Chapter 600: Confused Heart (VIII)
The darkness that had shrouded everything receded . Rhode and the Sadist reappeared in the sacred hall again . She gritted her teeth and laid on the ground with tears welling in her eyes, gazing at Rhode in desperation . However, Rhode simply disregarded her and pressed down the creases on his clothes before walking toward the throne .
“Mr . Rhode . Ah… Mr . Rhode…!”
The Masochist bound by the steel chain attached to the throne stuck out her chest and turned to Rhode . Then, she stooped down like an obedient dog and rubbed her head against Rhode’s leg . “Ah… Mr . Rhode, I’m so touched that you’ve chosen me . I’m yours . My everything belongs to you . My body, my soul, my skin, and every single strand of my hair belong to you . No matter how you treat me and no matter what you make me, I will do it with all my heart . As long as you allow me to stay by your side, I don’t need anything else, not even my dignity . You can treat me as a bitch, a pet, or anything else . As long as you like it, I don’t mind being a tool to sate your lust!”
“Are you willing to do everything for me?”
Rhode lowered his head and caressed Lize’s cheek . Lize shivered in excitement .
“Yes, Master . I’m your most humble servant . I will do anything that you ask me to!”
“Good . Now, I have something that I need your help for, Lize . ”
“No problem, Master . What do you need me to do?!”
“It’s simple . ”
Rhode’s voice and merciless dagger pierced into her chest . The Masochist widened her mouth and the flickering dagger stuck in her chest emanated faint radiance . Scarlet blood flowed out of her wound, tainting her body and ground . She shuddered and opened her mouth to yell, but sucked in a deep breath of air instead due to the immense pain .
“Your suggestion is pretty attractive, but I’m sorry . I prefer the usual Lize, and not a pet who has lost its self-conscious and only knows how to beg for pity . If you’re my enemy, I’d be glad to see you behaving like this . However, as my companion, I don’t wish to wipe out your conscious . ”
Rhode stroked her cheek . It would be a lie if he apparently wasn’t moved by her words . Just imagine how arousing it would be for a close, beautiful young lady who had abandoned her pride and displayed a defenseless manner before one . It was especially so when she was ready and compliant and one could do anything to her without any follow-up responsibilities . This was exactly a man’s dream .
But Rhode had no intentions of doing so .
Because he understood Lize’s feelings and he had no need to deal with her using such a cruel method . Besides, he didn’t wish for such a Lize .
Although this personality appeared harmless, Rhode had to kill her because these two personalities weren’t naturally created in Lize’s mental world . Instead, they were extreme personalities formed and misguided by the Mind Devil . If Rhode kept this personality alive, Lize would slowly draw close to it and grow into that personality . However, Rhode didn’t wish to see this happen .
That was why this had become the only choice for Rhode .
“Wake up, Lize . The dream is over . ”
Rhode drew out his dagger .
Blood spurted out from her chest and splashed into the air . The Masochist fell on her back and gaped, but she didn’t make a sound . Shortly after, specks of light dust emerged from her body and fluttered into the sky while parts of her transformed into a pile of sand completely .
“What a… heartless human, Master…”
Celestina crawled to her feet and her wounds were slowly recovering . She ground her teeth and gazed forward . After Rhode murdered the Masochist, the Sadist on the other side crumbled and shattered into light dust simultaneously . Celestina lifted her proud chin and let out a snort .
“Humans have strong desires and these are the sins for us, Demons, to lure them into the trap . Desires that are too strong will only lead to destruction and this is the same for both Humans and Demons . However, Humans are incapable of self-control . They know that it is a glass of poisonous wine, but those idiots still fly into the flames bravely like moths . They abandon their rationality, all for the sake of their instinctive enjoyment . How foolish . ”
Celestina turned to Rhode .
“Frankly speaking, I thought that you wouldn’t make this decision . But it seems that you still pass as my master . ”
I see .
Rhode twitched his brows to Celestina’s remarks . He was still wondering why she stayed behind despite her grave injuries . It was actually because she was observing his choice . Indeed . Lize with the masochist personality was indeed attractive and it was extremely difficult for a normal man to reject her advances . But even so, Rhode had chosen to annihilate her .
“Since I’ve seen the interesting ending, I shall return for a rest . I hope you will remember this, Master . Human sins and desires are extremely amusing, yet dangerous…”
Celestina gazed at Rhode with a complex glint flashing in her eyes before transforming back into a hovering summoning card . Then, the card flew to Rhode’s hand in a beam of light and he captured it subconsciously .
But strangely, the card didn’t land in Rhode’s palm . Instead, it seemed to have maintained its summoned status and spinned non-stop . The pitch-black card emanated specks of magical radiance and the residual light spots in the positions where the two Lize personalities had died floated toward it . When the light spots arrived, the pitch-black card suddenly released dark ripples . The light spots responded and slowly gained shape . Shortly after, they transformed into equally pitch-black cards with scarlet pattern by their borders and appeared before Rhode .
Celestina’s voice sounded once again in Rhode’s ear .
“Take this as a reward for satisfying me, Master . Be grateful in accepting it . ”
“Leader!”
At this moment, Anne’s loud voice sounded behind him . He turned back and saw Anne darting toward him with her raised shield .
“What happened? That huge monster suddenly shattered . What about Lize? How is Lize doing?”
“Lize is… Be careful!”
Rhode’s response turned into a warning . Anne rolled to the side swiftly and plunged her shield into the ground . At this moment, two dark tentacles struck the shield and the collision released glaring sparks . Rhode dodged to the side abruptly and brandished his daggers without hesitation . The dazzling blade rays instantly interwove into a net of light and shredded the ambushing shadow into bits .
“You’re finally here . I thought you would be hiding forever . ”
Rhode lifted his head and gazed at the sky in the distance . A pitch-dark round sphere hovered in midair and countless dark tentacles fluttered around it . Above the sphere was a pair of red eyes, which made the monster looked exceptionally strange . However, Rhode disregarded it and shifted his vision downward . He spotted his target . Beneath the pair of red eyes, the true Lize was there . The Mind Devil was devouring its prey slowly . If Rhode failed, Lize’s will would be affected deeper and deeper under the Mind Devil’s influence . In the end, her mind, will, and spirit would be devoured completely . When that happened, the Mind Devil would leave Lize’s body and seek for a new prey . Then, Lize would be dead .
Hiss!
It was apparent from the fluttering tentacles that the Mind Devil was exceptionally furious . But it couldn’t be blamed . Its delicious meal had indeed been disrupted by Rhode and Anne .
Shing!
The Mind Devil hissed and struck several black tentacles forward . However, they were no threat to Rhode and Anne at all . Without Lize’s mental strength, the Mind Devil was nothing more than a basic level 30 BOSS and for Rhode who had reached level 40 and with a swordsmanship standard that had entered the Legendary Stage, it was nothing hard for him .
“Anne!”
“Got it! Leader!”
Anne raised her shield and threw it forward instantly, which deflected and tore apart the black tentacles . The Mind Devil instantly realized the source of danger and retreated desperately . However, Anne’s spinning shield was much quicker than it .
Clang!
The shield crashed into the Mind Devil’s body and it trembled violently . The powerful impact flung Lize out of its body and she fell toward the ground . The Mind Devil saw its escaping prey and it extended its black tentacles to recapture her .
However, dazzling spiritual blade rays erupted in an instant and ripped apart the black tentacles nearing Lize . Facing this ambush, the furious Mind Devil released a dozen more tentacles toward the other direction .
A meteor-like radiance shot out from the shadows and streaked across the darkness .
Rhode emerged in the blink of an eye . He grabbed Lize’s wrist and dragged her out of the Mind Devil’s control . Then, he gazed at the Mind Devil with a smirk .
“You’ve had a hard time . But my apologies . This is the end for you . ”
The Mind Devil didn’t launch another attack on Rhode . Instead, it exploded into a burst of blood-curdling screeches because Rhode’s dagger had penetrated one of its red eyes .
Kacha .
Along with a crisp crack, the sacred hall shook violently . Rhode looked up and the ceiling had revealed ghastly lines of cracks . However, the fragments flew upward instead of falling to the surface . It wasn’t the azure sky that Rhode saw through the cracks of the ceiling . Instead, it was dazzling white . The glaring radiance spilled through the cracks and shone on the sacred hall, tearing the walls and ground like an incoming typhoon . The Mind Devil shuddered and collapsed under the bright radiance . The radiance shone increasingly brighter and pure whiteness shrouded the entire place . Then, Rhode felt a cold breeze blowing against him .
The dazzling radiance blinded his eyes and when he opened his eyes again, the view of Emerald Valley appeared before him . However, Emerald Valley was no longer as dark and murky as before . The limpid, downward-flowing river refreshed his mind, the exuberant shrubs swayed to the wind, and the warm sun comforted him .
“Eh? This is…”
Anne widened her eyes in astonishment and touched herself . There were no signs of injuries and the shield in her hand was behind her as though both of them had just experienced a long dream . However, this was actually the truth . The mental world and reality was different . They might have spent a few hours in Lize’s mental world, but in reality, that was nothing more than 10 seconds .
But Anne wasn’t too mindful of such details because someone was more important than the situation .
“Lize!”
Lize was lying unconscious on the prairie . Anne yelled out and bolted forward . She shook Lize’s body to wake her up .
“Lize! How do you feel? Wake up, Lize!”
“Argh…”
Lize groaned softly . She opened her eyes and looked into the sky above vacantly as though she was lost in thought . Shortly after, she regained her focus and she was startled by Anne .
“Anne?”
“Lize!”
Anne pounced forward and hugged Lize tightly .
“You scared Anne… Lize, you’re finally awake!”
“Anne…”
Lize was at a loss and her expression stiffened shortly after . It was impossible for Lize to remember everything that had happened as she was being manipulated the whole time . It felt more like an indistinct dream to her . But the vague impression she had about this dream was enough to make her realize what she had done . She extended her trembling arm and hugged Anne dearly .
“Lize?”
Anne gazed curiously . Lize hugged the young lady before her closely and shut her eyes . Tears escaped the corner of her eye .
“Sorry… Anne… Sorry, Anne… Forgive me…!”
“L-Lize?”
Anne was at her wits’ end .
“What’s wrong? You didn’t do anything that needs Anne’s forgiveness . It’s all that monster’s fault and the monster had been gotten rid of by Leader . Don’t worry, Lize . ”
“Anne…!”
Lize couldn’t hold it in anymore . She buried her head in Anne’s chest and burst into tears .