The Grotesque Miss’s End Story v2c79

Chapter 79: Xing Tian Returns

The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and gentle, warm sunlight bathed the land of Victoria.

Even the battlefield ruins, filled with blood and a murderous aura, seemed to soften under the sunlight, the chilling air lessening its bite.

A flash of sword light split the sky, and a head fell to the ground, rolling a short distance before coming to rest, face up.

The Boy’s eyes bulged, bloodshot and terrifying, his face contorted in a final roar, but it was over.

His massive body froze in place, maintaining his last attack posture, the lingering murderous aura preventing anyone from approaching, yet lifeless.

“……”

Luo Ling stepped onto the ground, her wounds constantly aggravated by the lingering killing intent, yet instantly healing, the cycle repeating until the murderous aura was completely dispelled.

So strong…

Even at the last moment, when he could no longer resist the sword, the Boy had unleashed his killing intent, inflicting a final blow on Luo Ling.

For any other being, even a High-Risk Grotesquery, this would have been a devastating injury. The lingering killing intent and bloodlust would continuously worsen the wound until death, or until the killing intent dissipated.

Fortunately, Luo Ling was a High-Order Grotesquery of the Silent Demise Path, wielding the Authority of Silent Demise. Any non-fatal injury could be instantly healed.

This was somewhat similar to Educator’s Blood Lord, both being Silent Demise Grotesqueries, although the Blood Lord’s regeneration was even more powerful, capable of being reborn from a single drop of blood, truly immortal.

Severely injuring Educator might not be difficult, but completely extinguishing him… that would be a challenging task.

“Unfortunately, I can’t use Time, otherwise this battle would have been easier…”

Luo Ling looked at the bronze sword in her hand, its black and white colors swirling, and sighed inwardly.

Authority Sacred Tools weren’t easily mastered. Even in her Naraku form, controlling Time, another Chaos Path Authority, was difficult.

Bringing Time had been Fiona’s suggestion. As a Sacred Tool crafter, she was naturally very familiar with it.

Even if she couldn’t use its Authority, Time was still the strongest weapon Luo Ling possessed… mainly because Absolute Blade’s activation conditions were too restrictive. It was powerful in theory, but needing to pierce the target for a certain duration was a major limitation.

Unless the opponent was suicidal, it was difficult to achieve this against someone of equal strength.

Looking at the bisected Boy, Luo Ling couldn’t help but sigh.

No wonder Time was Cheng Jianming’s weapon of choice for assassinations. Even without using its Authority, it was a top-tier weapon.

If Cheng Jianming had recovered and fought with his full strength, defeating him would have required much more effort.

“Miss Luo Ling, is it over?”

Linna removed her helmet, her face etched with exhaustion.

Even though the armor had blocked most of the axe’s force, even to the point of being destroyed, Linna had still sustained considerable injuries, recovering only thanks to the Puppet Ballad’s abilities.

But she was no longer combat-ready for the time being.

“Linna, your words sound a bit…”

Luo Ling’s lips twitched, a sense of foreboding washing over her.

Wait, the Grotesquery associated with the Boy’s Death Wish Authority… was Xing Tian, wasn’t it?

The next moment, the sound of war drums echoed from somewhere, growing louder and louder, until it was deafening.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amidst the powerful drumbeats, the giant’s body suddenly moved.

Even without a head, a will emerged, gripping the axe and forcing the body to stand.

He swung the axe, his movements like a ritualistic dance, which should have been comical, but now radiated a terrifying aura.

“My god,” Linna’s eyes widened. “He… he can still move?”

“After all, this is Xing Tian,” Luo Ling murmured, her gaze fixed on the headless giant, “Xing Tian, who ‘danced with his shield and axe, his fierce spirit unwavering’…”

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”

The headless giant slowly turned, facing Luo Ling and Linna, raising his axe and roaring like a furious storm, as if only slaughter remained.

Without a mouth, he roared.

Without eyes, he saw.

With nipples for eyes and a navel for a mouth, he danced with his shield and axe.

His Death Wish unbroken, his battle unending.

—This was Xing Tian.

A demon god returned from hell.

Even Linna was stunned. Educator’s ability to constantly regenerate, even from a single drop of blood, wasn’t as shocking as this.

Thousands of injuries, a pierced heart, a severed body, even decapitation, couldn’t kill him.

No matter how severe the wounds, he would stand again and continue fighting, his ferocity increasing with each blow.

With an earth-shattering tremor, the headless giant lunged forward, his target not Linna this time, but Luo Ling.

Because Xing Tian didn’t fight the weak, but the strong.

Only the blood of the strong could satisfy his endless battle lust.

The axe descended, creating countless cracks in the ground, spreading across the entire battlefield.

In that crucial moment, Luo Ling opened a Kingdom entrance, sending Linna back.

But time was too short. She only managed to send one person away before the axe struck, unavoidable.

The White Witch was torn apart.

All the white reishi mushrooms on the battlefield instantly withered, the murderous aura dissipating, replaced by a faint scent of vegetation.

Linna, abruptly returning to the Kingdom, immediately realized what had happened. She turned to return to the real world, but Fiona stopped her.

“Miss Luo Ling…”

Linna had witnessed the silver-haired girl being torn apart by the giant axe.

Even now, replaying the scene in her mind, Linna’s heart pounded.

“…She’s alright,” Fiona said gravely.

In a corner of the battlefield, Luo Ling had regenerated from a single drop of blood, but her expression was undeniably weak.

When Xing Tian’s true will returned to the headless giant’s body, he had displayed the terror of a Sequence 19 Grotesquery, far beyond what Luo Ling could currently handle.

If not for borrowing Educator’s ability at the last moment, she would have paid a much heavier price.

Even so, Luo Ling had exhausted all the murderous aura on the battlefield and all the white reishi mushrooms she had deployed to survive.

Xing Tian’s battle lust showed no signs of abating. He had already spotted Luo Ling the moment she regenerated.

The war drums echoed once more, the terrifying ritualistic dance resuming. He was about to appear before Luo Ling and strike again.

This time… Luo Ling wouldn’t have enough murderous aura to regenerate.

As the headless giant lunged towards her, Luo Ling opened a Kingdom entrance and vanished instantly.

She couldn’t win, not at all.

Better to run…

Luo Ling breathed a sigh of relief in Starry Victoria, but before she could celebrate her escape, the Kingdom itself showed signs of fracturing.

“Holy… shit…”

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock as the faint outline of a giant appeared in the sky above the Kingdom. At the same time, deafening war drums echoed around them.

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Xing Tian was tearing at the barrier between the Kingdom and the real world, attempting to cross the divide and continue the battle.

Fiona immediately took out a heavy hammer, her Authority Sacred Tool, and stared nervously at the figure looming in the sky.

Even with everyone in the Kingdom combined, plus the power of Starry Victoria, they weren’t certain they could defeat Xing Tian.

Fortunately, the fracturing only lasted for a moment before the headless giant’s figure slowly dissipated, the war drums fading until they disappeared completely.

It wasn’t that Xing Tian couldn’t tear through the barrier, but a new development on the ever-changing battlefield in the real world had stopped his pursuit.

A hunched figure of an old man, a woman’s cold and elegant form, and a pair of philosophical eyes.

The Old Man, the Woman, and Philosopher, all appeared on the battlefield.

Even though they were just avatars, this was the first time the Company directors and the Harbinger leader had gathered since the previous Victoria incident.

And, unusually, they intended to join forces.

The battle between the Boy and Educator had been under their constant observation, but even until the end, they couldn’t confirm whether the Boy was Historian.

However, the appearance of the White Witch after the battle was unexpected for everyone.

The White Witch’s Authority, Kingdom, had delayed her exposure, catching both sides off guard. By the time they realized something was wrong, the Boy had already been decapitated.

Even now, they didn’t know what had happened, only that the Boy had been ambushed and killed.

For the Old Man and the Woman, as official Company directors, whether the Boy was Historian or not, his death was unacceptable. It would cause unprecedented chaos in Victoria.

Similarly, without confirming whether the Boy was Historian, Philosopher didn’t dare let him die, completely dominated by Xing Tian’s will, so he also chose to intervene.

To contain Xing Tian’s rampage, the Company directors and the Harbinger leader, in a rare display of cooperation, joined forces against the Boy, who was almost completely under Xing Tian’s control.

However, these events were no longer relevant to Luo Ling and the others in Starry Victoria.

Seeing the situation in the real world, Luo Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone else was also sweating bullets.

“It seems Kingdom entrances can’t be used so casually,” Luo Ling thought, making a mental note.

Miss Iris had made a similar mistake before, but it was Luo Ling who exploited it, gaining free access to Twilight Victoria.

This time… it was Luo Ling who made the mistake.

She shouldn’t open a Kingdom entrance under the watchful eyes of other powerful beings, as it endangered the Kingdom itself.

She couldn’t let Starry Victoria, which Linna had worked so hard to obtain, be destroyed…

Of course, this battle wasn’t without its gains.

Although Luo Ling had been forced into a rather embarrassing retreat by Xing Tian, considering the significant difference in their Sequence rankings, escaping with her life was already a good outcome.

And judging from the battle’s result, even if the Boy survived, he had paid an irreversible price. Being dominated by a High-Risk Grotesquery’s will wasn’t a good thing.

Even in the best-case scenario, the Boy would likely be in intensive care for a long time.

Even if he miraculously recovered, his strength would be greatly diminished, his life essence damaged, and… he would always be at risk of being dominated by Xing Tian again.

The price for borrowing a Grotesquery’s power wasn’t so easily dismissed.

Besides this, Luo Ling had also obtained information about Educator’s abilities. Except for the unknown third ability, she now knew the details of the other two.

Indeed, quite troublesome…

Unfortunately, Read could only temporarily store abilities, and using them was quite restrictive, not as effective as Educator’s.

But even so, it was still a significant gain.

Next time, she would have a better chance against Educator.

Completely killing Educator, sending him into eternal Silent Demise… wasn’t impossible.

After this battle, Luo Ling realized she wasn’t alone. She had her family in the Kingdom.

Elsa, Fiona, Linna, and the Alyssa and Stasha sisters… they were all a part of her strength.

Unknowingly, they had become a force to be reckoned with in Victoria.

The injured and exhausted Linna went to rest, while Fiona began to examine the destroyed armor.

However, the precious armor, completely corroded by the killing intent, was likely beyond repair. The best they could do was melt it down and create some smaller, power-infused items.

Their effects would be significantly reduced, but at least it had protected Linna.

Besides this, Luo Ling had also brought back something unexpected.

“The Boy’s… head?”

Fiona’s expression turned strange as she looked at the Boy’s head, his eyes still open in death.

She naturally recognized the Boy. She had even fought alongside him in the past, which was why she was somewhat familiar with his abilities.

“This should be considered Xing Tian’s Sacred Relic, right?” Luo Ling blinked. “Can it be made into… a shield or something?”

Xing Tian danced with his shield and axe. She had seen the axe, “Qi,” but not the shield, “Gan.”

“I’m afraid not, the head is too small,” Fiona said, amused. “I know what you’re thinking. Actually, there is a Xing Tian shield Sacred Tool, but it’s lost.

“Even if it wasn’t lost… the Boy wouldn’t dare use it. Obtaining both the shield and axe would mark Xing Tian’s return to the world, something he couldn’t handle.”

Linna didn’t know the legend of Xing Tian, but Fiona did. The Boy’s battles in the past had shocked her, and even today’s outcome was unexpected.

She had thought Luo Ling could only severely injure the Boy, which was also Educator’s plan. This battle wasn’t just between Luo Ling and the Boy. Any further delay would surely attract the attention of the Company and the Harbingers.

If they intervened, Luo Ling would have to retreat to the Kingdom, or face the combined assault of several of humanity’s strongest beings.

But she hadn’t expected Luo Ling to decapitate the Boy, and even… bring his head back.

Quite the trophy.

“Although it can’t be made into a shield, it could be made into a wine goblet.”

Fiona pondered, touching her chin. “Unfortunately, although the head is the most important part for most beings, even Grotesqueries, Xing Tian is an exception.

“Since his head has been completely suppressed, the Boy’s head isn’t very useful. It contains very little of Xing Tian’s power.

“So, my suggestion is, after making it into a wine goblet, send it back…”

Luo Ling was silent for a moment, then gave Fiona a thumbs-up.

That was brutal, although not very effective, but incredibly insulting.

With the Company’s resources, as long as the Boy’s consciousness was preserved, losing a head wasn’t irreversible.

But…

Being decapitated, and then having your head turned into a wine goblet and sent back…

Luo Ling couldn’t imagine the expressions on the other two Company directors’ faces.

“Hehe, just a little ‘return gift’,” Fiona said with a smile. “Next… there’s more to come. The main show is yet to begin.”

She hadn’t forgotten the three directors’ joint attack on her.

“Alright, I’ll deliver it myself,” Luo Ling said, a smile appearing on her lips. She also looked forward to the Company’s reaction.

At this time, the final battle on the battlefield was nearing its end. Countless chains bound the Boy’s body, Xing Tian’s will roaring in defiance, but ultimately suppressed.

Until it gradually faded, completely extinguished, leaving only the Boy’s headless, weakened body.

The Old Man and the Woman looked exhausted, as did Philosopher.

Philosopher looked deeply at them, then his figure slowly dissipated.

He was just an avatar, not giving the Company directors any opportunity.