Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 70 The Demonic Man
The faint light of the blessed point flickered quietly, illuminating the small stone chamber.

Subaru Natsuki and Shirou Emiya had arrived and were whispering to each other in a small corner.

"Hey, Shirou, look at Riku-kun."

Subaru Natsuki lowered his voice, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear:

"It's even more strange than last time. It's like those living corpses, their souls are gone."

Following their gaze, Lu Mingfei was sitting by the door.

His Storm Knight armor was complete, though covered in wet mud and dried blood, making it look dusty and worn. His helmet was casually tucked under his arm, revealing his… extremely striking face.

His face was deathly pale from staying up late for a long time, and his hair was soaked with sweat, sticking to his forehead in clumps.

The most striking feature was his eyes, empty and lifeless, with unfocused pupils, as if his soul remained a thousand miles away, leaving only an empty shell.

He completely ignored the two living people in the room, and after sitting down, he remained completely still.

He lowered his head slightly, his eyes half-open and half-closed, his gaze fixed blankly on a small crack in the floor in front of him, as if the crack held the ultimate mystery of the universe. He exuded a signal that said, "Leave me alone, I want to be quiet, and don't ask me anything."

Subaru Natsuki and Shirou Emiya looked at each other in bewilderment.

Emiya Shirou, mimicking Subaru, lowered his voice, trying to find a reasonable explanation:

"I guess the special training was too tiring; I've also had times when I was completely exhausted..."

Subaru stroked his chin, his dead fish eyes scrutinizing Lu Mingfei from head to toe. The latter stiffly raised a hand, trying to grab the edge of a non-existent helmet, but after grabbing nothing, he put it down blankly.

"Tsk...something's not right, something's very wrong. Do you think Lu Jun could be..."

He glanced at Lu Mingfei's dazed expression and made a bold guess:

"...You got dumped in the real world, didn't you?"

The more he listened, the more sense it made, and his eyes lit up.

"Look at him, he's usually timid, but he's never really backed down. But now? His eyes are lifeless, his gaze is dull, and it takes three seconds for him to respond when you talk to him. Isn't this the standard symptom of heartbreak? I've been through so many reincarnations, I'm very experienced!"

Emiya Shirou's lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to refute Subaru Natsuki's overly jumpy thinking, and as far as he knew, Subaru Natsuki had absolutely no experience.

Seeing the other person's "there's only one truth" expression, he decided to change his approach:

"...Perhaps it's just too much pressure? After all, we have to face Greg."

"A lot of pressure?"

Subaru Natsuki crossed his arms and shook his head:

"He's a man who can come back from the dead! Can his pressure be greater than mine? I die and reload my game all the time in real life! I think he's just tormented by love!"
He paused, his tone tinged with a wistful empathy:

"If Emilia-tan suddenly ignores me, I'll definitely do the same..."

Emiya Shirou's expression turned serious, then he recalled Lu Mingfei's earlier confiding about the "Ice Beauty's" troubles. He seemed to suddenly understand:
"Oh—! Last time he said there was a girl he was getting very close to."

The two huddled together, casting sympathetic glances at Lu Mingfei, who was meditating by the crack in the corner of the wall.

Subaru Natsuki finally couldn't hold back any longer. He cautiously approached Lu Mingfei and waved his hand in front of his empty eyes:
"Hello? Mr. Lu? Mr. Lu? Sir Lu? Wake up! Are you alright? Subaru is calling Lu Mingfei!"

Lu Mingfei's eyes moved extremely slowly, about fifteen degrees, and finally his gaze focused on Subaru Raizuki's face.

His lips moved slightly, and his whole body seemed to be turning with difficulty, like a rusty gear, producing a sound like a broken gong:
"……what?"

There was a dullness in his voice, as if he had been forcibly awakened from deep sleep.

Subaru Natsuki was taken aback by that "Ah," but he persisted, asking again:

"Hey! What's wrong with you! Why do you look like you've been dumped and then run over by a dump truck? Did something happen in the real world?" Lu Mingfei's gaze lost focus again, and he made an incredibly natural yet extremely strange gesture.

His fingers unconsciously and slowly rose up and gently touched his neck, as if to confirm whether his head was still there.

After a full three seconds, the thought process finally connected:

"I'm going for special training."

"Special training?"

Natsuki Subaru was taken aback, then breathed a sigh of relief:

"Hey! You scared me! I thought..."

Wait, special training can turn you into this? You're like someone who was swallowed by an Iron Maiden for three days and then released, your master..."

Lu Mingfei didn't answer again, but just nodded slightly, as if the conversation had exhausted all his social energy.

Emiya Shirou looked at Lu Mingfei's expression, and then at his unconscious gesture of touching his neck, his brows furrowing even more. He silently rummaged through his small bag and pulled out a shrimp (?) and handed it to Lu Mingfei.

"Brother Lu, have some shrimp."

Emiya's voice was filled with worry.

Lu Mingfei turned his gaze to him, then slowly raised his hand, like a puppet, and took the bright red shrimp meat. Then, he held it there, continuing to stare at the crack in the floor, as if pondering the philosophical question of "why this shrimp exists."

Natsuki Subaru, observing this bizarre scene, scratched his head and whispered in Shirou Emiya's ear:

"Oh no, Shirou, I feel like... he's been scolded into a stupor. If he's like this, when we fight Grenadier later, won't he just rush in and get himself killed? Should we put a rope around him and lead him around?"

Emiya Shirou did not speak.

Looking at Lu Mingfei, whose eyes were vacant and who seemed ready to die at any moment, he felt for the first time that Subaru Raizuki's worries seemed to have some merit.

It took three to four times longer than usual to organize the equipment.

Finally, Lu Mingfei straightened up and faced the massive gate leading to the courtyard. His eyes were still somewhat dazed, as if he hadn't adjusted to the time difference after playing through the game eight times in a row.

Clang.

Two ear-piercing metallic scraping sounds.

He simultaneously drew two heavy storm swords from his back.

The atmosphere changed imperceptibly.

His once empty and lifeless eyes suddenly lit up with golden pupils, and his whole being seemed to transform into a sharp sword, exuding a fierce aura that had been repeatedly tempered.

Subaru Natsuki and Shirou Emiya were taken aback by his sudden change of heart.

The teammate who was holding a shrimp and daydreaming just a moment ago is now like a trapped beast that has smelled blood.

"Lu...Lu-kun?" Subaru called out tentatively.

"Follow!"

Lu Mingfei didn't turn his head, his voice cold and ruthless:

"Lower your stance! Keep a close eye on his movements! If he raises his hand, roll away! If he raises his foot, strike his groin! Don't just stand there waiting to die!"

The command was swift and urgent, carried the old knight's irritable tone; that voice was etched into his mind and kept escaping from Lu Mingfei's lips.

(End of this chapter)