Devil's Eye Reborn - Shadow Angel Awakens - Chapter 46

Chapter 44：The little mind of Yan’er
 

We still had half an hour before reaching our destination. Fortunately, Zicheng had overcome the fear of the fourth level of Hell, “Copper Drinking,” and his mental strength had improved once again.

“Phew, I can finally drink boiling copper without a ripple in my heart,” Zicheng said, his expression calm as he completed his training.

“How do you feel?” I asked with a smile.

“Well, returning to the real world, it seems there’s nothing left that can scare me. But in a way, it makes me feel a bit terrifying, unlike a normal person,” Zicheng said, scratching his head and smiling sheepishly.

“Hey, it’s only the fourth level. Hell gets more terrifying with each level,” I said mischievously. “So, we still have half an hour before we get off. Do you want to continue training and challenge the fifth level?”

Zicheng frowned and asked, “What’s the fifth level of Hell?”

“In the fifth level, ‘Scissors,’ there’s nothing particularly special. You’ll just be cut to pieces by scissors,” I said with a smile.

“Scissors… will it hurt a lot?” Zicheng’s frown deepened.

“Try it, and you’ll find out,” I said, grinning even wider.

After a moment of contemplation, Zicheng finally nodded and said, “Let’s do it!”

“I knew you wouldn’t give up,” I said, patting Zicheng’s mute acupoint to prevent him from screaming later.

I closed my left eye and concentrated, gathering demonic energy into the “Eye of Illusions.” After a moment, the Devil eye began to tremble violently.

I opened my left eye, letting the sinister “Eye of Illusions” gaze at Zicheng.

A wave of demonic energy swept from my eye into Zicheng’s mind. His eyes widened, and his pupils suddenly contracted, absorbing all the demonic energy.

The world in Zicheng’s eyes transformed. The once bright and clean carriage turned into a blood-stained land, surrounded by red skulls.

Having experienced the first four levels of Hell, Zicheng was familiar with this place and remained calm.

“Are you ready?” I asked. Zicheng nodded with wide eyes.

With a snap of my fingers, a heavy tremor began to emanate from the ground.

Suddenly, hundreds of ghouls emerged from the piles of skulls.

The ghouls had no ears or noses, only a single giant eye wider than their mouths.

The ghouls stared vacantly at Zicheng for a moment before slowly crawling out of the skull pile.

As they approached the immobilized Zicheng, the ghouls opened their mouths and extended their tongues.

At first, Zicheng looked puzzled, but when he saw that the tongues were all rusty scissors, his face turned deathly pale.

The ghouls swarmed him, using their “tongues” to cut Zicheng’s flesh piece by piece.

Zicheng opened his mouth to scream but couldn’t, his eyes filled with endless agony.

“I hope you won’t develop a fear of scissors after this,” I said cheerfully, watching as Zicheng was gradually engulfed by the ghouls, with only occasional splatters of blood or flesh flying out from the pile.

I exhaled slowly, closing the “Eye of Illusions.”

Returning my thoughts to the real world, I noticed Yan’er was awake, staring blankly at the scenery with her hand supporting her chin.

Since learning about Daji’s presence in Japan in Florence, Yan’er had been distracted and lost in thought.

No matter how I tried to cheer her up, she only forced a smile.

“Yan’er… Yan’er… Yan’er!” I called her name softly several times before she heard me.

“What’s the matter, big brother?” Yan’er asked, forcing a smile.

“I was thinking of taking a walk up front. Will you accompany me?” I stood up and stretched.

I expected Yan’er to agree, but to my surprise, she shook her head. “No, big brother, you go ahead.”

“Why? Aren’t you tired from sitting for so long?” I asked, frowning.

Yan’er gave a bitter smile. “I’m fine.”

Feigning anger, I said sternly, “You must come with me!” With that, I grabbed her hand and led her out of the carriage.

Yan’er, never having seen me angry, was too frightened to speak and quietly let me lead her by the hand.

I kept my face stern and silently led her to a less crowded carriage.

Hearing that the passengers in the carriage were all asleep, I quickly opened the overhead ventilation window, hugged Yan’er, and leaped onto the roof of the train like a wisp of smoke.

Atop the train, the wind was relentless, blowing Yan’er’s long hair into a wild dance.

From our vantage point, we had a panoramic view of the countryside, but neither of us was in the mood to enjoy the scenery.

“Yan’er, come here,” I beckoned her to sit opposite me.

“Big brother, why did we come up here?” Yan’er asked timidly, still scared by my earlier behavior.

“Don’t be afraid. I was just pretending to be angry to trick you up here,” I said with a smile, suddenly grasping her hands. “Yan’er, I know you’re worried about your mother, but I promise you, I will bring her back.”

Yan’er lowered her head and said flatly, “Thank you, big brother.”

“What’s the matter? Don’t you believe me?” I asked, puzzled.

“No,” Yan’er gently pulled her hands back.

“Your brother is the Hell Emperor. What I promise, I will deliver,” I said, frowning.

Yan’er hesitated, then turned away, sobbing quietly.

Just as I was about to continue, I felt a cool sensation on my cheek.

I touched my face and found droplets of water—Yan’er’s tears carried by the wind.

When I looked at Yan’er again, she was covering her face, crying.

“Yan’er… don’t cry. I promise I’ll do what I said,” I comforted her softly.

For some reason, hearing Yan’er’s sobs sent a pang of pain through my heart.

Suddenly, Yan’er lifted her tear-streaked face, her eyes red, and cried, “You’re lying! You promised to rescue my mother when we were in Italy, but in the end, you did nothing!”

With that, she collapsed into my arms, pounding on my chest and crying her heart out.

I was at a loss for words.

Though it wasn’t my fault that we couldn’t find Daji in Italy, I indeed failed to keep my promise to rescue her from the Satanic Cult.

I understood Yan’er’s feelings, having suppressed them until now. The release must have been overwhelming, so I let her cry and vent her frustrations.

“The mighty Hell Emperor, breaking his word. You call yourself Satan, Lucifer. My mother is now in Samael’s hands, and you can’t even defeat him. How will you rescue her?” Yan’er clutched my collar, tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly, I grabbed Yan’er’s hand and bit down on her index finger, breaking the skin.

“Ouch! That hurts! What are you doing, big brother?” Yan’er exclaimed, pulling her hand back to see a small wound bleeding.

I swallowed the blood, wiped my mouth, and smiled. “Yan’er, I have taken your blood. Let’s make a blood pact.”

“A blood pact? Why?” Yan’er asked, astonished, momentarily forgetting her tears.

“One week. If I can’t rescue your mother within a week, I will die from losing control of my demonic energy,” I said firmly, my eyes sincere.

“Are you crazy, big brother? I don’t want any blood pact,” Yan’er said urgently.

I gazed at her. “No, I failed you before. This time, I won’t deceive you. Say ‘I agree’ quickly.”

“No, I don’t agree! I know it’s not your fault. Those people hid my mother in Japan. It’s not your doing. I don’t want any blood pact!” Yan’er shouted.

“But you’re angry at me,” I said.

“No… I’m not really mad at you,” Yan’er said, her voice softening.

I looked at her earnestly. “Yan’er, are you truly not angry with me?”

“I was never angry. I was just in a bad mood and lashed out. I know you did your best to save my mother,” Yan’er said quietly, lowering her head.

Hearing the lack of anger in her words, I felt a weight lifted off my heart.

I patted her head gently. “Do you feel better after crying it out?”

“Yes, much better,” Yan’er said, her usual smile finally returning.

I exaggerated a sigh of relief. “Phew! You know, you’ve been so gloomy these past two days, making me worry.”

“Haha, big brother seems very concerned about Yan’er. Could it be that you’re developing feelings for me?” Yan’er teased with a sly smile, seemingly forgetting about Daji for the moment.

I smiled without saying anything.

Though I wasn’t sure if I had special feelings for Yan’er, I certainly didn’t dislike her.

“Yan’er, even if I might not be able to defeat Samael, remember, we have Rahab with us! His strength is only slightly inferior to Samael’s, and with the ‘Spirit Flute’ in hand, we have a fighting chance,” I said, gently shifting the topic.

“Right, if you can rescue my mother, with her strength, we could definitely stand against the Satanic Cult,” Yan’er said, then pouted. “But you made me cry earlier, so you can’t get away with that.”

“Alright, I promise to do two things for you, as long as they’re within my power,” I said with a smile.

“Really? You’re the great Satan, and your word is unbreakable,” Yan’er said, suddenly beaming with joy.