Mister Zero, Her Story: Chapter 66 – God’s Chosen
“…An important mission requiring a face-to-face briefing…?”
Qin Wen muttered to herself as she pushed open the door.
Frick had summoned her to his office.
Although puzzled, she had come.
Frick was her superior in Yan City, and they were at war; she had to obey orders.
However…
Qin Wen’s involvement in this war between Dawn and Yan City, as an outsider, was already pushing the boundaries.
If the mission crossed a certain line, like asking Old Man Sword to intervene, she would have to refuse.
The Sword Saint Sect Master represented the entire sect, and the Sword Saint sect couldn’t participate in humanity’s “internal conflicts,” just like Noah’s Twelve Saints. It would have severe consequences.
Humanity needed some force to be reserved against the world’s malice.
“Creak~”
The door hinges groaned, a sharp, piercing sound.
“Strange, are the doors in the Yan City offices this old…?”
Qin Wen thought, looking inside the office.
For some reason, the lights were off, the room dimly lit only by the faint light filtering through the window.
Stacks of documents were piled on the desk, the nearby bookshelf covered in a thick layer of dust.
A tall, thin figure stood by the window, looking out at the distance. It should be Frick, but Qin Wen felt something was off.
“Captain Qin, come in,” a hoarse, low voice echoed, Frick’s voice, but… strangely distorted and stiff.
Qin Wen stood at the doorway, not entering.
“Aren’t you going to turn on the lights?”
She asked, reaching for the light switch beside the door.
But her hand found nothing.
“The switch isn’t there,” Frick’s voice sounded, but he didn’t turn around. Qin Wen could only see his back.
“That’s… strange… I remember the light switch being here…”
Qin Wen scratched her head and looked around.
In the faint light, she saw a switch on the wall beside the bookshelf on the right side of the room.
“Why is it there…?”
Qin Wen walked into the room and reached for the switch.
“Click!”
The lights came on.
After a brief moment of dizziness, a soft light filled the office.
Frick was still standing by the window, his suit as impeccable as ever. The thinness and awkwardness from before seemed to be just Qin Wen’s imagination.
“Would you like some coffee?”
Frick turned slightly, his usual grim expression softening as he looked at Qin Wen.
Qin Wen saw two steaming cups of coffee beside the stacks of documents on the desk.
“No thank you, Director Frick. What’s the mission?” Although there was a chair nearby, Qin Wen remained standing. “The situation is urgent, please be brief.”
“It’s not related to the war, a different matter, but equally important,” Frick turned around, sat down, and gestured to the chair beside him.
“Please, sit. There’s no need to be nervous.”
“A different matter…?”
Qin Wen frowned, her confusion deepening, but she sat down.
“Although it’s not public knowledge, you are the current successor of the Sword Saint sect, correct?”
Frick looked at Qin Wen, a strange smile in his blue eyes, his usual grim demeanor softened, almost… approachable?
“Yes,” Qin Wen didn’t deny it. Yan City hadn’t publicized this information, but they hadn’t hidden it either. Although not widely known, it wasn’t a secret.
“If this so-called ‘mission’ requires the Sword Saint sect’s involvement, I must refuse. I’m currently serving Yan City as ‘Qin Wen,’ not as the ‘Sword Saint successor’.”
Qin Wen had no problem fighting alongside Yan City as an individual, but representing the Sword Saint sect… that was a different matter.
Although naive, she understood this fundamental principle.
The war between Yan City and Dawn was, after all, an “internal conflict.”
However, Frick didn’t seem to mind. He waved his hand dismissively.
“No, no, this has nothing to do with Yan City, Qin Wen, only with you.”
“…Me?” Qin Wen paused. “What… about me?”
Frick took a sip of his coffee and said softly,
“In my… limited memories… I’ve glimpsed certain truths… If I’m not mistaken, the Sword Saint’s mantle is passed down through bloodline, correct?”
“Bloodline… I suppose so,” Qin Wen thought for a moment and nodded.
“Master is like my father, his master was like his father, and his master’s master was like his father’s father… if that counts as bloodline inheritance, then yes.”
“Excellent,” Frick’s eyes narrowed. “The first Sword Saint Sect Master was a God’s Chosen… what you call a Demonically Infected, correct?”
“How did you—?”
Qin Wen was surprised. Even she had only recently learned this from her master. And Frick was from Yan City…
Wait, was he really Frick?
Since entering, Qin Wen had felt a strong sense of unease, but she couldn’t pinpoint the cause.
“It seems… I’ve found the right person,” Frick smiled, a strange, unsettling glint in his narrowed eyes.
“However, the God’s Chosen of this era… their power seems to have weakened, their aura so faint, I almost thought I was mistaken.”
“This feeling… no, you’re not Frick!” Qin Wen finally realized the truth.
She immediately stood up, reaching for her swords. “Who are you?!”
But… nothing happened.
Although her spiritual energy flowed, nothing happened.
Her swords didn’t appear, and the effects of her ability vanished.
“What’s… going on…?”
Qin Wen looked at her empty hands, her body trembling slightly. She had never experienced this before.
She could still feel her spiritual energy, there was no obstruction when she tried to use her ability, but there was no effect.
Frick seemed to have anticipated this. He stood up slowly, took a few steps, and looked out the window.
“Listen… to this beautiful sound…” his distorted, hoarse voice echoed, a seductive undertone. “Can you hear it? The cries and wails of the ancient God’s Chosen… how exquisite…”
What…?
Qin Wen’s thoughts slowed, each one a struggle.
“Oh, I apologize, I almost forgot… you can’t hear it yet.”
Frick glanced at Qin Wen, a mocking smile on his lips, a hint of crimson in his blue eyes.
“Come, listen…”
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
“…”
Qin Wen slowly opened her eyes, her mind clearing.
She was standing at the office door, her hand still on the doorknob, unable to move.
“What just happened?”
It took her several seconds to process the thought.
The memories were vivid, yet dreamlike…
She looked at the office. Just like before, it was dark, only faint starlight filtering through the window.
But this time… it wasn’t Frick’s back at the window, but a strange, crimson figure.
“You’re… a Devil’s minion…”
Qin Wen’s pupils constricted, the simple action taking several seconds.
“Devil’s minion… such a crude term. I am… the Lord’s servant.”
The crimson figure turned around, its enchanting face identical to “Red Butterfly’s.”
Or rather, exactly the same.
But she wasn’t Red Butterfly; she was far more terrifying.
Or rather, closer to the “Witch of Envy.”
Qin Wen finally understood.
She had fallen prey to the enemy’s ability before even entering the office!
Everything afterward had been an illusion.
She tried to move, but countless crimson tentacles had bound her, restricting all movement.
Her floating swords were also trapped, the abilities she had used in the illusion now restrained.
And even more terrifying… these tentacles were growing from her own body!
“Strange, the God’s Chosen aura on you… seems to be fading…?” The blood-clad figure approached, her brow furrowed slightly.
“And your mind is still clear, maintaining your sense of self under the influence of ‘Envy.’ Could it be that your power is also ‘Envy’?”
“God’s Chosen…? You mean… Demonically Infected…?”
Qin Wen struggled to think, her will and soul being eroded by “Envy.”
“I’m not Demonically Infected… why would you… wait…”
Qin Wen’s eyes widened slowly.
Yes, the “God’s Chosen” aura on her… must be from Miss Luo Yan…
Although she wasn’t Demonically Infected… Miss Luo Yan was!
In her slowing mind, Qin Wen desperately tried to recall her interactions with Luo Yan, searching for a way out.
—Their first meeting in District Nine, before entering Spring Breeze Pavilion…
Countless memories formed a silver-haired figure, and an image gradually appeared in Qin Wen’s mind.
—Miss Luo Yan, looking at her, slowly opening her eyes, crimson eyes with black pupils, overflowing with malice.
It was a mark.
A mark of “Fear,” planted in her heart during their first meeting.
Qin Wen’s attempt to remember triggered this mark, and that malevolent gaze, transcending time and memory, fell upon her once more.
Indifference and madness, gentleness and malice, these contradictory feelings emanated from those eyes, sending a chill down Qin Wen’s spine.
But in that instant, the crimson tentacles binding her recoiled as if touching something forbidden, shrieking before vanishing.
“Hm?”
The blood-clad figure paused, surprised.
“Now!”
Qin Wen, ignoring her weakness, forced herself to activate her ability.
Six swords appeared around the blood-clad figure, countless sword beams erupting, slicing through everything in the office.
But before the swords could strike, the figure unleashed its crimson tentacles, blocking the attack.
Even empowered by the Lord’s gaze, its physical body couldn’t withstand Qin Wen’s swords unscathed.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have needed to trick Qin Wen into the trap.
As for Qin Wen’s awakening…
It was inevitable. She had sensed something amiss the moment she entered the office.
The illusion had been maintained partly by the power of “Envy,” and partly by the distraction of the conversation, using “Frick’s” identity.
As the sword beams struck, Qin Wen’s figure vanished from the doorway.
But the blood-clad figure didn’t pursue her, instead recalling how Qin Wen had broken free from “Envy’s” grasp.
After a moment, she looked up towards the “Ember Furnace,” a mocking smile returning to her face.
“Interesting…”
…
The Wall of Resentment.
Luo Yan slowly opened her eyes.
She was no longer in the silent, dark void, but back in the small room.
A lingering drowsiness clouded her mind, like waking from a long sleep.
Her head felt stuffed with unfamiliar things: chaotic emotions, jumbled memories, and fragmented images.
These seemed to come from One…
As Luo Yan pieced together her fragmented self, she heard a soft voice.
“Miss… Luo Yan…”
Who?
It was… Qin Wen’s voice…
But why… was she here…?
Luo Yan instinctively looked towards the voice and saw a lingering crimson shadow in the distance, facing her.
But as her mind cleared, the shadow vanished, leaving only a faint, mocking smile.
“…So it’s you.”
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