"What is going on?"
The mont the barrier was lifted, the three won present could not help but freeze slightly.
After that incredibly distinct clap of thunder, the entire funeral ho returned to a dead silence, as if all sound had been stripped away from the world.
"Crack!"
The silence bred unease, prompting Sakuramiya Hitomi to subconsciously slap her hand against the wall once more, releasing her barrier.
However, compared to the instantaneous speed at which it usually covered the entire space, this ti it felt excruciatingly slow.
"Crack... crack..."
Once the barrier had reluctantly spread across the entire room, Sakuramiya Hitomi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything quieted down. It seed nothing had happened.
"Does that an, it really is..."
An Le stared at the door for a long ti before turning her head, preparing to speak again.
"Boom!"
Yet in the very next second, the entire barrier behind them instantly collapsed, emitting a violent, deafening explosion.
"Argh!"
A severe, piercing pain imdiately shot through Sakuramiya Hitomi's head, causing her to clutch it in agony and drop to her knees.
"Sakuramiya!"
An Le's expression changed, and she hurriedly looked back.
There, she saw a terrifying figure striding toward them—her blonde hair shimring with a dazzling light, yet her face completely shrouded in dark shadows.
"A... Areya?"
Seeing that figure, An Le spoke subconsciously.
But for so unknown reason, a boundless sense of disgust toward the girl's appearance welled up from the depths of An Le's heart.
'Why did Areya suddenly co out to cause trouble?'
'It was like this before, too. She broke her promise to help
pursue Xiao Huan. She betrayed ...'
"!!"
When these past grievances that had already been resolved began flooding her mind, An Le imdiately realized sothing was wrong and clutched her head.
"What in the world..."
She turned back to look at Tong Yingying and Sakuramiya Hitomi, only to find that they were in the exact sa state, their faces subconsciously twisted in revulsion.
"...is going on?"
At this mont, in Areya's eyes, everything before her was twisted and horrifying.
The surrounding floors and walls had warped into flesh and blood. The girls in the corridor were completely indistinguishable from birds and pigs to her; she only saw three twisted monsters standing in the hallway...
Two of them were even entangled by different Fingers.
On the ground, goshawk feathers were scattered all along the path.
Those ethereal goshawk feathers spread all the way down, only stopping at the tightly shut door of the tool room behind Sakuramiya Hitomi.
"Ye Shi... yu..."
Areya, looking like a Demon King, instantly realized that Ye Shiyu was right there.
The mont she spoke, Sakuramiya Hitomi's pupils contracted.
'She knows about the President!'
'How could she...'
Sakuramiya Hitomi had no idea how, but one thing was undeniable:
Areya's current condition was incredibly terrible!
"Areya, it is !! I am..."
In order to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, Sakuramiya Hitomi gritted her teeth and stood up. Just as she prepared to speak, she could not help but freeze slightly.
Imdiately after, she furrowed her brows and actually lowered her head in confusion.
"My... what was my na again?"
"?!"
Upon hearing this, An Le stared at Sakuramiya Hitomi in sheer disbelief.
Just in ti to see wisps of faint golden light seeping out from Sakuramiya Hitomi's body...
Then, all of them flew towards Areya.
'Sakuramiya Hitomi's na...'
'...was seized by Areya?!'
"Open the barrier! Quickly!!"
Seeing this, An Le realized things were going horribly wrong.
She hurriedly ran to Sakuramiya Hitomi, grabbed her hand, and pressed it against the wall.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The mont the barrier manifested, the light-like na that had been drawn into the spatial black hole abruptly froze in mid-air.
And at that very mont, Sakuramiya Hitomi finally rembered that her na was Sakuramiya Hitomi.
She glanced in horror at Areya, who was still stepping toward them, and hurriedly looked at An Le.
"We must stop Areya!!"
Saying that, she made the first move, whispering softly,
"Areya's movent is forbidden in this space!"
"Crack!"
However, as soon as the command was issued, it was like a stone sinking into the sea—there was no reaction at all.
Areya continued to advance.
'The rules of the barrier are completely ineffective against Areya!'
'Do we have to use physical ans?'
"Damn it... Areya, calm down!!"
"Rumble!"
Therefore, Sakuramiya Hitomi gritted her teeth, planning to violently slap the ground to spawn countless stone pillars to pin Areya down.
"Snap!"
Before her, Areya's face remained blurred, but the pair of ox horns radiated an invisible fluctuation.
In an instant, Sakuramiya Hitomi felt as if sothing had bound her body.
She looked down, only to see her own suit seemingly betraying her, tightly constricting her body to the point where she could not even catch her breath.
"Ugh!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi's face flushed red, and she hastily applied physique enhancent to herself within the barrier.
But in the next second, Areya gently lifted a finger, and the clothes on Sakuramiya Hitomi forcefully slamd her into the ground.
"D-Damn it!!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi tried to struggle up, but her clothes felt like the crushing weight of the Five Elents Mountain, pinning her down so firmly she could not move an inch.
Off to the side, An Le had originally been hesitating.
'After all, Areya's target seems to be Ye Shiyu. My target is also Ye Shiyu, so there isn't any conflict.'
'Since it's all for revenge...'
'Huh?'
'For...'
'Who was it again?'
An Le froze slightly and turned her head to look in Areya's direction.
She then saw that, from her own forehead, wisps of golden threads were also being seized by Areya's ox horns.
Within them, many scenes could faintly be seen.
'Xiao Huan leaning over , kissing ...'
'Xiao Huan's sleeping face...'
'Xiao Huan going to school with
in the morning...'
'Xiao Huan coming ho at night, and
saying "Welco back"...'
'Right...'
'It is for Xiao Huan's revenge!'
'Areya is seizing my mories!?'
And when Areya snatched these mories, she seed to grow even angrier...
'So many things I haven't even had the ti to do with Yan Huan...'
'But...'
'But he just went and...'
"Ahhhhhh!!"
Thinking this, Areya let out a furious roar.
An Le gritted her teeth with great difficulty, using her sheer willpower to snatch those golden threads back.
But before she could even fully react, she heard Areya's enraged roar.
Her lower body instantly turned deathly pale, and countless tentacles stabilized her stance while lunging fiercely toward Areya.
In the narrow corridor, Tong Yingying widened her eyes and hurriedly dodged to the side, watching helplessly as the tentacles surged forward like a landslide, covering the entire hallway and crushing toward Areya.
Faced with the incoming tide of tentacles, Areya simply raised her right fist.
"Boom!!"
Accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, the sky full of tentacles was instantly pulverized into ash by a single punch.
An Le's small face instantly turned deathly pale. She was knocked right out of her tentacle form by the sheer force of the blast, collapsing onto the ground.
"An Le!"
Seeing this, Tong Yingying knew that if she didn't act now, it would be too late.
She quickly drew her gun, but the mont she touched the grip, the trigger actually clamped down onto her finger like a pair of pliers.
"Ah!"
She gasped in pain, but according to the chanical structure of firearms, such an issue was completely impossible!
She looked down, only to see her gun spontaneously dismantling itself at her waist, turning into loose parts and dropping to the floor.
Then, piece by piece, the parts reverently flew toward their new master.
"Clack-clack-clack!!"
Those parts reassembled into a gun right in front of Areya. Finally, even the trigger that had clamped down on Tong Yingying's finger impatiently flew toward Areya, snapping into place in the firearm.
"Hum!"
Tong Yingying's beloved gun simply prostrated itself before that Demon King, waiting to be used.
But...
Areya had no idea how to use a gun at all, so she simply tossed it lightly, dropping the weapon onto the floor.
Yet, the gun eagerly tried to follow her, refusing to be left behind.
"Damn it!"
Tong Yingying gritted her teeth, glanced back at the two Modifier hosts lying on the ground who had been instantly subdued, and drew her blade.
"Shing!"
As the cold blade left its sheath, Tong Yingying vanished from her spot in an instant.
In a flash of lightning and flint, impossible to react to, several silver streaks slashed precisely toward Areya's legs...
Naturally, it wasn't to sever them, rely to immobilize her.
Tong Yingying still didn't want to take her life, but looking at this situation, she had no choice but to stop her!
"Clang-clang-clang!!"
The blade swept across Areya's body. Every single slash sparked a shower of sharp sparks.
"Clatter!!"
Tong Yingying hacked down strike after strike in utter disbelief. However, other than producing a massive burst of sparks each ti, Areya remained completely unscathed...
'What is going on?'
Tong Yingying looked down at her blade, only to discover that the sharp edge had actually ground itself down into an incredibly dull state.
And those sparks from before...
...were produced by the blade grinding and destroying itself.
It was as if the blade had destroyed itself so as not to harm Areya...
"I..."
Tong Yingying was utterly shocked. She raised her eyes to look at Areya before her, but all she saw was that dazzling golden hair, an obscured and shadowy face, and a pair of extraordinarily massive ox horns.
"Bang!"
And in the next second, Areya gently raised her hand.
The speed was not fast. Tong Yingying instantly reacted and dodged sideways. "Whoosh!!"
But even the strong winds swept up by that raised right hand seed to submit beneath the Great Ox King, instantly turning into a violent gale that swept up Tong Yingying and smashed her straight into the wall.
"Thud!"
Taking this heavy hit and falling to the ground, Tong Yingying was completely speechless.
She wiped the blood from her lips, looked up at Sakuramiya Hitomi, and yelled,
"How do we fight this?! She won't rest until she kills Ye Shiyu now!! Why don't we just let her kill her to quell her anger?!"
"..."
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi, who was still pinned to the floor, raised her head with great difficulty.
She watched as Areya stepped toward the tool room where Ye Shiyu was hiding, one step at a ti.
'What should I do...'
'Intuition tells
that if the ambulance driver who caused the President's death wasn't hypnotized by Ye Shiyu...'
'Then it's highly likely that vehicle was ant to kill Ye Shiyu, if not soone else!'
'Is it possible...'
'That the Index Finger wants to change its host?'
'So, whether it is the President's death or Areya inexplicably finding out about his death and going berserk, it's all within the Index Finger's calculations?'
And right now, the dilemma facing Sakuramiya Hitomi was an absolute dead end.
'If I want to continue stopping Areya, then I will inevitably have to further stimulate my Modifier's evolution...'
'Moreover, just looking at the current strength of Areya's Modifier, even if I evolve to the final form, I might not necessarily be her match!'
'Employing this strategy of driving a tiger to swallow a wolf will inevitably lead to the descent of an evil god, and everything will be completely finished!'
'But if I leave it be and let Areya kill Ye Shiyu...'
'Not to ntion that this would perfectly fulfill the Index Finger's desires.'
'After killing Ye Shiyu, if Areya is allowed to see the President's scarred and broken remains...'
'Will she really just let things end there?'
"Crack! Crack! Crack!!"
Just as Sakuramiya Hitomi was at her wit's end, Areya, fully transford into a Demon King, rely reached out and gently touched the wall.
Sakuramiya Hitomi's barrier shattered once again!
"Ah!"
As the barrier shattered, Sakuramiya Hitomi instantly gritted her teeth and let out a miserable cry.
But seeing the oppressive aura of the Modifier on Areya's body increasing even further, she couldn't help but feel an unprecedented sense of powerlessness...
'Index Finger...'
'Is all of this really within its calculations?'
'President...'
'If only...'
'If only you were here...'
"Sob..."
"Ye Shi... yu..."
At this mont, Areya was already nearing the doorway.
But just as Sakuramiya Hitomi had anticipated, despite facing the imdiate opportunity for revenge, Areya's mood had not improved in the slightest.
Above her dark, obscured face, drops of tears were falling.
Simply because...
She had just seized An Le's mories, so she had seen the tragic state of Yan Huan's corpse.
His entire body fractured, covered in hideous stitches everywhere...
The previously vibrant young man, who had managed to outrun Owen right before her eyes, was now incomplete in every aspect, his body completely motionless.
'To think that Yan Huan might have been calling my na right before he died...'
'To think that Yan Huan might have been waiting for
to save him right up until his death...'
Areya inexplicably felt despair. She felt sheer rage.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
She gritted her teeth, and the ox horns on her head once again emitted world-destroying fluctuations.
"Rumble!!"
High above, a torrential downpour cascaded over Linn.
Golden lightning danced across the sky like flying dragons and phoenixes, lingering for a long ti.
And everything in the world, along with the evolution of Areya's Modifier, underwent bizarre changes.
"Buzz!!"
"The next flight is from Dragon Country heading to Lin..."
"Buzz..."
In Dragon Country, inside a certain airport, a traveler gripped the boarding pass in his hand.
Just as he looked down at the destination, the word "Linn" originally written on it actually twisted under the distortion of streaks of faint golden light, turning into—
"Areya's Kingdom."
And this traveler didn't notice a single anomaly at all.
It was as if, silently and imperceptibly, the na of the entire nation had been seized by Areya.
"The next flight is Flight MF1049, traveling from Tianjing, Dragon Country, to Areya's Kingdom..."
At the very sa mont, in the Presidential Palace of Linn.
"..."
An elderly, white-haired man was reviewing docunts at his desk. At the top was originally a signing docunt for a governnt order.
But under the guidance of the faint golden light, it slowly began to change into a "Resignation Letter."
The white-haired old man was just about to sign, but looking at the docunt in his hands, he subconsciously felt a bit confused.
Before he could voice any objections, however, the door was opened.
Outside the door stood several secretaries holding up a massive Golden Bomb Pig plushie. They peeked inside and said,
"Mr. Forr President, are you not done yet? The current President, Golden Bomb Pig King, has arrived..."
"Oh, right. Please wait a mont. Right away..."
The President gazed at the glimring golden Golden Bomb Pig King at the doorway and lowered his head without hesitation to sign the resignation letter.
"..."
anwhile, back in the funeral ho, the two Modifier hosts were the first to notice that the operating rules of the world had been tampered with.
The two of them gasped in shock and hurriedly struggled to their feet, looking toward Areya, who was about to open the door.
"No! We can't let her open the door! Otherwise, the exact mont she opens it and kills Ye Shiyu, her Modifier will absolutely detonate entirely!!"
"Areya!!"
Standing before the door, Areya couldn't hear their words at all.
She simply reached out and firmly gripped the door handle.
However, the situation was so critical that no one noticed streaks of golden cracks were beginning to spread across Areya's body.
Right now, in Eagle Country, at the headquarters of the "Angry Little Pigs" ga.
Their ga's CEO, a middle-aged Eaglean, flickered his eyes slightly and called for his secretary.
"Boss, what are your orders?"
"It's like this..."
The Eaglean glanced at the map, pointed to the sector that had quietly beco "Areya's Kingdom," and spoke softly,
"Tomorrow, I want to withdraw our ga's publishing rights in this region."
"Understood, no problem... But, may I ask why? I will draft the docunts shortly."
The middle-aged Eaglean shook his head and simply replied,
"No reason. I don't know why, but I absolutely despise that place... I just feel like if even a single user there plays our ga, I'll be sick to my stomach."
"...With all due respect, I feel the exact sa way, Boss."
And at the very sa mont, in Eagle Country, at the Golden Lion Group Headquarters Tower.
"Chairman, I'm here to confirm your schedule for next month... At the beginning of next month, you are heading to Areya's Kingdom..."
A female secretary stood behind her looking at a tablet, reporting the preliminary itinerary for the coming month.
As she listened, Ai'erweila, who was holding a glass of red wine in front of her, furrowed her brow. She turned back to look at the secretary and asked,
"Why... are we going to Areya's Kingdom again?"
"Um... we have properties over there, and... there is so business that requires your personal attendance?"
Being questioned by Ai'erweila, the secretary was also slightly taken aback.
She scratched her head and thought for a long ti before coming up with this reason.
"..."
Ai'erweila glanced back at the itinerary on the tablet, then waved her hand dismissively.
"Cancel all future trips to Areya's Kingdom."
"Eh? Understood, no problem..."
"There's nothing there that requires my personal attention. Just leave it to our subordinates to handle... Moreover, the na of that country disgusts ."
Ai'erweila took a deep breath and muttered this softly.
"Are you leaving, Xiao Huan?"
Right now, in the underground secret room of the villa.
Wearing a sweater and looking as gentle as a devoted wife, Ye Shiyu smiled softly as she leaned against the wall, watching Yan Huan tinker with sothing in front of her.
"Ah, there are still people waiting for my return over there..."
"I can tell... You stayed in the secret room all night last night, looking like you didn't even want to see ."
Before her, Yan Huan chiseled open the floor tiles. Reaching out, he took a black mirror from the wall and drove it firmly into the ground, positioning it before himself like a shield.
Hearing her words, Yan Huan turned his head back to look at Ye Shiyu.
He shook his head and replied softly,
"Isn't it precisely because I want to see you like this in the future that I have to hurry back?"
"..."
Before him, Ye Shiyu froze slightly.
Soon after, she touched her lower abdon, her eyes unnaturally avoiding Yan Huan's gaze.
"Is that... so..."
"Yeah. I've thought of a thod, but I don't know if it will work... If it doesn't, we're completely dood."
As he said this, Yan Huan's hand very dishonestly reached into the nearby basket, grabbing a full four pills of Crab dicine and several Crab Coins.
"I don't even know if these can be brought back. I'm taking a few, you shouldn't mind, right?"
"They're all yours anyway, so why would I mind?"
Ye Shiyu shook her head and replied as such.
At this mont, the ti on the wall clock ticked exactly to 4:40.
Watching Yan Huan staring intently at the mirror, Ye Shiyu stepped up beside him from behind.
Looking at his back view, Ye Shiyu suddenly said,
"Could you help
pass a few words to my past self?"
"...What is it?"
Yan Huan turned his head, only to see Ye Shiyu squatting down before him, smiling as she whispered softly,
"Tell her...
"There is nothing to be afraid of in the future. Everything will pass.
"As long as... Xiao Huan is there."
Hearing this, Yan Huan froze slightly. Lowering his head, he chuckled and said,
"When you say things like that, it really makes
not want to leave..."
Despite saying so, his movents didn't stop for a single mont.
He glanced at the clock above, which had already reached 4:43...
Imdiately after, he tightly gripped the black mirror standing vertically before him—this miraculous item he had seen once before.
[Rebounding Demon Mirror]
[Single-use consumable. It will block one instance of a Modifier's effect for you and record that effect within the mirror, allowing you to use it once.]
[In a certain unknown worldline, this mirror once severely taught a lesson to a beautiful girl who tried to tamper with her exam grades.]
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