Chapter 132: Light and Dark (Twenty-Nine)
“Ah, but the game ended too quickly, it’s boring! So, I’ve decided to give you two more chances~”
Duke Lex gritted his teeth and lifted his head.
The young woman was still laughing, her eyes crescent-shaped like a pretty moon. She held up two fingers in front of him, cheerfully urging, “You can keep running now, hurry, hurry!”
What a lunatic…
The intense pain made Duke Lex’s vision blur. He clenched his jaw, feeling like he was about to crumble. His head was growing numb. Despite this, a sliver of hope lingered in his heart as he prayed for the young woman to let him live: “I… I need medicine, uh… to stop the bleeding…”
“No.”
“Help me…”
“No. Way.”
The girl’s smile slowly faded.
“You can only win the game.”
After saying that, her smile returned: “Run, run~ I’m going to start counting now!”
She closed her eyes again.
“One! Two! Three…”
The girl’s unique, crisp voice counting felt like a countdown to d*ath in Duke Lex’s ears.
His hands and feet were icy.
He gritted his teeth and mustered all his strength to stand in front of the blind-folded young woman. bl**d flowed from his side down to his thigh, the shirt beneath his armor clinging tightly to him, but he hardly noticed, stealthily reaching for the hilt of his sword with his remaining left arm.
“Whew—, whew—”
His eyes were red, breathing labored.
“Eighteen, nineteen…”
The girl kept counting, seemingly oblivious to his small movements.
Or maybe she just didn’t care.
Seconds later, Duke Lex moved his hand away from the sword hilt.
His chest heaved a few times, and then, without hesitation, he turned and limped out of the ruins, darting into the alley he had come from.
Duke Lex’s consciousness was hazy, and his vision was becoming increasingly blurred. He navigated the narrow streets, face twisted in pain, but never slowed his pace.
The excruciating pain had gradually turned to numbness; nearly half of his body lost feeling. The tip of his tongue was bleeding, leaving a salty taste in his mouth, and waves of suffocation in his chest were driving him mad. His emotions teetered on the edge of collapse, with only the last thread of reason keeping him functional.
He knew he could not stop, no matter how painful it was, he could not lose consciousness.
Above all, he had to survive.
Whether it was failure or suffering, he had experienced them all. He could k*ll one by one those who brought him humiliation, no matter how powerful they were.
As long as he lived, everything that belonged to him would eventually be reclaimed.
But once dead, that would be it—nothing left.
Duke Lex did not want to d*e.
He wanted to give his all, to survive this dreadful child’s game.
But…
Where was he supposed to run?
Gradually, he could no longer run.
He was really getting old.
“Ha—, ha—”
Duke Lex stopped, leaning against the crumbling wall of the alley, watching the road ahead. A wild cat jumped down from a nearby rooftop and dashed away.
How he wished he could be like that wild cat.
But his legs had turned to jelly; his body slid down the wall and he sat shivering on the cold ground, trying to catch his breath. Then he began to remove his armor—something that seemed simple was terribly difficult with only one hand left.
It took tremendous effort to take off the chestplate, tossing it aside. Looking down at his bl**d-soaked shirt, he gritted his teeth, lifted the hem, and with his mouth and his left hand, he ripped a large piece off, wrapping it haphazardly around the gaping wound where his arm used to be.
During this process, cold sweat poured down his face, and his head felt heavier by the second.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, he heard the sound of wind above him.
She’s already here…
So fast.
Duke Lex slowly lifted his head. Then, with a ‘thud,’ the girl, smelling of lilacs, landed in front of him.
“Hey…”
She frowned, looking rather unhappy.
“Are you… just half-heartedly dealing with me?”
“No…” Duke Lex tried to muster a weak smile, “You said I still have two more chances… cough cough…”
Sometimes, when a person breaks through the threshold of fear, they become oddly calm. Duke Lex felt he was in such a state now.
“I surrender this round… cough, I don’t have time to deal with the bl**d… No! Don’t act yet… I’m getting old; with the current… situation… I can’t run in armor… I need to handle this before I can play with you properly, right… Miss Peilo… cough cough…”
Hearing this, the girl tilted her head in thought.
“…Alright then.”
She lowered her raised hand and flashed him a sweet smile.
“Then hurry up!”
“Cough cough, okay.”
Duke Lex ripped off another piece of cloth, wrapping it tightly around his severed arm, tying a knot with his mouth and hand until he finally stopped the bleeding, at least for now. He leaned against the wall, resting for a moment. When he sensed the girl’s impatience, he began taking off the waist and leg armor.
“Why…”
As he tossed the pieces of armor to the ground, Duke Lex couldn’t help but ask.
“Miss Peilo… I’ve always respected you, and I respected your father too… Why are you doing this to me…”
The girl seemed caught off guard by his question and was momentarily dazed. But soon, she burst into laughter.
“Then why did you treat Victoria that way?”
“……”
Duke Lex’s hand froze.
The girl continued, “You really scared me… I was out for just a little while, and when I returned to the city, everything was in chaos. Victoria was lying in bed, and she’s not waking up… You almost made me lose her, I hate this feeling.”
“…Is that all?”
“Why not?”
Ah, d*mn it.
Duke Lex understood; she was here for revenge on behalf of Elizabeth.
“Heh…”
In that case, there was nothing more to say.
Just run…
Hope to survive.
He leaned against the wall and managed to stand up, stretching his legs a bit, adjusting his breathing, and looked at the young woman. “You can start counting now.”
“Hmm.” She nodded, then closed her eyes, “You need to play with me seriously.”
Duke Lex didn’t respond, turning to run.
He dashed out of the alley, turning north along the main street for some distance before glancing back at the southern city wall, mentally estimating his location and gradually slowing his pace.
The little girl must have excellent hearing.
She could figure out roughly which direction he went and track his position from there.
So he intentionally went north this time, slowing down and controlling his breathing, tossing the bloody rag ahead, then turning into another narrow alley, heading in the opposite direction.
Be as quiet as possible.
He wanted to take another gamble.
Betting that the girl wouldn’t expect him to return to the street they first met, that horrible street filled with white light and ash.
That street wasn’t too far from here.
Duke Lex decided to go back and hide there.
Even though he was extremely anxious, he maintained a slow pace, trying not to make a sound—clearly, it was effective; two minutes had passed, and the girl still hadn’t appeared in front of him.
Duke Lex felt a little at ease as he moved through narrow alleyways, stepping over countless broken beams and rubble, zig-zagging in the most secluded places possible to avoid detection.
The girl hadn’t shown up.
Before long, that street was in sight.
Of course, Duke Lex wouldn’t foolishly walk right onto the main street; he chose to hide under an overhang, shuffling along the wall in the shadows—just ahead was a house.
The house was dark inside.
But the windows looked old, likely easy to smash.
Stay relaxed, don’t get caught…
As he crept along the wall, his eyes darted around, especially up at the overcast sky. He feared the girl might suddenly appear in his line of sight, making him even more cautious.
The ashes were no longer drifting in the street; at some point, even the light smoke from the sky had vanished.
…That monster must be completely dead, right?
Thinking this, Duke Lex instinctively looked back at where he’d encountered the girl—he abruptly froze.
The monster was long gone.
But there stood a little girl he had never seen before.
