Chapter Forty-Eight: Please, Ravage My Kingdom
This wasn’t Luo Ling’s first time traversing between Kingdoms, but the experience was still novel.
Compared to entering a Kingdom from the present world, traveling between Kingdoms was far more bizarre, the distorted scenery always different.
Twisted colors and fleeting fragments of Victoria flashed past, like glimpses of countless possible futures, though these past futures were all filled with disaster and calamity.
Although Luo Ling’s devouring of the Boundary during the previous Incubation Barrier incident had resulted in an area of the Realm of Nothingness appearing within Victoria…
Luo Ling herself had benefited greatly, gaining a deeper understanding of Kingdoms.
During a Boundary collapse, the entire Boundary became unstable.
And Grotesquery Agents and Apostles seemed to possess the ability to somehow “capture” this unstable Boundary, creating a short-lived fragment.
Although different from a true Boundary, with its own drawbacks… these were insignificant compared to the benefits of a Kingdom.
It was practically a sanctuary for Grotesquery Apostles. All Kingdoms overlapped with each other and the present world in some way, making them almost impervious to invasion, which was enough.
Unfortunately, Iris’s Kingdom was an exception, invaded twice in a short period, and this third “invasion,” she had even led the invader herself…
“My sapling, my Kingdom… they’re going to be ruined…”
Iris’s expression was dazed, her face filled with grievance.
Why did such misfortunes always befall her? Her perfectly good Kingdom had been invaded three times, three times!
She glanced at the mysterious grey shadow beside her, vaguely seeing Amethyst’s eager expression, seemingly impatient to ravage her Kingdom… or perhaps devour it?
She had even ignored Moonflower’s words, dragging Iris away… Although Moonflower’s constant cuteness and high-pitched voice were annoying, Iris still felt that Amethyst’s eagerness stemmed from her desire to violate her Kingdom.
Wicked woman…
Luo Ling, seeing Iris’s tears, asked, puzzled, “Seriously, Miss Iris, you’re fifty or sixty years old, why are you still crying…?”
Iris’s eyes widened, as if hearing something unbelievable, her grievance forgotten as she quickly defended herself.
“Fifty or sixty years old? I’m… I’m not! I’m only seventeen, no, eighteen, eighteen years old!
“Time spent in a Kingdom doesn’t count towards age, even if I stay there for—”
Before Luo Ling could say anything, Iris began counting on her fingers, seemingly calculating her age if she included the time spent in her Kingdom.
The resulting number seemed to shock her, and she quickly covered her hand, then said, “If you count it that way, you must be thousands of years old, old lady—I mean, big sister!”
Iris almost blurted out “old hag,” then realizing her current predicament, her debt to Amethyst…
Besides, among Grotesquery Apostles and Agents, Iris was indeed young, even including the time spent in her Kingdom, likely less than a tenth of the other members’ ages.
Therefore, when frustrated, she would call the other members “old hags.”
However, this had little effect on Luo Ling, a genuine sixteen-year-old girl… soon to be seventeen, after her birthday.
“Perhaps.”
Luo Ling simply replied, a strange feeling welling up within her.
This was the first time someone had considered her a “big sister”…
It wasn’t bad.
Whether in her original form or as the White Witch, she was incredibly young compared to others in the Awakened world. The only one younger she had met was Elsa.
Elsa’s situation was unique, having been transformed into a vessel for a Grotesquery at a young age.
Among ordinary Awakened Ones… it was rare to find someone younger than Luo Ling.
The journey between Kingdoms wasn’t long. The bizarre, dreamlike scenery gradually faded, replaced by the golden light of dusk falling upon the streets of Victoria, tinged with a faint crimson.
They had arrived in the twilight “Kingdom” of Victoria.
“Is this Victoria before the Taboo disaster?” Luo Ling looked around. The twilight Victoria seemed perfectly normal, ordinary people walking on the streets, just like any other day.
There was no sign of an impending disaster.
Luo Ling knew that the Company hadn’t lied. She had used the Puppet Ballad’s true vision to observe Artist, seeing his fragmented and reassembled body.
…Therefore, the answer wouldn’t simply appear. She had to explore Iris’s Kingdom.
“Amethyst, p-please, ravage my Kingdom as you see fit…”
Iris bit her lip, forcing out the words, her expression pained.
She wanted to retreat, unable to bear witnessing her beloved Kingdom’s potential destruction.
And… she had to move the other being residing within her Kingdom.
The sapling being devoured was one thing, it had happened before, she could just nurture it again. But this other being… couldn’t be touched.
She couldn’t let a Naraku Godchosen target it! No, they couldn’t even know of its existence!
“Hey, wait… don’t go yet.”
Luo Ling quickly grabbed Iris’s hand.
She was puzzled by Iris’s eagerness to escape.
This was Iris’s Kingdom, not hers. Why was she acting like the owner…?
Luo Ling hadn’t intended to take advantage of Iris’s Kingdom just because of the six petals she owed her. She was planning to offer more.
Then she would do as she pleased.
After all, Naraku’s abilities… were unpredictable. Even Luo Ling wasn’t entirely sure of their effects. She had to inform the owner beforehand.
What if… she accidentally destroyed Iris’s Kingdom?
“…….”
Iris looked at Luo Ling, her eyes welling up. “Miss Amethyst, you’re too cruel! Do you really have to make me watch?”
Witnessing her beloved Kingdom’s destruction, powerless to stop it…
It was too cruel!
“What else can I do?” Luo Ling asked, puzzled. “If you’re not here, I’m worried I might accidentally break something…”
She saw Iris’s humiliated expression again.
“When did my communication with Miss Iris become so problematic? Why does she always look at me like that…?”
Even Luo Ling began to question herself. She hadn’t said anything offensive, had she? She had been perfectly polite.
Could it be that she had traumatized Iris by devouring her sapling last time?
“Don’t worry, I won’t touch your sapling this time.” Luo Ling said quickly.
“Then what are you planning to devour?” Iris looked up.
“I’m not devouring anything this time! Seriously, do you think I’m some kind of glutton?” Luo Ling’s lips twitched. It was definitely because of the sapling incident.
“You’re not going to take a bite out of my Kingdom?” Iris asked, her eyes still teary.
“…Of course not.”
Luo Ling averted her gaze slightly.
“…”
You’re lying, you’re definitely lying!
Iris’s face crumpled. “Just… take less… don’t take too much…”
“I told you I won’t!” Luo Ling flicked Iris’s forehead. “I apologize for last time. This time, it’s a proper transaction.”
“Really?”
Iris was surprised.
“Really.”
Luo Ling nodded.
“Write it down!” Iris almost jumped up. “Let’s make a contract! Swear on your God!”
“My…”
Luo Ling’s expression turned strange. Her God was… Naraku?
Swear on Naraku?
That seemed a bit unfair…
Swearing on their God was the most binding oath for an Apostle or Agent, as their power originated from the Grotesquery.
Breaking the oath was equivalent to betraying the Grotesquery, incurring severe punishment.
But Luo Ling’s situation…
Unfortunately, although she used Naraku’s power, she had no real connection to this Taboo.
Her oath was essentially meaningless.
However, seeing Iris’s anxious and expectant expression, Luo Ling sighed.
“Certainly, no problem.”
She had no intention of breaking the contract anyway, so a supervisor… was unnecessary.
Iris sighed in relief, then beamed.
She quickly drafted the contract and handed it to Luo Ling.
“Here, if you think anything is unreasonable, I can change it…”
“Okay.”
Luo Ling took the contract, but the title made her pause.
The Amethyst-Iris Non-Aggression Pact
Sister, do you know what happened the last time a pact had this title…?
But skimming through the contents, it was mostly Iris protecting her Kingdom, specifically the Kingdom itself and the two Grotesqueries she was nurturing within.
The first, Luo Ling recognized, the Bodhi Ancient Tree of Silent Demise, Grotesquery Sequence 145.
The second…
Iris hadn’t provided any details, only a true name.
—Jingwei.
Luo Ling’s eyes widened, recalling Jingwei’s Sequence and Path.
Grotesquery Sequence 18, Jingwei of Calamity, wielding the Authority… “Mountains and Seas.”
“Is this your God?”
Luo Ling looked up, noticing Iris’s fleeting panic.
“H-how did you know?”
She had deliberately omitted the Path and Sequence, how was she discovered?
If it weren’t required for the contract, she wouldn’t have even written the true name…
“…Have you forgotten already? I just gave you that information.”
Luo Ling said helplessly. “Not only is this God listed in the public Sequence, but… I have memories of seeing the Taboo Slate, how could I not know?”
“Oh, right…”
Iris hung her head, realizing her mistake.
Luo Ling added a few lines to the contract, then handed it back to Iris.
She erased three dimmed petals from Iris’s forehead, three petals also disappearing from her own.
“That should do it.” Luo Ling clapped her hands.
“Huh?”
Iris was stunned, then quickly examined the changes Luo Ling had made. She had only added one line.
“Amethyst pays three petals to rent Iris’s Kingdom for (blank) years.”
She… she paid?
Not a forceful takeover?
Iris felt a surge of gratitude.
Maybe Amethyst wasn’t so bad after all?
“Write down the duration you want to borrow it for, Miss Iris.” Luo Ling smiled. “I’d prefer longer, but… it’s your decision.”
She could even decide the duration?
Iris was even more grateful.
Amethyst was so kind… she was a good person after all!
Iris pondered, then gritted her teeth, writing down a number.
“Ninety-nine.”
“That’s it!” Iris thought. “As long as Amethyst doesn’t destroy my Kingdom, she can use it freely!”
“…….”
Luo Ling, a former high school student with a recent history of cramming knowledge, looked at the number and fell silent.
Miss Iris, you truly were a contract prodigy…
Seeing Iris’s expectant gaze, Luo Ling cleared her throat and swore softly,
“I, in the name of Naraku, make this oath.”
Iris quickly followed suit.
“I, in the name of Jingwei, make this oath.”
A gaze from an unknown source descended, observing them.
Of course, it only observed Iris.
Luo Ling, not a Naraku Godchosen, felt nothing. She even waited for a moment, hoping to see if Naraku would appear.
And whether His gaze could be devoured…
But nothing happened, much to her disappointment.
“Sister Amethyst, you’re so kind!”
Iris beamed, her face slightly foolish.
Not only had she not exploited her debt, but she had even paid extra, allowing Iris to write the contract…
And she had even agreed to swear on her God, despite the contract mostly benefiting Iris, restricting Amethyst’s actions, while Iris only had to grant her access to the Kingdom and allow limited experimentation, a normal use for a Kingdom.
She had misjudged Sister Amethyst!
“By the way, Iris, I need to know some details about your Kingdom. From the information I gave you, you should know that this Kingdom isn’t ordinary.”
Luo Ling’s expression turned serious.
“Oh, right… I haven’t examined it carefully yet, but it seems to be related to the Taboo disaster?” Iris’s expression turned slightly anxious.
“Tell me what you know.” Luo Ling said. “About the Taboo, and its Godchosen.”
Both the Company and the Harbingers, as human factions, knew little about this aspect.
Encountering Apostles and Agents usually didn’t end with a friendly chat. Those who tried usually died horribly.
“Hmm? Okay…”
Iris was puzzled by Luo Ling’s question, as this was common knowledge, but she answered honestly.
For Godchosen and God’s Favored, Taboos were indeed taboo, terrifying beings, practically embodiments of the Grotesque paths themselves.
The currently active Taboo Godchosen were the universally despised Naraku Godchosen, the incredibly violent and dangerous Knight Godchosen, and the self-modifying Guixu Godchosen.
Besides these three, other Taboo Godchosen were rare, rarely seen, even Iris had never encountered them, only hearing rumors.
In fact, Iris was a recluse.
After becoming Jingwei’s God’s Favored, she had spent over sixty years within Jingwei’s Kingdom, rarely leaving, except for the tea parties, spending her days cultivating strange plants.
She was a Calamity path Awakened One, corresponding to the Element path, capable of manipulating water and earth elements, a natural talent for gardening.
She couldn’t even remember how she joined the tea party. One day, she had encountered the leader, and after a brief chat, she had been recruited.
As for why the usually laid-back Iris was so fixated on the path to godhood, even acquiring the twilight Kingdom at great cost, it was related to her God, Jingwei.
“Jingwei… is injured?”
Luo Ling’s eyes widened in shock, hearing this from Iris.
Iris hesitated, then nodded.
“Yes, on the verge of falling to Silent Demise.”
Luo Ling’s expression turned grave.
The value of an injured High-Risk Grotesquery, its Sacred Relic and Sequence position, was incredibly attractive to many.
Especially after Luo Ling’s successful usurpation of the Puppet Ballad’s Sequence, many were itching to act.
Iris had heard rumors at the tea party that some Godchosen were already plotting to seize Sequence positions. If news of Jingwei’s injury spread…
The consequences would be unimaginable.
And Iris had revealed this to her, even though their contract was essentially meaningless, easily broken for such valuable information.
It could only mean that Iris truly trusted her.
And this trust… was a bit too much.
“Why do I feel like a wicked woman manipulating an innocent girl?”
Luo Ling shook her head. “No, no, that’s impossible, I’m a good person…”
Besides, she considered herself an innocent girl as well.
As for the injured Jingwei, Luo Ling wouldn’t target it, even though her contract with Iris was practically worthless.
Throughout history, such non-aggression pacts were always broken.
“It’s because of Master Jingwei’s injury that I had to acquire the twilight Kingdom, no matter the cost.”
Iris clenched her fists. “According to the tea party’s information, this is a Kingdom of immortality. No one can die here.”
Jingwei’s injuries were severe, on the verge of eternal oblivion. That was why Iris had acquired this Kingdom, despite the risks and the debt.
Previously, even Iris, the Kingdom’s owner, hadn’t known the reason for its “immortality.” Now, thanks to Luo Ling’s information, she finally understood. It was the lingering power of Guixu’s “Immortality” Authority.
“That explains why everyone in my Kingdom becomes old and wrinkled…”
Iris muttered. She was still shrouded in the mystical veil, but if it were removed, she would appear as a little old lady.
True immortality came at a price, an unspeakable price, even physical aging was merely a part of it.
Therefore, the injured Jingwei couldn’t rely on the Kingdom forever. To save her God, Iris had to embark on the path to godhood, becoming a true God herself.
Only then could she save Jingwei.
At least she could seek help from others, possessing the strength and status to protect Jingwei from those who might target her.
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