Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 554 Hunting in the Disaster Zone
"Disasters are not caused by heaven, but by human error."

"If starlight forms a net, a hunter will surely stand upon it."

—From the "Book of Light Erosion: Appendix on Disaster Zones"

After the gray star fell, the world felt as if its heartbeat had been ripped out.

The sky was a murky, reddish-gray. The wind swirled in the air, carrying the smell of blood and scorched earth. Scattered ashes danced like snowflakes; the ashes weren't cold, but rather warm.
That is the ash of the plague, the burnt flesh, and the traces of purification.

The sea of ​​flowers has vanished, leaving only countless withered roots curled up on the ground. The former crimson is now just a grayish-brown. The ruins in the distance are still emitting smoke, and occasionally a few faint crackling sounds can be heard from the gray mist, like something that has already died is still struggling to burn.

Selene bit her lip, standing at the edge of the ruins, her eyes blank.

Her fingernails dug deeply into her palms, and the blood flowing from her fingertips congealed into a dark red color when the wind blew.

"...Is he really dead?" Her voice was so soft it was almost carried away by the wind, a voice filled with bewilderment and a hope that she was unwilling to admit.

Si Ming did not answer. He merely glanced back at the wasteland covered in ashes. The last rays of the gray star still shimmered on the horizon, like a heart giving its final beat.

He said calmly, "We shouldn't waste the time he bought for us." After saying that, he turned around.

"Let's go, Celian." Si Ming's voice sounded like a command, yet also like a farewell.

Selene raised her head, her blood wings unfurling once more. She took a deep breath, the blood rushing back to her cheeks. "...Alright." She gritted her teeth, summoning a low chant from the void.

The air was torn open, and three shadows emerged from the crack. The first was a tall werewolf, its blood-red muscles bulging and its fangs gleaming with a metallic sheen. The second was a group of bats draped in black robes, their eyes glowing with a dark red light, their wing membranes shimmering like silk. The third was a half-humanoid blood shadow, its blurry form like liquid, dripping and taking shape in the air.

“Come on, help me take them.” Celian’s voice was calm, but trembled slightly.

The Blood Servants growled in low voices, kneeling and lifting several severely wounded members of the Mystic Guild. Their faces were deathly pale, the mystic marks on their chests flickering unsteadily; one remained unconscious. Si Ming led the way, drawing a circle of light on the illusory chessboard. The circle spread across the ground, repelling the remaining miasma and phantom poison.

They walked through the shattered streets. Burnt petals and roots lay buried beneath the ruins, and the air still carried the scent of ashes. That scent was like a sterilized silence—cold, clean, and suffocating.

At the street corner, a broken streetlamp still flickered. The wind picked up again, swirling dust and ash, blowing past them and scattering the last glimmer of light from the broken lamp. Darkness fell completely.

Siming stopped and looked up into the distance. In the gray sky, a sliver of red light was slowly rising.

That wasn't sunrise, that was a new "disaster," he whispered. "Hurry up, the wind has changed."

Selene looked up and saw the distant sky swaying, with countless tiny red pollen grains carried by the wind, shimmering in places where the sunlight couldn't reach.

The scent of blood filled the air once more. The last rays of the gray star had just faded when Miyoko's disaster zone began to spread.

Blood and pollen mingled in the wind, carrying a cloyingly sweet fragrance.

Selene ran in front, while the werewolf Blood Servant carried several wounded people on his back, leaving bloody footprints on the rubble.

She looked up, her pupils reflecting the blood-red sky. Petals fell one by one, like snow, like rain. "Siming, what is that?" she whispered. "Why has the sky turned like this? What exactly is the Disaster Domain?"

Si Ming didn't answer. He just stared at the deck of cards in his hand, flicking his fingertips lightly. Black and red light scattered in the wind as he tried to discern spatial directions. But the air was filled with poisonous powder, distorting his vision.

At that moment, an old sorcerer, carried on the back of a werewolf, weakly raised his head, his voice hoarse but still steady: "Disaster Domain is an exclusive skill for high-level players."

He paused, as if even his breathing was in sync with the rhythm of his explanation. "When a catastrophic event exceeds level ten..."
They can use stellar power to construct a 'shield' for themselves; we call it a disaster zone.

"Within that shield's range, all attacks and mystical effects will be weakened, and the damage will be calculated as zero, until her Cataclysm is depleted."

Selene was taken aback: "Isn't that invincibility?"

The old man smiled bitterly: "Yes, we low-level stellar disasters can't break through her shield at all. That woman is one of the four major disaster leaders of the Umbrella Corporation. Even if all of us on Burning Star couldn't penetrate her shield."

The wind picked up, and red petals drifted through the dust. Si Ming narrowed his eyes: "That means she's not even qualified to be in this instance."

Selene immediately realized, "That's right! Natasha said that it's against the rules for high-level players to enter lower levels, and their identities will be immediately erased. How could she be here?"

The old strategist chuckled, his eyes filled with weary sarcasm: "She didn't 'come in,' she was let in. You've heard of Mr. World's doing, haven't you? He can create 'cheats,' altering dungeon rules to allow higher-level players to forcibly invade lower levels using spectator privileges."

Si Ming's face darkened completely. "That fox (Abe no Haruhisa) also uses this thing... It seems this instance isn't just about the competition for the Taotie Card."

The old man nodded and coughed: "What Mr. World wants... is the collapse of the entire rules system."

Selene frowned and looked back. In the distance, a sea of ​​blood-red flowers surged like a tide on the edge of the city, the entire street was swallowed by pink mist, and the outlines of buildings appeared and disappeared in the blood mist.

She gritted her teeth, her voice so low it was almost carried away by the wind: "Then... will she keep chasing us?"

The old man's lips twitched slightly, revealing a helpless smile. "The Lord of Calamity will not abandon her prey. Especially you, the Lord of Destiny. Your card is her food."

Before Celian could speak, she heard a violent cough. One of the wounded men on the werewolf's back curled up, his chest wound reopening, blood gushing out and blooming into a tiny rose in the air. "He's infected!" Celian exclaimed.

Siming flicked his wrist, and the playing cards flashed past. "Whoosh!" Black and white light intertwined, instantly severing the blood. Gray mist spread from the wound, sealing it. "Disaster Zone contact. Not even air can be touched."

His tone was as cold as announcing the time. Selene then realized that every breath they took was in that woman's domain.

The ground began to tremble slightly. In the distance, a very soft laugh drifted on the wind. The sound was like flower petals falling on skin, gentle yet sending a chill down one's spine.

"Lord of Destiny..."

"Run! Run faster!"

"My children... are hungry." The voice drew closer, and the wind turned completely red.

Selene gripped her blood claws, her eyes flashing with a cold sharpness. "She's here."

Si Ming took a deep breath, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Then keep running." Gray light and blood light intertwined, tearing the night of the entire ghost town in two, one half the panting of the prey, the other half the smile of the calamity lord.

A crimson wind caught up with them. They rushed out of the ruins of the medicine shop and into the north street of the ancient town. The street was narrow and long, with half-collapsed eaves on both sides, red lanterns swaying in the wind, and rose vines climbing all over the walls, like snakes wriggling slightly in their sleep.

Selene's boots splashed up a cloud of gray water. She suddenly looked up, her pupils contracting: "She's getting closer!" The sound was almost swallowed by the wind, but the next moment, the ground began to rumble.

Red vines sprouted from the alley entrance and spread rapidly along the street. The tips of the branches branched into fine thorns, which looked like pairs of open, bloody hands in the gloomy air.

The werewolf Blood Servant roared, nearly knocking the wounded man off his back. Selene rushed over to steady him, and before she could catch her breath, she heard the old Mystic behind her coughing up blood as well.

"Don't stop!" Si Ming's voice was as cold as a knife. "It's too late." The old man chuckled hoarsely, supporting himself on the shoulders of the blood servant as he stood up. "We, Burning Star, will buy you time."

Selene's eyes reddened instantly, and she shook her head. "No!" Her voice was shrill, like tearing silk, filled with suppressed anger. "I will not let anyone die in vain."

Si Ming didn't move; he was still looking at the street corner ahead. Bloodstains spread wildly on the stone bricks, and the shadows of vines were slowly approaching.

He said in a deep voice, "Serian, take them away. Go north street, and don't look back."

Selene gritted her teeth: "And what about you?"

Si Ming turned around and smiled.

The smile was somewhat casual, yet it carried an undeniable certainty.

"She wants me."

The old strategist's face was deathly pale, and his voice was so low it was almost inaudible: "If you face the Lord of Calamity alone, you will surely die."

Si Ming smirked: "I'm not dead, I'm just escaping."

Selene stepped forward, trying to grab his sleeve, but he gently pushed her away. Gray mist rose between them, and the light and shadow were torn in two by the wind.

Si Ming said softly, "Trust Natasha, and Celian. Trust me too." His tone was calm. "The meaning of destiny is not to hold onto it, but to rewrite it."

These words startled Celian. The wind swept through the street, carrying away all the words she wanted to say. Her eyes instantly reddened, and the blood mist at her fingertips began to condense.

She gritted her teeth and nodded, "Then don't die."

Si Ming smiled: "I won't let her have her way."

Selene raised her hand, summoning new blood servants. Two werewolves growled and knelt down, carrying the wounded on their backs; a swarm of bats crawled out of her shadow, forming a black curtain that blocked her view.

"Go!" she commanded. The werewolves stomped the ground, shattering the cracks in the bricks of the entire street, and their figures disappeared into the distance amidst the blood and ash.

The wind sounded like weeping. The ground trembled slightly, and in the distance came the scraping sound of some huge creature crawling.

Si Ming stood alone. He toyed with the playing cards of fate, the metal faces gleaming with the light of lies in the air. A gust of wind blew, the dust dispersed, and at the edge of the sea of ​​blood, Miyoko slowly emerged from the sea of ​​roses.

She walked barefoot on flower petals, her skirt soaked in blood, a translucent red. Each step caused the petals to shatter and regenerate. The scene was both eerie and elegant, like some kind of divine procession.

Si Ming raised one eyebrow slightly, raised his hand and gave her the middle finger, laughing arrogantly. "Hey, Miss Rose, those who chase after me don't die a pretty death."

Miyoko stopped and turned her head, her smile gentle, almost pitying. "Then let's take a look,"

She flicked her fingertips lightly. "How long can you, this flower of destiny, bloom?"

The ground exploded. Blood gushed out, and three or five mutated beast kings burst forth from the earth. Their bodies were enveloped in flower roots, and their eyes glowed red.

Midoriko glanced in the direction of Serian in the distance, a playful glint in her red eyes. "Go, my children. Let them run far away."

The mutated beast king roared, dragging its vine-covered body towards North Street. Meanwhile, Miyoko herself was lifted up by the rolling sea of ​​roses, like a wave of blood, surging straight towards Siming.

Selene ran at the end of the alley, watching the werewolf carrying the wounded as he ran wildly. She couldn't help but look back.

The sky in the distance was a mix of gray and red, and the sea of ​​roses rolled up like waves. The figure of the God of Destiny flashed by on the crest of those waves.

She could still hear his laughter, a wild, unrestrained laugh, a laugh that seemed to be a gamble with his life.

"Then let's go,"

"I also want to try and see if fate can defeat the god."

Petals rained down, the wind howled, and the ancient town was divided into two blood-red roads, one leading to life, the other to death. And fate awaited them at the crossroads of the next storm.

"Those who flee are not afraid of death, and those who pursue are not afraid of life."

Flowers from disaster-stricken lands will be reborn on the soil of destiny.

—From *Zi Bu Yu* (The Master Who Did Not Speak): Records of Disasters

(End of this chapter)