Chapter 257 – Cat Dad's Earth is Doomed
A lone magical girl floated in the sky, looking down on the archipelago below.
Yuan Hua circulated her Qi in her eyes, searching for the location of Shepherd. Soon, she picked up his life signature on the main island, guarded by countless immortal fairies.
Detecting the existence of strong fairies, Yuan Hua wanted to cry. She lost most of her power as most of her mana and Qi came from Pangu. She was reduced to a weak immortal, who couldn't even hope to stand up against Taotie again.
While Yuan Hua was thinking of what she should do, she suddenly heard a female voice.
'Welcome. Why don't you come down since you're visiting my husband? We're the same, no?'
The voice directly entered her mind. Yuan Hua panicked, "Who are you?!"
'I'm Titania, the Fairy Queen and the guardian of this region. You're looking for Shepherd, right?'
"!!!"
Hearing the name of her crush, Yuan Hua's expression softened.
"Yes, I'm looking for him."
'Then, follow the fairies. We'll guide you to his house.'
"Okay!"
Yuan Hua happily agreed. A few seconds later, a group of small fairies flew up and left a long trail of light, inviting Yuan Hua to follow them. The magical girl obediently followed the fairies and entered the scarlet forest.
.
When Yuan Hua reached the entrance of the hidden scarlet forest, she stumbled upon the strange duo – A lizardman and a level-1 Oni.
Yuan Hua glanced at the lizardman's level. Upon noticing that she couldn't see through his strength, she stepped back, allowing them to enter first.
Cernun laughed at Yuan Hua's humbleness. He shapeshifted into a massive crocodile and completely spread the walls of trees apart, creating a bigger entrance.
"Come inside, little guest. I'm Cernun, the protector of the scarlet world tree. Oh, and here is my disciple. Don't mind her level."
"H-Hello, senior!" Yuan Hua bowed and glanced at the humongous physique of the crocodile. She gulped and followed Cernun's gesture, walking further toward the red swamp.
Countless crimson flowers reeked of iron smell as if they were blood. The thickness of the swamp, the odor, and the crocodile gave her goosebumps.
Looking in front of her, she found a massive crimson tree with red leaves. It throbbed like a human heart. Even a mortal without Qi could even hear it from afar.
RUMBLE
The walls of tree branches and roots regrew and surrounded this place, hiding it from the outside world.
Yuan Hua's body turned stiff, standing still and waiting for Cernun or the mysterious fairy queen to speak.
Cernun turned around and nodded at Yuan Hua, "Go ahead. You're looking for Shepherd, right? His mansion is behind the scarlet world tree."
"T-Thank you, senior."
"Oh, be warned. Magdalene has quite a temper. Before you do anything, talk to Titania or Qidia first."
"Understood…"
Yuan Hua remembered Magdalene. When they first met, she thought that the small fairy was just an insect. But now, the table was turned. She was the weak one.
The magical girl mustered her courage and floated toward the house, which was located behind the crimson world tree in the middle of the swamp.
.
.
After parting with Yuan Hua, Cernun brought Wei Zhi to the Scarlet World Tree.
The Scarlet World Tree was veiny and grotesque, resembling a long human colon with attaching parasites, which wiggled around and sprayed red pores everywhere in the air. The tree throbbed every second and draining the liquid from the roots to the trunk, then sending them to the crimson leaves on top.
Wei Zhi stared at the creepy tree. Her face was ashen in fear.
"Senior, what's that?!"
"Scarlet World Tree. Well, you can call it Blood Tree."
"B-Blood?!"
"It will be necessary for your enhancing your Blood Spiritual Roots. Also," Cernun smirked. "The only source of water is the blood in the swamp. You're going to drink these soon enough."
"EEEEEEKKK!!"
Wei Zhi was horrified. She cried and turned around, wanting to escape. Unfortunately, the way out was sealed.
"Come, girl. For the sake of your future, you will train hard. Don't you want to go back to your normal life?"
"BUT I HAVE TO DRINK BLOOD?! HELL TO THE NO!!"
GROWL
Although Wei Zhi hated the idea, her body craved it. She suddenly felt like she could eat a cow, and her stomach started growling.
Cernun chuckled, "See? Your body wants them."
"Impossible! I'm a human. Humans don't drink raw blood!"
"But you're now an Oni."
"…"
"Haiz. I know that you dislike the idea, but do you want to hide behind Xiaomao's back forever?"
"But that…"
"In the future, Xiaomao will leave this world and the human world. Is that alright with you?"
"He's not my boyfriend. I have nothing to do with… erm…"
Wei Zhi lowered her head. She thought of her father, her friends at school, and Xiaomao. However, for an unknown reason, she couldn't recall the face of her father.
She wondered what he was doing on Earth. She worried that he might be looking for her.
Wei Zhi looked at Cernun and revealed her thoughts, "Please let me go home. I want to see my father."
Cernun slightly nodded, "Suit yourself. I'll ask Meowmeow to transfer you back."
"Thank you, senior."
.
.
A few minutes later, a beacon of light descended on Wei Zhi, and she was transferred to the real world.
When Wei Zhi opened her eyes again, she found herself on the top of the school building.
Her Oni appearance remained. She didn't even realize that she came here on her Oni appearance, including her fancy clothes.
"I'M BACK!!" Wei Zhi cheered and cried. She rushed down the building and sprinted toward the club room, ignoring other students and teachers.
She opened the gymnasium's door. In the building, many athletes were still practicing. Most of them were basketball and volleyball players, attending their club activities.
Wei Zhi rushed to the staff room, not paying attention to the cold gazes of fellow students. She didn't notice that most of them no longer had a shadow.
"DAD! I'M BACK!"
Opening the door of the coach's room, she found her father, sitting at his table and staring forward in a daze. He slowly turned to Wei Zhi, looking at her with blank eyes.
As soon as their eyes met, his gaze sent a chill running down her spine. Something didn't feel right about him.
"Dad?" Wei Zhi walked to Wei Huang. She touched his forehead to see if he was sick.
His body was freezing cold!
"!!!"
Wei Zhi pulled back her hand and stepped away from her father. She squinted her eyes and stopped talking.
CREAK
All coaches and teachers in the room stood up in unison. They turned to Wei Zhi and slowly walked toward her.
Sensing something wrong, Wei Zhi turned around and ran toward the door. But when she got out of the room, she found basketball and volleyball clubbers, gathering and surrounding her. They, too, had strange dull and cold expressions on their faces.
"MAKE WAY!"
Wei Zhi pushed the people away. They fell and collapsed like dominos.
But one of the sports coaches suddenly shouted.
"TRANSFORMED PLAYER! CAPTURE HER!!"
As soon as the coach ordered, the students' eye color changed to pitch black. Their expression was twisted like savage beasts while the black veins under their skin became visible.
Wei Zhi widened her eyes in shock. She screamed and ran away from the students.
The athletes crawled and ran on all four, chasing her like a rabid dog. The entire gym turned into a living hell!
"DAD! HELP ME!"
Desperate, Wei Zhi pleaded for help. However, her father turned into one of them and pounced on her, pinning her down to the ground and pressing her back.
"A PLAYER! A PLAYER!"
Wei Huang licked Wei Zhi's nape and sneered. His face split in half, and a slimy worm came out. Its mouth dripped transparent juice while its small eyes fixated on her clear skin.
The other students smirked and revealed their true forms as well. They licked Wei Zhi's skin and ripped her clothes.
In shock, despair, and confusion, Wei Zhi screamed as loudest as she could, begging for help. Then, she heard Meowmeow's voice.
'Annoying, munya!'
WHOOSH
Before anything happened to her, Wei Zhi's body sank into the gym's floor and vanished from Earth.
.
.
PLOP
Wei Zhi fell head-first into the blood swamp. Her clothes were half-torn, barely enough to cover her skin.
Cernun deeply sighed and gazed at Wei Zhi's current state. He slightly shook his head.
"I guess that world has already been overrun. Did you get to meet your father?"
Wei Zhi raised her head and looked around. When she discovered that she returned to the blood swamp, Wei Zhi sobbed.
"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!"
Seeing her reaction, Cernun managed to guess what had happened to her world.
"The gods are merciless. They don't care what happens to the mortals. They just want to get rid of their rivals."
"Senior! What happened to my father?! What's going on?!"
"I'll explain."
Cernun patiently told the rivalry backstory between Pangu and Mu-Nyang. Then, he revealed everything he knew about Solomon, who was responsible for the students' and coaches' transformation.
"Solomon? King Solomon in legends?"
"The legends are exaggerated stories. He's the current King of Hell, and he wants your Earth."
"Then, my father…"
"… I'm sorry."
Tears dropped from Wei Zhi's eyes as she wailed.
RUMBLE
As if her pain and sorrow affected the blood swamp, the lukewarm liquid churned and gathered around Wei Zhi, forming a blood tornado with her as the heart.
The tornado was harmless to the Blood Tree, Cernun, and the residents. They were simply liquid to them. However, her sadness transferred to everybody who bathed in blood.
Cernun closed his eyes as Wei Zhi's bitter-sweet memory of Wei Huang entered his mind. The blood fairies' expressions turned dark as they shed tears of regret, anger, and sorrow.
Wei Zhi didn't notice the game notification messages of her awakening power.
DING
<Congratulations. You have completed the Ritual of Wrath.>
<Your race has evolved from Oni to Chaos Oni.>
<All six basic spiritual roots have been merged as one. New spiritual roots have been established. You can now allocate spiritual points to Chaos Spiritual Roots.>
<Your NFT rarity has been upgraded to Legendary!>
<Your overall status attributes have been increased.>
<You have learned a new racial skill – Sin of Wrath.>
DING
<The Calamity-Fiend, Diabolos, has noticed your presence.>
<Diabolos hates you as you threaten his status as a calamity-fiend. Current Hatred: 6 Stars.>
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