chapter 89
Chapter 89
Chaotic footsteps echoed.
The Nobles were in panic, snatching off the masks of everyone at the Masquerade Ball, searching for the thief who had stolen the King’s treasure.
“Is it you?”
“Or you!”
Luo Jia Bai was grabbed by the Nobles, his neck held as they removed his mask to check, then put it back on. In the next moment, he realized that Lu Li was no longer by his side.
–
Lu Li watched as the Moonlight cast through the glass ceiling of the hall grew ever brighter, until it filled the entire space.
When the Moonlight faded, he stood at the edge of the hall’s staircase.
Sean was sitting on the steps, cradling someone in his arms.
Countless Nobles shouting to catch the thief passed by them, yet none paid them any attention.
Lu Li finally saw clearly who Sean was holding.
Long, deep blue hair, smooth as seaweed, hung down, revealing a face that had appeared countless times on the cards.
Sean was holding the Sea Demon.
A Sea Demon without a Heart.
“No, don’t bleed anymore, hold on…” Sean pressed his hand over the gaping hole in the Sea Demon’s chest, rising and falling with each breath. He pressed his face close to the Sea Demon’s, tears streaming down. “You can live for three more days without a Heart. I’ll take you back to the sea, and then give you my Heart.”
In the bloody hole in the Sea Demon’s chest, there was a card.
Lu Li squatted down and politely asked, “Excuse me, may I take this card?”
Sean seemed not to hear him and did not respond.
Above his head, however, two lines of blood-red text appeared:
[Available for acquisition]
[This NPC’s Death Time: 6 days]
Lu Li softly said, “Thank you.”
Then, with gentle movements, he drew out the blood-stained card.
Lu Li wiped the blood clean.
On the front of the card was a drawing of a Hunter’s shotgun, identical to the ones hanging at the doors of the Hunter’s houses in the Poor Village.
On the back, it read:
[The Sea Demon saved me. I woke from drowning to find the Sea Demon kissing me, and feeding me something. When he saw I was awake, he hurriedly explained that it was just artificial respiration he learned from humans, not a real kiss, and asked me not to misunderstand-he meant no offense.]
[He gave me a Starfish, saying it would grant me one percent of a Sea Demon’s abilities. With it, even without holding his hand, I could open my eyes and breathe freely underwater.]
[He explained that he understood now why I rejected him-it was because of others’ judgment.]
[He pleaded for me to go with him to the bottom of the sea, to meet his kin. There, there is no prejudice. Same-sex marriage is not a crime.]
[The Sea Demon pointed at the soon-to-be-full Moon and said, if all goes well, tomorrow will be our wedding. At the ceremony, after exchanging Hearts with my beloved, we will never be apart. I asked if removing the Heart would mean death. He said a Sea Demon’s Heart can leave the body for up to three days; only after more than three days without a Heart will a Sea Demon truly die.]
[Instinctively, I laughed at myself after asking. In the Kitchen, I had eaten who knows how many corpses of his kin, and I no longer deserved to deceive myself or enjoy this love with a clear conscience.]
[I rejected the Sea Demon’s proposal again, warning him never to seek me out again. Then I fled the shore in disgrace.]
[I never expected that the Adoptive Father I saw in the flames was not an illusion. He really left the Noble District, hid among the poor to watch me suffer, and then followed me to the shore, witnessing the Sea Demon revive me.]
[The Adoptive Father had gone completely mad. He dragged me back to our old house, laughing as he said everything the Tree Demon told him was true, that he could become the greatest of Nobles, and the key was me.]
[I saw strange, terrifying branches growing from his shoulders, Arms, and head.
First, he complained that even after taking two shares of Red Coral in the Noble District, he still received no respect-he hadn’t even become a second-class Noble.
He questioned the tree every day. The tree told him he shouldn’t have driven me away, that I was the key to his success, so he followed me and saw the Sea Demon.]
[The branches on the Adoptive Father kept growing, turning him into a monster. He raved that I must marry the Sea Demon tomorrow and trick the Sea Demon into coming. If he could capture a Sea Demon, he would become a hero among Nobles, and all Nobles would worship him.
Finally, he suspected I was a Sea Demon. I said I wasn’t, but he didn’t believe me.]
[The branches kept growing. The Adoptive Father said: You’re so beautiful, and I found you as a child, never saw your parents-could it be because you’re a Sea Demon? You smell like a Sea Demon, you are a Sea Demon!]
[The branches on his shoulders grew into his ears, as if the tree was whispering to him. Then the Adoptive Father said: I know now, the simple way to test if someone is a Sea Demon is to peel off their skin and see if their face can be transferred onto his own.]
[The Adoptive Father said he learned skinning in the Kitchen, so he picked up a knife and walked toward me step by step, wanting to peel off my skin. He said, even if I’m not a Sea Demon, it doesn’t matter-he’ll take the other one I met today as well.]
“I said, Sea Demons will leave when they see strangers. You won’t be able to catch him.”
“A tree branch grew from his left ear, piercing through his brain and out his right ear. The Adoptive Father heard the whispering of the trees again. He laughed heartily and said: ‘You’ve eaten so much Sea Demon meat that your body is no longer the same as an ordinary person’s. If I peel off your face, I will still have your face. That Sea Demon wants to marry you-he’ll come, he definitely will.'”
“I saw the shotgun on the door.”
“This time, I wanted to kill him.”
Lu Li lowered his eyes and took out the mirror, looking at the youth in the reflection who had lost all his skin.
He thought, Sean’s resistance had failed again.
The mirror slowly tilted upward.
As expected, Sean had no face.
That night, King Braud successfully peeled off Sean’s skin and used his face to deceive the Sea Demon.
Sean sat and rested for a few minutes, then, struggling, stood up with the Sea Demon in his arms. “There’s no time. I can’t stay here any longer.”
His gaze swept past Lu Li, but suddenly paused, stopping at Lu Li’s hand. “You have my mirror.”
Lu Li wanted to hand the mirror to him. “Do you still need it now?”
“No! Please don’t show me!” Sean panicked, retreating two steps and nearly falling on the steps. He lowered his head in shame. “I’m too ugly. I’ll never need a mirror again.”
He then looked at the Wristband on Lu Li’s wrist, his voice tinged with a hint of relief. “You still have that stone with you, the one that always accompanied us by the sea with the Moon. I guess that counts as leaving something behind.”
With that, he turned around and walked back against the flow of the crowd, never looking back. His direction was toward the seaside of the Poor Village.
The Moonlight in the hall was bright and compassionate.
Lu Li was astonished to find that another Sean had appeared in this space.
The second Sean carried a shotgun on his back, his steps resolute as he brushed past the Sean carrying the Sea Demon, heading in the opposite direction.
Above their heads were two lines of text:
[Followable]
[This NPC’s Death Time: 7 days]
Lu Li stood at the intersection where the two Seans met, and took a card from the shotgun on the second Sean’s back.
On the front of the card was a drawing of a Giant Tree, half on land and half in the sea.
Deep among the roots of the tree was a fat man embedded, his hands raised in worship, holding the Sea Demon’s Heart. The Sea Demon’s dying body was also trapped among the roots.
A thick tree branch connected the Sea Demon’s Heart to its body.
It seemed that its life was sustained by the tree branch.
In the sea, countless Sea Demons swam towards the Heart.
The back of the card was soaked with tears, with the following words written:
“I actually don’t know how to use a gun. Never have I hated myself more!”
“It took a lot of effort to unlock the double safety on the gun. The Adoptive Father faced the muzzle fearlessly and even burst out laughing.”
“He said: ‘Do you dare to shoot me? Even if you hold the gun, you don’t know how to use it. You didn’t even load the Bullets! Sean, you coward! You’ve been quiet and withdrawn since childhood, can’t even kill a rabbit, only know how to draw your useless, worthless pictures! Always lost in your own world! I’ve always wondered what good it was raising you. Now I finally understand-your repayment is for this! To help me become a First-Class Nobles.'”
“The Adoptive Father kicked me, sending the gun flying, then grabbed my hair and started skinning me from the top of my skull. The intense pain blurred my vision; all I could hear was the Adoptive Father’s sneers by my ear: ‘Who can you kill? You will never defeat me.'”
“Because I ate the Starfish, I really gained the Sea Demon’s abilities, and actually didn’t die! How long was I unconscious? Long enough that the house was now thick with spider webs. I was startled by the sight of myself in the mirror: alive without skin, turned into an ugly monster.”
“I wrapped my hideous body in clothes and went to the seaside-the Sea Demon was gone. I walked along the shore, and kept walking, until I saw many people on the beach cheering with gunshots. They said thanks to King Braud, who used the Sea Demon Prince’s Heart as bait, they were able to catch so many foolish, fresh Sea Demons! For hundreds of years, they lived exceedingly well.”
“Isn’t Braud my Adoptive Father’s name? The Adoptive Father actually became the King and led greedy humans to hunt Sea Demons for hundreds of years. How many Sea Demons were implicated?”
“How do I atone?”
“Not only did I hurt you, but your people as well.”
“I went back to the Hunter’s house and finally learned how to use that damn, cumbersome shotgun. I’m going to save you.”
The Sean with the shotgun was heading toward the King and the Tree Demon.
As long as you followed him, you could enter the next stage.
Lu Li followed the shotgun-carrying Sean for a few steps. Remembering the Other Players who had always been missing, he turned back.
He found himself on one side of the dance floor.
And the other three Players were on the opposite side of the dance floor.
The Sean carrying the Sea Demon walked past the three Players from behind.
He overturned the Nobles’ dining table, smashing the dazzling, extravagant glass with a plate.
With the glass no longer blocking it, the Moon shone in even more fervently.
Sean set fire to the luxurious, heavy tablecloth. The flames grew larger and larger, thick smoke billowing as the Nobles fled in panic.
“My dress! My dress is on fire! I queued for ages to get this Dress Veil!”
“The Kitchen is on fire too, all the racks have collapsed, and half of our Sea Demons have been stolen!”
“The thief set the Sea Demons free! The Sea Demons whose Hearts haven’t been cut out yet-once they touch water, they come back to life! They’ve all escaped, what do we do? What about our immortality? Hurry, tell the King!”
“They’ll come back! The King said not to panic, the Sea Demon Prince’s Heart is still in his hands. These stupid Sea Demons will be caught by us again and again! They can’t escape!”
“The thief is ridiculous. He saved the Sea Demons once, but can he do it a second time? How many lives does he have?!”
–
Three Players anxiously tried to cross the dance floor to get to Lu Li, but were blocked by the Nobles.
Flames burned on the Nobles’ faces, leaving only a mouth opening and closing, warning the Players:
“To enter the dance floor, you must be a man and a woman!”
Luo Jia Bai quickly grabbed Mirella’s hand. “The two of us!”
The flames on the Nobles’ faces flared even higher. “You’re both women! Same sex is not allowed! Otherwise the Moon will punish you! And will take it out on us! This is a sin! A grave sin!”
“Damn it, I’m a man! Are you blind?” Luo Jia Bai looked down at his dress and couldn’t help but curse. He pulled Feng Shan over and shoved him at Mirella. “You go with him first, I’ll figure something out myself.”
Mirella asked him, “Figure what out? Get burned by the fire?”
Flames climbed to the ceiling, glass exploded, crashing down with a crackle. Several Nobles were struck and killed.
Feng Shan was pushed back to Luo Jia Bai again.
Mirella said, “You go first. Some of these Nobles have eaten too many Sea Demons-they barely count as human. I’ll find a few male Nobles to ask, maybe I can talk to them.”
Feng Shan shouted, “You keep pushing me around, does no one care about my opinion?!”
Luo Jia Bai took out a piece of cloth and wrapped it straight around his mouth. “Shut up! I’ve tolerated you long enough!”
–
Lu Li saw a strange, tall man appear at the edge of the dance floor.
The man wore a well-fitted black tailcoat, feathers layered around his eyes, and two wide black wings stood upright behind him.
He hesitated, looking at Mirella on the other side of the dance floor, then touched the feathers on his face.
Lu Li tried to step into the dance floor, but his Wristband issued a warning.
[This stage has been cleared. Please proceed to the next.]
When the man blinked, it was with the white nictitating membrane of a bird.
Lu Li leaned forward slightly. “Are you Mirella’s bird?”
“I’m a Crow, you fool-” The man shot him an irritable look, but remembering something, forcibly swallowed the rest of his words. “Don’t bother me!”
He plucked feathers from his own wings, tossing them to the ground one by one.
“Go.” “Don’t go.” “Go.” “Don’t go.”
“You’ll go bald,” Lu Li pointed at the base of his wing. “If you hesitate any longer, that half of the hall will collapse completely.”
“I could turn back into a Crow and help her, but I heard today was a Masquerade Ball, so I specially prepared a suit, hoping to blend in with the NPCs and dance with her…” The man’s voice trailed off. “You don’t understand. My face isn’t like a human’s. I’m afraid I’ll scare her.”
Lu Li picked up a mask from the chaotic floor.
It was a bird-shaped mask discarded by some Noble, complete with feathers and a pointed beak.
“You can wear this. It’ll cover the feathers around your eyes.”
He put Sean’s mirror into his pocket and sighed.
“Go quickly. Don’t miss your chance with her.”
—-
Some readers check the author’s notes first and risk spoilers, so I’m putting this section in the main text.
—-
1. Character Relationships:
King = Hunter = Adoptive Father
Servant = Sean = Sea Demon’s lover
2. When the two Moons overlap, time-space disorder occurs:
① From Poor Village to King: The Sea Demon seeking revenge and its Heart is the present timeline.
② From King back to Poor Village: Sean sending the Sea Demon back to the sea is the past timeline. (After rescuing the Sea Demon, it’s six days before Sean’s death.)
③ From Noble District to King: Sean, holding a shotgun and seeking revenge, is an even earlier timeline. (Before rescuing the Sea Demon, it’s seven days before Sean’s death.)
They brush past each other in the same space.
They will never see each other.
But by triggering with an Item, Lu Li can be seen.