Night Journey

Chapter 49 Jigsaw Puzzle
Cillian raised the jet revolver.

The deafening sound of gunfire echoed through the darkness, the air currents swept across, and gusts of wind arose.

Cillian wasn't sure if the Soul Essence Bullet hit its target, but he saw a scorching fireball erupt at the end of the dimness. Within seconds, the fireball rapidly expanded, causing a deafening roar.

The explosions and burning continued in this narrow area, evaporating the moisture and causing the temperature to soar.

There was no longer any need to hide himself, and Cillian strode into enemy territory.

A blood-red image was etched on the ground, with a woman lying in the center, her abdomen ripped open. The horrific wound contained no flesh or blood, only rampant fungal growth. She was not dead; she continued to breathe regularly, like a living petri dish.

The pain of the Ouroboros Seal reached its peak; it screamed and roared.

A terrifying rage is hastening the destruction of all things.

In the interrupted ritual formation, a figure draped in a long robe pulled out a crooked dagger.

There was a flash of cold light.

With a precise strike, Cillian pierced the man's throat, twisted his wrist to break his cervical vertebrae, and then kicked him, still breathing, into the turbulent underground river.

More figures stood up, shouting incomprehensible words.

Ten people? Or more?
The light was too dim for Cillian to see clearly, but he was certain that there was at least one superhuman among the enemies. During the surprise attack, he had clearly sensed the opponent's source energy reaction.

What path of destiny does the other party come from, and what is their rank?

Cillian acted rashly, launching an attack without knowing the enemy's situation.

But... but...

Cirien was angry, he was filled with hatred.

His hatred was so pure that even killing all his enemies only slightly alleviated it, not quelled it.

"come!"

Ciri roared forward, his hand swiftly brushing against the blade, drawing blood in the process.

A raging fire suddenly erupted!

The blazing fire sword once again illuminated the darkness, slashing first at an enemy, brutally cutting into his waist and abdomen, piercing through his torso.

Without pausing, Ciri drew his Boiling Sword and brought it down again, cleaving the enemy's head in two.

The creaking sounds of bones shattering and flesh being torn apart echoed.

Ciri savored the sharp, throbbing sensation of the blade piercing flesh, listening to the sizzling sound of the intense heat searing the flesh.

In a daze, Cillian realized that he was actually feeling a strange pleasure in this bloody killing.

Cillian once wondered whether this was his own bloodthirsty nature or some kind of morbid addiction resulting from the burning of the Ouroboros Seal.
But ever since the day White Cliff was destroyed, and ever since he confessed to Tim how he felt when he killed for the first time, Cillian has stopped dwelling on such trivial matters.

Cillian admits he is a serial killer.

Cillian likes herself this way.

Hatred reached its extreme...

Only revelry!

The radiance of source energy illuminated Ciri's side, and the hidden superhuman finally couldn't resist making his move.

"Aren't you going to hide anymore?!"

Cirian fired in the direction from which the energy was rising.

Enraged flames erupted out of nowhere, the powerful impact scattering the standing figures in all directions; even Cirion himself stumbled backward.

The fireworks went out in an instant, and Ciri steadied himself.

By this time, most of the enemies had fallen. As ordinary people, their bodies were severely burned by the raging fire, and the remaining chaotic power was suppressed to its limit by the power of the Soul Essence Fire.

The only one still standing before Cillian was the only superhuman among them.

He was a tall man with powerful muscles all over his body. Even though he was hit head-on by the Soul Essence Bullet, he only had a small burn mark on his chest.

Based on the intensity of the source energy reaction, Cillian judged that his opponent was the same as himself, both being at the first rank, but their different paths in life had given them such powerful defensive capabilities.

The man took a deep breath and charged at Cirion like a bull.

Ciri nimbly dodged, his Boiling Sword spinning wildly as he slashed towards the back of the man's neck.

After a metallic clang, the Boiling Sword, which should have severed the man's head, was instead deflected by his skin, and a glint of iron light flickered at the back of his neck.

"I see, you are an Iron Guard."

Ciri sheathed his sword and retreated, putting distance between himself and the man.

The man comes from the Throne's Destiny and is a Rank 1 Iron Guard. He can use source energy to temporarily solidify his body, giving him extremely strong defense and all-round enhancement of his physical abilities.

Cillian learned about the Iron Guard's detailed abilities from Daelin, who also came from the Throne's Path and was ranked second.

Cillian raised his jet revolver and fired the last Soul Essence Bullet.

After the brilliantly spreading fireball, the man's figure emerged from it, his body shimmering with an iron-colored light, as he swung a heavy punch.

The resounding clang echoed.

Cillian raised his sword to block the attack, but he was still knocked back by the immense force and slammed heavily against the wall.

"Phew, this is not the kind of strength that a first-rank player can possess."

A metallic taste rose in Cillian's throat, and his arm went numb from the shock.

Looking at the man again, there was only a shallow white mark on his fist, and blood slowly seeped out.

Cillian chuckled hoarsely. "Do you know a woman named Tania? She's blind in one eye and missing an arm; she should be easy to recognize."

The man clenched his fists, and in silence, his entire body rippled with source energy.

"Oh? It seems you know her."

Cillian continued, "But I guess even if I cut off your head, you probably still won't tell me where she is... That's alright."

“My brother, Mick, loves playing jigsaw puzzles. He often asks us to draw some complicated patterns, cut them into pieces, and then put them back together.”

“Once he got stuck on a jigsaw puzzle and spent a week on it without any clue,” Cillian said, straightening up. “We offered to help him, but he refused.”

“Mick told me that the joy of puzzle games lies not in the moment of completing the picture, but in the process of gradually figuring it out and making it complete.”

If someone directly gives him the answer to the riddle, it would be very boring; it would just be repetitive work.

The man charged forward in fury, and Cillian drew his sword once more.

“At the time, I didn’t understand him. He clearly had the answer and could have finished the puzzle in half an hour, so why did he have to go through all this trouble?”

Amidst the resounding clang of colliding energy, Cillian laughed loudly.

"Now, I understand it to some extent."

Cillian's cheeks flushed.

"If we had found the enemy's trail and cut off her head right from the start, it would have been too empty and unfulfilling."

Therefore, I must overcome obstacles and hardships, killing one obstacle after another. When I find her with my blood-stained sword, it will be the beginning of another blissful experience.

Cillian's words were so sinister that the man even slowed down his punch.

He even began to wonder which of the two was truly a believer in Chaos.

"You... madman."

The man finally spoke, and the power of chaos surged.

The surrounding mycelium writhed and twisted wildly, climbing up Cillian's body, eroding the surface of his skin, leaving behind a bloody mess.

Cirian detonated the source energy within his body, causing his soul essence to ignite.

In an instant, Ciri's body temperature rose rapidly, wisps of white steam rose from his skin, and pure white flames flickered from his bleeding wounds.

The man's iron fist slammed down, striking Cillian in the abdomen and breaking several bones.

Ciri gasped, enduring the pain as the Boiling Sword grazed the man's left eye, drawing blood.

Enraged by Cillian, the man roared, unleashing a torrent of gray-black spore mist that caused mycelium to grow wildly wherever it went, resembling thousands of tentacles.

As believers in Chaos, these extraordinary individuals possess not only the power of their own destiny but also the power derived from Chaos.

The mycelium coiled around the surrounding corpses, and within seconds, it drained their blood, expelling withered, dried-up bodies.

Once Cillian is captured, he'll be dried up like a corpse in less than half a minute.

The power of chaos surged, and the blessing of vengeance arrived in a frenzy.

The soul essence within Cillian's body rapidly regenerated, and the consumed source energy was quickly restored. His body no longer felt pain or fatigue; all he felt was the pleasure of slaying chaos.
Blessings and hatred.

A crimson wave swept in, and Cirion cleaved through the flames.

Reload, fire!
The jet revolver fired three shots in quick succession, emptying the magazine without holding back.

Three Soul Essence Bullets struck the man in succession. In the narrow space, the repeatedly expanding flames burned away the dense mycelium, and even the diffused spore mist was mostly scorched away.

The man coughed painfully twice, having already expelled all the spores from his body.

Suddenly, countless drifting ashes in the air began to curl up strangely, and a strong current of air was moving.

The fiery sword pierced through the air and arrived.

The sword tip didn't pierce the man's eyes or throat; it shattered his teeth and entered his mouth, but failed to penetrate completely.

The man held the Boiling Sword firmly in his hands, preventing it from getting any closer.

The boiling sword failed to pierce the man's head, but it still cut his mouth, and blood kept oozing from the corner of his mouth.

The defense formed by the source energy can only rely on the surface of the skin; the areas not covered by skin become the man's vital points.

“I can tell you…”

The man's voice was hoarse as he tried to stall for time, looking for an opportunity to retaliate.

"I don't believe that a Chaos believer who can be easily killed by me could know any great secrets."

Cillian shook his head and reminded him, "Besides, even if you know something, I don't want to hear it. I'll find out for myself."

"After all, our puzzle game has only just begun."

The man was stunned, his heart filled with a sense of powerlessness and fear.

Only now did he realize that Cillian's hatred had transcended simple revenge; he longed to torture and ultimately destroy his enemy through a complex and lengthy process.

He doesn't care about the enormous effort and time he will have to put in, and even enjoys the pain and struggle in the process.

omg...

The jet revolver swiftly rose and plunged into the man's throat along the blade.

Three shots in quick succession.

The final three Soul Essence Bullets pierced the man's mouth, blasting his head into a cloud of blood mist. The spreading flames swept in all directions, burning away the remaining spore mist.

The headless corpse slowly knelt down, and the surrounding mycelium stopped its wild dance, curling up together and covering the walls.

As the power of the blessing gradually faded, Ciri felt a sense of satisfaction. The essence of his soul, refined by the blood of his enemies, had increased by a certain percentage.

"call……"

Ciri took a deep breath and was about to continue investigating the area when a series of light footsteps came from further ahead, followed by a rapidly increasing surge of energy.

Rank 1, Rank 2... its strength only stopped at Rank 3.

A heavy gunshot rang out.

Under the enhanced firing power of the source energy, the bullet struck Cillian's left shoulder like lightning, piercing through his flesh and embedding itself in the wall.

Cillian's mind went blank, blood gushing from the hole in his left shoulder.

The footsteps grew closer.

Ciri clutched his wound, turned and plunged into the rushing underground river, drifting downstream.

(End of this chapter)