prynovel Chapter 1743 Final Chapter: The Shore [88] "The Choice".
Chapter 1743 Final Chapter: The Shore [88] "The Choice".
Chapter 1743 Final Chapter: Crossing the Shore [88]: "The Choice".
Su Ming'an knew that if he absorbed the nourishment of the Demon Mother Goddess, he would become increasingly distant from the word "human".
The sword spirit of the Holy Sword, "Lunxue," once said: Of the twenty-seven gods of Rovasa, the second-level and third-level gods are basically created beings. But the first-level gods are completely different. They are "gods" in the true sense of the word; just by looking at the form of the Demon Mother Goddess, one can know her immense size and vastness.
To rise from a "second-level god" to a "first-level god" is equivalent to rising from a "very powerful person" to a true "god".
The essence of life, divine power, and divine status... will all undergo qualitative changes. The battle with the Demon Mother Goddess just now proved this point—when Su Mingquan activated his authority, he lost his human characteristics.
"……Well."
A sickening cracking sound came from inside his torso, his heartbeat grew slower and slower, and waves of excruciating pain surged forth, one after another. He couldn't see the comments; ascending to a higher dimension meant abandoning his human form and becoming a "monster" in the eyes of humans, no longer bound by the constraints of humanity.
"If only 'monsters' can achieve their ideals..."
Deep within the chaotic consciousness, this thought remained as clear as a pillar of strength, even overshadowing the pain that could have driven a god to despair.
"I can become a monster."
It doesn't stem from an intoxication with power, nor from a greed for immortality, but solely from an ideal that carries the lives of billions. Every person madly obsessed with an ideal is, in essence, the most terrifying monster.
In order to achieve or grasp something, one disregards distant and ethereal things like happiness and peace, and abandons one's most basic integrity—how can such a distorted sacrifice not be a breathtaking beauty?
If humans are unwilling to save monsters and view them as aliens, then let the monsters save the monsters.
To save the millions of "player monsters" like him, who are fighting to survive in the game.
In a daze, he felt a large, furry tail brush against his face. It was Xiao Ai, who was squatting beside him, gently singing Zhai Xing's nursery rhymes, as if trying to soothe him with her gentle voice and stabilize his mental anchor.
Such nursery rhymes should be sung by elders to children, but Lin Wang'an never sang them to him.
He never received love in his childhood, yet as an adult, he gives love to the whole world in such an exuberant way.
No one can figure out the principle behind this: the child who got caught in the rain grows up not to tear up other people's umbrellas, but to give his own umbrella to everyone...
This is truly unreasonable...
……
[Absorption progress: 50%]
……
—The white crane spreads its wings and soars high into the clouds.
"Hold on tight!" Cynthia shouted, piloting the white crane into a fighter jet stance as it swooped down.
Qin Chunyao gently stroked the strings of the zither, and emerald green life energy surged into the hollow in Yamada Machi's chest, forcibly maintaining his weak heartbeat.
"Can you connect? Yamada! The curtain can't hold!" Ryan's voice roared into the communicator, with violent explosions and screams in the background.
Sitting atop the white crane, Yamada Machiichi gazed at the sky, his vision blurred. Raindrops lashed his face, icy and biting, yet they couldn't dispel the churning taste of blood in his throat. His head spun, like the low blood sugar he felt after a 1,000-meter run at school… Thankfully, he gripped his gun tightly, as if finding a foothold to support all his strength.
"arrive--!"
Below, the venue of the Creators' Conference resembled an anthill. The once absurd and joyous setting was now dilapidated, with ribbons and balloons soaked in blood and rain. Most shockingly, the crowds were immense. A dense, overwhelming mass of figures, like a tidal wave, filled every corner of the venue, stretching out onto the surrounding streets. Among them were nobles, commoners, and soldiers of Rovasa.
Everyone's eyes were bloodshot, as if they had lost themselves and become walking corpses.
The moment the flock of cranes entered firing range, countless attacks poured down into the sky like a black rainstorm flowing against the current!
"Is it the Lord of Dreams? He's controlling these people!"
"Protect the Yamada brothers!!"
"Shan Tiantian must not die!"
"Charge!!"
"Quick, shield him—!"
The roars of the players mingled with the mournful cries of the white cranes. One crane was struck by several beams of light and fell with a pitiful cry. The wings of another crane were corroded by shadows, and the player on it instantly vanished into ashes, drifting away in the air.
Qin Chunyao's pipa playing was extremely rapid, the sound waves transforming into sharp blades that flew in all directions. Flora's face was ashen, and she unleashed a shower of fireballs, exhausting her magical power. Erwin summoned the undead, Sirius shouldered his gun, and Christine chanted a spell…
"Charge!!!"
Like moths drawn to a flame, the flock of cranes charged towards the heavily guarded high platform, braving a hail of bullets.
Blood mixed with rainwater fell from the sky.
White cranes kept falling, and players were hit, screaming as they were dragged into the crowd below.
"Yamada—!!" Flora screamed as her white crane was struck by a thick bolt of lightning. With a mournful cry, she clung tightly to Yamada Machiichi and, with her last strength, threw him toward the high platform!
"Catch him—!!!"
A dark red figure darted out from the edge of the platform like a ghost—it was the vampire princess, Xige. She had been waiting there for a long time, precisely catching the falling Yamada Machiichi as the prism exploded.
"Cough cough... Ugh..." Yamada Machi fell heavily onto the cold, slippery platform, coughing up a large amount of blood. His vision spun, and he heard deafening shouts and roars all around him.
"hope...hope Ge?" He was surprised. As the vampire emperor, hope Ge had also come to help.
"The Lord of the Vampires has ordered me to assist the players with all my might." hope Ge's long hair fluttered, her tall figure like a banner, holding a blood crystal spear, she turned her head coldly and said, "We vampires have a strict hierarchical order. When we hear an order, we will fight to the death... Hold on, young man, don't let yourself die before me and disgrace my name."
"The Lord of the Vampires?" Yamada Machiichi asked, somewhat bewildered.
“Lu Shu.” hope Ge uttered two words, her tone firm and unwavering.
Upon hearing the name, Yamada-cho paused for a moment, but Qin Ze's hoarse roar quickly came through the communicator:
"Quick! I can't hold on any longer—!"
Machiichi Yamada struggled, propping himself up on his elbows. The excruciating pain in his chest nearly made him faint.
Below the stage, an endless, frenzied throng surged forth. The players' defenses retreated step by step, each step leaving behind more blood and corpses. Sirius roared, his fists a bloody mess; Cynthia's vines were burned in large swaths; Talujie's melody had long been drowned out by the shouts of battle…
Yamada Machiichi's heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an icy hand.
He was escorted by countless people as he climbed up the platform, his head covered in blood. He had longed to stand on such a platform countless times, to receive the world's attention, and now that it had come true, his heart felt like it was submerged in ice water, and he couldn't feel any joy at all.
As he struggled to climb, he saw familiar figures one after another...
—The white bone armor of the Lord of the Undead, Xiting, was mostly broken, and the ghostly blue soul fire flickered erratically, yet it still stood guard by his side.
She was the first emperor that Su Ming'an subdued, and she came at Su Ming'an's command.
—The dragon's power was almost gone, and its body was covered in wounds, but it gritted its teeth and continued to fight.
That was Minghui's odds and evens... Her radiance had dimmed, and she had given her dragon power to Su Ming'an, fighting solely on her abilities.
—Asagao seemed to have used some forbidden life magic; emerald light flickered in her hands, and blood was seeping from the corner of her mouth.
—And in the corner, there was a white-haired bishop who seemed to be doing something. The bishop crouched down and drew something on the ground.
Who was that? Yamada Machiichi's thoughts were interrupted for a moment, and he couldn't quite recall the person's name. He struggled to climb over the corpses and blood, little by little, toward the center of the platform.
His sleeves were already tattered, revealing the cracked wounds on his pale skin, and the face paint was smudged with rain and blood. Every step he took aggravated the wound on his chest, bringing excruciating pain that seemed to tear his very soul apart.
Warm liquid welled up uncontrollably from his eyes, mixing with the face paint and rainwater, and dripped down his chin.
Nobody saw it.
The makeup is too heavy; tears will only make the colors look more chaotic.
Finally, he put on the megaphone, the cold touch of the microphone sending a chill down his spine. His hands, covered in mud and blood, clenched it tightly, as if it were a lifeline.
Then, he took a deep breath and looked up.
Continue with the connection logic.
Blood trickled down his chin, which he hastily wiped away with his sleeve, leaving dirty marks on his painted face.
"Protect Yamada!" Below the stage, Sirius, covered in blood, finally heard Yamada's voice. He paused, realizing Yamada had successfully made it up. He then unleashed an even fiercer roar, "Kill—!"
Cynthia's voice trembled as new vines sprouted: "Kill...!"
Everyone fought desperately to stand in front of Yamada Machiichi.
Yamada Machiichi didn't look at them.
He dared not look.
Tears mingled with blood, streaming down his face smeared with paint. The fighting below the stage was even more brutal. Every scream was like a hammer blow to his heart.
With only seven minutes left to live, he put on his final performance.
Six minutes.
five minutes.
Four minutes.
He spoke in a hoarse voice, reconnecting the broken cause and effect.
The torrential rain could not wash away the bloodstains on the high platform.
He stood in the center, with his burning companions behind him and an endless crowd in front of him.
"Bang--!!!"
……
"Bang--!!!"
A shot rang out.
The sound was particularly jarring before the silent gates of the abyss.
Wang Xingkong's head was hanging down, his short, wet, brown-black hair clung to his festering scalp and temples, making his face completely unrecognizable, with only a faint outline remaining.
He staggered as he pulled a gun from his waist, pointed it at his heart, and fired quickly.
However, the bullet missed his heart. At the last moment, the Blue Mist Man shoved his arm to the side! The bullet veered off course.
"Pfft!"
A dull, penetrating sound.
Blood mixed with shattered tissue burst open from Wang Xingkong's right abdomen! A gruesome blood hole appeared instantly, and scalding liquid gushed out, quickly soaking through his tattered clothes.
"Ugh—!!!"
Wang Xingkong crashed heavily onto the cold ground. His vision blurred, and the breath of life seemed to drain away rapidly like a punctured balloon.
This gun was given to him by Zhao Yuan before.
……
Looking at the colorful origami cranes, Zhao Yuan pointed to his chest: "I used to be a war photographer, and I've seen too many soldiers begging me to end their lives. They often lost half their bodies and couldn't die even though they wanted to. At those times, I would think, I must prepare a 'last bullet' for myself."
"The last bullet?" Wang Xingkong looked up.
"To end one's life with dignity, without suffering final agony, without being driven by desire like a beast..." Zhao Yuan said.
……
A gun.
A gift from Zhao Yuan, a top-ranked player. Wang Xingkong once secretly tried it out; no skill was needed, just pulling the trigger was enough to easily blow the head off a training dummy—the result would be no different if the target were a living person.
He imagined that if he encountered a vicious villain, he could pull out this gun like a hero in a movie and solve the problem in a cool way.
He never imagined that one day he would have to make such a cruel choice.
The gun was loaded with bullets, but he only had one chance to fire. Zhao Yuan was right; these were "the last bullets," enough for only one thing.
—Is it to shoot the Blue Mist Man standing next to him in the hope that the Blue Mist Man, whose consciousness has left his body, will be killed?
Or perhaps, the gun is turned around... and pointed at one's own heart.
The Blue Mist People had clearly told him that even if he left, he wouldn't survive. Coupled with the excruciating pain of the melting flesh... Wang Xingkong was in unbearable agony, and without much thought, he shot himself.
However, it didn't work.
The Blue Mist Man regained control of his body in time and manipulated him to dodge the shot.
Blue Mist Man never expected this guy to have such courage to shoot himself. Could Wang Xingkong really do that? He overlooked the fact that a person in extreme pain and despair would think most about ending their own life.
He immediately examined Wang Xingkong's body and found that he was completely exhausted and could no longer be controlled. He had no choice but to relinquish control of Wang Xingkong's body. The blue mist that had formed churned violently, revealing a blurry humanoid outline, and spoke:
"Do you know what you've ruined? Do you know your future... no, what you could have become?"
Wang Xingkong lay in a pool of blood, his consciousness surging amidst excruciating pain. He heard the voice of the Blue Mist Man, but was too weak to respond; his lips twitched, and blood gushed from them.
His gaze began to unfocus as he stared at the "sky" above, shrouded in the abyssal demonic energy:
"I...don't...have the...courage...to become a hero..."
"But I have...the courage to not become...a sinner..."
"I don't want to be in pain anymore..."
"So...I chose...to shoot..."