一本加勒比波多野结衣

12.8 - Do you know how it feels to slowly rot away and lose everything?

translator: xiin

editors: alamerysl, BlueBug & Macabre

Making their way out of the Demonic Beast Forest would have been easy with Xi leading the way, but Xue Ling did not leave. There were some events that would soon happen in the Demonic Beast Forest, and he wanted to watch them play out.

Half a month later, nobody at the Elder God Academy remembered the recent uproar. Although Ivan still remembered Oliver, he had been unable to find him, and gradually tossed the matter to the back of his mind and began to focus on the upcoming final exam.

This was the most important examination during the Elder God Academy school year. It determined whether or not the students would be able to continue studying in the Academy next year. Ivan was a very outstanding student, straight A student. Because he was an orphan, he lived off the scholarship that the Academy provided, and couldn\'t afford to not take the exam seriously.

Because it was a practical exam, Ivan needed to find a team to join. According to his fate trajectory, the team that he joined would have someone who had been bought over by the Queen of the country. This person would dose him with the banned potion, which would then give Ivan the chance to meet Xi.

This time, Xue Ling would still give Ivan the opportunity to have his soul damaged. The potion would still be administered, but he would not give Ivan any hope of recovery. It would be absolutely impossible for him to cleanse his soul and stand in the light again. He had already taken Xi out of the equation, and Ivan had no opportunity to get close to him. Xue Ling had also had Xi lock down the central layer when they left, so Ivan would have no opportunity to accidentally make his way there.

What Xue Ling wanted Ivan to experience was not only these events; Ivan needed to understand how Oliver had felt, falling into the infinite darkness, struggling there, and attempting to take revenge step by step only to be defeated with ease… That deep, dark despair was something that Ivan needed to experience clearly.

Of course, besides Ivan, the main targets for Xue Ling\'s revenge were Kent and the Queen of this country. Oliver dreamed of being able to retrieve the clothing that was made from his parents\' fur; he also wanted to take back all of the clothing made from Ink Flame Wolves around the world. People in this country needed to feel the Ink Flame Wolves\' anger, and understand that there were certain things that should never be done.

It would require outstanding power and ability to accomplish these things. After all, the nobles and palaces in this country had strong and powerful guardians. Oliver previously had not dared to approach at all, because so long he approached, his camouflage would be seen through. But Xue Ling was not afraid of this at all.

He already had the blueprints for revenge in his mind. According to the vague memories of the original body, Xue Ling brought Xi to the entrance of the Demonic Beast Forest that was guarded by the Elder God Academy. It was better to have arrived early than leave things up to chance; by the time they arrived, the teams from the Academy were just about to set out.

This time, the students would be sent to different locations for their exam. Because the people responsible had been bribed, Ivan\'s team was sent closer to the central layer so that nobody would have any suspicions if it led to the loss of their team\'s healer.

Ivan\'s healing power was very strong, so the team that brought him along was also very strong. At their age, this kind of team should be able to easily pass the examination, but Ivan could not imagine what the future waiting for him after entering the forest would be like.

Xue Ling stood atop a tree, staring at the Ivan who was reluctant to part from Kent. After a long time, he suddenly asked Xi standing by his side, "Do you like that person?"

Xi unhesitatingly replied with, "I only like you."

Xue Ling almost rolled his eyes at him and continued, "If his soul became polluted, would you use the Sacred Pool to treat him?"

Xi looked over rather thoughtfully. His gaze when it landed on Ivan flashed with murder. Although the contract had been forcibly terminated, Ivan still had some of Xue Ling\'s aura on his body, and some of Ivan\'s aura was also present on Xue Ling\'s body due to the curse he had set. "He is your former contractor?" Xi\'s tone was low and murderous. Xue Ling turned his head and looked at him, the warning in his gaze obvious.

"Don\'t touch him." He pursed his lips. "I want to handle this personally."

Xi was even more dissatisfied when he said this. He had originally been unhappy that someone else had been able to tie themselves to Xue Ling, and then betrayed him. If it hadn\'t been for Ivan, perhaps Xue Ling would not have refused his request, and Xi would not have no official title with which to remain by Xue Ling\'s side. "You know what will happen next?" For Xue Ling to ask him something like that indicated that something would happen soon that was most likely related to him. "Then, do you want me to save him?"

Xue Ling shook his head and said, "Save him. But not in the way that I mentioned before."

"Huh?"

"Have you ever heard of \'Fallen Heaven\'?" Xue Ling watched as Ivan reluctantly tore himself away from Kent and returned to his team. He narrowed his eyes and laughed, "Legends say that this potion could even pollute the God of Light and cause his wings to turn black."

Xi raised his eyebrows in some surprise, and smiled as he said, "I know of it."

"Can you suppress it for a short time? So that it\'s not a sudden outbreak, but an infection that slowly, from the inside to the outside, changes a person\'s soul, thoroughly turning it black…" Xue Ling\'s smile carried a trace of amusement, his narrowed eyes glittering with malice. "There are some things that need to be experienced slowly so that one can fully understand that kind of despair…"

"\'Fallen Heaven\' is actually the Sacred Pool\'s water." Xi calmly shared this heaven-shaking fact. "The Sacred Pool is made up of light, but in fact, all the elements are complete in the pool water. \'Fallen Heaven\' is simply water from the Sacred Pool that has been blessed by darkness." He rubbed his chin, and spoke in amusement, "I didn\'t expect that good things wouldn\'t be inherited. Rather, it\'s this kind of thing has been passed down until now and taken out to be used."

Xue Ling was stunned, and thought that this was simply a series of interlaced events. No wonder Ivan could enter the inner layer after being affected by \'Fallen Heaven\' and obtain the Sacred Pool\'s acceptance. It was not because of his Holy Saint aura, but because the \'Fallen Heaven\' in his body had originally belonged to the Sacred Pool, and the pool was naturally willing to accept the return of a part of it.

"So it was like that…" Xue Ling nodded to show that he understood. Xi was the owner of the Sacred Pool. As long as he willed it, the Sacred Pool could do anything in his hands. Delaying the effects of \'Fallen Heaven\' became incredibly simple.

As they chatted, the teams gathering to enter the forest had already formed an orderly queue in front of the entrance.

Xue Ling\'s eyes followed Ivan. After they had been transmitted inside, he reached out and took Xi\'s hand. "Let\'s go and follow them."

Xi didn\'t know what exactly Xue Ling wanted to do, but since it was his request, he had no way to refuse. But he did not like to drag things out - that kind of slowly killing his enemy off was not his style. In his opinion, villains died from talking too much, so they should not wait until their opponent became stronger and stronger, making a comeback at the last moment. Xi preferred to strangle his opponents during the initial stages before they even grew up.

However, Xue Ling\'s methods could not be regarded as training up his opponents, so Xi let him do as he liked.

With Xi bringing him along, Xue Ling was not the slightest bit worried about losing track of Ivan and his team at all. He watched as Ivan\'s team was transmitted into the depths of the forest, and then excitedly asked Xi to command some demonic beasts to stir things up.

So then he saw the poor Meteorite Bird once again… It was really being made use of everywhere; after losing its child, the Meteorite Bird had already begun to go a little crazy. After being brought over to Ivan\'s team by Xi, it immediately regarded Ivan\'s team as the ones who had stolen its eggs and began to chase after them in despair.

Ivan\'s team fell into chaos during this process, and their examination that had originally been going smoothly suddenly encountered many ups and downs.

Because many of them were injured, Ivan had to heal a lot and was very tired at night. Since he was surrounded by his teammates, he was not on guard at all, and it was easy for the two people who had plotted for a long time to make their move and pour \'Fallen Heaven\' into his water. He drank the water after he woke up the next day, and discovered that the more he used his healing ability, the worse the erosion of his soul became.

While the two people were still thinking about how to get rid of Ivan, Xue Ling thoughtfully stepped in to give them a hand, asking Xi to command several demonic beasts to besiege them so that they would split up and completely disperse.

Ivan thought it was an accident, but Xue Ling did not intend to allow him to remain so silly and sweet for long. What he wanted to do was to make Ivan understand that this world was not so beautiful. There were some things that could not be solved by generating electricity with love.

Under Xue Ling\'s arrangements, Ivan secretly heard two of his teammates discuss the matter of reporting the completion of their task and finally learned about Kent\'s identity, as well as the Queen\'s dissatisfaction towards him. They had never met, but the Queen was determined to use such vicious methods to deal with him. As for the classmates that he normally got along so well with and took care of, they had secretly betrayed him for the sake of their own futures and given him the potion.

The pillars of Ivan\'s world outlook began to collapse. He wanted to rush out and ask them what was going on, and wanted to ask him what he had done wrong. Why did his future, his life, and his lover have to be sacrificed for the sake of their future?

But his feet no longer moved, and he couldn\'t even make a sound. He could only watch as his two classmates crushed the talisman that signalled for help, then tell the teacher that he had separated from them and most likely died in the Demonic Beast Forest.

Healers had no attack ability, which was why they needed someone to protect them. Ivan was lost in the middle of the Demonic Beast Forest by himself, and with nobody to protect him, he was definitely dead.

Ivan tried to struggle at first, but then he gradually found that his body seemed to be under somebody else\'s control. He couldn\'t make the others notice him at all, and even the demonic beasts passing by turned a blind eye.

Ivan closed his eyes, and it wasn\'t until the teacher had left with his two teammates that he discovered that he could move again. He had been squatting down earlier, and he now stood up, feeling some numbness and weakness in his legs. He supported himself against a tree, and called out quietly, "Is somebody there?" Since someone had controlled him, they should be nearby.

He asked several times in a row before he heard the sound of movement. Ivan looked up sharply and saw two figures standing in the tree. One of them looked down at him with a smile, making him appear both heroic and handsome, while his pair of fox eyes were filled with wicked intent.

Ivan was shocked. He hadn\'t seen this face in weeks, but he felt that there seemed to be something different about this person…

Strange, did Oliver\'s eyes always look so good in the past?

"Oliver?" Ivan\'s voice was dazed as he asked out loud.

Xue Ling smiled and greeted him, "Long time no see, Ivan. How did you end up in such a tight corner?"

Ivan\'s eyes heated, and he murmured, "Oliver, you came back to find me. Is it because you\'re willing to return to my side? I\'m truly so happy that you\'re unwilling to abandon me… Oliver, how could they do this to me? Kent\'s mother poisoned me… Oliver, will you take me out of here? You\'re a demonic beast, and must be familiar with the Demonic Beast Forest, right? Will you take me to Kent? He\'ll have a way to get rid of the poison in my body…"

Xue Ling smiled widely and nodded. "I can send you back."

Ivan\'s expression was delighted. "I knew it! Oliver, you definitely can\'t bear to let me down. You must really love me the most."

When he spoke these words, Xi\'s face was as black as coal. He had been there the whole time, but Ivan just couldn\'t see him. Ivan\'s gaze was full of affection as he looked at Xue Ling, his eyes as soft as water. If it was anybody else, their hearts would probably turn soft with a glance. But Xue Ling had a light smile on his face as he continued, "But returning to your side, no chance."

Ivan was stunned.

"I only came back to see how you will betray the people close to you step by step." His gaze was like poisonous snakes, and Ivan\'s legs began to shake. "Ivan, do you know how it feels to slowly rot away and lose everything?"

xiin: hey, Ivan, why can\'t your love save you from bribed teammates?