Chapter 61: The End
Her long, white hair spread across the carnage of flesh and bone. The girl with pale gray eyes supported her frail body, her delicate, young face devoid of emotion, like a small white flower blooming in the mire, standing alone in this human abyss where hundreds, thousands of lives had been extinguished.
An Yu, having learned the truth, was on the verge of collapse. Elsa, sealed within her own mind, was trapped in a torment of consciousness. The Seer lay unconscious in this vast tomb, and even Performer, before her final moments, had met her end in despair.
All of this stemmed from the Puppet Ballad before her, or rather… a part of the Puppet Ballad.
Viscous, white mycelia oozed from “Performer’s” orifices, her body swelling, growing larger and larger.
Her skin tore and repaired, her head bursting and regrowing, but her gaping smile only grew more grotesque.
To consume the being of its own kind before it, it abandoned the Puppet Ballad’s instinct for disguise, seeking only to reach its most powerful state.
Finally, Performer… the monster that could no longer be called “Performer,” transformed into a fleshy mass, six or seven meters tall and wide.
White mycelia pulsed from its bloated body, its pale flesh resembling a giant, decaying marshmallow, its once alluring, naked form now like a moldy cream cake left in a dumpster.
“Consume, kindred…”
The cream cake split open, its foul contents churning.
Strings of interconnected marshmallows drooped, their putrid stench washing over the pristine white flower.
Kindred spirits, devouring each other.
But…
“…Who’s your kindred spirit?”
Luo Ling tilted her small head upwards, her tiny form seemingly insignificant against the monstrous cake.
“We are not the same.”
“I am completely different from you.”
“But… I will also consume you.”
Traces of dark purple flesh clung to the corners of Luo Ling’s mouth, and a dark gold glint appeared in her cold eyes.
An unimaginable darkness consumed the pristine white. Blue scales spread across her delicate skin, her indifferent expression replaced by a heavy malice. Claws tore into the bloated pastry, pulling out thick, flowing custard.
Sharp teeth bit down, greedily chewing on the melting chocolate, the unrelenting cheese falling upon her, a demon from hell savoring its feast.
“Consume.”
This was the only thought in Luo Ling’s mind.
It had to be.
“Consume it all…”
“If I don’t consume it, it will consume me.”
“Consume it, consume it, consume it, consume it…”
“Consume, consume, consume, consume…”
She tore and bit, desperately trying to escape the encroaching terror.
“Do you still think you’re human?” Performer’s mocking laughter echoed in her ears.
It didn’t matter, she had to keep eating.
“Xiao Bai, Senior… are… are you a Grotesquery?” An Yu’s terrified voice echoed faintly in her mind.
A barely perceptible pause, but the consuming continued without hesitation.
“Big Sister Bai, you’re… so scary…”
The trembling Elsa seemed to appear before her, and Luo Ling’s movements faltered for a moment. One of her legs melted into the thick milk.
I’m… scary?
She looked down and saw blue scales covering her cheeks, sharp, terrifying teeth dripping with flesh and blood, her beautiful face twisted into a gruesome mask, a streak of eerie crimson tracing her eyelids, only one word to describe her: terrifying.
Burning, dark gold vertical pupils blazed with uncontainable terror.
This was Luo Ling, this was her.
“Xiao Ling.”
A soft, gentle, familiar voice echoed, filled with love and concern.
Her sister’s voice…
No, this was the Puppet Ballad’s trickery!
It was trying to distract her, to consume her!
Damn Puppet Ballad, it had read her memories, trying to exploit her weaknesses!
No way!
No matter what this fake sister said, she wouldn’t be fooled!
It wouldn’t stop her from consuming this thing!
“Xiao Ling, are you alright?”
“Are you hungry…?”
“Don’t eat this. Come, Sister will cook for you…”
“Don’t be afraid, Xiao Ling. No matter what you become, Sister will never abandon you.”
“Get up, let’s go home.”
“Back to our home.”
A calloused, rough hand reached out, along with her sister’s gentle gaze.
Damn it…
This had to be fake.
She wouldn’t fall for it!
Luo Ling grabbed the hand without hesitation and bit down hard.
But at the last moment, her teeth stopped, leaving only a small, bleeding mark on the hand.
“Ah!”
Her sister cried out in pain, but then, a gentle voice, filled with love and sorrow, echoed again.
“Don’t be afraid, Xiao Ling, Sister is always here with you.”
No, you’re not my sister!
Her other leg melted.
“No matter what, Xiao Ling, Sister will always love you.”
No, no, no, no…
No…
Her lower body was gone.
A warm, comforting embrace.
Her entire body was gone.
Luo Ling looked up at the dark cavern ceiling, but all she saw was her sister gently singing her a lullaby.
The most cherished memory from her childhood.
Lost in the memory, unable to break free.
Was it real? Was it fake?
Luo Ling couldn’t tell.
But now…
“Even if you are my sister…”
“Even if you really are…”
Wisps of blood-tinged smoke escaped from her burning, dark gold eyes.
“I will… consume you!”
The blue demon leaped forward, tearing and biting, devouring half of the bloated cream cake.
The broken faces of her friends, her sister’s heartbroken expression, along with Performer’s mocking laughter, were all consumed, torn to shreds, swallowed whole.
This was the Puppet Ballad’s battle, a savage, primal struggle, a pure, instinctive consumption.
The frenzied rampage continued for an unknown amount of time. When Luo Ling finally came to her senses, tears of blood streaming down her face, she was sitting alone on the ground, holding Performer’s lifeless head in her lap, surrounded by the remnants of withered white reishi mushrooms.
“Consume…”
“It’s over, Luo Ling.”
Whose voice was that? Another hallucination from the Puppet Ballad?
Luo Ling struggled to lift her head and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar face.
…Ji Ying.
How did she get here…?
No, she wasn’t real, she was a hallucination.
Definitely.
“You don’t have to eat anymore, Luo Ling,” Ji Ying said softly. “I’ll consume it for you.”
She picked up Performer’s head and calmly, methodically, began to eat.
Bite by bite, the sound of crunching bones echoed through the subterranean cavern.
When Luo Ling came to her senses again, only a strange “eye” remained in her hand, which she tremblingly put into her mouth.
Looking up, Ji Ying was gone.
“Is it… really over?”
Luo Ling wondered, dazed.
It seemed it truly was over.
She collapsed to the ground, wanting only to sleep.
Her soft, white hair spread across the ground, shimmering in the faint light of the setting sun filtering through the cavern entrance.
Like a pristine white reishi mushroom.
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