When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)-Chapter 705: A Deity?

A resounding crack echoed as the sealed space around them shattered to pieces.

’Whoever looked at the Nightmare in the eye would relive their deepest fears and die without knowing how’— Shen Nianzu had prepared himself for this, so he simply closed his eyes and used his four remaining senses and his battle instinct to slash through the obstacles before him. Even with the lack of vision, he could feel Jin Jiuchi behind him, guarding his back, allowing him to charge ahead fearlessly. That single presence was enough to give him a lot of security.

[Presumptuous!]

For the first time ever, Shen Nianzu detected apparent anger in the Nightmare’s otherwise inorganic voice.

Behind him, Shen Nianzu heard the unmistakable sound of bones creaking and groaning, then came a long, fierce howl that seemed to pierce through heavens and earth. The dying Nightmare and its heir then clashed head-on, the impact as overwhelming as the collision of two burning stars!

Shen Nianzu could not see his surroundings, but he could tell from the violent tremors that the space around them was on the verge of collapsing.

"Nian’er— NOW!!!"

At Jin Jiuchi’s cue, Shen Nianzu sprang into action without even a split second delay, their teamwork seamless and smooth. With Jin Jiuchi holding off most of the attack coming their way, carving out a small opening, Shen Nianzu threw himself forward, crying out, "DIE—!"

He poured every ounce of his strength into this attack, striking his sword toward where he could sense the Nightmare’s core was— the dense, rolling mass of inky darkness that made his stomach churn even without laying his eyes on it. The blade, made of thousand-year unthawed permafrost, cleaved down like a falling star, tearing through the void in a flash of blinding light as though a ray of sunshine had pierced through the stormy sky!

Shen Nianzu had no idea what the core was made of. He only knew that the recoil from this single strike nearly incapacitated him right then and there. The flesh along his arms split open with a sickening force, gushing out blood, even the bones were nearly visible!

Shen Nianzu’s face paled, but he clenched his teeth and raised his sword again, even if it meant breaking his arms altogether!

They had to succeed— they had to succeed no matter what!

A sudden brilliance burst forth from within Shen Nianzu’s body, and within it, the faint silhouette of a palm-sized mermaid flickered. The space around them rapidly disintegrated, shattering and dissolving before reassembling once more into a vast seabed beneath the skies awash with shimmering aurora.

—Shen Nianzu had pulled all of them into his domain!

It was all because Jin Jiuchi was keeping the Nightmare occupied that Shen Nianzu managed to do this, otherwise the mental strain he had to exert to drag the Nightmare in was enough to drive him into madness!

Within this domain, Shen Nianzu was invincible.

Here, he was the master!

"Once again!"

Silver scales erupted all over his body and climbed up his arms, forming a sort of tough yet elastic armor. Even with his eyes closed, Shen Nianzu knew exactly where to strike. Adjusting his grip, he mustered every last drop of his strength, lifted his blade and— cut the darkness into two!

Still, it was not enough.

"Da Shen!!!"

"AWOOOOO—!"

Jin Jiuchi’s beastly form followed right after, his jaws stretching wide open—and swallowed the darkness in one fell swoop!

The sea domain collapsed.

Shen Nianzu fell on his back, his body twitching and spasming from the lingering rush of adrenaline. His sword had shattered once more, and he could no longer feel his arms. Even breathing felt like a laborious task, with each exhale laced with the stench of blood. His body was in utter wreck, covered entirely in blood. He tried to open his eyes to check the surroundings, but his vision remained blurry. Seems like even his retina had sustained some damage from the battle.

...so much for keeping his eyes shut throughout.

Fortunately, his enhanced physique ensured that his body would recover soon.

Fortunately, everything was over.

"...Da Shen?"

Shen Nianzu propped himself up by the elbow, struggling to sit up. Jin Jiuchi had been quiet, so quiet that Shen Nianzu instinctively tensed up, opening his eyes as wide as possible to take in the blurry scenes around him, searching for that one familiar presence. Shouldn’t that husky be the most excited and thrilled at a time like this? Why didn’t he make a sound??

"Da Shen, where are you?!"

Just as Shen Nianzu started to panic, Jin Jiuchi’s voice sounded not far away, "... Nian’er."

A sigh of relief escaped Shen Nianzu, but then he frowned again. "Why do you sound so weak? Where are you injured? Come here and let me have a closer look; my eyes can’t see well right now."

"Nian’er..."

A familiar oppressive pressure bore down, causing Shen Nianzu’s eyes to widen in sheer incredulity and horror. T-This... this was...

[Are you done playing around?]

Shen Nianzu’s heart dropped with a heavy thud, accompanied by a surge of dread that shook him down to the core. The Nightmare was not dead, the brutal realization struck him a merciless blow. The Nightmare was not dead yet. On the contrary, it sounded nearly... unfazed.

His body began to tremble violently.

This time the pressure pressed down on bim tenfold— no, a hundredfold—crushing him so completely that he spat out a huge mouthful of blood. His vision went dark, he could not breathe, and every inch of his body was screaming in searing agony as though he was being torn apart from the inside. Impossible! This is... how could this be?! Shen Nianzu could not believe what was happening right now. He had clearly cut through the Nightmare, and Jin Jiuchi had even devoured it outright!

[Do you think you can kill a deity?]

[No matter how many times you go at me... it’s useless. I am omnipotent!]

A deity...?

After devouring countless nightmares and creating the Nightmare Cycle, had this entity shed off its mechanical identity and ascended to godhood? 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Was it truly impossible for humans to go against God?

Then... then the battle just now, and everything they had been through, was it just the Nightmare playing around with them?

Shen Nianzu’s breath came out in shallow, broken wheezes. He could feel himself hyperventilating. He told himself to calm down– he needed to calm the fuck down! But he could not stop the despair from spreading all over his body, coiling around his heart and soul akin to poisonous vines sinking deep into his flesh.

He was going to die—the premonition had never come as strongly as now. The Nightmare was done playing around with them, and it was going to snuff out Shen Nianzu’s life as easily as stomping on an ant.

But in the next second, a battered, warm yet blood-drenched body slowly dragged itself to him and scooped up his trembling body, hugging him so tightly as if wishing to cover his entire body with their own. "Jin..." Shen Nianzu was startled by the familiar breath and heartbeat, but before he could call out the other person’s name, Jin Jiuchi’s voice brushed against his ear, low and urgent:

"Nian’er, I’m going to bring you away first."

After saying that, Jin Jiuchi rammed his body to the side, using brute force to break a hole through the space, just wide enough for them to slip away.