Who left their last words here?

Chapter 57 The Disappearance of the Raven? [Van Gogh] The Battle Arrives (First Update of 5k)
[The nine tails are not tails, but rather ropes used by the dead to climb to the mortal realm...]

A soft murmur entered my ears.

With a "whoosh"—

The Dead Sea Scrolls opened itself and stopped at the first chapter.

What appeared before the white boat, vividly depicted on the Dead Sea Scroll, was a ferocious...cat!
The second transformation of "The Moon with a Thousand Faces":

【The Life-Stealing Cat】!
Based on Bai Zhou's experiences, the model was taken from the undead general Ale.

Integrating the concepts of "death" and "crevice" from the Dead Sea Scrolls—

The special "changes" that have been born!
A cute yet mysterious spirit cat, its body shrouded in gray mist, with nine faint shadows visible behind its swaying tail.

On these nine ethereal tails hung brass bells that jingled.

Whenever a bell rings, the civet can perform a brief spatial leap, appearing at any location within its field of vision;
Or it could ring all seven bells at the same time, forcibly transferring its "death state" to any living being in sight!
—The two abilities are [Night Wanderer] and [Life Stealer]!
However, stealing lives also has its limitations:
Firstly, it can only transfer the "status," not the injury.

Secondly, the level of this life form must be absolutely weaker than one's own... and it cannot be the enemy that is currently hostile!

Finally, there's the same problem as with the Cursed Colossus—the cooldown period.

"jingle--"

Like the sound of wind chimes, the sound of bells reached Bai Zhou's ears, and the shadow of the nine tails in the dense scroll swayed slowly.

"This is……"

Bai Zhou looked closely, and the shadows of nine tails were just beginning to take shape in his eyes—

Bai Zhou's thoughts immediately exploded!

All sorts of knowledge were poured into Bai Zhou's brain and then instantly flowed out, seemingly without leaving a trace, but disrupting all of Bai Zhou's own thinking and cognition.

Just when Bai Zhou was about to turn into a fool—

"[Soothe]!"

The sea of ​​ignorance is boiling.

Like the sound of a musical string being played, invisible ripples swept through Bai Zhou's mind, smoothing out his disordered perceptions and thoughts.

"Pain! It hurts too much!"

Bai Zhou has returned to normal.

He gritted his teeth and rubbed his head, the splitting headache slowly subsiding...

The essential concepts of "death" and "gap" are something that cannot be directly confronted, even if one does not look at them directly.

It's incredible enough that it could be released using forbidden techniques.

This time, the Dead Sea Scrolls were able to miraculously generate such a "change" within the White Boat's current level...

It was also thanks to Bai Zhou's "special" nature.

There was plenty of deathly energy, and we even got a close look at the prototype of the undead general, Ale!
"We must learn from this lesson..."

He was filled with lingering fear and solemnly remembered it.

Without [Fu], he would probably have gone mad by now!

but--

The effectiveness of the ability certainly justifies the "danger".

"Magic skill!"

—Absolutely divine skill!

The last time I saw this kind of ability was probably in a fairy tale.

After all, human life is worthless in fairy tales; resurrection or death is just a matter of the witch's word. Love and good character are far more important than life.

Unfortunately, Shiraishu doesn't live in a fairy tale, but in a cannibalistic reality.

"call……"

Bai Zhou took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

So what does having an extra life mean?
This means that the dragon-slaying hero has gained a pair of wings that will allow him to forge ahead without fear.

This means he has another chance to take risks and try "what if" and "why not?"

This means that after the fear subsides, he still has a chance to try again.

—It will always be White Boat's last trump card.

...But Bai Zhou has no intention of using it unless absolutely necessary!

Because Bai Zhou could never guarantee that he wouldn't encounter other dangers during the cooldown period after using [Life Stealing]!
Especially recently,
The major's pursuit continued relentlessly...

I wish I had nine lives.

He immediately strapped himself with explosives and went to "talk" with the major in person.

With a "smack"—

The Dead Sea Scrolls were closed by Shiraishu.

Compared to the sticky, stagnant feeling I had when I picked up the Dead Sea Scrolls in the past,

Now when he holds the book, it feels much lighter in his hands.

The book feels warm to the touch, as if the cover is still warm to the touch.

The mysterious pattern on the cover, resembling an eye, gazes at the white boat.

Under the silvery moonlight,
Bai Zhou held it and gently stroked it for a while.

……

The shadows of the trees shorten, and the moon rises high in the sky.

The rain is gradually drying up, and the fog is getting thicker; it looks like tomorrow will be sunny.

Under the hazy fog, the dilapidated villa, shrouded in moonlight, came into view.

Bai Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter how formidable the opponent...

At least he got home.

More than fifty explosive rituals were set up at the base.

There are countless other miscellaneous rituals.

Although living there feels like sitting on a raging, active volcano that could erupt at any moment—

But Bai Zhou felt unusually at ease.

Bai Zhou even wanted to take advantage of this moment to add a few more explosions.

If the person the major mentioned really does come looking for us tonight...

Bai Zhou was determined to knock out one of his teeth no matter what!

"I'm back--"

Bai Zhou said this as soon as he entered the door.

All was quiet and dark, and as expected, no one responded.

Carefully avoiding a host of traps, the white boat headed straight for the top floor.

The moonlight shone on the rooftop platform, where all was quiet and deserted.

The image of a girl in a trench coat gazing at the moon with her hands behind her back does not exist.

"...Where's the crow?"

Bai Zhou blinked.

Although she said she had something to do before she left...

It's so late, why haven't they come back yet?
What have you been doing?

Shaking his head, Bai Zhou felt a little conflicted.

Perhaps it's because we've become so used to the presence of crows.

Busy...

It's good to be busy.

Crow is busy most of the time, and behind her expressionless face lies a lot that Bai Zhou doesn't know.

He did want to understand the secrets of the crow, but he also knew that he was not yet capable enough.

Once he has enough strength, Crow will naturally speak.

Even if the crow doesn't say anything, he will still ask.

"……what?"

As Bai Zhou swayed to the edge of the broken wall, he noticed the corner of the wall out of the corner of his eye.

"This is--?"

Bai Zhou picked up a black silk ribbon from the wall.

Light and soft, as thin as a cicada's wing, it feels warm and silky to the touch, and a silver bell is tied to the end of the ribbon.

It appears to be the ribbon that the crow usually sits and rests on.

That's not a big deal.

The issue is……

As Bai Zhou picked up the ribbon.

A few rings—

The bells rang out, clear and melodious, fluttering in the wind, their sound captivating and enchanting.

Then, Bai Zhou saw a blurry shadow on the black silk ribbon in the moonlight.

The shadow was clearly that of a young girl, with a shapely figure and soft, undulating curves of youth.

But the shadow was facing inwards, with one hand bent at the elbow as a pillow, one leg extended and the other bent back, looking calm and composed.

With his back to the crowd in this dashing pose, his body rises and falls slowly at a frequency close to his breath.

It seems to be...

Ok……

go to bed?

The girl is sleeping.

Peaceful, and fragrant.

Bai Zhou blinked twice, his eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

She held up the soft silk ribbon with both hands, facing the moonlight, letting the ribbon billow and flutter in the wind, making the girl on it seem as if she was about to ascend to heaven.

Bai Zhou examined the girl's sleeping posture closely...

Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat—

The more he looked, the more he felt...

—That shadow, does it look like a crow?
How could she have become like this?!

"..."

With a sudden jolt, Bai Zhou quickly observed carefully, then remained silent for a while.

Ok.

Even when sleeping, it doesn't forget to maintain a mysterious sleeping posture—this pretentious look is definitely Crow.

After a silence of more than ten seconds, Bai Zhou silently took a breath and tentatively called out softly:
"crow!"

"Are you up?"

"..."

The shadow above seemed to tremble for a moment, but quickly returned to its peaceful sleep.

Ignore it.

The rhythmic rise and fall of her body told Bai Zhou that she was sleeping quite peacefully.

This only makes Bai Zhou seem incredibly shameless, waking up a girl in the middle of the night.

"what happened……"

Bai Zhou felt a chill run down his spine and held his breath.

I'm afraid there's really something wrong with the crow!
Or perhaps something tripped them up, and they left this ribbon behind as a clue...

Either the sleeping shadow on it is the crow itself—

Think about it carefully,

After leaving the base, Bai Zhou began to notice Ya's drowsiness and even saw dark circles under her eyes.

—This mysterious girl who has never slept seems to be gradually becoming the one who needs to "sleep".

why?
Is the environment of the Special Administration base particularly special?
“…Trouble!”

A heavy weight of doubts piled up in Bai Zhou's mind. —Perhaps Ya had foreseen this, which was why he sent Bai Zhou to retrieve the equipment for their escape.

These equipment were indeed sufficient.

—But now?
Bai Zhou didn't know when Ya would wake up; perhaps in the next second, perhaps tomorrow, or perhaps sometime later.

A sense of crisis, more detailed and real than ever before, gripped Bai Zhou's heart.

Even though Ya would never have helped Bai Zhou in the past, Bai Zhou always had a strange sense of confidence, feeling that Ya was watching him.

...But in the end, he still had to fight alone.

There was no one to consult or offer advice; he had to rely on himself to survive.

Just like before.

A new crisis is on its way, and he must do everything in his power to survive, because only by surviving can he see Raven the moment she wakes up.

—In this world, only you can see the crow.

If, when Crow wakes up, she finds that White Boat has died because of this...

Wouldn't she regret it to death?
Who will buy her coffee beans?
So Bai Zhou could only take pity on him and try his best to survive.

"Then... goodnight."

He said something that seemed strangely familiar, as if he'd said it in a dream.

Bai Zhou carefully folded the silk ribbon.

He looked up at the increasingly thick fog outside.

The cool moonlight shone on Bai Zhou's expressionless face, but it couldn't see the muttered complaints in his mind.

Why did it have to happen now of all times? It couldn't have disappeared earlier or later...

Just go to sleep. Who can sleep with you longer?
Do you feel safe sleeping as a shadow?

But why sleep on a silk ribbon?
It can't be that this is her true form, just like the Lady of the Lake might be the spirit of the Holy Sword.

—Bai Zhou preferred to believe that the ridiculously large Tang sword was the true form of the crow.

But if you ask whether the ribbon has any benefits, it actually does—

Easy to carry.

"rustle……"

In no time at all
Bai Zhou tucked the folded silk ribbon into his bosom.

If this really is a crow, then Bai Zhou will face powerful enemies with the "crow" and then wander the world.

—It can be considered that we are continuing to fight side by side.

From this perspective... Crow really didn't break his promise when he invited us to escape together.

At this moment, Bai Zhou inexplicably thought of the undead general, Ale.

He dragged his "thousands of horses" with a riding crop...

Do you feel the same way?
Thinking it over, Bai Zhou turned and went downstairs—

He plans to add some more "explosion rituals" to the room.

Fifty is still too few...

One hundred, please!
One per square meter!
All the unease stems from the insufficient number of explosion rituals.

He dared not imagine how sunny and happy he would become if the villa were filled with a thousand explosive rituals.

But suddenly—

Bai Zhou felt as if an electric current had flashed across his back.

"clatter……"

He stopped at the top of the stairs, looking surprised and uncertain.

A sudden flash of inspiration, a warning sign, struck him again.

—And this time it's even clearer!

In the still darkness, an indescribable, chilling, and maddening sensation coursed through my body...

It felt as if a malicious and crazed gaze was peering at and observing me through the thick fog of the night.

"Om-"

Bai Zhou immediately picked up the purple-gold saber and took out the [Light and Shadow Harmony] revolver from his waist.

He immediately turned around, stood in front of the broken wall of the villa, and looked out.

He saw it...

Amidst the reeds bent low by the wind, in the thickest part of the fog, a figure stands upright with his back to the murky moonlight.

He didn't just appear; it was as if he had always been there, like a scarecrow that stands forever in the field.

The figure was looking up, its face obscured by the thick fog, and it was now making eye contact with Bai Zhou.

"..."

From a distance, he removed his top hat and silently bowed to Bai Zhou, like a gentleman living hundreds of years ago.

But in the next instant after he bowed—

Everything that Bai Zhou saw before him had changed dramatically.

The reeds began to twist and curl up, contorting towards the man in the center in a way that defied the laws of nature, much like a bucket of paint being stirred by an invisible giant hand.

They are changing, changing...

Finally, one after another, blooming flowers, vibrant flowers—appeared out of nowhere on the tops of these reeds!
Those were sunflowers with extremely vibrant colors, so vibrant that they didn't seem alive; they looked more like they had been painted on.

The fog surrounding the area was no longer pale.

They were all dyed—

Vibrant, exaggerated, and full of life colors!

A surging, turbulent blue-green torrent replaced the pale fog; they devoured each other, swirled, boiled, and churned...

In a daze, Bai Zhou looked at the vibrant mist on the ground, but it seemed as if he saw a...

A crazy night sky!
The night sky surrounds the blooming sunflower field, and in the blooming sunflower field, a proud man stands tall.

His hands waved in the air, as if splashing ink to paint, and he was deeply intoxicated and proud of his own artwork...

...Just looking at it from afar, Bai Zhou felt inexplicably restless, as if he were being influenced by this crazy painting.

—And this rendering is getting even more intense!
"Who are you!"

"Did the major send you?"

Bai Zhou dared not look away, but squinted his eyes, his mind racing with thoughts, trying to distract himself as much as possible.

"..."

Faced with Bai Zhou's question, the man remained silent for a moment.

At this point, the painting was complete.

A swirling torrent of blue-green water surrounded him, with blooming sunflowers dotting the landscape with gold, resembling glittering stars.

As for himself, he was shimmering with a pale light.

He is the largest moon in this painting.

—The name of this painting should, of course, be "Starry Night".

"You know, young man, everyone has a fire burning inside them."

The man spoke.

He spoke from a great distance, but his voice was amplified by the flowing blue-green torrent and carried clearly over.

His voice is very distinctive, with a metallic, husky quality and an undeniable passion like a volcanic eruption.

"In a corner of everyone's soul, there is a furnace burning with blazing flames, yet no one comes to warm themselves."

"Passersby can only catch a glimpse of the chimney... but there will always be someone who can see the fire."

"That person is me!"

He always speaks rapidly, with almost no pauses.

He leaned on his cane and approached the dilapidated villa, his voice resonating more clearly in Bai Zhou's eardrums.

"I saw your fire from a great distance..."

"How intense, how dazzling, it's just like... the sun!"

"Therefore I am moving at full speed, for fear that if I am even a little slower you will be swallowed up by the mundane world."

"Fortunately, you didn't disappoint me."

The blue-green torrents around me spun even faster.

He walked over, craning his neck forward, and scrutinized Bai Zhou with an almost morbid gaze, his eyes filled with rapture.

"Now, I come with my passion, my indifference, my fury, and my gentleness—"

"May I tell you your name, sir?"

"..."

The white boat remained silent.

An overwhelming sense of oppression washed over us.

...Without a doubt, a Level 4 Extraordinary, without any exaggeration.

Moreover, it is definitely not the "Mobile Walker" route that Shirafusa is familiar with.

He came from a new and unknown source...

This is the source of the major's confidence.

The backup force was dispatched immediately after Bai Zhou was discovered by the Swordholder...

Finally, after Bai Zhou had killed all the [Sword Bearers] and returned to the stronghold—

I met him.

"Ah, yes, yes..."

Seeing that the white boat didn't move, the man suddenly slapped his forehead as if he had just realized something.
"It is only natural to introduce yourself before asking someone's name."

As he spoke, he stopped and stood downstairs.

He took off his top hat again.

This time, Bai Zhou saw his face clearly:

He had a pipe in his mouth and his hair was dyed orange, sticking up in tufts like burning flames.

He was wearing a mask, on which was painted an oil painting of a well-defined, stubble-faced, and anxious man.

Bai Zhou didn't recognize the man in the oil painting, but he found the scene quite terrifying, especially in the middle of the night shrouded in thick fog.

—But what's even more chilling is that,

The masked man appeared to have cut off his own left ear; it was completely empty except for a pale, yellowish bandage.

For no apparent reason, Bai Zhou felt that he was imitating...

He's imitating someone, perhaps the person in the oil painting.

Or perhaps, they have unwavering faith in who they are—

"My name is Vincent van Gogh."

The visitor introduced himself in this way.

He tucked his walking stick under his arm and bowed in a gentlemanly manner.

Then, he raised his head and stood up, his posture ramrod straight, even leaning back slightly...

And with those dull, black, hole-like eyes behind the mask, he stared straight at the white boat standing upstairs:
"I come from the largest and most secretive extraordinary assassin society in the Listening Sea—"

"【Art Club】."

"I once caught a fleeting glimpse of the 'fire' emanating from you, but alas, we were destined never to meet."

"—Because we were there the day the Blood Worship Cult invaded your base..."

In the moonlight, the man stood tall and straight, like a javelin.

He shook his head regretfully, the rapid bursts of sound brimming with vibrant passion.

But his every move seemed to draw out the surrounding light and color, making the surrounding vortex even more violent.

"Perhaps you have heard of me, or perhaps you haven't. I am one of the sixteen painters in the Art Society."

"Tonight, I'm employed by the Third Young Master..."

他 说:

"—I came to kill you."

(End of this chapter)