Chapter 74: What Did You Say? (14)

"What did you say?"

Deep within a bronze-cast, gloomy fortress in a hellscape of searing flames, the devil stared at the youth and asked in a honeyed whisper:

"O youth, whose veins course with noble blood, who was meant to enjoy a noble fate, yet has suffered unjust treatment."

"Are you angry about this?"

"Are you disappointed in this unjust world?"

The devil's voice was soft and enchanting, slipping into the youth's ears like decadent music, flowing into his heart like honey.

Click.

The young holy knight narrowed his eyes, silently pressed his palm to the hilt at his waist, and said cautiously, "What exactly are you saying? I don't understand what you're talking about."

Though he did not say so outright, his guarded posture betrayed his tension and unease.

His toes gripped the ground with subtle force, his center of gravity dropped slightly, his heartbeat quickened, and every muscle in his body tensed…

"Oh? You truly don't understand?"

Kreti took in these subtle reactions, laughed inwardly, and said lightly, "Here there is only you and me; you need not conceal your thoughts."

"No need to deny it, no need to hide it either — I can smell the hatred coiled around you."

"What an enticing fragrance!"

She licked her flame-red lips, drew in a deep breath as if in delight, and said contentedly, "Yes, truly pure malice — enough to make one's heart stir."

"Someone hates you, someone wishes to persecute you — or perhaps they have already made their move."

"Am I right?"

Kreti smiled with confidence, looking down from the Wang Zuo at the white-haired youth below, whose expression continued to shift.

"…Perhaps."

"But all of that is already in the past!"

The young holy knight seemed unwilling to have this wound reopened; he frowned in slight vexation and said in a low voice, "Besides, none of this has anything to do with you — you're nothing more than an evil prisoner locked away here!"

"No, you're wrong!"

The devil immediately objected, shaking her head: "It has a great deal to do with me, because… I can give you power."

"The power of vengeance!"

"With that power, you can set right those fates that have already been twisted!"

"Make all those who once bullied you kneel at your feet, their lives and deaths at your whim!"

She casually swirled the wine cup, making the scalding liquid inside slosh, and fixing her gaze on the youth's eyes, murmured, "Besides, has all of that truly passed? Have you truly let it go?"

The youth's pupils contracted sharply, and his entire bearing grew even more guarded.

The devil arched a brow and asked playfully, "After all, if you really had let it go as you claim… then why did you know exactly what I was referring to?"

"I didn't say a thing, you know."

Stop pretending, young one — you remember it all perfectly well in your heart~

Click… click!

The hand the youth had pressed to the sword hilt trembled slightly, then suddenly clenched hard, shoving it back with force.

He jerked his head up, glaring at the devil in furious embarrassment, and snapped, "So what if I haven't forgotten? You think you can fool me!?"

"Do you think I don't know the things you've done? How many have you beguiled? How many innocent families have you torn apart?"

"Do I really need to remind you why you're locked up here?"

Clang!

The longsword slid from its sheath, and the young holy knight resolutely leveled its edge at the devil.

"Don't try to deceive me again — it's pointless!"

"I will never bow to you!"

And watching the youth in this resolute state, the devil laughed in delight.

"Hehe~"

She rose slowly from the Wang Zuo, descending the hall's steps with a swaying, graceful gait, her voluptuous figure heaving and trembling with each bump of the staircase.

Kreti stood before the youth and asked softly:

"Really?"

Though the two appeared to be face-to-face, close enough to catch each other's scent, an invisible barrier stood between them — one utterly impassable.

The warden may enter, but the prisoner may not leave.

She thrust her upper body forward, letting the sharp sword tip press against the center of her chest — one slight push more and it would pierce her breast, even run through her heart!

"Do you long for truth?"

"Do you wish to truly live?"

Her violet eyes fixed intently on the youth, who had instinctively pulled back his strength, and she gently blew a breath of fragrance toward him.

"If there is even the slightest trace of unwillingness in your heart, you should not refuse me now."

A fragrant breeze laden with seductive power swept across his face, and the young man's countenance flushed red at once; he instinctively bent forward at the waist.

He clenched his teeth hard, glaring at the devil without retreating a single step, and then… lowered his head helplessly, muttering dejectedly, "…What exactly can you give me?"

"Hehe!"

Kreti laughed.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly — a delighted, triumphant smile.

Compared with his resolve at the start, the youth's attitude had now softened.

He had begun to waver.

His conviction had been shaken!

Will is very powerful; at a critical moment it can create many miracles.

But at the same time, will is also extremely fragile.

Will is like a great dam holding back the chaos of the outside world — it can bear a great deal on ordinary days, but once a single crack appears, it will not be long before it collapses with a roar.

And now… that crack has already appeared!

"Well then, it all depends on what you want?"

Klayti pressed down the excitement in her heart and, unhurried, laughed: "Peerless wisdom? Extraordinary martial prowess? Boundless wealth?"

"Don't worry about being found out — as long as you don't speak of it, apart from you and me, there isn't a third person in this world who would know."

"And I'm locked up in this sunless place anyway, with no way at all to tip off anyone else."

She stared at the holy knight, knowing that her temptation was only one final step away from success.

Just a little bit more!

"Speak — what do you want me to grant you?"

Speak!

Speak out the greatest desire in your heart!

Let me corrupt you completely!

Just one more step, and you will become my slave entirely… hehe.

"…"

After a long silence, the young holy knight finally unclenched his fists, let out a long breath, and shook his head somewhat weakly.

"Sigh!"

He slowly raised his head, and within the devil's gaze that secretly hid excitement, spoke with an expressionless face:

"I want you to… face reality."

Devil:?

"Huh? What did you say?"

Words that carried a strong sense of déjà vu, but this time they came from the devil's own mouth.

She stared, puzzled, at the holy knight whose bearing had suddenly changed, and a sudden, very ominous feeling began to churn wildly within her heart.

Then she saw the white-haired youth curl his lip in utter disdain and say, helplessly: "Please, your con-artist routine is really outdated."

"Huh???"

(End of chapter)