Chapter 64: Requiem
The red inferno disappeared.
The red that enveloped the entire Four-Way City faded, turning into red raindrops falling to the ground.
Buildings within five hundred meters of the ability activation center were almost all destroyed, red raindrops fell on the rubble, sliding down the uneven surfaces of broken stones.
Some remained vigilant, some completely relaxed, others began to cheer.
Bounty hunters supported each other, climbing out of the ruins of the Ability Guild.
A round Le Caille was pinned under a stone slab, reaching out, grabbed by Yi Xiangnan, who stepped on nearby debris to pull him from the crevice.
Hiding in the Tide headquarters, Momo and Youyou tightly held each other’s hands.
The puppet ability activated, clearing the rubble that had fallen in front of the door during the aftermath.
In the civilian residential area, He Shasha pushed open the door despite her parents’ dissuasion.
As if realizing something, she ran toward that square.
During the day, she had been among the crowd of civilians, watching the youth who had once saved her appear opposite the nobles.
With that flamboyant tone, he confronted those noble lords.
Ignoring the nobles’ threats, disregarding the lives of civilians, just like the panicked shouts of others in the crowd: “Demon!”
But He Shasha knew that person was not a demon.
He was a youth who expressed even kindness awkwardly, an extremely kind youth.
On that chilly night, the youth whose back had given her courage.
At this moment, she had a premonition that these tremendous changes might all be related to that youth.
The sticky red on the road resembled the ability of that noble lord.
During the day, she had nearly been splashed with scarlet blood.
A bit further back, that night, she had almost died in those red threads.
The potholes on the roadside, the increasing number of collapsed buildings, and the upturned stone slabs made her running steps chaotic.
Some were injured, some were merely frightened, and some had died in the disaster just now.
All of this was caused by that noble, the same kind of person who had killed her neighbor’s family and massacred recklessly in the neighborhood.
Having experienced both events, He Shasha knew this.
And the youth who had saved her was fighting against these people.
The noble lords were powerful, standing at the top of society, unsurpassable.
This was already an accepted fact.
But He Shasha hoped the youth would win.
She prayed from the bottom of her heart.
Her limbs ached as she ran, and He Shasha breathed rhythmically, panting.
She could already see the square ahead, but at the same time, several screams came from the front.
Finally, He Shasha reached the edge of the square.
Her muscles ached, and she could hardly catch her breath, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the head impaled by a long sword at the center of the square.
It was the noble lord’s head, the one the youth had said he would take.
And just as the youth had said, he had done it.
“He won,” she murmured.
Excitement, relief, and exhilaration surged through her, overwhelming her spirit, until finally, it turned into a single tear streaming from her eye.
The sun set, and the evening glow dyed the broken earth orange-red.
The noble lord’s terrifying head, now standing in the center of the square, seemed like a symbol that reassured her.
It signified that the disaster was truly over and that someone had overturned their ingrained perceptions, saving them from the nobles’ hands.
...
The unapproachable red threads disappeared, and the few people who had been hiding in the basement finally prepared to come out.
Including Yiming, who had been dragged back to the basement by Tang and An Huyu together shortly after the red threads appeared.
After all, he had faced the chilling ice of an S-rank ability user head-on and could only walk with difficulty, supported by his two companions.
Qu Yan’s ability was too overbearing.
Knowing the danger of the red threads, the group had hidden in the basement, waiting for the situation to end.
Thus, they had not been harmed by the red threads.
“What’s Qu Yan going crazy about?” An Huyu struggled to push aside the stone slabs blocking the way, clearing the secret passage’s exit. “Does he want to treat Four-Way City as his own territory and start a massacre?”
He turned his head, looking at Rao Yue, who had been suppressing her emotions since her earlier abnormal excitement. “I don’t know why you betrayed Yue Qing, but Qu Yan was brought here by your Yue clan, right? What are you thinking? Destroying Four-Way City brings no benefit to your Yue clan.”
Though An Huyu was often oblivious to outside matters, he still knew the basics.
For instance, a destroyed fief brought no benefit to nobles.
Of course, some nobles didn’t care about such things for their own pleasure.
But Yue Qing clearly wasn’t that type.
That man had climbed up from a civilian background and cared deeply about his power.
As An Huyu spoke, he pulled up Yiming and Tang behind him.
Facing Rao Yue, he merely stepped aside without blocking her path, though she didn’t need his help anyway.
After everyone emerged, they saw the sky, now dyed orange by the setting sun.
Under this warm, final sunlight of the day, Rao Yue stood with one hand on her hip and answered An Huyu’s question.
“Of course, there’s no benefit. The agreement between the clan leader, Yue Qing, and Qu Yan didn’t include Four-Way City,” Rao Yue said.
An Huyu gave a knowing look, a bit proud that he had guessed correctly, raising an eyebrow at Tang as if to say he was pretty smart too.
But soon, she continued, “Yue Qing and Qu Yan’s deal was only for Yue Qing to cooperate with him to kill An Heyu.”
An Huyu’s smug expression froze.
“I originally wanted to injure you to warn An Heyu, but I didn’t expect An Heyu not to leave early for your sake,” Rao Yue went on, her words unfinished, but An Huyu didn’t keep listening.
He let go of Yiming’s arm, took a step forward, but stumbled and fell due to his panic.
Qu Yan’s target was his big brother.
Qu Yan and Yue Qing’s target was his big brother.
And his big brother was alone.
As for him, he was just a useless burden, dragging others down.
Tears welled in his eyes, but as if unaware of the pain, he stood up and staggered toward the main hall, now reduced to ruins.
The main hall’s outer walls had completely collapsed, leaving only a platform on the second floor and the first-floor hall below, covered in rubble.
The surroundings were all ruins, but those two areas seemed slightly tidier.
This made it clearer for An Huyu to see.
He saw his big brother.
The corpses of the undead and the guests had burst apart under Qu Yan’s ability, their forms unrecognizable.
At the front of the first floor, a headless corpse lay on the ground.
Below the second-floor platform, a red-haired youth leaned against the rubble that had fallen from above, head tilted back, as if looking at the setting sun.
“Big brother?” An Huyu’s face was covered in tears, his voice trembling as he scrambled over the rubble.
The sharp stones tore through his expensive clothes, cutting his delicate skin.
He fell, his palms pressing against the ground.
As he forced himself up, the rubble sliced his palms, leaving fresh red blood.
Clinging to the faintest hope, he bore his injuries and looked at the red-haired youth with expectant eyes.
But this time, no one stopped him.
No one nagged him about his wounds or forced him to bandage them.
An Huyu knelt before the already stiff body, his mouth half-open, but his tears suddenly stopped flowing.
Behind him, Tang and Yiming caught up, standing outside the rubble, looking worriedly at An Huyu kneeling among the stones before the red-haired youth’s body.
Perhaps because it was too quiet, even the strained voice was clear.
“Don’t you know you’re so annoying, absolutely infuriating.”
The red-haired boy widened his eyes, his golden eyes, identical to the person before him, etching the moment deeply into his gaze.
“That was the last thing I said to big brother.”
It was as if the endless tears dried up at that moment.
Golden light particles spread in the air, a square with glowing edges expanding, enveloping Yiming and Tang at the edge, as well as Rao Yue, who arrived later.
Mournful music seemed to echo in the space, filled with immense sorrow.
Yet it also seemed silent, with only the sound of a faint breeze.
A domain-type ability, Requiem.
Upon acquisition, due to the owner’s intense emotions, it reached B-rank.
The light particles fell, landing on the shoulders of the three at the edge, on Yiming’s outstretched palm.
They passed through his palm, continuing to fall, rippling like raindrops on the ground with golden waves.
The An clan’s necromantic ability, capable of enslaving the undead, now seemed only to send off souls.
Amid these golden particles, on the rubble across from them, two people stood, watching everything unfold.
It was Li Li and An Heyu.
“Let’s go,” Li Li said lightly, holding the nutrient tank containing the prophet’s head.
An illusion concealed their presence.
The A-rank Illusory Reality had improved.
Within five minutes of the false becoming real, if no high-rank interference disrupted the process, the false-turned-real would remain real forever.
Like the corpse she had fabricated.
Even if she left, others examining the corpse would only conclude, “This is indeed An Heyu’s corpse.”
She spoke and jumped down from the piled stones without lingering, heading toward the exit.
Behind her, An Heyu took one last look at his younger brother.
He recalled four years ago, standing outside a sea of fire, watching their home burn, powerless.
His tear ducts had been given to his brother, so he didn’t cry but shielded his brother’s innocent gaze.
This time, he would let go.
An Heyu draped the red cloak Li Li had just handed him over his shoulders, pulled up the hood to conceal his face.
Then he turned, following Li Li’s direction, his back to his brother, matching the steps of the person ahead and leaving.
The sun sank completely below the horizon, the last trace of orange-red light vanishing, enveloping them in darkness.
And they moved forward in the night.
The night breeze brushed past their ears, cicadas chirping in the ravaged streets.
Summer was coming.
On the street, the two walked one behind the other, their conversation echoing.
“Is your name really Heige?” the red cloak behind asked.
“Does it matter if it is or isn’t?” the black trench coat ahead replied casually.
Li Li lifted the nutrient tank, gazing at the human skull floating in the transparent liquid.
She stared at the skull, studying it.
Then she lowered it, saying lightly, “Right now, I am Heige.”
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