Chapter 460 - Devotion

The stagnant time broke, the myriad flows, bringing a mournful tide of roar.The Tyrant’s will dissipated, the muddled will once again occupied Alice’s body, her arm raised high her head, then a mass of flesh and blood gathered on her arm, transforming it into a bloated, pale python.

The surface of the flesh lacked skin coverage, the muscle tissues exposed without concealment, the slightest breeze brought bouts of agony, followed by piercing screams.

Sharp ribs protruded from the snake’s belly, viscous liquids seeped and dripped, intestines dangled like festival ribbons within.

Alice paid little attention to Aimou, to her, Aimou, without the Constant Motion Core, was now just a regular metal sculpture, the only thing special was the extraordinary properties of the Alchemy Metal.

To the hungry Alice, the expensive metal can’t draw her attention, her eyes only left on the blood-stained Constant Motion Core before Teda.

"Have you thought of such an ending?"

A man’s voice faintly echoed in the void, conversing with another.

"No, I’ve thought of many endings, but I never thought she would choose to sacrifice herself." Another voice replied.

In a dim room, the Tyrant and Sai Zong sat on the sofa, watching the final performance.

Sai Zong took up a bottle and drank it down in one go, casually tossing the bottle into the darkness behind, the sound of glass shattering echoed.

As if mocking the Tyrant’s failure, Sai Zong’s voice carried laughter, "The feeling of being defied isn’t pleasant, is it?"

Among the chaotic Devils of the world, the ruler of crossroads, the Tyrant who overstepped power, the greedy Mammon...

Few refused Mammon’s good will, let alone refused and humiliated him, yet Aimou accomplished it.

The Tyrant fell silent for a while, his body began to tremble, a sound of efforts to restrain came from his throat.

The anger expected didn’t appear, instead came an incomprehensible delight, the Tyrant couldn’t control himself anymore, he burst into laughter, his voice trembling and distorting from extreme excitement.

"It’s too perfect."

The Tyrant, like a shy girl, covered his face, his knuckles turned white, his nails deeply pierced into his face, large drops of blood oozed out.

"How splendid, Sai Zong."

The Tyrant pounced on the television, hugged it, his eyes stuck to the speckled screen.

"Few can break their destiny..."

His voice fragmented and deep, carrying a morbid madness, "But she did it, she broke the ending I wrote for her..."

The Tyrant suddenly fell silent, his expression turned horrified, belatedly shouting.

"No, this shouldn’t be your ending, such a soul of unparalleled value, how can it fade away like this?"

The Tyrant reached out, touched the screen of the television, an unusual force surged, breaking the boundary between void and reality, for an instant the Tyrant’s fingers actually penetrated the screen, nearly touching the battlefield in the picture.

An unexpected look flashed in Sai Zong’s eyes, he hadn’t expected Aimou’s soul had such temptation to the Tyrant, that it could let the Tyrant willingly break the rules, directly interfering with reality.

But all this was futile, rules may have loopholes exploited, but never could they be broken. Before the Tyrant’s hand penetrated the screen, cold chains extended from the void, constraining the Tyrant’s body, sealing him in place.

The Tyrant let out an angry growl, tried to break these chains that bound him, but no matter how he released his power, under the constraints of these chains, even the mysterious eerie Devil was frail like an ordinary person.

Sai Zong observed the Tyrant’s struggle, waited until he was utterly exhausted, then tossed a bottle of wine toward the Tyrant.

"You can’t defy rules, that’s why you need a Deputy," Sai Zong said helplessly, "Unfortunately, the Deputy you favored isn’t very obedient."

The Tyrant didn’t respond to Sai Zong’s words, just stared intently at the scene on the screen, his pupils began to contract, within the pupils blossomed new pupils, repeating this, soon both pupils contracted into spirals, resembling deep caverns.

Devils can’t change the past, but they can change the future, countless futures flashed before the Tyrant, he tried to find the most perfect answer.

The enraged emotions gradually calmed down, the Tyrant slowly released the television, sat back on the sofa.

Sai Zong glanced at the Tyrant, "Can’t find that perfect future?"

The Tyrant settled down, didn’t do further interference, Sai Zong thought he gave up, but the Tyrant shook his head.

"No... it doesn’t need my intervention at all."

The suppressed laughter sounded again, the Tyrant excitedly patted Sai Zong on the shoulder.

"That’s why I love humans so much!" The Tyrant felt wonderful now, savoring the sweet value, "Humans are pathetic and detestable, various twisted and filthy combinations, but in this reviled dirt, can birth that noble Canyin soul."

"It’s too perfect."

The Tyrant had already seen that future, the only and destined future.

Since the secret war, the Tyrant hadn’t been so joyful, he snapped his fingers, dim light projected down from the darkness behind, illuminating an old record player.

"Please play a solemn melody."

The Tyrant murmured softly, then reached out of the darkness, placing a black record on the turntable, lowering the needle. Amidst a faint huskiness, a majestic tune rose in the dark.

The Tyrant picked up the wine bottle and clinked glasses softly with Sai Zong.

"Celebrate this noble sacrifice."

Sai Zong savored the words in a low voice, while on the screen, Aimou’s cold body gradually turned into ash-white. Her death stirred a brewing storm on the battlefield.

In a trance, Sai Zong also seemed to see that sunlit future. He nodded in agreement.

"Celebrate this noble sacrifice."

With Aimou’s fall, the battlefield plunged into a momentary silence. Amidst the entangling flesh, Bologue’s mind went blank, his eyes fixated only on the fallen figure, the whispers of chaos vanished from his ears, leaving pure tranquility behind.

Extreme anger faded instantly, and Bologue found a serene peace within. Nothing remained, no angry roars, not even a sound escaped him.

Bologue was always like this; he preferred to turn thoughts into actions rather than words.

Flesh gnawed at Bologue’s body, snapping his bones, piercing through his insides. By all rights, Bologue should have perished, fallen into slumber, yet at this moment, he was moving once more.

Blue specks of light burned fiercely, the long-held Soul Shards ignited to exhaustion. Bologue chose not to tread towards death; instead, death resisted Bologue.

Calamitous flesh almost fused with Bologue, yet amid the powerful twists, sounds of tearing and pulling echoed as Bologue slowly stood from the constraints, despite having been consumed by more than half.

From shoulder to abdomen, this part of flesh completely vanished, revealing naked bones still adhering with blood-red fluff, growing wildly.

"No...it shouldn’t be like this..."

An eerie voice echoed through Bologue’s throat, the remaining Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid gathered in Bologue’s sole hand, crystallizing into a slender blade.

Bologue broke free from the constraints, having lost the ability to move. Under Alice’s consumption, he was left with almost no Ether, unable to proliferate the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid, and this was a battlefield of flesh; Bologue could not summon the flesh beneath him.

But this would not stop Bologue. He bit the handle of the blade, landing a single hand on the ground, charging towards Alice like a wild beast out of control, aided by his broken lower body.

The distance between the two was not far. When Alice noticed Bologue, she saw only a menacing figure rushing at her, the slender blade descending, determined to slay this hateful monstrosity.

From the grotesque mass extended several bloody bone spikes, Bologue plunged into a thicket of thorns, his body pierced and hung high.

Bologue simultaneously flung the blade from his hand; the chilling edge struck Alice’s skull, carving a bloody gash on her exquisite, sinister face.

"You... are not tasty."

Alice’s half-face was covered with foul blood, yet beneath the damaged wound lay not the familiar human structure, but wriggling blood-red maggots, countless and still moving.

Bologue was hoisted like a trophy, then Alice turned her head, eyes on the Constant Motion Core rolling before Teda.

Alice sniffed it; unimaginable delicacies lay hidden within that Constant Motion Core, containing the invaluable Golden Soul.

Several pale arms stretched from the grotesque mass; like a bizarre centipede, it crawled across the ground, advancing towards the Constant Motion Core. Just as Alice was about to obtain the core, a desiccated hand seized it.

Alice raised her head, looking up, seeing Teda cradling the Constant Motion Core in both hands, his gaze hollow.

"Father, can you give it to me?"

Alice spoke with the familiar tone of Teda, the sound light and elegant, just like the voice in memory.

Teda looked at Alice, then at the Constant Motion Core in his hands.

Crimson fluff thrived on the metal’s outer shell, nibbling, yearning to bite through the metal, devouring the Philosopher’s Stone within. According to prior design, the Constant Motion Core should have already been eroded, but after Belli’s reinforcement, the sturdy metal held against the gnaws briefly.

Teda saw those milky, translucent buds too, also covering the metal’s surface; they were the shrinking Fantasy Species, after Aimou extracted the Philosopher’s Stone, ending individual consciousness, these Fantasy Species approached decay, with only a tiny glimmer of light sustaining them.

"Father, you won’t refuse me, right?"

Alice dragged the grotesque monstrous shell, arriving silently before Teda, extending a hand in demand.

Teda stared blankly, slowly realizing a faint sense of reason in his hollow eyes, then shattering the delusion entirely.

The battlefield of frenzied flesh, Bologue entangled, pierced on bone spikes, eerie monstrous Alice, his own withering self, and the Constant Motion Core in hand...

A sluggish awareness suddenly awakened, Teda found himself in this hopeless hell, filled only with unbearable sorrow and chilling cold.

"What have I done..."

Teda muttered.