Chapter 1335 - Dark Palace (5) (1/2)

Following the little Celestina, Rhode once again arrived in the complex corridors. He didn’t even know where he was right now, and the complicated maze left him a bit dizzy. However, Celestina was apparently really familiar with this place as she effortlessly led him into the depths, tunnel after tunnel.

“Why do you want to help me?”

Looking at the little girl’s back, Rhode couldn’t help but ask curiously. Honestly, the first meeting between them wasn’t exactly peaceful. He was almost thrown into a living hell by her. Thus, in order to seek revenge, Rhode did something literally criminal to the little one, which made her so furious that she threw him out. But now, looking at her, she didn’t have that furious expression she had before. On the contrary, he felt like she seemed to have grown closer to him. What was that about? Stockholm syndrome? But he didn’t lock her up and teach her a lesson, so how could something so unrealistic happen?

“Because I think you’re interesting, Rhode.”

And in response to his question, the little one answered without turning back, carefully coming around a corner, peeking out to look to the left and right, and beckoning at him. Shortly after, she turned and jumped into the shadows beside her and continued strolling.

“I… have always been alone here. It’s boring. It has been like this since a long time ago… It has always been just me… Everyone was nice to me, but it’s different, after all…” The little Celestina confessed, looking somewhat depressed. Upon hearing her words, Rhode was taken aback and knitted his brows. He figured out the issue in her words. It was obvious that the ‘everyone’ she referred to wasn’t the other two Celestinas. “… I know I’m different from all of them. And even though they’ve been nice to me… I still don’t feel the same. So since a long, long time ago… I’ve been alone…”

The little Celestina’s soft voice echoed in the quiet corridor. Rhode easily heard the loneliness and moodiness in her tone. Obviously, this wasn’t that little Celestina communicating with him, but Celestina’s mental world interacting with him instead.

Could it be that this little brat is the core of Celestina’s mental world?

Rhode looked at her lonely back and suddenly recalled something. He felt strange earlier as Celestina’s behavior was completely different from those demons in hell. She didn’t look like a demon born and raised in hell; otherwise, she wouldn’t have such ‘innocence’. After hearing her words, Rhode became more certain that Celestina grew up in the main plane.

If that were the case, the emergence of this little Celestina was understandable. As a demon, Celestina clearly couldn’t blend in with the rest. Because the tendency of the main plane was still toward goodness and neutrality, and as a demon, she obviously had a rather miserable time in it.

Rhode saw the reflection of Mini Bubble Gum in this little Celestina. Mini Bubble Gum was a close example to Celestina, who was also very unhappy with her family, which, combined with her flawed personality, made it difficult for her to get along with others. The only ones who could get Mini Bubble Gum to behave were Canary and Rhode, while everyone else was like an enemy to her, even Icy Snow.

When anyone other than Canary and Rhode tried to get close to Mini Bubble Gum, she would immediately shrink up like an irritated hedgehog and give a wary stare. And if they approached her, even if it was just a kind gesture with their hands, she wouldn’t hesitate to stab them. And if they were full of malice toward her, she would even use her terrifying fighting power to defeat them.

Mini Bubble Gum was a typical example. Ever since she entered the game, Rhode realized that she had always been fighting. From the start, against the Country of Darkness, Mini Bubble Gum didn’t hesitate to spend a whole lot of real money. In the very early stage, Rhode was in need of financial support to build a strong guild. For that reason, she spent thousands of hundred thousands without even blinking an eyelid. She wasn’t even worried that he would cheat her out of her money. Because for Mini Bubble Gum, as long as she could wipe out the Country of Darkness once and for all, it didn’t matter if she spent millions! Because to her, the Country of Darkness was an enemy that invaded her territory and disrupted her peaceful gaming life. In her perspective, the enemy had to be destroyed, no matter what the cost.

Thereafter, other players became enemies of her after mocking and questioning her offensive style for clerics and the ‘treating foes as friends’ strategy that she had invented. For Mini Bubble Gum, they were enemies who hurt her, so naturally, they must be destroyed at all costs.

That was why she was against everyone, tapping into the clerics’ violent and insidious offensive tactics, tirelessly hunting down those who mocked her, making them delete their gaming accounts in desperation. She also forced them to have no foothold on the forums.

Perhaps to the rest, Mini Bubble Gum was simply insane for spending a great deal of money, time, and even energy dealing with ordinary people who had nothing to do with her at all. Sometimes, some players might have just passed by her and said a few words or blabbered while watching from the side. But in the end, they were bitten by her until their deaths. It would be strange to say that Mini Bubble Gum was mentally sound.

Now that Rhode thought about it, he realized that Mini Bubble Gum and Celestina did have a lot of similarities, such as the fact that they were strong, self-centered, and rarely listened to the advice of others. Mini Bubble Gum was forever haughty and looked down upon people except for Canary and Rhode. Meanwhile, Celestina was also quick to rage and taunt at Celia. They were also very aggressive in their fighting styles, so if one were to mess with them, one could only pray hard for the survival of one’s entire family.

However, Rhode had never put the two of them together before. In his opinion, Celestina was a demon, so it was actually normal for her to be filled with such evil desires. On the contrary, it wasn’t good for Mini Bubble Gum, as a human, to be close to a demon. But now, after hearing an unintentional confession from Celestina’s mental projection, he was able to connect the two of them.

At least for now, it seemed like both of them were quite similar. Or rather, in this aspect, they were almost identical. And if one were to think about it, the possibility indeed wasn’t small. Although Rhode didn’t take psychology as an elective in college, facing a problem of this magnitude, he was confident he could still grasp the other party’s inner form well. But after playing in the field for a long time, he perhaps would have gotten into trouble if he weren’t capable of settling issues involving reputation….

“But don’t you have a Big Sister?”

Looking at the little one in front of him, Rhode raised a question with some confusion. If it were said that Celestina’s distrust of the outside world had created this personality, he wasn’t too surprised. But she actually avoided even the projection of her personality in her mental world, so it could be seen that she was also considered isolated to a certain degree.

“She can’t, Rhode. Both Big Sisters are weird. And I know they wouldn’t want to see me. Even if they did, they’d have me arrested just like you, Rhode. But I don’t like that and… I’m not alone now. Huhu… Come with me here, Rhode, and no one will be able to find you no matter what.”

The little Celestina spoke and reached out her hand all of a sudden, grabbing onto Rhode’s hand. For some reason, while holding onto the cold and soft little hand of hers, he felt a little uneasy. Although he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong with this little Celestina, who seemed very kind to him, he simply felt uncertain. His instincts, honed by hundreds of battles between life and death, told him that something very bad was about to happen. But before he figured out exactly what it was, he saw the little Celestina stretch out her hand and along with her action, a door appeared on the empty wall. The little one pushed the door open and pulled him into the room.

What came into view was the bedroom that he and the little Celestina initially fell into together, which seemed like her residence. And it was also obvious that the little Celestina was relying on this means to avoid detection by the other two, living here by herself. At a glance, this magnificent bedroom appeared rather beautiful, hazy, and dreamy under the candlelight.

And with that, the little girl led him to the bed, pulled him to sit down, and stared at him with a cheeky smile. But when he noticed the meaningful gaze in her eyes, he felt even more dubious. But soon, he saw the little Celestina leaning over, pushing her petite body tightly against his, and saying.

“Rhode… Stay here with me, will you? Just be by my side forever and ever. For the sake of me and to be with me. Okay, Rhode?”

The little Celestina requested, extending her hand and pressing on his chest gently. Her eyes glowed brighter, emanating a certain seductive glint. If they were seen by someone, perhaps one would indulge in them the moment he or she looked, before swearing eternal submission to the little Celestina.

“Huh?”

Upon hearing her words, Rhode was stunned. But before he reacted, he saw the little Celestina take and move his hand under her skirt. Then, the little one lifted her head, her eyes emanating a glow that was as mesmerizing as wine.

“The things you did to me before… It made me feel really good. I tried many, many times myself, but nothing came close to what I felt—joy as if I was about to fly high into the sky and forget everything… It felt really good, Rhode, will you do it for me again? It doesn’t matter what you do to me, as long as you can make me feel that pleasure again…”