Priest Augustus, who had personally ordered Xia De not to kill anyone here, naturally wouldn't kill Joey Barton.
The deformed middle-aged man, with a penetrating hole in his forehead, shakily stood up surrounded by thousands of white shadows. Iluna squinted at them, seeing large patches of white mist emerge above the water:
“Look, it’s a Mystic Lock! Someone’s finally using a Mystic Lock!”
This wasn't Between Life and Death. Even if Joey Barton was in excellent condition, using a Mystic Lock meant he was fighting to the death.
Xia De, standing on the water, wasn't alarmed by the spatial anomaly. A few months ago, after his second ring ascended to the third, he could even open a Mystic Lock to seal Human Pus. This time, he could certainly do it too.
The 【Kiss of the Tree】 didn’t have much offensive power, and the 【match girl】 might reveal to Priest Augustus and Sister Devlin that he was the Summoner, so:
“sleeping princess!”
Gripping his sword with one hand, he swung it forward, cleaving the Darkness and spreading vibrant colors left and right. It was like a black curtain being pulled back, revealing a magnificent golden palace.
The dilapidated City, filled with white mist, was spliced together with the palace, but neither fully covered the water. They appeared on the water like colorful fragments spliced onto an oil painting.
Iluna still watched the scene from afar, her face propped up. Then she saw Xia De turn, sword in hand, and quickly ascend the palace steps. An ice coffin descended from the sky, striking the highest platform of the palace. The coffin lid silently slid open, and Xia De reached out, grasping a pale hand extended from within the ice coffin.
The red-haired Witch stepped out of the ice coffin, bowed slightly to Xia De, and stood beside him.
“I guess it’s another Witch,”
the seventeen-year-old girl murmured in a monotonous voice, squinting as she watched Joey Barton, accompanied by undead, charge towards the palace within the two spliced Mystic Locks, only for the undead to be swept away by a blast of scorching dragon's breath.
A Mystic Lock could provide the caster with a home-field advantage. From the outcome, with both sides using Mystic Locks, Barton was being overwhelmed by Xia De and the Witch.
“Heh, The Lady still has a tail... like a dragon’s tail... I even killed a dragon a while ago.”
Iluna continued to mumble.
The Old Priest smiled, tasting his tobacco, but said nothing. Sister Devlin, meanwhile, extended her hand towards the fire in front of her.
“Felianna's Witch Light!”
Xia De and the “sleeping princess” simultaneously extended their fingers forward, and a spreading golden light washed over everything. The “sleeping princess” Mystic Lock continuously encroached upon the 【Life and Death Gap】, and Barton steadily retreated, unable to fathom encountering such a situation.
The red-haired girl once again exhaled scorching dragon's breath. Although Xia De had never seen this move in Gaddis Library, the dragon's breath of a mixed-blood dragon was not to be underestimated.
But the firelight didn't just come from Miss Drago's shadow beside him; Xia De's 【Night Watchman】 suddenly drew a fiery red line on the ground. Within that firelight, Sister Devlin, her body glowing with flames, slowly straightened up.
“Ah?”
Xia De hadn't expected this scene either.
She bowed slightly to Xia De, then stepped onto the red carpet beneath her feet and walked towards the chaotic space at the Mystic Lock's boundary. Joey Barton watched her in terror. The sister said nothing, simply waved her hand and threw out a ball of fire. The fire landed inside the 【Life and Death Gap】 Mystic Lock. The next moment, the dilapidated City ignited in a massive blaze; the Mystic Lock was actually burning.
Sister Devlin was a genuine Eleventh Ring術士.
A Mystic Lock was an independent space. Briefly leaving the water of death weakened Joey Barton but strengthened Xia De, who was alive. Sister Devlin's phantom disappeared. Xia De, taking advantage of the Original Fire burning Barton's Mystic Lock, had his 【Night Watchman】 spray dazzling Sunlight Ray forward, completely overwhelming the burning, dilapidated City in the white mist.
Joey Barton was hit head-on by the 【Sunlight Ray】 and fell back onto the water. All surrounding illusions vanished, and he rolled a few times before struggling to get up.
The red-haired girl also bowed slightly to Xia De and returned to the ice coffin. Xia De, somewhat exhausted, ended his Mystic Lock and stood on the water, looking at the disheveled middle-aged man, or rather, child, not far away.
Sister Devlin, by the bonfire on the bank, withdrew her hands, which already showed signs of burns, from the bonfire and hid them in her sleeves.
Iluna immediately stood up:
“I think it’s my turn. This battle should end now.”
She also walked towards the end of the mudflat.
On the water illuminated by the Nether Moon, Joey Barton stood up with a bitter smile:
“Mr. Hamilton, I originally didn’t want to do this.”
Holding a rhode cards in his right hand, his trembling hand raised it to his right eye. Although Xia De didn’t know what he intended to do, he hastily swept his Moonlight Greatsword forward, but the bizarre Darkness behind Barton actually swallowed him.
He seemed to melt into the endless Darkness at the end of the water, and that Darkness even devoured the light of the Nether Moon.
Silently, all was still, but Xia De's heart suddenly pounded violently. He knew something was coming, from the deepest part of death.
A bony giant hand, wearing a bright golden bracelet, slowly emerged from the Darkness and slapped onto the water. The bony hand had seven fingers. Then, another bony seven-fingered giant hand, also wearing a bracelet covered in runes, also emerged from the Darkness and slapped the water.
Xia De felt his blood pressure was so high that blood was about to spray from his pores. The extreme sense of panic told him that this was absolutely not an existence mortals should encounter.
“What is it?”
【The Old God of death’s imprint, left here.】
“Huh?”
【Don’t worry, it’s just an imprint, and it’s being borrowed by the power of all things are impermanent.】
“Nobody told me in advance that there would be an enemy like this! Why can he use cards like that? It’s not fair!”
【Because he is a Chosen One. Outsider, what do you use to fight against an all things are impermanent card?】
“She” chuckled.
As the two bony giant hands pressed onto the water, a massive skull, wearing a golden crown, finally emerged silently from the Darkness. Golden flames glowed in its eye sockets, and between its neatly arranged upper and lower teeth was a Darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything.
Xia De waved his hand, making the rhode cards deck flying in the sky return to his hand.
“Sunlight Gun!”
A clear and sharp sound came from far away. Xia De looked up and saw hundreds of dark vortices forming simultaneously above his head. With that loud cry, Iluna on the shore suddenly ran forward, then leaped into the air, her brown long hair flowing behind her, and a dark golden Balance suspended above her head.
The golden lightning spear in her hand took on a dark golden hue, its light illuminating her youthful and handsome face. The Sunlight Gun pierced through the dark vortex in front of her.
Even death could not eliminate this sound. Amidst the explosions and thunder, hundreds of lightning spears appeared above Xia De's head, striking the colossal skull that had just emerged from the ultimate Darkness. Gu Yu
“This scene today is truly…”
The Old Priest by the bonfire kept sighing.
The skull was disintegrating, but it still opened its gigantic mouth, enduring the Sunlight Guns, and a black orb of light rapidly expanded between its teeth. Joey Barton’s voice came from an unknown place:
“Grant you — destined death.”
The black orb shattered, time froze at this moment, all things ended, and immense power, channeled by the Chosen One and the power of all things are impermanent, spread to everything nearby.
But the water remained so still, and black light pierced through Xia De, but he still stood in place, unharmed.
“Why…”
The imprint left by the Old God was shattered by the Sunlight Gun thrown by the Chosen of Balance. A completely exhausted Joey Barton reappeared, illuminated by the Nether Moon. He knelt on one knee on the water, having no more strength to fight.
Although the Chosen One’s talent was powerful, he was ultimately only a Ring術士. He wasn't an enemy like Darkness, who could still crush Xia De even without his demon and talent.
“Firstly, this is where everything ends, this is death itself. Instant death abilities and the power of ultimate demise have no meaning here,”
Xia De said, then extended his hand, letting the two rhode cards in front of him fly back. They were 【all things are impermanent · Balance】 and 【all things are impermanent · Darkness】, which Xia De could manipulate as easily as his own arms:
“And, you shouldn’t have used the power of the all things are impermanent card to cast that last attack.
I only discovered when I was preparing to meet it head-on that all things are impermanent cards can cancel the effects of other all things are impermanent cards. And your mastery of that card seems far inferior to my mastery of these two cards.”
“all things are impermanent…”
“Where did the card in your hand come from?”
Xia De asked, lowering the 【Night Watchman】 to point at the water.
“After she died, I took her ashes to many places. In the winter of 1849, I traveled to the New World. Outside the southern settlement of Umur Town in the New World, I fell into an ancient ruin and found this in the hand of a bronze-colored skeleton. It was from then on that my talent grew stronger and stronger.”
Joey Barton said, clutching the card, and shrunk into a ball, sobbing:
“It still won’t work after all. Even though I’ve made such a grave mistake and come this far, I still can’t see her.”
Sister Devlin and Priest Augustus by the bonfire, seeing that the battle had ended, also stood up and came to the edge of the mudflat, watching Xia De and Joey Barton with Iluna.
The Nether Moon quietly illuminated the area. The souls that had been paused began to quietly walk towards the end of the water again. Everything was silent, yet so solemn and grave; it was all very sacred.
And among the gradually departing souls, only Xia De and Mr. Barton stood still. The receding white shadows made their figures somewhat blurry.
Everything was over. Xia De didn't mind talking to the other party for a few more moments, letting him follow him back to the shore:
“You want to bring her back that badly?”
“Yes, even if it costs everything. My inverted life has little meaning. Only she is my only glory, my only happiness.”
He stumbled to his feet, but not to struggle. Instead, he turned to look into the depths of the water:
“This is fine too. I’ve already made a grave mistake. I might as well leave here. Leave, to find her… It’s time to end. I’m already a child now, and the next step is to transition from new life to death…”
He staggered forward with the white shadows, but after only two steps, he fell back onto the water.
The deformed man no longer struggled, but curled into a ball, clutching his head and wailing in sorrow. Xia De had seen many people cry, but he had never seen anyone cry so miserably.
“Middlesburg really produces all sorts of tragic stories.”
“Ah!”
Joey Barton, wailing and crying, suddenly shrieked. His body gradually became covered with decaying gray patterns. These patterns seemed to have climbed up from beneath the water. The intense cursed power even made Xia De feel terrified; he couldn't bear such a curse:
“Where did this curse come from?”
Beneath his feet was the water, sparkling with silver light, but there was no cursed power beneath the surface.
【Outsider, you have gained some information from death.】
【The Chosen One of death, in death, lost to a mortal using other powers. You can consider this the ancient death god’s curse, or the curse of this death itself. He has been scorned, completely losing his Chosen One status, and this curse cannot be removed by any means.】
“I still don’t understand, why would the death god curse him?”
“She” chuckled:
【He shouldn’t have lost to you here.】
Xia De suddenly turned his head. He had clearly felt a breath of air by his ear just now, but there was nothing behind him:
“Is that so? This can also be considered him paying the price for everything he has done.”
Xia De thought slowly to himself, no longer looking at Mr. Barton, who was curled up on the water.
He held his sword, looking up at the Nether Moon shining from his own dream. The Moonlight was so pure, so enchanting; he greatly enjoyed this moment.
【Someone is coming.】
“What?”
Enduring the pain in his soul, Mr. Barton, his face streaked with tears and snot, propped himself up on the water. He wanted to leave with the souls, but when he looked up, he saw a pair of translucent boots stopped in front of him.
They were a pair of brown ladies' short cloth boots, with decorative black laces. Looking further up, the shoes connected to translucent legs, then a black floral dress, then a lady's white shirt, then a platycodon flower pinned to her chest, then a neck wearing a locket that could hold a photo, and then…
Mr. Barton knelt on the water, his eyes blurred with tears as he looked at that face; Xia De, one hand in his pocket, sighed as he gazed at the two people in front of him; the three people on the shallow beach watched the figures on the water with varying expressions.
Everything was so quiet. The Nether Moon illuminated everything. Although it wasn't bright enough or warm enough, it was very gentle.
On the dark water, there were still scattered points of light like a galaxy. This light illuminated the departing path, guiding the souls to brush past them, who were paused here, and walk towards the end of everything.
Although this was death, Xia De really liked the environment here; it was truly beautiful.
