Chapter Thirty-Three: Return to Tranquility

That night, well past midnight, a piece of intelligence arrived. Even someone as formidable as Director Aiyu could not conceal herself from every watchful eye; as long as there was any chance of going outside, there was a chance of being exposed. Her hidden underground laboratory had been discovered by countless ordinary people lurking in the shadows, all eager to claim the bounty.

At the same moment, Xia Yan received word. Without the slightest hesitation, he set out for the laboratory. It was as if he were hurrying toward his own death… At least, that's how it seemed to Gong Kui.

...

Three o’clock in the morning, inside Director Aiyu’s underground laboratory.

Director Aiyu appeared indifferent to the passage of day and night, conducting experiments without pause. Finally, in the deep hours of this night, she succeeded in creating the drug.

“Wonderful! I’ve done it, hahahaha…” Director Aiyu exclaimed, elated. “With just a small injection of this drug, the blood of the otherkin will awaken. Humanity will cease to exist.”

“Now, for the first test subject… who shall it be?” Her gaze swept the room and settled on Gu Yue’er. “Miss Gu Yue’er—her brain development is over thirty percent, yet she still hasn’t awakened any otherkin blood. That makes her human.”

“But today, I will break that rule. I’ll make you one of the otherkin.” Director Aiyu laughed madly. “Miss Gu Yue’er, what will you become? An angel? A demon? A vampire? A werewolf? A winged one?”

“You’re insane. Completely insane,” Gu Yue’er spat through clenched teeth.

“Go ahead, insult me!” Director Aiyu laughed. “The madwoman you see before you will change the course of history and erase humanity from the world.”

At that moment, her laughter suddenly faltered. She stared in disbelief at the figure standing nearby—Xia Yan, silent and still.

“Haha… hahahaha…” Director Aiyu burst out laughing once more, her eyes wild yet gleaming with delight. “Today, I have experienced the two greatest joys of my life. First, my research is nearly complete. Second, I can finally avenge Daren and Levin!”

Xia Yan tightened his grip on his versatile blade, his manner cautious.

“Xia Yan, you really are impressive. Today is a day to remember, so you’ve come here as if to offer your life as a congratulatory gift.”

“Oh, and…” Director Aiyu’s voice dropped, tinged with pleasure. “Before I kill you, I’ll give you a little injection… just a taste. We’ll see if, before you die, you can shed that pitiful human bloodline!”

“I’d like to try it too, but…” Xia Yan replied slowly, “I’ll do that after I’ve killed you.”

“Hehehehe…” Director Aiyu cackled. “Xia Yan, you just don’t understand the difference in power! If a director can’t even defeat you, what business does she have being director?”

“Very well.” Director Aiyu sighed. “Xia Yan, since you refuse my generosity, I’ll just have to kill you first and continue my experiments after. What a pity—you could have experienced something wonderful before dying!”

With that, a bolt of lightning flashed into her hand, too bright to look at directly. She raised it and slashed lightly toward Xia Yan.

Dodge!

Xia Yan tried to evade, but his body froze. The scene before him warped, as if time had slowed. He knew well that both the lightning and this strange phenomenon were Director Aiyu’s doing.

He couldn’t defend himself; the consequences would be dire—he already knew this. Blood spurted from his lips as he was flung into the wall, smashing the bricks to rubble.

Xia Yan was now very strong, among the upper echelons of the organization’s fighters, able to crush any instructor. If he now faced Levin using the blood sacrifice, he would win with ease. Yet, against Director Aiyu, he was the one being crushed.

As Gong Kui had said, this was a meaningless battle… No, it wasn’t even a battle, but a suicide mission. The disparity was unfathomable. Even Xia Yan felt it was absurd and laughable—everything he had done had only made him a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Unwilling?

But no matter how unwilling, the truth could not be changed. Even fighting with his life would be futile—the gulf was too great!

Defeating Daren and Levin had been near miraculous, made possible by the strange increase in his body’s strength and uncanny regenerative powers after his coma. But faced with Director Aiyu, none of that gave Xia Yan any advantage. The two of them were fundamentally too different; courage and determination alone could not bridge the gap.

Xia Yan coughed up more blood, his eyes dull as he looked at Gu Yue’er.

I’m sorry. I can’t change any of this.

All he had was not enough to alter the outcome. This was the limit of one person—his own limit. He’d been given too little time, everything had happened too suddenly. The result was a tragedy, an irreparable future.

It’s over.

Xia Yan gave a bitter smile.

“Xia Yan, do you think your wounds will heal if I sever your head?” Director Aiyu grinned savagely. “I’m looking forward to finding out!”

She raised the lightning in her hand and slashed at Xia Yan’s neck.

Xia Yan no longer had the strength to dodge, nor the will to look at Gu Yue’er, lying helpless in the research pod.

Would it have been better if he’d never come here?

No—if he’d turned a blind eye and stayed away, that would have been even worse than dying.

Even knowing he’d be killed by Director Aiyu, he had no regrets. None at all!

Xia Yan watched, eyes wide open, as the bolt of lightning struck toward him.

But in that instant, a crack appeared in the air before him!

A demon?

Xia Yan was baffled. The bolt of lightning was swallowed by the rift, yet he could not understand how the space here could be torn open.

Then, from that crack, a figure emerged: a petite girl with alabaster skin and eyes deep as the starry night, her features strikingly beautiful.

Xia Yan tried to move but found himself frozen. At the same time, Director Aiyu seemed suspended in time as well.

Everything was paused!

The girl’s lively eyes swept over the three of them, her smile wicked, almost demonic.

“Let me introduce myself. I am Emilia, a pure-blooded demon,” she said, looking at Xia Yan. “Human, you may move now.”

With those words, Xia Yan felt his body relax and he could move again. His expression was grim. There would be no rescue—only a pure-blood demon, the most formidable of all. He knew well what that meant: a being at the very pinnacle of this world, on a level neither he nor Director Aiyu could hope to match.

“Lady Emilia…” Director Aiyu’s eyes burned with fanaticism. “I didn’t expect you to come in person. I’m overjoyed… Please forgive my rudeness, my lady.”

“Poor child…” Emilia’s voice was cold as she regarded the director. “Aiyu, your research is a complete mistake.”

“Lady Emilia!” Director Aiyu was stunned, confusion and terror mingling in her eyes, the kind of fear deeper than death itself.

“If your research were released, even if it did wipe out humanity as you claim, the first to be destroyed would be the demons,” Emilia scoffed. “Think about it, Aiyu. If the demon clan produces this drug and tweaks the ‘program’ so it awakens only the demon bloodline in humans, what would the other races think?”

Early research had confirmed a certain fact: every human carried traces of all otherkin bloodlines within them, though most were too faint to awaken. Whichever was slightly stronger might awaken first.

Even pure-bloods still carried faint traces of other bloodlines—an undeniable truth. What made a human human was the thinness of these bloodlines; even with thirty percent brain development, none would awaken.

In other words, there were no otherkin in this world.

Or rather, there were no humans!

This drug, manufactured by demons, could easily be modified. If the formula was changed to awaken only the demon bloodline within humans, what would the other races do? Humanity might suffer most, but would the angels, winged ones, vampires, or werewolves stand idly by as the world filled with demons?

Impossible—absolutely impossible!

There would be war, and the first to perish would be the demons.

Director Aiyu shuddered, realizing the possibility. “No, no, Lady Emilia, we just have to keep it secret…”

“Silence,” Emilia cut her off. “Aiyu, right now! Destroy that vial of serum.”

“No…” Director Aiyu fell into madness. She hadn’t yet produced it in quantity—this was the only finished vial.

“Destroy it,” Emilia commanded again.

“No…” Director Aiyu clung desperately to her resolve, but it was driving her insane. She could not disobey Emilia’s order, for she was a demon, and Emilia was a pure-blood.

She watched as her own hand seized the vial and smashed it to the floor.

The clean ground was soaked with the serum, the liquid seeping away, leaving only a faint stain.

“No…” Director Aiyu howled, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face as she broke down completely.

“Now, it’s your turn, human.” Emilia turned to Xia Yan. “Are you ready to die?”

Xia Yan gripped his blade tightly. Though he showed no fear, he knew he stood no chance—if he couldn’t even defeat Director Aiyu, how could he face a pure-blood demon?

Gu Yue’er remained paralyzed, able only to watch, unable to utter a word. Her tears flowed like rivers, soaking her chest.

“But before you kill me, I want to know—what will you do with Gu Yue’er?” Xia Yan asked, astonishingly calm in the face of death.

“The girl with purification powers…” Emilia frowned, displeased. “I won’t allow such experiments to continue. Her ability must be stripped away.”

As if acting on impulse, Emilia approached Gu Yue’er. With a mere gesture, a radiance enveloped the girl’s head, and in an instant, her power vanished.

From that moment, Gu Yue’er was no longer an ability-user, but an ordinary girl.

“Human, your brain has suffered extreme trauma and is severely damaged. If left untreated, you might end up an imbecile,” Emilia told her. “But I performed a ritual akin to an exchange: I took away your abilities, but at least you won’t suffer any aftereffects. At the same time, you’ve lost your powers for good—they can never be developed again.”

Xia Yan was taken aback. This pure-blood demon was not as cruel as he’d imagined—she hadn’t killed Gu Yue’er.

In truth, Gu Yue’er was never suited for battle. What best suited her was a simple, easy life as an ordinary girl. The struggles of the gifted were too heavy for her; she was too kind, too gentle for such a world.

In fact, ordinary life was her true calling.

Director Aiyu was utterly defeated. With the loss of Gu Yue’er’s purification power, her research had reached its end—perhaps there would never be another test subject like Gu Yue’er. And Lady Emilia would never allow such experiments again.

Emilia then turned to the director. “Aiyu, take this human girl away—return her to her home.”

“Huh?” Director Aiyu was startled, but she could not defy her superior’s command. She obeyed, leading Gu Yue’er away.

Once they had left, Emilia looked at Xia Yan, her expression grave. “Xia Yan, I sent them away because I have something to say to you alone.”

“What?” Xia Yan was bewildered.