r18novel Page 227
Page 227
Chapter 333 The Final Moment - "The Storm Before the Rainbow"
For a moment, Mino almost thought he was hallucinating.
Although the Rose Shadow Bugs are more potent than hallucinogenic spells, they do not have the effect of disrupting the nerves or confusing the senses. If one had to say, they actually have a nourishing and restorative effect.
The words at the end were deeply imprinted in my pupils; each character was simple and legible, yet utterly unfamiliar.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!!"
Mino broke down.
His body thrashed violently, his eyes filled with betrayed disbelief: "No way—you're kidding me?!"
Looking into the void, Mino became emotional, letting the tingling sensation wash over her body, and said somewhat incoherently:
"We've already subjected you to torture, obtained the intelligence, and even planned the methods. Now you're saying it wasn't a complete waste?!"
"So what happened to me after all that easy wins? Did I really become a 'loser hero'?!"
"Speak! Speak to me!!!"
A voice filled with resentment echoed in the cell. Rose shadow insects slithered through his veins, and his muscles trembled all over. Mino gritted his teeth, but he still couldn't stop the ecstatic, delirious sensation.
The feeling of being utterly cut off from online freebies is something only those who understand it can truly comprehend.
The task text that had been firmly in my peripheral vision now felt like a blatant mockery, forcing me to maintain the last shred of my sanity.
"You expect me to endure this... *gulp*... Who do you think I look down on... *gulp*!"
His throat was frantically swallowing saliva, as if trying to suppress the chaotic sensations throughout his body, but it seemed to have the opposite effect, and the sound of saliva became louder and louder.
Mino knew that, having come this far, she had no choice but to tough it out.
"Don't... underestimate... the willpower... of complete collectors..."
With trembling hands, Mino reached under the bed and grabbed a heavy, gray-green cloth bag, as if grasping at a last straw. Inside the bag, a dense clanging sound of metal clashing could be heard.
"Gold coins...?" Kletina and the other demons by the bedside were puzzled by Mino's behavior.
The open bag revealed a full sack of gold coins, 290 coins—the result of the deal between Kletina and Mino during the previous torture, plus the winnings Mino made in the gamble during the torture at Altoté.
“Could it be…” Kleinna frowned slightly, but quickly shook her head: “No, impossible.”
With his power restricted, Mino can only use contract spells that do not require holy power to activate, such as the contract spell that summons the gates of the Demon King's city to various parts of the Demon Realm. However, Mino obviously does not know how to use such a spell. Moreover, contract spells are geographically limited, and there are very few contract spells that can be used near the Demon King's city.
Just thinking so.
Outside the window, the sound of rain pattering could be heard.
"Rain?" Kletina turned her head and looked outside the cell. Dark clouds had gathered there at some point.
The air was just moments ago extremely dry, but the raindrops have already begun to fall steadily.
On the large bed, Mino, as if finally able to catch her breath, clutched the heavy money bag tightly, refusing to let go. No one noticed that ten gold coins were missing from the bag's full contents.
[Contract Spell - Weather Change (Cost: 10 Gold): Make a contract with an air sprite using gold to change the weather in the direction you desire.]
Inside his body, the Rose Shadow Worms in his blood began to stir restlessly, as if something else had entered his increasingly familiar body.
Mino, as the person involved, felt it more clearly; the pleasure surging through her body did not diminish in the slightest.
But at the same time, a feeling of unbearable pain, independent of pleasure, gradually welled up deep within my nerves.
—The Curse of the Desert Dragon.
The dragon race, which emerges in response to rainy weather, carries a corrosive curse imprinted on their bloodline and soul. Without the protection of divine power, the pain they experience will far exceed the threshold that ordinary humans can endure.
Right now, as the rain started to fall, Mino was suddenly gripped by excruciating pain.
The conflicting and balancing sensations gave Mino a brief respite. He lay limp on the bed, unable to move a single finger, and weakly said:
"Heh, heh heh, I never thought I'd be the one to suffer for myself."
The sounds of wind and rain outside the window rang in her ears. Klettina frowned, noticing Mino's slightly relieved expression, and keenly sensed a hint of danger.
Without further hesitation, she snapped her fingers, and the eight Rose Shadow Insects inside Mino became more agitated and began to move around inside Mino's body even faster!
This is a method to stimulate the activity of shadow insects for a short period of time, but it lasts for a maximum of two hours, after which they will become somewhat lethargic and their activity will continue to decline.
But as a price, Mino's neurological dysfunction immediately surged to an extremely dangerous level!
"Goo!"
Mino's face contorted violently, not from pain, but from a strange sensation that made him unable to control every muscle in his face.
The next moment, ten more gold coins were missing from the money bag.
"Let the storm...come on even stronger."
Boom——! ! !
A deafening thunderclap suddenly erupted outside the Demon King's castle, an endless gale suddenly swept up from the ground, and torrential rain poured down, the sound seeming to strike the hearts of all the demons.
“Apophis?!” Kleinna turned around abruptly and looked at Apophis in the cell.
The latter's sword revealed a hint of surprise, and it immediately shook the hilt:
"It wasn't me; the changes in the weather are far beyond my control."
The two consecutive deteriorations of the weather made it clear to the demons present that this was definitely not a natural phenomenon.
A mixture of surprise and uncertainty filled the air as they gazed at the determined warrior, huddled on the bed, sweating profusely as if struggling against something, and a faint sense of awe rose within them...
What exactly did this guy do?
On the bed, Mino gripped her purse even tighter, her voice almost squeezed out from between her teeth.
"not enough……"
"It's still not enough...!"
From cloudy skies to light rain, and then from light rain to torrential rain, the curse of the desert dragon throbbed wildly within my body, bringing intermittent pain.
The gold coins in the purse shrank at a visible rate.
The relentless gale battered the Demon King's castle's protective barrier, emitting a violent roar like a tsunami; raindrops, forming threads that pierced the rock walls, poured down like needles from the dark sky; the center of the demon realm seemed to have been swallowed by light, so dark it resembled the approaching apocalypse; the clouds grew with terrifying force, spreading throughout the entire demon realm—
Outside the Demon King's castle, a delicate rose sways with difficulty in the torrential rain, like a microcosm of the entire Demon King's castle in the eye of the storm.
The emotions of the demons in the cell gradually began to fluctuate.
Almost simultaneously, they looked toward the eye of the storm, at the frail and tormented victim.
At this moment, it seemed to be the one who led the entire interrogation, becoming the unyielding ray of light in the torrential rain, proclaiming its own will to them—
This torrential rain, which shook the entire magical realm, lasted for a full two hours.
Chapter 334 [Epicenter of the Storm] (Two chapters combined, 4.6k)
The rain stopped.
A damp air current swept around outside the Demon King's castle, creating smooth water windows in the uneven ground, and a rainbow, seemingly real yet illusory, appeared on the thin, compressed sky.
On the bed, the hero's eyes were almost rolling back.
"He actually... withstood the interrogation." Swell looked at the hero before him with awe.
Before this, he had imagined many possible outcomes, such as Mino surrendering before even confessing, Mino revealing irrelevant information, or even Mino simply throwing out false information to fool them.
But the possibility of "holding out to the very end" was completely outside its calculations.
Could this monster, whose willpower is terrifying to behold, actually withstand torture stemming from physiological instincts?
The demons present fell silent, once again recognizing the strength and perseverance of Mino Rayquaza, the strongest hero in human history.
"Lady Cletina."
The pages of the book trembled slightly. Swell looked out the window at the calming wind and rain, but felt an even greater storm rushing towards him: "It seems our interrogation has failed..."
"The Demon King's Castle has issued an alert."
"The aura of the Hero of Sin has appeared in the Forest of Death!"
"Since the Sword Hero a thousand years ago, another hero has successfully walked the path of the hero—!"
"And the Kingdom of Kur is about to launch a live roundtable discussion: there's no mistake, this is humanity's... desperate counterattack against the Demon King's castle!"
The rich and dangerous fragrance of roses filled the room. Klettina's cherry-pink eyes were fixed on Mino in the cell, her gaze seemingly frozen.
Judging from his refusal to confess, humanity's actions this time will likely be incredibly radical and ruthless...
Does he really believe that much?
He believed that his younger sister would be more outstanding than him and would be able to fight against several demons, the Demon King's castle, and even the most powerful Time Demon King on her own.
Kletina took a deep breath, and her rose-colored gown seemed to come alive at that moment, swaying gently in the windless space.
The source of everything.
It all started on the day she handed Mino over to the captives.
That being the case.
It's time for her to end all of this...
“You four demons, guard Mino in the prison cell.”
Gently pushing open the cell door, Kletina slowly walked towards the stairwell: "That hero, I, the 'Demon Lord of Time,' will destroy him—"
Her calm tone blended with the lingering fragrance, creating an overwhelming and oppressive killing intent. Kletina's cherry-pink eyes shone with a deep light.
Her only desire has always been to protect Mia and the Demon King.
This power, thus formidable enough to rival that of a demon king, combined with the power of a demon king who had lived for a thousand years, made even Mino seem far too insignificant before that near-divine power...
Even if she, equally insignificant, can only sustain that power for a short time, as long as the Demon King continues to grow:
A thousand years, a thousand years, and another thousand years—until the day the Demon King grows up, the day the little baby lying in the swaddling clothes of the White Bone Throne truly masters the power within him and the throne of the Demon King.
Before that, all she had to do was hold on a little longer...
"Lady Kletina, Warrior Mino, what should we do?"
Behind him, Swell's hesitant voice rang out: "The Rose Shadow Worm is still inside him and hasn't been removed."
Klettina stopped and stared through the iron fence at Mino, whose consciousness was somewhat blurred. Rose Shadow Insects writhed menacingly all over his skin, and waves of strange sensations made his body convulse continuously.