Year 997 of the Scarlet Emperor Calendar
—
"Xingwu!!!!!!!"
A man’s heart-wrenching scream tore through the night sky, echoing across the southern expanse of the Robga Forest.
His voice was filled with despair and fury, as if all the sorrow in the world had converged into this one moment. Each syllable reverberated through the air, shaking the hearts of all who could hear.
At that very moment—
At the edge of a cliff, a black-haired man clad in tattered silver armor stood weakly, barely holding himself up with the support of his military blade. Having lost a leg, the man known as Bai Lianyue could hardly remain standing.
Just within Bai Lianyue’s field of vision—
A man in a black robe, hood drawn low to obscure his features, stood coldly and without mercy. His arm, grotesquely twisted and transformed, had become a deadly blade—one that was now impaled through the chest of a black-haired girl.
Terror and agony froze in her wide eyes as blood gushed from the wound, staining her pristine white military uniform in crimson.
The metallic scent of blood quickly permeated the air, thick enough to make one nauseous.
As the life drained from her body, her once vibrant complexion paled at an alarming rate, like a delicate flower wilting in the frigid wind.
Her arms hung limp at her sides, her trembling fingers faintly twitching, as if still grasping for the last threads of life.
Yet, her gaze remained fixed forward—locked onto Bai Lianyue.
She was calling out to the man she trusted most.
“D...Dad...”
But it was futile. Her breath grew faint, and those dazzling blue eyes, once so full of life, finally lost their luster.
The girl named Xingwu collapsed, her lifeless hands falling slack, like a puppet whose strings had been severed.
"Xing... Xingwu..."
Bai Lianyue took in the scene, his heart tearing apart as though it had been split in two.
Since coming to this world—
He had always been strong. He had never shed a tear.
Yet now, for the first time, his eyes welled with sorrow, his vision blurred. His voice grew hoarse, his throat choking with low, grief-stricken sobs as a wave of unbearable agony consumed him.
His entire body trembled—not from physical pain, but from the overwhelming anguish of losing his beloved daughter.
At this moment, time seemed to stop.
The entire world fell into a deathly silence.
Only the ceaseless dripping of blood and Bai Lianyue’s quiet weeping echoed in the void.
His heart was consumed by boundless sorrow and rage.
As these emotions surged and festered, Bai Lianyue bit down on his lip so hard that it bled, his eyes ablaze with the fire of vengeance.
"You... goddamn bastard!!!!!!"
His furious gaze locked onto the black-robed man, his killing intent surging like a roaring tidal wave.
In the next instant—
Bai Lianyue unleashed every last drop of his remaining spiritual energy, even at the cost of burning his own soul.
With this final burst of power, the man who had been on the brink of collapse erupted with newfound strength. He ripped his longsword from the ground and charged at the black-robed figure—the one who had murdered his daughter.
Yet, just as Bai Lianyue was about to close the distance—
A crimson surge of spiritual energy flared to life.
A piercing whistling sound cut through the air, slamming into Bai Lianyue with force enough to send him flying backward.
"Moander!"
Dazed and wounded, Bai Lianyue turned in disbelief toward the direction from which the attack had come.
There, he saw a man with short red hair, his expression as cold as ice.
Bai Lianyue's eyes were filled with devastation and fury.
He refused to believe it.
The man who had once fought by his side, the friend who had searched tirelessly for his daughter alongside him—
Was now protecting the black-robed murderer?
“Why?”
Bai Lianyue clenched his teeth, his voice dripping with unbearable grief and confusion.
But—
Faced with Bai Lianyue’s questioning, Moander’s gaze remained devoid of emotion.
Not a hint of hesitation.
Not even a trace of guilt.
Instead, there was only indifference—bordering on contempt.
“Because only by using your daughter’s soul... can we control the Cataclysm.”
With those chilling words, Moander raised a glowing energy spear—already prepared in his hand—and threw it without a moment’s hesitation.
“Lianyue, you must understand. For the sake of the 9.6 billion people of Radiant Star, sacrifices must be made.”
The next second—
The golden-red spear, radiating overwhelming destruction, tore through the night like lightning.
Bai Lianyue, already weak, had no time to evade.
A sharp agony ripped through him as the spear pierced his abdomen, draining his life force in an instant.
A thunderous explosion followed.
Bai Lianyue’s body was torn apart, the force of the impact ripping him into two.
Blood splattered in all directions, the droplets scattering through the air like silent cries of anguish.
His lower half crumpled to the ground, while his upper body was sent spinning through the air.
His eyes dimmed.
“Moander... you... actually...”
Bai Lianyue’s voice was faint, fragmented.
Death loomed over him, yet his hatred remained undiminished.
With what little strength he had left, he glared at Moander and the black-robed man.
Then, his eyes fell upon the emblem on that black robe—
Two Reaper’s Scythes crossed behind the Black Eagle.
If looks could kill,
Bai Lianyue would have already torn Moander and the black-robed figure into shreds, hundreds of times over.
But unfortunately—
He no longer had the power for vengeance.
His body fell.
Like a drifting autumn leaf, it traced a sorrowful arc through the air—
And plunged into the bottomless abyss below.
—
"He actually stepped forward to block the attack? What a fool."
The black-robed man tossed Xingwu’s lifeless body aside, his tone ice-cold.
Then, he turned to Moander.
“Is he dead?”
“Mm.”
Moander gave a faint, indifferent nod.
"Bai Lianyue’s core essence has been shattered. There's no chance of survival. Even if he could live, it would only be for a few more seconds. Not to mention... what's lurking beneath this cliff."
"The flesh of the strongest Heaven’s Decree Knight—it's a rare delicacy for them."
"Since that’s the case, let’s not waste any more time. We need to bring the girl back."
With those words—
The black-robed man turned and left without a second glance.
Moander, after coldly glancing down at the abyss, shouldered Xingwu’s corpse and followed respectfully behind him.
"Farewell, senior."
—
Meanwhile—
At the bottom of the pitch-black, damp, and frigid abyss, Bai Lianyue’s mutilated body lay in the filth, struggling to breathe.
Despite Moander's expectations, Bai Lianyue did not die instantly. His tenacious vitality, characteristic of his life attribute, allowed him to cling to life.
But now that his core essence had been destroyed, he was merely delaying the inevitable. His life force continued to drain rapidly, and his vision blurred with each passing moment.
In the end—
Was this really how it would end?
Was he... going to die again?
He had fought so hard to get a second chance at life. He had finally found his child in this world...
And yet, in the end, he still failed to protect her.
No... perhaps he should have never sought her out in the first place.
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If he had not selfishly disrupted Xingwu’s peaceful life, if he had just let her live quietly in that small town, none of this would have happened.
In the end—
He was the one who doomed her.
As expected—
He was never fit to be a father.
—"I'm sorry, my girl... I'm really... so sorry..."—
Regretful tears slid down Bai Lianyue’s face.
At the same time, as if sensing something, the dying Heaven’s Decree Knight weakly turned his head.
And in Bai Lianyue’s despairing gaze—
A mass of eerie black liquid began to ooze out of the abyssal depths.
The thick, putrid stench of rot and decay seeped into the air, making it unbearable to breathe.
The liquid, alive with unnatural motion, slithered toward him. Bai Lianyue’s half-destroyed body seemed pitifully fragile before its advance.
From within the black sludge, grotesque hands emerged—twisted, malformed, dripping with mucus and reeking of decay.
They reached for Bai Lianyue with insatiable hunger, like predators sinking their claws into a feast.
Trapped within their grasp, Bai Lianyue no longer had the strength to resist. His vacant eyes stared ahead, hollow and lifeless.
"So this... is the truth of the Plague and the Fallen Beasts... Hah. No wonder they never let people near this place."
Bai Lianyue chuckled bitterly.
Then—
As he gazed into the abyss—
The black liquid churned violently.
Something terrifying was awakening.
Slowly—
Nightmarish shapes emerged from within.
Sinuous, plant-like tendrils and pulsating appendages writhed within the inky depths, producing guttural, monstrous growls.
Then, a massive abyssal maw surfaced—
A nightmarish fusion of countless lamprey-like maws and pulsating, plant-like structures.
Its flesh was riddled with jagged teeth, all slick with a revolting, mucous-like substance.
As the monstrous maw stretched open, a sharp, ear-piercing screech tore through the air.
With it came a suffocating wave of decay, so thick and vile that the very atmosphere became heavy and viscous.
But that wasn’t all.
The noise—the stench—they weren’t just physical phenomena.
They had an effect.
They clouded the mind, dulled the senses—
A predator’s natural tool for subduing its prey.
A paralytic.
Hah.
Hah... Hahaha...
"Looks like this is it, huh?"
Bai Lianyue stared at the grotesque maw, eyes filled with quiet resignation.
He no longer had the strength to resist.
Sensing this, the abyssal maw drew closer.
Its slimy, barbed tongue flicked out—licking, corroding Bai Lianyue’s already ruined body.
Seeing that its prey was now too weak to struggle, the creature cautiously unfurled its tongue—like the petals of a grotesque flower.
And within the center of those curling tendrils—
Was an enormous, unnatural eye.
The eye, the size of a human head, pulsed with a sickeningly vivid hunger.
It locked onto Bai Lianyue.
Its gaze oozed with undisguised, insatiable greed.
The next moment—
From within that pupil, a long, thin, needle-like appendage slowly extended outward—
Pointing directly at Bai Lianyue’s skull.
However—
Just as the monster prepared to savor its meal—
Something unexpected happened.
The dying man, sprawled in the filth, suddenly—
Snapped his eyes open.
His brown irises were ablaze.
Blazing with rage. With defiance.
"Motherfucker!!!"
"I worked my ass off my entire life, and THIS is how it ends?!!"
"MOANDER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!"
Truthfully, Bai Lianyue had been ready to give up.
His fifty years of memories had already flashed through his mind—just like they say happens before death.
It was supposed to be the final scene of a hero’s life.
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And yet—
Just one flashback—one memory too many—
And something snapped.
The resignation vanished.
Rage.
Pure, seething rage erupted in its place.
He had spent his whole life following the rules.
He had done nothing but struggle, fight, and survive.
His daughter was thrown off a building?!
He got isekai’d by a goddamn truck?!
He fought, bled, crawled through the mud—only to finally find his daughter... and then watch her get murdered?!
By his so-called “friend”?
And now, he was getting eaten alive?!
"DOES NOBODY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT JUSTICE ANYMORE?!!!!"
The sheer indignation sent Bai Lianyue’s fury skyrocketing.
Then—
He locked eyes with the grotesque, staring eyeball.
For a few long seconds—
The two simply stared at each other.
Then Bai Lianyue’s rage boiled over.
Oh, so now even some weird eldritch eyeball thinks it can step on him?!
"FUCK THAT!!!"
"YOU THINK YOU CAN EAT ME? YOU THINK YOU'RE WORTHY?!!"
With a feral roar, Bai Lianyue lunged.
Only his mouth still functioned—so he used it.
And so—
"WATCH ME BITE THE SHIT OUTTA YOU, YOU GODDAMN BIG-EYED BASTARD!!!"
Bai Lianyue sunk his teeth into the eyeball.
—
Eyeball: ???????!!!!!!!!
—
In an instant—
The entire abyssal horror—the entire mountain range itself—
Convulsed in sheer, incomprehensible agony.