Chapter 303
In the moment she realized this, the Keybearer fell into utter despair. Stripped of her abilities, she had no means of resistance left, and the potion swiftly corroded her very soul.
She had gone mad.
Xia'er looked at the Keybearer, who was rapidly transforming before her eyes, with a face full of disdain. The Keybearer's pink brain had burst through her skull, spreading outward and nearly occupying most of her head.
Fragments of bone, stuck to her hair and scalp, fell to the ground, quickly eroding away. The skin beneath the Keybearer's clothing shrank and withered, emitting a foul stench that was both repulsive and hallucinogenic.
Xia'er donned her mask again, obscuring her eyes, and kicked Lucy, who was still lying on the ground pretending to be dead. "Hey, it's your turn."
What the Keybearer had just severed was merely an illusion of Lucy.
The "Subverter" was great in many ways, but there was one thing that was hard to accept—once someone was driven mad, there was no way to kill them.
The ability to distort reality was a deadly weapon against sentient beings, but it was less effective against the insane. However, this did not affect the average "Subverter."
They never considered the aftermath; they were more than happy to let the mad extraordinary beings escalate the chaos.
Now, Xia'er was more curious to see what kind of killing methods Lucy, the "Destined One," possessed.
She had yet to witness Lucy truly use her abilities in battle.
"Cough, cough..."
Lucy awkwardly stood up from the ground. When she saw the frenzied figure of the Keybearer being consumed by the potion, she felt a jolt of shock.
Had it really only been ten seconds? The battle was over, and the "Subverter" from the Joyous Society had gone mad?
What kind of divine being had approached her for cooperation? Did Miss Russell really have such a bodyguard by her side?
"Don't worry,"
Lucy’s expression returned to calm as she straightened her clothes. "You can step back. I won't die, but be careful not to hurt me."
"I bet she’s dead, and if I win the bet, she can’t possibly survive. Just a mere Brain-Eater..."
Lucy simply drew a delicate dagger from her waist and casually hurled it at the grotesque figure.
Whoosh—
The dagger sliced through the air, aiming straight for the monstrous head.
But just then, a crack appeared in the center of the head, revealing a massive eye that resembled a pink starry sky, locking onto Lucy's direction.
Nebulae swirled, as if some power was about to be unleashed.
Yet the flying dagger was already upon it, forcing the head to turn aside, unable to face Lucy directly. However, in turning, it faced Xia'er instead.
At the moment the dagger pierced the eye, a stream of pink light connected from the eye to Xia'er’s own eyes.
In an instant, Xia'er’s mask shattered, and a phantom pain, as if her brain were being gnawed upon, surged through her head. But what she lost was not her brain; it was knowledge and mental strength—the thing Lucy referred to as the "Brain-Eater" was ravenously devouring Xia'er’s knowledge and spirit.
The connected stream of light burst forth in a dazzling pink glow, and the Keybearer’s head began to swell rapidly.
Its eye, once resembling a pink starry sky, became covered in silver light, quickly filling its eye... and then—
Boom!
The Keybearer’s massive head exploded, leaving only a withered corpse that swayed in place. Moments later, it collapsed with a thud onto the luxurious carpet.
"Are you okay?"
Lucy realized that the attack, which had been deflected by her luck, had landed on Xia'er instead.
She turned to look at Xia'er, but at that moment... her neck twisted.
"Hiss..."
Lucy clutched her neck and crouched down, no longer daring to look in Xia'er’s direction. She knew her luck had activated again.
The one-minute effect of 【超限】 (Chao Xian) had not yet passed. If Lucy turned her head, it would be her own head that would explode.
At that moment, Xia'er raised her hand to gently touch her forehead, taking a slight breath of cool air.
The earlier sensation of "knowledge being devoured" had vanished, and she felt the lost knowledge returning to her mind... while the Keybearer, consumed by the potion, was utterly dead...
It was "Uniqueness" that protected her spirit and knowledge...
Damn "Destined One"...
Xia'er clenched her fists, her gaze fixed on Lucy, who was still crouching on the ground.
She had been looking forward to seeing how Lucy would deal with the opponent... but it seemed she was meant to be the one to be dealt with?
If that were the case, wouldn’t the Keybearer’s madness automatically trigger an "absorb spirit" attack, which would blow her up with "Uniqueness," or cause the knowledge sealed in her mind to explode?
Now that would truly be a knowledge explosion.
If I can kill the Keybearer myself, what do I need you for, Lucy?
Watching Lucy slowly rise, Xia'er spoke slowly, her tone growing colder: "Lucy... I need to ask you something..."
"Uh... what is it?"
Lucy felt a cold sweat break out.
The toss of the "Lucky Coin" could only guarantee the "result" was correct, but how the process unfolded was beyond Lucy's control.
Clearly, she had led this terrifying "Subverter" into a trap, and from her tone, it was evident—she was very angry.
"Is the result of your 'Lucky Coin' fixed every day? For example, on July 7, if you roll a heads and a tails, and then roll again on July 7, will it still be heads and tails?"
Xia'er asked coldly.
Gulp—
Lucy swallowed hard, completely confused by the question. She could only answer with a stiff resolve: "I... I don’t know, but the coin is fixed every day. I think the results are probably predetermined..."
"Alright,"
Xia'er nodded slightly and said, "Roll again."
If Lucy rolled heads, Xia'er would let her go, simply because she didn’t want to waste time.
If it was tails... well, then sorry.
Ding—
Sensing the killing intent, Lucy threw the rusty coin, which spun with a bloody glow, landing on the back of her hand—an eye angel stared directly into Lucy's eyes.
Phew...
Regardless of Xia'er’s words, Lucy had to roll a second time to save her life. Rolling heads at least meant she wouldn’t die.
Lucy pocketed the coin and slowly turned to look at the blonde girl behind her. The fear in her heart suddenly magnified, and she quickly lowered her gaze, no longer daring to meet the girl’s eyes, instead focusing on her legs and shoes.
"Get ready."
Xia'er took a deep breath and said, "Send the sealed items to the Russell estate. You can keep the materials... I’m about to deactivate my ability."
"Mm-hmm..."
Lucy nodded repeatedly, afraid that if she took too long to agree, her share would vanish.
With that, Xia'er turned and walked down the corridor, leaving.
Though she wanted to kill Lucy, she couldn’t let her die too many times...
Killing her a few times would allow her to control people’s hearts with fear in reality, but too much killing might push someone into a panic.
Like before with Opode, when she used 【克星】 (Ke Xing) in a moment of desperation, it had led to her stabbing herself.
But this time, at least it showed that once back in reality, she could kill the Keybearer alone without needing Lucy.
Yet she had to interact with Lucy.
Because this girl was also coming to the banquet on July 7, and who knew if her outrageous luck would blow her and the Keybearer up together like coins.
At least by keeping her as a teammate, Lucy’s luck wouldn’t accidentally harm her.
Anyway, Xia'er already had a plan for how to approach Lucy.
Next... Xia'er had more to do.
At that moment, Xia'er was using the "Subverter" ability to fabricate a normal scene within the manor.
Meanwhile, Opode by the lakeside and the members of the Chaos Squad would not notice anything unusual here.
Now, Xia'er needed to connect with the Chaos Squad.
She had to use the "Subverter" ability to brainwash them all, learning everything about them.
Then, she would stack 【克星】 (Ke Xing) on top of that, making it easier for her to control them in reality.
The ideal situation would be for no one to discover that the Keybearer was dead—not even until Xia'er left Berun City would anyone from the Joyous Society know what had happened.
The Keybearer’s spiritual notes mentioned that the Joyous Society had participated in the Great Famine of Beiansu... Xia'er did not want to be involved in that at all.
What she had to do next was incredibly tedious... Xia'er could hardly muster any interest in it.
These tasks were not what she wanted to do; they were merely paving the way for her in reality.
Table of Contents
