Chapter 49 - Protagonist: Don’t touch him.

Chapter 49.1 – Protagonist: Don’t touch him.

The audience was shocked when a group of people knelt down to show respect1to Du Ze. Some silly, cute person was unable to maintain his usual glamorous, lofty image. Du Ze asked: “Aren’t you talking to the wrong person?”

“I would never mistake you for anyone else.” Eric looked up at Du Ze. His blue eyes clearly reflected the shadow of Du Ze. “Evil is raging in the Chaos Continent and God sent his messenger who has hair and eyes black as the night. He will arrive in the Gnome Ruins. Only when God’s messenger returns can the Chaos Continent be saved – that was the oracle of Bright, the god of Light.”

Du Ze immediately felt that Light God’s con man2 skill level is maxed, not to mention that the god’s oracle can use sensational language to great dramatic effect!3

“I found you at the Gnome Ruins but I was separated from you for a variety of reasons. The god of light will never abandon his followers, so I finally found you again.” Eric placed his right hand on his chest, over his heart, and the knights of the Temple of Light behind him copied the movement. “We finally found Your Excellency, God’s Messenger. Your Excellency, God’s Messenger, you will show us the way.”

Du Ze very decisively stated: “You’ve made a mistake, I am not that person.”

What’s this? Trying to promote this Moe cannon fodder character into the miniBOSS?! Who would agree to that?4

“Your Excellency, you are God’s Messenger!” When he heard Du Ze flatly refuse his assertion, Eric looked anxious. He stretched out his hand and seemed to want to grab Du Ze’s clothing but, suddenly, he drew back his hand. A cold, bright light flashed and, despite his speed, something made a hole in the Son of God’s hand.

A weapon, stained with the blood of the Son of God, was stuck point-first on the wall. It was the weapon competition’s number 99 sword. Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the silver-haired elf who had thrown the sword. The elf’s eyes were even colder than the light of the sword.

“Don’t touch him!”

Eric held his bleeding hand and stared at Xiu – The elf is clearly a stranger but that person gave him a familiar, unforgettable feeling, like anger erupting when one touched that which should not be touched.5 It was exactly like that time in the Gnome Ruins when the flaxen-haired gnome expressed intense hostility.

He’s not someone you can touch.

All of a sudden, the silver-haired elf summoned a white unicorn. Xiu mounted the unicorn then immediately went to Du Ze and lifted the black-haired youth onto the horse’s back. The unicorn trembled but finally managed to maintain its posture and did not change its form. Xiu held on tightly to Du Ze, coldly glanced at Ulrich and Eric, then urged the unicorn to jump up, ready to leave this place.

“God’s Messenger!” Eric shouted.

The unicorn jumped up and, in the time it takes to take one breath, it reached the ceiling. The spiral horn on its forehead lit up and tore open the ceiling as easily as though it was paper. The bright sunlight shone down as chaos reigned below them. Everyone fled in a panic to avoid the falling rubble. Seeing this, Eric couldn’t chase after them right away. He chanted a light magic spell to shield the people from harm.

The ceiling was broken but the unicorn could not go further because a shield of light covered the entire place, stopping Xiu from leaving with Du Ze. Xiu followed the magic to its source with his eyes and saw Vivian who was in the VIP area.

Saint Vivian held a slender magic staff and the priests of the Temple of Light surrounded her, helping to keep the magic wall up. When she saw Xiu looking at her, Vivian lifted her beautiful chin and loudly said: “Please give His Excellency, God’s Messenger back to us.”

Du Ze suddenly felt that his back was empty. Xiu had jumped off the unicorn and was standing in a gap in the ceiling. After its master left, the unicorn could not help but turn into a nightmare and tremble. Du Ze did not pay attention to this. His mouth fell open when he saw Xiu take out Qian Bian, change it into a bow and mercilessly aim his arrow at Vivian.

WTF! Moe Lord, that is your favorite younger sister!!!

“Whoosh-”

“Thunk-”

The arrow was cut down by Eric’s sword. Xiu frowned. The light of the contract flared again and the three-headed hell-hound Cerberus jumped down from the sky. Its three heads were looking in three different directions and each was casting a spell.

“Cerberus?!”

Someone screamed out the name of the three-headed hell-hound. Because the entire place was shielded, no one could leave so the people below stared at the legendary Cerberus, shocked: First it was a unicorn, then it became a nightmare, and now he summoned Cerberus. What is that elf’s background?

The Moe Lord turned into a vicious butcher.6

Du Ze looked below him at the three-headed Cerberus then at the nightmare he was riding. Lastly, he looked up, trying to catch a glimpse of the fluffy chick resting on top of his head.

There is always a cute pet here, of unknown significance.

Eric avoided the red flame that the Cerberus spit out. Before he could stabilize his footing, he was forced to roll away from Xiu’s light arrows. As he rolled, Eric took a strange flute from his pocket. He stood up, put the flute on his mouth, and blew on it.

“——”

Some people looked blankly at Eric wondering why they did not hear any sound. But the flute was not meant for people to hear. It was to summon … a dragon.

Xiu suddenly glared up at the sky and the nightmare uneasily pawed at the ground. Above them, at a certain point in the sky, a golden light was shining and it was getting bigger and bigger as something approached. A creature hovered in the air above them. It was a golden dragon. It’s powerful-looking body was covered with golden scales and had bat-like wings.

Vivian removed the light shield. The golden dragon flapped its wings and descended. Wind fanned out from its wings and made Xiu’s silver hair fly up. Du Ze felt a pain in his scalp as the small Phoenix grabbed onto his hair to avoid being blown away. The Phoenix was freely fluttering in the wind like a balloon on a string.

Ouch! Ouch, you bas***d! Q口Q

The Cerberus was forced to jump to one side to avoid the golden dragon’s foot. The golden dragon landed and it was so huge took up 2/3rd of the space. Eric nimbly climbed up on its back and patted the golden dragon’s neck: “Let’s fight together, partner.”

“You haven’t called me for a long time, Eric.” The golden dragon opened its mouth and what it spoke was the human language.

Eric is the rarest type of knight in the entire Chaos Continent, a Dragon Rider. Ever since the dragons went into seclusion on their island, the dragons are rarely seen. As for the people who signed a contract with a dragon, the ones called dragon riders, they are even rarer than dragon sightings. Of all the eight races, the dragons are the most resilient physically. Their scales can only be penetrated by high-level magic weapons, their bodies are tough, and they can spray dragon fire. Their whole body is a weapon.

The people in the crowd gazed feverishly at the Son of God on the back of the golden dragon. Their eyes were worshipful.

Xiu looked dignified. Though the light shield had been removed, the unicorn cannot outrun the dragon. He saw Eric looking up at him and the blond, handsome son of god’s eyes seemed to be sending him a message: You can’t take God’s Messenger with you because he belongs to us.

Xiu’s hand on his bow turned white and shook.

No, absolutely, not-

“Shing.”

Xiu looked down at the sword that pierced his heart from behind. The shape of the sword was very familiar because it was made by him. Xiu knew that the person behind, sneering, was Ulrich. During the battle Xiu had been wary of the War God but just now accidentally he lost track of him because Eric attracted all his attention. Thus, Ulrich was able to successfully sneak in an attack.

Ulrich was fascinated by the sword. Looking at the bloody sword in his hands, he, exclaimed: “It is a good sword.”

Du Ze pupils shrank and he stretched out his hand, trying to pull down the silver-haired elf. But when he grabbed Xiu’s hand, the other’s weight pulled him out of the nightmare’s back.

“Divine Envoy!” Eric nervously shouted. The golden dragon caught the two people falling. In the dragon’s claw, Du Ze’s face was expressionless but his hands on Xiu’s chest were trembling. Seeing the elf’s chest wound, the people watching knew that he feared that the elf would not live.

Ulrich wiped the blood from the sword and looked over at Xiu. “Elf, let me give you your last lesson in this life: Too much recklessness is not a good thing.”

The emperor sighed and leaned back to his seat. The expression on his face was much better and on his left side, the princess looked at the dying Xiu with a gleam of delight in her eyes.

Chapter 49.2 – Protagonist: Don’t touch him.

Eric jumped down to the dragon’s claw. Du Ze was going to speak to him when a blood-stained hand covered his mouth. Xiu, leaning on Du Ze’s shoulder, said in a voice that sounded weak but determined: “Don’t talk to him.”

Your injury.

As if Xiu heard the words in Du Ze’s heart, his scarlet lips curved up slightly in the hint of a smile. He looked at Eric who was opposite him then at Ulrich above him.

“Do you think this will kill me?”

In this place where the music of light was playing, a black discordant note sounded.

Eric was shocked and, his brain blank, he instinctively rushed up to separate Du Ze from the Lich who was surrounded by a death aura.

Xiu jumped down the dragon’s claw and landed in the VIP area. Princess Kelly look at the Lich beside her. Her eyes widened and she screamed shrilly: “Stop gawking at it! Kill it quickly!”

Xiu raised his eyes. An inverted image of Princess Kelly was reflected in them – this person hasn’t changed a bit.

The Lich has already mended his heart but though the wound is no longer fatal, it has made him weak. The soul flames in his eyes were dim. He needs to feed on a soul.

The Lich looked at the princess as if he were looking at food that was not tasty but was unusually filling.

“Stop!”

Ulrich swung the sword and cut into Xiu’s body but the Lich just looked at it with indifference and began to extract Princess Kelly’s soul. Everyone was afraid to step in and stared at the Lich’s fingertips where a soul gradually appeared. If the Lich should move a finger, the fragile soul will be torn apart.

Princess Kelly felt her body getting colder and her fear of death made her start to cry. How could she die? She was the Princess of the Light Empire. How could such a noble lady die at the hands of the undead?

Vivian looked at the undead Lich who was extracting Princess Kelly’s soul. The dark death aura was exactly the same as she had seen that time. That black-robed undead that she had hunted, his name was-

“… Xiu?”

That name was the last thing that Princess Kelly ever heard.

The soulless, empty shell of the princess fell down on the ground. No one had time to stop it. The Lich swallowed the soul of Princess Kelly and his death aura became stronger and stronger until it was almost solid. Ulrich suddenly felt a strong pressure and he drew back the sword, staring at Xiu with bewilderment.

“The undead … Mage God?”

Xiu looked coldly and gloomily at Eric and Du Ze. Holding Qian Bian, he changed it into the death scythe and began to chant a magic spell. Eric was stopped by Du Ze while Ulrich retreated. Only Vivian tried to stop Xiu but the Cerberus sprang in front of her, its six eyes staring at the Saint.

An enormous black magic array formed in the air in response to Xiu’s chanting. Feeling a tickle,1 the golden dragon suddenly became irritated. The dragon raised his head high, opened his mouth, and breathed a white-gold flame at the array.

The black magic array hung in the air for a moment longer before it was scattered by the flame. The golden dragon had not had time to close its mouth when the magic array appeared again. Suddenly, a huge bone dragon emerged from a portal and pounced ferociously on the golden dragon.

“Boom-!”

Two dragons slammed into the auditorium. However, most of the audience had left when the light shield was removed. Eric grabbed Du Ze and jumped down with him when the bone dragon crashed into the golden dragon. When Eric landed, he saw the pale Lich standing opposite him, his face gloomy.

Swiftly, without the slightest hesitation, Xiu raised the death scythe and the ground began to shake. Countless undead creatures crawled out from the ground. Eric immediately used light magic. Scattered pieces of light elements started to purify the undead creatures. Eric’s hands suddenly became empty. The nightmare had jumped in, bit Du Ze’s collar and brought him to Xiu’s side.

Xiu stroked the nightmare’s neck to express appreciation. He mounted the nightmare, taking Du Ze with him. The nightmare neighed and obeyed its master’s command to run out of there.

The golden dragon was fighting the bone dragon and couldn’t stop them. Vivian was stopped by the Cerberus. Eric tried to break through the undead creature’s attack but was unable to and could only helplessly watch as Xiu left with Du Ze.

Xiu held on tightly to Du Ze. His body was exhausted by his transformation and he didn’t know when he would faint.

He will deal with the people from the Temple of Light later.

When the nightmare again jumped up to the gap in the ceiling, it was stopped once again. An incomplete light shield covered the venue but this time it was not Vivian who cast it. One after another, priests and knights appeared and surrounded Xiu and Du Ze. Their robes and armor were imprinted with a small figure: Bright, the god of light. These were the elite of the Temple of Light.

The group of elite fighters made way for an elderly man in red robes. The light clung to his body and even his most casual gestures were filled with a rich light element.

“His Holiness the Pope!”

The Pope waved to the Holy Saint and the Son of God, signaling that he knew everything.

“Evil undead, let go of God’s Messenger. He is not someone that you can touch.”

Xiu paid him no heed as he stared at the light shield. The soul flames in his eyes kept flaring and the Lich’s wrath began to kindle.

And another person was trying to steal what was his …

Du Ze heard Xiu laughing behind his back. The sound was low and deep. That laughter was not the Lich’s hoarse voice but a voice full of cruelty and power that wanted to destroy everything.

“… Die.”

The bright lightning tore the void. The destructive energy that shattered the earth and sky struck down, illuminating the faces of the people below who had turned pale with terror. Vivian covered her eyes with her hands, shielding them from the intense electric light. She squinted and saw – God’s Messenger and the one with him was not the undead Lich but … a demon?

The light shield was destroyed and the purple lightning was raging in the hall like a giant electric serpent, destroying everything.

The golden dragon threw down the bone dragon and, with the Son of God and the Holy Saint, tried to break through the wall of lightning. The pope’s eyes were wide with shock. This destructive power could not be fought directly. In fact, many of the knights and priests had already been melted like wax by the power of the lightning.

The lightning dissipated just as quickly as it had appeared. The contest hall was turned into rubble and the survivors watched with terror at the remaining purple lightning that arced around. Du Ze’s shoulder sank as Xiu fell on his back in a faint – changing his form twice has taken its toll on Xiu’s body.

The nightmare ran a few steps before it was stopped by the Pope’s magic. When the Pope looked at the devastated ranks of the elite knights, his eyes flashed with a hint of heartache – he had worked hard to build up this elite force. So when the pope’s eyes fell on Xiu, his anger was palpable.

“Don’t touch him.”

When the Pope was about to attack, he heard Du Ze’s flat voice speak. Seeing the Pope looking at him, the black-haired youth spoke again: “This is God’s Messenger’s command.”

The Divine Oracle of the God of Light emphasized that God’s Messenger should be brought back to the Temple of Light and that they must give the God’s Messenger whatever he wants.

“Yes, we will obey God’s Messenger’s orders.” The Pope emphasized the words “God’s Messenger.”

“I am God’s Messenger.” With a distinct lack of moral integrity, Du Ze immediately equipped the title. He said to the Pope: “Let us leave.”

“God’s Messenger, that is the only command we must refuse. The god of light ordered us to bring you to the Temple of Light.”

Du Ze thought about this for a while. The situation right now did not allow him to refuse this invitation. The people from the Temple of Light seemed to respect this God’s Messenger so as long as he orders them to leave Xiu alone, the Temple of Light will not attack him. When Xiu wakes up, they will be able to escape.

When Du Ze nodded his agreement, the Pope quickly lifted the magic from the nightmare. He smiled kindly at Du Ze. So long as they go to the Temple of Light, he will be able to find a chance to take the demon away from the God’s Messenger’s side.

“… We finally found him.”

A voice rang in the air and the people of the Temple of Light tried to find its source. Demons started falling from the sky. They all wore black uniforms with a thunder badge. Du Ze felt the weight on his back lighten. He hurriedly turned around and saw that Xiu was being held up by a demon wearing a monocle. The demon looked carefully at the comatose Xiu. Her expression was full of delighted surprise.

“What are you doing here, demon?”

The remnants of the elite knights of the Temple of Light surrounded the Pope who confronted the demons. The monocle-wearing demon looked like she was the leader of the demons. She looked down at the Temple Knights and said: “Oh, don’t mind us.”

Rachel smiled.

“We are just here to greet our King.”