Schilling thrust the dagger into his throat, but instead of piercing his throat, he pushed the dagger downward until it stopped at his waist.
He cut open the dense cotton shirt, leaving a straight line of blood that just divided his upper body into two halves.
Ash's expression changed: "You changed your mind."
"Yes."
Xilin threw away the dagger, tucked his long hair behind his ears, and regained his elf elegance. His expression was calm and his voice was gentle: "Imprisoning you is just my wishful thinking. You are the 'touch' that Xisi summoned with great difficulty. You can even escape from the Broken Lake Prison. How can I imprison you?"
"There are too many accidents in this world. As long as the Four Pillar Gods are still watching you, accidents are enough to see through all my arrangements."
"I can't imprison you, nor can I kill you, and I can't hand you over to the Criminal Hunting Office. I can't even delay, the power of 'touch' will allow you to escape at any time."
“So, I came to a conclusion.”
The elf stretched out his middle finger and index finger on each hand, and like a hook, inserted them into his chest along the blood line he had just cut.
"It has to be now, it has to be here, it has to be me." Xilin said calmly: "I want to purify you."
Ash tilted his head slightly: "From my understanding, 'purification' and 'treatment' have similar meanings..."
"Purification means expelling unclean things, destroying intruders, and annihilating parasites!" Xilin's green eyes became brighter and brighter, as if emitting light. "And you, the unfinished 'sense of touch' that resides in Heath, are the object that needs to be purified!"
"I was going to use this miracle to destroy Heath... But I never dared to do so. I was always afraid. That's why I became Heath's puppet. That's why I made so many mistakes. Touch, I thank you for giving me a chance to atone for my sins."
Ash narrowed his eyes. "But wouldn't that be the same as killing me? Once I die, the ritual will be complete—"
"So I used this forbidden miracle."
Schilling is glowing.
His green eyes, his blood, his black hair, his skin, every color on his body glowed brightly, he was just like... turned into an oil painting.
"Not just you, but all the arrangements made by the Four Pillars on your body, and all the traces engraved by Hiss on your body, will be expelled without a single trace left. Everything that does not belong to this body will be thoroughly purified."
Ash took a deep breath and said, "Shilin, you are just a two-winged golden magician. Do you have such great ability?"
"Of course I don't, but... the Void Realm does."
Xilin suddenly smiled and said, "You attended my class on Ancient Ritual Factions a few days ago, right?"
Ash's pupils shrank suddenly, "Forbidden ritual..."
"There was one thing I didn't say at the time." Xilin said as if he was giving a lecture: "If you use special means to force a two-winged magician to be a sacrifice, the best you can do is pray for a full-strength attack from a four-winged magician."
"But if a two-winged magician performs the highest level forbidden ritual completely voluntarily, then this intention will be recognized by the virtual realm, and he can even pray for... power beyond the four wings!"
"Under the protection of the Blood Moon Lord, the Four Pillars can only grant you a four-wing level 'blessing' at most." Xilin smiled happily: "Fate still favors me. In the city of Kaimen, I am the only one who can get rid of you, the 'Sense of Touch'."
Ash's thoughts raced, and he quickly advised, "We don't need to get to the point where you fight to the death. Now that I know you were forced to do this, I won't bother you again. I'm actually planning to leave the Blood Moon Kingdom, so why don't you help me leave the Blood Moon? This way, I leave and you don't have to sacrifice your life. It's a win-win for everyone, how about it?"
"Tactile, who do you think I am?"
Xilin sneered, "President of the Elf Rights Protection Association? Congressman? The mastermind behind the gang? Professor? A profit-seeking person who is greedy for life and afraid of death?"
"I am already 203 years old this year. When I was born, the Blood Moon Trial had not yet begun. After I became an adult, I participated in the Outer Realm Hunting Ceremony. I have traveled throughout the Blood Moon and witnessed the fall of old cities and the rise of new cities. I have seen and even experienced all the sufferings and entertainments in the world."
"You actually think I would be reluctant to give up this aging life?" Xilin's eyes were full of mockery: "If it weren't for the fact that death cannot resist Heath's orders, if it weren't for the law prohibiting suicide, I would have wanted to step into the Blood Moon Heaven long ago!"
Ash was stunned: "Immortality? Are you hoping that the lights will go out?"
"Immortality? No, I don't have hope for the light of the lamp in my heart, because there is something warmer and more beautiful than it."
Xilin smiled. Behind him was a huge, gorgeous blood moon. The light of the blood moon gently shone on him, as if the gods were blessing him.
"I have long wanted to die with Heath, but I cannot resist Heath. I have been waiting for this opportunity. I don't want revenge, I just want to prove..."
"I still love this blood moon."
"Ritual Miracle: The Forbidden Ceremony of the Origin of Virtual Color Painting."
Snap!
Xilin's hands, which were inserted into the middle blood line, were suddenly pulled apart, and his chest was torn open like a door curtain!
What caught Ash's eyes was not the bright red blood and cyan internal organs, but the colors!
Colorful colors gushed out from Shilling's chest, drowning Ash like a river!
"The flower language of the iron begonia and water lily is loyalty," he said softly.
At this moment, Ash suddenly recalled Valcas in his mind - since Shilling did not voluntarily hunt Ash down, why did Shilling hate Valcas for his failed assassination
Schilling didn't hate Valcas because he didn't complete the task.
Rather, he hated Valkas because he 'wanted' to complete the task!
Just now, Xilin said that the reward for Valcas's mission is to "reunite with his biological son."
Valkas' acceptance of the mission meant that he had not repented and still wanted to rebel against the laws of the Blood Moon Kingdom! This was an unforgivable mistake for the Blood Moon believer, Xilin. The law was God's will, and the rules were God's desires. Valkas was tantamount to blaspheming Xilin's faith!
"When I die, when the flayed twins shed my skin, when the scarlet maidens draw my blood, when the night shadow priests arrange my remains, when the blessed angels lead my soul..."
Schilling closed his eyes and whispered a prayer to himself.
He thought he would see the messenger who would guide him, but what emerged in his mind was a dusty page.
Young Xilin sat cross-legged on the wooden floor and saw the elf child clumsily crawling towards him, making a gesture to be hugged. He smiled and held the child in his arms, wiping away the child's drool with a handkerchief.
"Read after me, Val-ka-s-"
"Valcas?"
"No, I'm not Valcas, I'm Shilin."
"Shilin?"
"Yes, you are Valcas and I am Shilin."
"Shilin!~"
“… we will be reunited in the promised land.”
With the last splash of color, the elf scholar's uniform, which had lost its possession, fell gently onto the carpet.
The moonlight fell on the pure white fabric, reflecting the purest blood color.
In the huge study, Ash Hiss was the only one left.
Without the supply of magical power, the tree that trapped Ash quickly withered and decayed, turning into wreckage that could break at any touch.
Ash looked down at his hands, confusion in his eyes.
"I seem... okay?"