69novels Page 129
Page 129
But these three beams of light before us represent the most selfless "love".
This is absolute restraint at the conceptual level!
Those enormous, scarlet eyes, washed by the warm torrent of light, began to melt, evaporate, and disintegrate rapidly, like ice and snow exposed to sunlight!
Finally, with a final, silent roar filled with resentment and bitterness, the "Eye of the Abyss," which had tormented countless souls and existed for hundreds of years, along with its pitch-black world filled with despair and pain, was completely purified and erased by the three brilliant rays of hope, returning to the purest and warmest nothingness.
……
In the eerily quiet special exhibition hall of the modern art gallery.
Gu Chuan snapped the last tomato-flavored potato chip into his mouth, then patted the crumbs off his hands with satisfaction.
Almost at the same time, the three girls, who stood silently like exquisite dolls with vacant eyes, trembled slightly.
Their empty eyes, at this moment, regained the vibrant spirit that belonged to "humanity".
"...We're...back?"
Eriri was the first to wake up from that nightmare filled with a sense of "realism." She looked at her slightly trembling hand, still tightly gripping her paintbrush, and then at her two companions beside her, who also looked exhausted but had bright eyes. Their sapphire-like eyes were filled with complex emotions.
Artoria Caster, like a child just awakened from a long, cold hibernation, greedily breathed in the warm, reassuring air of the real world. Her bright green eyes, at this moment, were incredibly clear and bright, devoid of the previous confusion and fear.
Sakura Matou, on the other hand, simply smiled gently at her two companions, a smile that came from the bottom of her heart and was filled with a sense of relief. Her heart, which was always shrouded in shadows, seemed to have been thoroughly cleansed at this moment, becoming lighter and brighter than ever before.
They succeeded.
They overcame the seemingly insurmountable "inner demons" through their own strength.
Their gazes, without prior agreement, fell upon the old oil painting that still hung on the wall.
However, the eeriness and ominousness of "Abyss Gaze" at this moment are no longer there.
The endless, pitch-black abyss in the painting has disappeared.
Those scarlet eyes, filled with the purest malice, also vanished without a trace.
Instead, there was a warm, hopeful, beautiful, golden dawn that seemed to heal everything.
The "curse" of this painting has been completely purified.
It transformed from a "cursed relic" filled with death and despair into something truly imbued with "art" and "hope"—
"--masterpiece".
"It seems our outing can be ended ahead of schedule."
Gu Chuan looked at the three young women who, though slightly tired, seemed to have undergone a transformation in their overall demeanor, and a satisfied smile, full of "kingly" authority, appeared on his face.
He slowly rose from the bench that resembled an "audience seat," like a most competent and punctual "driver," and gave the order to his three brave "passengers" who had just finished their "trials" to go home.
"--Then, let's go home, Liu Yishan."
"I think Rin has already prepared for you the most sumptuous feast, one brimming with the aura of victory..."
He paused, a mischievous, playful smile flashing in his dark eyes.
"—It's time for a celebration banquet."
241 Victory Celebration and the Price of Growth
When Gu Chuan returned to the apartment with three girls who were exhausted but felt refreshed as if their souls had been cleansed, they were greeted by their family members who were already waiting at the door, filled with worry and curiosity.
"—So? Is it resolved?"
Rin Tohsaka was the first to come forward. Her jewel-like red eyes, filled with a hint of nervousness that she herself was unaware of, carefully examined Eriri and the other two.
"Ah, it's resolved." Gu Chuan replied with a relaxed expression, as if they had really just gone on a picnic. "The process was a little complicated, but the result was satisfactory."
"More than perfect!" Leone leaned closer, sniffing the three girls with her beast-like sense of smell, a look of surprise on her face. "Strange... although you don't smell of blood, you seem... stronger than before you left?"
The "strength" she referred to was not physical, but rather a resilient aura that came from the depths of her soul and could not be described in words.
Eriri, 23, didn't get angry at Leone's nonsensical remarks as usual. She just smiled quietly, and her sapphire-like eyes shone with an unprecedented, calm light called "confidence".
"Alright, let's talk about it after we finish eating."
Sakura Matou gently interrupted everyone's questions, pointing to the table already laden with sumptuous dishes, a healing smile on her face.
"Rin-kun, we've prepared the most lavish celebration banquet for everyone."
……
The atmosphere at the dining table was somewhat strange.
On one side, Leone, the Akame sisters, and other "combatants" were devouring the food on the table like a whirlwind, while also excitedly discussing who should be on the mission next time.
On the other side were Eriri, Artoria Caster, and Matou Sakura, the three "spiritual combatants." They were quietly eating, taking small bites, exchanging knowing smiles with each other that only the three of them could understand, smiles full of "comradeship."
They did not describe the deepest fears they encountered in that nightmarish world.
Because some "battles" cannot be shared with others through words.
Some forms of "growth" are destined to be earned alone at the most painful "price."
Rin Tohsaka looked at the scene before her, which was full of incongruity yet unexpectedly harmonious. In particular, when she saw Eriri, who was always self-pitying and a "loser," being able to calmly face Leone's teasing, a complex emotion flashed in her red eyes, which were always full of confidence and pride.
She seemed to be a little jealous.
I envy them for having the precious experience of fighting against their inner demons, something I never had.
Just then, the gallery owner called.
His voice, filled with ecstasy and gratitude, almost incoherent, clearly echoed throughout the living room from the other end of the phone.
"—Mr. Gu Chuan! Thank you so much! Thank you so much! That painting... that painting not only no longer harms people, but it has also... it has become a true work of art, full of hope! My God! This is simply a miracle!"
After a series of meaningless pleasantries filled with mutual flattery, he proactively tripled the fee for this commission with an air of sincerity and an attitude that left no room for refusal.
A huge, “artistic” fortune—enough to make Rin Tohsaka’s perpetually tense, “housekeeper-like” face beam with joy—once again silently flowed into Gu Chuan’s already bottomless private account.
……
Late at night, when the boisterous celebration finally ended, the girls returned to their rooms to rest.
Gu Chuan went to the balcony alone.
Behind me, I heard a soft, familiar footstep.
It's Matou Sakura.
She brought him a cup of warm black tea, which had a faint aroma.
"Thank you, Gu Chuanjun."
She stood quietly beside him, looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, and spoke softly.
"Thank you for trusting us."
"Believe in us, we can defeat that monster with our own strength."
Gu Chuan did not turn back.
He simply gazed quietly at her profile, which appeared even more gentle and beautiful in the moonlight, and spoke in a calm, understated tone.
"I am just a lazy kindergarten director."
"I love to see my beautiful flowers, full of possibilities, blooming with their most dazzling and unique light."
"Instead of, like a meddlesome gardener, going and roughly pruning away all their branches."
Listen to those gentle words, full of "kingly" authority, absolute trust, and tenderness.
Sakura Matou's heart, which had long been completely healed, was once again filled with a warm emotion called "happiness."
Slowly, she reached out and gently embraced the one and only "King" who had completely rescued her from endless darkness.
She buried her face deeply in his broad, reassuring back, and murmured softly in a dreamlike tone, full of dependence and love.
"--Um."
“My master.”
242 A Tranquil Interlude and a New Storm
After the gallery incident was resolved, the warm yet chaotic daily life in the apartment, filled with the "lucky curse," returned once again.
However, this time, the relationship between the girls seems to have undergone a subtle, chemical-like change.
For example, Leone, who used to always regard Eriri as the "weakest loser," after witnessing firsthand Eriri's powerful "painter" ability, which was enough to purify the "curse" and filled with the "light of creation," showed her for the first time an equal look of "recognition" from a "strong" person towards another "strong" person.
Rin Tohsaka, on the other hand, acts like a most competent "tutor," taking the initiative to guide that "useless village girl" who possesses immense magical power but has absolutely no idea how to use it, providing her with the most basic and systematic "magic" training.
After a series of "fun" hunting games, the entire "zoo" seems to be growing rapidly in an unprecedented, positive way, full of "teamwork" spirit.
However, Gu Chuan's leisurely and comfortable "retirement" time, filled with the "headmaster" role, did not last long.
A phone call from an unfamiliar, distant voice—"衣翼琦陸亦d删$貳陾诌倭密"—from another "dark" corner of this city, shattered the tranquility filled with "growth."
On the other end of the phone came a hoarse, aged male voice, full of absolute authority and oppressive power, exuding an air of superiority.
"—Yes, Mr. Gu Chuan?"
He did not engage in any superfluous, polite small talk.
He simply stated it in the most direct, efficient, and cold tone, full of "transactional" implications.
"I am Watanabe Ryuichi, the chairman of the Black Dragon Society."
“I heard that the clever little fox from the Yura family mentioned you.”
She said, "You are the most professional and the most powerful cleaner in this city."
"I am currently facing a very troublesome problem that cannot be solved by conventional means."
"My opponents, the White Tiger Group, I don't know where they got a curse master from, whose methods are extremely strange and powerful."
"In the past week, seven of my most capable and loyal subordinates have died mysteriously without any warning."
"There were no external injuries on their bodies. The hospital's autopsy report also found no cause of death."
"But I know."
His hoarse, aged voice, at this moment, revealed a chilling coldness, enough to freeze any mortal in its entirety—
"—Hatred."
"Yes, those damned, filthy rats who only know how to hide in dark corners and play with curses."
"I need your help, Mr. Gu Chuan."
"I need you to use your more professional methods to completely wipe those damned rats, along with their filthy nests, from this world!"
"And, as a reward..."
He paused, then, with an air of "gangsterism," absolute, unyielding, and extravagant confidence, offered a priceless "bargain" that would drive any country's finance minister mad.
"—I, the Black Dragon Society, will reap 50 percent of the net profits from all my gray-market businesses over the next ten years!"
"as well as……"
"I, Watanabe Ryuichi, and the entire Black Dragon Society, its three thousand members, absolutely—"
"--loyalty!"
Listen to that declaration, filled with "money" and "power," filled with "the underworld," romantic and domineering.
Gu Chuan slowly stood up from the sofa.
He looked out the window at the tranquil and peaceful city nightscape, which he had long regarded as his "private property." At that moment, his black eyes were completely covered by a cold, emotionless, and absolute indifference that belonged to a "king."
He dislikes any filthy "rats" beyond his control that wantonly disrupt the "balance" he has established in his "courtyard".
"--I see."
He spoke slowly, in a cold, emotionless tone, as if he were pronouncing a death sentence that was already predetermined and could not be changed.
"Tomorrow, before sunset."
“I will bring those rat-like, filthy heads to you.”
……
This "hunt" was no longer the leisurely "game" full of "fun and interest".