Chapter 109:
Chapter 109:
In the Sacred Blood Hall, Salrokdar had gained the upper hand. He was using chaos spirit-enhanced spells to fend off the joint attack from the First Lord Palanno and the old knight Finoch.
After mercilessly inflicting severe injuries on his own daughter, he felt the danger had passed.
Facing these disruptors, even if they had the help of the traitor Tris, they no longer had any way to sever his connection with the Sacred Blood Pool.
The sacred pool originating from the birthplace of vampires had been polluted, continuously supplying the tainted spiritual energy to nourish the growth of the subspace rift, ultimately opening a stairway leading directly to the subspace according to his plan.
The projection formed in the sub-dimension through the sacrifice of his entire clan had already been cast, and upon Its descent, he only needed to throw Femis in as the “seed”!
Whether she was willing or not, he would personally sculpt a “Dark Night Deity”.
In the chaotic and frenzied thoughts of the deranged Blood Vulture Lord, who had lost his senses, he felt his plan was simply perfect, without a single flaw.
It didn’t even matter whether this plan was originally devised by him or not at this point.
Everything had progressed to this stage, and nothing could stop him from completing it.
“Ah!!!”Excruciating pain erupted abruptly from the deepest part of the Blood Vulture Lord’s body, which had become the vessel of chaos.
This was not external damage!
Amidst this eruption of purifying pain, he heard the wails of the Desire Demon Blade that had bathed in chaos alongside him, as this bizarre purifying force was transmitted from the demon blade through their soul link.
The demon blade was currently at the bottom of the Sacred Blood Pool!
What had happened there?
The Blood Vulture Lord turned his pitch-black eyes, entwined with ominous purple hues, towards the Sacred Blood Pool. The previously boiling pool had now fallen silent.
Despite the constant draining by the subspace rift above, it could no longer offer its tainted spiritual energy, as if a valve had been closed or a hand had plugged the power breach.
Even the originally dark sacred pool, stained by the fresh blood of ten thousand elite vampires, seemed clearer?
What exactly had happened there?
A strong sense of unease arose in the deranged duke’s heart, making him desperate to summon back the Desire Demon Blade that was causing him pain and investigate the Sacred Blood Pool, no matter what.
However, Palanno and Finoch also noticed this change in the situation.
The two formidable golden-tier foes exchanged a glance.
Beneath their helmets, they saw the glint in each other’s eyes, and neither pretended anymore. Realizing the situation had changed and an opportunity had arisen, they decided to seize the chance and launch a counterattack instead of being stalled by Salrokdar.
“Out of my way!”
The deranged duke roared, unleashing a chaotic spirit storm to forcefully tear open a gap between his two golden-tier opponents, allowing him to swiftly shift into a dusky night bat and dart forward. However, two hideous-looking little players suddenly appeared in his path.
Khaki Tony Tai and Path of Mud and Oil had hung ignited alchemical bombs all over their bodies and were then thrown into the air by other players using the “Human Battering Ram” tactic.
With precise timing, the bombs detonated instantly.
Amidst roars of “For the grand plan!”, the dazzling and scorching flames forced Salrokdar’s bat swarm to regroup and halt in his humanoid form.
Seizing this chance, the closest player, the petite Ashina, raised her twin guns. Her crimson luxury hand cannons fired simultaneously.
Two silvery “Vampire’s Requiem” bullets struck the re-formed Salrokdar’s heart with a resounding bang.
“Lumina! Orchid! Pomegranate! Everyone! This is my final assist!”
Little Ashina shouted in imitation of a certain scene.
She deliberately pulled off this stunt.
At such a close range, she had no time or chance to evade the terrifying BOSS’s retaliation.
Sure enough, despite being temporarily weakened by the 30x concentrated daylight potion, Salrokdar, enraged by the repeated obstruction, merely raised his hand, and the dark lightning leaping from his fingertips instantly electrocuted little Ashina into charred bones.
It even had that comical moment from cartoons where extreme electrocution displays a skeleton.
Her tiny form turned to ashes, leaving behind only her spirit bag, two hand cannons, and a jar of malt sugar that clattered to the ground.
“How dare you slay a pure maiden before the eyes of a knight pursuing pure love! Perish, heartless monster!”
The emotionally expressive First Lord Palanno was enraged once more.
This was a pure maiden he had gifted roses to!
Such heroic and gallant sacrifice, unfearing of death, made him feel the triple shame of being a man, a knight, and a warrior. He immediately abandoned all tactics, activating his vampiric bloodlust and charging as a crimson streak, ramming Salrokdar in the back with his shield.
The sheer force sent the deranged lord flying like a ball, and the advancing Finoch followed up by plunging his blazing greatsword into his heart.
The tide of battle had turned!
Inside the Sacred Blood Pool, faced with the “kill a thousand, leave none” attitude of the test administrator system’s built-in antivirus program designated as the “antivirus software human form”, the chosen Murphy was at his limit.
The purifying spirit energy “Omega” from who knows where was taking effect with his body as the relay point, meaning he was constantly suffering the agony of his body being scoured by spirit energy.
Worst of all, he was a vampire!
Dark-attribute beings had poor resistance against order-aligned purifying spirit energy. Murphy’s situation was no better than a poor mouse tossed into a vat of sulfuric acid.
He could only struggle to endure, but his willpower could not overcome the weakness brought by the pain.
Although the resistance of the Desire Demon Blade pinned beneath him was growing weaker, even letting out pleading wails, Murphy’s own consciousness was also becoming hazy. His uneventful but dull former life, and his exciting yet brief new life, alternated in the form of a life flashing before his eyes.
The feeling of weakness hooked onto his willpower like shackles, as if pulling him towards the end of all life.
Death!
Death had never appeared so clearly in his mind.
It was almost comparable to his life-and-death struggle with Jed in the dark cabin, when he was just a weak rare vampire at the Black Iron level, not a powerful life in this world.
“At least Tris can live more comfortably because of this.”
A thought entered the hazy mind of Murphy, and at this truly dire moment, with the brightness already flickering before his eyes and his life flashing, Murphy rather irrelevantly pondered another question.
Wait, that’s not right!
Although he and Tris were intimate, it didn’t seem to have reached the point where he thought about her in everything, so why was Tris’s significance in his consciousness growing as they spent more time together?
Could it be, as old Finoch said, due to the influence of the blood covenant between offspring and elders?
Didn’t that mean he had fallen into the same predicament as Lady Adele?
“Murphy. Murphy! Wake up! You can’t sleep now.”
A voice rang in Murphy’s ear amidst this chaotic, dazed state.
That voice was very familiar, making the now spaced-out Murphy furrow his brow in thought, as he was certain he had heard this voice somewhere before.
The next second, he was jolted awake.
Wasn’t this his own voice?
“Who?”
He asked.
The other side fell silent for a moment, before answering in a gloomy tone:
“I am your conscience. It’s been a while since we last met, ever since you started conning those poor little players under the guise of a game.”
“Nonsense! Those adorable little players volunteered! Before entering the game, they all signed the game agreement, which had a disclaimer clause, so this doesn’t mean I should be hanged!”
Murphy’s consciousness gradually cleared up through this back-and-forth.
As he opened his eyes, what appeared before him was not the polluted Sacred Blood Pool, nor the Desire Demon Blade he had pinned down and injected with purifying spirit energy.
It was a vast expanse of white, like the legendary realm of souls.
However, this was not the first time the vampire had been here. During his previous completion of the Black Iron Trial by killing Jed, he had also “rested” here.
“I’ve come to bid you farewell, Murphy.”
That voice came from behind Murphy, tinged with a gentle tone of affection and blessing that made the vampire whirl around, unsurprisingly seeing another “himself.”
The exact same appearance, the exact same posture, the exact same handsome looks, the exact same androgynous aura, if there was any difference, perhaps Murphy himself appeared a bit sterner, while the “him” before his eyes seemed a tad…meek?
“Who are you?”
Murphy looked at the mirror-image figure in astonishment, squinting his eyes as he ventured:
“The real Murphy? Shouldn’t you be over there enjoying the air conditioning in an office by now? Why are you still here?”
“I’m not as fortunate as you might think, because the time has not yet come.”
The “Murphy” opposite him gave a shy smile, saying:
“I’m just honored to have played such an important role at the beginning of this ‘grand plan’, allowing you to gain an identity in the new world while incidentally fulfilling my personal little wish.
I’ve come to bid you farewell.
And to remind you, this is not some conspiracy, nor are there any hands pulling the strings behind your back. The moment you opened your eyes in my world, you gained a completely free and unrestricted life.
This is a blessing, one you can even view as a form of salvation.”
“Wait a minute!”
Murphy held up a hand.
Gazing at the “Murphy” before him, he said:
“So what’s the deal with that ritual? Can I call you Revnor? You can call me Murphy, or else this feels a bit confusing right now.”
“I craved power and pursued it, but power scorned and punished me. Perhaps it was because my attitude in seeking it was not pure enough, for my goal in acquiring power was not to establish any great deeds, but simply to help and protect Tris.”
Revnor did not hide anything.
He spread his hands, recounting everything in a meek yet gentle tone, saying:
“When I received that spirit summoning ritual, I suspected there might be a trick involved, but I had no other means of obtaining power. I didn’t want to see Tris, whose livelihood was already difficult, bear any more pressure and suffering because of my existence.
I like her!
My motive and purpose for depending on her for a year were also not entirely pure.
I won’t hide this from myself.”
“Hmm.”
Murphy gave Revnor an odd look, muttering:
“Seems our tastes unexpectedly align quite well. So why did you seek your own demise?”
“Because I sensed Tris’s complex past. I realized that if I truly wanted to enter that charming lady’s life, then power and responsibility were indispensable links.
I could face the danger.
Or I could turn back.”
Revnor sighed and said:
“For the first time in my life, courage brought me death, or perhaps it could be called ‘recklessness’. However, when everything became irreversible, you appeared and gave me new hope.
I am already dead, Murphy.
You don’t need to worry about me asking for my body back. I have calmly accepted this reality and prepared myself. I will go to the world of the dead and reunite with my parents and family.
For over a month, I’ve been observing you.
From initially scrutinizing you, to gradually accepting you, and now to absolute certainty, you are the person I imagined myself yearning to become—you are an enhanced, perfected version of me.
A ‘space-time doppelganger’ of myself.
You.
You are me!
Another world’s me.
With this, I have no more regrets, and I can joyfully entrust my final wish to you.”
He stepped forward and extended his hand to Murphy, saying very seriously:
“Please take care of Tris for me, protect her, and then fulfill your ideals and ambitions, bringing more change to this world.”
Murphy looked at the outstretched hand before him.
He was cautious and did not immediately take it, instead asking with a deadpan expression:
“So, the fact that I’ve been increasingly valuing Tris and plotting better outcomes for her is all your influence? Like how I occasionally fantasize about being more intimate, more vulgar with Tris when I’m idle—
Those depraved thoughts were all your doing, right?”
This question made Revnor blink.
He looked at Murphy with a subtle expression, until after a few seconds of silence, Revnor smiled.
It was a genuine smile, indicating he was in good spirits.
He tossed his dashing long hair and softly asked:
“She is indeed a charming lady, capable of captivating souls like ours, making us hopelessly pursue her and willingly immerse ourselves in her charms.
Murphy, that’s not my evil magic, but rather congratulations to you—you’ve fallen in love, you single dog.”
“Tris is five hundred years old! Old enough to be my great-great-great-great-grandmother!”
Murphy despairingly covered his eyes, harshly mocking himself:
“I must have gone insane. This process of reincarnation must have had some irreversible impact on my aesthetics.”
“You can talk nonsense all you want, but you know it doesn’t matter to you and me. Time is short, I really must go.”
Revnor’s spiritual form began to show signs of dissipating into particles of light. He regretfully withdrew his hand and told Murphy:
“Death, delayed by a month, has grown impatient. I must go to another world to fulfill my destiny. I will entrust her to you, for I am certain you can take care of her.”
“Wait!”
Murphy looked at Revnor, who was turning to leave, and said softly:
“You don’t think Tris has any inkling of this, do you?”
“Hmm?”
Revnor turned his head back to Murphy in surprise. The latter looked up, his expression serious, and said to him:
“She has been quite curious about my changes and has probed me indirectly several times. I think the reason she cannot confirm the truth is precisely because your soul has not left.
You know her nature!
Once she discovers this deception, she will resolutely and unwaveringly distance herself from me.
You cannot leave, Revnor.
At least, you cannot leave now in such a decisive manner. You cannot abandon your responsibilities and wishes, leaving this mess for me when it was you who caused all this trouble.
You have to take responsibility for the aftermath.”
“But the eternal silence beckons.”
Revnor hesitated.
Murphy stepped forward and grasped his wrist, saying:
“To hell with death! You’re a vampire! One who drinks fresh blood and lives forever, death cannot claim us! Don’t you want to witness me fulfilling the vow I made to you with your own eyes? Even if you no longer understand, no longer remember.
To be honest, I don’t want to live with remorse and vulnerabilities in my heart for taking over your life.
I have witnessed the all-pervasive corrosion of chaos on the soul, and I can be certain that I will deal with it frequently in the future.
Please don’t let me live on feeling guilty as a ‘thief’ who stole someone else’s life!
Revnor.
You can’t be so cruel!”
These words brought a gentle light to Revnor’s eyes. He said softly:
“What a gentle person you are, Murphy. But I must go. The dead cannot linger in the world of the living. However, as you said, I have no right to make you feel guilty, so be it as you wish.”
He raised his hand, touching Murphy’s eyes and cheeks, softly saying:
“Then allow me to borrow your eyes to witness and help you live out your life as ‘Revnor Murphy Lessenbra’. Murphy.”
“Yes?”
“Please love her, embrace her, protect her. You must swear!”
“Yes! I swear!”
“Hmmm…”
As Revnor’s consciousness scattered into particles of light vanishing before Murphy’s eyes, he also truly opened his eyes in the Sacred Blood Pool.
His body was no longer in pain.
Perhaps Revnor had temporarily taken over his body to bear that inhuman agony.
Hmm, what a chivalrous man this other Murphy was.
What entered his vision was the polluted blood crisscrossed by pale arcs of electricity, but that polluted blood was continuously purifying, reverting to the sacred state of primal blood. Murphy watched the clear blood suspended before him and swallowed hard.
After bidding a thorough farewell to himself, he was truly thirsty, truly hungry now.
So swallow it!
Imbibe it!
Devour the shattered remnants of evil and be empowered, no longer needing to suppress that primal desire as a Creature of Midnight. Drink this primordial blood and truly achieve eternal life!
This shall be the ultimate blessing, to enjoy a new life without guilt, and to resolutely wield this power to achieve great deeds!