Chapter 217 - Love
A lifetime ago, on top of the Cataclysm Abyss.
Six heroes sat by a small fire. Heroes were what they were calling them now, after they dragged three damned cities out of the dirt and carried them across the blasted lands that was Sector Four.
Even Ayla hated it here, she wanted to get a move on already, start the next Trial and kick start… everything, but well, everyone was hesitating after that third Trial and that traitor almost managed to kill her.
Ex-traitor now, she supposed.
Everyone remembered the demonic offer from the Skeleton Lord. The promise and… well, it wasn’t wrong, kill each other and they could gain more achievements and be offered other skills that were beyond the norm.
Ayla understood it a little bit. They were afraid that Hadi and Lihua might still betray them at a crucial moment.
You couldn’t blame them, they didn’t have her instincts. She had survived because her instincts had warned her that Hadi was going for her head when she was exposed, the others didn’t have that.
Xavien, their other [Mage], looked up at her and flicked his head at the lone figure standing away from the camp.
Ayla sighed and stood up to go to their other troublesome member that was acting as a lookout.
Xie Lihua, wearing black robes in a dark gray land, stood out, concentrating on the mana around them.
When Ayla approached, Lihua nodded her head at her.
“This land’s mana itself is corrupted, it hates us. I did not know mana could have emotions like this. I always thought mana defaulted into more stable formations.”
“Is that why all the monsters came up to try to kill us?”
It had been something out of a nightmare. Rushing creeping hands and monsters coming breaking out of the dirt to stop them from rescuing pale as hell people stuck in darkness.
While it had been a good fight… the deaths and the crying children… not so much.
“Yes, there’s things here I don’t understand. Something is fundamentally broken here that has allowed the mana to be tainted in this way. I do wonder how it came to be. Was it over time? Or a singular weapon that caused all known mana imprints to stop existing? Is it something that we can recreate? Or is the weapon still buried somewhere here?”
Ayla’s eyes flickered to their team of would-be heroes.
“You know, comments like those are why they’re hesitating to take the next trial.”
Lihua gave her a small smile.
“You’re all still worried that I might betray the team at a crucial moment to rise above. They think I might have lied about having rejected the deal with the Skeleton Lord.”
Ayla raised her arms and crossed them.
“Hey, not me. I know you’re all good, they just, well…”
She trailed off and ruffled her own hair in frustration.
“Tch, those guys, telling me I should go just because we’re the same gender. Lihua, I don’t know, you could just be nicer and tell them what’s on your mind.”
Xie Lihua clicked her tongue in slight exasperation.
“And here I thought that display after Hadi would have eased them off.”
Hadi had tried to kill Ayla in the previous trial, then Lihua did the crazy thing and sparred with him while offering her own neck until Hadi actually gave up and apologized.
Honestly, Ayla still wasn’t sure how Lihua knew it would work out, even her instincts told her that Hadi could still get tempted if she gave him an opening. It was fun for her but not for anyone else.
“That’s another thing. You can’t just do something like that and then turn around and tell everyone that it had been the plan all along, like… like…”
“Some kind of cold-detached sociopath?”
“Exactly.”
The howling of the winds blew away their conversation and hopefully made it so that the others couldn’t hear them.
Lihua stared out at the dark landscape and the abyss that was in front of them.
“Do you remember the Skeleton Lord’s offer?”
Ayla rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you were smart enough to see through it all and everyone else that didn’t decline were idiots that fell for the prisoner’s dilemma whatsit.”
“I saw through more than just that. After meeting the rest of you I realized quickly of the true nature of the Trial System.”
Ayla frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Let us say I find an opportunity in the fifth trial to move ahead while dooming you all and maximize my achievements, what happens next?”
“I dunno. Like the Manager said, the Trial System descends on Earth and the rest of us other than Paul revive with our safety lives?”
Paul had an unfortunate accident in the second Trial which meant he was in his last life.
Lihua chuckled and shook her head at Ayla’s simplistic outlook.
“Yes, then I will have to deal with the six of you holding a grudge for eternity or until I can put you down for good. Meanwhile, Earth arrives in The Realm and a new fresh wave of Trialists stream in at a steady pace.”
“But if you’re in the fifth realm you’ll be far, far stronger than us.”
“You forgot about leveled zones.”
“Ah, this again.”
“Yes, this again. The entirety of the Trial System and its designs are a trap. Leveled zones? A constraint so that the powerful can never truly stop others from rising up. It will cause pressure on the strongest to keep pushing higher. Safety lives? They just make you more reckless and value others’ lives less. They mean that even if you do betray someone and kill them for achievements, it does not end.”
A cold and logical rationale on why it wasn’t, only…
“You’ve told this to us before, I don’t buy it, my instincts tell me you’re not telling the whole truth.”
This time it was Lihua that rolled her eyes.
“You and your cursed instincts. If you relied on it less and used your brain more I’d have someone that was actually pleasant to talk to.”
“Come on, why don’t you tell this little dumb beast the truth, huh? What, little [Mage] is too chicken to admit her own feelings?”
Ayla was quite willing to mime a chicken and make chicken noises at the [Mage], she was quite good at it too. She was just about to do it when Lihua raised a hand, then sighed.
“Fine, if it will raise team unity, I will give the truth. Say that I manage to kill you all twice, what then? I will be forced to maintain my lead over everyone else by continuing to solo the highest Trial. Then, let us say that I find out I cannot solo the highest trial any further, then what, pray tell, is next?”
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Ayla shrugged, she never really thought about failing the trials before. The lack of foresight or planning definitely was getting on Lihua’s nerves if her tone was anything to go by.
“I must prevent other teams from entering the highest trial and exceeding me. Someone that kills their team for power will only be able to look at others and expect the same level of treachery. That level of suspicious paranoia will ensure that I must become a tyrant to ensure that my laws are followed.”
“I dunno, if you’re the strongest can’t you just chill then?”
“Ah but you see, I will have then demonstrated to the rest of the world what kind of person it takes to rise to the top. A ruthless person that will kill everyone if it means they will rise. No doubt those eager for power will see that and follow suit. It will hang over everyone’s minds and influence behavior for generations to come.”
Ayla started to understand what Lihua was saying.
“A world of chaos and destruction. Like that poisonous animal pot thing you always talk about.”
“Exactly. In a world like that, you can never be safe unless you were the strongest and ruthlessly stomp out anyone that has even the tiniest of potential. That is also the thing you can’t do effectively because of leveled zones and safety lives.”
And it was back to this topic, it made sense and Lihua was definitely telling more of her truth here.
“At best I become a ruthless tyrant, at worst, rebellious Trialists rise up and feed off the achievements from going against my rule.”
Ayla blinked, trying to process all of that. It was just so… like Lihua to talk about something like this. Big picture stuff and society, that was always her.
“You really thought about all of this the moment you met us?”
Lihua huffed.
“Any simpleton could figure it out if they just thought a little about it.”
“Really?”
Lihua did not deign to reply to a sarcastic rhetorical question. The two just sat in silence for a good minute.
Ayla constantly switched between glaring at the deep pit of the Abyss and staring at her companion in suspicion.
Finally, Lihua sighed.
“If you want the truth, that is simply not a world I wish to live in, nor raise my children in.”
Ayla slapped the [Mage] in the back, eliciting an outraged yelp.
“Aha! Finally! There’s the real answer! That’s all I needed!”
The future Passive Tyrant went bounding back to the rest of the group waving her hands.
“Hey guys! Hey guys! I got the answer from our cold friend, you won’t believe this! Turns out—”
The future Witch Tyrant turned around and stared at how animatedly Ayla was relaying everything to the rest of the group.
She shook her head.
“It is so easy to fool simpletons.”
Naturally, it was spoken loud enough for Ayla to hear.
——
Present…
“Lihua, what are you doing?”
The Witch Tyrant smiled coldly at the Passive Tyrant.
“Tell me, what are your instincts telling you?”
“That I should punch you in your face right now.”
“And why aren’t you listening to it?”
“Because I just remembered something.”
The Witch Tyrant scoffed. “So, the beast finally learned to control her baser instincts?”
“Piss off Lihua, I gave Pinkie a promise that I won’t let you do anything. Don’t worry, she won’t cause havoc in The Realm.”
“Are you sure about that? She hasn—”
A fist smashed into the illusion of the Witch Tyrant as the Passive Tyrant stared at the other side of the ball of flesh. An invisible figure sat close to the ball of flesh but hadn’t yet made a move. It was partly why she wasn’t punching it in right now.
Ayla glared.
“Why are you trying to stall for time?”
“For this.”
An orc appeared by her side, summoned or out of invisibility, Ayla had no idea. All she knew was that her instinct told her she was in danger.
The dragonslayer tier [Chieftain] used his Epics together.
[Might of My Tribe] + [Chieftain’s Rally: Hurry The Fuck Up]
Ayla didn’t hold back, she dodged the orc’s tackle and dashed to grab the invisible figure by its throat—except her hand caught air and a bunch of golden lights exploded forth—another illusion.
It had been awhile since she last sparred with Lihua, her illusions had once again, found a way to circumvent her instincts.
Faith?
It took the smallest moments to adjust, at which point her instincts were screaming.
And a red blade came flying at her neck, faster than Pinkie had ever been.
——
Three hours earlier…
Kedark the [Bloodstained Warlord] slaughtered everything in his path, building up the momentum of blood and death into his weapon. Everything died in his wake, adventurers, monsters, animals, plants.
A mass slaughter just for this moment, his Epics pushing him to the limit.
[Bloodforged Blade] + [Blood Siphon] + [Reckless Rally]
He reached a power that would eclipse any other dragonslayer, sped up once again by the [Chieftain’s Rally].
The condensed blade from the death of millions of living creatures sang out.
——
Present…
And the Passive Tyrant was still faster—her neck glided against the blade, following the adjustment of the blade in real time as—she elbowed Kedark and made him go flying into the treeline. The fact that Kedark didn’t get pulverized by that attack just showed how much he had killed.
A fact that would annoy her at any other time.
The Passive Tyrant was focused on something else, even when the [Chieftain] tried to tackle her into the ground, all he did was to make her go skidding across the beach. Her eyes were dashing forward as she leaned into her instincts.
Where the hell is Lihua?
Except her focus was on the wrong thing, another manifestation appeared around her as the arms around her body began to grow stronger and stronger and she started to keep being pushed back by the orc tackling her.
Ayla’s eyes widened, the orc [Chieftain’s] name was Hans, he wasn’t half as strong before to be able to do this… no he wasn’t even a quarter as strong now that she was in the thirteenth realm.
She realized her mistake too late.
The reason why Paul, the Chieftain Tyrant, was so strong was that he could call upon the might of his tribe, of the other six Tyrants.
But what if another [Chieftain] who followed Paul’s path drew upon the dozens of dragonslayers that Lihua could summon with her Legend?
That sort of strength might even be enough to stop the Passive Tyrant in her tracks.
Her left arm was being crushed but her right arm was still pretty mobile, she made it into a knife-hand and stabbed into the orc’s chest.
It pulverised the ribs, the heart, lungs and went out the other side. [Might of My Tribe] wasn’t a Legend, Hans couldn’t truly retain the aspect of every single dragonslayer he considered part of his tribe. He was focused on strength and not durability.
Though for some reason her arm was stuck. He was still getting stronger.
Despite her hand going through the orc’s heart he still refused to let her go. She tried to squirm her right arm around and found that it was still locked into place.
Damned Fallen.
The might of dozens of dragonslayers versus a single Tyrant.
Hans grinned, satisfied with the idea that he was the first adventurer to pose a problem to the Passive Tyrant.
“[Hurry The Fuck Up], I’m losing strength here.”
Four more dragonslayers teleported in nearby, one of them was a healer while another was a [Witch] from the Witch’s Coven, another… was Ozyell and the last was the [Deathknight] from Indigo’s party.
Buffs and heals on the orc.
[Protector’s Volley] + [Damage Transferance]
[Continuous Regeneration] + [Enhanced Recovery] + [Patient’s Final Stand]
Debuffs on the Passive Tyrant.
[Unfavorable Terrain] + [Forbidden Scent] + [Field: Tinnitus]
Or rather, debuffs around the Passive Tyrant because it was impossible to curse her directly.
Ozyell played his on his travelling keyboard, including the ringing sound as part of the overall composition. And finally one thing to bind it all together.
[Harmonious Melody] + [Continuous Beat]
Kedark came back blitzing in, swinging his condensed sword at her neck. Ayla took a breath and kicked up at the last moment, it was more strength than any of them expected, the perfect timing to raise the orc’s arm at the line of fire.
At that exact moment Kedark disappeared, unsummoned by the Legend that had brought him back to life.
They returned to struggling at the beach once more. More dragonslayers were appearing as Hans finally ramped up to a strength where he was almost equivalent to hers. Every time she kneed him the damage was being transferred to the [Deathsworn Knight].
She kicked Hans in the balls for good measure.
And the Witch Tyrant took that moment to finally make her appearance. Traveling with a staff in hand, walking out of the shoreline, none of the water touched her as she walked calmly towards the ball of flesh.
“Lihua, I swear I won’t forgive you for this. Don’t make me use my Legend.”
But Pinkie was right in the path of the attack if she used it, likely planned for this moment.
Lihua ignored her and kept walking to the ball of flesh.
[Extended Blows] + [Lu Baizhen’s Lone Sleeve Tempest]
She used her skills to rain down hundreds of strikes directly into Hans’ front and back. Her left arm was still restrained under her back but the combination skill meant even the smallest movements could
The [Deathsworn Knight] crumpled into pieces, [Damage Transferance] moving all of it to him.
But he was a Fallen, even crumpled and pulverized, he didn’t die, all it was doing was transferring damage into the pile of broken armor and flesh.
The [Chieftain] roared.
“My skill won’t hold out much longer!”
But the Witch Tyrant did not hurry her steps, for a moment like this needed gravitas. She smiled at the evolving form of Pinkie. The little evolving [Shapeshifter] was unaware of the goings on around her because she had used illusions to trick her senses.
“LIHUA!”
The Witch Tyrant stopped halfway towards Pinkie, and turned to Ayla. Her expression softened and she nodded her head.
For a moment, Ayla hesitated. She so sorely wanted to give her oldest friend the benefit of the doubt.
The Witch Tyrant closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. The dragonslayers, the Passive Tyrant, even the Manager were here to bear witness to her deed. She opened her eyes again and spoke wistfully to the world around her.
“For ages past, people have claimed that love is the most powerful force in the universe. They have repeated it so thoughtlessly that the idea has decayed into mere platitude.”
The Passive Tyrant flung an [Extended Blow] right through the arm that was in the [Chieftain’s] back. It smashed into the Witch Tyrant as another illusion dissipated into golden lights.
Ayla’s eyes went wide as the Witch Tyrant’s voice echoed into all of their ears.
“Unlike them, I know it to be true. Love is indeed, the most powerful thing in the cosmos.”
The real Witch Tyrant appeared in front of the ball of flesh that was Pinkie. She shoved her bleeding hands deep into the squirming ball with eyes full of determination and, yes, love.
[Remembrance of the Fallen]
Both Gamielle and Pinkie began to scream.
END OF BOOK 4