An saw herself again.

That self of hers standing at the other end of the long river of the world.

The crowd had already vanished, and those wave-like, mountain-shaking shouts naturally returned to silence as well.

No one stood beside her. She looked so lonely.

"..."

She was only crying, her lips moving, as if she were saying something again.

And this time, An finally managed to catch some of the syllables clearly.

【Please, you must...】

"Must?"

【Save...】

"Save?"

Must... save?

Save who?

The demonfolk?

But wasn’t it the demonfolk themselves who started the war?

An wanted to ask.

But her image gradually blurred, and was replaced by a new one.

Something suddenly swelled atop that tall tower.

And then a sun—a huge sun descended.

The moon, the moon was grinning viciously.

The stars began to bleed as well.

Wailing rose all across the earth. Someone stopped shouting and instead began cursing something.

More and more scenes flooded in, yet the more they did, the more chaotic her mind became.

Shenyi thought she had remembered many things. In fact, she had indeed remembered many things—but most of them were headless, tailless fragments. She simply could not piece them together into a... “me.”

So what, exactly, did that “me” in those scenes mean?

"Hot..."

An jolted awake again.

But this time it wasn’t because of Muen’s call, it was because... of the burning heat in her hand.

The Ancient Relic—Myriad-Age Cycle—she had been holding all along suddenly turned scorching hot.

Like red-hot iron.

An abruptly realized something and looked toward Shenyi.

"What did you do?!"

"I didn’t do anything."

Shenyi smiled.

"All of this is His Majesty’s authority."

"What authority..."

An clenched her teeth, trying to use the methods that had surfaced in her mind to seize control of Myriad-Age Cycle again.

But in the end, she found in despair that no matter how hard she struggled, she could not fight against another force’s control over Myriad-Age Cycle.

Perhaps that force was the Ancient Relic’s true owner.

What she could influence was only a very small portion.

So she could only watch helplessly... as this despair descended.

Kak, kak...

"What is that?"

Muen’s eyes widened.

Along with a faint sound like metal striking metal, the scene in Muen’s vision suddenly changed slightly.

He saw... chains.

Not one chain, but chains chains chains chains chains... countless chains, dense beyond counting.

Those chains extended out from the “circle” in An’s hand—the Ancient Relic called Myriad-Age Cycle—and with the rhythm of the crimson sea, they stretched all the way into the distance.

Muen lifted his head blankly. Perhaps that entire circle was actually constructed from innumerable chains shrunk down by some unknown factor, or perhaps it was only the evolution of some rule.

Those chains were like a net, spread across the sky that had already been dyed blood-red.

On one side of the sky, there were so many chains—so many it was like a waterfall hanging down from the heavens—black and dense, blocking out half the sky, stretching to the end of the horizon.

And on the other side, there were many chains as well, falling into Gutongs Castle itself.

Muen turned his head. He saw a chain connected to Zagu, and even on Enchantress—who had already become barely alive just now—there was a chain.

In other words...

"All demonfolk... have this thing?"

No.

At least Shenyi didn’t have one, and An didn’t have one either.

And now, Muen watched as a chain drooped down, reaching toward him.

"Don’t even think about it!"

The pitch-black sun crushed, making countless chains shudder violently. And Muen reacted fast, using black flame to block the chain that lunged at him.

Even thinking with his little toe, he knew this ghostly thing definitely wasn’t anything good.

However...

After blocking one chain, more chains attacked—dense beyond counting—and in the end...

There was still one chain that drilled into his palm.

Clang.

That chain snapped taut, and Muen stumbled.

Huh? No, wait.

His body hadn’t moved.

So why did he feel like he’d stumbled?

Enduring pain that seemed to come from his very soul, Muen slowly lowered his head.

Looking at the faint layer of shadow on him—gradually no longer overlapping with his body—he suddenly understood.

"This thing... is pulling at my soul?"

A chill instantly crawled up Muen’s spine.

No—given what he was right now, it should be said that this chill... came from the deepest part of his soul.

That sense of imminent death began to hum again—or rather, it had been humming all along, but never this clearly.

No, this wasn’t a premonition of death. It was that if he didn’t shake off these chains in time... something even more terrifying would happen.

"What the hell is this thing, Shenyi?!"

But Muen still ignored the tearing pull on his soul and threw another punch at Shenyi.

Yet he quickly understood why even Grand Duke Enchantress could be easily suppressed by Myriad-Age Cycle.

This kind of attack targeting the soul was simply too terrifying. No matter how strong the flesh, no matter how strong the mind... once the soul was locked, everything became unbelievably weak.

Black flame could burn the chains, but there were simply too many of them. Doing that only kept consuming the little physical strength he had left.

All he could do was keep burning them with black flame, buying himself brief chances to breathe.

"Please don’t blaspheme His Majesty’s authority like this," Shenyi said coldly. "Don’t worry, brat. Forced to this point, I actually won’t kill you with my own hands. Right now, Myriad-Age Cycle is only leaving a mark on your soul. Once you’re completely locked by it, you’ll become just like all other demonfolk—one of the members of this cycle."

"Go fuck yourself, ‘member’!"

Muen wrenched free of the chains and smashed a black-flame-wrapped fist at Shenyi.

But the gray curtain spread, easily blocking Muen.

With the one hidden deep underground taking action, there was temporarily no longer any other interference. Muen could no longer pose any threat to Shenyi.

The pulling sensation on his soul grew stronger and stronger, the pain in his mind clearer and clearer. Muen could even clearly feel the flicker of black flame starting to weaken.

But he still threw himself at Shenyi without regard for anything.

If he couldn’t even save his girl, what the fuck kind of yellow-hair was he...

He’d said it already. He was a pure-love war god!!

BOOM!

The pitch-black sun with its sacred solar corona crushed across the sky, and the whole world seemed to sink into a deep night as if everything had ended completely.

Only for an instant.

And in that instant, it was as if some grand bell rang out.

That bell made even Shenyi freeze for a moment. Surprise flashed through his eyes, like time had been forcibly cut away... one second.

When daylight returned, Muen had already broken through the gray curtain and the blockade of layer after layer of chains, arriving in front of Shenyi.

One punch.

He gathered every last bit of Holy Light left in his body, all the black flame he could use, all his strength—everything—into this one punch.

His mental world was cracking apart inch by inch, on the verge of collapse.

Muen didn’t care.

His flesh-and-blood body could not withstand a burden of power that exceeded his realm by far. Skin split, blood mist seeped from his pores.

Muen didn’t care.

His soul was still being dragged by those chains. The pain was so intense that even he—someone already used to pain—had eyes full of bloodshot veins.

But Muen still didn’t care.

He only... threw this punch.

Even if he died, he would still...

"Alright, that’s enough, Young Master."

Unfortunately, this punch—almost condensed by burning life itself—did not get thrown.

Muen’s movement suddenly halted.

Because he suddenly felt a familiar embrace, holding him tightly.

"An, move."

After only a moment of shock, Muen regained his coldness.

"Wait on the side. I’ll save you soon—"

"Young Master, it’s already enough."

An hugged Muen tightly.

Since becoming Young Master’s personal maid, she’d had many chances to hug the one she loved.

But she had never held him this hard.

"You’ve already tried so hard. But now... it’s enough."

"What the hell are you saying? I still haven’t—"

Muen snapped at his maid, wanting to order her to move aside, because he knew that as his personal maid, in everything except “love,” she would absolutely listen to him.

But the command never came out.

Because a sweet kiss sealed his mouth.

His lips were pried open. A nimble little snake slipped in with practiced ease, greedily taking everything.

The numb sweetness of lips meeting, mixed with the taste of blood—even with pain flooding his nerves at this moment, it was so clear.

As if it could soothe his wounds.

"Human emotions are truly laughable."

Coldness flowed in Shenyi’s eyes. He did not want An—the one he had pursued with such hardship for so long—to sink into humans’ laughable emotions, so he prepared to personally separate the two of them and end all of this completely.

However, before he could make a move, his body froze completely.

Because dense, countless chains hanging down from the sky blocked in front of him.

"No..."

Shenyi instantly realized something and roared in rage.

"Stop it!"

...

"Young Master, thank you."

Their lips parted.

An gently rested her head against Muen’s chest.

"Thank you... you always manage to appear beside me when I’m in the most danger."

"An, what are you saying..."

I’m your Young Master. You’re my maid.

Isn’t it only natural for me to save you?

"But it really, really is enough."

An took Muen’s hand.

Even though he hadn’t suffered any especially brutal external injury, even though both Holy Light and black flame were abilities strong enough to fully heal wounds, Muen’s arm at this moment was already split open and torn. The speed of healing was far slower than the speed of flesh cracking.

"Compared to me... I’d rather Young Master be fine."

"An, what are you saying? Move. I’ll—"

Muen’s voice was hoarse as he tried to shove An away.

But his body now seemed weakened to a degree even he hadn’t expected. His movement was easily avoided by An.

"If something happens to Young Master, I’ll be very sad. Very, very sad—sad enough to want to destroy the world."

An lifted her head. A rare smile surfaced on her composed face.

"So this time, let it end here."

A thread—like a thread peeled off from that circle—was lightly wound by An around Muen’s wrist.

Muen instantly realized what An intended.

"No. We’ll go together—" He shook his head.

"I already told you, Young Master. This thing doesn’t have the function of letting both of us leave together, because it can only display its ability here—on top of this tower."

An shoved hard.

Muen wanted to resist, but the chains tugging his soul snapped straight.

He could only watch helplessly as his figure gradually dimmed.

"An!" Muen roared.

This disobedient maid—was she crazy?

She actually wanted to...

"Sorry, Young Master. As your maid, I’m always this disobedient."

An looked straight into Muen’s eyes.

"But let someone as incompetent and as willful as me... be willful one more time."

Yes—just one more time.

As a maid, she shouldn’t have such willful behavior toward her master.

But if it was as a lover...

The scene gradually blurred.

Muen felt as if he were shoved into a tunnel filled with chaotic light and shadow, unable to do anything but drift helplessly with the current.

At the very last moment, all he saw was An’s exquisitely beautiful smile.

"Young Master, I’ll always be here waiting for you. Before that, I won’t be harmed, so please also..."

Completely safe.

Once, she thought love meant total possession—so long as the two were together, nothing else mattered.

But as stabbing pain sank into her soul again and again, she finally understood what love was, and what truly mattered.

So.

It was fine if he didn’t come.

As long as Young Master could...

Dong!

A grand bell suddenly rang out!

It was as if even time stopped at this moment. That space passage that was shrinking nonstop actually froze as well.

An stared blankly with widened beautiful eyes, seeing that blood-stained, miserable, yet still resolute face—grown beyond recognition compared to that former playboy, grown by who knew how much.

"Alright, then."

Muen looked at his maid and said seriously, "Wait for me, An."

Wait for me to... spank your disobedient maid butt hard and make you relearn the Campbell family’s maid rules!

...

...

"Hey, hey, I really only wanted to borrow something. Borrow it and return it, borrow again easily next time—it's not like I won’t return it. Why be so irritable?"

The chains also extended into this room within the city. The Black Knight wiped cold sweat as he leapt into the blood pool at top speed. He was in such a hurry he even took two of Shenyi’s attacks head-on.

In an instant he became miserable, to the point he couldn’t even keep up his composure. He didn’t even bother to pick up his beloved gentleman’s hat after it fell.

It wasn’t that he was scared—it was that since he’d come to borrow that thing, he naturally knew exactly how terrifying it would be once it was fully running.

Can’t mess with it, can’t mess with it. If he stayed here too long, he really would become one of the demonfolk’s ** **!

The Black Knight fled extremely fast. But compared to him, someone... or rather, some “someone,” slipped away even more naturally.

The underground space.

Shenyi looked at that huge lump of corpses that had already melted like rotten mud, his expression complicated, silent.

This...

Even for that one...

That escape was way too smooth.

...

...

"We should go too. Staying here will get us caught in it as well."

With a sweep of the Pope’s sleeve, the holy domain’s gate gradually closed, and the Judgment Archbishop returned along the passage.

"The completeness of that Ancient Relic exceeded my expectations. But what I didn’t expect even more was that girl called An..."

The Pope fell into thought.

"Hmph."

The moment she heard the name An, Liya immediately pursed her lips in displeasure.

At the instant the holy domain’s gate vanished, her gaze looked one last time toward that tall tower.

"To be saved by another woman... so infuriating..."

...

...

Everything finally settled.

Holy Light, the black sun, the crimson—everything terrifying vanished without a trace. What shrouded Gutongs Castle overhead was still that dim sky.

Shenyi walked to An’s side, his face so dark it was extreme.

"I didn’t expect you could control Myriad-Age Cycle to this extent!"

"Isn’t this what you wanted?" An sneered.

"...True. The more you control, the more it proves how much you’ve awakened. But... ridiculous."

Shenyi looked at An. His expression returned to his usual calm, yet faintly carried a bit of contempt.

"If you truly still want to maintain that so-called pitiful ‘self,’ this was originally your final trump card. But you’ve completely thrown away your trump card just to save a human? Utterly foolish."

"..."

An didn’t respond.

Or perhaps she disdained to respond.

She only looked at the place where ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Muen had vanished. After a moment of daze, the corners of her lips curved into a smile.

Trump card?

No.

Young Master was her greatest trump card.