Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 516 Blood Nightmare Burns the Tower

The red-light district is like a dream, the blood-soaked building is like a prison;
After the ghostly performance ended, foxfire burned the void.

Fate has made its move, and the game is over.

—The Cherry Blossom Fantasy Chronicle

Under the red lantern's glow, the courtesan Qiluo smiled gently, her crimson lips pursed, and she slowly waved her folding fan.

In the next instant, her figure suddenly transformed into endless black hair cascading down.

Those long strands of hair were not silk, but ghostly shadows like chains of blades—the pitch-black strands, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, swirled in the air, slicing through the light of the red lights.

The figure of Mao Changji slowly emerged behind her: a ghostly geisha with a bewitching yet pale face, hair like a waterfall, deep eyes, and a smile so cold it chilled one to the bone.

"Click——"

Her long hair suddenly swept across, instantly sealing off the entire flower street.

Black silk threads intertwined, like an endless net of knives, hanging down densely, weaving the street into a blood-soaked prison.

Nobuna's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he drew his katana, its blade whistling like thunder.

She took a step forward, and a low shout erupted with the sword energy: "Demons and monsters, rising with the force of the sword."

The ghostly figures howled and tore at the long hair, while the demonic chains slithered into the shadows, binding and severing strands of black silk.

Amidst the flashing blades, Nobuna's swordplay arrived like a sudden storm, forcefully intercepting the swirling black hair and briefly suppressing Kira's attack.

The blood mist was cleaved by the wind of the blade, and the wailing of ghosts echoed through the streets. Black silk and sword energy intertwined, sparks flew everywhere, like a crimson firework igniting on the night street.

However, long hair is no ordinary thing; every time it is cut off, it will regenerate instantly, crashing against the ground like an immortal tide.

"Ha ha……"

Qi Luo looked down at the two of them from her high vantage point, a seductive smile curving her lips, her tone soft yet laced with chilling contempt:
"Truly tenacious... Unfortunately, this is only the first dance of Blood Street's opening ceremony."

Just as the oppressive feeling reached its peak, Si Ming finally raised his hand.

An illusory chessboard lit up beneath their feet, black and white squares appeared, and chess pieces transformed into phantom soldiers, falling one by one and forming an intricate array.

"—A piece is placed on the chessboard."

Illusory knights, bishops, and soldiers appeared in the void, meeting the surging onslaught of black hair.

The chess pieces were pierced by the long hair, but they reformed in the next instant, like an indestructible phantom army, dissolving the black silk's attack layer by layer.

Behind Si Ming and Xin Nai, the light of the illusory chessboard acted like a defensive fortification, protecting them in the center.

Red lanterns sway, black hair flows like the sea, the courtesan stands high above, her red lips half-hidden by a fan.

Her laughter was both alluring and cold, as if she were toying with her prey: "You dare to oppose Blood Nightmare Flower Street?"

Qi Luo slowly closed her fan, her red lips curving into a cold and alluring smile.

Her gaze suddenly turned cold, her body merging with the illusionary street, her folding fan lightly tapping her red lips as she whispered eerie, mysterious words:
"Flesh and blood puppets—dance!"

In an instant, the street shook.

The corpses of the fallen geishas, ​​the torn remains of the demon woman, and the ghostly figures wandering deep into the street were all twitching in the blood mist.

The shattered faces were pieced together, the broken limbs were reassembled, and blood and resentment forcibly stitched them together.

Flesh and Blood Puppet Master.

The courtesans' eyes first turned empty and white, then simultaneously turned crimson, their mouths split open, and laughter and crying burst from the same mouth.

Their steps were chaotic yet frantic, like puppets manipulated by some invisible hand, their limbs twisted, yet carrying a power that had utterly lost its humanity.

"Boom-thump-"

The sound of trampling suddenly became a continuous chorus.

Hundreds and thousands of flesh and blood puppets poured out from the pavilions, alleyways, and shadows all around Flower Street.

They crawled out of the walls, tore through the floor tiles, and jumped simultaneously from the windows of the mahogany flower house.

Cries, laughter, shrieks, and murmurs mingled together, like a chaotic ensemble of Kabuki music.

The entire street instantly turned into a sea of ​​blood.

This is not a battle, but a flood.

Nobuna's gaze was cold and sharp. He wielded his katana and cut several flesh puppets in half at the waist with a single stroke.

Ghostly figures danced and phantoms swept across the battlefield, instantly slaying dozens of puppets.

But the next moment, the fallen flesh rolled over again, and the remains transformed into new puppets, rising once more from the flow of blood.

"Tch...you can't kill them all."

Nobuna gritted her teeth, her breathing rapid, and the trajectory of her katana's slash was already a blur.

Si Ming smiled slightly, flipped over a deck of cards, and the illusory chessboard suddenly lit up.

"Illusory clones".

In an instant, countless phantoms of "Siming" and "Xinnai" spread across the streets.

They wield playing cards or brandish knives, blurring the lines between illusion and reality, making the flesh-and-blood puppets momentarily unable to distinguish their prey.

The puppet tide was disrupted, rushing towards the illusion, with roars rising and falling.

However, the tide of blood is ultimately endless.

Each puppet is destroyed, and it will regenerate in the next instant.

The ocean of illusions was gradually swallowed by the crimson torrent, and the squares of the black and white chessboard were slowly submerged by blood.

"Giggle cluck..."

Kira's laughter came from above, like watching a meticulously rehearsed blood-red geisha performance on a Kabuki stage.

She lightly raised her folding fan, her laughter high-pitched and alluring, like a courtesan taking her final bow: "Beautiful, isn't it? Lord of fate, this is the real red-light district—a hell where blood and dance coexist."

The long street is completely out of control, and a torrent of blood and flesh is slowly engulfing Siming and Xinnai.

Black hair like the sea, blood like a prison.

The long street was completely swallowed up, and even the demons and monsters seemed exhausted amidst the blood waves.

One by one, the illusory clones fell, and the black and white chessboard was submerged in blood, as if fate itself was about to end here.

The courtesan, Qiluo, lightly closed her folding fan, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

Her steps were light and deliberate, like the final courtesan descending from a red-light district stage, her voice full of mockery:

"The boring play has finally come to an end. The Lord of Fate is nothing more than this."

She turned around, her face obscured by the shadow of her fan, preparing to leave this blood-soaked stage.

Right now.

"boom!"

The mahogany building behind her suddenly trembled, and flames surged forth in an instant.

But it was no ordinary fire; it was foxfire interwoven with blue and gold, like heavenly fire burning away illusions, shooting straight into the sky. Buildings were instantly destroyed, redwood cracked, crimson curtains turned to ash, and blood-red lanterns hanging from the rooftops exploded one by one, the flames reflected on the blood tide, igniting the entire Illusion Street.

In the firelight, a giant shadow slowly stepped out.

It was a giant fox, pure white, with eight tails that stretched out, blotting out the sky. Each tail was burning with foxfire, the flames rippled in the air, burning through the illusion.

The fox held its head high, its eyes like gold, and with each breath, all illusions were burned away.

Tamamo-mae.

On her back, Nobuna Mijinin stood tall, holding her long sword horizontally, her gaze cold and sharp as frost.

Her temples were illuminated by the firelight, her lips were tightly pressed together, and she looked like a war goddess reborn from the flames.

"...It's not over yet."

With a low shout, Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly opened her mouth and spewed out a torrent of foxfire.

Blue-gold flames swept across the entire street, burning down the mahogany flower houses and incinerating the flesh-and-blood puppets.

Where the foxfire passed, blood turned to ash, phantoms were burned through, and the wails and laughter in the air suddenly ceased.

The entire flower-lined street shook violently, lanterns fell one after another, paper umbrellas were burned, and the shadow of the beautiful woman turned to ashes.

The once indestructible Blood Nightmare Flower Street barrier cracked amidst the foxfire, like a shattered mirror. The cracks spread along the street, and the sound of collapse echoed between heaven and earth.

Qi Luo's smile suddenly froze.

She turned around abruptly, her lips slightly parted, and ashes fell from the fan.

"...Tamamo-no-Mae?! You—!"

Under the glow of the foxfire, shock and anger surfaced in her eyes for the first time, and the alluring courtesan's face finally lost its composure.

Foxfire swept across the sky, and blue-gold flames engulfed the flower-lined street, turning the blood-red stage into a hell in an instant.

Tamamo-no-Mae, the Eight-Tailed Fox, raises her fox head high, and flames erupt from the heavens. What burns is not just the disguise, but the very foundation of delusion.

The flesh puppet twisted wildly in the sea of ​​fire, its body dripping and melting like a candle, its cries and laughter gradually choking out, and finally turning into ashes scattered in all directions.

At the same time, Si Ming stood suspended in mid-air, his eyes beneath the mask as cold as starlight.

An illusory chessboard unfolded beneath his feet, black and white squares appearing, and the pieces transforming into an illusory army, with knights, bishops, and soldiers standing in rows.

He exhaled softly:
"Place a piece on the chessboard."

Countless illusory clones and chess formations moved in unison, while blades, playing card storms, and foxfire joined forces to form an encirclement on both sides of the long street, trapping the courtesan Qiluo in a cage of blood and fire.

Qi Luo finally lost her alluring beauty as the courtesan, and the smile on her lips completely crumbled.

Her face peeled away, revealing the hideous face of a demon woman beneath the flesh and blood; her crimson lips turned into fangs, and her eyes were bloodshot.

She let out a furious shriek, her long black hair bursting open like a giant umbrella, blotting out the sky and gathering the last of the blood nightmare, attempting to devour everything.

Blood and madness swirled, foxfire and the light of the chessboard collided head-on, and the explosion shook the entire Illusionary Street to its breaking point.

However, at this moment, the voice of the God of Fate rang out calmly, carrying his usual sarcasm and certainty:
"You really think that the person who danced with you all the way here was Nobuna Mijinin?"

Qi Luo was suddenly startled, her pupils shrinking sharply.

Si Ming raised his hand and gently flicked the playing cards, causing the illusion to scatter ashes.
"That was just a false avatar of mine. The real Shinna... has long been in your mahogany brothel."

In the firelight, Qiluo's face froze completely.

She suddenly realized—she had been standing in front of the mahogany flower building all along, and the so-called parade was not an act, but a form of protection.

That mahogany flower building is the core of the Blood Nightmare Flower Street barrier.

"What a pity," Siming said softly, a smile faintly visible beneath the mask. "You were acting too hard; I saw right through you."

"——Nobuna."

As soon as the words were spoken, a figure emerged from the flames.

Nobuna Mishinin rode on Tamamo-no-Mae's back, holding a long sword horizontally, the firelight reflecting in her cold eyes.

With her eight tails outstretched and waves of fire surging, her figure was like the embodiment of raging flames.

With a low shout, she leaped down, stepping through the flames.

The katana was raised high, its power gathering the furious howls of demons and monsters, and together with the cover of foxfire and chess formation, it transformed into a beam of light that cleaved the sky.

"cut!"

The blade flashed, shattering the illusion. Blood-red hair was instantly split in two, and the giant umbrella-like Blood Nightmare collapsed with a deafening roar.

The lingering shadow of the redwood flower tower completely collapsed, and the illusion of the flower street shattered like a mirror, with cracks extending to the horizon.

Qi Luo's offensive was instantly severed by this strike.

Cracks spread, foxfire burned, and the illusory chessboard shattered in mid-air, creating streaks of light and shadow.

Qiluo's blood-red hair had been cut off, and the Blood Nightmare of the long street collapsed as a result.

She retreated in shock and anger, raising her folding fan in an attempt to cast the spell again, but the mahogany flower house behind her collapsed with a deafening roar.

The sound of breaking wooden beams echoed through the street, the brothel burned to ashes, and the pillars of the illusion lost all support.

The barrier over Blood Nightmare Flower Street has collapsed.

Shinna arrived amidst the flames, her figure icy and aloof, with eight-tailed foxfire swirling behind her.

She raised her katana high, its blade flashing with blue-gold fire, while the angry howls of demons and monsters echoed in her ears.

"cut!"

The moment the blade struck, the entire red-light district seemed to freeze in time.

The flickering red lights, the surging blood mist, and the screams of the courtesans all froze in this moment.

A thin mark appeared on Qiluo's neck. Her eyes were filled with resentment and madness, but she ultimately failed to utter a final laugh.

The next moment——

Her head slowly slid down, her lips parted slightly, and the folding fan fell from her hand, landing with a thud in the pool of blood.

Qi Luo's graceful and alluring figure has now lost its luster forever.

One by one, the red lights went out, the illusory image of the flower street shattered, and the blood mist receded.

The once magnificent and beautiful illusion vanished, leaving only broken ruins, charred beams, and paper umbrellas swaying in the cold wind.

Si Ming slowly descended from mid-air, his voice beneath the mask remaining calm, tinged with a mocking, half-smiling tone:
"The drama of the red-light district must eventually come to an end."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the gradually falling silence of the ruins, and added softly:
"Unfortunately, your farewell was too short."

The red light goes out, the nightmare ends;
Foxfire ignites, blood nightmare burns.

Once the piece is placed, the game ends.

——"Fragmentary Chapter of Flower Night Festival"

(End of this chapter)