"Sadako, if love has a shelf life, I hope this love can last for ten thousand years."
Alan pressed his own neck against the Blade of Redemption, ready to die without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing this, Sadako instinctively pulled her hand back, stopping the tragedy before it could happen.
"I… don't want… you to die…" she said, the hoarse words spoken with great difficulty.
Love, it seemed, was a panacea for all ailments. Sadako, who had been so consumed by rage she could not speak, now uttered human words.
At that moment, she turned her gaze on Alessa, and a cold aura radiated from her body, pressing down on her opponent. Faced with the provocation, Alessa, as the overlord of Silent Hill, could not turn a blind eye. Thorny wires whipped out from the darkness around her.
"Die, evil spirit!"
There was an essential difference between the two. Alessa was a demon carrier, her power drawn from Hell. Sadako was a spirit of vengeance, her power tracing back to the underworld. In an instant, Sadako disappeared from the spot and flew toward Alessa. She tore at the gauze bandages on Alessa's body while Alessa grabbed her by the hair, controlling the thorny wires to lash out. For a time, they were evenly matched.
"No, Sadako!" Alan clutched his chest with one hand and stretched the other out dramatically, as if trying to hold her back from a great distance, perfectly portraying a lovesick man in agony.
Bruce and Oliver exchanged a look. The acting seemed a bit over the top, even for him.
Soon, Alan returned to his usual cynical self. He leaned against a wall, one hand on his hip, the other behind his head, striking a pose he clearly thought was very handsome. He sighed. "Damn my gorgeous face, letting two naive women fight over me again."
"Alan, we have the Blade of Redemption! Let's get out of here while there's chaos," Bruce urged. He didn't want to stay in this place for a second longer; his martial arts were useless here.
"You want to leave? It's not that easy. Kill them all," Alessa shrieked, her eyes full of malice. She would not let anyone who set foot in Silent Hill escape. Even though Alan had helped her get revenge, she had never promised to let him live.
After receiving the order, Pyramid Head began dragging his great knife toward them from the doorway.
"You two go first," Alan said, giving them a look. "Leave him to me."
Bruce and Oliver looked at each other and nodded, not trying to be heroes in a crisis. They had seen Alan's abilities; they knew they would only be a burden in this fight. It was better for them to get out of the way.
The sword was unsheathed. Alan walked straight up to Pyramid Head and said with extreme arrogance, "Boy, I'll give you one chance. Say that I'm the most handsome man in the universe, and I'll let you go."
"…"
If I could speak, Pyramid Head probably would have thought, I would have called you an idiot a long time ago.
The great knife whistled through the air and slammed into the ground, cracking the stone floor.
"All strength and no agility. You'll never hit me. I'll give you three moves." Alan had already dodged to the side, feeling no danger at all. To him, Pyramid Head's movements seemed to be in slow motion.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Oliver slipped out of the church. They ran straight for the exit of Silent Hill.
"Shouldn't we wait for Alan?" Oliver suggested.
"We'll walk slowly. Wait for him at the exit," Bruce said. He saw that the world outside the church had returned to normal and worried they would be trapped again if the Fog World returned.
As if on cue, ash began to drift from the sky above the church. The Otherworld was preparing to descend again.
"Don't wait! Evacuate immediately!"
Bruce and Oliver ran like mad, no longer caring about Alan's safety. They could only hope he would be alright.
Bang! Bang!
Pyramid Head attacked again and again, but to no avail. Alan's dodges seemed effortless, as if he had predicted the attack trajectory in advance.
"That's three moves. Since you refuse to admit that I'm handsome, you can rest in peace."
Alan finally took action. He weaved around the hulking monster, his movements a smooth, repeating cycle of changing position, chopping, and dodging, leaving numerous wounds on Pyramid Head's body. The beast looked left and right, unable to track its swift opponent. However, the surface wounds did no substantial harm. He was not human, but a guardian manifested by Alessa; his weaknesses were completely different.
"You're pretty stubborn," Alan said, though he would never admit to underestimating his opponent. "That was just the appetizer. Now, prepare for my violent assault."
At that moment, Alan's eyes became serious. The next second, his figure blurred into a shadow. The sharp sword, blessed by his Shadow Blade skill, appeared and disappeared all around Pyramid Head.
The continuous, rapid-fire offensive ended. Alan wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a long breath, and uttered a single word.
"Fall."
Suddenly, Pyramid Head's limbs separated from its body, and its torso lost its balance and collapsed. While attacking, Alan had repeatedly struck the same position on the monster's limbs, eventually severing them and robbing it of its ability to move.
Alan walked up to the fallen creature and said seriously, "I'll give you one more chance. Admit that I'm handsome."
Unfortunately, Pyramid Head had no ability to speak. A flurry of sword shadows struck its neck.
[PYRAMID HEAD KILLED. +5000 EXP]
[ENOUGH EXPERIENCE. CURRENT THIEF LEVEL: 120]
[SYSTEM PROMPT: REQUIREMENTS MET. YOU MAY RETURN TO YOUR ORIGINAL TIMELINE AT ANY TIME.]
"Hateful. You wouldn't admit I was handsome even at death's door." Alan kicked Pyramid Head's helmet in frustration.
On the other side of the room, the fight was drawing to a close. In the end, Sadako was defeated. It was to be expected. Sadako was just a ghost with a lot of resentment; it was a miracle she had held on for so long. Alessa was a true child of a demon, possessing the bloodline of Samael, one of the seven kings of Hell.
"Sadako, you've worked hard," Alan said, walking forward and taking her hand, his voice soft and comforting, like a husband greeting his wife after she'd just come out of the delivery room.
A warm current filled Sadako's heart, an indescribable sweetness that made her lower her head. "No… it was bitter," she said with difficulty.
"You will all die! All of you!" Jealousy had twisted Alessa's features into something unrecognizable.
"Sadako, you go first," Alan said, patting her hand reassuringly. "I won't die. Don't worry about me."
Sadako remained unmoved, staring at him blankly, having already decided to die with him.
"Trust me," Alan said. His voice seemed to have a magical quality, and Sadako couldn't help but nod in agreement. In an instant, she was teleported away.
Alan turned to face the raging demigod. "Alessa, stop making trouble," he said calmly.
Alessa, who was about to kill him, paused her attack. "Any last words?" she sneered.
"You're just a child who needs love and care. I'm willing to stay with you forever."
"Really?" Alessa asked, her evil thoughts showing signs of fading. She murmured to herself, "Yes… I hope to be loved. I hope to have a lover to accompany me… to get married and have children and spend the rest of my life with."
"I can give you all of that," Alan said, his face solemn. The next second, a frivolous smile bloomed. "Hehe… I lied to you."
"I'm going home, idiot!"
***********
✨ 300 gems = 1 bonus chapter
✨ 500 gems = another bonus chapter
Get access to advanced chapters at my P@treon.
[email protected]/meowthtl