The flames grew higher and higher, licking the forest’s canopy and immediately charring the moss and vines all around it. I felt the searing heat on my skin and instinctively flinched, but my mind was still too clouded for me to process what was happening. The flames seared straight into my skin.
[Physique level 30 → level 33]
Upgrading my physique level would only delay the inevitable; but instead of feeling immense pain, each burn and scar left me with a small feeling of relief.
Demon shrieks and cries were heard all around me, the demons desperately growing their arms and aiming for me in one last, futile attempt to kill me, grab me, and take me down with them. I took in a staggered breath and black smoke filled my lungs; I could only convulse on the ground.
Hell’s fire was unspeakably potent, but in my state, I could hardly move. My body hit the ground before I could even process the movement—the flames were unwavering as they grew even higher, burning the pollen and exploding in bright yellow sparks with every combustion.
The tattoo on my arm began glowing once more, so brightly it could even be seen beyond the flames of hell fire. I would have tried to tear it out of my skin once more, and not just for the relief it would bring, but my other arm was far too gored for me to do so.
Instead, I planted my teeth in my arm, firmly clamping down on my arm and tearing at the tattoo before squeezing my eyes shut—the heat was so unbearable it almost felt like my eyes would start boiling.
Well, in the apocalypse, my death could’ve been much worse. At least the poison meant I would have a bit of peace in between the waves of pain.
[Scathing Reviewer activated!]
My eyes widened, shaking unsteadily.
“Yang,” I gasped before wheezing heavily, resuming my feeble attempts to crawl away.
If I died, his stupid fear would undoubtedly be worse. I had no idea what would have caused women to be his biggest fear, but whatever it was, I didn’t want to inflict a gaping wound upon him.
I spat out an entire strip of my skin, watching it quickly be consumed by the fire, but the tattoo seemed embedded through my entire arm. It even appeared on my muscle. It burst with white light once more, and I looked away out of shock.
For a moment, out of the eruption of karmic yellow sparks and in my delusional state, I thought I saw a figure—a potentially frustrated expression was drawn on its face before it turned its back on me.
Squinting my eyes, I tried to make out the details in the twisted expression, but my vision was far too blurred. It was wearing long flowing pink robes, and its hair was partially tied up.
Did it come from my tattoo? Whatever. I was too high for this.
All I could manage was a pained groan. I writhed on the ground in a failed attempt to get away from the flames. The black smoke was blinding me now, and my lungs were filled with smoke and ash.
Suddenly, I felt a thick cloth being patted all over me, trying to put out the flames. Two arms lifted me up, initially slipping when trying to maneuver around my limp body, but they eventually succeeded in throwing me over their back.
Letting out a pathetic sound, I felt another wave of instant relief before pain tore through me. I cried out my entire body feeling as if my skin were being peeled off from the burning sensation.
“I’m sorry.”
Yang. He was here, doing his best to cover his face and hold his breath, but his face was twisted in excruciating pain. His skin was practically purple with how hard he was trying to hold his breath and avoid breathing in the toxic fumes.
“D-Don’t touch me,” I pleaded, my eyes squeezed shut from pain.
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Yang shook his head and turned around, struggling to find out where to go. He held Zhige tightly at his side. The forest changed its appearance again, switching between mountains, flower fields, and the dark forest. I feebly extended a hand toward the right path. With a sudden burst, Yang massively upgraded his agility level and brought me to the edge of the forest.
He finally breathed out, and Yang fought for his breath, hyperventilating. His skin was bright red, and his eyes almost bloodshot.
A vicious scream rang out as the entire forest lurched forward, thousands of roots and vines darting forward toward Yang. The trees grew rapidly, towering even higher, and began to form one, collective figure.
“How dare you? How dare you!”
The voice was shrill and crackled—with each word, it strained and croaked like an ancient tongue. A giant hand reached out, smashing into the ground just before Yang. Sharp wooden and stone spikes burst out of it into fractal-like branches, one of them hooking the fabric of his pants but missing his skin.
If he was stabbed, he would be infected by the pollen.
“Z-Zhige,” I stammered, reaching for my blade to help.
To my surprise, Yang firmly slapped my hand down before he threw his staff high up into the air; it quickly grew to the height of a small building and he leapt up, grabbing onto it before swinging it firmly into the forest ground.
The entire world shook from the impact, and the train behind us jumped into the air before falling against the ground in a crash. The wind from the impact blew back the entire forest, raising the flames higher and higher on the demonic figure.
Letting out a deafening screech, the demon pried at its wooden figure, stripping off piece after piece and causing a gooey sap to seep out like blood. It shimmered in the light, clearly full of the pollen.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all! How dare you!”
I could barely hang on to Yang’s neck as we landed on the ground, the entire floor splitting below us. He kept one of his hands to stabilize me while the other spun the staff high above him, cutting back the countless splintering branches.
His nervousness was apparent by the way he chewed on his lower lip, but he did not fall back against the demon. With a strong leap back, we made it to the metro and quickly jumped into it before I was placed on the ground.
Hissing through my teeth, I let out a pained groan as soon as his contact ceased. My entire body writhed on the floor, blood seeping from my mutilated arm.
I tried blinking rapidly to clear my vision, wanting to check if Amelia was here. Yue had her held tightly on the opposite side of the car, blocking her view. Thankfully, she was still wearing the headphones.
My breathing came in a shaky pattern of shallow wheezes, each one forcing my chest to rise before falling deeply. The hot rush raged through my body once more, and I let out a loud scream, curling into a fetal position on the ground.
“Peijin! Peijin!” Yang shouted, rushing over and hovering his hands above me. He was clearly deeply frightened by my condition, and he reached down to grab my gored arm.
My unquenchable thirst for blood returned when I looked up at Yang, seeking any solace from the pain that I could get. I was disoriented, unable to piece together a single logical thought outside of what I needed in the moment.
It would be so easy to kill Yang right now. In one movement, I could swing Zhige up and slice Yang in half.
Then everything, this pain, this sickness, would cease, even if it were just for a moment. If I killed everyone on this train, I was certain I could find relief.
Gripping Zhige, I lifted the blade into the air and stabbed it straight through my shoulder, pinning myself onto the floor of the train.
I let out a blood-curdling screech, tears springing from my eyes as my entire body reeled once more. My mind cleared from the violent act for just a moment, and I could finally make out Yang and Wei’s face.
“Oh my god, Peijin!” Wei screamed, darting toward me. “Stop it! Stop!”
What ignorant words from an outsider who did not know this story.
“Wei! Help me pin her down! She’ll kill herself!”
In my moment of clarity, I leaned up, sliding up Zhige’s sharp blade. “Don’t touch me! You’ll make it worse!”
I was losing blood at an alarming rate, but at least the searing pain paused. I gasped for breath, appreciating every single one because in a few moments, I’d suffocate once more.
Yang trembled above me, his hands hovering above me. He didn’t look much better than me—his skin had taken on a sickly hue from both the stress and the few breathes of toxic air he inhaled.
“P-Peijin, I don’t know what to do,” Yang whispered, turning around desperately while swiping through the Azure Dragon store.
[Hindsight activated!]
If I died now, the party would move on. My room would be skipped and they’d continue as is—with all of their current sponsors and weapons, they’d make it just fine. It was clear that the rest of my party was on good terms with Feiyu.
But that was only if they made it through Wei’s room. In fact, I even doubted my own capabilities to survive that room.
“Don’t even think about something stupid right now, Peijin,” Wei ordered sharply, his voice a higher pitch as he wrapped bandages around my arm. He was already halfway complete, but I didn’t even realize he’d begun.
My eyes widened at his words before I gave a small smile. I could feel the effects of the pollen growing once more, and I winced, my entire body trembling. Above this scene, I could see the silhouettes of the gods watching.
Fuckers. If they could watch, then they should do something about this mess.
And god damnit, where was Socrates?
[Observers Chat]
Nipon23: don’t be a failure in both your lives.
I seriously hated that guy. He only showed up at my worst.
“Yang, wait for me,” I suddenly ordered, heaving.
“What?”
“Knock me out,” I wheezed out. “Wake me up in six hours. The effects of the pollen will have worn off by then, and if you keep me up any longer, I’ll end up killing someone.”
I let my head fall against the train floor and Yang raised his fist, smashing it against the side of my head.
I blacked out.