CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 21: DIFFERENT CHANGES; AND THE BELATED ARRIVAL (PART 2)

At first glance, the ocean was as crimson as blood...

As the Horse-headed Ghost perished, the Constant Darkness World faded with it, but the terrifying blood-red color replaced the blooming and falling of the Other Shore Flower, and under some kind of terrifying pressure, cold sweat immediately broke out on Gu Mo’s forehead. He felt an even heavier pressure than the previous Constant Darkness.

It’s as if one is facing a top predator, the pressure from the top of the food chain making the soul tremble, unrelated to issues of courage and will, it’s simply because the world is naturally like this — just as an ice block will only evaporate and melt under high temperature, and not because of the ice’s "steadfast will" or "extraordinary courage" that the result would change.

The chest felt stuffy, difficult to breathe, and though he knew what was happening in his mind and rationally warned himself not to be afraid, the nerve cells, under the combined effect of instinct and hormones, kept producing emotions of fear...

Gu Mo panted lightly, his gaze locked tightly on that strangely beautiful figure.

Suspended in mid-air, about half a meter above the ground, her silver long hair draped casually with an uncontrollable elegance and nobility amidst the chaos. Intricately designed golden horns shone with an abundant light like a golden full moon, surrounded by trails of purple illusory streams of light resembling fireflies dancing...

— Demonized...

— Illusion Form...

Gu Mo instantly recognized what it was and felt terrified. Ah Xiu had demonized like in the storyline, but whether it was due to narrative inertia or some other reason, he truly didn’t know.

Because the information given in the game was actually very little, and the storyline spanned over a considerable time. There could be a few years’ gap between two missions, so many questions remained unexplained, at least not completely understandable by him, and hence he couldn’t figure out what was happening now.

Why did she demonize? Clearly, she hadn’t been hurt from the beginning, and in resolving the Horse-headed Ghost, she had been as straightforward and efficient as with the Ox-headed Ghost before.

Gu Mo’s mind was in chaos. He had many theories but couldn’t confirm any. Moreover, at this moment, he subconsciously dared not make any move.

Because, in an atmosphere so quiet as if the air had solidified, the demonized figure cast a cold gaze at him. Purple demonic patterns appeared on her cheeks at some point, and the keratin that spread down from the twin horns seemed like a natural mask obscuring the right half of her face.

Noble, mysterious...

Vaguely, the silhouette of the black-haired girl’s previous face could still be recognized, not making one feel completely unidentifiable.

In that instant, time seemed to freeze.

A few more breaths passed without anything happening. Gu Mo stared persistently at the bizarre yet beautiful form, forcing himself to calm down. He noticed that the demonized girl seemed to be struggling to suppress something—

Although floating statically in mid-air, she hadn’t moved after killing the Horse-headed Ghost, her body continued to tremble slightly.

Ferocity...

Chaos...

The turbulent ferocious instinct was battling with the kindly rational character within the girl’s body. She was trying to reclaim her will, but the process was extraordinarily difficult. Her struggle was intensely hard, and she felt her self-awareness being slowly consumed by the tumultuous stormy waves.

Go quickly, go quickly...

Leave here as far away as possible...

While she could barely contend, quickly escape from her side...

The Illusory Demon struggled to suppress the ferocity that was close to devouring her, trembling but making no moves, only staring sternly at the person standing at the courtyard entrance, praying that they could understand her intent or be scared away by her.

She really couldn’t hold on anymore, any moment she might turn into an irrational Evil Ghost!

Yet—

"Hold on, Ah Xiu, I might have a way..."

The person opposite took a deep breath, took out a Spirit Stone shining with a soft golden essence of rice from his pocket, and walked briskly towards her with gritted teeth.

He should now turn around and run without looking back, because this scene could count as cleared, and if he retraced his steps back, based on experience, he should leave this scene and return to the real world’s neighborhood... with all the experience, levels, and loot he had gained.

This was a choice to maximize his benefits, having cleared the scene, there really was no need to take risks at the end. After all, the girl’s usefulness was not as significant as before, and although she had been somewhat special to him, she didn’t recognize him...

He was a stranger to her, so he had no obligation to do anything...

In this moment, countless thoughts flashed through Gu Mo’s consciousness, eventually converging into a sentence that echoed relentlessly in his mind.

Everything’s been cleared... everything’s been cleared...

He told himself he should be a bit selfish right now; clearing the level should suffice. No matter what, the impending destruction wouldn’t affect him, so there was no need to care so much.

But... he couldn’t do it.

He might not be noble, but he had his boundaries, at least unwilling to become the kind of person he despised. Rather than leaving a knot in his heart, constantly harboring regret and self-interrogation, it’s better to make a clear-minded choice now.