A cold, indifferent voice echoed in her ears.
An icy touch landed on her forehead.
It brought a chill that pierced straight into the depths of her soul.
The old terror surged forth once again, painting her body and mind in the pitch-black hue of despair.
Mulin’s face turned deathly pale, her eyes wide open, pupils constricted, her spine prickling with cold.
It was as if she had encountered something truly terrifying.
No, there was nothing more terrifying than having a Demon Emperor press their fingertip against your forehead.
Because, in that moment, your life and death are no longer yours to decide!
(It can’t be like this, it’s not supposed to be like this.)
Her mind spun in chaos, her heart overflowing with regret.
If she had just played dead, none of this would have happened.
Yet, she had let anger and resentment rule her, shouting at the other, even though she was so powerless herself…
…So small!
She was simply seeking her own doom!
The moment Ye Lian finished speaking—
Mulin felt her body being torn apart, her limbs snapping, flesh turning inside out, nerves exploding.
The agony was so intense it nearly drove her insane.
And yet, she did not die.
As if the Demon Emperor wanted her to prolong that agony indefinitely, the flow of time was slowed—
Again and again, unbearably slow.
It was a punishment even worse than death, tormenting Mulin to her limit.
She had finally made it back to this point in time, yet had accomplished nothing.
That filled her with unwillingness.
And even deeper regret.
After all, that was the only hope the [White Knight] had risked her life to leave her—a chance to rewrite the ending.
Now, that hope was about to vanish along with her death.
Because of her own stupidity, she had doomed the White Knight, and the hope of the world.
How foolish.
How laughable!
Mulin wished she could stab herself to death.
But it only proved how deep her hatred for the Moon Demon Emperor ran.
It was deeper than the abyssal sea; the moment she saw her, she simply couldn’t suppress the hatred and anger in her heart!
(It’s over….) Feeling her life fade away, Mulin’s face turned ashen, like all the fire within her had been spent.
Then, boundless darkness devoured her whole.
(If there was another chance, I’d definitely… Haha, there won’t be another chance.)
With a self-mocking sigh, her consciousness fell into the abyss of darkness.
Never, ever to awaken again.
“You can’t even withstand my presence? What a weak little insect. Killing you would only dirty my hands.”
Just then, a clear, cold voice rang out, pulling Mulin’s consciousness back.
When she focused, she saw that damned Demon Emperor had withdrawn her hand, staring at her with an expressionless face.
She looked down—there wasn’t the slightest trace of an injury on her body.
Everything just now had been an illusion.
She had actually been driven to such despair by nothing more than the other’s presence.
The Moon Demon Emperor—how terrifying must she be!
Could they ever truly defeat an enemy like this?
Once again realizing her opponent’s strength and horror, Mulin felt even more despair.
But, if she couldn’t defeat her, the world would end.
Everything she treasured would vanish with it!
To Mulin, saving the world itself didn’t matter much.
In her heart, the White Knight was more important than the world.
However, without a world, neither the White Knight nor she would exist.
So the world had to be saved.
And the Moon Demon Emperor had to be defeated.
“Why don’t you kill me?” Shut up, shut up! Mulin screamed in her heart, but her mouth would not obey.
“You’re too weak. It doesn’t interest me.
Besides, I much prefer sitting on my throne, looking down at you, and admiring how ridiculous you all look as you struggle~”
Ye Lian brushed her messy silver hair aside, the corners of her lips curling in a cruel smile.
Hearing that, Mulin’s heart felt frozen.
This Demon Emperor was truly the embodiment of evil—everything she did was only for her own amusement!
Humans, in her eyes, were probably just a bunch of little ants struggling desperately to survive.
Killing them would be as easy as crushing them.
But that would be boring.
It was far more entertaining to throw all kinds of tribulations at them, watching them fight with all their might to survive, just like before.
(We… are nothing but her playthings!)
In this moment, Mulin finally understood the true difference between herself and the other.
She was merely an ordinary mortal.
The other was a true demon!
There was simply no possibility of mutual understanding.
“Struggle as hard as you can.
Otherwise, you, and all you care about, will be devoured by nightmares.
That would be no fun at all~”
Her light, drifting voice spread out and faded.
When Mulin came back to herself, the Moon Demon Emperor had vanished.
The sense of time slowing also disappeared with her.
“I got tricked again!” Suddenly, a voice sounded at her side.
Turning her head, she saw that it was Bai Xue speaking.
She had already awakened from the Dreamworld.
No, the others were waking up one after another as well.
Only then did Mulin realize the King of Terror was gone.
Where had that monster gone?
Had it been taken away by the Demon Emperor?
She suddenly recalled the moment before entering the Dreamworld, her pupils shrinking uncontrollably.
“White Knight!”
Without a second thought, she dashed toward the ruins below the city wall.
Bai Xue hesitated a moment, then hurried to follow.
Dancing Elephant and the others had also awoken, all with lingering fear.
Though none of them knew what had happened during that time, none looked well.
No one noticed that, far in the distance, a tentacled monster had emerged from the King of Terror’s severed limb.
It wore a strangely human-like expression of confusion.
The eyeballs covering its body spun round and round, as if taking in its surroundings.
A few seconds later, it scuttled frantically into a nearby storm drain, vanishing without a trace.
“White Knight!” Mulin threw all caution aside, digging through the wreckage of the collapsed buildings.
With her current strength, killing a rhinoceros with a punch was nothing; clearing mere debris was as easy as tossing it aside, quickly opening up a clearing.
Bai Xue joined in.
She wasn’t nearly as strong, but still much stronger than an ordinary person.
“Master!”
“White Knight!” The two called out as they cleared the debris, worry written all over their faces.
Especially Mulin—she had seen with her own eyes the White Knight being struck hard and sent flying by the King of Terror while completely unguarded.
No matter how strong the White Knight was, she would have taken serious damage!
“I’m here.” A familiar voice sounded from beneath the rubble.
“White Knight!”
“Master!”
Mulin and Bai Xue were overjoyed.
That voice was unmistakably the White Knight!
They dug in the direction of the voice.
Soon enough, they saw the White Knight, half her body buried beneath the wreckage.
As for injuries… there were, of course, none.
Even if she wanted to look hurt, she couldn’t damage the Silver Moon Divine Armor.
She could only act awkwardly.
(If I couldn’t instantly recover to Demon Emperor form, I really wouldn’t know how to keep faking it!)
At that moment, Ye Lian felt helpless.
Earlier, sensing that Bai Xue and the others were about to wake up, she’d taken advantage of Mulin’s distraction to teleport back into the ruins and fake her own death.
Fortunately, there was enough rubble to completely cover up the transformation.
Otherwise, she would have been exposed for sure.
“White Knight, thank goodness you’re alright!”
Mulin pounced, grabbing her tightly, as if the arms she held onto were not arms, but her future and her hope!