Everything was so boring and disgusting…
Moonlight, insects chirping, sky, clouds, dew…
Colors, sounds, touch, people, thoughts…
Hatred, bonds, order, love, Chaos…
Truth, lies, reality, sin, deception…
Meaningless, nonsensical.
There was never such a thing as right or wrong, nor was there ever such a thing as depravity or redemption; this world was never twisted, because from the moment it was born, it had already been twisted beyond recognition.
Since it never had an ‘original appearance,’ why not let it become the way one likes it to be…
When the noisy clamor becomes deafening, one can become numb and accustomed to it.
Or simply let it completely fall silent, that doesn’t seem bad either~
Mo Tan gently bent down, looking at a small pink flower under the tree’s shade.
He could feel its vibrant life force, and it was precisely because of this that it could stubbornly grow in such an unsuitable environment.
“Steadfast, tenacious, and aloof.” A serene smile actually appeared on Mo Tan’s face, his eyes filled with pure admiration: “It’s just that there are still some imperfections in this unique beauty…”
A dark red halo flashed and disappeared, soundlessly, without a trace.
A charred petal drifted down to his feet…
“This way…” Mo Tan stood up again, his figure seemingly staggering slightly.
He raised a hand to steady the half-mask covering his eyes, and murmured, “Perfect~”
“When I just walked over, I thought you were complimenting me.”
Ji Xiaodao appeared behind Mo Tan at some point, her tone cool and indifferent: “Are you alright?”
“Steadfast, tenacious, and aloof?” Mo Tan turned to look at the tall girl with long silver hair in the game, not answering her last question, but merely shaking his head coldly: “I only saw blindness, willfulness, and pestering in you.”
Ji Xiaodao, however, shrugged indifferently and said expressionlessly: “Girls won’t be interested in you with that kind of personality.”
“That’s true, except for you.” Mo Tan leaned sideways against a nearby Gu Shu, gently rubbing his temples: “Stop following me, you should know you’re in the way…”
A faint blush crossed the Dark Elf’s slightly pale face.
Ji Xiaodao stared intently at the guy in front of her who didn’t look like a normal person in any way: “What did you say?”
“You’re in the way.” Mo Tan repeated, without any emotional fluctuation.
“That’s not what I asked!” The girl’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.
Mo Tan, however, merely glanced at her: “You’re really annoying…”
To be honest, it was a miracle for Mo Tan that he hadn’t killed this overly troublesome girl until now.
Although his previous attempt to act was interrupted by that cavalry squad, whose bones had long since turned to dust, he had had plenty of opportunities to act afterwards…
【As expected, I should still kill her.】
Just as Mo Tan was thinking this for who knew how many times, the girl in front of him changed the subject.
“The messenger arrived in the Imperial Capital this afternoon.” Ji Xiaodao suddenly said: “The investigation team is expected to arrive here in two days.
Viscount Tyr did not dispatch another search and rescue team to Banshee City because of your orders, and seems to be awaiting your further instructions…”
Beneath the mask, the increasingly violent Chaos in Mo Tan’s eyes receded a little, and he narrowed his eyes slightly.
And Ji Xiaodao continued on her own: “I heard that there is a Grand Duke among the investigators coming this time, named Bart Gallos.
He holds considerable power in the imperial High-Rank, and is himself a High-Rank Hurricane Magus, deeply trusted by the Emperor.”
A smile filled with evil suddenly bloomed at the corner of his mouth.
Mo Tan nodded to the Dark Elf girl: “Continue.”
“Accompanying them are the High Priest of the Huiye Sect and several High-Rank priests.
I learned that they worship the guardian of rangers, poets, and children—Moon Goddess Rose, an Absolute Neutral deity.” Ji Xiaodao’s speaking speed seemed to quicken a bit: “I think those people will definitely be interested in you, and it’s even very possible they’ll tie you to…”
“The stake is not popular here, and even if it were, I would only be one of the spectators.” Mo Tan slowly walked to Ji Xiaodao, looking at the Dark Elf girl who was a few centimeters taller than him in the game, and asked softly: “What do you want to express? To highlight your self-worth?”
The girl stared at him calmly: “Just passing the time.”
Mo Tan shook his head slightly: “I don’t need companions, and I’m unwilling to trust anyone other than myself.”
“Just returning your favor.”
“But I don’t need collaborators.”
“I…”
“Or are you saying that you think I couldn’t have gotten those words from Viscount Tyr myself?”
“…”
“However~” Mo Tan stared at Ji Xiaodao’s slightly disappointed eyes, and said softly: “He is, after all, just an ordinary tool.”
The Dark Elf girl blinked gently.
“I’m not interested in any of your thoughts, but if you insist on following me to ‘return the favor,’ perhaps I can indeed let you see many different sights, or even… nightmares.” Mo Tan’s voice suddenly became deep and ethereal: “However…”
“However?”
“You can have your own will, but you must unconditionally obey all my commands.”
Endless evil surged from his eyes.
Mo Tan activated his innate skill at that moment, targeting a player named Ji Dao.
【Original Sin】
…
“Commit suicide.” When Ji Xiaodao’s slightly stiff body relaxed a little, Mo Tan said to her casually: “Now.”
The sharp sword left its scabbard, and the Dark Elf girl plunged the weapon in her hand fiercely into her heart without hesitation!
But Ji Xiaodao failed…
Mo Tan moved behind her in an instant, embracing the Dark Elf girl’s slightly slender shoulders, while his other hand firmly grasped the sharp, thin sword.
“I changed my mind.” Mo Tan tilted his head and whispered to the Dark Elf girl struggling in his arms: “You’ll stay with me for now.”
Ji Xiaodao immediately stopped struggling, and responded faintly with her usual cool voice: “Mm.”
Mo Tan released her and walked away without looking back: “Wait for me here.”
…
Five minutes later, in a sparsely vegetated area a little further away.
Mo Tan stopped, took a hexagonal crystal from his satchel, and examined it carefully…
【Nameless Blood Pact】
Quality: Unique Legend
Requirement: Possess a summoning class / Total basic attributes not less than 300
Usage: At the cost of permanently deducting twenty percent of maximum stamina and health (not current), create a custom summoned creature.
Its existence is permanent, it can execute any command without distance limitations, can be summoned and dismissed at any time, has growth potential, but its abilities can never exceed the sum of the summoner’s attributes.
It can share the summoner’s skill list (excluding special skills, innate skills).
If killed, it can revive beside the summoner after 240 hours (game time).
【Note: Whether this is a worthwhile deal depends entirely on your purpose.】
This crystal was one of the spoils Mo Tan obtained during the process of “Bloodwashing Banshee City” when he first logged in.
It was also the only Legend-grade item he possessed, and it was even very likely the first Legend-grade item discovered by a player in the game.
However, from a gamer’s perspective, the 【Nameless Blood Pact】 was not very cost-effective, even for players who primarily focused on summoning classes.
Firstly, its cost was too high; permanently deducting twenty percent of maximum stamina and health would undoubtedly have a significant impact on anyone, and it was ‘not current.’
This meant that after use, if a player’s health was theoretically 100, it would only be 80; and after extensive leveling, when the theoretical data became 1000, it would only be 800, not just 980 (only 20 points less than the initial maximum).
Stamina worked the same way.
As the two most important stats in the game, this was equivalent to permanently making oneself 20% more fragile.
Secondly, although the summoned creature could be customized, theoretically even summoning a giant dragon would not be a problem, and it could share most skills with the summoner, its overall ability could never be stronger than the summoner.
So, while it felt very powerful, it wasn’t excessively strong…
You should know that in any game, the common characteristic of summoning classes in the later stages is that the summoned creature is stronger than the player themselves, which means… a big help, which means… taking off… which means… being cool… which means… attracting girls… which means… online dating… which means… meeting in person… which means… being dumbfounded, worldview collapsing, blood flowing five paces, exploding on the spot…
Seems I’ve gone off-topic~
My point is, this type of summoned creature makes it difficult to significantly increase a player’s coolness factor in the later stages, thus producing a series of delightful results.
Plus the previously mentioned cost, so the cost-effectiveness is not high. (See, I circled back)
But Mo Tan never considered it from a gamer’s perspective from the start, so he didn’t care, and for various reasons, this item was actually very suitable for him.
Of course, it wasn’t for combat purposes, but rather…
“Confusion.” Mo Tan looked at the face on the crystal surface, which was his own but not solely his own, and shattered it with a wild laugh, unhesitatingly sacrificing 20% of his maximum health and stamina to activate it.
As several wisps of blood mist rose from him, Mo Tan revealed a cheerful and unfathomable smile, looking at the black outline gradually forming before him, his insane Whisper seeming to come from the other side of Chaos: “Now, the only remaining problem is about to be solved…”
He looked at the chaotic empty space not far in front of him, examining it carefully as if looking in a mirror…
…
When Ji Xiaodao finally waited for Mo Tan to return, it was almost dawn.
“Long wait.” Mo Tan said to her indifferently, without any apology: “I was delayed for a while.”
Ji Xiaodao shook her head and smiled: “It’s fine, it wasn’t that long, actually.”
It was a rare smile…
However, Mo Tan didn’t pay attention; he simply walked past her and headed towards the dense array of tents in front of them: “Let’s go, we still have some time.”
“Mm.” Ji Xiaodao naturally followed behind him, walking half a step behind Mo Tan, just as she had been doing for the past few days.
…
【Perhaps fate had reserved this position for her from the very beginning…
A position where one could watch over, accompany, and simply reach out to touch that person.
As for whether the Dark Elf Ji Dao was truly controlled by the Sin King, we do not know…
As for whether the Sin King ever cared if that Dark Elf girl was truly controlled by him, no one knows either.
Looking back at history, we can only use the words ‘fate’ to provide a fundamentally unreasonable explanation for their encounter, and firmly believe that this is meaningful.
To understand it with a romantic perspective… Yes, romantic, although these two words seem to have no connection with that man, we can still speculate on the most unreliable possibility among many…
Perhaps in the Sin King’s heart, there has always been a place, it is unique, just like her, unique.
So he left it to her~ (Thanks to the common language for allowing me to express this possibility so concisely)
From all the various records in the previous volumes, we can see that neither the Original Sin Four Demon Generals under the Sin King, nor the Thirteen Godslayer Stars, nor his Six Great Pardon Army Commanders, ever truly gained the Sin King’s trust, nor were they ever truly regarded by the Sin King.
They were merely… tools…
It’s a pity…
Of course, I have no pity or sympathy, after all, the pain those people brought to this world has not yet fully healed, and if I had lived in that era, I would have wished for all those who aided the evil to be utterly destroyed and die a horrible death.
But I am ultimately not a person of that era, so I still cannot help but feel regret for them.
From countless battles and actions, I can see how much those people revered and yearned for their King, even if they died and their brains were splattered, it could not stop their stubborn loyalty.
That was a belief…
A crazy belief and loyalty that I might never understand in my lifetime.
But as I said before, no matter what, in the Sin King’s eyes, they were merely tools.
Only that Dark Elf, who had followed the Sin King from the very beginning, could truly stand quietly by his side in that era…
Perhaps we cannot forgive her, but everyone must admit that Ji Dao was special, different from those villains whose hands were also stained with blood…
She was an Otherworlder who did not belong to our world…
She was the biological younger sister of Lady Night Angel in the Grand Alliance…
She was the only woman the Sin King truly trusted…
She was his strategist, confidante, guard… perhaps also his companion…
She was unique—By the Sin King’s Side】
—Epic of Conjectures, Sin King Volume: By the Sin King’s Side》
Chapter Thirty-Three: End