Night Journey

Chapter 118 Arrogant Man
The night sky was vast and silent, with two moons hanging high in the sky, and a slender ring of stars dividing everything in two.

Ciri let out a long breath, exhaustion and pain lingering in his mind, like a machine on the verge of collapse, his bones creaking and groaning.

Since leaving White Cliff Town, Reverse Falcon has definitely been the first truly formidable enemy that Cillian has encountered.

The Falcon's attacks were swift and deadly; its dense iron feathers were enough to seal off all of Cirion's escape routes, and all of this was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Throughout the entire process, the Reverse Falcon never fully revealed the strength of its source energy, and its extraordinary power to distort reality was also unable to be released.

Now, Cillian was certain that with the power of the Reverse Falcon alone, he was capable of wiping out all the chaotic forces in Hel City and suppressing all dissent under his violence.

"That's far too embarrassing, Cillian."

Cillian chuckled to himself, raising his hand to glance at the silent Ouroboros Seal.

The Ouroboros Mark provides Cirion with powerful assistance when facing enemies of Chaos, but what if Cirion's enemies are not servants of Chaos?
What frustrated Cillian even more was that, against the powerful Reverse Falcon, Blessing of Anger and Maw of Evil was ineffective.

The hatred and malice require Cirion to constantly kill enemies, gaining a continuous source of power and stamina from the bloodthirsty pleasure.

When Cirion faced hundreds or thousands of enemies, despite their apparent superior numbers, they were actually at a disadvantage. No matter how many times they charged forward, they were merely providing fuel for Cirion's burning.

When Cirion's only enemy is the Reverse Falcon, and he is unable to kill it and is completely suppressed by it, the power of hatred and malice is rendered ineffective.

"Cillian, you're still too weak, too arrogant..."

He began to reflect on his actions.

Not long ago, Cillian advanced to Rank 2 Molten Master and launched a surprise attack on the Vertical Farm. He not only hunted down the so-called Anointed Plague Knight, but also captured Tania, plunging Hel City back into the terror of the Reverse Falcon.

In the midst of this series of events, Cillian seemed like a god descended to earth, succeeding in whatever he did.

Until tonight.

Cillian's eyes dimmed, then brightened, igniting a fervent fire.

"Arrogant?"

My fingers brushed across my abdomen, the heat from my fingertips burning the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Rather than arrogance, it's more accurate to say that he has complete self-confidence."

Cillian gathered his strength and climbed toward the top of the Lighthouse. From the tear behind him, the signature howl of the Reverse Falcon echoed once more, following him like a shadow.

The intense burning was so close, it was as if hundreds of furnaces were roaring at the same time.

The core of the Lighthouse, one of the cornerstones that sustains the existence of Hull.

Light torch array.

It is like a physical sun, its pure light obscuring its form and eliminating all shadows, leaving only pure, brilliant gold.

Ciri felt warm at first, then became hot, and even felt a burning pain on his skin where the sun was shining directly on him.

If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the end of tonight's chase.

Cillian might die here, or he might escape, or there's even a very low chance he might turn around and kill the Reverse Falcon...

This matter is no longer important.

An anger was rising in Cirion's heart.

Puzzle, doubt, confusion, and even resentment all converged and transformed into anger towards the reverse falcon.

Cirian gripped the broken grappling hook, the heat from his palm melting the slender steel cable and wrapping it around the sword hilt, roughly binding them together.

Thrown out, swung up, leaping and dancing hundreds of meters in the air.

"Cuckoo..."

The howling sound of the approaching monsters arrived, and the Reverse Falcon burst forth from the shadows.

Beneath his greyish-white shawl, it seemed as if a metal frame had been inserted, which spread out freely as he soared through the sky, like wings, allowing him to glide at high speed.

Gunshots rang out in mid-air as the jet revolver spat out three streaks of fire.

The Falcon calmly dodged the vanishing flames, but when he searched for Ciri again, he found that the figure had disappeared.

Cillian chose this place as the end of the chase not because he was in a panic, but because it was premeditated.

Under the radiant light of the Lighthouse, there was no darkness for the Reverse Falcon to see through, and the immense heat was enough to conceal Ciri. Now, his only concern was what the Reverse Falcon's third pair of eyes could see through.

The falcon landed gently on a raised maintenance platform, its metal rusted and creaking with every step, as if it would collapse at any moment.

His pale six eyes scanned back and forth, searching for Cirion's figure, but found nothing.

Cillian was quick-witted, and with a bit of improvisation, he actually found an escape route.

However, Reverse Falcon was very familiar with the structure of the Lighthouse, and even every street in Hull City was deeply imprinted in his mind.

Hull was his hunting ground, and it still is.

Cillian cannot escape.

The pale six eyes began their third contraction and switching tonight. This time, the world in the eyes of the reverse falcon did not change much, except that a few scattered points of light appeared in the vast shadow of the city.

The reverse falcon further enhanced its vision, and beyond the spot of light, swaying bands of light appeared, flowing through the buildings like materialized wind.

Outside the high walls of Hull, the narrow gray area transformed into a vast halo of light, almost completely illuminating the pitch-black night.

Source energy.

The third pair of eyes on the reverse falcon can observe the flowing source energy.

Although the observation range is extremely limited and the accuracy has a large margin of error, it is sufficient for conventional combat.

The Falcon had secured the high ground, awaiting the moment Cirian would be exposed. Its blade gleamed with a chilling light, ready to unleash a thunderous strike. Time ticked by, but Cirian remained nowhere to be seen.

Reverse Falcon began to suspect that Cillian had anticipated the power of the third pair of eyes and deliberately concealed his own source energy, hiding silently somewhere.

Cillian can conceal his source energy, but he cannot hide his own heat; he must still be lingering somewhere within the torch array.

Where are you?

Just as the falcon was continuing its search, a response came from the wind.

The sound came out of nowhere—like a red-hot hacksaw suddenly cutting into ice, or like a taut steel cable rubbing against the edge of an alloy at high speed, so sharp it could almost rip the air apart.

The high-frequency, shrill whistling sound was accompanied by the sharp, metallic tearing sensation, making the eardrums feel like they were being pricked by fine needles, and even the air itself seemed to ripple in the sound waves.

Cillian has arrived, descending from the sky!

The figure twisted abruptly in mid-air, the longsword held in the right hand suddenly thrust forward, channeling the falling momentum into the spine of the sword, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, rapidly magnified in the six eyes of the Reverse Falcon.

thump—

Amidst the deafening clang of iron, a faint, crackling noise could be heard.

Cillian's sword... shattered.

Time seemed to stand still as Cillian held his rapier in place, while Reverse Falcon maintained his parrying stance.

The reverse falcon's blade remained intact, like a shield protecting him, while Cillian's blade shattered into countless pieces.

Under the immense pressure, some grazed Cillian's skin, while others fell towards the Reverse Falcon, scattering a series of sparks.

Reverse Falcon was surprised that Cillian did not flee but chose to fight back to the death. He also found Cillian's foolishness laughable.

Cirion had such a slim chance of surviving.

Reverse Falcon raised his sword high, a strike that would cleave Cirion's helmet and head in two from top to bottom, utterly annihilating him.

"Death is imminent," Cillian suddenly spoke.

"Come to think of it, you're the arrogant and conceited one."

A burning flame appeared in Cillian's palm, and only then did Reverse Falcon realize that what he was holding was not a sword at all.

That was clearly a twisted piece of steel that had been temporarily melted and cast at high temperatures.

The whispers of death carried on the wind.

Cillian had already set off with his grappling hook, the slender rope hidden in the bright light and darkness, as a surge of energy flowed into the Boiling Sword, bringing it to its most intense burning.

So hot, so brilliant, that even the fireproof cloth covering the sword hilt turned to ashes.

A twisting fireball streaked across the sky.

The blades clashed and flashed past.

Only the elegant hum of the blade after it had stopped resonated.

After a brief silence, Cillian's helmet was cleaved in two by the falling blade.

Beneath the neat cross-section, a thin line of blood ran from the forehead across the bridge of the nose, through the lips, and finally landed on the chin.

Blood splattered all over Cillian's face, but that was all; it failed to completely split his head open as the Falcon had predicted.

As for the reverse falcon.

He maintained his downward sword stance, raising his other arm high, the Boiling Sword piercing through it, only a few centimeters from his head.

The scorching sound of the grilling continued.

"Cough cough..."

Cillian coughed painfully a few times; having fought this far, he had no strength left to retaliate.

Fueled by his rage, he roared.

"Reverse Falcon, has your return been solely for me, this imposter?"

Reverse Falcon remained silent, his pale six eyes fixed on Ciri's blood-stained face.

"So, you ridiculous contraption, after this, will you continue to fulfill your old duties, or will you leave again?"

Cillian was utterly bewildered and questioned him.

"Look at this city... why didn't we just kill them all back then?"

If the Reverse Falcon purged Hel City, if he eliminated all the Evil Claws, if he ruled Hel City with absolute power...

Is there even the slightest chance that Baiya Town will be spared from disaster?
Reverse Falcon pulled the Boiling Sword from his arm and plunged it into Cillian's shoulder. Amidst the intense pain, Cillian heard it.

Finally, the Falcon uttered its first and only sentence of the night.

Are you rebuking me?

With that, Reverse Falcon kicked Cillian in the stomach, sending him plummeting into the endless darkness below.

Cillian's figure vanished, but his voice returned from the darkness, like a venomous curse.

The voice rebuked coldly.

"Eradicate all evil!"

(End of this chapter)