69novels Page 133
Page 133
However, the view outside the elevator was not that of a modern, steel building structure.
Instead, it was a vast, boundless, profound, seemingly all-encompassing, pitch-black expanse—
"--abyss".
Countless twisted, pale arms, filled with "pain" and "despair," reached out frantically from the deep darkness, pounding against the transparent, cold elevator car, emitting silent, chilling, desperate wails!
"—Again, this appetizer, full of morbid humor and utterly devoid of any originality?"
Eriri looked out the window at the terrifying scene that would make any person with trypophobia collapse on the spot. Her pretty face, which always carried a hint of arrogance, revealed a cold snort full of absolute disdain, as if she had been there.
She couldn't even be bothered to take another look.
She simply leaned quietly against Gu Chuan, closing her eyes to rest, accumulating precious "spiritual strength" for the upcoming real "battle".
Meanwhile, Altoya Caster and Matou Sakura also maintained a calm expression.
For them, who had just returned victorious from an even more terrifying "purgatory" filled with "inner demons," this small "scare" full of "visual impact" was like a childish "haunted house" game at kindergarten level. It couldn't even stir up the slightest ripple in their already incredibly resilient hearts.
Ding--
Accompanied by a crisp, clear tone that signifies the "finish line".
The elevator finally arrived at the highest point, the "Sky Gallery," located 450 meters above the ground.
The elevator door slowly opened.
A cold, chilling wind, filled with sadness and despair, seemingly from another world, suddenly swept over me!
The entire, enormous, circular observation deck was completely deserted.
Only the view through the huge, arched floor-to-ceiling windows—what should have been a vibrant, beautiful Tokyo nightscape filled with the lights of countless homes—had, at this moment, transformed into a deathly silence, an atmosphere of destruction, utterly shrouded in endless, cold "blood rain."
"--ruins".
And there, at the very center of the huge, circular observation deck.
A petite, black figure dressed in a thin, pure white, somewhat worn-out hospital gown, seemingly from a hospital, was kneeling quietly with his back to them on the cold, hard alloy floor.
She had long, waist-length black hair that was as deep, pure, and lustrous as the night.
Her petite, frail body, which seemed as if a gust of wind could topple her over, appeared so lonely and helpless in that vast, empty observation corridor.
A vast, overwhelming aura of despair, filled with sorrow enough to bring tears to the eyes of anyone with a weak will, was uncontrollably emanating from her petite body, forming a visible, black vortex of sorrow filled with an ominous aura, completely enveloping her and everything around her!
She was that mysterious "king," filled with "malice," who had meticulously prepared a brand new, flawed version of herself for Gu Chuan—
"-Collectibles".
"—Hehehehe..."
That whisper, full of "devilish" intent, playful, heavily encrypted and voice-changing, seemingly from the deepest depths of hell, once again, without warning, rang in Gu Chuan's mind.
"—How is it, Mr. Gu Chuan?"
"Do you like this brand new gift that I prepared for you?"
"She is a very special, very beautiful, and also very fragile, perfect vessel."
"Her soul is like a blank sheet of paper, the purest and cleanest. I can paint any color I like on it, a color that is full of despair and beauty."
"—Now, the final scene of the game, Yin Qiliu and Er Jiu, has officially begun."
"Let me appreciate it properly."
"Look at yourself, and your three hopeful, adorable little angels, how they appear before my most perfect work of art, filled with despair, as powerless, pathetic, and amusing..."
"—Struggle."
As his voice, filled with "malice," as if reciting a "script," fell to the ground!
That petite, dark-skinned figure, who had been facing away from everyone, slowly turned her head.
A face—perfect, exquisite, yet with a sickly pale beauty—that would make any "angel" feel ashamed of its own appearance appeared before the crowd.
And a pair of eyes, already completely filled with the deepest, purest, absolute despair, empty, lifeless, flowing with two lines of cold, black "blood tears"—
Beautiful eyes.
249 A Song of Despair and a Paintbrush of Hope
In that instant when those empty eyes, flowing with black tears of blood and filled with absolute despair, met Gu Chuan's three resilient "little angels" brimming with "hope"—
A silent, soul-deep, and most brutal war has officially begun at this moment!
"--ah……"
A ethereal, out-of-tune song, filled with endless sorrow and seemingly capable of freezing one's soul, slowly and softly sang from the lips of a petite, black-haired girl in a pure white hospital gown.
That song had no lyrics.
Only the purest, most primal, and most powerful thing—enough to move any living being to tears—
"--sad".
As the mournful song began, the black, ominous vortex of despair that enveloped the entire sightseeing corridor began to spin and expand wildly!
Countless invisible, cold blades, formed from the purest "sorrow" and "despair," swept wildly towards the three tiny girls who radiated warm light, like the most violent "spiritual storm" capable of tearing everything apart!
"--careful!"
Sakura Matou was the first to take action!
Her beautiful purple eyes, which were always full of gentleness and kindness, shone with an unprecedented, unwavering light called "protection" at this moment!
She slowly opened her seemingly weak and slender arms, like the bravest and gentlest mother bird, tightly protecting her two important "companions" who were also in the midst of the storm behind her!
A warm, pure white magical power, filled with "holiness" and "purification," instantly erupted from her body, forming a translucent, seemingly fragile yet incredibly resilient energy—
"—The Heart of Protection!"
That "spiritual storm," powerful enough to easily tear apart the will of any mortal, crashed heavily against that warm white barrier filled with "love" and "hope"!
Zizzi——!
Two diametrically opposed forces, originating from the conceptual level, collided, eroded, and annihilated wildly in the air, emitting a tooth-grinding, ear-piercing lament!
Matou Sakura's usually gentle face turned deathly pale at this moment! Large, cold beads of sweat uncontrollably slid down her forehead.
She could clearly feel that her heart, which had long been tempered and made incredibly resilient, was being frantically eroded and assimilated by that enormous, all-pervasive "sorrow"!
"—Sakura-neechan!"
Behind her, Artoria Caster looked at the gentle figure who had endured immense pain alone to protect them. At that moment, her emerald green eyes were completely ignited by a blazing flame called "anger"!
She could no longer tolerate her own weakness and powerlessness!
"I, too, will fight!"
She let out a cry filled with childlike innocence, the purest, the most genuine, and from the deepest part of her soul!
At this moment, her heart, filled with "desire" and "hope," resonated perfectly and absolutely with the vast, dormant volcano-like magic that lay dormant deep within her soul!
,锍艺{[q （一）2疤8轰——！
A massive, pure, pale green torrent of magic, brimming with the essence of "life" and "nature," erupted uncontrollably from her petite body!
"—Wind! Please, hear my prayer!"
She raised the simple wooden staff high in her hand and chanted in the most ancient and pure language, full of "nature" and "life".
"—Please, for me, blow away this cold sorrow that shrouds the sky!"
The next second, a warm, hopeful, emerald-green "wind of life" instantly swept towards the despairing, black mental storm centered on her!
The life-giving wind, filled with "purification," and the compassionate light, filled with "protection," intertwined perfectly at this moment, forming an even stronger, more defensive, and absolute "barrier of hope," completely blocking the cold erosion from "despair"!
However, just as Sakura and Castor were giving their all to create that precious, brief "breathing space" for their companions—
Eriri, however, did something that surprised everyone.
She did not engage in any "aggressive" or futile resistance.
She simply watched quietly as the lonely, pitiful black-haired girl knelt on the ground, unconsciously humming a "song of sorrow," her sapphire-like eyes filled with complex emotions.
Yes, pity.
Yes, I feel sympathy.
There is also a unique quality that comes from the creator.
"--resonance".
She can "see".
She could see that the girl's "sadness" was not purely "malicious".
Rather, it is a broken and incomplete "story" filled with "pain" and "loneliness".
A sad "story" that yearns to be "understood," "listened to," and "saved."
"--I see."
Eriri slowly closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, all the fear and unease in those sapphire-like eyes had vanished.
Instead, there is a gentleness that is full of the "creator's" absolute confidence and seems to encompass everything.
She slowly raised the paintbrush in her hand, a brush that had long since become one with her soul.
She did not go to paint that magnificent "battle" filled with "victory".
She simply used the gentlest, most delicate, and loving strokes of her pen to slowly sketch a new "painting" full of "warmth" on that dark "canvas" filled with despair.
She drew a small, yet warm room filled with sunlight.
She drew a picture of a small dining table filled with steaming hot food, the taste of "home," and delicious dishes.
She drew a group of beautiful "family members" who, despite their different personalities, all wore the most sincere and warmest smiles on their faces.
Finally, she drew a hand that was full of "healing," gentle, and seemingly glowing, and slowly reached out to the lonely, black-haired girl who was shivering alone in a cold, dark corner.
"—Come on, let's go home."
A gentle voice, full of hope, seemingly able to penetrate all darkness, resounded directly in the deepest part of the girl's soul, which had long been completely occupied by despair.
That moment.
That ethereal song, filled with endless sorrow, came to an abrupt end.
The petite, black figure that had been kneeling on the ground suddenly trembled!
For the first time, her empty, lifeless eyes, which had long been filled with the deepest and purest despair, turned slightly, uncontrollably.
She saw it.
She saw it, that beautiful "painting" filled with "light" and "warmth," a painting she had imagined countless times in her dreams.
Her eyes, long since dried up and brimming with black, bloody tears, miraculously shed a single, glistening, scalding drop, brimming with longing—
Transparent, like a teardrop.
However, just a moment before that warm light, filled with "hope," was about to completely purify her soul, which had long been thoroughly corrupted by malice—
An even larger, colder, and absolutely malevolent force, filled with "demonic" malice, erupted from her body in an instant, forcefully severing that last, fragile "hope"!
"—Hehehehe... It really was a wonderful and moving performance."
That playful, devilish whisper echoed in Gu Chuan's mind once again.
"Unfortunately……"
“Your cheap hope cannot defeat my most perfect, absolute despair.”
"—The game is over."
"Now, let you see for yourselves."
"Look, when the most beautiful hope is utterly torn apart before your eyes, what blooms—the most splendid, the most moving..."
"—Desperate, flower!"
With that, he made that malicious and cruel declaration!
The "malice" that had been forcibly injected into the black-haired girl's body went completely berserk at this moment!