NCCnovel Chapter 19 "The Deal with the Devil"
Chapter 19 "The Deal with the Devil"
'boom! '
With a dull thud echoing from the abandoned building, Ming knelt before Sawa's body, weakly pounding his fist on the stone bricks, instantly creating a crater in the floor.
"Whoosh...whoosh...why! My chest heals completely the instant it's pierced! Why!"
Ming roared, and his jet-black military uniform [Spirit Armor] turned to ashes. His left eye, which had been burned black by the [Spiritual Power], and his right palm, marked with a smiling sheep's head, remained. The sheep horns on his head also disappeared.
"Damn it! Even the last method, the one that could save Sawa right now, won't work? Damn it! I clearly said she'd be alright before I collapsed..."
As Ming thought of this, his voice choked with emotion, and he raised his hands, which were exhausted from hurting himself for so long, looking at them with a gloomy expression on his face.
Suddenly, Ming inadvertently glanced at the laughing goat mark on his charred right palm, which looked as if it were mocking his incompetence.
"What is this mark? Ah! My head...it hurts so much! Aaaaaaah!!!"
As Ming looked at the goat mark in the center of his left hand, his heart began to race. Suddenly, a sharp headache struck, like a sharp dagger piercing his mind.
He groaned in pain, clutching his head tightly with both hands in an attempt to ease the ache. But the headache only worsened, as if a massive amount of information was being forcibly crammed into his brain.
"Help me! Don't come any closer! Wait, don't come near me! My head hurts so much... I feel like I'm on fire... Please let me go!"
Different cruel screams echoed in his mind, causing Ming immense pain. Slowly, his consciousness began to blur, and he was drawn into the deepest part of his memories.
Ming's consciousness slowly descended into the depths, and a piece of information about an hour later entered his mind.
This is what happened in my mind the instant I was cut in two by Mio.
"Merge with me, or await death. Choose, my awakener."
A seductive yet authoritative voice echoed through Ming's chaotic consciousness.
Hearing the voice, Ming endured the pain and concentrated on listening to it.
"Fusion? How do I fuse? And what... Awakener? Who are you?!" Ming struggled to maintain his consciousness and asked.
"Oh, right. Before asking these questions, I should have considered your human thinking abilities. Never mind, I'll explain it to you slowly now."
'Snapped'
After the voice finished speaking, a crisp snap of fingers rang out, and the pitch-black space of consciousness rapidly spun and transformed into a neat train carriage.
He sat opposite Ming, with a small candle-lit table in front of them, in front of which was a large black magic circle painted on it.
"Where...is this place?" Ming looked up at the luxurious walls around him and said in disbelief.
"It's your consciousness space, but I've slightly modified its appearance. If you want, I can change it back to its original pitch-black interior," he explained to Ming, who was still puzzled.
Upon hearing the explanation, Ming immediately turned his head down and looked closely. He then saw a man in a suit with a flaming ram's head on his back and wearing a monocle.
Upon seeing the "monster," Ming immediately became alert and attempted to stand up to launch an attack, only to find that he was unable to move any part of his body except his mouth.
"Who are you?! And what do you mean by 'Awakener'?! Tell me now, and let me out. I need to avenge Sawa!"
Ming shouted loudly. Seeing Ming's anxious and bewildered expression, the goat-headed man's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, and he said:
"How impolite of you, human. But it's good to be straightforward and not have so many formalities. So let me introduce myself. Nice to meet you. I am Asmodeus, the [Cruel] Demon King. This is my name since birth. The Awakener."
The ram-headed creature named Asmodeus bowed in a gentlemanly manner and said, still not quite understanding what was happening upon seeing the inscription.
"Huh? Demon King? As...Montis? The Awakener? What does that mean!"
Upon hearing Asmodeus's self-introduction, Ming still asked Asmodeus, who was standing in front of him, with some anxiety.
"Oh dear, this is quite troublesome. But ignoring some unimportant things, it's necessary to talk to you about the Awakener. After all, I should thank you for my existence, my Awakener, or rather, humanity."
"Thank me...?"
Ming pointed to himself, his face expressionless, but his tone revealed considerable doubt.
"Yeah~ If it weren't for you, I might still be a mindless mess of emotions right now."
"why?"
"Because your intense desire for revenge, combined with the powerful hatred within me and the cruelty of losing your lover, has caused me to be tainted with colors other than my mother. Therefore, you can be my awakener, it's that simple."
Asmodeus rested his hand on his chin, looking at Ming with a slightly teasing expression.
“I see…” Ming nodded, barely understanding. “So what does fusion mean? And what about waiting for death?” Ming then asked.
“It’s very simple.” Asmodeus said, raising his hand, and a veil of light rose up inside the train carriage.
Upon seeing this, Ming looked up and saw that his body was being steadily knocked down by Mio, who was holding a light blade made of light, which was swinging towards his head. There was also Sa and the deceased body lying on his body.
"My body! And Sawa's..." Upon seeing Sawa's remains, Ming's head drooped slightly, showing some sadness for not being able to protect this girl.
Seeing Ming's sorrowful expression, Asmodeus's lips curled up again, and he asked:
"Let me remind you, kid, even though time flows differently in the consciousness space, if you continue to hesitate, you'll be decapitated! One last time, are you willing to merge with me for that girl and sign a contract to gain the power of revenge? Time waits for no one, and you only have one chance!"
Asmodeus's voice was seductive, even tinged with a hint of threat at the end.
"What is the price of merging with you? And do you truly possess the power to defeat the [Primal Spirit]? And how will you give me that power?"
Ming asked with a skeptical attitude, because he knew that any seemingly advantageous deal could actually be fraught with hidden tricks. There was no deal that would be absolutely disadvantageous to him, which made Ming somewhat suspicious.
"So you still have time to gather this? Oh well, this also shows that you, as the starting point of my feelings, are definitely not a kind person. But it also makes me feel amused."
Asmodeus's expression changed, transforming from a somewhat dignified look into a demon glaring menacingly at Ming with a sinister smile.
"Then tell me, what's the price and what you're going to do? And don't try anything funny! If my reasoning is correct, if Mio takes you out of my body now, your will will probably be erased too. In my eyes, she doesn't need a conscious disobedient. You don't want the feelings you've worked so hard for to be taken away like this, do you?"
"Hahaha, not bad! You're very clever!" Asmodeus laughed loudly.
"During the fusion, I will bring the consciousness and the large amount of negative emotions that were not completely eliminated from the [Spirit Crystal], along with a large amount of spiritual power, into your body, and then refine your body into the [Spirit Crystal]. That is the process and what needs to be done. However, after the fusion, only one consciousness can be retained. The other consciousness will be merged and integrated into the soul."
"Anything else? This should just be the process. Let's talk about the cost. Besides, you said you can only retain one consciousness. I don't think you'd be kind enough to give me control of my body."
Ming asked again.
"Oh dear, so that's what you think of me... After all, I'm practically your and your mother's child, right?"
"Get lost!" Ming frowned and shouted loudly upon hearing Asmodeus's teasing, which even startled Asmodeus.
"Alright~ I'm not kidding anymore. You're right, you can only retain one consciousness. But I'm not interested in controlling the body. For me, negative emotions from you humans often bring me more pleasure. I want to reside in your body and watch what you experience. I can even help you three times before you've mastered this power. Do you want to agree?"
"Of course you can refuse, but I don't think you're the kind of person who would want us both to die, right? Your desire for revenge against your mother and your desire to get that girl back are not contradictory. I want to see you experience tragedy."
Asmodeus opened his arms and explained with a loud laugh.
Finally, Mingyi gritted his teeth and made a decision: "Fine, I promise you. But you must keep your promise; you must retrieve Sawa's body first!"
Asmodeus smiled with satisfaction, pointing out the train window in the consciousness space, and said, "Very good, our deal is done. Are you ready to face a future war filled with tragedy...?"
The memory abruptly ended there, the screen went dark, and Ming's consciousness gradually awoke after watching this part of the memory. He sat on the floor of the abandoned building, recalling everything he had just seen, feeling somewhat emotional.
"Hehe, so that's how it is. I've become one with the demon? But, but that's not important, right..." Ming pressed down on his charred hand and looked at the girl's body from the side.
Upon waking, Ming looked at Sawa's body, his eyes filled with intense guilt, and said:
"I'm sorry, Sawa, you said in your confession letter that you considered me a hero, but I..."