“You say I’m the Hero? Has your brain gone rotten?” Xuefei hadn’t given up on the idea of destroying the Holy Sword, but she was still a little curious. She wanted to hear what useful information this sword might have to offer.
“You are the Hero who guards the Camiran Continent—the only human who retains memories from before the World Restart.”
“Is that so? How come I don’t know about it? What does the Hero have to do with me?”
“After the World Restart, you were captured by the Evil Dragon and corrupted into her wife. Naturally, you wouldn’t remember,” the Holy Sword stated emotionlessly.
Xuefei eyed the stubborn sword and realized there was still some time before lunch. On a whim, she decided to tease it a bit.
She sat at the head of the bed, gazing down at the Holy Sword lying in its wooden coffin on the floor. She crossed her legs high, looking at it with haughty disdain.
“So, do you have any proof?”
“None,” the Holy Sword replied firmly. “All evidence of your existence was severed by Leia, including your name. I’ve forgotten it once again.”
“…”
No proof—just nonsense. What credibility did it have? In the end, it was nothing more than an absurd fairy tale. She could probably make one up on the spot herself.
“Say I told you I’m the First Emperor—would you believe that?”
“You are a Hero stronger than the First Emperor of the human race. You are also the world’s final boss: the Evil Dragon,” the Holy Sword pressed on, unwilling to give up its persuasion.
“You really are amusing.”
Xuefei’s tone turned icy. She felt an instinctive revulsion toward anything associated with the Hero. It was hardly the sort of thing that would draw this proud Little Dragon Girl anywhere near it.
“Go on, then. I’m the Hero. What did I do?”
“You set out with the Hero Party to subjugate the Evil Dragon, but you were the only one who lasted until the end. The heavy casualties of your teammates triggered the Camiran Continent’s second playthrough. Leia transformed into the Evil Dragon and took control of you, their world’s savior.”
“…”
“You and Leia are both Evil Dragons, which doesn’t make sense in itself. There can only be one supreme ruler of the world, yet the Camiran Continent has two of you—and you’re even lovers.”
Leia was her wife, stronger than her. After falling in love, she had claimed Xuefei in a simple, brutal way, treating her like a treasured possession…
Yet Xuefei had accepted it. She loved Leia too. In the Holy Sword’s analysis, this was an absurdity that defied all reason.
But Leia had made it happen. She had devoured the gods, corrupted the Hero, and as the Camiran Continent’s female protagonist, she had led its male protagonist astray.
That was why Xuefei believed she was happy.
She ignored the Holy Sword’s brainwashing attempts, merely watching it with keen interest in the hope of gleaning more intelligence.
“Keep talking.”
“Before you were fully corrupted and submitted to the Evil Dragon, Hero—you, the Xuefei of the past—left behind precious records and memories.”
The Holy Sword’s gilded patterns flowed like liquid gold. During their conversation, they shifted subtly, mimicking a person’s changing expressions. Yet the sword itself was clearly devoid of emotion.
“So you’re saying I used to be a Hero, but now I’ve abandoned that identity and fallen to become an Evil Dragon?”
“Exactly. Hero, you foresaw this and preserved fragments of your memory, so that the corrupted you could one day recall your past duties.”
“…”
Xuefei switched which leg was crossed and began to mull it over.
Duties?
Even assuming everything this sword claimed was true, those duties amounted to little more than slaying the Evil Dragon to bring peace to the world. It was the kind of nauseating drivel only a Hero would spout.
And even if it were real, so what?
A Hero’s duties were nothing but shackles the gods used to coerce free labor. In truth, world peace had nothing to do with the likes of her—creatures of evil.
Besides, Xuefei didn’t buy it one bit. She had no interest in those old grudges and disputes.
“If you won’t believe me, Hero, then place your hand on my blade.”
“Fine, let’s do it.”
With a mere thought from Xuefei, the Holy Sword floated into the air. She extended her pale little hand and gently traced the gilded patterns.
It was like magnetic induction. As her fingertip brushed those intricate gaps, an indescribable sense of déjà vu welled up in her heart.
This feeling… it was a little familiar.
Her fingertips felt the scratches and wear, as if she had witnessed everything that had happened there.
Could it really be? Was I actually a Hero in the past?
“Now, I will transmit the records you left behind before your corruption, Hero—so you can reclaim your true self.”
“…”
Xuefei fell silent. She neither resisted nor felt any sense of familiarity. Instead, she brimmed with curiosity about it all.
The Holy Sword flickered with golden light. Thanks to special modifications, those rays caused no discomfort to Evil Dragon Leia. They formed a window, like a holographic projection, displaying various scenes.
This memory segment didn’t appear in a time-limited display. Instead, the Holy Sword transmitted it directly into Xuefei’s brain.
Memory transmission was Xuefei’s final trump card.
The most prominent window showed a silver-haired girl, whom Xuefei recognized at once.
That’s… me?
The version of herself in the image was identical in every way, and the background was unmistakably this quiet little bedroom.
She gazed right at her—or more precisely, anticipated the position of the viewer: her future self.
Xuefei had a crisp, lively voice, and the image of her spoke in exactly the same tone:
“I’m Mo Ran, an utterly unremarkable transmigrator on the Camiran Continent. I’m going to record all my experiences… Holy Sword, have you started recording?”
“It’s begun, Hero.”
“Perfect. Then, future me—now, I have some things you absolutely need to know~”
It was like a recording, a simple log—a diary entry penned by Xuefei in her role as the Hero. It brimmed with the bittersweet sorrows and joys of painful partings and reunions, the fulfillment and rewards of her journeys, and the thrill of growth and triumph…
…
Damn, she hadn’t quite believed it at first, but it looked like she really was the Hero!
Leia made her do all sorts of strange things every day, twisting her into this bizarre version of herself. That was why her subconscious had submitted completely!
And that process was called Evil Corruption.
The Evil Dragon Curse had reshaped her body into the Little Dragon Girl. Evil Corruption took her soul one step further.
Talk about awkward. She’d even been planning to melt the Holy Sword into a puddle of molten iron.
“Now, Hero, do you understand? You are the Hero, not an Evil Dragon.” The Holy Sword sought confirmation, wondering if this thoroughly corrupted Xuefei could ever revert to her former self.
Xuefei rubbed her chin, lost in thought, as if weighing some crucial decision.
The memories, replayed in vivid fragments, were etched anew into her mind.
She was certain that if she said right now, “Whatever you just played, I didn’t catch it,” she could infuriate the Holy Sword on the spot and reduce it to a worthless hunk of scrap metal.
When the Holy Sword asked what exactly she had grasped, Xuefei replied:
“Got it, got it.” A few seconds later, she looked up abruptly. “I believe you.”
“My deepest thanks for your trust, Hero. As expected of you.”
Xuefei’s slender brows furrowed. She didn’t return the Holy Sword to its wooden case. Instead, she kept it suspended high with her power, her arrogant poise unbroken:
“Please don’t call me Hero, all right? That word makes me sick.”
“…”
The Holy Sword was baffled.
Xuefei had clearly accepted its words—so why refuse to acknowledge her identity as the Hero?
“Don’t misunderstand, Holy Sword that aids the Hero.” For a fleeting moment, Xuefei’s expression turned frigid, evoking the memory of Mo Ran wielding it to slay that Evil Dragon. “Believing you and being willing to help you are two entirely different things. Betray Leia? I couldn’t… No, I love her dearly.”
Ah, so that was it…
Xuefei rested a hand on her small belly. Her expression softened into calm, then tenderness, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Dragon Egg…
She loved the Dragon Egg. She loved Leia.
“Have you abandoned your identity as the Hero, then?” the Holy Sword pressed.
It could scarcely fathom how that proud, defiant Hero had been corrupted to this degree—even coming to loathe the very title.
Xuefei covered her mouth with a bewitching laugh. She seemed utterly indifferent, as if she’d just heard some ridiculous, laughable fable. In an instant, the mirth vanished, leaving the air as cold as winter frost:
“I’m still me. Just… not quite the same as before. And don’t bring this up again. Clear?”
