A Villain's Journey Begins in the Type-Moon World

"Oh? Tell me your good idea quickly, my time stop is about to break down." Wang Chong felt that the range of his movement in this time-stopped space was getting smaller and smaller, and it seemed that his time stop was about to reach its limit.

"First, the host must strive to survive. Even if your body is pierced, you must rely on your own natural regenerative abilities to recover. Only in this way can Arcueid's mechanism be triggered to determine that the host's strength is not what it seems, thus locking back to its maximum potential," the system said.

"Downgraded? I see." Wang Chong's eyes lit up. Since the time stop caused Arcueid's limit to be lifted, he would use being hit to make Arcueid's mechanism realize that its power was excessive and was being wasted, thus locking its limit again.

After all, according to the mechanics, Arcueid only needs to be one level stronger than the enemy she is facing.

"Yes, once Arcueid is downgraded again, the host will be able to subdue her," the system said.

"System, did you miss a step? What do you mean by saying that I can subdue Arcueid after she's downgraded? Even if Arcueid returns to her original strength, she's still a level above me!" Wang Chong frowned.

"Hehe, actually, host, the key to defeating Arcueid has always been in your hands. If you can discover it yourself, you'll get an extra epic draw and a random item jar as a reward for capturing Arcueid. Of course, it's fine if you let the system guide you out, but that would lower your rating and prevent you from getting those two rewards. It's up to you to choose," the system reminded you.

"The solution to Arcueid is in my hands?" Wang Chong murmured, but before he could think further, a cracking sound rang out. The power of time stop had finally reached its limit and could no longer be sustained. Time began to flow again, and Wang Chong immediately assumed a defensive stance.

"boom!"

"Pfft!"

Intense pain spread throughout his body. This time, it was Wang Chong who smashed a large crater into the mountain, but he was still grabbed by the face and pressed into the crater, almost triggering his invincible body effect.

Wang Chong felt a dizziness, followed by a series of beatings. Bones shattered, flesh crumbled; the pain he had inflicted on Arcueid was now being felt back on him. The pain was excruciating, the fear and trembling of facing death. It was as if the heavens were proclaiming the deserved end of a damned villain.

"This time...it was...really...a pathetic experience." This was the first time Wang Chong felt so close to death, as if the fear of death he felt when he first arrived in this world and saw the corpse cut in half had been reawakened, completely filling his heart.

"Pfft... Hahaha... Hahahaha!" For some reason, Wang Chong couldn't help but want to burst out laughing. He wanted to laugh, he couldn't help but want to laugh, as if some long-suppressed emotion had returned to reality this time, and was now completely ignited.

"Hahahaha, I'm actually still afraid of pain, still afraid of death, hahaha... Sure enough, I've had it all too smoothly for too long, numbed myself for too long, to the point that I thought I had lost these things, that I was no longer afraid, no longer terrified. No... rather, have I always been afraid, always been terrified, never felt at ease? Is that why this time the terror and fear fill my heart so much? This lesson of blood and pain was worth it!"

Despite being filled with fear and pierced by excruciating pain, Wang Chong's heart seemed twisted, madness filling his eyes, and at that moment, his gaze met Arcueid's equally frenzied and excited eyes.

"I see... You're the same way?"

The moment they met, Wang Chong seemed to understand something on his own. His lips moved slightly, and he unconsciously uttered words. However, as soon as he spoke, only a "hoarse" sound came out. It turned out that his vocal cords had been damaged by the other party, and he couldn't make a sound at all.

But strangely, Arcueid's hands, which had been frantically tearing flesh and breaking bones, suddenly stopped. Instead, they rested on Wang Chong's body. Arcueid, now completely restored to her original form, stared at Wang Chong with her beautiful golden eyes. Gradually, the corners of Arcueid's mouth curved into a smile. Coincidentally, a full moon hung above Arcueid's head at that moment, its light falling on her blood-stained golden hair, reflecting a silvery glow.

One is someone who knows nothing of death, and exists like a monster among monsters called True Ancestors. He should not have emotions, should not have anything extra, and is connected to everything in the world, yet stands alone, sitting atop the Thousand-Year City, looking up at the moonlight and stars, and looking down at everything in the world.

One is someone who has just arrived in this strange world, wandering alone in the most familiar yet most unfamiliar environment. Despite possessing the richest emotions, they can only treat everything around them with a carefree attitude. Madness and indifference have already quietly eroded their hearts without their knowledge, and they rush forward alone.

To the world, they were two freaks, two madmen, two equally lonely people. In their fierce struggle, they quietly vented their pain for each other.

Arcueid stood up and remained still. The madness in his eyes began to fade, and he quietly waited for Wang Chong to recover. Seemingly worried that Wang Chong's recovery was too slow, he gently slashed his other wrist and splattered his blood on Wang Chong.

"Ding—System upgrade. Arcueid's favorability has increased by 10 points, and her current favorability is 50."

"Ding—You have absorbed Arcueid's True Ancestor Blood. Your True Ancestor Blood has begun to evolve, increasing your immortality and physical regenerative abilities, and granting you the power of light." The system notification sounded repeatedly, indicating that Arcueid had stopped attacking.

Although Wang Chong was temporarily unable to move, after escaping the shadow of death and the pain, he slowly recovered from that strange state. Only one question arose in his mind: why had Arcueid not kill him earlier? Why was Arcueid letting him go now?

"Why?"

With some difficulty, Wang Chong used his strong regenerative abilities to restore his vocal cords and asked the question in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"Why? I'd like to know too." Arcueid smiled, put one hand on her hip, and then said, "But more importantly, should I call you Dio, or... Wang Chong?"

Chapter 234: Battle Against Bai Ji Again!

Upon hearing Arcueid's question, Wang Chong first tried his best to restore his right arm as quickly as possible, then touched his face. Hmm, the mask was still there; it seemed that even though his face was about to be smashed, the skin hadn't peeled off.

“Although I don’t know how you managed to deceive my eyes and change your appearance, ... a face can lie, but the smell of blood can’t.” Arcueid explained when she saw Wang Chong touching his face.

"So that's how it is. From the moment you injured me, you already knew who I was. No wonder... no wonder you didn't kill me in the end," Wang Chong said, as if he had figured it out.

"Not only that, but you've also made a mistake. Those True Ancestors, whether newly born or ancient, never address me as 'Princess' or anything like that. After all, in their eyes, I'm merely a tool to be used to execute Fallen True Ancestors."

“However, it wasn’t until I pierced your body at the end that I was completely certain of it. To be honest, I was quite surprised. I only had a suspicion, but I never expected that you and that Fallen Ancestor were actually the same person… Hmm? In that case, I didn’t actually arrest the wrong person. It seems my intuition is still pretty accurate.” Arcueid started talking as if she had opened a floodgate, completely unlike the madness and murderous intent she had shown during the fight, and spoke with a very happy expression.

“However, in that case, there is no such thing as a Fallen Ancestor. The scent of blood cannot lie. You have never drunk anyone's blood, and you have even committed very few acts of killing. Therefore, I no longer have the reason to kill you because ‘Fallen Ancestors must die,’” Arcueid said.

"This one?" Wang Chong frowned. Could it be that Arcueid had some other reason for wanting to kill him?

“That’s right. Originally, if you had just shown me your blood, I wouldn’t have killed you. But you shouldn’t have lied to me and even beat me so badly. You didn’t really think I didn’t have any temper or murderous intent, did you?” As soon as she finished speaking, Arcueid’s eyes flashed with the madness she had shown not long ago, and then she said with a smile.

“So I’ve decided to kill you once. Well, not like I did with the Fallen Ancestors, I don’t need to kill you completely. Just let me destroy my body once, that will be enough.” Arcueid spoke as if it were something trivial, not at all like he was joking.

"Then why...?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because I suddenly found you pleasing to the eye just now. After all, I've always thought you're a very interesting guy, different from the other True Ancestors." Arcueid gave a cheerful smile and then said:

"Alright, now that you've recovered enough, I should take you back."

"Take me back? Back where?" Wang Chong had thought the matter was over; since Arcueid no longer intended to kill him, there was no need to continue the fight. But Wang Chong hadn't expected Arcueid to suddenly say she wanted to take him back. What did that mean?

“Of course you should go back to where the True Ancestors belong, the Thousand-Year City. Although you haven’t committed the great sin of depravity, you have stirred up trouble in the mortal world and caused quite a bad influence. It’s certain that you will be locked up in confinement for a period of time,” Arcueid said.

“You’ve caused far too much of a stir. Not only have you destroyed a long-established magic family, but you’ve also caused a huge uproar in the mystical world. You have to come back with me.”

“No, you should know that I still have a battle to finish here,” Wang Chong said in a deep voice.

“You mean this Holy Grail War? To be honest, it’s quite interesting. If you want to play around with it secretly without anyone knowing, then there’s no problem. But as I just said, you’ve already caused too much trouble. Now you have to come back with me,” Arcueid said, frowning.

"Not even the slightest allowance of time or conditions? No exceptions?"

“No.” Arcueid’s attitude was firm, and he said, “That’s how the rules are. If you don’t have the strength to break the rules, then don’t waste your breath.”

"...So in the end, I still have to defeat you before I can call the shots?" Wang Chong said.

"You could say that. So, you've already deeply felt my power, and you still want to fight? Come to think of it, I haven't even figured out your peculiar ability yet. If you want to continue fighting—"

"boom!"

At that moment, Wang Chong suddenly sprang from the pit, but unlike the previous hand-to-hand combat, he was now completely enveloped in black mist and equipped with the Ruined King's Blade. Since Arcueid already knew his identity, there was no need to hide it anymore.

"Then let's fight! Blade of the Ruined King!" Wang Chong immediately swung the Blade of the Ruined King and slashed at Arcueid.

"Hahaha, alright, if you just obediently come with me like this, I'll actually find it boring. Then let me—beat you until you can never recover, tie you up, and take you back." Seeing this, Arcueid was not only not angry, but instead became full of fighting spirit again and directly met the attack.

"Clang clang clang clang—"

A series of crisp sounds rang out as the once invincible Blade of the Ruined King failed to pierce Arcueid's skin. However, having just received Arcueid's blood, Wang Chong's physical abilities had been enhanced, and with the blade in hand, he managed to suppress Arcueid for a short time.

But Wang Chong knew this wasn't a long-term solution. After all, Arcueid was like a boss with high adaptability; she would always be a cut above him in terms of stats.

"Numerically stronger than me... but that doesn't mean their skills and other aspects will also completely overwhelm me. If that's the case... System, give me some points to buy skill points and upgrade my skill 'Ruined King's Sword'!" Wang Chong remembered what the system had said earlier: the thing that could subdue Arcueid was always in his possession. That is, the items he owned or his skills and abilities.

What we already know is that any way to directly increase one's strength will only make Arcueid stronger. So, since the path of "strength" is blocked, why not try the path of "technique"?

This time, he took the opportunity to hone his somewhat superficial strength. He thoroughly integrated all his skills and also took the opportunity to further improve his "Ruined King Sword" technique. After all, this skill improvement was a matter of technique, not just a simple increase in speed and strength.

"Ding—You have spent 5000 Villain Points to successfully upgrade the skill 'Ruined King Sword,' currently at level 2. The next upgrade will require 1 Villain Points. You currently have 4350 Villain Points remaining," the system notification stated.

"? System, you're going to double it for me in the next level? 1 villain points, that's a 10-pull!" Wang Chong's aura involuntarily weakened after seeing the message, almost giving Arcueid an opening.

"Host, my prices are absolutely fair and transparent," the system explained.

Wang Chong had no choice but to hone his skills in actual combat, having originally intended to try and improve a few more. However, after completing the upgrade, he indeed gained a deeper understanding of the various moves of the Broken King Sword, wielding the greatsword with the ease and fluidity of an extension of his own arm.

After a long battle, the passive skill "Ruthless Combo" was once again fully stacked, and King's Rush was gradually able to force Arcueid back step by step. Although his King's Sword could not destroy Arcueid's body, it could easily tear her clothes.

However, Arcueid, who had once again entered a berserk fighting state, seemed completely unconcerned. She was only thinking about defeating Wang Chong as soon as possible so she could return and report back.

"Feast, Kiss of Blood, Blood Transformation!" Wang Chong used both hands simultaneously. With one hand, he continued to wield the Blade of the Ruined King, while with the other hand, he used three vampire-related skills. He also used his claws, and after successfully exposing Arcueid's weakness with the Blade of the Ruined King, he tore Arcueid's skin in one fell swoop, even staining his left hand red with Arcueid's blood.

"Hahaha! That was exhilarating!" But just then, Arcueid reached out and firmly grabbed Wang Chong's left wrist, which was piercing his right shoulder. Then Arcueid executed an over-the-shoulder throw, slamming Wang Chong to the ground.

"Cough cough! Is the difference in strength still there?" Wang Chong took the blow and fell to the ground. Seeing Arcueid intending to capture him on the spot, Wang Chong did not choose to use the power of time stop in the critical moment. Instead, he stepped on Arcueid's outstretched left hand as if it were a road, and quickly left.

"Seven Nights Assassination Technique - Fleeting Move: Water Moon!"

Chapter 235 Capturing Bai Ji

Sky garden

After the light flashed, Irisviel sensed that something was wrong and immediately tried to get closer to Artoria. Then, in the next instant, her vision spun around and she found herself in a room that looked very ancient.

"Irisviel!" A familiar voice rang out from beside her, and there was Artoria, who was running up to her.

"Saber, what's going on here?" Looking at the strange room and the monster statues standing on the stone pillars, Irisviel couldn't help but feel uneasy.

“We must have been teleported away. And everyone’s teleportation location should be different. We and the others should be separated. I just don’t know if we were lucky enough to end up together, or if the Master and Servant at least ended up together,” Artoria said.

"In that case, it seems the enemy intended to take us down one by one from the start. If we don't regroup with the others in time, we're very likely to face the predicament of being surrounded by multiple enemies. Right now, we need to act quickly and see if we can regroup with the others. What do you think, Alice?"

In response to Artoria's suggestion, Irisviel nodded and said, "Just be careful. I have a feeling the journey won't be very peaceful. Like these statues, they feel like living monsters, constantly giving me a sense of being watched...!!"

"Watch out! Wind King's Iron Hammer!"

Artoria's intuition instantly sensed the danger, and without saying a word, she turned around and released the Wind King Barrier on her sword.

"ah--!"

A sharp cry rang out, and the monsters that should have been on the stone pillars spread their wings and fluttered behind Artoria. However, they were all overturned by the wind king's iron hammer.

"Drink—!" Artoria immediately pressed her advantage, unleashing her magic to kill gargoyles one by one with her sword. Only after the battle was over did she retract Excalibur.

"It seems to be just some rather clumsy monster trickery. However, this does mean that the surrounding environment is fraught with danger. Be careful, Irisviel. We need to proceed cautiously. Stay close to me," Artoria said, walking up to Irisviel.

"Hmm... I wonder how Miss Joan of Arc and Mr. Wang Chong are doing." Irisviel knew very well that the most important thing right now was to find Wang Chong and Joan of Arc as soon as possible.

In every part of the Hanging Gardens, the same thing was happening with Irisviel and Artoria. However, one pair of unfortunate souls was Tokiomi Tohsaka and Gilgamesh. While the others, whose Masters and Servants were close together, were generally teleported to the same location, Tokiomi and Gilgamesh were too far apart, meaning they were completely separated and tackling the challenges alone.

Of course, there might be deeper reasons behind this...

……

Yuanzangshan

"Flash Sheath - Seven Nights." With lightning speed, Wang Chong flashed behind Arcueid, his left hand gripping a blood-stained blade that plunged into the back of Arcueid's neck. With a whoosh, the dagger traced a bloody arc through the air, and Wang Chong was already in front of Arcueid.

"puff!"

"Ugh—!" Wang Chong clutched his waist, three bloody scratches from claws marring his tattered clothes. Arcueid had still managed to see through his speed just now. Even though he had injured his opponent, the price he paid was far greater.

“Very interesting technique. That spider-like movement, and that attack method specifically targeting non-humans. But I’m still faster.” Arcueid shook the blood off her hands as if talking about something trivial. As for the blood spurting from the back of her neck, Arcueid didn’t care at all, since it would heal quickly.

"Do you have any other powerful killing moves? I've seen those two or three times already. If that's all you've got, you might as well come back with me." Arcueid finished speaking and charged forward again, his ferocious bloodlust making him look like a terrifying demon. Wang Chong took a deep breath, first manipulating the black mist to forcefully hurl the Ruined King's Blade at Arcueid, blocking his advance, while simultaneously using Flash Step to charge forward again.

"Flash Sheath - Prison of the Sand Gate!"

In the instant Arcueid clashed with the Blade of the Ruined King, Wang Chong closed in and unleashed the strongest move of the Seven Nights Assassination Technique without hesitation. In that instant, everything around him seemed to slow to a crawl. He slowly raised his hand and swung the blood-red blade down at his target, a burst of crimson light flashing across the scene—a slash that seemed to defy fate, cleaving the princess into seventeen pieces—all in a fleeting moment!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—"

"Ha... Impressive." A dozen bloody gashes instantly appeared on Arcueid's body, splattering blood. Arcueid had to marvel at the power of this move. Even though his strength and speed were a level above, he couldn't keep up with the opponent's movements in this single strike.

However, that's all there is to it.

"Ugh—cough—" Wang Chong coughed up a lot of blood. His abdomen had been pierced with a bloody hole. It would take a long time to recover, and this period was when Wang Chong was at his weakest.

Arcueid's regenerative abilities far surpass Wang Chong's, and those bloodstains were merely superficial wounds. Without the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, it's impossible to recreate the scene from Type-Moon. However, even with the Mystic Eyes, facing the White Princess at night, even if Tohno Shiki were to bend down, he wouldn't be able to sever Arcueid's death line.

Arcueid at night is truly invincible.

"Alright, good boy, you should go back and behave yourself." Sensing that the outcome was decided, Arcueid walked towards Wang Chong, intending to capture him completely, as he was already lying on the ground.

Just as Arcueid reached out, Wang Chong, like a dragon, climbed along the direction of Arcueid's claws and reached behind Arcueid. He extended his hands from under Arcueid's armpits and then used a grappling and chokehold technique to grab Arcueid tightly. The two of them sat down on the ground with a thud. To prevent Arcueid from using her feet for leverage, Wang Chong stretched out his left leg and pressed down hard on Arcueid's left leg.

To prevent his power from being insufficient, Wang Chong even unleashed a large amount of black mist composed of destructive power to further restrict Arcueid's movements.

"Huh...huh...huh..."

Their breaths mingled, their blood mingling, just as their bodies were now pressed tightly together, unable to separate for even a moment. Incidentally, due to their prolonged hand-to-hand combat, their clothes had long since succumbed to the relentless, tearing attacks of these two monsters, and were now mostly tattered.

In a sense, if it weren't for the fact that both of them were bathed in their own blood, it would have been quite a sensual sight to outsiders.

"Cough cough... Hehe, hahaha, this is really interesting. What kind of battle is like this? I've fought in melee combat, clashed with magicians, and done plenty of hand-to-hand combat. But I've never been stuck like this before. What is this? I was supposed to be the one grabbing you, but now you're the one grabbing me. Okay, you've grabbed me, so what are you going to do next?" Arcueid laughed loudly, seemingly unconcerned about Wang Chong's struggle.

After all, Arcueid is always far superior in terms of resilience and potential.

"Arquette is right... This is a last resort. The power of ruin can't brainwash me, and all my techniques are useless. It seems that I can only hold on like this and buy some time... Think, think carefully. Since the thing the system mentioned isn't one of my techniques, then all that's left are the items. Are there any items that can help me deal with the current situation?"

With the remaining time, Wang Chong needs to find the winning item as quickly as possible.

“Things…things…wait, could it be…?” Wang Chong’s eyes suddenly flashed.

Chapter 236 One Ball Superman

"Alright, stop dawdling. You don't really think this level of grappling can restrain me, do you?" At this moment, Arcueid began to exert more force, as if Wang Chong's grappling was just a game to her. And now, Arcueid was getting serious.

"Crunch—crunch—"