Teresa opens her eyes and realizes that the lighting seems to dim slightly after an unknown amount of time has passed. She allows her soul powers to swim around her body for a moment. Apart from the heavy wound on her shoulder, everything else seems to have healed.
She stands and surveys the still red-haired man lying on a rock before her. The seal located on his lower abdomen is still covered in ice. That was the result of Teresa sealing all of his soul powers in at the very last moment. However, he remains awake. His eyes are open and are currently staring unmovingly at Teresa. There is no murderous air in his gaze, no malice, only an infinite amount of docility and purity, as if the most translucent amber, causing one to be unable to look away. Teresa crouches beside him. Apart from the armour cast from platinum around his waist and most intimate area, the rest of him is bare. Mysterious tattoos scatter along his skin, even on his face. He is tall and muscular. It is as if his physique is encased in lightning; he is full of power.
“I am here to take you home. I will not harm you, understood?” Teresa says slowly while staring at the young face before her as she places her finger on the location of his seal, “I am going to release the ice on your seal right now, however if you try to harm me again, I will kill you immediately. Do you understand?”
He neither nods nor shakes his head. With his deer-like eyes wide open, he stares deeply at Teresa.
With a few tendrils of soul powers from Teresa’s fingertips, the ice on his seal begins to melt slowly. However, Teresa does not move her fingers away. She constantly senses the changes in the soul powers within his body. If he dares attack her again, she will destroy his seal ruthlessly.
Gradually, he is able to move again. Just as Teresa stares at his amber-like eyes in a daze, he moves swiftly. Teresa’s heart stutters and just as she is about to unleash soul powers to destroy his seal, she discovers that this young man is holding her tight in his embrace as he becomes silent. His warm breath blows against her ear, bringing about a hormonal allure. His body is heated that even in such an ice-filled environment, he seems to ignite an infinite amount of energy. Teresa cannot help but lift her hand to caress his back gently. This is because she can feel the soul powers flowing slowly and peacefully in his body like a stream on a spring day. No longer is it like surging desire or uncontrollable waves. Now, it is like a tender approach.
After a while, he lets go of her and stares at her eyes deeply. A few hoarse syllables jump from his throat but Teresa is unable to understand.
He seems slightly agitated and such an expression makes his handsome face look pitiful. He hurriedly points to himself and tries to make his voice clearer. Teresa tries her best to decipher the two syllables coming from his deep and hoarse voice, “Ni……Ni Hong?”
Happy, he nods his head firmly as he points repeatedly to his elated face.
“Your name?” Teresa cannot help but chuckle.
Ni Hong nods forcefully again and stands up to wave his arms around. Insuppressible joy fills his face, making him resemble a child who has just gotten a new toy although his physique is mature like that of a young man.
Teresa looks at him, “Can you not speak?”
Ni Hong stops as his face falls. A thin layer of sorrow fills his gaze as he nods. He then walks over and sits beside Teresa. He does not know where to rest his long legs and this makes him seem restless. Teresa raises a hand to stroke his hair as she feels sympathy well up in her heart. She finds it hard to believe herself that she can feel such an emotion towards the person that had just been about to kill her.
Suddenly, a dank and chilling feeling crawls up her spine. It feels like a cold and greasy hand is caressing her esophagus. A terrifying feeling that makes people want to vomit.
Teresa and Ni Hong turn their heads sharply. In the distance, there is no movement between the vastness of the heavens and earth.
Whiteness surges in Teresa’s eyes as her expression tenses. She stands and tells Ni Hong, “Follow me. Nether is in big trouble.”
Teresa and Ni Hong head to Nether through the snow-covered ground at high speed. Only a surging whiteness remains in Teresa’s eyes. She moves as she senses the change in soul powers, at the same time, she is astonished at Ni Hong. Her own powers are depleting due to such speed of advancement, although her speed did not decrease, she is already starting to become tired and her breathing is rushed. Yet, Ni Hong’s powers are as unmoving as a still pond. His breaths are still as stable as before they’ve started; there is no change to his speed either. It is as if his entire body remains in prime condition – unbelievable.
However, before Teresa has time to dwell into it, she falls to the ground as a wave of nausea as grand as an ocean hits her. Her ears are ringing as she bends over to expel brown liquid from her mouth.
Teresa lifts her head and wipes away the foul remains at the corner of her lips. Ni Hong’s back is before her, blocking her from harm’s way and protecting her. He is half-crouching and his muscles are strained. The soul powers along his body are accumulating and his back is curved. He resembles a beast in the face of immense danger, ready to attack at any moment. So there can be something that causes even the most fearless person to be combat ready. Teresa moves to see what is before Ni Hong, wanting to see where this irresistible horror stems from. However, she is no longer able to avert her gaze.
A dozen meters before her, Nether is kneeling on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. He has lost all form of control on himself. He hands are waving chaotically in the air and angry growls emit from his throat. It is as if he is no longer conscious of what he is doing – every time his hands wave, countless blades of ice form in the air and pierce that lump of……indescribable large chunk of flesh on the ground. Congealing blood gushes out of that chunk of flesh continuously. Dense strands of hair are tangled within the chunk of meat, mixed in with minced flesh and congealing blood……the object is covered with wounds exposing bones. Upon closer examination, limbs can be seen. However, there are four hands and four feet, extending towards different directions, twisting themselves out from the chunk of meat. They are constantly struggling, and coupled with the terrifying struggles, bone-chilling shrieks emit from the large chunk of flesh. The sharp sounds feels like a dagger slicing through a person’s skull, so dank and chilly as if it originates from an abyss. Blades of ice are still being formed in thin air and pierced into the chunk, and the shrieks from the chunk are increasing in volume……
“Stop attacking it……” Teresa screams at Nether in despair, “It is useless!” Because she has clearly felt that no form of attack is harming that horrifying thing. More and more turbulent soul powers are surging within that large chunk of meat and even she cannot feel the limit of this power……or to put it in another way, there is no limit because the soul powers are increasing constantly.
“Go and stop Nether and bring him away!” Teresa turns to tell Ni Hong. Ni Hong nods and rushes towards Nether without hesitation. Countless blades of ice cut into his body, yet his brow doesn’t furrow even once. He grabs Nether’s hands before lifting him to his back and dashing off into the distance.
Teresa stands with white mist surging around her body. Countless tendrils of snow-white silk shoots forth like surging clouds, wrapping themselves around the twisting chunk of meat. The skirt of the goddess wraps around the wiggling and shrieking thing. Teresa’s hands tighten as she pushes her soul powers through the pieces of silk. In an instant, the large chunk of flesh and blood stills. Following that, in the silence, the crackling of ice freezing can be heard as that ball of a “monster” slowly forms into a large boulder of ice. The mash of flesh and bones solidifies in the large crystal, looking like a corpse frozen amber.
A small tendril of hair is left outside the ice, covered in the stench of blood as it drips onto the ice.
Teresa suppresses the fear in her heart.
No matter what, she needs to bring Ni Hong and “this thing” back to Gelanerte first.
She suddenly feels extremely tired. Perhaps it was due to the two consecutive inconceivable battles she had just experienced, or perhaps it is the fact that these two new corroders have surprised her so. Suddenly, in despair, she realizes that Nether and her came from the same place as this lump of cold and fearful thing before her. They are of the same kind. Is that not the most devastating thing?
She turns to see Nether kneeling on the ground not far away from her. His hair is loose and covers his face. He is still. It is obvious that his sanity has been defeated. Nether has always been cool and collected in Teresa’s memory; his wild smile has always lingered on his lips. It has always been him who destroys the sanity and lives of others. He always played the cold and unreachable grim reaper.
Ni Hong stands beside him. The few blades of ice that have just pierced into him are melting from the heat of his body and mixing with his blood, becoming pale red liquid that drips from his skin. There is no pain or fear on his face, only a clean smile that only the most innocent of angels can have. It blossoms slowly on his face. His gaze is gentle and firm as he stares at Teresa.
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