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墨書 Inktalez
We four rode on our tall steeds, making our way through a grayish-yellow world towards our goal. Like four rangers on a desolate land, we also resembled reclusive hermits. Our mission was to kill five leaders, and each of us seemed to carry a heavy heart. I had been suffering from a headache lately, though I couldn't pinpoint the cause. I wondered if this was a form of sorrow.
A line of poetry suddenly came to mind: "On the ancient road, the west wind blows over a thin horse, with no sunset in sight; here, the yellow sand fills the sky all day long."
"Up ahead is the territory of the Spider Lord!" Mary said, her voice tinged with concern. "We haven't encountered any danger along the way. Don't you think that's unusual? It doesn't seem like a place where a Demon Lord capable of killing thousands would be. Shouldn't we reconsider and retreat?"
I sat atop my horse, gazing into the distance. Indeed, amidst the swirling sands, nothing was visible; it felt as if there was nothing around us at all. I unfolded the map given to me by the leader and realized we were already within the Spider Lord's domain. According to the Rebel Leader, these demons had a strong territorial awareness; any outsiders who entered their lands would be hunted down, no matter how far away they were.
Yet here we were for quite some time, and the Spider Lord had not shown himself.
I furrowed my brow; this was troublesome. If the Lord did not appear, how could we slay him? Just as I pondered this, our horses suddenly grew restless and agitated, moving so violently that if we didn't tighten our reins, we might fall off.
The horses' movements intensified, clearly sensing some danger. Suddenly, the ground beneath us began to tremble. Alarmed, I shouted, "He's coming from underground..." Before I could finish my sentence, a large hole appeared in front of us, with yellow sand pouring into it.
We could no longer control our startled horses and fell off one by one. From within the hole emerged something with a yellow base and black stripes. First came two long legs resembling human limbs, followed by another pair—an enormous spider appeared before us.
The spider's compound eyes seemed to be fixated on us; for some reason, I felt as if it was staring directly at me.
"You..." The spider spoke in human language.
Before it could finish its sentence, thousands of rebels surged forth from behind it out of the yellow sand. The Rebel Leader had been right; they had been waiting for this day for a long time and must have ambushed the area surrounding the Spider Lord's territory in advance. As the spider looked at the rebels, we quickly stood up and ran away.
The rebels charged towards the spider like a tidal wave, fearless as they were impaled by its forelegs and turned into skewers of flesh. With a swift motion of its other leg, those rebels could only watch helplessly as they were split in half at their midsection.
The power of the Spider Lord was indeed formidable; in an instant, dozens had already fallen. Their sacrifice bought precious time for those behind them; some had reached beneath the spider by now. Armed with swords and spears, they aimed for its soft underbelly.
The Spider Lord writhed in pain immediately, rolling over and crushing dozens beneath its massive body. We finally understood why even a thousand-strong force struggled to kill this spider; although it sustained several wounds on its abdomen, none were fatal.
In just a few minutes, we lost count of how many had perished. Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm; I turned to see another Heartless Person handing me a bow and arrow. This bow was unlike any ordinary weapon—it appeared to be made of pure silver and shimmered brilliantly.
"You are the only one who can kill him!" he shouted loudly. "You are the only one who can kill him! Use this bow; his weakness is in his eyes—shoot his eyes!"
I took hold of the bow and slowly drew it back, aiming at the spider's eyes. With a full draw, I released an arrow that whistled through the yellow sand. It struck true with a "thud," hitting one of the spider's eyes directly. The creature's deep and bewildered gaze fell upon me; it seemed unable to comprehend my actions.
"You will regret this! You will regret this!" The spider spoke again in human words, adopting a tone reminiscent of an elder scolding me. "How dare you try to kill me..." But before it could finish its sentence, it swallowed its words whole. Ignoring it, I continued to draw my bow and shoot—one arrow, two arrows, three arrows.
The spider's howls echoed across the land, and then he slowly fell. The rebels, fearing he might not be dead yet, stabbed his abdomen with knives and guns. The spider ceased to resist, and this time the rebels struck deep. They even pulled out the contents of his belly before they finally stopped.
"Lord Spider is dead!" The crowd surrounded me, shouting, "Hero! Hero!"
Soon, the spider sank into quicksand, becoming a legend within the Shadow Maze, a part of history. From that moment on, he ceased to exist. Yet for some reason, I couldn't shake off a feeling of unease. Something inside me seemed to be touched, leaving me with an indescribable discomfort.
The rebels quickly dispersed, and we agreed to gather before the next Lord.
Along the way, everyone was somewhat silent. Our next target was Lord Centipede, and we were currently on our way. This was a place filled with ferns. As soon as we arrived in the territory, we heard a voice say, "You shouldn't have killed us; this is not what you should be doing."
I turned around to see a gigantic centipede standing before us.
"What did you say?" I raised my bow and asked.
"I am not your enemy!" the centipede replied. "Your true enemy..."
As it spoke, the rebels charged forward. The centipede gave me a conflicted look but ultimately joined the fray against them. When the moment was right, I drew my bow and shot arrow after arrow. It seemed I was born to exterminate demons; these rebels wielding knives, guns, and arrows could not inflict fatal damage on it, but my arrows could pierce through any tough shell.
Next came Toad and Scorpion. Neither Toad nor Scorpion posed a challenge for me; we followed our usual tactics. Strangely enough, the first reaction of these Lords upon seeing me was not to attack but to speak. They seemed to have something they wanted to tell me, but before I could inquire further, the rebels surged from all directions and engaged in battle with the Demon Lord.
So I had no choice but to raise my bow and slay the demon with my arrows.
In just one month, demons that had eluded those rebels for years fell easily under my hand after just a few arrows. However, their last words haunted me: without exception, they all said I would regret it. I found it hard to understand what these demons meant.
It was indeed strange. I asked the others in the Mercenary Group about it, but they remained tight-lipped. Yet deep down, I sensed something was amiss; I believed the others felt it too, but why wouldn't they speak up? Perhaps there was something unspeakable behind it all?
The last Demon Lord proved difficult to kill; we first returned to the underground rebel stronghold.
The rebel Lord informed me that Evil Magic City could confuse people's hearts. Wasn't the Demon King once a brave warrior? The warrior had slain the Demon King but failed to kill the Five Great Lords. Thus, the warrior fell from grace and became a Demon King himself. All of this was instigated by the Five Great Lords; treachery, deception, and evil were their trademarks.
Before long, we would set out to slay the last Demon Lord—the one who appeared in serpent form among the Five Great Lords. He was both the strongest and most challenging Lord to deal with. Legend has it that he was once a Candle Dragon from heaven but fell into darkness and became Candle Shadow Xiang Liu. He had a human face and a serpent body with nine heads.
Each head symbolized one of his lives; thus, I would need to shoot down all nine heads to have any chance of killing him. This time, our leader instructed me to take half of the rebel army—an impressive force of ten thousand men. Clearly, they were wary of this nine-headed serpent.
"You must be especially careful this time," the Rebel Leader warned us. "Among the Five Great Lords, he is the most treacherous. When you confront him, he will surely use words to deceive you and sway your resolve. Remember that Evil Magic City can confuse hearts. No matter what he says, do not believe him. This is our final opportunity; four of the Five Great Lords have already been eliminated—only one remains!"
The leader placed a hand on my shoulder, closed his eyes, and slowly said, "May the light bless you, and may darkness not obscure your heart."
He put away the Luminous Pearl, and we held a bonfire gathering. It was said that the last time such a gathering took place was during the death of the prophet, meant to bless the people and wish for the souls to rest in peace. This was destined to be a sleepless night; I had long lost the concept of day and night.
We sat around the bonfire, and I said, "I never expected the mission to be so easy. It's hard to believe this is an SSS-level mission. How did the warrior fall from grace? Was it simply because he didn't kill the leader but instead killed the demon first?"
A few of us fell silent. After a long pause, Juan Juan finally spoke to me, "I think the warrior's downfall came from forgetting his true purpose. He came to kill demons for a reason. In that process, he may have become someone who kills just for the sake of killing, forgetting his original intention, and thus he became a demon himself."
Forgotten his original intention?
I vaguely felt that Juan Juan's words touched on something important, but I couldn't pinpoint what that was. Ever since arriving in this place, I felt somewhat neurotic. I just hoped to complete my mission quickly and leave this place, returning to where I belonged.
But where exactly should I be?
In the distance, the songs of the Rebel Families floated through the air, their melodies sorrowful yet beautiful, like smoke or dreams. Although they were close at hand, they felt ethereal and elusive, impossible to grasp or understand. Regardless, we had come this far. Tomorrow, we would set out to slay the Fifth Demon Lord.
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