The Price of Despair

“Cough, cough, cough…” Captain Xianglan coughed a few times, then gulped in air.

The suffocating pain, the feeling of being muted, had suddenly vanished, leaving her momentarily disoriented.

Her entire body—flesh, blood, and bone—ached intensely, yet an inexplicable surge of power now coursed through her, spreading from her heart to every limb.

To suddenly awaken a hidden power just by dreaming was, of course, impossible in reality. Such things only happened in novels, and even then, only to the protagonists.

Captain Xianglan’s body remained scarred and battered; she hadn’t physically changed. Only her resolve had shifted.

She had to grow stronger, strong enough to tell that man they could return, that they could see her mother, his beloved, again.

She yearned to see hope rekindled in his eyes.

She attempted to stand, a movement fraught with agony.

She then realized that the blood mist was constantly drawing blood from her body, lifting it into the air, and absorbing it into itself.

Her internal strength, too, was steadily weakening with the loss of blood.

What a terrifying, wide-ranging domain ability this was. If one fought a vast number of enemies, they could wound them to gain an unending supply of blood for power, while simultaneously weakening their opponents.

Ultimately, she couldn’t stand. Her fragile Tier 5 body could only maintain a sitting posture.

No, she was only able to sit because a massive rock supported her back.

The sounds of battle echoed continuously from the sky. The earth was incessantly carved with deep fissures by wind blades, and trees snapped and toppled in swathes.

Struggling, she lifted her head, only to hear a series of bone-shattering cracks, followed by the heavy thud of a kick.

A figure shot down from the sky, slamming violently into the ground, leaving a shocking trail of blood and kicking up a cloud of dust.

She looked over anxiously. Captain Wind lay curled on the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

His battle armor was completely shattered, and his arms and legs appeared to be shortened. Upon closer inspection, she realized they had been twisted and broken, his limbs rendered utterly useless.

Her heart wrenched painfully. Captain Xianglan stared at the brutal scene before her, disbelief etched onto her face.

Captain Wind, who had been so confident and spirited in his mid-Tier 6 strength, now lay on the ground in utter disarray.

His black hair had turned white, his skin had darkened, and his body was covered in blood-red patches.

Captain Xianglan knew what they were: signs of bodily collapse, the flesh and blood tissue exposed after skin had peeled away. They weren’t mere spots.

Evidently, Captain Wind had burned his life and magic to buy time for his teammates to retreat.

He struggled, wriggled, and trembled, trying to stand again, but his limbs had been twisted and shattered, leaving him completely crippled.

He would never be able to stand again.

Her eyes suddenly welled up.

Captain Xianglan looked at the cruel scene, her heart aching deeply.

Even after countless battles and farewells to comrades, her heart still ached at such sights. Sometimes, it hurt so much it numbed her, yet that numbness was a different, more profound pain.

‘Why… why did it turn out like this…?’ she thought, ‘I only fainted for a moment…!’

However, before her chaotic mind could even begin to process, four tearing sounds abruptly followed.

Captain Xianglan’s eyes widened, and her breathing hitched.

Her body began to tremble, and tears suddenly swirled in her eyes.

Her heart abruptly pounded, a frantic drumming, and her stopped breath became ragged.

‘How could this be…’

She woodenly turned her head toward the direction of the sounds.

The scene froze for a single instant.

Hundreds of meters away, four crimson lasers, crackling with red lightning, pierced through the abdomens of four figures, impaling them high in the air.

The world seemed to be reduced to only red and black.

‘Eh…?!’

Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.

Her mind was incapable of thought…

Captain Xianglan stared, wide-eyed and blank, at the familiar figures suspended in the sky, unsure what expression to make.

It wasn’t until the lasers vanished, and their forms plummeted from high above, crashing heavily onto the ground—and into her heart—that her mind slowly began to churn.

‘Why… why does this feel so familiar…?’

Captain Xianglan’s eyes lost their focus. Her entire body trembled, her thoughts a chaotic mess.

Suddenly, understanding dawned.

That familiar feeling was the aura of despair…

Despair…

“So… it was you all along…”

The blue-and-white spear was gripped tightly!

“You truly are… a lingering evil!”

Brilliant blue starlight surged from the spear. Star-like glimmers and crackling lightning snakes shone in her azure eyes.

Turbulent magic swirled around her, forming a vortex.

Gritting her teeth, her body trembling, she, devoid of blood and strength, weak and fragile, tried to force herself to stand, her body quivering with the surging magic.

“Stop your movements, lower your spear. Do not make any more foolish struggles or resistance, human, otherwise, I will pierce his belly right now!”

In the sky, the towering black-masked person finally spoke.

Accompanying their words, red lightning flickered around their body.

Captain Xianglan glanced at Captain Wind. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he was in agony.

He looked at her with pleading eyes, shaking his head, telling her not to do anything foolish, while simultaneously gesturing towards the villa’s direction with his gaze.

The meaning was clear: use her remaining strength to try and find an opportunity to escape towards the villa.

Even though both knew, deep down, that it was impossible…

The surging magic instantly extinguished.

The blue-and-white spear was lowered.

Captain Xianglan sat back down on the ground, choosing to surrender.

Captain Wind watched her actions and buried his head in anguish.

He knew Captain Xianglan had compromised.

If it were him, he would have done the same.

She wasn’t the type to abandon her teammates and flee alone.

Especially not in such a desperate situation.

Yet, in that moment, he wished so much that Captain Xianglan wasn’t such a strong-willed person.

Even if there was a sliver of hope, even if that hope was zero, he still yearned for a miracle in his heart.

‘If only a miracle would appear…’

Lifting her head, Captain Xianglan looked directly at the figure in the sky.

The broad bat wings spread powerfully, the dark suit was impeccably neat, the black mask was perfectly worn, and cold, blood-red eyes swept down.

That gaze made the people on the ground seem like ants in their eyes.

He slowly descended from the sky, landing before Captain Xianglan.

“Your blood is delicious. You are very special.”

The Bloodlust Sin King’s bat wings greedily scanned Captain Xianglan’s scarred body, revealing an expression of covetous pleasure.

Perhaps it was the fresh blood flowing from her wounds, mingling with the blood mist, that made him aware of the deliciousness of her blood.

Or perhaps, he had noticed this from the start, which was why he hadn’t killed her immediately.

Captain Xianglan speculated internally but quickly gave up. There was nothing to be done now.

Even if she self-destructed, the Bloodlust Sin King could kill her and drain her dry before she succeeded.

Captain Xianglan resignedly closed her eyes, devoid of any expression of pain or despair.

She was calm, her only regret being that she hadn’t been able to rekindle hope in her father’s eyes.

“Excellent, hahahahaha.” The Bloodlust Sin King laughed joyfully, a wild, unbridled sound.

Captain Xianglan’s surrender pleased him greatly.

The more magic retained in the body, the more delicious the blood would be. If Captain Xianglan had resisted again, he would have killed her without hesitation.

Though he preferred to savor a living body, a living struggle.

“Once I’ve eaten you, I’ll recover to my peak state. Then, I’ll go to that villa and eat that girl, and I’ll be invincible.”

“Perhaps I might even break through the Tier 8 barrier.”

The Bloodlust Sin King trembled with excitement, eager to bite Captain Xianglan’s neck.

Upon hearing about ‘that girl,’ Captain Xianglan felt a sudden pang of guilt, but then, realizing the girl was in the villa, she felt relieved.

Perhaps there was something in the villa that could protect the girl and help her survive this crisis.

Understanding this, she lowered her guard and calmly awaited death.

Captain Wind, too, closed his eyes in despair.

Suddenly, a clear, melodious voice rang out in everyone’s ears.

“Oh? You want to eat the girl in the villa, too?”