Volume 9: Fate of Destiny Chapter 38 This is no longer an ordinary rebel army, we must strike hard! Hell's empty loss, assemble!
"Ah, it hurts! It hurts so much!"
A shrill scream rang out from the black castle in the Hell dimension. In the crimson magma pool where bubbles kept floating, the usually decent Mephisto was howling and rolling on his warm "bed".
He was in such a mess that even when his most precious goatee, the coolest in the Nine Realms, was stained with lava, he just pretended not to see it.
It hurts so much!
It felt like a piece of flesh was being cut out of the body, or like the heart, intestines and liver were being burnt.
It stands to reason that a devil would not be afraid of pain. He should swallow the pain like all other devils, as if it were the bread and sauce for his dinner tonight.
But therein lies the problem, the bond between the three great mentors and him is too profound, connected by power and soul contracts, they almost become the old devil's spokespersons and incarnations in the material world, a connection that is above the meaning of existence, so when they die, what is fed back is not only weakness, but also unbearable pain.
The great pioneer mentor is dead!
Ciri is dead!
The pain of this feedback was even greater than the previous warlock's death. After all, Mephisto was still asleep at that time, and his perception was more or less dull, but this time it was too clear.
It's like someone hit you hard on the nose and kicked you in the balls. Tears and snot are just the basic feeling.
"You are such a heartless bastard, you really have the guts to do this! Fuck, I misjudged you, you are someone who can do great things..."
Mephisto cursed as he pulled his twitching body out of the lava pool.
The feeling of weakness is still there.
Although the part of hell power given to Ciri is returning to the body, the loss caused by the extinguishing of a good candle is far greater than this little "original investment".
Itlegan had introduced this classic and ancient soul contract to Mason in detail a long time ago. The process of making the spokesmen into candles has always been a way to strengthen both parties. There is no evil connection between the seeds of power and the chaotic power that breaks out of the ground as a harvest.
Mephisto's goal is transcendence rather than simply becoming powerful, so the old devil does not do anything that would harm others and benefit himself.
He sat back on his throne of hell, raised his head and looked outside . The coalition of heroes that had invaded his dimension from the material world had already crossed the Scorch Plains with great force and were advancing towards his dark throne.
The Ghost Riders are trying to stop them, but these burning hell knights are just as ineffective as ever.
This situation was within the old devil's expectations so he was not panicked.
As long as those candles are still there, the old devil's existence is above all rules. It is not impossible to defeat him without extinguishing the candles and making him extremely weak, but it is obviously impossible for these coalition forces to do so with the power they possess.
He has indeed not yet transcended, but the constant nourishment from the worlds in which the seeds of divinity have been planted has brought him closer and closer to that level.
He might fail, but die?
Tsk, that's out of reach.
And for the devils, if death as an option has been eliminated in advance, it means they can keep prolonging the game until both sides get tired of it.
"Maybe it's time to spice things up for you little cuties."
Mephisto on the throne has already felt the strong threat posed by Mason. The feeling like needles pricking his heart made the old devil decide to activate the bomb he had buried deep.
When he saw that Old A's death trap failed, he also realized that things might have gotten out of control. However, unlike Old A who was in a panic at this time, Lord Destiny was obviously more confident when facing this challenge.
Just like he claimed before.
He still has to play one more game with Mason.
"I have handed over to you the method to defeat me. This is a big deal, everyone. You will certainly have to pay a price that is 'insignificant' for victory."
Amid Mephisto's sinister grin, he activated the soul contract of the Star Society.
Countless balls of lit candles floated in front of the old devil's eyes, and his figure and voice also appeared in the hearts of all the members of the Star Society at this moment.
In a bar in a remote world in a distant plane, a group of B-level personnel who were resting here were still discussing the sudden martial law in Star Castle and the grand cause promoted by Sir Mason. As a result, they all stopped what they were doing in unison in the next moment. Everyone seemed to be struck by invisible lightning, and they all heard that gloomy and weird voice.
“Members of the Star Society, pioneers of the dark sea of stars, hounds of destiny, you may know the true meaning of the devil tattoo on your arms, or you may still be kept in the dark, but it is meaningless now.
No need to cover up anymore, folks.
I am Mephisto, the Lord of Fate as you call him, the one who made a pact with you, the one who gave you power, the one who united you in the chaotic age of impact.
Your contract represents a terrible curse, which will generate candlelight through the transfer of power, and once the flame goes out, you will have to blow out the lamp and remove the wax.
All the oppositions represented by strength and weakness, wisdom or stupidity, justice and meanness will become meaningless when such a candle is blown out.
And now!
Right now!
A group of righteous men of noble character and great sentiments have entered my kingdom and tried to kill me to give you true and eternal freedom.
But unfortunately, as long as there is a candle burning, I will never die.
You might as well guess what choice those righteous people will make in order to get rid of this scourge like me?
The most tragic thing for me, the conquered one, is that the secret room where I hid all the candles has been found, in the Star Castle...
My existence and yours depend on those candles, and I leave the choice to you, my dear hounds.
You can, with great courage and determination, blow out your candle and send me to death, or you can take your candle and keep it privately in order to save your own life.
This is your power and no one can interfere with this process.
Go, go!
Go to that place and take back your lives. Please remember, my dear hounds, that a person's destiny should always be in his own hands.
Wish me luck.
Good luck to you too.
Love comes from your leader, Lord Destiny.
May every sacrifice please the dark stars and illuminate our way forward..."
The cold voice disappeared at this moment, and the illusion that appeared in the minds of every member of the Star Society along with the voice also disappeared.
They may not believe the truth revealed by the old devil himself, but the millions of flickering candles in those pictures did capture everyone's heart at that moment.
When the first bottle of drink fell to the ground in this lively bar, many people stood up suddenly.
They looked at each other with complicated expressions in their eyes.
When everything is fine, everyone can be a good person. However, once one's own interests are involved, when choosing to be a good person means that one may die, the risk of doing good deeds is raised to an unbearable level.
This has nothing to do with morality, it's human nature and instinct.
No one needs to call.
When the first female ranger grabbed her bow and walked out of the bar in silence, the rest of the people started walking. After just a dozen seconds, only a handful of people were left in the bustling bar.
"Hey, why don't you go?"
The pessimistic and world-weary female bartender with a hot body wiped the table and asked a bearded B-level personnel who was lying on the bar and still drinking:
"It seems to me that they are going to do something big, and it seems to be related to everyone. Don't you care?"
"Why should I go?"
The bearded fellow raised his head and said drunkenly:
"They are just looking for trouble. Any pioneer who can reach rank B is not a fool. Just think about it and you will know that this is Mephisto's trick to stir up internal strife in the Star Society.
They know this, but they are still afraid that they will become the 'price' paid by the righteous to destroy the evil.
Okay, I admit that candle did make me a little upset.
but……"
He drank a large glass of wine, wiped his mouth and said:
"But I'm still alive, am I not? They didn't intend to extinguish the candles to kill the devil, and if I run to Star Castle now, I will cause trouble for the good people and become an accomplice of the bad guys.
Although I am not a good person, I will not do such a thankless job."
This sentence made the female bartender who was wiping the bar blink her eyes, and she said:
"Are you willing to put your life in the hands of a group of people you don't even know? What if, I mean, what if they really decide that defeating evil is more important than protecting life?
Aren’t you afraid of death?”
"I'm afraid, but I believe in Team K."
The bearded man shrugged his shoulders and touched the wound on his neck, which had nearly torn his throat. He stroked it and said:
“I once followed the bastard warlock into their world and did some very bad things there.
I saw with my own eyes that Lord Mason pushed himself into a desperate situation in order to save us invaders. He saved thousands of people in a few seconds. I should have died miserably under the neutron annihilation of that bastard council, but I survived.
I owe them my life.
It’s no big deal to give it back to them now.
And you know what?
We hounds have seen all kinds of bad things and tragedies in our travels around the world, and our nerves have long been trained to be as hard as a rock. We seldom believe that there are such things as truth, goodness, and beauty in this era. However, even the worst bastard will hope in his heart that someone will appear and pull him back when he is heading towards self-destruction.
And that day, I met a truly good person.
He cherishes it as if it were as rare as me accidentally encountering a dead whale while racing in the desert.
I believe him.
When hypocrisy and chaos become the norm, sincerity and kindness are the most deadly weapons, so I believe in him and am willing to entrust my life to him.
that's all……"
"But you realize this is a cop-out, right?"
The female bartender turned around, poured a glass of wine and slammed it in front of the bearded man. She leaned over the bar and said to her guest:
"This is not Team K's war, this is each and every one of your wars, and every member of the Star Club must participate in it, whether you like it or not.
You said you didn't want to be an accomplice of the bad guys and chose to stand by and watch, but when justice and evil are fighting to the death, you choose to watch the show, which is certainly neutral.
It sounds easy to entrust everything to others, but in fact it is just like digging a hole and burying your head in it, pretending that everything is fine and pretending that you didn't hear the bullets flying over your head.
You either do good things or you do bad things.
Doing nothing is not an option.
You can't avoid it.
Now, drink this free drink, take your gun and go to Star Fort to help the good people in your heart."
"Hey, you're not a member of the Star Club, why are you so excited?"
The bearded man stared at the female bartender in front of him. The latter shrugged her shoulders, fished out a Mason poster from under the cabinet, plopped it in front of the bearded man, and said:
"I am a fan of Mr. Mason, okay? Who wouldn't like such a sunny and handsome hero? If you can come back alive, remember to get an autograph for me.
I'm going to put him in a prominent position in the bar."
“This is a life-threatening situation!”
The bearded man drank the glass of wine unhappily and said:
"You're sending me away with just a glass of wine? My life, which I saved with great difficulty, is too cheap... huh?"
The female bartender kissed the guy on the forehead. She wiped her mouth with a look of disgust, looked at the grinning bastard in front of her, waved her hand and said:
"Go ahead, I'll come back and give you something better."
"Thanks, Moxie, I feel empowered."
The bearded man laughed, picked up his shotgun and strode out, leaving the female bartender still wiping the table. She looked at the other people left in the bar, put her hands on her hips and said:
"What? You need me to give each of you a kiss too? Get back to work, you bastards, and take back our future!
I am still waiting to continue running my bar business in the new world, and I will give you a VIP card then."
…
"They're coming! There are so many of them!"
In the folded space of Star Castle, Deadpool, who was in charge of the front row, shouted at the hoarse voice to convey the bad news to every team deployed here.
On the wall of the Star Castle, which had been completely fortified, the swordsman, who had been waiting impatiently, snapped his devil helmet on his head.
She leaned on her soul sword and shouted to the people around her:
"We all knew that it was impossible to reason with these scared bastards in this situation, so we chose to respond to their questions with weapons.
Of course, this is not a life-and-death enemy, so be gentle!
Use non-lethal weapons if possible, don't really open their heads. We have to hold out here until the situation becomes clear, which won't be easy.
But we’ve come this far…
That little bitch Hunter is dead, we have all sacrificed so much, and we can't allow failure to be the final result.
Prepare to meet the enemy!"
At her command, the entire Star Fortress's defenses were put into place. Barbara, driving a gray Fenrir armor, opened the cockpit and gave the swordsman a thumbs up from above.
She said:
"This declaration of war is well said."
"Of course!"
The swordsman said in a muffled voice, with his hands on his hips:
"I have prepared the script in advance. This may be the last battle of my career. How can I not perform well?"
"Are you ready then?"
Barbara asked, and Liana knew what she meant. She flicked her fingers and a bottle of transparent potion jumped into her palm, with a contract inside that was melting in the potion.
The swordsman shook it vigorously to make the contract melt faster.
She curled her lips under her helmet and said:
“I hope your brother’s skills are good enough and I won’t be hurt. Even for the Lord of Hell, death is a very serious matter.
But how to say it?
Even in my most optimistic thinking, I never thought that things would develop to this point, so even if I really died, it would be worth it. Alas, when the time came, I realized that Ciri was the bravest among us.
Just die if you say so.
There is no hesitation at all, and he is really bold. "
“Here they come!”
Another warning sounded, at the front of the folded space.
Several of the fastest B-class teams had already rushed into the island in the endless ocean. In front of them, Ertong and Damian blocked them on the left and right.
"Don't go over there!"
Ertong said this in a cold voice without explaining anything further.
The B-class members looked at each other and drew their weapons in silence, while Barrel II and Damian looked at each other, and the two Bat-family cubs shrugged.
With the cold sound of a blade being unsheathed, Mason's handmade sword fell into his hand, and the newly engraved inscription "Peace is the most precious" on it was shining.
This thing can allow enemies under fatal attacks to survive, and it was developed by the inscription master specifically for this battle.
The next second, two groups of people rushed forward at the same time, and blood suddenly appeared.
The final civil war of the Star Society begins here!
