

Of course, there is an even more lethal weapon, but it should be used only at the most critical moment.

So, Lin Ye stopped arguing with Mephisto, raised the Vector, and pulled the trigger at Mephisto's head. Although it was still a burst of fire, he didn't want to conserve bullets this time, aiming to kill Mephisto instantly.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do it. Mephistopheles was not as easy to deal with as those two border guards who had never seen a guard gun before.

He didn't move, still smiling at the table, but a thick ice wall suddenly appeared in front of him, stopping all the bullets and freezing them in mid-air.

"The Angel Clan's Guardian Gun is indeed a very good weapon." Mephisto smiled and shook his head. "However, it seems you're not handling it very well. Is it because you don't have enough bullets? That's a real shame."

Despite being mentally prepared, Lin Ye was still disappointed when he saw that the bullet had failed to harm Mephisto, though he didn't show it.

Mephisto added, "You have a sword, yet you still fight with a Guardian Gun. Is it because you lack confidence in yourself? A lack of confidence can be fatal in this kind of battle."

Lin Ye knew this was Mephistopheles's "psychological warfare" tactic; he enjoyed using language to disrupt his enemy's mindset. Although he was only a novice, Lin Ye, as a psychologist, wouldn't fall for such a low-level trick.

What puzzled Lin Ye was that he needed time, and Mephisto should also need time, so why was Mephisto spending so much time talking to him?

What is he going to do next?

The question was answered in the next second, though in the way Lin Ye least wanted to see.

A woman's heart-wrenching scream rang out from the backyard, and Lin Ye's expression changed drastically upon hearing it.

He recognized it as Eileen's voice.

Mephisto chuckled softly: "Deployment complete, the game is over."

Lin Ye's intuition told him that he couldn't wait any longer.

So he abandoned Vector, endured his discomfort, drew Maple, and charged toward Mephisto.

Mephistopheles, however, remained calm and composed, standing still and smiling as he waited for Lin Ye to attack.

However, Lin Ye's next words immediately froze Mephistopheles' smile.

"You have to pay the price for your mistakes!" Lin Ye roared. "Remember tonight, Mephistopheles. You will remember tonight forever, and you will remember everything I did to you!"

Familiar words, familiar voice.

At that moment, Mephistopheles saw the masked figure rushing towards him, separated by reality and dreams, and the fear in his heart magnified instantly.

He pointed at Lin Ye and shouted in a distorted voice, "It's you!"

Lin Ye smiled and then chopped down at Mephisto's head.

……

……

Author's note: 8k chapters finished, still owes 38 more.

Chapter 286 You can't escape me, Mephisto!

Click.

Two more large trees were severed by the pure silver light blade. Faust, still in stealth mode, quickly retreated to avoid being crushed by the trees, while simultaneously raising his crossbow towards Lappland, firing three bolts in quick succession. However, the bolts were either dodged or sliced ​​in mid-air, failing to harm Lappland. They only forced Lappland to briefly halt her pursuit, allowing Faust to once again conceal himself within the forest.

After this period of fighting, Faust finally realized that Lappland was his most difficult enemy to deal with, as he could pinpoint his location with his keen sense of smell.

Faust wasn't unfamiliar with the Lupo race; on the contrary, he had assassinated quite a few. Knowing that some races possessed an extraordinary sense of smell, he had altered his own scent. Previously, the Lupo who had fought him, even if they sensed something amiss, couldn't detect him. But Lappland could, which piqued Faust's curiosity about her origins.

Faust's greatest asset is his stealth ability under optical camouflage, but when this ability isn't fully utilized, he easily falls into a passive position. For example, right now, to avoid being approached by Lappland, he can only retreat constantly, dodging her attacks while also launching occasional counterattacks, but with little effect. After all, when the Lupo are fully focused, his crossbow bolts are difficult to land. And once Lappland gets close, his chances of winning are even slimmer.

But it's not like they can't fight at all.

Faust noticed that Lappland was injured, which he had inflicted within the past hour. These injuries prevented Lappland from fighting at full strength, while Faust himself was in excellent condition.

Secondly, in battle, smell is ultimately less reliable than sight. Lappland can only sense Faust's approximate location through smell to launch an attack, and such attacks are not difficult to dodge. So, while it appears that Lappland is constantly chasing Faust, it actually reflects the fact that neither side can gain the upper hand in the short term. However, Faust believes that if this drags on, he will surely win, because in Lappland's current state, she cannot afford any small mistake. Once injured by Faust, the battle will be over.

Therefore, Faust was not worried about Lappland; he was worried about Mephistopheles.

Because in his plan with Mephisto, Mephisto was supposed to help him take down the heavily armored guard named Horn, but he was tied up here by Lappland, so who could deal with Horn?

Faust didn't know, but he suddenly sensed something, turned around sharply, and saw a huge "ice pillar" rising in the courtyard of the Shivaesh family.

The bomb was detonated.

Faust thought to himself.

……

[Maple] stopped less than twenty centimeters from Mephistopheles' eyes.

A thicker ice wall suddenly appeared between Lin Ye and Mephisto. Although [Maple] should have easily cut through the ice wall given its sharpness, Lin Ye's condition was simply too poor. The mere actions of "drawing the sword" and "charging" had almost completely exhausted his strength, which is why the final swing seemed so weak. Under normal circumstances, even without using Leaping Wave Strike, [Maple]'s sharpness would have allowed this strike to cut not only the ice wall but also Mephisto's head.

Lin Ye looked around and, sure enough, saw two people wearing robes and white masks behind Mephisto. They were the same sorcerers they had encountered on the Holy Road a week ago, the ones who could wield the power of ice.

If it weren't for them, Mephistopheles would be dead by now.

"How is this possible!" Mephistopheles staggered backward, then roared at Lin Ye, "How is this possible?!"

He was somewhat hysterical.

Lin Ye could understand. After all, for the past week, he had entered Mephisto's dreams every night, tormenting him repeatedly in his dreams, and ultimately becoming Mephisto's nightmare. The heavy dark circles under Mephisto's eyes showed how bad his sleep had been this past week.

After all, the moment he closed his eyes, he could see a strangely dressed person emerge from a dark alley, carrying a mangled corpse on their back, holding rusty scissors in their hand, and wearing a girl's sorrowful smile on their face. Then, the person would hold him down and do to him again and again things he didn't want to remember. And in the dream, he was powerless to resist and could only endure it.

He felt he was being driven mad. Although he himself was a madman, one could imagine the pain of driving another madman insane. So, when Lin Ye uttered the words he spoke every night, Mephistopheles lost all his guard in that instant, as if dragged back into a dream, becoming that powerless boy again, the sound of scissors echoing in his ears.

"Who are you?!" Mephistopheles roared at Lin Ye.

One second Mephistopheles was behaving like the final boss, and the next he was a hysterical little brat. Lin Ye couldn't help but marvel at the power of Messiah's psychological manipulation. When a person's psychological defenses are breached, the whole person collapses. Mephistopheles was on the verge of collapse, and Lin Ye felt that all he needed to do was add fuel to the fire to completely bury him.

But Mephistopheles didn't give him that chance. Realizing that this was reality and not a dream, he stretched out his hand, pointed at Lin Ye, and roared in a trembling voice, "Kill him! Kill him!"

The two sorcerers standing behind Mephisto immediately launched an attack on Lin Ye.

Sharp icicles pierced towards Lin Ye.

Lin Ye wanted to retreat, but he was frozen along with the knife and had no way to break free since he was already exhausted.

Therefore, he had no choice but to use his last trump card.

He grabbed the white amulet at his waist.

Just as the icicles were about to pierce his body, a pure white shield enveloped him. The sharp icicles shattered instantly upon entering the shield by an invisible force, and the same was true for the ice light that had frozen Lin Ye and [Feng].

【Sanctuary】.

This is the power of the White Demon Nightingale; all magical attacks are blocked outside the shield.

Lin Ye grasped Maple Leaf again.

He stared intently at Mephisto, knowing full well this was his last chance. Nightingale's [Sanctuary] wouldn't last long; he had to behead Mephisto while Nightingale's power still protected him, or he would have no more opportunities.

Just then, a clear bell rang in his ears, coming from the back mountain.

He was stunned.

This is... a sacred bell?!

It was indeed the Holy Bell. The moment the bell rang, Lin Ye felt a surge of power welling up from his nearly empty body.

It's the Holy Bell! This is First Snow's Originium Arts!

The opportunity is coming!

Lin Ye gritted his teeth and swung [Maple] again. At this moment, Nightingale's [Sanctuary] had also reached its limit. However, as the blade of [Maple] sliced ​​through the white shield of [Sanctuary], another unexpected event occurred.

Like a punctured balloon, the shield shattered instantly when [Maple]'s blade touched the edge. However, the power of [Sanctuary] didn't disappear; instead, it was all "absorbed" into [Maple]'s blade. At that moment, the crimson blade was covered by a white light, turning pure white. Lin Ye didn't know why, but he had no time to think about it. He charged towards Mephisto, the sound of waves echoing in his ears.

"Mephisto!" Lin Ye roared in his dreamlike voice, "You can't escape me!"

In Mephistopheles' eyes, Lin Ye's figure was rapidly magnified, as if he were approaching him step by step in a dream.

"Don't come any closer!"

Mephisto's mind completely collapsed. He kept backing away, trying to escape, while the sorcerer standing next to him created several ice walls in an attempt to block Lin Ye.

But this time, they couldn't succeed.

No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't stop the "sacred" [Maple].

puff.

Lin Ye swung his sword down.

Mephisto tried to turn his body to the side, but he couldn't dodge Lin Ye's attack. His left hand, connected to his shoulder, was cut off along with it.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Mephistopheles screamed in pain.

[Maple] was inserted into the ground, and the white light spread rapidly, expanding the "Sanctuary" to the entire Shivaesh family mansion.

Within range, the Yeti team members found themselves unable to cast spells.

【seal up】!

……

……

Author's Note: I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter; I might revise it later. I was supposed to write it this morning, but something incredibly stupid happened and I was delayed. I don't know if I should share it with you all, because I think if I do, you'll definitely burst out laughing.

Chapter 287 The Lord of Kalan (Part 1)

For Mephistopheles, this was a nightmare come true.

Although he wasn't wearing that tattered robe, carrying that mutilated corpse, wearing that eerie woman's mask, or wielding those rusty scissors, Mephistopheles still knew that Lin Ye was the demon in his dream, the nightmare that tormented him every night. Although he repeatedly told himself it was just a dream, that dreams couldn't become reality, and that even the worst dreams were nothing once he woke up, it couldn't change the fact that he was being tormented by nightmares to the point of near collapse.