My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 384 Kindred Spirits, Hate and Love, Destiny (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

In the dim light, the neon signs in the tavern flickered, casting an unpredictable shadow on Xia Pingzhou's face, while Yan Molin's expression remained indifferent throughout.

Her pale face and dark eyes were reflected on the glass-like blade of the katana.

Xia Pingzhou glanced at the demonic sword pressed against his neck; he could feel a chill emanating from the blade.

As soon as the blade gets close, it's as if you can hear ghosts howling, wailing, and crying in your ears. This is a kind of spiritual erosion. Once you get close to the katana, you will be disturbed by the ghosts residing on the blade. The closer you get, the deeper the erosion becomes.

He could hardly imagine that an exorcist's celestial slayer would appear in this form, and what kind of mental torment Enma Rin, who was with this demonic sword day and night, had to endure.

But everyone's psychic drive is related to the deepest things in their soul. She was just reaping what she sowed. When people commit violence, they get pleasure, but they are often accompanied by pain.

Xia Pingzhou raised his head and gazed silently into Yanmo Lin's eyes.

"What do you want to do?" he asked. "Do you only feel safe when you have to put a knife to someone's throat every time you speak? ... It's ridiculous, like a little girl."

"You've really grown up, daring to talk to me like that," Enma Rin said indifferently, without showing any anger.

“If you want to spar with me, I’m happy to oblige,” Xia Pingzhou said. “But let’s not get serious. Internal fighting between members is forbidden. If we start fighting now, it will immediately turn into a group of members ganging up on you. Think it over.”

Enma Rin lowered her eyes, casually flipped the blade, and turned the back of the blade towards Xia Pingzhou's neck.

"I just wanted to talk to you," she said. "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have woken you up."

Xia Pingzhou asked, "You're always putting a knife to someone's neck. Who talks to people like that? Will you ever find someone you can get along with in your life?"

Enma Rin tilted her head, her dark, empty eyes looking at him.

"First of all, I have no interest in or need for that kind of thing; secondly, I have at most one more year to live, and the concept of 'a lifetime' is not very long for me. You can use another word."

Xia Pingzhou was slightly taken aback, then asked, "How do you know how long you can live?"

"That's what Sky Chaser told me," Enma Rin said slowly. "My Sky Chaser is rare. It can be upgraded and advanced by killing other people, but the price is that it will overdraw my lifespan, and now I only have one year left to live."

She paused, then looked up at Xia Pingzhou. "Every kind of power comes at a price... so I've always been curious, what price did you pay?"

Xia Pingzhou was silent for a while. "After saying so much, it turns out you're still bothered by how quickly I advanced to the third rank. Can't I be some kind of once-in-eight-hundred-years genius who can catch up with your rate of advancement without any cost?"

"Who do you think would believe such a thing?" Enma Rin said coldly. "The reason the leader hasn't questioned you openly is simply because he's interested in you. Even if you have ulterior motives, he still wants to keep you in the Phantom Troupe for observation... That's the kind of person the leader is."

"Let's talk, but can you put your knife down first?" Xia Pingzhou asked. "My neck is sore from staying in the same position."

"You can hear its voice, right?" Enma Rin asked suddenly after a moment of silence.

"What do you mean?" Xia Pingzhou raised an eyebrow. "Whose voice are you referring to?"

"I'm referring to this sword, which is my Sky Chaser," Enma Rin paused, "From your reaction, I can tell that you can hear its voice."

"Shouldn't everyone be able to hear it?"

Xia Pingzhou looked down at the demon sword and asked, puzzled.

He could indeed hear hoarse wails and cries emanating from the blade. But he never bothered to investigate whether others could hear such sounds from Enma Rin's demonic sword; he simply assumed that everyone could hear them, based on his own experience.

“Rukawa Chiba, he studied my Sky Drive... Ordinary people can’t hear the sound of my sword, but you can,” Enma Rin said. “He said that only a ‘hollow’ person can hear the sounds inside the demon sword.”

"If you listen to the doctor's nonsense, you're doomed. Psychologists are best at fooling people. He used to lead people astray like that and trick them into having their frontal lobe removed. In terms of the most bad person in the group, he's no less than you."

“I think he has a point.”

"Where does it make sense?"

“You and I are the same, we are the same kind,” Enma Rin said. “I said this because I can see that… we are both just playing this world as a game, so we are hollow.”

Xia Pingzhou remained silent for a moment, wondering if she had discovered that he was a game character.
The bar lights were dim, and Enma Rin's face remained expressionless. She simply leaned against the wall, one arm around her shoulder, silently watching the katana and listening to the mournful cries emanating from its blade.

After a moment, Xia Pingzhou spoke, breaking the brief silence between the two.

"I don't quite understand what you're talking about." Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly. "I don't understand what 'hollow' means either, but I don't really want you to find any inexplicable sense of recognition or belonging from me."

He paused, "I'm not like you... I'm just an ordinary person, nothing special."

He understood in his heart that Xia Pingzhou was just a puppet, which was why Yanmo Lin and the doctor misunderstood something and thought that the two had something in common.

Enma Rin was silent for a moment, then looked up at him from the blade before looking away again. "Is that so..."

She sheathed her demon sword, inserting it into the dark red scabbard at her waist, and then spoke:
“But there are too many suspicious points about you, this ‘ordinary person’. First, the hacker couldn’t find out your background. Then, you advanced to the third level in such a short time. Finally, the doctor’s ability is to control emotions. He told me that you have no emotions, just like… a puppet, which is why you were able to hear the voice of the demon sword.”

"So that's why you call me a 'traitor' every day?" Xia Pingzhou asked. "This is the first time I've felt so wronged."

Enma Rin remained noncommittal. "Let's go, don't talk here. If the young lady gets woken up, she'll drag you back."

"I'm not her paper doll."

"So you've really made something of yourself. Would you have dared to say that a month ago?" Enma Rin sneered.

“You seem to have some misunderstanding about me,” Xia Pingzhou said. “I’ve always been like this.”

As Xia Pingzhou chatted with her, he gently closed the door to the private room and then sat down on a chair at the bar. Yan Molin, on the other hand, sat directly above the bar, her school uniform skirt billowing out like a gray bouquet.

A small orange-yellow lamp was lit on the bar counter, illuminating the two people's faces in the dim light.

"What do you think of her?" Enma Rin asked as she moved the water glass toward Xia Pingzhou with the scabbard.

"What did you say?" Xia Pingzhou took the water glass.

"Don't act stupid."

“I’m not pretending to be stupid,” Xia Pingzhou said, taking a sip of orange juice from his glass.

Enma Rin slowly turned her gaze to the side, staring into his eyes.

She said, "What I saw was just a fake person, performing to the best of their ability in front of her, as pretentious as a circus clown."

"So that's why you kick my seat every time?" Xia Pingzhou teased. "Looks like you're seriously ill. I suggest you see a doctor and have your frontal lobe removed. That way, you'll have far fewer troubles."

"The emotions you're displaying are fake, your words and actions are all fake... The fact that you're always around her makes me wonder what you really want?"

As Enma Rin spoke, she looked up at Xia Pingzhou.

Xia Pingzhou put down his cup, looked up to meet her eyes, and slowly asked:

"And what about you? Do you really care about her? Or do you just feel that you should do this as a friend, so you're here pretending to question me?"

“At least I won’t pretend. I only asked out of curiosity. I’m getting annoyed with your pretense for so long…” Enma Rin lowered her voice, “If I wasn’t afraid of hurting her feelings, I would have killed you already.”

“You really can’t pretend. You kill when you want to, and you don’t fight back,” Xia Pingzhou said. “Others are probably just like NPCs in a game to you. You don’t even feel anything when they die. So I’m also very curious, when you were tearing others to pieces, did you ever think that you or someone you cherish might be treated the same way in the future?”

“I was prepared from the moment I killed the first person,” Enma Rin said casually. “I am stronger than them, so I can take pleasure in their lives; similarly, if someone is stronger than me, he can also kill me and take pleasure in me.”

"That's fair, but aren't you afraid of dying?"

“Since I was 12, I’ve seen countless people die in front of me,” Enma Rin said. “Death…is it something so strange?”

"Your own death is different from other people's; you won't realize you were wrong until you're about to die."

"What's the difference? It's just taking a nap," Enma Rin said dismissively. "That would certainly be peaceful."

“If you weren’t afraid of death, you wouldn’t have come to me in the middle of the night, rambling on and on, and then revealing to me that you only have a year left to live… You wouldn’t have told me that only I could hear the sound of your knife, and you certainly wouldn’t have said anything like ‘we are the same.’”

At this point, Xia Pingzhou suddenly turned his head and met her eyes. "You are also afraid of death, and you are also afraid of hearing those voices, so you hope that someone will understand you."

He paused, then said, "But unfortunately, that person won't be me."

Enma Rin suddenly fell silent.

Surprisingly, she did not directly deny his words, but instead lowered her eyes and then raised them again, silently staring at him.

"What's the difference between you and Rukawa Chiba? You're even better at talking nonsense than him. No wonder you were able to win over our young lady's heart."

Enma Rin tilted her head, expressionless, and opened the refrigerator behind the bar with her scabbard, then picked out a bottle of beer and handed it to herself.

“The difference is that my persuasive skills aren’t as good as his,” Xia Pingzhou said. “Next time you want to ask me to have a drink, can you be a little more polite? Knocking on my door in the middle of the night, holding a knife to my neck, and talking nonsense—nobody wants to go with you.”

"You're not happy about it?" Enma Rin sneered.

"You should rephrase it. Do you think I'd be unhappy?"

"Isn't that okay?"

After saying that, Enma Rin placed the scabbard against the bar, casually opened a bottle of cheap beer, tilted her head slightly, brought it close to the bottle opening and took two small sips, her long, straight black hair cascading down like a waterfall.

"If only I could kill you."

A moment later, she suddenly spoke in a low voice, her tone alluring and melancholic, like a flower blooming silently in the darkness, with thorns spreading and wrapping around the listener's neck.

Xia Pingzhou's breath hitched slightly as he looked up into her eyes.

Enma Rin's dark eyes slowly darkened as she silently gazed at his face. A chilling killing intent filled her pupils, like a curtain of polar night slowly approaching, inch by inch, threatening to engulf him.

"That's a dangerous statement," Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly. "I should have a hacker check if you're an undercover agent."

"Most of the people I killed in the past were obviously stupid. I wasn't interested in them, so killing them was not fun; it was just a way to pass the time."

At this point, Enma Rin paused slightly, turned to look at Xia Pingzhou, and said, "So... if I could kill you with my own hands, do you understand how I feel?"

"It would be strange if I could understand it."

"What a pity, I thought you would understand."

After saying that, Enma Rin suddenly stretched out her right arm, lifted the long scabbard, and pressed the end against Xia Pingzhou's chin. Then, along the tilted scabbard, the cool beer can slid towards Xia Pingzhou.

“Have a drink with me, not orange juice,” she said.

"I do not drink."

"you sure?"

Xia Pingzhou remained silent for a moment, then sighed, took the beer can from the dark red scabbard, brought it close to the bottle opening, and drank the remaining ice-cold beer in one gulp.

“What if in the end…” He paused.

"What do you want to say?" Enma Rin asked.

"What if in the end I'm the one who kills you?" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and put the beer can back on the bar.

"That sounds quite interesting..."

Enma Rin spoke casually, then withdrew the scabbard from his neck.

"I'm actually quite curious whether you're really as fearless as you say," Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly. "Rather than being tortured to death by your Sky Chariots, I'd rather give you a quick death and let me see your expression when you kneel down and beg for mercy."

“Then we can try it later…” Enma Rin coldly curled the corner of her lips, “As expected of a traitor, always saying something shocking.”

"Weren't you the first one to say something outrageous? Don't try to apply your double standards to me."

"Getting back to the original question, what is your opinion of our Miss Ayase?"

“A very good friend.” Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly, “Let’s put it this way: if we go back to the auction house and Zhou Jiuya says that eleven of us have to die, then I will give her the spot to live.”

"Seeing that you're still so hypocritical, I feel relieved."

"You always say I'm hypocritical, but isn't Origami Ayase more like a mannequin?"

“The young lady just doesn’t know how to express herself, so she hides herself away,” Enma Rin said. “She’s different from us; she’s neither as hypocritical as you nor as numb as I am.”

She paused for a moment: "So... whatever your purpose, I hope you won't hurt her."

"From what perspective did you say that?" Xia Pingzhou asked.

"friend."

After saying that, Enma Rin stepped down from the bar with a blank expression, carrying a dark red scabbard, and walked towards the private room, her skirt billowing in the wind.

At this moment, Xia Pingzhou suddenly felt a subtle pain in his ear.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at his reflection in the glass. He saw a red line of blood suddenly appear on his right ear, from which blood flowed, staining the base of his ear red.

Xia Pingzhou touched his ear, and his fingertips were stained with a slight red tinge.

He turned his head expressionlessly, glancing to his side and behind him out of the corner of his eye. Enma Rin's figure had already disappeared into the darkness, and the neon sign hanging on the ceiling had gone completely dark.

That night, Xia Pingzhou did not return to the private room to sleep, but went out alone.

He left Lao Wu's antique shop and headed straight up the coastal highway to Haifan Mountain. There, he found a small beach with its back to the cliff. This was a quiet spot that Ji Minghuan had found while wandering around the mountain in his No. 4 mecha, "Little Nian Beast".

This place can be described as isolated from the world—if viewed from Sea Sail City, no one can see this secluded beach because it is separated by a large mountain; and it is also far from the territory of the Nian Beast Lord, so normally no demons would pass through here.

At this moment, Xia Pingzhou stood alone on the beach, facing the surging sea at night. The sea at night was like a roaring beast, and the waves were its claws reaching out from the darkness. Fortunately, the moon cast its clear light on the sea, and everything seemed alright.

The roar of the ocean waves relentlessly enveloped the vast world.

Just then, the sea breeze blew over, brushing against his still slightly aching earlobes.

Xia Pingzhou raised his hand and scratched his ear. The demon sword of Enma Rin was covered with extremely deep resentment, so the wounds left by this katana would be cursed and difficult to heal.

It's similar in nature to the "Dark Fang" of Aguru, only not as thorough—it can prevent injuries from healing forever. Even if Zeus were to be bitten by it, he would have to go back clutching his kidney.

In short, Xia Pingzhou will have to sleep with this scar on his ear for at least the time being.

Fortunately, Ji Minghuan can adjust the body's pain sensitivity, so it doesn't really matter.

It was late at night, and the tide kept rolling in, washing over the wet beach and slapping against his sneakers.

Suddenly, Xia Pingzhou released the Heavenly Chaser, with black and white light flowing around his body. He raised his hand, picked up a cross-shaped chess piece from the black and white ring, and crushed it.

The next instant, the chess player's third contracted demon—the "Raging Demon"—appeared in front of Xia Pingzhou.

It was a skeletal humanoid figure handcuffed to a silver cross. He slowly raised his head, his empty eye sockets gazing at the sea along with Xia Pingzhou.

The third-tier contracted demon "Raging Demon" has the following abilities: For 30 seconds, the Raging Demon will transform into either a "shield" or a "sword," which can be used by the player or by your chosen piece.

[Note 1: When encountering an attack exceeding the shield's withstand limit, the Enraged Demon's "shield" form can sacrifice itself to help the user block the attack.]

[Note 2: The "sword" form of the raging demon can enhance the user's power.]

A series of information panels popped up in front of Xia Pingzhou's eyes.

"Why did you call me out in the middle of the night...?" the enraged demon asked hoarsely. With each word, a clicking sound came from the skull's jaw.

Xia Pingzhou did not answer his question, but instead gazed at the isolated island on the horizon and asked casually:

"If the Nian Beast King and the Lake Hunter were to fight, who do you think would win?"

"The chances of the Nian Beast winning are very low, or rather... it has no chance at all. Anyone with eyes can see that the strength of this batch of lake hunters is far superior to that of the previous batch. Just that Lin Xingshi alone is enough to give the Zodiac Team and the Great Lord a run for their money," the raging demon said slowly.

"Then why would the Nian Beast King fly like a moth to a flame?"

"Because it wants to reclaim its land from humans, instead of remaining holed up in the mountains. The Great Lord knows he's getting old, and if he doesn't try now, he'll really have no chance... Demons, like humans, can succumb to their desires," said the enraged demon. "Although I say the Great Lord has no chance of winning, if the son of the Nian beast joins in, the outcome might be different."

It paused for a moment: "Moreover... judging from your so-called brigade, there will be quite a few forces involved in this battle, which makes the situation even more complicated than I could have predicted."

Xia Pingzhou remained silent.

He thought that if the raging demon knew that the son of the Nian beast was actually one of his own bodies, he would probably be shocked.

Unfortunately, unlike the Queen Colossus, the Wrathful Demon could not share thoughts with Xia Pingzhou, so it was unaware of Xia Pingzhou's true purpose.

Xia Pingzhou's goal was to kill one of the Lake Hunters, but save the other three to use as fighting force to attack the Salvation Society. Finally, he would send out Unit 4 to end the battle.

He cannot receive the mech graduation reward if he fails to kill one of the Lake Hunters as per the mission.

That was a considerable sum. In order to get past the defenses of those mythical children in the Salvation Society, he had to push each machine to its limit under the inhibitor in a short period of time in order to barely be able to contend with them.

And the mission of "killing the Ripper" goes without saying.

If this task cannot be completed, Unit 2 will be automatically destroyed when the time comes, and this loss is something he cannot afford.

With only 8 days left in the mission, he will finish all the other main quests, settle things with Enma Rin, and then officially leave the White Raven Brigade.

After that, he will gather all the lines up to date and guide them together to Iceland, giving the mentor and the Salvation a big surprise.

Xia Pingzhou let out a long sigh of relief as he looked out at the undulating sea, then raised his hand and summoned the colossal statue of the Empress.

The colossal queen statue tossed aside the two daggers of different lengths it held, its elegant diamond-shaped form standing still. She looked down; the daggers were embedded in the sand.

"Sword form".

Xia Pingzhou gave the order to the enraged demon.

"Tch, it's really annoying to be bossed around by humans like this..."

As the enraged demon spoke these words, his body merged into the silver-white cross, and then the huge, suspended cross slowly contracted and transformed into a sword hilt.

Immediately afterwards, a stark white blade forged from the bones of a raging demon extended from the hilt. The twelve-foot-long bone sword sliced ​​through the night, the air began to stir restlessly, and the sand and pebbles on the beach subtly rose upwards under the influence of a subtle force field.

Xia Pingzhou raised an eyebrow; this was the first time he had ever seen the raging demon in its sword form.

He had only seen the shield form of the raging demon before, which was as sturdy as a tortoise shell. Xia Pingzhou had the Queen statue attack it for a long time but could not break through the shield's defense.

The queen statue silently accepted the cross-shaped silver-white hilt, grasped the long and sharp bone sword, and the faint force field that had been spreading in the air suddenly dissipated.

In that instant, it was as if all the invisible force and momentum had gathered in the Queen's palm, and the air itself became still and cohesive.

The colossal queen used both hands to grasp the sword form of the enraged demon and raised it high. At that moment, the aura emanating from the sword suddenly expanded, and the bone sword grew more than a hundredfold.

In an instant, she severed the stark white blade. The night moon lost its color, as if its light had been swallowed by the sword. The surging tides rose, and a sea of ​​blue and white enveloped Xia Pingzhou's vision. What should have been deafening sounded utterly silent to human ears, as if the sword had devoured all sound.

A moment later, Xia Pingzhou looked up at the sea that had split in two, a scene that resembled a deep chasm appearing on the ocean.

It's a calamity-level demon after all; if it can't achieve this effect, then he'll be disappointed.

He slowly withdrew his gaze, bringing the colossal queen statue and the enraged demon back onto the black and white ring road.

"Well... all the final preparations are complete." Xia Pingzhou said, slowly turning his head.

He raised his head and looked up at the vast Haifan Mountain. At the very top of the cliff, he saw a demonic figure emerge, a solitary and majestic figure. A moment later, as the bright moon pierced through the clouds and illuminated the cliff, Xia Pingzhou could see clearly that it was a crimson lion with a cluster of bewitching flames on its head.

It was none other than his fourth mecha, the Little Year Beast.

The two looked at each other, one above the other, gazing at each other from afar.

"So this is what the Nian beast looks like from other people's perspectives?" Xia Pingzhou muttered to himself. "It's quite ferocious."

After a while, the trenches in the sea suddenly returned to their original state, but the two shadows on the cliffs and the beach had disappeared.

The world was once again shrouded in the tranquil night. The lighthouse on the shore illuminated the desolate sea, and the half-moon and its reflection on the horizon formed a complete circle.

(End of this chapter)