Chapter 1223: 210. Expulsion
Hamreign’s voice was still completely without fluctuation, as cold as a frozen lake in winter, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.
But only Muen could feel the cruelty and resolve within her words.
And yet he was still helpless.
He could not stop Hamreign.
Nor did he have any reason to stop her.
He had been shaken away and could only allow Hamreign to turn around and continue eliminating the Pollution.
One flower of flesh after another bloomed again, as though mocking Muen at this moment.
“Can I really... do nothing?”
Muen also laughed at himself, lowering his head and looking at his hands.
Miss Dragon was right...
Right now, he truly could not do anything.
In Annabawei, he had still been able to help suppress the Pollution, but here, in this place where no one would believe in the Black Sun, his ability could not play the slightest role.
He could not resolve the essence of all this—the Pollution originating from an unknown Evil God.
Therefore, he could only watch Miss Dragon voluntarily walk into that trap.
It was like a play being performed. The protagonist within the story had fallen into danger and was step by step entering the enemy’s clutches...
Yet he could only watch.
His shouts could reach the characters within the play, but they could not rewrite the plot.
It was even different from what had happened in Saint Blancfazesiya.
He was not an audience member.
He was also an actor.
But because he was too weak, he did not even possess the qualifications to participate in the most important scene.
He was like a worthless extra, able only to hide within Miss Dragon’s radiance and play some unimportant role.
That was what made it the most powerless...
And ridiculous.
“But... even if I can’t rewrite the plot, I should at least help you share some of the burden...”
Muen took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed that feeling of powerlessness.
“After all, we can at least be considered companions.”
A dense smell of blood suddenly appeared.
He raised his head and looked not far away.
A twisted figure staggered out of the darkness and walked before Muen in an extremely strange posture.
Muen lowered his head and looked at her.
At that face that was already almost impossible to recognize.
“Big Brother?”
The little girl no longer possessed any of her former cuteness. Dozens of worm-like limbs had grown from her small face, its skin cracked apart, and an eye grew at the tip of each limb.
Dozens of tiny eyes swayed along with the limbs, then looked innocently at Muen just like that.
“Daphne...”
Muen softly called the little girl’s name.
“Big Brother... do you know where the bad big sister is?” Daphne asked sweetly.
“You’re looking for her?”
The bad big sister Daphne was referring to was probably Miss Dragon.
“Mm. I’m going to kill her and take revenge for my little brother.”
Daphne raised both hands toward Muen. Those originally small and adorable hands had also become twisted beyond recognition. Deformed bones extended into spikes sharp enough to easily pierce through steel plates.
But Daphne seemed completely unaware that this was abnormal. She giggled and said:
“Big Brother, look! This is the power the Great Goddess gave me. The Great Goddess said that as long as I have this, I can easily defeat that bad big sister!”
“...”
“Huh? Why isn’t Big Brother saying anything? Do you want candy?”
Daphne reached out with her little hand. Dozens of eyes turned back and forth as she said with a troubled expression:
“I don’t have any candy right now either. Big Brother, endure it a little longer. Once I defeat the bad big sister, the Great Goddess will definitely give me candy. When that happens, I’ll give you mine.”
“...”
Muen still did not speak.
The more innocent the little girl before him appeared, the more pain filled his heart.
Because he knew what he was about to do.
Once, he had reduced a million souls to ashes.
According to common sense, he should not have wavered over something like this at all.
But in reality, the two situations were very different.
In the Lost Land, those souls had clearly known everything, yet they had still embraced an Evil God. They had even wanted to transform that sin and graft it onto others.
They had willingly fallen.
They were truly guilty people.
Facing them, Muen would not have had the slightest hesitation.
But here, in New Tars, and earlier in Annabawei, the people here were all innocent.
They had committed no sins at all.
They had merely become someone else’s tools from the moment they were born.
Of course, this did not mean that Muen’s morality had already become so noble that he would absolutely be unable to act against innocent people.
It was only...
When one was personally inside the situation and even had to actively make the choice, anyone with a normal sense of good and evil and morality would understand just how painful this moment truly was.
“Although I always call myself a yellow-haired villain, when it comes down to it, I’m still not qualified enough to be this villain...
“Perhaps I should have made this kind of choice earlier.”
Muen laughed at himself, then raised his hand and pressed it toward Daphne.
“Big Brother?”
The innocent Daphne still did not know what was about to happen.
She merely stared blankly as that large hand approached, without the slightest intention of resisting, as though she were also expecting the warmth that would follow.
Muen said nothing.
He merely allowed black flames to sway within his palm and used that flame, which held no warmth, to touch...
“What are you doing?”
Muen’s movement abruptly stopped.
Because a slender, fair hand, seemingly carved from jade, suddenly reached out and firmly grabbed his wrist.
That hand appeared delicate, but it was like an iron clamp, tightly restraining Muen and preventing him from making the slightest movement.
“Miss Dragon?”
Muen raised his head in astonishment and looked at the fiery red figure who had appeared at some unknown moment.
“Answer my question.”
Hamreign’s golden eyes flickered, giving off a dangerous light.
Her voice was also colder than Muen had ever heard before.
It was like a freezing wind blowing from an ancient ice field, about to rapidly freeze Muen’s soul.
“I’m... eliminating the Pollution.”
Muen said:
“If it’s only destroying the Pollution on a physical level, then I can do that too.”
In the current situation, he merely could not save people.
But killing people...
Was still very easy.
“Why are you eliminating the Pollution?”
“Why are you even asking that?
“Of course I’m helping you. I know perfectly well those survivors are still harming you, so how could I possibly stand by and do nothing?”
Muen answered in surprise:
“Although my strength may not be worth mentioning in Miss Dragon’s eyes, at least...”
“Who told you to do this?”
Hamreign suddenly flung Muen away.
The tremendous force was difficult even for Muen to neutralize in time, and he directly fell face-first onto the ground.
Muen climbed up in a sorry state, his face full of confusion.
“...What’s wrong? What did I do wrong?”
“I’m asking you...
“Who told you to do this?
“Who told you to help me eliminate the Pollution?
“Did I ever say anything like that?”
Hamreign still seemed unsatisfied. She stepped forward again, grabbed Muen by the collar, and lifted him up.
She was tall enough that Muen’s feet directly left the ground as he met her gaze.
“Ah...
“Bad big sister, you’re not allowed to hurt Big Brother!”
Daphne rushed forward and began clawing wildly.
Of course...
It had no effect at all.
Hamreign did not even glance at her. She continued shouting at Muen:
“Answer my question!”
“No one told me to do this...
“But isn’t this the correct thing to do?”
Muen also became somewhat angry and shouted back:
“I know perfectly well that their goal is to make you start a massacre and let even more poison corrode you. How could I possibly stand by and do nothing?
“Although I can’t resolve the most fundamental problem, I can at least help you share a little of the burden!”
“I told you, I haven’t been poisoned!”
“Then prove it to me!
“Explain why you’re trembling!
“Explain why you’ve become weak!”
“...”
Hamreign suddenly fell silent.
“See?”
Muen sneered.
“A mighty calamity, yet you only know how to lie like a little girl.
“Do you think that just because you hide something, it no longer exists?
“Can’t you be a little more rational?
“What I’m doing is...”
Boom!
Muen’s words abruptly stopped.
A powerful force once again smashed him into the ground.
That jade-like hand pressed against his chest, this time much more violently than before.
“Cough, cough...”
Muen felt the world spinning around him, and he almost coughed up a mouthful of blood from his chest.
He cursed angrily through the pain:
“Crazy woman!
“I’m fucking helping you!
“Can you stop being so ungrateful...”
“Are you also...
“Mocking me?”
Hamreign suddenly asked in a low voice.
“...What?”
Muen was bewildered.
Because that soft murmur did not sound like something Hamreign should have said.
It was far too weak.
He forcefully raised his head and swept his gaze across her face, wanting to confirm something.
But he still could not see anything.
The mist woven from magic completely covered her face, preventing anyone from seeing any expression or emotion.
Even the only thing exposed, those golden eyes, were lowered at this moment, their light dim.
“Leave.”
Hamreign spoke, her voice indifferent, as though what Muen had just heard had only been an illusion.
“Leave?”
Muen squirmed several times where he lay...
But failed to move.
“What does that mean?”
“It means exactly what it sounds like.
“Leave this place.”
“You want me to leave?”
After confirming that Hamreign was not joking, Muen laughed in anger.
“You directly dragged me away from my wedding before, and now you want me to get lost.
“What exactly do you mean?”
“It means that you are no longer needed here.”
“Not needed...
“Aren’t we companions?”
“Companions?
“When did we ever become companions?”
“We’ve come all this way together...”
Boom!
Muen was once again smashed into the ground.
Those golden eyes were no longer lowered.
Instead, they looked down upon him from high above, mercilessly staring at him with a dazzling and blazing light.
“Companions?
“Don’t you think it’s ridiculous to use that word here?
“You’re so weak.”
“You...”
“When all is said and done, the levels we exist on are completely different.
“So what right do you have to supposedly bear this together with me?
“You keep talking about poison, poison, poison.
“Fine.
“Suppose there really is some poison that even I cannot endure.
“Would you be able to endure it?
“Previously, you were only affected by such a tiny amount of poison, an amount completely insignificant to me, and you nearly died.
“What qualifications do you have to bear it together with me?”
“...I can actively separate the dragon blood from myself.”
Muen’s voice was hoarse.
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“I...”
“Stop being naive, human!”
Hamreign directly interrupted Muen.
“Recognize reality.
“You can’t do anything.
“And there is already nothing here that requires you to do anything!”
“How will I know if I don’t try...”
“Shut up!”
Hamreign lifted Muen again.
“This is not a request.
“This is...
“An order.”
As she spoke, terrifying power once again began to gather.
Muen felt the airflow around them gradually becoming slower...
“Wait!”
Realizing something, Muen grabbed Hamreign’s arm with both hands and stared into her eyes as he rapidly asked:
“Everything you just said...
“Did you truly mean it?
“Do you really think that?”
He still held on to a trace of hope.
But the only thing that answered him was coldness.
“What makes you think...
“That it was false?”
Hamreign sneered.
“Who do you think...
“I am?”
Who was she?
She was calamity.
She was the Dragon of Death and Doom.
She was the strongest living creature beneath the sky.
She was irritable and quick to anger.
She was cold and merciless.
“Get lost.”
A tremendous force wrapped around Muen and directly hurled him away.
He could not resist.
Just as Hamreign had said, the gap between them was enormous.
The surrounding scenery rapidly retreated.
Muen directly crashed through one building after another, yet received not the slightest cushioning, and was forcibly thrown out of the city.
Within the city, heaven and earth were dim, and strange horrors ran rampant.
All external things disappeared from Muen’s eyes.
He stared only at that fiery red figure.
That figure who, in a single brief instant, seemed about to detach from this world, belonging to no place at all.
Her long hair was like maple leaves.
The hem of her gown was like the night.
Her bearing was unaffected by anything outside herself, standing alone beyond the world.
At this moment, she raised her hand and touched Daphne.
Bang.
Blood mist exploded.
She was now completely...
Alone.