“Xia De, you know what you need to do.”
Miss Feilianna’s voice rang in his ears, and Xia De nodded. The courage to face Darkness made him understand what kind of Miracle the 【Kiss of the Tree】 Ling Rune possessed. At this moment, using the power of divinity that had not yet dissipated, he threw out the parchment scroll given by Dorothy, on which the story of 【Kiss of the Tree】 was written:
“Under the tree.”
He said softly, raising his hands slightly, almost holding the parchment scroll:
“I never lack courage.”
The parchment scroll burned fiercely in the air, letters scattering and merging into the Destiny Ring behind him. The Witch, divinity, and that subtle touch in the Darkness finally allowed him to fully recall the feelings from his last adventure in the Thousand Tree Forest.
“Hmm?”
Iluna and Tifa looked up at the sky, and they actually saw a starry sky, unfolding like a painting.
The surroundings changed. The crackling of the bonfire sounded, and a reddish-gold bonfire appeared beside the three of them at some point, its burning flames making people feel unusually at ease.
The silver moon hung high, illuminating the earth with starlight. Tree crowns swayed, and a giant tree stood behind them.
The night wind blew through the tree sea, making the bonfire at their feet flicker. The fresh air in the forest was refreshing; even the surging dark “spring” in front of them could not disturb the present tranquility.
“Is this…a Mystic Lock?”
Tifa was the first to discern the current situation, then looked at Xia De in front of the bonfire.
Xia De said nothing, but looked at the bonfire in front of him. The last time he saw these reddish-gold flames, there were three other figures beside the flames, but this time it was just him.
Breathing the forest air, the thumping of his heart seemed to merge with the sound of nature under the starry sky.
Under the full moon overhead, dozens of flowing streams of fire surged from the bonfire, forming swirling dragons in the air, rushing towards the “spring” that was still gushing with pus.
If the Mystic Lock - 【the little match girl】 born from Xia De’s “pity” offered four almost costless wishes, then the Mystic Lock - 【Kiss of the Tree】 born from “courage” at this moment, served to suppress and seal any hostile forces.
The long fiery streams swept over the demon still in the process of “flipping,” or rather, Darkness, or perhaps there was no longer any distinction between the two. Fireballs enveloped it, pulling it little by little towards the bonfire. And once it truly merged with the bonfire, the Mystic Lock would complete the entire suppression process.
If Xia De could advance to High-Ring, truly manifesting this Mystic Lock with his own power, then a Ring術士 suppressed by the Mystic Lock would regress to First-Ring for a long time, and a relic suppressed by the Mystic Lock would be completely unable to display any characteristics for a certain period.
At this moment, utilizing the divine power acquired during his advancement and Miss Feilianna’s assistance, the Mystic Lock - 【Kiss of the Tree】 was even enough to suppress the third epoch Evil Spirit demon - Human Pus, who had not yet fully recovered.
The flipping process caused by suicide continued, the screams of Darkness and the roars of the demon in the writhing Darkness were almost indistinguishable. A clear drag mark formed on the ground; it resisted violently, but was still inevitably entangled by the fire streams, inching closer to its end.
Xia De did not continue to pay attention to this failed entity, but instead looked past Iluna and Tifa towards the distance of the forest.
During Professor Garcia’s course on “Closed Space,” Xia De once asked what would happen if a Ring術士 possessed multiple Mystic Locks. At that time, the professor did not give an answer, but now he knew; he could clearly sense the snowy street in the distance of the forest.
Although they were Mystic Locks constructed from two different Ling Runes, in reality, the two Mystic Locks were completely interlocked. If Xia De wanted, he could even immediately transfer the scene here to the street in the Town that could not be seen in the distance. Of course, this would also cause a great expenditure of spirit.
“Xia De…”
Iluna poked Xia De, who then came back to his senses and noticed that more than half of the mud-like substance had been dragged into the bonfire. On the surface of the black viscous liquid, Darkness’s face and black fluid appeared alternately, but more often there were countless tiny, densely packed human faces.
They were all wailing, cursing. These were the last remnants of souls once devoured by Human Pus, the product of Human Pus flowing out.
Xia De looked at the black mud, at Darkness’s face occasionally appearing on the surface of the mud mass:
“Chosen One of Darkness, will you regret what you have done?”
Darkness’s distorted face suddenly lunged out from the surface of the black mud, but was then pulled back by the black mud:
“Regret?”
Countless overlapping voices rang out together, and he laughed loudly:
“I will walk alone in the Darkness, until the very end.”
“But it’s already the end now.”
Tifa reminded him.
“So I have already seen the ultimate, behind the curtain of Darkness, I have seen everything.”
That terrifying face completely occupied most of the black mud’s surface, but this still could not prevent it from being swallowed by the bonfire:
“Outsider…”
“Hmm?”
Xia De raised an eyebrow:
“At this moment, I finally see the essence of 【Darkness】. When I cross the curtain that covers the world, I see everything.”
“What exactly do you want to say?”
Iluna asked somewhat impatiently, as only a tiny bit of the black mud remained unignited by the bonfire.
“The epic has begun, whispering chapters are the final chapter. Even if you kill me and reverse the fate that has already occurred, you cannot change the fact after that door opens. I await you in Darkness and slumber, Outsider, you are destined to be the most pathetic.”
The bonfire swallowed it, and the reddish-gold flames at this moment surged upwards like a fountain, then scattered down like starlight.
As countless specks of light fell from the sky like fireflies, the forest scenery beneath the starry sky overhead cracked open, revealing the black sky of the Darkness Domain.
But the black sky was also cracking open, revealing the true star sea and the three moons within the star sea.
The Mystic Lock dissipated, and without the Chosen One’s support, the Darkness Domain would also recede.
The scenery of the late summer night gradually became clear. Amidst countless scattered reddish-gold specks of light, they stood at the top of a small hill covered with green grass and flowers in the Milwood Forest, as if they could reach out and touch the stars at this moment.
The pus on the ground evaporated as the Darkness Domain receded, and the myriad specks of light were so dazzling under the Moonlight.
But in front of them still lay a black humanoid whose aura was extremely weak; this was Human Pus · Darkness, whose power was completely suppressed. The Mystic Lock only suppressed power; it would not kill him.
“Iluna, you go deal with it.”
Xia De said, taking out an empty glass bottle and collecting some of the remaining powerless pus from the ground.
The brown-haired girl nodded, and was about to step forward when “Darkness” suddenly raised its head and opened its mouth. A black sword hilt shot out from his mouth, and Iluna quickly dodged to the side.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the figure actually flew straight up, attempting a final escape.
“Ring術士, demon’s mouth, half-demon, Human Pus form, mutually me and you, suicide flip. The Chosen One is indeed favored by destiny; how many forms can he still have? Can he escape even like this?”
Xia De took out the holy emblem from his pocket, almost simultaneously saying to Iluna:
“Praise the Sun—Sunlight Gun!”
Two golden bolts of lightning rose from the ground, passing through the myriad specks of light, striking the black humanoid in the air simultaneously under the Moonlight.
In the wind, under the moon, at the lower end of the star sea, Human Pus · Darkness exploded in the air, black pus spraying in all directions.
“Darkness is dead! I feel it, I killed another Chosen One! Oh, I seem to have gained some power! Yes, we succeeded!”
Iluna said excitedly under the Moonlight, but did not notice some streams of light entering Xia De’s pocket where his rhode cards were stored.
“But why did it explode so far? Oh, the demon doesn’t seem to have fully merged with Darkness; it kept a trick up its sleeve. Darkness is dead, but its main body is escaping.”
Tifa reminded him, holding Mia.
“It’s alright, let me do it.”
A gentle voice appeared behind Xia De. Turning around, Miss Feilianna was still there. But her figure was already very faint; she should be waking from her dream.
“Are you thinking… will I see you again?”
Xia De asked softly, and the golden-haired Witch smiled faintly:
“Xia De, in my life, I have seen you more than once.”
To Iluna and Tifa’s surprised gazes, she embraced Xia De, then lightly kissed his forehead.
【Outsider, you have obtained “Witch Echo · Felianna.”】
“Witch Echo” was a trace of the past Xia De could extract from the death locations of Witches who had voting rights in the 【Witch Council】. But Miss Feilianna clearly did not die here; this Witch seemed to have insight into deeper secrets of the 【Witch Council】, which is why she could grant Xia De this echo.
She released Xia De, her golden eyes looking at Xia De, and she opened her palm to Xia De:
“Xia De, don’t mind parting; we will meet again one day. Isn’t parting just for meeting again?”
“Teacher…”
Xia De had a thousand words he wanted to say, but in the end, he only took off the 【Ring of Metamorphosis】, and with Mia’s unusually displeased gaze, placed it in her palm.
“You really understand me.”
Miss Feilianna said with a smile, putting the ring on her transparent finger, then looked at the three of them one by one.
“Since you can see me, I think it’s necessary to give you a gift.”
She said to Tifa. The maid was a little flustered, not knowing what to say, and some golden light had already flowed from Miss Feilianna into her body.
“This is…”
Tifa hesitated, somewhat disbelieving.
“I’m very glad Xia De has a friend like you.”
She then said to Iluna. The young girl was equally flustered, blushing and somewhat afraid to look at her:
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Feilianna.”
Iluna had once expressed her admiration for Miss Feilianna to Xia De by a rainy window.
“If you wish to further develop your talent, perhaps you can seek help from the Witch corresponding to 【Balance】.”
Miss Feilianna looked at Xia De one last time, but in the end, only smiled at him, then said to the three of them:
“My dream should end now, so why not do something interesting before I wake? Xia De, while I’m attracting attention, you can leave; there seem to be many people at the foot of the hill. Now, look at this, never underestimate the function of a relic, and don’t be misled by its superficial characteristics.”
She touched the ring on her finger:
“The transformation of positive and negative is the beginning of a new life.”
Her figure scattered into a ball of golden light and disappeared into an inexplicable white mist.
Then, red high heels stepped out of the dense fog, followed by a black skirt. Holding down her pointed hat, her golden hair swayed behind her, and the Witch of the fifth epoch, Mana Feilianna, dressed in white and black, truly stood under the starry sky of the sixth epoch.
The night wind blew through her long hair, shook her hat brim, and tugged at her skirt hem.
The pendant on Xia De’s neck emitted a temperature that scalded his skin.
