The Crimson Blade and the Prison’s Secrets

“Swish!”

Like a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky, the vanished girl reappeared before Chongyun.

Without even a moment for him to register his shock, Liu Yu thrust her sword forward without hesitation.

“Thud.”

“You—”

The blood that flowed out was an unexpected crimson. It was human blood, completely devoid of any black taint.

‘Human?’ Liu Yu’s heart stirred with doubt.

‘Was this a “Black-blooded” disguised as a “human”?’

‘Or had a “human” become a “Black-blooded”?’

‘Perhaps, this individual possessed the ability to switch between two forms.’

‘Hmm, they seem quite similar to me.’

Encountering a being so akin to herself, Liu Yu felt a surge of curiosity, a desire to uncover the truth behind it all.

Yet, curiosity aside, since they now stood on opposing sides, she would not hold back when the time came to strike.

She would leave the deeper investigation for her future self.

[Devour them!]

With that silent judgment, a black torrent instantly consumed Chongyun’s body.

“Regardless of whether you are human, since you chose to align yourself with the Black-blooded, then gracefully accept this outcome.”

Liu Yu’s gaze was as cold and unchanging as an ancient glacier. Despite this being the first time she had taken a life in her conscious memory, she felt no discomfort, as if it were a natural and inevitable course of action.

‘Indeed, that Vanguard must have committed plenty of evil deeds like murder and arson.’

Maliciously speculating about the so-called hero, the girl withdrew her Demonic Sword. As she turned to return to Titan, she witnessed a scene that utterly stunned her.

****

—It was a horrific chamber, permeated with a bloody mist, littered with severed limbs and broken bodies.

“Th-this, this is where?!”

Her pupils dilated sharply, and for the first time, a look of profound horror contorted her usually placid face. Simultaneously, a bitter, suffocating emotion welled up from deep within her.

It was… hatred.

Hatred deeply buried, unforgettable, waiting only for release.

****

‘Did it… succeed?’

Seeing the girl halt her movements, Chongyun, who had narrowly escaped death, finally shed the immense burden and pressure in his heart.

Clutching his chest, he slumped to the ground, gasping for air in ragged breaths. Scarlet blood seeped between his fingers, staining his jacket, yet it could not mask the profound relief of survival etched upon his face.

The “Divine Power” was one of the materials prepared for the Monarchs, intended for their descent into this era, and it was Chongyun’s very purpose in coming to Dongchuan.

The “Sun” of Thebes, the “Great Fish” of the Red Sea, and the peculiar space deep within The Supervisory Bureau in Dongchuan, used as a “Prison”—these were all designated sacrifices chosen by the demons.

However, the deeper their investigation went, the more hesitant they became to act rashly.

Regardless of other locations, the “Prison” within Dongchuan alone housed countless “deviants.”

Within its confines were the “Black-blooded,” their hearts devoured by Black Blood, leaving them hollow and emotionless.

There were also “monsters” that had emerged from myths, once rampaging across lands and etched into history.

Attempting to seize the “Prison” by brute force would inevitably lead to a confrontation with “them.”

While most “deviants” couldn’t harm the supremely enhanced Fafnir, his investigations revealed that the “Prison” still contained certain utterly troublesome “entities.”

The most threatening among these was undoubtedly the “Anti-Civilization Beast,” a creature of formidable renown in a certain myth, one that had even threatened the status of the Divine Beings.

Regardless of why it was there or its current state, it was not something Fafnir could handle alone.

But what puzzled Chongyun even more was that the “Prison” also seemed to contain… High-level Species that should be impossible to contain.

Perhaps he was mistaken, but even if so, they were certainly not beings that ordinary Black-blooded could contend with.

Unable to seize the “Divine Power” directly, he had no choice but to pursue an alternative method.

Coincidentally, the Bloodkin and the Divine Blood in their possession caught his attention, prompting him to devise a new plan.

The plan had unfolded smoothly.

He had followed the combatants from The Supervisory Bureau, intending to observe from the sidelines and wait for Bastet to deliver the Divine Blood, which was stored at The Supervisory Bureau. Once Titan’s power was sealed, he would conclude everything.

However, he unexpectedly discovered another Divine Blood.

He immediately altered his strategy, seizing the Divine Blood from the Bloodkin who remained behind, and then using its power to defeat Titan.

That was how it was supposed to happen.

Except… the sudden appearance of the girl, seemingly Vanguard, had completely disrupted his arrangements.

In that dire moment, Chongyun made a decisive choice: he used the Divine Blood as a focal point to summon a projection of a certain Monarch.

Regrettably, this attempt failed.

It was, after all, merely a remnant of a Divine Being, utterly incapable of sustaining a Monarch’s descent.

Then, a flash of inspiration struck him. He abandoned the pursuit of perfection and instead transmitted his “distress signal” through the Demonic Machine to the Monarch.

This was an all-or-nothing gamble, entrusting his life to the unknown.

Though he didn’t know exactly what had transpired, the gray-haired girl had indeed stopped moving after piercing his body.

“Impressive, old man! You really managed to subdue this brat!”

With the Shadow’s interference gone, Titan’s limbs had regrown thanks to the Divine Blood’s power. He excitedly ran over, clapped Chongyun on the shoulder, and sent a surge of pure energy into the man’s body to heal his injuries.

“Uh… thank you.”

Chongyun touched his now-intact chest, his gratitude genuine. It was common for teammates to turn against each other for profit, let alone former enemies who had temporarily allied due to a powerful adversary.

He had expected Titan to at least try to exploit the situation, but to his surprise, Titan’s first action was to heal him. Such an astonishing level of morality truly caught him off guard.

“Is this guy really not moving anymore?”

As Chongyun’s thoughts swirled, Titan, driven by curiosity, reached out towards the motionless girl beside him.

The little girl who had chased them relentlessly, across land and sky, was now eerily quiet.

Her eyes were vacant, her face devoid of expression, as if she had lost her inner soul, leaving only an empty husk of a body in the world, utterly lifeless and inert.

Yet, these deficiencies did not diminish her beauty; instead, they imparted a delicate, unique doll-like quality. Someone with such a preference would likely be ecstatic.

Unfortunately, Titan had no interest in human species. To him, even the most beautiful appearance was merely a pretty vase, acceptable as an ornament to admire, but a lifetime spent with one would only make him nauseous.

“Hiss!”

Dismissing his jumbled thoughts, just as Titan was about to touch her clothes, the previously quiet Shadow boiled like superheated water. It splashed up in “waves” around the girl, startling him into quickly withdrawing his hand. His face instantly became wary:

“Hey, old man, are you sure your method worked? She can still move!”