parentshiftbook Chapter 348- An Illusion
Chapter 348- An Illusion
"...You seemed hesitant," Esme came forward, her golden eyes glinting as she looked toward Jenny, whose face was stern and who sat with hollow eyes on the ground.
Jenny had hit the ground and lost her mind amidst the illusion that was tormenting her mentally beyond limits, each second repeating the same scenario in her mind, reaching the brink of breaking away.
"Yes," Ryuk replied, understanding what Esme meant.
After the system's warning, he had thrown Jenny to the ground, blood spilling from her mouth.
But soon enough, she was placed under Esme's illusion, making him momentarily guess from Jenny's expression that she was currently experiencing an illusion presenting her things that needed to be done.
"M-meiyue?!" Jenny's mother shook her daughter by the shoulder, trying to pull her out of the mental state in which tears streamed down relentlessly, with blood trickling from her mouth from the earlier collision with the ground.
The marks of fingers were evident on her neck, making her heart ache as her mother clenched her fist and hugged her daughter, who seemed conscious and yet not.
'Why did you stop me?'
Ryuk set aside the thought and focused on the system, considering he definitely wasn't going to kill Jenny so easily.
Yet, he hesitated, as he wasn't sensing any changes in her; there were no regrets in her eyes, which would only delay his progress if he thought of teaching her regrets for her action.
In the end, it wasn't evident, but communicating with this woman was draining even his brain cells.
He tightened his grip with the intent to kill her, but hesitation lingered, which the system also sensed and informed him.
[Host, considering your fate as a villain, if you kill her in the same way you did in the last life before regression, just as heaven is trying to restore itself by creating more obstacles in your way—similar to how the increased villain points caused the stimulus and awakening of more sons of heaven and heroines—killing Jenny presently, given her title as a heroine, would definitely provoke the wrath of heaven, and an illogical event might trigger.]
'Like what?'
Ryuk, upon hearing the system's information, glanced toward Regina, who had stopped the matriarch of the Phoenix order before noticing the clear rage in the woman's eyes, making him doubt for a moment that if anyone here could go against him, it would be Yu Shao Yan.
Triggering an illogical event caused confusion about the situation even further.
[It is detected that the matriarch of the Phoenix order will most likely be under the effect of the heroine's halo and her anger, might lead to a wrong decision, using a forbidden technique to destroy her soul. Though it would not harm the host initially due to Shunya, the scattered soul energy could be considered a spark; if touched a particular individual present inside the main peak, the whole Jade Dominion—or at least half of it—could turn into a soul-devouring bomb.]
'....' Ryuk, hearing the system's information, understood it was referring to the Empress of Jade Dominion, who was likely resting inside the main peak, probably in some room inside the palace.
Just a touch and their very foundation of existence would vanish.
But again, the issue was that, unlike his passive ability which made him immune and didn't require anything in exchange, the active one required so much of his physical endurance.
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With that thought, he slowly started to lift his hand, withdrawing Shunya from his whole body and trying to concentrate on his fingertip as he felt everything: the energy around him, internal energy, mana, and his own ether leaking through his body, getting nullified just an inch away from his fingertip.
Considering how he had brought every bit of his nullifying ability to his fingertips, it was clearly working even an inch away.
Unlike when it was expanded throughout his skin, which nullified anything that touched it, presently it was only working in a small area, and due to concentration, even an inch away.
But it appeared this much was even too much for him.
ALERT!
[Host, your heartbeat is dropping; you are advised to stop.]
Suddenly, with an alert or bright window, one after another started to pop around him, warning that his body seemed to be reaching exhaustion much faster.
Through sheer will, he managed to stand, but given his active ability, he was not as strong as he had anticipated.
Though he could nullify things at his touch, they needed to be energy itself, and projecting his own energy just a few inches away was far from even thinking about nullifying someone's life force.
He felt as though he might fall any moment, though his feet were firmly gripping the ground beneath him.
By lifting his hand and concentrating his fingers, he could feel the blackness closing in on his vision, and consciousness appeared to be fading any moment, prompting him to halt just half a hand's distance from Yu Shao Yan.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Yu Shao Yan was already on edge as she saw him approaching her, especially considering the words he had told her yesterday and then him suddenly attacking her granddaughter.
She was clearly enraged, yet at the same time, she knew well that she needed to prioritize her Phoenix Order instead of her family, which was the only thing stopping her from taking the last step.
However, she seemed confused, looking at his forefinger pointed towards her, while his eyes appeared blank under the mask, clearly confusing her as he stood static, not saying anything.
[Host is saying, choose! You get poked with his finger or by his ????????????]