Welcome to the Nightmare Game

Chapter 131: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XXI)

Save countdown: 30 seconds, 29 seconds, 28 seconds…

As time passed, Qi Leren stared at the familiar yet strange man on the throne. His mind was blank. He couldn’t think, and he didn’t dare to think. The unspeakable fear that had been hidden deep in his heart for a long time was confirmed at this nightmarish moment - he had opened the door of the defenseless shelter and invited the polite devil standing outside to come in.

If everything from when they had first met wasn’t a coincidence, how many secrets had he inadvertently revealed?

Qi Leren was so desperate that he couldn’t even think about it.

Twenty seconds, nineteen seconds, eighteen seconds…

“Good evening, Leren, why don’t ask my name?” Su He asked softly from the throne.

Qi Leren closed his eyes painfully. If Su He was a demon, he was definitely not an ordinary one. He had deliberately used him to come to this where the Holy Dun killed the old Devil more than 20 years ago, and what he sought was by no means an ordinary thing.

Qi Leren asked hoarsely: “Power or Slaughter?”

Su He smiled lightly and said meaningfully: “I’m the one you missed.”

“Impossible, the Lord of Fraud is a woman…” Qi Leren retorted with shock only to realize instantly.

In the Witchcraft Sacrifice task, both he and Ning Zhou had been forced to appear as another gender. If the Devil of Fraud had also appeared in the task he would probably have been like them, as it would be fun for the Devil of Fraud to hide his gender… Qi Leren suddenly remembered the voice he’d heard vaguely in the underground palace: “Because it’s very interesting. It’s so interesting to watch you cheat and kill each other because of despair, fear, and jealousy.”

That gentle and beautiful voice made him feel cold all over. He had never heard this voice, but the tone had felt familiar. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t recognized the source of this female voice, but the tone and the habit of speaking were clearly….

“Now, do you understand?” Su He asked with a smile.

He understood. Everything was clear. Ever since Su He had first appeared in the Novice Village, he had noticed his abnormality. The so-called Novice Village bug was not only the killer, but also a laptop loaded with the Nightmare Game. But at that time, Su He had no evidence. He’d just watched him and waited patiently for him to reveal his flaws.

The Witchcraft Sacrifice was a temptation which had made him carry out a task under the Lord of Fraud’s nose, but still he’d found nothing. No, maybe he’d left some marks on him. And then he was parasitized by the seed of slaughter with an abnormal growth rate, which may have been coincidence or may have been inevitable.

Castle Cry was a trap that had been set in advance. Isabel interfered with the copy’s history according to his command, and the ignorant Qi Leren had showed his biggest flaw - the laptop had appeared, then Su He followed, and then the computer disappeared mysteriously, perhaps in the hands of Su He, perhaps by a certain force intending to hide the secret of the computer from Su He. However, in the Castle Cry, Su He had become 100% sure that it was Qi Leren.

He had been gentle and considerate, patiently dormant, and had presented himself properly. Finally, he’d received the invitation as he wished and entered the Holy City, which had always been sealed to him. Maybe at first he was just a little suspicious and curious, but in the end he got a surprise.

Really, it was a perfect scam.

“It’s so funny, the incredible expression worn by a blind, ignorant human at the moment when they discover the truth…” the voice belonging to Su He echoed in the hall. Under his gentle eyes, everything was just his playthings. Qi Leren shuddered.

Qi Leren suddenly didn’t want to ask any more questions. He didn’t want to know his calculations, his purposes, and what kind of person the real Su He was.

His time was running out.

Three seconds, two seconds, one second… The countdown for the skill’s cooling was 0:59:59.

“Time is up.” The corners of Su He’s mouth hooked upwards as he looked at him happily. “From what I know about you, you’ll save before pushing open this suspicious door. You didn’t even think about resisting it. It’s not like you.”

Qi Leren’s breath hitched. He knew that his strength was very different from Su He’s. As long as Su He used his field, he would be crushed to death in front of him like a worm, but what if… What if Su He was careless?

It was a gamble, but what other choice did he have than to accept his fate?

Most importantly… If he died…

“Where is Ning Zhou?” Qi Leren asked.

“Isabel’s with him. Although she’s only been the Witch of Jealousy for a short time, I gave her some extra preferential treatment. A small cup of Devil’s blood makes such a powerful witch that surely even her friends would look at her with new eyes,” Su He said.

Isabel? She was here too? How did she get in? It must be that Su He had hidden demons in his field and brought them into the Holy City.

Qi Leren’s heart was getting heavier. What should he do? Exactly what was there to do? Keep stalling? However, even if he prolonged it, the situation wouldn’t get better. Even if Ning Zhou defeated Isabel, he couldn’t be an even opponent for the Devil of Fraud.

No matter how he thought, there was a dead end ahead.

No, think again, calm down… He had to at least figure out the purpose of Su He’s chess game so that he could leave some glimmer of chance for Ning Zhou.

Qi Leren tried to stay calm, looking at the huge statue of Maria holding the sword she had stabbed into the black dragon. The sword on the statue of Maria was not made of stone, but instead was a huge metal sword reflecting a sharp arc of light.

This should be the real sword Maria had used to kill the Devil, that was, it was this field’s memento of destruction.

Just pull it out and cut open the field, and the task could be completed.

“That’s Ms. Maria’s sword. It has a holy and dazzling power. Unfortunately, Devils can’t touch it… I should thank her for her dedication and sacrifice in changing the rule over the demon world.” Su He stood up and held out his hand toward the black dragon.

The space before his hand twisted and the black dragon’s chest suddenly lit with a deep red light, and a burning flame burst out of its chest and flowed back into Su He’s hand.

The flame went out, leaving a palm-sized ruby with bright red flowing inside it, as if it were blood.

Apart from the seed of slaughter, Qi Leren had never been able to feel demon energy, but he couldn’t help shivering when he saw that ruby.

That was a kind of evil and overbearing power, which is disturbing and fearful.

“What is that?” Qi Leren whispered.

Su He held the ruby in his hand and looked at it with great interest: “It has many names. You can call it a higher form of devil crystallization or a collection of the evil in this world, but I prefer a name that’s easier to understand. In hell, it represents one third of the kingship.”

Qi Leren swallowed his saliva. One third? Where were the two remaining thirds?

“There are a lot of things I know very well, so it doesn’t matter that there’s a lot I don’t know. I never ask questions, I simply enjoy the fun of solving puzzles. However, I originally thought you knew a lot. Although I don’t know where you got the clue to enter the Holy City, it turns out that you only know a little about it after repeated trials. You’re really very careful,” Su He said lightly.

The unsettling feeling struck again. Although he already knew what dangerous struggle he might be involved in, the feeling of being a pawn became more and more vivid at this moment.

He can’t wait for his death any longer, but he would die either way. He still had the Easter Egg. As long as his body stayed intact, it could be resurrected in seven days, but… What could he do about Ning Zhou? Even if he could defeat Isabel, then take down Maria’s sword, cut her field, and finish the task, so long as Su He has the heart to kill him, he couldn’t survive.

Unless he could really kill Su He while he was being careless, but was this possible?

The gap in the strength of the field made Qi Leren so desperate that he even lost his desperate courage.

“Qi Leren,” Su He called his name.

Qi Leren raised his head and looked at Su He stepping down the throne’s steps. He looked at him commandingly, and his scarlet eyes seemed to be filled with thoughtful interest.

“I’m curious, will a person who has experienced countless deaths still be afraid of death?” Su He asked.

“…They will be. No matter how many times, people are extremely afraid when they go to their death. This is engraved in their genes, so as long as there’s a choice, people always want to live,” Qi Leren tried to answer calmly.

“Human beings’ desire to survive is really interesting, but it’s this kind of power that will give birth to incredible miracles.” The Devil King standing on the high platform smiled at him, cut his wrist, and the bright red blood flowed into a goblet - the same goblet he had used when they had a picnic in the Garden of the Holy Tomb.

It’s just that what was in the cup now was no longer sweet wine, but sinful temptation from hell.

“For demons, ‘to do aught good never will be our task, but ever to do ill our sole delight’. If someone has a firm soul, seduce him, torture him, and destroy him until his pure white soul is so dirty it falls into hell… But if you can’t, then fear it and destroy it.” The Devil who enjoyed toying with people raised the goblet toward him and gently asked, “Now you have a choice: Would you like to be born of betrayal or die of martyrdom?”

Chapter 131: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XXI)

Save countdown: 30 seconds, 29 seconds, 28 seconds…

As time passed, Qi Leren stared at the familiar yet strange man on the throne. His mind was blank. He couldn’t think, and he didn’t dare to think. The unspeakable fear that had been hidden deep in his heart for a long time was confirmed at this nightmarish moment - he had opened the door of the defenseless shelter and invited the polite devil standing outside to come in.

If everything from when they had first met wasn’t a coincidence, how many secrets had he inadvertently revealed?

Qi Leren was so desperate that he couldn’t even think about it.

Twenty seconds, nineteen seconds, eighteen seconds…

“Good evening, Leren, why don’t ask my name?” Su He asked softly from the throne.

Qi Leren closed his eyes painfully. If Su He was a demon, he was definitely not an ordinary one. He had deliberately used him to come to this where the Holy Dun killed the old Devil more than 20 years ago, and what he sought was by no means an ordinary thing.

Qi Leren asked hoarsely: “Power or Slaughter?”

Su He smiled lightly and said meaningfully: “I’m the one you missed.”

“Impossible, the Lord of Fraud is a woman…” Qi Leren retorted with shock only to realize instantly.

In the Witchcraft Sacrifice task, both he and Ning Zhou had been forced to appear as another gender. If the Devil of Fraud had also appeared in the task he would probably have been like them, as it would be fun for the Devil of Fraud to hide his gender… Qi Leren suddenly remembered the voice he’d heard vaguely in the underground palace: “Because it’s very interesting. It’s so interesting to watch you cheat and kill each other because of despair, fear, and jealousy.”

That gentle and beautiful voice made him feel cold all over. He had never heard this voice, but the tone had felt familiar. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t recognized the source of this female voice, but the tone and the habit of speaking were clearly….

“Now, do you understand?” Su He asked with a smile.

He understood. Everything was clear. Ever since Su He had first appeared in the Novice Village, he had noticed his abnormality. The so-called Novice Village bug was not only the killer, but also a laptop loaded with the Nightmare Game. But at that time, Su He had no evidence. He’d just watched him and waited patiently for him to reveal his flaws.

The Witchcraft Sacrifice was a temptation which had made him carry out a task under the Lord of Fraud’s nose, but still he’d found nothing. No, maybe he’d left some marks on him. And then he was parasitized by the seed of slaughter with an abnormal growth rate, which may have been coincidence or may have been inevitable.

Castle Cry was a trap that had been set in advance. Isabel interfered with the copy’s history according to his command, and the ignorant Qi Leren had showed his biggest flaw - the laptop had appeared, then Su He followed, and then the computer disappeared mysteriously, perhaps in the hands of Su He, perhaps by a certain force intending to hide the secret of the computer from Su He. However, in the Castle Cry, Su He had become 100% sure that it was Qi Leren.

He had been gentle and considerate, patiently dormant, and had presented himself properly. Finally, he’d received the invitation as he wished and entered the Holy City, which had always been sealed to him. Maybe at first he was just a little suspicious and curious, but in the end he got a surprise.

Really, it was a perfect scam.

“It’s so funny, the incredible expression worn by a blind, ignorant human at the moment when they discover the truth…” the voice belonging to Su He echoed in the hall. Under his gentle eyes, everything was just his playthings. Qi Leren shuddered.

Qi Leren suddenly didn’t want to ask any more questions. He didn’t want to know his calculations, his purposes, and what kind of person the real Su He was.

His time was running out.

Three seconds, two seconds, one second… The countdown for the skill’s cooling was 0:59:59.

“Time is up.” The corners of Su He’s mouth hooked upwards as he looked at him happily. “From what I know about you, you’ll save before pushing open this suspicious door. You didn’t even think about resisting it. It’s not like you.”

Qi Leren’s breath hitched. He knew that his strength was very different from Su He’s. As long as Su He used his field, he would be crushed to death in front of him like a worm, but what if… What if Su He was careless?

It was a gamble, but what other choice did he have than to accept his fate?

Most importantly… If he died…

“Where is Ning Zhou?” Qi Leren asked.

“Isabel’s with him. Although she’s only been the Witch of Jealousy for a short time, I gave her some extra preferential treatment. A small cup of Devil’s blood makes such a powerful witch that surely even her friends would look at her with new eyes,” Su He said.

Isabel? She was here too? How did she get in? It must be that Su He had hidden demons in his field and brought them into the Holy City.

Qi Leren’s heart was getting heavier. What should he do? Exactly what was there to do? Keep stalling? However, even if he prolonged it, the situation wouldn’t get better. Even if Ning Zhou defeated Isabel, he couldn’t be an even opponent for the Devil of Fraud.

No matter how he thought, there was a dead end ahead.

No, think again, calm down… He had to at least figure out the purpose of Su He’s chess game so that he could leave some glimmer of chance for Ning Zhou.

Qi Leren tried to stay calm, looking at the huge statue of Maria holding the sword she had stabbed into the black dragon. The sword on the statue of Maria was not made of stone, but instead was a huge metal sword reflecting a sharp arc of light.

This should be the real sword Maria had used to kill the Devil, that was, it was this field’s memento of destruction.

Just pull it out and cut open the field, and the task could be completed.

“That’s Ms. Maria’s sword. It has a holy and dazzling power. Unfortunately, Devils can’t touch it… I should thank her for her dedication and sacrifice in changing the rule over the demon world.” Su He stood up and held out his hand toward the black dragon.

The space before his hand twisted and the black dragon’s chest suddenly lit with a deep red light, and a burning flame burst out of its chest and flowed back into Su He’s hand.

The flame went out, leaving a palm-sized ruby with bright red flowing inside it, as if it were blood.

Apart from the seed of slaughter, Qi Leren had never been able to feel demon energy, but he couldn’t help shivering when he saw that ruby.

That was a kind of evil and overbearing power, which is disturbing and fearful.

“What is that?” Qi Leren whispered.

Su He held the ruby in his hand and looked at it with great interest: “It has many names. You can call it a higher form of devil crystallization or a collection of the evil in this world, but I prefer a name that’s easier to understand. In hell, it represents one third of the kingship.”

Qi Leren swallowed his saliva. One third? Where were the two remaining thirds?

“There are a lot of things I know very well, so it doesn’t matter that there’s a lot I don’t know. I never ask questions, I simply enjoy the fun of solving puzzles. However, I originally thought you knew a lot. Although I don’t know where you got the clue to enter the Holy City, it turns out that you only know a little about it after repeated trials. You’re really very careful,” Su He said lightly.

The unsettling feeling struck again. Although he already knew what dangerous struggle he might be involved in, the feeling of being a pawn became more and more vivid at this moment.

He can’t wait for his death any longer, but he would die either way. He still had the Easter Egg. As long as his body stayed intact, it could be resurrected in seven days, but… What could he do about Ning Zhou? Even if he could defeat Isabel, then take down Maria’s sword, cut her field, and finish the task, so long as Su He has the heart to kill him, he couldn’t survive.

Unless he could really kill Su He while he was being careless, but was this possible?

The gap in the strength of the field made Qi Leren so desperate that he even lost his desperate courage.

“Qi Leren,” Su He called his name.

Qi Leren raised his head and looked at Su He stepping down the throne’s steps. He looked at him commandingly, and his scarlet eyes seemed to be filled with thoughtful interest.

“I’m curious, will a person who has experienced countless deaths still be afraid of death?” Su He asked.

“…They will be. No matter how many times, people are extremely afraid when they go to their death. This is engraved in their genes, so as long as there’s a choice, people always want to live,” Qi Leren tried to answer calmly.

“Human beings’ desire to survive is really interesting, but it’s this kind of power that will give birth to incredible miracles.” The Devil King standing on the high platform smiled at him, cut his wrist, and the bright red blood flowed into a goblet - the same goblet he had used when they had a picnic in the Garden of the Holy Tomb.

It’s just that what was in the cup now was no longer sweet wine, but sinful temptation from hell.

“For demons, ‘to do aught good never will be our task, but ever to do ill our sole delight’. If someone has a firm soul, seduce him, torture him, and destroy him until his pure white soul is so dirty it falls into hell… But if you can’t, then fear it and destroy it.” The Devil who enjoyed toying with people raised the goblet toward him and gently asked, “Now you have a choice: Would you like to be born of betrayal or die of martyrdom?”