Chapter 33 [Angels] Bringing Rain and Lilies

Tick-tock——

It was the sound of liquid dripping, very crisp, coming from beneath him.

Tick-tock——

The nasal cavity was filled with the fishy smell of blood. The strong smell made people subconsciously want to vomit, but I actually felt that this level was not so bad.

Tick-tock——

His hands were bound and raised above his head, his neck felt like it was being strangled by a rope, and his whole body was suspended in mid-air. The gravity from the ground kept pulling him down, and he only had a crooked, tattered bench at his toes as support, barely preventing himself from being suffocated by the rope.

The blood began to flow from the wrists at the top, branched out at the arms, and then slowly flowed to both sides of the head, covering the ears together with the arms, and then soaked the rope around the neck, causing it to swell, further suppressing his breathing, and continued to flow downwards to the chest, shuttling between one wound after another, constantly replenished with fresh blood, and finally slid over the legs and feet, flowing along the tattered bench into the basin at the bottom.

"......"

Xiwang was very familiar with all of this.

And then...

rustle--

There was a slight sound, as if someone was approaching, followed by a burning pain in the wound.

"snort..."

The pain from the coarse salt rubbing against the wound made Xiwang cry out in pain. His throat almost subconsciously wanted to shout, but his body was so weak that he couldn't even make a sound. He could only make an ambiguous hum.

Ah... Xiwang felt familiar, too familiar, with this kind of thing.

The feeling of being on the verge of passing out from hunger and blood loss, and the physical pain.

"Awake? As expected, you are such a strong and good child."

It was his voice, that damn guy's voice!

"......"

He raised his eyelids with difficulty and looked at the figure in front of him blurryly.

Under the dim light, all that could be seen was the disgusting robe and the abominable cross pendant.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid...it's over."

He gently stroked his head with one hand, and rubbed the wound on his chest frantically with the other hand covered with coarse salt.

"I'll take care of you, don't worry."

He said this, then loosened his hand, took out medicine from the medical box, slowly applied the medicine to himself, and then bandaged himself with a bandage.

"Your lips are dry... Didn't you drink any water? You're a bad boy."

As he said this, he took out the basin at the bottom and slowly poured the dark red blood into a bowl. Then he forced Xiwang's mouth open and poured the dark red blood into it. The fishy smell of blood once again rushed into his nerves, almost overwhelming his consciousness.

But, I still managed to hold on.

"hehe..."

When he took the bowl away, Xiwang even chuckled twice with a hint of sarcasm, as if to say - that's it?

"…I hope you can still be so strong in the future."

His body stiffened slightly, and then he casually untied the rope that bound Xiwang.

"But I'm sure you will, right?"

With a dull sound, Xiwang's small body fell softly to the ground, gasping for breath. He turned a blind eye to it because he knew that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, Xiwang would be able to get up again. He just needed to feed him some leftovers - he was much easier to raise than pets like cats and dogs.

"Well, see you tomorrow, [Hope]... hehe."

He leisurely packed up all his tools, said goodbye to Xiwang politely, and kicked him as a farewell gift. When he mentioned Xiwang's name, he deliberately laughed sarcastically twice, then closed the door and left, locked the door from the outside, and turned off the power.

"......"

It fell into darkness again. As far as the sight could reach, the only light, almost faint, was the moonlight that squeezed in through the gaps in the window that was mostly sealed with wooden boards and dirt, silently comforting the young and pitiful child.

However, Xiwang didn't care. He just slowly adjusted his breathing and slowly recovered his strength.

It's okay…it's okay, it's just the past repeating itself.

Although the memory was a little fuzzy, Xiwang could still realize it.

Someone will come, a cute girl, with pink hair, and very cute.

When she comes, everything will change. She will tell him about the beauty of the outside world, give him candies full of sweetness, and hope will come to him with small white stars.

He will see pink flowers similar to hers, and see pink petals flying all over the sky in the slightly chilly spring.

And that damned [priest] will die miserably.

Although he didn't know how she did it, but... he remembered that these things had happened.

So...it's okay.

Xiwang thought so and passed out in a state of blurred consciousness.

In the room that was almost filled with darkness and silence, only the dark lines on Xiwang's body, which looked like chains or running water, were quietly flowing. The whole room slowly became damp, and then became damp and cold in the low temperature of the night.

Such a terrible environment was almost devastating for a weak child. Weakness, hunger, and the damp and dark environment took turns depriving him of his vitality, making his already weak life flame even weaker.

But even so, he is still alive, living tenaciously and firmly. His flame is weak, but not extinguished.

The sun rises and sets, and night falls again. The dim lights light up in the room again. Xiwang knows that the damn guy has come.

Today he was gentle. He fed him some soup and forced him to eat something. Of course, it was all fed by him. After all, it was difficult for him to even raise his hands now.

After doing all this, he left himself a small bucket of drinking water and then left.

The room became increasingly damp and cold, becoming unbearable.

Another day passed, and Xiwang was able to move a little. When the [Priest] came at night, Xiwang attacked him without hesitation, and then failed as expected.

"That's really interesting."

He looked at Xiwang, who was beaten to his knees, and spoke with interest.

"You are actually in a rare mood to resist me today... As expected, you are still a bad boy. I gave you too much food and water."

He slowly tied up Xiwang, then hung Xiwang up, and touched Xiwang's body as if he was admiring an object. Then he cut the bandages, looked at the healed and scabbed wound, and spoke in admiration.

"As expected, you are the most perfect existence for me... I really hope that I can get you someday."

"I think that day won't be far away, right?"

He gently stroked Xiwang's face and spoke softly.

"...Pooh."

All he got in response was Xiwang's disdainful spit.

"...Very good, I like you like this."

The [Priest] was not annoyed. He just wiped away the spit, then took out an iron rod from the toolbox and threw it into a basin, while throwing black charcoal into it one by one.

"After all, we have a lot of time. I believe that one day, we will reach a consensus with each other."

He lit the fire slowly, and when one end of the iron rod was glowing red, he held the other end and brought the hot iron rod close to Xiwang's face, letting him feel the heat.

"Let's slow down."

It was not applied directly to Xiwang's face, but little by little, allowing him to fully feel the heat, and then it was applied to his skin to feel the unique burning pain.

Perhaps it was because Xiwang's resistance today amused him, so today's torture lasted particularly long. It was not until late at night that he packed up and left. Before leaving, he left the unburned brazier in the room because he felt the room was too damp and cold, and he left it to Xiwang to drive away the chill.

As a price, Xiwang was not let down by him and was hung in the air for a whole day.

There is no need to elaborate on the days that followed, and there is no need to appreciate the torture that was like torment.

Xiwang spent day after day, full of blood, in this boring and tasteless torture. Although the pain did not decrease, he gradually got used to it.

Xiwang was still alive, living quietly day after day, without crying or complaining, and apart from occasional resistance, he did not make any unnecessary movements.

Xiwang looked out the window at another sunny day and closed his eyes quietly. As for the laughter of children and the complaints of those "bad kids" coming from outside the house, he had already ignored them.

She, the girl who like flying flowers, will come one day.

She would bring a real priest to her and take her away from this dark room.

Wait and hope.

......

But... she didn't come.

And it seems like a long time has passed...

"Not today..."

Xiwang looked at the little golden sunlight that squeezed in through the cracks on the ground, remaining on the blood- and dust-stained ground.

It's another sunny day, which is really annoying.

Xiwang tried to move his arms, but was unable to do so because his tendons were severed. He could only slowly crawl on the ground.

However, with his efforts, he still moved himself into the faint light, and the tiny golden rays shone on his face, bringing a little warmth.

"Probably tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow..."

Xiwang squinted his eyes, murmured unconsciously, and then fell into a deep sleep.

......

How much time has passed... I don't know anymore.

Anyway, every day I watch the sunrise and sunset, then endure the pain at night, and then see the sunny day in the haze.

The room was also switching back and forth between damp and dry... Come to think of it, an overly humid environment was too threatening to me. Although that [Priest] always liked to torture me, he would also heal me and liked to torture me to death if he couldn't kill me.

After all, he regarded me as his [private property], and it would be bad if I died.

By the way, some time ago, that guy learned a new [game trick] from somewhere. He locked me in a coffin, and then threw me into a pit in the cemetery and left me there, only hanging a nutrient solution to prevent me from dying.

After a few days, he got me out again and stuffed me back into this room. I don't know what he was thinking...

"......ha."

Slowly, Xiwang moved to the corner of the room and sniffed the slightly cleaner air. With the help of the tiny sunlight, he noticed that the traces on the ground seemed to have become extremely faint. Xiwang suddenly chuckled.

Someone is coming... Someone has been here... He felt that the person he was afraid of was coming, so he had to hide himself and even dealt with all the traces. Only after that person left, he dared to bring me back. He should have thought of it earlier, but he didn't realize it because his consciousness was still a little fuzzy.

Haha, it turns out that there are people who are afraid of a disgusting guy like him...

Perhaps because he was happy about this matter, Xiwang kept smiling throughout the night, and there was an inexplicable mockery in his eyes when he looked at the "Priest."

However, the [Priest] was not angry. He just made him as weak as possible and threw hot charcoal on him so that his weak breathing was a little hot, but soon became cold due to his weak body.

Then, as the night was about to pass and dawn was about to come, the [Priest] came again.

He rarely brought Xiwang out of the room, dragged him to the cemetery, and then lifted his head and forced his eyes open, making him look at the corpse in the pit.

What Xiwang remembered was the appearance of that priest, the real priest who always wanted to help him.

He was dead in a miserable state, his chest had been cut open, his internal organs had been turned out, and blood had accumulated at the bottom of the pit, staining the surrounding soil and the priest's clothes.

He should have been the one who saved me, but at this moment he has passed away in such a tragic way.

Then, the [Priest] manipulated Xiwang's hands, picked up the shovel beside him, and controlled him like a puppet, shoveling up the soil next to him bit by bit, slowly burying the priest's body. Finally, he patted the soil with the shovel to make sure that it had been compacted.

There was no tombstone, and no mound of earth was piled where the body was; it was simply filled in.

Xiwang no longer remembered what happened that day. He was in a daze, as if his consciousness had become scattered.

Xiwang realized that she would not come because she had already been here.

After that, no one will pay attention to me, and I won't be able to go out.

Since then, Xiwang's response to pain has become weaker and weaker, and the "Priest's" behavior has become more and more crazy. He stopped treating his wounds and bringing him food.

[The Priest] was trying to push him to the brink of death, but Xiwang had no reaction.

Tick-tock——

It was the sound of blood dripping, so familiar that it couldn't be more familiar.

Tick-tock——

[The Priest] sat leisurely aside, admiring his own "masterpiece" and looking at the increasingly weak Xiwang with satisfaction.

Tick-tock——

There were many wounds on his body, new, old, and unhealed, intertwined, cuts, burns, and piercings mixed together, bright red blood flowing out of them, gradually gathering in the basin below.

Now, Xiwang has grown up and no longer needs the broken bench to support himself. His height is enough for him to touch the ground with his toes in this situation. However, the [Priest] does not look old. Except for his hair becoming more gray and a few more wrinkles on his face, there is almost no change.

At this point, torturing Xiwang has almost become the [Priest's] daily task, like some kind of habit. Now even if Xiwang actively begs him, surrenders to him, and throws himself into his arms, he will refuse - he has had enough of it.

Now, he just wants to kill Xiwang.

So he stood up and walked closer to Xiwang.

Tick-tock——

It's the sound of liquid dripping.

"Wow——"

Xiwang raised his head slightly and lifted his eyelids with difficulty. The priest who noticed his movement immediately stopped his actions and waited for his next reaction.

"Hehe..."

Because his mouth had been cut and the wound had not yet healed completely, Xiwang could only make some unclear sounds, but the mockery contained in his words was still heard by the [Priest].

"You are not him."

Xiwang endured the pain and spoke bit by bit in an unclear voice.

Tick-tock——

The blood is still flowing.

"I am his private property. He would not want to kill me, let alone constantly and deliberately weaken me like you do."

Tick-tock——

The bright red blood was still dripping.

"He only knows how to play with me, that's all... you fake one."

Tick-tock——

Suddenly, a hint of dark blue mixed into the bright red liquid dripping down. It was as blue as the sea water, and it quickly permeated the surrounding bright red, eventually transforming the blood in the basin into a pool of dark blue liquid of unknown origin.

"......"

[The Priest] remained silent, but then smiled indifferently and pushed out a pile of flammable materials from the dark corner of the room using unknown methods.

It no longer wants to pretend, and there is no need to pretend.

Finally, it walked to the door, and before closing it, it looked leisurely at Xi Wang who was still hanging, and said with a chuckle.

[It doesn't matter, after all… I won]

Bang!

It locked the door, turned off the power, casually set the house on fire with a match, and then stood not far away, leisurely watching the gradually burning fire.

Tick-tock——

The dim room was gradually engulfed in flames, but the sound of dripping liquid continued.

"I will survive..."

Xi Wang whispered to himself, the dark lines on his body flowing silently, and one of the "lines" quietly deviated from its original trajectory at this moment, just like the blood in his body, and began to flow downwards.

"I will survive..."

Xi Wang murmured softly, and the "pattern" that had deviated from its trajectory began to quietly disintegrate, just like the wounds on his body, cracking open bit by bit, and then oozing out dark "blood."

This "line" passed away quietly and finally disappeared completely.

And beneath him, the pool of dark blue liquid began to move quietly and flow back autonomously, climbing up Xi Wang's body, following the traces from whence it originally flowed, returning to the wound on Xi Wang's body, and then returning to Xi Wang's body.

Boom——

The house was destroyed by flames, the overhead beams were burned, and it collapsed with flames, burying Xi Wang's body.

But a similar sound was heard on the other side. When its sight shifted, it found that an Honkai Beast had appeared beside it at some point, and it was rolling away in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

[What's wrong with you?! I didn't ask you to come out?!]

It was very angry. Although it did prepare the Honkai Beast as its last "trick," it did not listen to its orders and appeared directly, and even attacked it in turn. Was it looking for death?

In order to deal with this big trouble Xi Wang, it had spent a lot of time and energy. Now it was about to succeed. As long as it could see the corpse and make him believe that he was [dead], it would be fine. Why did something unexpected happen?!

Then…

Tick-tock——

It's the sound of raindrops falling.

[Wait...what?!]

It began to panic. It knew very well how terrifying Xi Wang was when he had the home advantage of "rain," so much so that it had to remove the "rain" scene first and then suppress him.

Tick-tock——

However, the rain continued to fall.

[Damn it! Damn it! Stop it! I am the master of the spiritual world! Why don't you listen to me?!]

The new grey-haired guy is the same, and so is this difficult guy. Why are they all so troublesome?! I'm supposed to be the strongest one here!

It used its abilities to try to stop the "rain," but it was unable to stop it, or even reduce the rain. It could only watch the rain grow heavier and heavier until it finally put out the fire in the house.

Then, in the slightly gloomy distance, a beam of light shone through the clouds to the ground. The bright golden color seemed so dazzling on such a deep night.

There was a slight sound, like that of a horn, and a faint sound, like the flapping of wings, and the scent of lilies lingered at the tip of my nose.

In a trance, I could see that it was a woman in a white robe, but I couldn't see her face clearly under the dazzling light of the wings. I could only see her long white hair behind her and the two [rings] on top of her head, one in gold and one in blue.

But in a trance, she lost her beautiful appearance again and turned into a horn with six broken wings. After blinking slightly, it was found that she was still a beautiful female appearance.

[......]

It was a little stunned, not because of her appearance, but because of her identity.

She is a [Honkai Beast], absolutely, without a doubt, but that is precisely why it is strange.

She was holding a pure white lily and slowly came to Xi Wang who was struggling to get up from the ruins. She calmly stretched out her hand and wanted to help him up."

As for the lily in her hand, it seemed to be a gift she prepared for Xiwang.

　　Snap——

　　She did it without a doubt. Xiwang's hand was grabbed by her and held in her palm, and the bouquet of lilies was also naturally held by Xiwang.

　　However, when she wanted to pull Xi Wang up, Xi Wang just clenched his fist and crushed the lily to pieces. A white petal fell silently, looking lonely and pitiful.

　　Then, with Xiwang as the center, the accumulated water within a hundred meters around turned into sharp blue spikes, piercing through her in front of her and it that was still far away.

　　"roll."

　　This was Xiwang's response to her.

　　[■■■——]

　　However, she didn't seem surprised by this. In fact, her blue eyes were filled with relief and happiness when she looked at Xi Wang, as if she was particularly satisfied with his reaction.

　　His mind was a little dazed, but he could only see the Horned Honkai Beast pierced by blue spikes, as if everything that just happened was just an illusion.

　　Then, the dream disappeared.