Chapter 21.1 - Can You Hear My Heart Beating?
When the dull light of day illuminated the mountains, Madeline emerged at the edge of the mountain peak. She casually inserted Death Prison into the hard tundra ground. Even though the enormous sword was damaged all over, it still easily entered the tundra rocks without releasing any sound.
Her hand that was covered by black armor slowly loosened its grip on the handle. Death Prison’s hilt was was made from an unknown type of rough metal that hadn’t been polished at all. There were protrusions and cold pricklies everywhere. At the center of the sword hilt was a sinister and terrifying skeleton with four long and ferocious teeth extended outwards from it. If an ordinary person held it, their palms might immediately be badly mangled.
At this moment, the shaft of Death Prison was covered in blood and shockingly red. Blood slowly flowed along the sword hilt. Not even the coldness that seemed to be able to freeze time could hinder its flow in the slightest.
Drops of blood continued to flow from the gaps between her hand and the armor and drop onto the tundra floor. The droplets of blood seemed to possess their own life force as they continuously rolled about between the tundra’s gaps, with some droplets even trying to climb back up. The scattered blood tried their best to move back together, but even if they succeeded, they would soon use up their tiny bit of heat and energy, and as a result turn into faint bloody mist before scattering in the air. They didn’t even leave behind any traces on the tundra rocks.
Madeline removed her mask. Slightly narrowing her eyes, she gazed into the east where the morning light rose. At the end of the horizon, the boundless clouds of radiation seemed to have mushed together with the great earth.
Her dark blue eyes were just like how they were seven years ago, deep like a great sea. The icy winds blew through her gray hair, causing specks of mysterious stellar radiance to scatter into the distance.
Another graceful figure appeared between the mountains, one that sprinted towards the peak Madeline stood on with a great speed that far surpassed that of an antelope. Her fiery red short hair was especially eye-catching in the bleak and colorless surroundings. In the blink of an eye, Peperus had already arrived behind Madeline. After getting down on one knee, she said, “The tasks your distinguished self has ordered have been completed.”
Madeline silently stared into the distance without replying. A hint of shock appeared on Peperus’ face, because she rarely saw Madeline remove her helmet or mask. Even when she returned to the Town of Trials and sat alone in the small church, Madeline would still always hide herself behind the thick armor.
“How many were killed?” Madeline calmly asked. Her posture didn’t change in the slightest, as if she was an ice-cold statue.
Peperus’ face immediately became pale, and her body became as rigid as a zombie. One could even see her body tremble slightly, as if she was exposed to irresistable coldness.
“Your distinguished self has ordered that one needs to deal with things properly and cannot leave behind incurable wounds. How could I go out and murder…” Peperus’ voice became softer and softer, and her body began to shake more and more violently.
“How many were killed?” Madeline repeated, her tone and voice exactly the same as the first time she spoke these words, as if her voice had just been replayed.
Peperus took a deep breath and gradually collected herself. She lowered her head deeply and said, “Heavily wounded three, killed three. The ones that were heavily wounded will never be able to fight again, and I also let them clearly see my identity.”
“You did quite well.” Madeline’s voice was still calm and bright. Peperus suddenly felt as if she had frozen over, not daring to make the slightest of movements. It was to the point where even her breathing stopped under extreme fear.
Outside these mountains was a field.
A vehicle fleet formed from three off-road vehicles appeared at the foot of the mountain from the other side and then headed straight for this side with crazy speed. When there was still a short distance from this part of the mountain, there were some individuals who impatiently jumped off and ran towards the summit with a speed that was even greater than the vehicles. Their shoulders mutually supported a metal instrument case as well as a black pig iron seat. The ones that came were young and handsome men wearing the same black uniform that were well tailored. Their scarlet left sleeves released a bloody aura that was impossible to get rid of.
When they arrived at the top, the bodies of these young men all went rigid!
Unlike Peperus, this was the first time their lower ranked selves saw Madeline’s true appearance. Even though they deeply understood how terrifying Madeline was and were even more clear on the fact that slipping up in front of her was equivalent to death, the moment they saw her, every single one of them were in awe of her appearance.
This was something that hadn’t changed since seven years ago.
Some of them already began to think about the rumor that Madeline would select a male pet from her young followers. There were even a few among these men that were staring in a stupor that had inadvertently loosened their hands, and due to the others’ strength not being sufficient to support it, the instrument case and seat immediately lost their equilibrium and began to fall.
Just as this great blunder was being carried out, Madeline who was lost in her thoughts reached out her right hand. With a slight movement, the several hundred kilogram rough iron chair flew behind her and softly landed on the icy ground. Then, the four thick square legs silently sank ten or so centimeters into the rock and it was thus stabilized. The instrument case also stood vertically in front of Madeline, the rough steel base inserted into the tundra rocks like stakes.
What surprised everyone was that Madeline didn’t punish her underlings that had already completely sunk into fear and despair and insteads pointed towards the direction they came from. This was a sign for them to leave. In an instant, these youngsters didn’t show a calmness that matched their handsome appearances and frantically ran towards the base of the mountain. In the blink of an eye, three off-road vehicles turned around and roared into the distance.
Only when the smoke and dirt from that mountain cleared up did Peperus become convinced that Madeline didn’t decide to spare them so that she could end their lives during their most hopeful moment like what the three giants of the Trials Division often did. She was similarly shocked. In the history of the Trials Division, this was a rare act of mercy, and it was even more strange to see it from Madeline. As long as this self-proclaimed ‘dark saint’, who made her predecessor go missing and forced the other two giants to back off, wished it, she could make someone suffer endless suffering for days on end. In addition, they wouldn’t be allowed to die, nor would they be allowed to go mad. They would be forced to accept punishment under their minds’ most sober state. Peperus had seen Madeline use unimaginable abilities to tear apart the will of a prisoner before piecing it back together again. She didn’t dare imagine the amount of pain and suffering that prisoner experienced. This scene was currently replaying in her mind.
This was precisely where Madeline’s intimidation came from. When one landed in her hands, death was simply a type of mercy and extravagant hope.