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Bonus chapter! Thank you to JustSomeOne for the donation! ^^
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Night fell quickly, though for those aboard the cruise ship, it made little difference. The world outside had long been swallowed by an endless void, leaving only darkness no matter when one looked.
Monsters once again roamed the decks, their presence punctuated by sporadic screams that set teeth on edge.
The third floor had long since descended into hell. Corpses and mutilated remains littered the space, their blood seeping into every surface until the entire level reeked of iron and decay.
Amidst the carnage, a massive ritual array slowly materialized in the bloodstains, its emergence accompanied by a suffocating pressure that made breathing difficult.
Hidden in the shadows, Xu Jinyan was a far cry from his usual composed self. His grip tightened around the tool in his hand as he stared fixedly at the array.
Once the Evil God's summoning ritual truly began, stopping it would be nearly impossible.
Xu Jinyan had initially assumed preventing the summoning would be straightforward. But reality proved far worse—Lin Zhiyan and Fu Ji had gone completely mad over the past two days, slaughtering passengers en masse to gather blood. Worse, the array had somehow activated on its own, accelerating the ritual far beyond expectations.
What should have taken days had been compressed into mere hours.
If the Evil God were summoned, Xia Qing, its chosen vessel, would die without question. No one could wrest control of a body from a dungeon boss in its own domain. At that point, forget teamwork—surviving the dungeon at all would be a miracle.
The summoning had to be stopped.
As Xu Jinyan bided his time, his gaze abruptly caught on a figure lurking in the shadows opposite him—Qi Yi, another player. Scattered nearby were several others, their presence confirming a shared goal.
Assessing the situation, Xu Jinyan turned his attention back to Lin Zhiyan and Fu Ji, searching for an opening.
The third floor was vast, the stench of blood masking all else. The two NPCs seemed oblivious to the watchers surrounding them.
Xu Jinyan had planned to strike when they were distracted, but Qi Yi had other ideas. Barely two minutes passed before the man lunged forward.
To Qi Yi, the solution was simple: kill the NPCs, end the ritual.
With no other choice, Xu Jinyan and the remaining players joined the fray. Chaos erupted across the deck.
Though Xu Jinyan's unique status barred him from the player rankings, his strength rivaled the top fifty. Yet even with artifacts bolstering him, he could only barely match Lin Zhiyan.
The man was a monster in human form—sever a limb, and it regenerated in moments.
Fu Ji was no different. Without Qi Yi's overwhelming combat skills to pin him down, the players would have been slaughtered wholesale.
The players didn’t dare intervene in the battle between the four, instead focusing on restraining the remaining staff members. The third deck descended into further chaos.
Lin Zhiyan and Fu Ji had to protect the summoning array, while Xu Jinyan and Qi Yi were bound by their duty to safeguard the ship itself. Neither side could fight at full strength, resulting in a deadlock where neither could gain the upper hand.
Yet as time passed, the array to summon the Evil God continued to take shape.
Blood seeped slowly across the deck as the sinister ritual circle rotated, its crimson hue deepening until it appeared almost black—like staring into the ocean’s abyss, where the deeper one looked, the darker the water became, until even blue faded into ink.
The depths formed an abyss.
And within that darkness, a faint silhouette flickered into view.
Lin Zhiyan and Fu Ji, mid-combat, froze when they saw the unfamiliar figure materializing within the array. Their eyes widened in shock.
This wasn’t the Evil God?
There, in the heart of the blackness, stood a figure with closed eyes—a face of breathtaking beauty, sharp features like carved jade, phoenix eyes that seemed painted by a master’s brush, and hair like flowing ink that stirred without wind. Yet for all its perfection, an indescribable dread seeped into their bones.
This was a terror beyond words, beyond reason.
The true Evil God had not yet fully descended, but even the faintest glimpse of Him flooded their minds with pure, unadulterated fear, obliterating all other emotions—no awe, no desire, no twisted fascination.
This being bore no resemblance to the false god they had once worshipped. Aside from the robes, there was nothing alike.
No… perhaps that earlier figure had never been the Evil God at all. They had been deceived.
Lin Zhiyan’s face turned ashen as realization struck—why the "Evil God" had seemed so familiar.
Xia Qing.
That impostor hadn’t been a deity. It was Xia Qing, the man who had supposedly "drowned at sea."
And the entity before them now? This was the true Evil God.
Xu Jinyan, aware of Lin Zhiyan’s past with Xia Qing, took one look at his expression and understood. His voice was icy.
"Stop His descent. Otherwise, Xia Qing will die without a doubt."
Lin Zhiyan and Fu Ji didn’t fully grasp the connection between Xia Qing and the Evil God, but the identical robes left no doubt—their fates were intertwined.
Death—or any other fate—would never be what they had envisioned.
In an instant, the two men switched sides, transforming from summoners of the Evil God to desperate opponents trying to prevent His descent.
But it was too late.
Deep within the darkness, the man's eyes slowly opened.
***
The monsters had completely overrun the ship.
They surged onto the decks from the second-level passageways—an endless tide of them. Beyond the railing, illuminated by flashes of lightning, the sea itself seemed to be made of those many-eyed abominations, their grotesque forms stretching into the abyss.
Whenever lightning split the sky, those eyes reflected the light in a way that turned the blood to ice.
The last survivors scrambled toward the upper decks, clawing for any hope of survival. Ruan Qing and Li Yi’an were no exception.
Though two days of rest had steadied Ruan Qing slightly—enough to stagger forward while bracing against the walls—his body grew colder by the minute. His skin now matched the frigid ocean water, and black mist had already consumed half of him.
He wouldn’t last three more hours.
But without evading the monsters, he wouldn’t even make it that long.
Strangely, the creatures seemed to fear the Demon’s Eye, recoiling from its presence even when inactive. It kept the parasitic eyes at bay—but offered no protection against the monsters’ physical attacks.
So Ruan Qing and Li Yi’an fled upward, using the artifact only when absolutely necessary.
Yet the horde was everywhere.
The monsters had grown strong enough to shatter glass and infiltrate the ship from all sides.
Li Yi’an clutched Ruan Qing’s hand, his small frame trembling with terror as he stared at the horrors blocking their path. The creatures had smashed through a window ahead—right where they needed to go.
And behind them?
More of the monsters.
Nowhere left to run.
Ruan Qing’s grip on the Demon’s Eye shook. One more activation, and he might not survive even three hours.
But without it?
They’d both die here.
His fingers tightened around the artifact—
Then, from the shadows, a voice rang out:
"My Lord—RUN!"
A figure burst forward—
The monsters’ attention snapped toward the movement, their grotesque forms lunging as one.
It was the player, Lin Gaoyuan.
Monsters didn’t attack their own kind, but Lin Gaoyuan hadn’t fully transformed yet. Claws tore into flesh as he grappled with them.
"My Lord—RUN!" he screamed at Ruan Qing, voice raw with desperation. The man who’d once cowered now stood defiant, drenched in blood and courage.
Ruan Qing’s grip on the Demon’s Eye turned bone-white. For a heartbeat, he hesitated—then seized Li Yi’an’s wrist and fled upward without looking back.
The higher decks grew quieter, the horde thinning until they reached the ship’s summit: the open-air prow, a dead end.
As Ruan Qing spun to barricade the door, movement flickered in the stairwell.
Lin Gaoyuan was dragging himself toward them.
His body was a ruin. One arm hung by sinew, his steps drunken and swaying. Even if he survived, this world would forever be his tomb.
Half-mad with pain, Lin Gaoyuan’s clouded eyes still brightened at the sight of Ruan Qing. He staggered closer, leaving a glistening trail of not-blood—a translucent ooze studded with pulsing eyeballs.
The eyes twitched, their pupils fixing on Ruan Qing. Had the fluid pooled deeper, they might have skittered toward him.
Lin Gaoyuan seemed oblivious. "Did I... help you?" he slurred, lips splitting into a grin as Ruan Qing gave the barest nod.
A wet chuckle bubbled up, spraying viscous droplets. "...Good."
His fingers trembled toward Ruan Qing—a dying stray pawing for its master’s touch.
"Can I... stay... with you...?"
Lin Gaoyuan’s eyes reflected Ruan Qing’s figure—as if Ruan Qing were his entire world. As if they held nothing but devotion for him.
A twisted, grotesque kind of devotion.
Ruan Qing pressed his lips together faintly, then let out a soft "Mm." He reached out toward Lin Gaoyuan.
Lin Gaoyuan’s pupils dilated at the gesture. Overcome with exhilaration, he tried to step forward—but his body had already reached its limit. Just before his fingers could brush Ruan Qing’s, he dissolved into a pool of water.
Just like the monster Ruan Qing had once killed with his powers. The true death of a creature.
Ruan Qing stared blankly at his fingertips, where a single drop of water clung. But his hand was tilted slightly downward, and soon, even that droplet slid away.
Before he could process it, the ship lurched violently—as if struck by a colossal force.
The impact caught Ruan Qing and Li Yi’an completely off guard. They were thrown forward, unable to steady themselves.
The top deck had railings, but the gaps between them were wide. Wide enough for a grown man to slip through.
Ruan Qing was lucky; he slammed against the railing, held in place by the metal bar. But Li Yi’an wasn’t so fortunate.
The boy hit the railing, his small body tilting from the force—and then, with horrifying ease, he slipped straight through the gap.
Ruan Qing’s eyes flew wide, his pupils contracting. Without thinking, he lunged forward and grabbed Li Yi’an’s wrist.
The sudden weight yanked him halfway over the edge. His upper body hung precariously in the air, his grip the only thing keeping them both from plummeting.
Li Yi’an looked at Ruan Qing’s bloodless face, then down at the churning sea below—and the countless monsters swarming within it.
He took a deep breath, swallowing back tears and terror, before lifting his gaze to meet Ruan Qing’s.
"Big brother," he asked softly, "what’s your name?"
Ruan Qing wanted to answer, but he had no strength left to speak. Even a single word might shatter his weakening hold.
A man who could barely stand had no hope of hauling up a five-year-old boy. He was clinging on through sheer will alone.
And if this continued, it wouldn’t be Li Yi’an being pulled to safety—it would be Ruan Qing being dragged overboard.
His slender frame had already slid forward, inch by inch. Any further, and they’d both fall.
Li Yi’an seemed to realize this too. He smiled then—bright and unshadowed, like the sun breaking through clouds.
"Big brother," he said, "I’m going to see my parents now. You have to live a good, long life, okay?"
Ruan Qing’s pupils constricted. He wanted to cry out, to stop Li Yi’an—but when his lips parted, only a trickle of blood escaped, streaking down his chin.
It dripped onto his hand, yet not a single sound escaped him.
And Li Yi’an—after those final words—wrenched Ruan Qing’s fingers apart.
Then let himself fall.
Straight into the sea.
The weight vanished from Ruan Qing’s grasp. He remained frozen against the railing, staring blankly as Li Yi’an plummeted.
From such a height, the moment of impact was no different from striking solid ground. Crimson bloomed instantly across the water’s surface.
Then faded just as fast.
Even the blood—swallowed whole by the unforgiving sea.
Until nothing remained.
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
ReplyDeleteNOOOOO OMG THIS HURTS SOO MUCH MY POOR BABY LI YI😭😭😭
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