“You have been completely blinded by hatred.”
Duoluolisi said coldly.
Her voice was calm, with neither accusation nor pity.
Conner lowered his head and was silent for a long time before he spoke.
“You’re right.”
He raised his head.
The red light in his eyes had dimmed considerably.
“I just wanted to bring Wei Luo back, just wanted to hear her call me ‘Conner’ one more time.”
His voice began to tremble, and he let out a few sobs.
“When they burned her to death, she kept calling my name… kept calling… but I couldn’t do anything. I could only listen… listen as her voice grew quieter…”
Tears fell from the corners of his eyes, mixing with the bloodstains on his face and dripping onto the ground.
“I couldn’t save her… I was too useless… I could only… become like this…”
Conner fell to his knees, hands on the ground, shoulders shaking violently.
He raised his right hand, looked at the bloodstains on it, and choked out in a low voice.
“What… have I done…?”
Duoluolisi and Dailina stood quietly watching the weeping vampire.
The night wind blew, lifting their hair.
After a long time, the vampire’s sobbing gradually subsided.
“Do you… want to hear my story?”
He didn’t lift his head, just spoke quietly.
Duoluolisi glanced at him and softly hummed in acknowledgment.
Conner slowly raised his head, looked at the moon half-covered by clouds in the night sky, and began to recount his past.
From meeting Wei Luo, to clumsily pursuing her, to their love.
When talking about this part, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
That memory was very beautiful to him.
But soon, the smile on his face vanished.
“Jack…”
Conner murmured the name, as if chewing on something hard to swallow.
“Jack and I grew up together in the village. We climbed trees to steal bird nests, went to the town to rob orchards, and got chased by the village chief together.”
He twitched his mouth, unsure whether he wanted to laugh or cry.
“Jack had a strong personality. He bullied me a lot when we were kids, but whenever someone else bullied me, he would be the first to charge in and teach them a lesson.”
“We grew up bumping along like that. Our relationship was always good, until…”
He paused.
“Until Wei Luo came to our village.”
“We both fell in love with her at the same time.”
Conner’s voice dropped.
“That period was very painful. I thought about backing out to preserve our brotherhood, but I couldn’t bear to give up. In the end, Wei Luo chose me.”
“I still remember Jack smiling and saying to me, ‘You win,’ and blessing us. But I could tell he wasn’t convinced.”
“After that, he started drinking heavily. Every day he’d get dead drunk with two drinking buddies. Every morning, I’d find him sleeping on the floor of the tavern. I knew he was in pain. As a brother, I should have comforted him, but I didn’t have the courage to face him because I was the one who caused him to become like this.”
Conner picked up a twig and fiddled with a small stone at his feet.
“Life went on like that. Wei Luo and I got married. Jack still drank every day, but it was better than before. He no longer stayed out all night drunk. Seeing Jack slowly get back on his feet, I breathed a sigh of relief.”
At this point, his voice suddenly turned heavy.
“But I was wrong. Jack had actually been holding a grudge against me all along.”
“On the night of the escape, I led Wei Luo out of the basement. Jack came to meet us. He said he could help us escape via a small path behind the village. I believed him. He was my closest brother; I had no choice but to trust him.”
“But not far out of the village, he suddenly stopped. Then his two drinking buddies came out of the shadows.”
“I didn’t know what they were going to do at first. I got hit on the back of the head. I was lying on the ground, my vision going dark, only hearing Wei Luo calling my name. I tried to get up, but someone stepped on my back.”
“It was Jack. He crouched down, grabbed my hair, lifted my face, and said, ‘Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this day?'”
“I asked him why, but he laughed. It was a sickening laugh. He said, ‘When you took Wei Luo away, I swore that one day I’d make you feel what it’s like to lose.'”
“I begged him to let Wei Luo go. I said he could hit me, curse me, whatever, as long as he let her go.”
Conner’s voice began to tremble, and his hand movements stopped.
“He ignored me. He stood up and kicked me again. Then his two buddies joined in, punching and kicking. I don’t know how long they beat me. I only remember someone spitting in my face and cursing, ‘Worthless trash.'”
“I lay on the ground, my mouth full of blood, my whole body in agony. I couldn’t even cry. Then I passed out. When I woke up, it was already dawn. I crawled up and headed back to the village. At that time, I had only one thought: I had to save Wei Luo.”
“But when I got back…”
He didn’t finish.
Duoluolisi knew what happened next.
Conner had witnessed Wei Luo being burned to death.
She glanced at Dailina beside her and saw that Dailina’s eyes were moist.
“From that moment on, I swore I would make Jack pay with blood. I secretly took Wei Luo’s remains and escaped to this place. I found a cave, and inside, I discovered a book about resurrection of the dead.”
Conner snapped the twig in his hand with a crack.
“I studied the book like crazy, but I found out it was related to the Demon Race. The village elders said the Demon Race is the source of all calamities, and associating with them is betraying all of humanity.”
“I knew I shouldn’t touch it anymore. But just as I was hesitating, I encountered the blood eagle that had scratched Wei Luo, and I got infected by it too.”
Conner laughed self-deprecatingly.
“Isn’t that ironic? Heaven made the choice for me.”
“After that, there was no turning back. I’ve come this far.”
Conner fell silent after speaking.
The night wind blew through the woods, rustling the leaves.
Duoluolisi didn’t speak.
She looked at Conner kneeling on the ground, this vampire who had wanted to capture them as sacrifices just a moment ago, now like a shell emptied of its soul.
Dailina lowered her head and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.
Duoluolisi could hear her quiet sobbing.
After another long silence, Conner spoke quietly:
“Can you come back with me?”
He raised his head.
The red light in his eyes had completely disappeared, leaving only a pair of dull, dark red eyes.
“I want… to see her one more time.”
At some point, Conner had returned to his original appearance.
It seemed the Demon God Power within him had dissipated.
Duoluolisi glanced at Dailina.
Dailina wiped away her tears and nodded lightly.
“Mm.”
Conner struggled to stand up.
His body swayed, almost falling.
He limped ahead, each step like stepping on a knife’s edge.
The wounds on his body were still oozing blood, leaving a trail of bloodstains on the ground.
Duoluolisi and Dailina followed behind him.
No one spoke along the way, only the sound of Conner’s heavy breathing and the rustling of leaves underfoot.
Conner led them back to the cave.
He supported himself with both hands against the rock wall, looking like he could collapse at any moment.
The cave still held a lingering smell of burnt odor, the scent from when Duoluolisi had burned the three people in the inner cave earlier.
But Conner didn’t pay attention to the smell, nor did he even glance at the inner cave.
At this moment, his eyes were only for Wei Luo.
Conner staggered toward the depths of the cave.
His steps grew slower and heavier.
Finally, he reached the stone platform.
His legs seemed unable to support him any longer, and he fell to his knees with a thud.
He lifted the black cloth, revealing the charred skeleton underneath.
Dailina gasped when she saw the skeleton and instinctively hid behind Duoluolisi.
Duoluolisi’s back suddenly pressed against Dailina’s chest, startling her into straightening up.
Conner reached out a trembling hand to stroke the skull of the skeleton, tears dripping onto the edge of the stone platform.
“Wei Luo, I’m back.”
Conner’s voice was very soft, as if afraid of waking the remains on the stone platform.
“I’m sorry. I… I may not be able to revive you.”
Carefully, he straightened a finger bone and put back a few scattered pieces.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
He repeated “I’m sorry” over and over, his voice growing softer until it became silent sobbing.
Dailina peeked out from behind Duoluolisi, looking at Conner’s kneeling figure.
Tears fell again.
After a long time, Conner stopped sobbing.
He turned his head to look at a patch of dirt on the ground.
“I’ve done too many unforgivable things. My hands are already stained with blood… There’s no going back.”
“And…”
He looked down at his hands.
“I’m no longer human.”
Duoluolisi watched him in silence.
“So…”
Conner raised his head.
There was no fear in those dark red eyes, only a strange peace.
“Lady Sword Maiden, may I ask you for one thing?”
Duoluolisi was stunned.
Lady Sword Maiden?
Who was he calling?
She followed Conner’s gaze and realized he was staring at her.
“You mean me?”
Duoluolisi pointed at herself.
“Your silver-white hair, your dark golden eyes, and that awe-inspiring aura about you…”
Conner stared at Duoluolisi, his gaze growing unfocused.
“I’ve heard the legend of the Silver Glittering Sword Maiden in the village. You look exactly like her.”
“No, no, I’m not…”
Duoluolisi quickly waved her hands.
Why did this person suddenly mistake her for the Silver Glittering Sword Maiden again, and with such respectful language?
“Please kill me.”
Conner interrupted her and bowed his head deeply.
“To die by the Lady Sword Maiden’s blade should count as atonement…”
Conner pleaded again.
“Please grant me this, Lady Sword Maiden.”
Duoluolisi looked at Conner, who was almost pressing his head to the ground.
Her heart was filled with mixed emotions.
At this moment, he could finally put aside all hatred and face his sins directly.
“Alright.”
Duoluolisi didn’t hesitate any longer.
She raised the holy sword, and a golden flame ignited on the blade.
“This is holy fire. It might be very painful.”
“It’s fine. Thank you.”
Conner lifted his head and smiled in relief.
“Wei Luo, I’ve done too many unforgivable things. I won’t be able to go to heaven, but please wait for me. I will crawl out of hell to find you.”
Duoluolisi felt Dailina tugging at her sleeve, as if trying to stop her.
‘Sigh… Dailina’s saintly heart is overflowing.’
She sighed, but her hand didn’t stop.
She swung the sword at Conner.
“Duoluolisi, don’t—”
Dailina covered her mouth, watching as Conner and Wei Luo’s remains were gradually burned away by the holy fire.
“Why…”
Duoluolisi didn’t look back.
She simply said flatly:
“Dailina, Conner is no longer human.”
“He was infected. You saw it too. Even if we didn’t kill him, he would eventually turn into one of those bloodthirsty monsters. By then, he wouldn’t remember Wei Luo, wouldn’t remember who he was. He would only hurt more people. Besides, this was his own choice.”
She turned around and looked at Dailina’s reddened eyes.
“He begged me to send him to Wei Luo. If we let him go, he would only continue living in pain or continue harming others. Do you think he would want that ending?”
Dailina lowered her head, unable to speak.
“I know you sympathize with him. I do too. Conner is indeed pitiful, but he is also hateful. Pitiful in what happened to him, hateful in his choices.”
Duoluolisi continued, her gaze shifting to the still-burning stone platform.
“For his own selfish desires, he stole so many villagers’ poultry, captured Jack and the others. Although they deserved it… he even tried to make you a sacrifice. Just for that, you shouldn’t sympathize with him.”
“I won’t forgive what he did to you just because he’s pitiful. If it happened again, I would still burn him without hesitation.”
Dailina looked up at Duoluolisi’s profile.
The golden firelight reflected on her silver hair, and those dark golden eyes were as calm as a still lake.
‘Duoluolisi has been calm throughout. Whether during the fight or later when listening to Conner’s tragic story, her expression barely changed. She’s been rational about everything.’
‘But I’m so emotional…’
Dailina lowered her eyes and clenched the hem of her skirt with both hands.
Duoluolisi wanted to remind Dailina a couple more things, but seeing Dailina’s state, she dropped the thought.
She just reached out and gently patted Dailina’s back.
“Let’s go.”
“Mm.”
The two walked out of the cave.
Duoluolisi threw another fire into the cave, burning everything inside completely.
“Dailina, you came from the nearby village, right?”
“Mm, yes.”
Dailina nodded.
“Alright. I’ll take you back to the village first.”
Duoluolisi didn’t feel comfortable letting Dailina go back alone.
Although all the blood fowl here had been killed by her, she still feared an accident.
As for what to do afterward, she planned to quietly slip back to her room through the back window after sending Dailina home.
She tucked away the ritual book she had secretly picked up earlier and took a few steps forward, but then felt a wave of dizziness.
“Ugh, so dizzy…”
[Blood Sacrifice] had drained too much of her blood and mana.
The little she had absorbed through [Bloodthirst] was all used up in [Blood Sacrifice].
The two fires she used to cremate Conner and burn the cave had squeezed out the last of her mana.
Now, not only was she suffering from blood loss, but she was also completely depleted of mana.
Duoluolisi pressed her forehead.
The dizziness grew worse, and the scene before her began to sway.
“Duoluolisi?”
Dailina’s voice came from beside her, but it sounded very muffled.
“What’s wrong? Your complexion is terrible…”
Duoluolisi tried to say “It’s nothing,” but nothing came out.
Her legs gave way, and she fell backward.