Chapter 335

Chapter 121 Light and Darkness – Eighteen

“Ptoo, ptoo! Ptoo…”

Spitting out the sand from my mouth, I raised my head.

In front of me was a wall with a large hole, bricks and dust still falling “whoosh whoosh.” Amidst the scattering smoke, chairs and cabinets in the small civilian house were overturned and broken. A couple stood in the corner, the man tightly hugging a screaming woman in his arms, their faces filled with panic and fear.

“Don’t come closer!”

He yelled at me as if to muster courage, raising a kitchen knife in his hand towards me. Despite trying to appear fierce, his appearance clearly showed he was quaking inside.

A civilian hiding at home…

I quickly raised both hands. “Sorry! You… cough, cough, hide quickly! Don’t go outside!”

After saying this, I no longer paid attention to them, brushing off the dust on my skirt armor, shaking my head, and preparing to rush out.

Suddenly, a familiar scent came from the hole in the wall ahead, a gentle breeze blowing against my face.

I was momentarily stunned.

Glancing out the window, I saw a fleeting black fog in the sky. My heart suddenly tightened.

Oh no, oh no, oh no…

“Run!”

As I shouted with all my might, I suddenly pushed off the ground, stepping through the floor with a loud “bang,” my figure covered in frost rushing toward the hole. The power of order erupted, and a thick ice wall rose from the outside of the hole.

But it was too late.

The pervasive dead smoke had already seeped through the hole, shattering the window. The familiar and comforting force arrived instantly, enveloping me before passing by my side. The swirling black fog rapidly circled in front of me, swiftly moving around the room, sweeping up splinters and paper scraps, eroding everything nearby, then flying out of the house in an instant, disappearing from sight.

“Save…”

“Aaaaahhh—”

A shrill scream echoed beside my ear.

I turned my head blankly, seeing the man’s hand reaching out to me, along with the woman in his arms, both withered. Their expressions froze in extreme panic, then turned to ashes before my eyes and scattered away.

Two wisps of pale white smoke rose and followed the black fog, soaring out of the window into the sky.

Sizzling…

Rumbling…

The house contaminated by the dead smoke began to sway, bricks and stones falling from above, striking my armor lightly but causing no pain. With a “boom,” half of the civilian house’s wall and roof collapsed, weak sunlight shining on my face.

“Cough, cough…”

The dust was very irritating.

In the distance to the south, chaotic shouting could be faintly heard.

Lifting my head in the ruins, I felt neither anger nor sorrow.

In the dim sky, countless wisps of dead smoke swirled under the dark clouds, constantly flying down to the city below, only to rise again with a few wisps of light smoke. The streets were sinking, buildings collapsing, rumbling sounds never ceasing. Black and pale white colors danced across the sky. I couldn’t see the monster, but soon after, a cold, strange female voice came from somewhere.

“[Abyssal Language] Illusion.”

As the voice faded, a dazzling red glow quietly bloomed from a point in the sky, then darkened like the night sky.

The sudden change happened in an instant.

The entire city seemed to be shrouded in pitch-black night. The sun, which had been faintly glowing behind the clouds, vanished instantly, replaced by a blood-red moon slowly rising into the sky.

At that moment, my mind was still stuck on “those two people died, Eilush devoured civilians.” I felt numbness in my limbs, stiffness in my hands and feet, and a dizziness in my head. Indescribable complex emotions slowly rose from my chest two seconds later.

They ignited, transforming into intense grief and rage.

“Ahhh…”

I slightly opened my mouth, letting out a soft sigh like a whisper.

My head hurts so much…

I should have killed her.

I should have done it long ago.

In a daze, the cries and shouts around me gradually became clearer in my ears.

“Peipei, why are you here?!”

A familiar voice came from not far ahead.

Who is it…

I focused my gaze, seeing countless panicked civilians fleeing for their lives on the wide street outside the collapsed civilian house. Behind the crowd, a gentle and calm mother in a white dress, a warm fur shawl wrapped around her, with a look of surprise and anxiety on her face, ran towards me, lifting her skirt.

“…Mom?”

???

How did she…

My mind couldn’t process it.

In the next moment, someone suddenly rushed to her side, holding a cold short blade. In the mother’s bewildered gaze, he stabbed her lower abdomen.

Then he pulled out and stabbed again.

Blood stained her skirt, and the mother’s figure fell down.

I widened my eyes.

“Ahhhhhh——”

At this moment, my heart felt as if it was being tightly gripped by a pair of large hands, squeezing until I couldn’t breathe in an instant.

“Mom!!!”

A heart-wrenching scream escaped my lips. I stepped out with Moon Step, the wind howling past my ears. My figure instantly appeared before the person holding a sharp blade, wiping the blood off it. A hand glowing with blue light lifted and choked him by the neck.

Then I clearly saw his face.

…Edward!

The Edward who had long been dead was looking at me with a strange expression, a sinister smile hanging on his lips.

“Long time no see, my queen.”

“Your mom!”

No…

This can’t be!

Mom wouldn’t be here… Edward died long ago… This is an illusion, just an illusion… I need to calm down.

I tried to suppress the burning emotions in my chest, not daring to look at the white figure lying at my feet, nor to gaze at Edward’s annoying smile. Instead, I turned to look at the civilians running and screaming endlessly ahead. I made every effort to take deep breaths.

Inhale… Exhale…

“Ugh…”

My head was splitting.

Unable to hold back, I used another hand to forcefully slap my head. That “Edward” continued talking to himself, but his voice sounded distant and hazy. The overwhelming desire to kill was hard to suppress. My head felt like it was about to explode, my mind in chaos, and my body felt extremely cold.

…It’s getting worse.

Not now… not like this…

In the next moment, a fierce expression appeared on my face. I bit my tongue hard. An excruciating pain shot up to my brain, and a faint salty taste spread from my mouth.

My head became slightly clearer.

Suddenly, a calm voice echoed in my ear.

[Abyssal Language] You, temporarily leave.

Buzzing…

Everything suddenly turned white.

I closed and then opened my eyes. The blurry vision gradually became clear.

The sky had already returned to its previous hazy brightness. The mysterious night was instantly dispelled, and the blood moon that seemed like a nightmare disappeared. There was no mother lying in a pool of blood at my feet. It was as if everything that happened just now was nothing but a dream.

The fleeing civilians still ran past me continuously. I stood at the edge of the street, staring blankly at several partially collapsed houses.

The illusion has vanished…

I’m back!

My nerves were still tense, but the headache was gradually subsiding.

“Don’t… don’t kill me…”

?

A weak plea brought me back to reality. My eyes gradually regained focus, and I looked closely at the person in front of me—a face with rolled-back eyes, sticking out tongue, in extreme pain and unfamiliar.

“Who…”

I instinctively asked, then I saw my own hand still choking his neck. A faint frost mist extended from my palm, nearly reaching half of his face, freezing his hair and eyebrows into white frost.

“Aah!”

I was startled and quickly released my grip. “S-Sorry… How are you?”

“Cough, cough… Ah, ah!”

The man coughed violently, his pale face twisted in agony. He held his neck with both hands, emitting hoarse cries, not even daring to look at me. He stumbled away hurriedly.

I watched his retreating figure, furrowing my brows for a moment, then relaxing them. For some reason, I felt much lighter.

Is he okay?

I almost killed him… almost… he looked so scared, I really feel sorry… but his fleeing posture was so funny, what should I do? I want to laugh!

“Giggles.”

How interesting.

My head finally stopped hurting.

My body no longer felt cold; instead, it felt warm and comfortable.

In the chaotic city, shouts from all directions were boiling.

So noisy… annoying…

I raised my head.

Above, the demon shaped like a butterfly flapped its wings, circling. Countless beams of light still rose from various places, converging towards the monster’s position. Perhaps due to consuming a lot of white smoke, the injuries on its body had recovered within a short time.

It actually intended to release me from the illusion…

Does it not plan to fight me?

But… I still remember.

The hit you gave me earlier was quite painful.

Huh—

A two-meter-wide flame wing suddenly spread from my back, flames roaring up.

In the next moment, a smile curled at the corner of my mouth.

“Iryush, why did you become so ugly…”

Muttering to myself, wisps of black fog spread from beneath my feet. The flame wing on my back slowly rose and then swung down abruptly.

Boom—

My small figure shot up into the sky like a cannonball, rapidly heading toward the monster.