They soared northward like free feathered beasts.

……

……

When they reached the ice field, the first thing they heard was hoarse singing.

The singing voice was extremely hoarse and unpleasant, but the singer seemed not to notice it, and from time to time he used the Originium to strike out beautiful melodies.

The ice field was as hot as a furnace, and the ice surface seemed to be melting.

Beside the fire, the man cast his gaze again.

There was no more violence in those eyes; they were exceptionally clear, and as if they were crazy, they were crying and laughing at the same time.

Everyone seemed to be under a spell and dared not take a single step forward.

The devil also gradually stopped singing and stopped crying and laughing.

“It’s all here.” He whispered, “It’s good that it’s here.”

“I want to say something. Although I can transmit my voice over a thousand miles, I think that would be too disrespectful.” He walked towards the girls step by step, looking at their faces.

Those faces no longer have the youthfulness they had when we first met. They must have been used to the ups and downs of life, but they couldn’t help but feel nervous at this moment.

“Don’t be so nervous, or do you think I’m scary?”

Zhuang Ning’s face was exceptionally gentle. This gentleness was not a disguise, but the relief after being freed from heavy shackles.

“This is probably the last time I will interact with you, but I am still very happy because you are all here.”

He smiled slightly, just like Zhuang Ning when the girls first met him, “I originally thought there would be a few people… Haha, after all, you are not revolving around me.”

He took out the champagne in his hand, and with a clang, the wine gushed out, and the wine glasses floated in the air. He skillfully poured champagne into each glass.

The wine glass floated into the girl’s hands. They saw the master of Rhodes Island, the Demon King of the world, raised his hand and said softly:

“Celebrate.”

“From today on, you are free.”

“From today on, you will really have your own life.”

Chapter 14 Goodbye, Goodbye

“From today on, you are free.”

The words were really soft, as soft as a whisper, and penetrated into the ears like the wind.

The man who was speaking drank the wine in one gulp, burped with satisfaction, and laughed.

Zhuang Ning was very happy. He let his emotions flow out. Grudges, past, sorrow… everything was put aside. The joy that he had not even realized at first was like a flame that fell into the forest. It burned more and more fiercely, as if it would burn him to ashes.

So he thinks everyone should be as happy as him.

However, contrary to expectations, there was dead silence.

After he happily said what he thought was a blessing, no one smiled. Zhuang Ning frowned. The devil had a spell that could absorb emotions, and no one was qualified to hide their feelings in front of him.

“Smile.” He looked at the faces, “Why not smile? I said, I’m leaving, why not be happy?”

He threw away the wine glass, as if he had suddenly lost his character: “You guys are still the same as before, never knowing how to cater to me… Haha, even if it’s just pretend.”

The devil turned his eyes and said softly: “Come on, I have prepared some lamb, let’s eat together, it will be our farewell meal.”

The flames burned brightly, the oil dripped down, and the fragrance spread everywhere.

But no one cared about this at the moment. They only saw the devil skillfully cutting the meat with a knife.

Next to the meat was a mountain of fine wine, stored in the basement of the Gallic manor.

Fine wine goes with good meat, and there is also the magnificent view of the ice field. Perhaps there should be a poet to record all of this and pass it down through the ages.

But in reality, no one spoke, and the only sounds were the flames and the strong wind.

After having enough food and drink, it was Zhuang Ning who finally broke the silence. The devil fell to the ground in an ungraceful manner and closed his eyes:

“It’s so long.”

“In fact, if you think about it, maybe not that much time has passed. During this period, my feet have never been able to touch the ground. I am like a ghost, floating on the earth.”

“At that time, I wondered who I was. I felt lost, so I pretended to be a good person and treated myself with the standards of a saint.”

“So I took over Rhodes Island. Many people told me that I was a demon. When people asked me if I killed people without blinking an eye, I would ask if my eyes were still dry… At that time, I really didn’t believe it.”

“I’m scared. I’m such a coward. I feel terrified when I hear people attacking me with bad words. In order to change other people’s opinions, I can only tell myself to act like a hero that should only exist in fairy tales.”

“I told myself that I should be open-minded, tolerant and kind. I should do things for others and others for me. I think I should make more friends. I told myself that I must become stronger because all regrets come from being unable to do anything about myself.”

They finally seemed to be touched. Chen Huijie bit her lips, Margaret was thoughtful, Vina, who was specially released from the monastery, had vibrating eyes, and Theresa’s eyes flashed with sadness.

“But I know that this is all fake, it’s a ridiculous illusion. I locked myself in a cage! I told that prisoner-like self that I am very powerful. I need to announce to the earth and the whole world that I am not a bad person!”

“But this is ridiculous, because I don’t believe it myself. In the end, I don’t even know why I’m working hard…”

“How pathetic.” He blinked his lips, still with a look of disgust, but he recited a poem: “Perhaps because they don’t know the reason for dreams, the displaced people chase after illusions.”

“I must be chasing that phantom dream.”

There comes another gust of cold wind, the spring is chilly, and some inexplicable flowers are blooming.

“I pretended to be a saint, so I enjoyed love and alienation. People who admired me would not recognize my weakness, and no one would think that I would be hurt. No one would know that I actually longed for some very ordinary things, instead of staying in Rhodes Island like a machine.”

“When I realize that dreams are fake and illusory, what can I do? Should I wail and pity myself? Should I be angry, angry at the world’s contempt for me? Should I be angry and ashamed because of my own stupidity and ridiculousness?!”

“No, it shouldn’t be, because it’s all fake. Terra is not my home. You… Heh, no matter what I showed you or what you told me, it’s all… fake.”

He spoke each word with pause, “In my heart, perhaps…there has never been any truth.”

After one sentence, finally, that tiny bit of wrongness was heard.

I don’t know who shouted because it was so soft and there was more than one person. Zhuang Ning didn’t have the mood to stand up and was too lazy to respond.

If he raised his head, he would probably only see those people who clenched their hands and trembled all over, right?

But he was too lazy to even look up, too lazy to look at those people.

“So I decided to release the evil spirit in my heart. That evil spirit has existed for a long time. It kept muttering Superman theory and trolley problem in my ears, sneering at the prisoners again and again, and roaring at me again and again. It said, what can you do with this?! Why would a lion disguise itself as a lamb?!”

“He said that prisoners are just as ridiculous as those women. Those women are taking advantage of you, but they themselves don’t realize it. Prisoners are even more ridiculous. They always think that hard work will be rewarded, but the result is… Ha, no one understands.”

“But I shouldn’t be like this! If I roar, no one will gather around me, because I am an evil spirit!”

“Only evil spirits can feel at ease watching people being used for their own purposes. As long as saints are alive, thieves will always be around. Saints are thieves, and thieves are saints. It’s just that saints are thieves, and what they want to steal is the whole world!”

He jumped up, his back straight standing at the end of the world, his black eyes bursting with light, he grinned, looking majestic, as if the sword in his hand should be the whole world!

“A saint must be unkind, and treat all things as straw dogs. In his eyes, there is no distinction between good and evil. Only the truth called law should be grasped in his hands!”

He just stood there in the snowy field, and no one dared to look at him like this. That was the evil spirit named Zhuang Ning. He took his own heart as the hearts of thousands of people, sneered at the past, and denied everything in the past with absolute arrogance.

This is indeed a doctor who shocked everyone and frightened the girls.

There shouldn’t be anyone around him. When he swings the sword in his hand, the entire army will probably bleed!

“But isn’t that too tiring?”

Sure enough, there was a voice. Precious stood up and looked at him calmly: “You won’t be happy if you do that…”

She was not afraid of those burning golden eyes at all. She gently reached out her hand and stroked Zhuang Ning’s face.

The light in Zhuang Ning’s eyes dimmed a little bit, and he sat down again, no longer magnanimous or cold.

He seemed to have really killed the prisoner-like self, and also killed the evil spirit that was free and could do whatever it wanted.

In other words, they are united into one, so there is this… sinner.

“I guess you are also curious about why I called you here?”

The sinner sighed, “There are three purposes.”

“First, I should probably apologize. I controlled you like crazy. In your eyes, I must be no different from a demon.”

“No…” He grinned, not feeling sorry for the many sins he had committed, but rather happy. “Rather, I am the devil.”

There was silence.

What else could the person in front of him be but a demon? The two trials had directly killed a quarter of the people, and the rest had Originium. With a single thought from him, perhaps all the people would be destroyed.

“Secondly,” Zhuang Ning spoke again, “I am telling you that you are free. Since there is a devil like me, no one dares to be worse than me.”

“When you return, tell your people and convey my will. I will make a covenant with you. Since I am the Demon King, I will not tolerate sin. The Third Judgment… may come at any time.”

“With what I have done, I can at least keep Terra quiet for a dozen years. What happens after that is up to you.”

He clapped his hands, “Are you relieved? The sword hanging over your head has dissipated!”

This is also the truth. This person was extremely kind at this time and every word he said was sincere.

So he really came to celebrate, and he opened the champagne sincerely. He also deliberately activated the Demon King’s ability of emotional transmission so that the people around him could feel the Demon King’s joy together!

“As for the third purpose.” Zhuang Ning lowered his eyes, “This is a warning.”

“Humanity is finished, but you are still here.”

“After I’m gone, I may occasionally be interested in observing this land.”

“Most of the time, I will just be an observer and won’t interfere. You won’t notice my gaze. It’s even possible that when I’m watching you, you’ve already died of old age or been overthrown by your subordinates…”

“But I want you to remember, your children and grandchildren to remember, and your descendants to remember – I am watching you.”

He paused, his expression still so calm, his voice so light, “I am still the tyrant who can reshape Terra in a moment’s thought.”

The wind blew the white petals on the ice field away, and they fell into his hand. The weak hand held them, crushed them into powder, and finally floated away into the sky.

He did not release the resonance of the Originium in his body again, but just stated a fact. However, in the eyes of those girls, he had never been more majestic than at this moment!

This is why the observers chose him.

Every observer must have the determination to destroy civilization, but Zhuang Ning… he no longer has any feelings for his fellow humans, let alone these sub-humans who have been shaped into the same body shape by Originium.

“That’s all I have to say.” The Demon King put his hands in his pockets and looked at the people not far away. “It’s time to go.”

He paused, as if he was reminiscing about something, or as if he was mocking something.

“Goodbye.” He was silent for a moment, then repeated, “Goodbye.”