Welcoming the Dim Dawn

“Did you find anything?” Sui Ming asked.

“Yes, but not much,” Ral replied.

The items in the boxes were mostly mana potions and the like.

While not useless to them, their effect was somewhat negligible.

After all, at their level, their total mana was relatively sufficient.

As for abilities that consumed large amounts of mana, they didn’t have any for now, as the cost-to-effect ratio was simply not worth it.

Thus, all the mana potions were given to Sui Ming.

As the person with the lowest mana level present, only a [Mortal Dust] Tier 3, these potions were incredibly useful to him.

At the very least, they could ensure his mana pool wouldn’t become a stumbling block.

“Then… let’s go,” Sui Ming said gravely.

The situation outside was now beyond measure.

Therefore, they urgently needed to create a breakthrough.

Whether for themselves or to ensure those on the outside could gain an advantage, this battle was unavoidable.

They had only one choice: either be defeated and turned into tools for the enemy to slaughter their own comrades, or kill every last one of the enemies, leaving none behind!

“Don’t you go getting yourself killed,” Lecter said to Sui Ming.

“You too. Try not to be so careless again,” Sui Ming retorted.

The re-armed group of four once again set foot on the steps leading to the imperial palace.

“It seems the enemy has been waiting for us for quite some time.”

Gazing at the tide-like army of puppets before them, Sui Ming drew White Cry from his waist, his expression serious.

“Then let’s fight our way through!” Lecter roared, completely shedding the demeanor of a noble scion.

Perhaps he never had one to begin with.

The phantom of Fenrir appeared behind Lecter, and then, like a bolt of black lightning, he charged forward.

“Come on! Let me see what you’ve got!”

The Spectre of the Godslayer suddenly activated, and an endless gravitational force erupted from his small frame.

[Devouring Shadow—Annihilation!]

A black void instantly tore through the surrounding space.

Its powerful gravity relentlessly ripped at the nearby puppets, like a bottomless black hole.

“You guys go on ahead! I’ll hold the rear!”

As he spoke, Lecter’s entire body was already spattered with the enemy’s blood, a truly ferocious and terrifying sight.

“Sui Ming, this is where we part ways as well,” Ral said calmly.

“I’m better at this kind of large-scale cleanup.”

“Besides, I don’t want to be a burden to you two.”

“Mm,” Sui Ming nodded.

“Alright then. We’ll await your good news.”

With that, Ral took out a silver-white sphere from his waist.

“This thing… finally has its day to shine!”

[Alchemical Armor—Zero!]

Pale white metal began to spread from the sphere, covering Ral’s entire body until a full suit of steel armor materialized before the two of them.

Everyone had once doubted his inventions.

Even his own father had been ashamed of them.

But despite it all, this black sheep of the Heracles family had always believed that his inventions would one day be put to use.

And that day, it seemed, had finally arrived!

“Father! I am not the failure you called me!” Ral roared, raising one hand as terrifying amounts of mana gathered.

A brilliant beam of light shot across the sky, straight into the horde of puppets.

With a deafening boom, destruction… followed.

“Go! Sui, go and end this!” Ral yelled towards them, but the alchemical blade in his hand never stopped for a moment.

The alchemical armor granted him power far beyond his own, allowing Ral to move through the puppets like a god of death.

Blood stained the silver-white armor, but it was quickly scattered with the youth’s movements.

“You don’t have to tell me!”

After passing through the dilapidated corridor and the once-glorious grand hall, the two finally arrived before that massive door.

“Are you ready?” Sui Ming asked Bai Luoxia.

The young woman hesitated for a second before giving a slight nod.

The face that had once existed only in her sweetest dreams now haunted her like a nightmare she couldn’t shake.

Just as Sui Ming was about to open the door, Bai Luoxia stopped him.

“I have a question for you, and you must answer truthfully.”

“Are you… or are you not Sui Ming—Xi.”

For a moment, even Sui Ming himself was stunned.

Then he answered, trembling, “N-no, you’ve got the wrong person.”

“Really?” The young woman’s face moved a little closer, but Sui Ming’s grayish-white eyes seemed devoid of any light, like those of a dead man.

At this moment, Sui Ming was far from calm on the inside; he was scared to death.

‘Is my month-long disguise finally about to be broken?’

‘Or am I about to get yandere-chopped?’

‘I don’t want either of those!’

In the end, the young woman spared Sui Ming and said solemnly, “If I find out that your identity is not what you claim it is… hehe…”

Sui Ming felt his back drenched in cold sweat.

In that moment, Sui Ming swore to himself that no matter what, he would never reveal his identity in front of this woman.

Not even in death!

However… Sui Ming’s forced attempt at composure only made him look more suspicious to Bai Luoxia.

The young woman smiled faintly.

It seemed a template for the answer had already formed in her mind, with only one final step remaining.

“Alright, alright, let’s go.”

Sui Ming pushed the door open slightly, and a thick stream of blood flowed out from within, like a winding river of crimson.

“Welcome, you two. I am honored to be able to perform such a magnificent play before you!”

“I have named it—The Tragedy of Fate!”

The stage was built from a mountain of corpses.

The air was thick with an unparalleled stench of decay.

Malevolent spirits seemed to take physical form, and sin was laid bare under the sun.

Standing alone at the center of the stage, The Hanged Man spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the world.

But that was merely a facade.

His soul within was the very source of ugliness.

White Cry vibrated in Sui Ming’s hand.

Although its light-attribute mana had a unique resistance against the Abyss, it also possessed a perceptive ability far exceeding that of other attributes.

“Actually… I thought you would have fled like a stray dog,” The Hanged Man said, his words clearly directed at Bai Luoxia.

“You knew you were no match, yet you still struggled so hard? Humans… are truly ridiculous!”

“Does something like you even have the right to judge humanity?”

The Hanged Man looked down on the white-haired youth, his expression filled with disdain.

“A mere piece of [Mortal Dust] trash.”

“You say I have no right, but what about you?”

“You don’t even have the right to look at me while you speak!”

A ghostly light flashed in The Hanged Man’s eyes, and in the next instant, a pale purple beam shot straight toward Sui Ming.

Sui Ming’s body collapsed, silent and still…