Volume 3 Chapter 206.2
by Need_More_SleepVolume 3 + Chapter 206.2: Purgatory
Walk for a while, then rest, adjust your state, and set off again.
After all, no one knows what awaits the two of them in that patch of Purgatory.
Judging by bodily perception, the time now should have shifted from the previous night to daytime.
But the closer they approached Purgatory, the harder it was to distinguish day from night.
The sky had become a fiery crimson. The occasional surges of heat from Purgatory warped the sky itself. There were no signs of plants or animals surviving here, the environment had become extremely harsh.
“Ugh…”
Xia Yi sat on the ground, holding her stomach.
Damn it, she was hungry.
This was deadly. If she didn’t eat, she felt it would affect her subsequent performance, and she might even starve to death!
“Miss Xia Yi, do you still need to continue resting?”
The Knight Princess looked toward the light curtain with concern.
From the beginning, the light curtain had been far away from them, but now it was extremely close, as if it could overtake them at any moment.
“I…”
Xia Yi felt embarrassed to speak. If she didn’t eat, she might collapse!
It made her feel like a glutton with no sense of propriety.
“Could it be that you’re hungry?” the Knight Princess guessed.
“That is exactly—”
Xia Yi almost blurted it out but had to divert her gaze.
Where could one even find food in this place?
“Miss Xia Yi, if you don’t mind, please eat some of this to restore your strength.”
The Knight Princess placed something in her palm and offered it to Xia Yi.
At first, Xia Yi thought it was some kind of snack.
But no—it was compressed rations!
“I usually carry these for emergencies. Though they don’t taste good and are far from delicious, they can quickly restore strength,” the Knight Princess explained.
Xia Yi hadn’t expected the Knight Princess to keep up this habit after all these years.
In the past, when Xia Yi had run into the Knight Princess, she had mentioned that during missions she always ate this.
She was just like before.
“Miss Xia Yi, can’t you eat the compressed rations?” the Knight Princess asked, slightly puzzled.
“No!”
Xia Yi accepted the rations.
There was no need to hold back now—her combat power would be greatly reduced if she didn’t eat enough.
She unwrapped the rations.
So hungry… I’m so hungry… I’m so hungry…
The black-haired loli devoured the rations in one go. The taste wasn’t great, but with food available, she wasn’t picky. As long as it wasn’t broccoli or bitter melon, she could eat it!
Within a few seconds, the rations were gone, and she still felt unsatisfied.
“This is… quite something,” the Knight Princess couldn’t help but widen her eyes, probably shocked by Xia Yi’s appetite.
“I-I’m sorry. I was just too hungry. But now, I have the strength to move,” Xia Yi said, slightly embarrassed, her cheeks flushed.
She didn’t bother with noble etiquette while eating.
The Knight Princess didn’t seem to mind, “As long as Miss Xia Yi is full.”
In truth, Xia Yi wasn’t truly full.
But she couldn’t say that.
“Knight Princess, aren’t you eating?”
The Knight Princess shook her head. “Those compressed rations were all that remained.”
“Why not save some for yourself? You just fought a battle!” Xia Yi was surprised.
“It’s fine, Miss Xia Yi. Consider it a return gift for the grilled fish you offered me before,” the Knight Princess said. “You may not have faced many situations like this, but I’m used to it. Don’t worry too much.”
“…Alright.”
Outwardly, Xia Yi said nothing, but inwardly she resolved to bring the Knight Princess back to the original world.
“Do you need to rest, Miss Xia Yi?”
“No…”
Xia Yi stood up.
At that moment, she felt the golden key of the King’s Armor flash.
Huh? What’s this?
She quickly grabbed the key and was delighted. Infusing it with a trace of magic, it responded!
Wonderful—she could use the King’s Armor.
Xia Yi was ecstatic. She realized that from the moment the King’s Armor had been unbound to now, a long time had passed—probably a whole day.
Could the King’s Armor’s possession last roughly an hour, with a cooldown of about 24 hours?
Being able to use the King’s Armor gave her more confidence.
“Let’s go, Knight Princess!”
Xia Yi’s fighting spirit surged.
“Mm.”
The Knight Princess nodded, a knowing smile appearing on her beautiful face. She paused as if remembering something.
“…By the way, Miss Xia Yi, if we survive this subspace and return, I have something I want to tell you.”
…
“We can’t proceed any further.”
The Knight Princess frowned.
Xia Yi and the Knight Princess arrived at the source of the light.
Ahead was a vast sea of flames, blocking their path.
“Could we only stop here?” The Knight Princess didn’t know what to do.
The flames stretched endlessly…
Xia Yi didn’t think any single or double spell could handle this.
Could the light curtain be shrinking simply to slaughter all life in the subspace?
No… that wasn’t right…
Suddenly, she remembered the mysterious token she had obtained earlier!
She took out the token and noticed that the sparks within it seemed connected to the sea of flames.
“Okay, let’s try it.”
Xia Yi stepped to the edge of the flames. As expected, the token reacted. She then threw it into the flames.
Whoosh!
A miraculous scene unfolded—the flames opened a path leading straight inward to the core, the Purgatory Xia Yi had observed!
“What’s happening?” The Knight Princess was confused. “Miss Xia Yi, what did you just throw?”
“I’m not exactly sure. I found it along the way,” Xia Yi said, slightly guilty, unsure how to explain.
If she admitted killing an Apostle of Calamity, wouldn’t she reveal her secret?
The Knight Princess wondered aloud, “Does Miss Xia Yi really have such luck…?”
“Shall we go in?” Xia Yi quickly changed the subject.
“This obviously guides someone forward!”
The Knight Princess pondered, then made a decision. “We’ve come this far. Let’s go, Miss Xia Yi. You stay behind me, I’ll lead the way.”
She protected Xia Yi behind her, moving forward through the flames.
Crossing the path, Xia Yi felt extreme heat.
This wasn’t ordinary fire.
Whether illusion or reality, she faintly heard distant, pitiful wails within the flames.
Unlike the illusions created by Apostles of Calamity, these flames seemed sustained by countless souls, each existing within the fire…
Could it be…?
A chilling thought crossed Xia Yi’s mind.
Here was the presence of Calamity itself. Mutated beasts and disaster beasts offered lives continuously to please Calamity—the Legendary Beast—devouring souls.
Could it be that the souls of the dead from Calamity were harvested as fuel for this subspace fire?
If so, this was truly an endless Purgatory.
“Ahh!!”
“Ugh—”
“Hohohaha!!”
As the Knight Princess and Xia Yi moved forward, the road ahead carried strange sounds: cries of pain, maniacal laughter, frenzied roars—all mixed, exerting immense psychological pressure.
Xia Yi grew increasingly uneasy, the Knight Princess too. Neither spoke.
After crossing the path, over the flames, the scene before them was revealed in full—
Both were stunned.
At the center of this sea of fire were countless monsters.
They roared and battled to the death.
These fights seemed meaningless, yet each creature was immersed.
Every figure was a powerful Apostle of Calamity.
Some pierced hearts with long spears, others decapitated with swords.
Massive monsters smashed foes into pulp. Small monsters dodged and leapt into mouths, tearing enemies from within…
All manners of combat played out before Xia Yi and the Knight Princess.
Victors faced the next enemy, losers had their lives taken, their souls consumed by flaming wrath.
Everywhere was blood and fire.
This was real, unending Purgatory.
“Who… is that?” The Knight Princess whispered.
Even without naming, Xia Yi knew who she meant.
At the very center of Purgatory, a mountain of bones rose, formed from the defeated. At the peak sat a skeletal throne.
On it rested a demonic, gigantic monster.
Exaggerated horns topped its head, its face grotesquely twisted—not beautiful, not ugly, it was not of this world.
Its eyes were closed, body leaning on the throne. Massive wings folded behind, one arm like a giant poisonous snake.
That was… the Beast of Wrath, Samael.
Just seeing Samael, Xia Yi felt her own emotions teetering toward chaos, as if wanting to rush into the bloody battlefield to fight like other Apostles, pleasing the Legendary Beast with fury.
The Knight Princess was equally stunned—never had she faced such overwhelming power. It shattered her worldview.
The Calamity she had opposed… was this irrationally strong?
“Roar!!”
“Ugh!!!”
Suddenly, the Apostles of Calamity all howled loudly, sensing something, halting their battles, kneeling in unison.
“…”
The Beast of Wrath slowly opened its eyes and rose from the throne.
It turned to Xia Yi and the Knight Princess, locking its gaze directly on them.
The moment Xia Yi met Samael’s gaze, her mind suffered a massive shock, as if a hammer struck her soul.
Even at her Fourth-Stage power, she was insignificant before the Legendary Beast.
The Knight Princess was also near her limit, barely maintaining consciousness.
Samael stared at them for ten seconds.
Ten seconds felt longer than ten thousand years.
Then Samael raised a hand, stirring a blast of scorching hot wind across Xia Yi and the Knight Princess.
“Ugh…!!”
Xia Yi felt the rawest rage invade her mind, beginning to corrode her soul.
Top-level clear-mirror heart!
She dared not relax, entering a flawless mental state to resist the encroaching anger.
“Ah… ah!”
The Knight Princess felt the seed of anger from the previous battle explode, consuming her. Her soul burned, her organs seemed to melt.
She was about to lose control.
Now she had no energy for a Saint Technique Awakening Spell. This anger was beyond any Apostle of Calamity. She could only try another way.
“Holy Spear, Longinus!!”
In desperation, the Knight Princess placed all hope on her Holy Spear.
The spear’s runes glowed.
“Holy Spear, unleash your radiance!”
She hoped the divine light would dispel her raging emotions.
Under extreme circumstances, she exceeded her previous limits, performing a deeper liberation of the spear.
New divine power flowed into the runes, suppressing her anger.
“Th-This is… wonderful…”
She exhaled in relief, but the next moment, she heard distant yet clear voices.
“Dragons are the humans’ mortal enemies.”
“The hatred in their blood must never be forgotten.”
“Inherit the hero’s will and exterminate all dragons, making them pay in blood!!”
She felt countless forces influencing her.
At that moment, she recalled her grandfather, the Knight King’s teachings.
The Holy Spear contained the hero’s will. As its wielder, she must inherit it, never defy it.
“Revenge!”
“This is an unforgettable hatred!”
She couldn’t understand why the hero’s will in the holy spear was like this.
Glancing at Xia Yi, she froze—an uncontrollable impulse surged.
She wanted… to kill Xia Yi.
“No!!” The Knight Princess clutched her head, shouting in agony.
Xia Yi was her companion. They had promised to leave this subspace together. She would never allow herself to harm Xia Yi.
This was clearly not her own thought—it came from the hero’s will.
Why did the hero’s will in the spear target Xia Yi?
She couldn’t comprehend.
Yet the thought arose and could not be suppressed. Her mind alone could not resist the hero’s will.
Samael continued to erode the Knight Princess, amplifying her desire to kill.
The hero’s will also influenced her.
The dual effect became a furious killing intent.
Kill her!
Kill her!!
Kill her!!!
Kill, kill, kill, kill—
The Knight Princess’s body trembled, her eyes gradually changing.
She gripped the Holy Spear, aiming its tip at Xia Yi…
—
[Author’s Note: Surprise! Today is a super extra-long 8k chapter, who would have thought~ Hmph, let’s see who dares to say Swiss Roll is short now~
Also, one more thing… sob sob sob, the monthly vote rankings are about to be overtaken by someone else. Swiss Roll urgently needs encouragement right now. Everyone, please help Swiss Roll! Please help Swiss Roll! ???????????]