The crystal flower dimmed, leaving behind only the gray husk of a crystal shell. The small pink sprite, lifeless, began to decompose like light particles, condensing in the air from its fingertips and transforming into specks of white light that merged into Bai Cha's body.
This was the power of the primal source of good, slowly integrating into Bai Cha's body, completely suppressing the restless primal source of evil, and also suppressing the restless remnant soul of the Dragon Mother.
Now she could finally be a true demigod, but Bai Cha didn't want to be. Not at all. Perhaps, if becoming an ordinary person could bring Freyja back, Bai Cha would have decisively abandoned all her cultivation.
Bai Cha had always believed that her country and her responsibilities were paramount, always placed above everything, even her own life. She had never lived for herself.
But now, Bai Cha suddenly realized that her life had no intrinsic value, so how could it be compared to the responsibilities of her nation and country? She guarded this world, protected everything, shouldered her responsibilities, and fought forward, only to gain what? Was it all meaningless?
Was anything left?
She lost her parents, her relatives. The Bai family prospered to the point of near extinction. Friends departed, important people left, and in the end, even trusted allies began to betray her. Everyone was leaving or on their way out. Nothing remained.
In the end, it turned out she was the only one left guarding this hollow and meaningless responsibility.
Yes, it was all meaningless. Even the person she had desperately supported from the beginning was now hesitating on the opposing side.
Bai Cha's stomach cramped again.
She wanted to vomit, but nothing came out. Lucifer quickly embraced Bai Cha, massaging her abdomen. Bai Cha then realized that Lucifer was covered in bloody wounds. She suddenly remembered her own frenzied state earlier.
"How could you... this was my doing, wasn't it?" Bai Cha gently touched Lucifer's wounds, her vacant eyes sending a chill through him.
"No, Master, I wasn't careful," Lucifer said in a low voice, trying to comfort her. He wanted to say more, but Bai Cha's gaze suddenly sharpened.
She stood up as if nothing had happened. If not for the pool of uncongealed blood beneath the cross, Lucifer would have thought it was all a dream.
Bai Cha stood up, still possessing that commanding presence, but her expression was even colder, as if she had reverted to the state Lucifer had first seen her in—cold to the point of having lost the last trace of human warmth. She simply stood up and began to walk out.
"Lucifer, if I betray the world, will you stop me?" Bai Cha walked ahead, gently closing Freyja's door. Her face was expressionless, and Lucifer could not discern her emotions.
"You won't," Lucifer said with certainty, his voice gentle yet firm. "But if that day truly comes, I will still be behind you."
If one day you truly become an enemy of the world, then go. I may not be able to protect you perfectly, but I will do my utmost to be your strongest support, to ensure you have no worries.
When you are tired one day, turn back, and I will always be here. I will take you home.
However, Bai Cha didn't understand Lucifer's last words. She simply stopped, a melancholic aura beginning to surface.
"Yes, I won't. How pathetic. I have nothing left, yet I still cannot betray this world," Bai Cha murmured. "Just like Brahma back then, who tried to stop Asmodeus from seeking revenge even after being killed."
Was it meaningful?
She didn't know.
No one could answer.
The World Championship was still ongoing. Besides the top ten, the matches below were also concluding. The rankings were largely decided.
Leo walked dejectedly toward the resting room. His ranking this time was six places lower than before. He couldn't help it; the competition in this season's World Championship was too fierce. As a veteran in practical terms, he could no longer keep up in all aspects.
He pushed open the door and walked carelessly into the room, contemplating whether to have a beer and relax. However, the door he had opened was suddenly closed from behind with a bang. Someone had been waiting by his door.
Leo jumped, startled, and quickly turned around. The moment he saw the person, Leo's face turned ashen.
"So nervous, long time no see." Bai Cha leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, Lucifer merged with her. Her dark demonic wings behind her made Bai Cha appear ominous.
"Uh, Elpis." Leo finally recovered after a long while, forcing a smile that was more like a grimace. "W-would you like some tea?"
"Sure." Unexpectedly, Bai Cha readily agreed, but her smile made Leo's skin crawl.
As Bai Cha stepped forward, Leo retreated. Bai Cha took another step forward, and Leo took another step back.
"Getting older, getting more timid?" Bai Cha looked at Leo with a half-smile, her black long spear condensing in her hand. She said coldly, "Then please serve me some black tea, the strongest kind."
"W-wait! You're here to kill me, aren't you? I didn't do anything!" Leo retreated to the wall, unable to contain himself any longer, and screamed, "You, you can't kill me."
"You didn't do anything, yet you're so scared. Do you think I've been doing nothing all these years?" Bai Cha snorted disdainfully. "You cleaned up the evidence very thoroughly, but it was too thorough. No one's aura was left behind, making it more obvious. An aura can be erased, but evidence cannot."
"Anya's root bones are abnormal. The golden spike was inserted with a special technique, a flicking motion of the Golden Tiger Claw. Given the height Freyja was impaled at, the angle of the spike wasn't steep, so the user's height is between 1.85 and 1.9 meters." Bai Cha said with a half-smile, "Freyja liked to scatter petals on the floor. The crushed petals revealed footprints, indicating a weight between 140 and 150 pounds, with strong and muscular strides."
"I originally thought that while not everyone with this height and weight would be you, it wouldn't be just you. But the moment you saw me, you exposed yourself. You, indeed, are one of them." Bai Cha said.
"W-wait!"
Leo shouted again. The aura of death enveloped him, making his scalp tingle. He had been secretly pleased when the golden spike was inserted, but now, facing his own death, he was terrified.
However, Bai Cha did not wait any longer. With a swift movement, she drew her slender demon sword, Muramasa, which gleamed under the light. A cold flash severed the tendons and bones in Leo's limbs.
"Don't scream. Hōfa, you know I have a bad temper. It's best not to spoil my mood when I'm enjoying myself," the cold glint vanished as quickly as it appeared, and Bai Cha sheathed her sword, smiling proudly. "Otherwise, the subsequent interrogation will just be an interrogation. I might not want to hear anything you have to say anymore."
The threat was effective. Leo, who had been about to wail, fell silent, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"Leo's original owner should have been Apollo. Unfortunately, Apollo belonged to the US and was under Athena. As for you, Hōfa, you were separated from Leo thousands of years ago. You dared to aspire to replace Apollo's position." Bai Cha said coldly, "You killed Apollo, thinking that would make you the legitimate Leo. Unfortunately, Freyja discovered it."
"I... I..." Hōfa was dripping with cold sweat. Perhaps it was due to the pain, his teeth felt soft. With every word Bai Cha spoke, his fear grew.
"You thought Apollo would never appear or reincarnate. Even if he did, you would have preempted him and resonated with Leo's statue. But Freyja and I shattered your illusion." Bai Cha continued, "Because the Goddess of Hope and the God of Love were both taken by Freyja and me when there were resonating individuals, you understood that the statues were merely silently accommodating ordinary people while waiting for their masters."
"You encountered Apollo, harbored murderous intent, and followed him to the sea to strike, only to be stopped by Freyja. Even though you only played a contributing role, and Apollo was accidentally killed by his own people, you still harbored murderous intent towards Freyja." Bai Cha chuckled lightly. "Anything else to add?"
"And don't bother with denials like 'it wasn't me.' My patience is short," Bai Cha narrowed her eyes and said menacingly, "I've been a shadow for so many years; I'm more familiar with criminal investigation than you are."
Hōfa's face turned pale. He couldn't understand how Bai Cha knew all this. His already not-so-sharp mind was in chaos, and for a moment, he didn't know how to refute.
"Wait... Elpis, you can't kill me." Leo gritted his teeth, desperately clinging to the only straw of hope. "You're so skilled, so observant. You must have seen that Freyja didn't resist at all!"
Bai Cha: "..."
"There were no signs of struggle, no killing intent. Even Freyja's Love Flower showed no abnormalities on you. She was killed willingly by us!" Leo shouted tremblingly. "She was willing, she felt guilty, and she did this precisely because she didn't want you to take revenge!"
"She was so kind, she didn't resist, wasn't that so you could find out?" Leo pleaded. "If you insist on killing me, you will be violating her will. You cannot kill me!"
Bai Cha propped herself up with her katana, silently listening to the dying struggles of a defeated opponent. She laughed, a laugh so beautiful, so arrogant.
"I think you need to understand one thing: I'm here for revenge, not to obey her will," Bai Cha laughed strangely, or perhaps madly. "I don't care if she resisted or not. Did you ask for my permission before you killed her?"
Hōfa: "...What?"
"She gave everything as a gift to me, so she is my possession. Do you have the right to touch her?" Bai Cha forced out a nearly cruel smile. "Freyja is dead. Why should I obey her will? I'm simply unhappy because you killed her."
What? No, this isn't how it's supposed to go!
Wouldn't the normal progression be silence, acceptance, sudden enlightenment, and letting go of hatred? He had said that Freyja didn't want her to seek revenge, but why was this woman so stubborn!
Hōfa didn't know what he had said wrong, nor why things had escalated to this point. Freyja had smiled so serenely before she died, as if she had found release. Shouldn't Bai Cha understand them?
No further explanations were given. The room was filled only with broken sobs and the sound of the katana flying up and down.
Muramasa was too sharp, capable of slicing through iron. The blade cut through flesh as if nothing, slicing through the air with ease.
"I will give you a dignified death. Have you heard the saying, 'Man is the knife and the board; I am the fish'?"
"Don't worry, nothing is better than my knife skills. I guarantee that every slice of you will be no worse than the sashimi on the dining table, both in thickness and evenness. You'll be satisfied."
"Oh, of course, fish is freshest when made into sashimi while still alive. I believe you wouldn't mind these minor details for your own dignity. I believe you'd rather become the best, the most perfect dish."