Chapter 1200 - 508: Song of Light

After a not-so-lengthy struggle, the Huanglan Group, torn apart under the erosion of the Sunset Church, has finally welcomed its true master today.

With the highest authority, the Mute Girl swaggered into the headquarters of the Huanglan Group and wandered around for quite a while.

She passed through the empty office area, stepped over scattered confidential documents, and even tasted some of the drinks in the tea room that hadn't expired, but only took a sip before tossing each aside, making the already chaotic interior even worse.

After growing tired of strolling, she finally pressed the elevator button leading directly to the top floor.

This was an exclusive elevator, originally with only a handful of people authorized to use it, boasting a button to reach the top floor that no other elevator had, and it would originally verify the visitor's biological information closely before opening, but it was still unobstructed for the Mute Girl.

The elevator silently ascended, and the moment the door opened, the sight that met the eyes was not a corridor, nor a passageway, let alone any gate, but an entire vast open-plan floor.

The space in front was exaggeratedly expansive, almost to an irrelevant degree, symbolizing silent wealth rather than flaunting it.

The whole floor had only one large desk, placed alone in the center. And the Mute Girl's nominal father—the group president whose consciousness had been replaced by an Otherworldly personality—sat behind that desk, calmly watching his youngest daughter approach.

Although he sat in the chair, his gaze was level with the Mute Girl as she walked near.

Standing in front of the desk, seeing that face, neither fearful nor flustered, as calm as always but infuriatingly so, the Mute Girl clicked her tongue in boredom.

"Any last words?"

With no mercy whatsoever, the Mute Girl straightforwardly announced her biological father's impending defeat.

At these words, the president's lips actually curled with a trace of a smile.

He shook his head slightly, his tone indifferent: "None. I've already tried my utmost to crush you all. But ultimately, I failed. Given that I was defeated in the contest of Strength, accepting the victor's disposition is only natural."

"Though I foresaw it, facing death with that poker face sure is irritating to see."

"If I were to cry bitterly and beg for mercy, would you let me off?" The president laughed in return, as if he wasn't the one being marked for death.

"Of course not," the Mute Girl sneered coldly.

"That's right, as it should be," the president nodded in agreement, "Our civilization has a bad habit of viewing the lives of others as property of a greater being... thus the struggles of humankind are often not pure, mixing in too much of the unnecessary.

"With Time drawn out, there are always considerations in the slaughter, trying to seek beyond life and death with life as the bargaining chip... all things I dislike."

"Is it because you're nearing death that you have so much to say?" The Mute Girl leaped up, plopping onto the desk, sideways gazing down at him.

"Humans always have the desire to express and share, myself included, and since you're considerate to want to hear my last words, what's wrong with chatting a bit?" The man spread his hands.

"But, I do not intend to deliver a lengthy speech, much like how in the natural world, the combat between lives often results in nothing but life or death. The vanquished will not shed tears for dying, nor beg for mercy out of Fear; the victor will not rejoice over flesh, nor relent out of sympathy.

"For them, struggle is just a necessary part of life, and this animalistic nature is also the base color of us humankind. So, you needn't have any concern—my daughter."

"...The more you speak, the more irritating you get," the Mute Girl sighed, raising her hand as Magic Power coalesced into a ghostly glow at her fingertip, "Forget it, better get rid of you quickly."

Even if it's merely weak Magic Power that barely counts as a trick, if precise enough, it can still deliver destruction rivaling that of firearms.

What's left, with a gentle flick of her finger, that man before her would have his head explode. And her journey in this Illusion Realm would nearly be at its conclusion.

A stabbing pain spread across his glabella, and finally, the president's expression showed a touch of sorrow.

He closed his eyes, quietly awaiting the end to arrive. Yet, at the very last moment, as if he remembered something, he opened his mouth to ask—

"Where's your sister?"

[Shield Woman's Awakening (Acceptance+30)]

D70+30=(55)=85

"She's waiting downstairs," the Mute Girl replied offhandedly.

"I see."

Actually, over this year of recklessness, Shield Woman had more or less comprehended everything up till now.

This gate leading to the Land of Oblivion was summoned by Shield Woman's ability, and she hid here because the Pain the Mute Girl's ability brought her triggered reactive symptoms.

So actually, even without anyone attacking this Land of Oblivion, Shield Woman was not entirely unable to awaken from the Illusion Realm on her own.

And after the Mute Girl's rambunctious antics in the Illusion Realm, she had nearly caught onto the incongruities, partially awakening some memories from the crossing, instinctively understanding the truth of this Illusion Realm.

When facing the suppression from the Huanglan Group's armed forces, she more than once unleashed the Legendary Knight's Strength, overwhelming those fully armed elites in a complete rout.

Initially, the Mute Girl worried whether Shield Woman would drown in her soul, reluctant to wake because she was imprisoned in the past.

But just as she had demonstrated in this Illusion Realm, and what she had shown in the Otherworld—Shield Woman is by no means feeble or cowardly.

In confronting her true emotions, she once decisively abandoned the path she adhered to for over a decade; faced with familial oppression, she could blaze a trial by her own abilities. Even adrift, lost in the Otherworld, she managed to carve out a life entirely from scratch.

Even though the Mute Girl dealt significant spiritual and physical blows to her, leading to a temporary escape from reality, no matter how wonderful this dreamland was, she wasn't one to indulge in delusions.

Therefore, despite the situation developing to the point of parent-child mutual harm, she still decisively chose to be aligned with her younger sister with unwavering resolve.

Though she hadn't quite completely turned her back on her biological parents, her absence beside the Mute Girl indicated that she assented to all that would follow.

And despite being abandoned by his own child, facing the impending loss of life, the man instead felt a kind of comfort, closing his eyes in relief, remaining silent.

—Yet he waited for a long time, and his consciousness never sank into darkness.

Thus, the president involuntarily furrowed his brow, puzzled as he opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was his youngest daughter's frozen face. Instantly realizing something, he swiftly turned around—the large chair swiveling half a turn, facing the massive floor-to-ceiling ultra-clear glass window.

Since the Depraved Sun, throughout this year, the world was shrouded in a faint blood-colored hue. Even in broad daylight, the sky was covered in a murky dimness.

This was the fundamental reason for the Sunset Church's rapid expansion within a mere year: deprived of the Sun's grace, everyone gradually succumbed to despair and Madness as Time passed.

But now, above this now supposedly pre-destined-for-destruction planet, after a whole year, radiant sunlight has finally pierced the darkened sky.

Light, like a Sharp Blade, sliced through the sky, tearing open the thick blood-colored curtain, pouring thousands of beams through the fissure, projecting Hope that awakens civilization.