The body that was split in half fell heavily into the snow, but sticky black mud flowed out from the huge wound and reunited the two halves of the body. Even so, Stone Osenfurt was still alive, but he was completely unable to move.
The sound of Shade's heavy breathing coming towards him reached the ears of the man lying on the snow. His eyes on both sides looked at the night sky that was illuminated by the fire. He heard the rhythmic sound of the soles of his boots crushing the snow, and then felt a few pages of paper falling beside him.
"I know all about your story with Lady Hela Oxenfurt. I'd like to know if you've ever thought of resolving the issue in other ways."
Xia De held the long sword and looked down at him:
“Perhaps this tragedy could have been solved from the beginning.”
"You win, you can kill me, but you can't laugh at me."
Ossenfurt couldn't move, and could only grit his teeth to steady his voice while feeling the endless pain. He still didn't look at Shade, but at the falling snowflakes:
"Aren't you busy? Why are you still talking nonsense to me?"
"I'm not laughing at you, and this isn't a waste of time. Remember that wedding we went to together, the Enriquez wedding, the one where the ghost of the bride's schoolboy lover came to visit her?"
Shad asked.
"Of course I remember."
"Do you know the ending of that marriage story? Where will a marriage that starts with betrayal go?"
Xia De asked again.
Oxenfurt said nothing, and Shade held the letters from Mr. Enriquez to his wife and floated them before his eyes:
"But I know. After the shameful betrayal, Mr. Enriquez and Mrs. Enriquez still loved each other deeply. Maybe it sounds ridiculous, but after repeated torture and thinking, Mr. Enriquez decided to continue the marriage. To put it more simply—"
The white smoke drifted away like a long dragon when Shade spoke. He looked at the man on the ground with sharp eyes, not caring even if the snowflakes fell all over his shoulders. Shade lit up the moonlight on his fingertips to illuminate Osenfurt, giving him enough time to read the contents of the letters:
"Mistakes made before marriage were forgiven after marriage. A marriage on the verge of breaking up was eventually mended."
At this moment, even though the pain was unbearable, Ossenfurt couldn't help but curse:
“You idiot, are you implying that there’s a chance that Hela and I can reconcile? The Enriquez couple just cheated on each other before their marriage, and that woman didn’t have an affair with anyone else, and I’ve already killed my wife’s entire family. Do you really think there’s any comparison?”
"But based on the facts I know."
Shade held the moonlight in his left hand, and pointed the long sword in his right hand at his heart. He was signaling to Lady Hela upstairs:
"Your wife also hid a secret from you regarding the destruction of the Watson family. If you had communicated seriously, maybe, it's really possible that you wouldn't have come to this point."
When saying this, Xia De himself didn't even notice that his eyes were incredibly bright.
"What?"
The moonlight on Shade's fingertips illuminated Oxenfurt's wide-eyed expression and astonishment:
"What do you mean?"
"You had your chance."
He wanted to say something, but Shade had already stabbed the long sword in his right hand into his heart.
Killing someone is not enough, but it is also necessary to destroy their heart.
In the still biting wind at the end of winter, only "her" laughter is still so gentle.
For ordinary people, a long sword piercing the heart would almost cause death immediately, but Osenfurt, who was lying on the ground, still held the sword with one hand even now, spitting blood and looking at Shad, and then died here with his eyes wide open.
He was indeed dead, and even though the corpse on the ground was still trying to heal itself, Shad clearly saw Stone Oxenfurt's soul floating out from the corpse on the ground.
The soul filled with resentment and unwillingness looked blankly at its transparent hands, then raised its head to look at Xia De with an expression as if it wanted to strangle Xia De to death.
Shade immediately reached for the Rhodes deck in his pocket with his left hand, but before he could take out the deck, the sound of clapping came from the door of the manor.
The souls of Shad and Oxenfurt looked there together, and then, against the background of firelight and flying snow, they saw "Oxenfurt" with dark skin and a greasy smile on his face, walking out of the burning forest on the snow.
The devil looked at the two of them with a smile:
"Not bad, not bad. Really good."
This sentence is said to Shad:
"Although the process was a bit tortuous, you did complete my commission. Very good."
Shade did not retract his sword, but put his hand in his pocket and touched the bottle containing the "golden potion". This was a magic potion made by priest Augustus, there were only two bottles in total, and Shade had used it once when he first encountered the devil in front of Watson Manor.
The reason why Ms. Marilyn Hendel was not called immediately was that it was better not to let her encounter the devil. Dr. Schneider was not called because the test given to Shade by the Lady of the Lake was not completed.
He sighed deeply, and saw the traces of the fight scattered around the yard. The millstone was broken into two pieces at his feet, so Xia De, who felt a little tired, simply sat down. The devil saw that Xia De had no intention of resisting or turning hostile, and the smile on his face became even more intense.
In the distant mountains, the roar of a giant beast was heard at this time. In addition to the surroundings of Oxenfurt Manor, looking into the night sky with flying snow, more burning smoke was floating high in the sky. The filth of the earth was spreading across this land, and the essence of madness was trying to pollute the entire world. The story of this night was just beginning.
"I think our agreement has been reached. Your soul belongs to me."
After praising Shade, the demon smiled and said to Osenfurt who was standing beside him. The latter asked blankly:
"What?"
He subconsciously looked up at the sky, and then said with certainty:
"Wait, I don't think our contract is complete. If you want to reclaim my soul, you must meet the conditions I set..."
"When a force that does not belong to me kills you on a moonless night, next to the moon, your soul will belong to me."
The demon spoke calmly, with a hint of expectation in his calm. He braved the snow and walked closer to the two men, sitting on the other half of the millstone. He spread his legs and leaned forward slightly, but his eyes were always on the two men.
Unlike Shade, there was no white smoke coming out of his mouth when he spoke:
"It was a very demanding condition, but luckily I found the moon."
Oxenfurt was still puzzled:
"Where is the moon?"
"Please allow me to introduce you."
Then the devil smiled and looked at Shade:
"This one is the Moon God's Divine Scroller. After the gods left, the five true gods did not touch the moon realm, and the 'Moon Chapter' in the Whispering Music has not yet begun. He can be called the only moon in the material world... Maybe the God Summoner can also be called, but unfortunately I have never seen him."
Osenfurt's soul looked at Shade blankly, and the demon asked Shade:
"So do you agree with me?"
Xia De looked at it, hesitated for a moment, and nodded slightly.
"No, you are playing tricks, what kind of moon is this? No, I don't admit it!"
Ossenfurt said as he stepped back, and when his soul looked at his split body, he suddenly got in. Then, the dead body with its eyes wide open actually moved.
Not resurrection, but the living dead.
"She" reminded softly.
The demon's face, which was identical to Oxenfurt's, was still smiling, but Shade instinctively sensed its change in mood:
"Do you think it's easy for me to find this person and let you meet him? I originally planned to wait for the chosen one of the moon to appear before starting my plan. How many guys do you think there are in the material world who meet the requirements?"
Now Shade understood why long-haired Luvia mentioned that the first chosen one she met was the chosen one of the "Moon".
The demon opened his left hand and aimed it at Ossenfort, who had just climbed up from the ground. The latter's feet buried in the snow immediately began to petrify. The demon's hand seemed to be dancing in the air, and the petrified rose vines drilled out from the ground, along the petrified body, gradually trying to swallow Ossenfort's entire body.
It smiled and stood up:
"Since you signed a contract with the devil, you should have expected this day to come. However, I didn't expect you to question the contents of the contract. Oh, Ossenfurt, do you think I'm a fellow idiot from a fairy tale?"
It stood up and slowly walked towards the desperate man, trying to touch his head which had not yet been petrified with its right hand. But it failed because the long sword blocked its way. Shade, who also stood up, looked at it expressionlessly:
"Where's the reward you promised me? We'll pay and get the goods."
The demon also looked at him with a slightly frivolous look, and sized him up and down:
"I didn't expect you to be so anxious, but it's okay. You did a pretty good job on this matter. Maybe we can work together again if we have a chance in the future. After all, guys who dare to sign a contract with me usually like to play some tricks, and I am very satisfied with your work efficiency."
Leaving the zombie with only its head left standing in the snow, it turned to look at Shade, snapped its fingers, and six objects slowly emerged from the air.
Flame, ring, blood-red stone, red wine bottle, black parchment book with skull and crossbones, and a small note:
"According to the agreement, choose one from the six. Let me introduce you."
In the flying snow, six objects were rotating around it, the first of which was the red flame:
"First: The Sage-level relic, the Unquenchable Flame, has the unique characteristic of never extinguishing. This flame can be directly wrapped around the life ring of a ring sorcerer, thus changing almost all magic. Among the relics rated as Sage-level by intelligent life forms, this can also be considered the most valuable one."
Xia De has already felt that the primordial fire in his body is restless, and it is longing for this flame.