Elara, Zephyr, and the other assassins were holding off the monks, bodies and blood flailing onto the ground.
As the clash continued, Elara and Zephyr stood back-to-back. Zephyr launches into action, his body a blur, riding currents of swirling winds. He delivers a series of rapid, precise kicks, each enhanced by the sharp gusts that slice through the air, cutting into the flesh of an approaching monk. Blood sprays as Zephyr pivots, dodging a red bead flung his way.
'With each kill…it makes me gain sight of what there is to live for.'
Next to him, Elara calls upon her frost abilities, her hands weaving intricate patterns. A crystalline crest forms, glistening dangerously, before she violently punches it. The resulting frost beam blasts forward, shattering the bone in a monk's face, whose outcry is swiftly muffled by a cascade of blood. Two of the possessed monks synchronize, their movements a deadly dance. Red beads whirl around them, creating a destructive storm. Zephyr spins, narrowly avoiding a bead that grazes his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood, while Elara ducks low, only to have several beads nick her shoulders and back.
Elara said to Zephyr, "They can control the beads with their dances, but to what extent?"
Zephyr responded, "It's as when we were being controlled. They're using their qi to harness the movements, manipulating the air around it as well to make them travel. But with precise commands from Yu Baozhai, they can channel their qi to control the bodies of people he wants to control."
"That's around the 6th gate…can we win?"
"We can. It doesn't matter if a qi cultivator has a higher level, it's all about how they use it. I've known a 1st gate qi cultivator beat a 7th gate before, it's all about how they use it, and how skilled they are, and their strategies."
"Okay. The naked women…please don't kill them. We can still help them. My mother might be amongst them…I hope."
"Let's hope then. We have to try our best to avoid them. That is going to prove tough because of the power around."
Among the chaos, naked women, controlled and confused, swarm towards Elara. With deliberate non-lethal force, she constructs a series of frost barriers that pop up from the ground, knocking the women back, stunning them temporarily without serious harm.
Spotting Elara surrounded, Zephyr extends his arms, his palms facing the sky. A powerful upward gust forms a funnel, catching monks off-guard. Several are lifted, spinning uncontrollably, before Zephyr harshly cuts his hands sideways, flinging them forcibly against the stone walls of the courtyard. Zephyr and Elara momentarily unite, nodding at each other. Elara forms a massive frost crest, and Zephyr infuses it with a whirlwind. Together, they send it slicing through a group of attacking monks, the icy wind mixture mutilating bodies as it passes.
A monk leader, furious, commands a barrage of beads. Hundreds fly deadly through the air. Zephyr, breathing heavily, uses his agility to dodge most, but a few pierce through his thigh and side, eliciting a pained grunt. Elara shields herself with a frost dome, beads embedding into the thick ice around her. Trapped against a wall, Elara faces a monk close-up. She dodges a swing aimed at her head, grabs the monk's arm, and with a swift motion, freezes it solid. With a brutal kick, she shatters the limb, leaving the monk howling before he collapses from shock and loss of blood.
Zephyr leaps off from an elevated ledge, wind swirling under his feet, creating a makeshift platform. From above, he dives down onto a group of monks, his fists powered by gusts of cutting wind, each strike leaving a monk down and bleeding heavily on the mossy ground. A sect leader, allied with Yu Baozhai, enters the fray, his beads infused with a fiery glow. He whips them forward, scorching marks on the ground and burning Zephyr's arm. Zephyr rolls back, his arm severely charred, face contorted in pain.
"Tch. These are the pests Yu Baozhai has to deal with? Children?! How are they killing everyone?!"
The Monks gather for one desperate surge. Beads flying, bodies flailing - the scene is one of chaos. Elara and Zephyr stand firm; Elara, forming her frost crests in front of frost beams cut through the air, colliding with bodies with sickening thuds, while Zephyr, despite his injuries, summons the last of his wind strength, blasting monks back with fierce tornadoes of twisting spin kicks through the ground.
As the remaining monks weaken, Elara and Zephyr, bloodied and bruised, use a combination of frost shards and sharp winds to deliver the final blows. Bodies lie around them, a somber reminder of the brutal conflict, as the duo shares a weary yet determined glance.
The scene was clear, leaving Elara and Zephyr standing up straight, wiping blood from their faces.
Elara said, "That's it?"
Zephyr kept looking at Torin's body, saying, "Allow me to bury him."
Joon sighed, walking to them, "Not here. Take him back to the hideout and do it once we've caught up to Yu Baozhai. This isn't a good place to—."
"..What's the point? We might as well not even go back to them."
Caelan said, "As corny as it sounds coming from me, we still have a mission. We still have to kill that fatty Yu Baozhai. I don't have time to deal with the Head trying to blow us all up because we didn't kill him."
Zephyr picked up Torin's body, and said, "I feel my quest for revenge is over. Without the motivation, I just can't go on anymore. Isn't it like that for adults too?"
Joon, Caelan, Elara, and some of the other assassins looked at each other, putting their heads down.
Joon said, "We've matured in a way …after everything that's happened…and it's only been a day or so. If you've lost motivation, I'd get your revenge with you. I can't replace Torin, but whenever you need my help…"
"Are you trying to make me feel better?" Zephyr asked.
"Is it working?"
"….Mm. I don't know."
Elara and Joon looked at each other, and Elara looked away, thinking, 'I still can't look him in the eye, I still have a bad feeling. I need to distract myself. Can I see if my mom is here?'
Elara asked everyone, "You all can go, I have to do something and I'll catch up with you."
Joon said, "I'll stay with you here."
"Joon…weren't you the one who said we have a mission to do?"
"I don't want to leave you here alone, you have a reason for staying behind, right? We're friends now."
"….I hate you, Joon."
And by that, she meant, she hated how nice Joon was, in which she did like that he was this way, making it harder for her to avoid him.
Joon thought, 'This reminds me, was I a good friend to Hana? What about a good friend to the puppies I had? I may have been, but I don't want to lose any friends anymore, I'll do what it takes to keep them around.'
Caelan said, "That's no good. We can't leave you two here to play around and we're chasing a sect leader. Who knows how strong that bastard is. You probably want to be a good friend to her, Joon, but you're letting it distract you, which could be fatal. You just said we should focus on the mission itself, right? We don't know if that leader of ours is watching and waiting for us to mess up. And don't think I'm saying this because I care, it's because I need you all on my team for the time being so I can complete missions faster, and plus I hate to say you're one of the strongest in the group."
Joon put his head down.
He made a mistake, and he knew it; ready to risk the entire mission just to make sure he didn't lose Elara as a good friend. He wanted to be there for her, but at what cost?
'What do I do…?' Joon contemplated within his mind, stuck at a crossroad.
KATHOOM!
The ground shook, making everyone fall, Caelan exclaimed, "What the hell was that?"
Joon saw the bodies of the dead monks shake, and even the bodies of Hajen and Kage.
[ERR0R]
[ERR0R]
[ERR0R]
Joon's heart pounded, as he's seen this system messages before when he was in the labyrinth with The Head and Xiahou Anara.
'The same messages again?! What's about to happen?'
As Joon, Elara, Zephyr, and Caelan staggered, bloodied and battered, through the devastated landscape of the sect capital, a sinister phenomenon unfolded before their weary eyes. From the myriad corpses strewn about—victims of uncontrollable lust—a dark pink aura began to seep upwards, swirling ominously under the gray sky. Gathering momentum, the ethereal streams coalesced, forming a towering figure that manifested high above the desolation.
Joon, Caelan, Elara, Zephyr, and the other remaining assassins stood together, their bodies already nimble, leaning against each other.
Joon said, "We gotta go….now!"
Caelan said, "What…is that…?"
Elara held her chest, her eyes dull, fear overcoming her, she couldn't even speak, she had trouble breathing. Joon held her hand, and Elara slowly looked at him, seeing he was fearful as well. Joon had dozens of system messages around him, saying:
[ERR0R]
[ERR0R]
[WARNING: The Lust Deity, Venrix, has been manifested. Threat level: Red. Survivability rate : 7%]
'Dammit! It's because I haven't fully harnessed all of Xiahou Anara's power..'
The entity embodied a sinister elegance—a humanoid bird with features both grotesque and mesmerizing. Named Venrix, the Lust Deity, he hovered gracefully, enveloped in a dark pink glow. His body, lean and covered in soft, pink and white feather-like textures that shimmered under the eerie light, tapered into majestic wings that framed his form with the allure of forbidden pleasure. His face, disturbingly human in its appearance, bore a captivating handsomeness that belied the darkness within. Above his head floated a halo, delicate in its make, oscillating between shades of pink and white, signifying the twisted sanctity of his domain.
Venrix's gaze, piercing and full of corruptive promise, swept over the group. "Ah, the fleeting strength of mortals," he cooed, his voice a melodic whisper that chilled the blood. "It delights me so to see the essence of desire distilled from your kindred in death. Each casualty under my sway—a vessel, a tribute—fuels the manifestation of my being in this world."
He stretched his hands, the movements slow but filled with purpose. "Within each seed of lust that I plant, there lies a fate intertwined with mine. As a deity of desire, my essence is encased within the very concept of lust, mirrored in these mortals' fall. This is not merely by chance but by design—for each act of surrender to their primal urges ties them irreversibly to my spirit, magnifying my influence across the veils of reality."
Joon thought, 'Like Xiahou Anara…she was encased in stone. That means all the deities that govern affinities are encased in things that represent them metaphorically and naturally. Does that mean…whoever is the deity for my system thing…encased within the screens in front of me?'
In his demeanor, there was an intoxicating charm, a formidable grace that was as threatening as it was seductive.
Venrix said, "Ahh. Seems one of you aren't so human." He pointed at Joon, and Joon clenched his fists.
Joon said to everyone, "Everyone leave, let me fight this bastard."
Elara scoffed, "No! You're not staying here, I'm not losing you at all. And you're trying to fight an entire deity."
"I've fought one before, and I lasted enough time. Even though I lost."
"When was this…"
"Doesn't matter…You all have too—."
However, before anyone could move, Venrix's laughter, dark and rich, echoed through the air. With a calculated flick of his wrist, he released a massive surge of qi, a devastating force that exploded outward in a violent shockwave. The impact was catastrophic—buildings crumbled and the ground cracked, sending debris flying at lethal speeds.
Elara, her focus unyielding, was struck by a jagged piece of masonry that pierced through her back. The force of the impact threw her to the ground, her blood seeping into the broken earth beneath her. Around her, Joon, Zephyr, and Caelan were thrown like rag dolls, their bodies battered and torn by the brutal power of the Lust Deity.
Amid the chaos, Joon struggled to his feet, pain wracking his frame. Beside him, Zephyr tried to rise, his body convulsing with effort, collapsing repeatedly in his attempt to stand. The scene was one of utter defeat, the air thick with the coppery scent of blood and the oppressive power of Venrix looming over them, his laughter still resounding ominously as the scene faded to a grim and painful close.
The air was thick with desperation as Joon kneeled among the ruins of the sect capital, his friends incapacitated and his surroundings a tableau of destruction wrought by Venrix, the Lust Deity. With every moment, Elara's life force ebbed away beside him, and the grim reality set in: their own power was insufficient to counter such a formidable foe.
"Joon…" Elara coughed.
Joon turned around slowly, seeing Elara heavily wounded.