Black Magic Rose Chapter 29
byChapter 29: Method of Destruction
The silence of the Eternal Night Palace, after Wen Jingheng and Shu Yijin’s return, settled into a deeper, storm-brewing stillness. The air was thick with the lingering scent of gunpowder and the scorched odor left by energy Annihilation—the “masterpiece” they had just left behind at the Supernatural Administration Bureau Southwest Branch. Wen Jingheng stood before the black stone wall, smooth as a mirror, which reflected the flowing runes of the dome. He looked at the reflection of himself: eyes cold, aura almost fused with this lair of the Evil God.
The thrill of destruction still faintly vibrated in his blood, bringing a twisted sense of fulfillment, but this was immediately followed by a deeper emptiness. Every act of revenge, every trampling of the order that had once betrayed him, felt like burning his dwindling humanity as fuel. He was growing stronger, yet becoming less and less like the former “Wen Jingheng.”
Shu Yijin seemed quite satisfied with this change. He leaned against the dark crystal platform where Wen Jingheng usually meditated, wisps of black mist swirling around his fingertips. They were like living threads, weaving complex and ancient patterns in the air before silently dissipating. His gaze rested on Wen Jingheng’s back, his crimson eyes flashing with an elusive light, a mixture of appreciation, anticipation, and a hint of… complex emotion bordering on pity.
“How does it feel? My accomplice.” Shu Yijin’s voice broke the silence, carrying his usual languid tone. “Isn’t crushing those self-righteous orders beneath your feet much more exhilarating than being a constrained ‘hero’?”
Wen Jingheng did not turn around. The reflection in the mirror remained cold. “Does exhilaration matter? This is merely the process, not the goal.” His voice was steady, betraying no emotion, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself. “You said you wanted to tear down this hypocritical curtain. What exactly is the ‘Method of Destruction’?”
This was the question he had kept suppressed. Revenge was the appetizer, but what was the ultimate objective? Merely destroying a few strongholds and killing some enemies? That was far from enough. What Shu Yijin desired was for the entire old world to “return to the primordial void.” What immense power would that require? What kind of forbidden means?
Shu Yijin chuckled softly, the sound echoing in the vast hall with a heart-stopping magnetism. “You’ve finally asked the crucial question.” He sat up, his bare feet touching the ground, and walked step by step toward Wen Jingheng, stopping just a pace behind him. He didn’t look at the mirror directly, but through its reflection, he gazed into Wen Jingheng’s bottomless eyes.
“Destroying a world is not simply about killing all living beings or shattering a planet.” Shu Yijin’s voice deepened, carrying the solemnity of recounting an ancient secret. “That is too crude, and… too boring. True destruction is the complete collapse of the ‘rules’ that sustain its existence, allowing the ‘energy’ that constitutes its essence to return to nothingness.”
He reached out, his fingertip gently touching the Black Rose mark on Wen Jingheng’s back. A cold sensation transmitted through, accompanied by a clearer resonance of power.
“This world is built upon a fragile balance. Light and dark, order and chaos, life and death… especially,” Shu Yijin’s fingertip pressed slightly harder, “the Holy Energy, which symbolizes ultimate ‘creation’ and ‘protection,’ and the Evil God Essence, which represents ultimate ‘nothingness’ and ‘ending.’”
Wen Jingheng’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly. The power within him was precisely the fusion of these two extreme energies.
“These two energies are like the poles of a magnet, naturally antagonistic and incompatible.” Shu Yijin’s tone was like chanting an ancient spell. “But precisely because of this, when they are forcibly gathered at a single point, and in a specific way… completely detonated, the result will not be a simple explosion, but the ‘Annihilation’ of rules.”
He moved around to face Wen Jingheng, his crimson eyes locking onto his gaze, as if trying to see through to his very soul.
“Annihilation… will spread like a ripple, erasing everything it touches. Matter, energy, time, space, and even… concepts. Ultimately, it will return everything to the primordial ‘nothing.’”
Wen Jingheng’s heart plummeted. He understood Shu Yijin’s meaning. This was not just physical destruction; this was the complete erasure of all traces of existence from the root! What kind of insane, utterly thorough ultimate destruction was this?
“How… is that achieved?” His voice was dry.
The corner of Shu Yijin’s lips curved into an extremely seductive, yet infinitely sorrowful, arc. He raised his hand, his fingertip lightly brushing Wen Jingheng’s cheek. The movement was as gentle as a lover’s caress, yet it sent a chill up Wen Jingheng’s spine.
“The key lies in the ‘key.’” Shu Yijin’s red eyes reflected Wen Jingheng’s suddenly constricted pupils. “It requires a… ‘Sacrifice’ whose energy is utterly pure, and who is willing to offer themselves.”
Sacrifice?!
Wen Jingheng abruptly took a step back, his eyes instantly erupting with sharp killing intent! The black-gold Chaotic Energy boiled uncontrollably around him! His long-held suspicion, that lurking unease, was confirmed in the most brutal way! Shu Yijin had cultivated him, guided him, not to be an “accomplice,” but to be the Sacrifice for the final destruction!
“You’ve been using me all along?!” Wen Jingheng’s voice was like grinding ice shards, containing monstrous fury and… a sting of betrayal he hadn’t even realized was there.
Shu Yijin did not flinch from his killing intent; instead, he smiled, a smile filled with an almost insane frankness. “Using? No, Wen Jingheng, you are mistaken.”
He stepped forward, closing the distance, his crimson eyes burning with fierce flames. Deep within those flames lay eons of solitude and obsession.
“I am not using you. I am… inviting you.”
“Inviting me to become a Sacrifice?” Wen Jingheng sneered, his power already poised for attack.
“I am inviting you to complete this ultimate ‘masterpiece’ with me!” Shu Yijin’s voice suddenly rose, carrying a religious fervor. “What do you think destruction is? A simple massacre? No! It is art! It is a ritual! It is our ultimate mockery and farewell to this unjust world!”
He spread his arms, as if embracing the entire void of the palace.
“Just imagine! When those ants who betrayed you, feared you, and tried to eliminate you, turn into nothingness in the terror of rule Annihilation! When this world, which never truly accepted you, falls silent under our combined power! How… magnificent that will be!”
His gaze focused on Wen Jingheng again. The fervor subsided, replaced by a bottomless, almost pleading… obsession?
“Wen Jingheng, you and I are the two most unique beings in this world. We should have been opposites, yet we became entangled by fate. You carry the ultimate ‘life,’ and I represent the ultimate ‘death.’ We ourselves are the embodiment of the world’s contradictory rules.”
“Only you, by willingly offering all your Holy Essence, can trigger the final Evil God Essence within me. Only then can the two extreme energies achieve a true, perfect fusion, and subsequently… trigger the final Annihilation.”
“This is not utilization,” Shu Yijin’s voice lowered, carrying a heartbreaking fragility that was extremely rare for him. “This is… a destination. It is the most romantic, most thorough ending that we, the monsters not tolerated by the world, can choose.”
“To disappear together, to return to nothingness together. Let our existence become the final tombstone burying this hypocritical world.”
A deathly silence fell over the Eternal Night Palace. Only Wen Jingheng’s heavy breathing and the humming of his uncontrolled power could be heard.
Sacrifice. Destination. Annihilation. Tombstone.
These words struck Wen Jingheng’s heart like heavy hammers. He looked at Shu Yijin, at the undisguised madness, obsession, and the genuine desire for “ending” deep within those crimson eyes.
It turned out that from the very beginning, this was a one-way road leading to mutual destruction. Shu Yijin never intended to live alone; what he wanted was a grand, world-ending… joint suicide.
A tide of frantic despair washed over Wen Jingheng. The world he sought revenge upon, the ally he ultimately chose, the “accomplice” identity he had just grown accustomed to… everything pointed to this single, cruel end.
He did not roar, nor did he strike. After the extreme fury, there was a stillness bordering on the void.
He slowly raised his head and looked at Shu Yijin. All emotion had drained from his eyes, leaving only bottomless darkness.
“Is this your… true purpose?”
Shu Yijin looked at him, the fervor on his face gradually subsiding, replaced by a calmness that was almost gentle, yet even more chilling.
“Yes.” He answered softly, as if making an Eternal Vow. “This is my only, and my final… wish.”
“Wen Jingheng, are you willing to… walk to the end with me?”