Chapter 185 - Ending of the Registration (2/2)
Chong Zemin looked towards the worm that was in terrible condition. During the fight, he had felt his body boil as if it wanted to refuse to fight the worm - to be precise, it was his bloodline.
”It is surprising. Although all of its presence should have vanished, the bloodline inside my body has begun to rebel against my command. I always thought that you divine beasts were intelligent, unlike many others, but I would never have imagined that you were capable of experiencing such emotions. Was your bond with your brother so strong that even after his death, part of him still lives?” Chong Zemin asked with difficulty.
”He wasn't my brother, or rather, we didn't have common parents. We worms are insignificant creatures that crawl on the ground, even within the spirit beasts we don't occupy a prominent position. But he was the first worm to reach divine beast status, changing our being insignificant. He showed that even we who crawl on the ground could aim to touch the sky. Once he became a divine beast, he proceeded to train new young worms, and one day he happened to choose me.
Even though I call him brother, he was more like a teacher or father to me. But since he was still quite young and had no children, he told us to call him brother. The day we learned of his death was a day that I will never forget. Ignoring the advice of the older worms, my other companions who had been raised by him and I set off to get our revenge.
But humans proved to be a superior enemy to what we thought. We were easily swept away until it was just me. I should have died that day, but the Beast Emperor came to our rescue. He came too late to save the others, but he was able to save me. He treated me and trained me in the place of my brother, giving me a new purpose to move forward. Yet despite this, I never managed to appease the anger and hatred within me. For this reason, I could not help but come immediately to you, the one who possesses my brother's bloodline. All this just to kill you.”
Chong Zemin silently listened to the worm's words, with a look full of mixed feelings. Eventually, he replied, ”I understand your pain, but in the end, yours was nothing but a futile desperate attempt. Maybe things could have gone differently if ... no, forget it, it's too late now. In any case, this attack of yours is useless. The Serpent of Darkness is strong, stronger than any other human or demon Spirit Emperor. But even he is not the opponent of the Hero or the Demon Emperor. No, perhaps it is on par with the Demon Emperor but certainly not the Hero. In the end, it will be the Hero, the winner. He will bring victory and salvation to the human race and the whole world.”
By hearing this, the divine beast worm chuckled as it coughed, ”You're wrong. Your Hero won't win because the Beast Emperor will win. He is the only one the world has been deemed worthy of being the savior.”
”Worthy? What do you mean?” Chong Zemin asked, unable to understand the worm's dark words. Before he could get an answer, however, a roar rang in the air while the words of dark language entered his ears.
”Oh comrades, I promised you that I would bring you victory, and I intend to keep my word. But the enemy turned out to be stronger than I expected. I know it is a lot to ask, but I will still ask you to give me your strength. I ask you to sacrifice the strength of our race for a higher good - protect our world. Please allow me to use our essence.”
A call for help from the one who was the absolute ruler of the divine and spirit beasts. This appeal not only rang in the battlefield where they were fighting but also all over the world. Even the humans and demons who remained in their territories were able to listen to it, although they didn't understand it.
The spirit beasts of the whole continent, no, of the entire world, listened to the call of their sovereign, and all gave their consent. As if the cork of a bottle had opened, the spirit power on the battlefield began to condense toward the leaders of the three factions - to be precise, it was condensing on the giant pitch-black snake.
”My life and future is yours, make use of it, oh my Emperor,” said the worm as even the last drops of spirit power left were leaving its body to converge on Hei An, the Beast Emperor. But before it was completely exhausted, it had one last thing to do.
Stab!
Chong Zemin's eyes widened in disbelief. His gaze was directed to the point where the spirit power of the spirit beasts was converging, but suddenly he felt something piercing his stomach. Looking down, he noticed a sand dagger stuck deep in his body.
”You humans and demons are selfish. You even desire the death of those who are your saviors. But we are different, to allow our Emperor to obtain victory, we are willing to sacrifice everything about ourselves. Thank you, my Emperor, for giving me my revenge in the end.”
The worm then breathed its last breath, leaving Chong Zemin on the point of death. The human Spirit Emperor spat blood but strove to remain conscious. Meanwhile, the spirit power over the Serpent of Darkness had reached the peak and exploded, creating a giant shock wave that covered the entire battlefield. Chong Zemin's crystal ball shattered instantly as soon as the shock wave hit it as all the other spheres.
”Divine Rank? How is it possible? Not the Hero but the Beast Emperor? No, I have other things to worry about. I have to pass on today's events to posterity so that history doesn't repeat itself a second time.”
With his last strength, Chong Zemin grabbed the remains of his sphere and created a formation to protect them. After that, he, too, took his last breath. At that point, the images began to distort. Still, instead of stabilizing shortly after that as had happened the other two previous times, the twelve spectators returned with their consciousness to the room.
All of them had clouded eyes as they thought about what they had seen. It was too much information to digest in a short time. A long time passed before the silence in the room was broken.
”It has been a heavy day, and I know that all of you have many thoughts in your head. It's better if you all go back to your rooms.” Hei said to the rest of his companions. His eyes were red as if he had cried until recently. But his tone of voice was flat as the surface of a lake.
Leon, He Fen, Lang, Fenrir, Haruno, Mareo, Lilian, and Mia all nodded their heads and returned to their quarters, leaving Hei, Lian, Ye, and Xing alone in the room. None of them were in the mood to speak and had a thousand thoughts in their heads.
Hei closed the doors of their room and sat on the bed while stroking Ye and Xing. Lian just watched him by his side, remaining silent. They stayed like this for a full hour before Hei spoke, ”I'm fine. It was nice to see Mother and Father again and the respect the other spirit beasts felt for him. It was good to have been able to observe this recording. As Chong Zemin said, we cannot let history retake the same course. I don't know exactly how, but together we will find a way. Leave it to me. As long as you stand by my side, everything will be fine.”
Ye, Xing, and Lian nodded. The two little divine beasts were inundated with various feelings and didn't want to speak. They simply hid their heads in their big brother's chest and closed their eyes. Lian also decided to remain silent. Sometimes, it wasn't necessary to speak to express what was in the heart. In that way, that incredible day ended.
The headmaster of the academy managed to hide what had happened to public opinion, but he still informed the Imperial Family and the Eight Big Families. This news caused a massive sensation as the demons had managed to infiltrate so deeply into the empire. It led to a deterioration in the relationship between the Sun Empire and the Moon Empire that couldn't be called good in the first place. However, this was something that had nothing to do with Hei and his family, at least not for now. For now, the four were sleeping soundly next to each other.