Villain Saving System (BL)
Chapter 474 - 8.74 Sacrifice

Chapter 474: 8.74 Sacrifice

So this was the ultimate pit that this world had dug for him.

Lu Yizhou understood everything now. Baines was not afraid that his ally, 404, had been defeated by 666, nor did he show a hint of panic on his current situation because he had grasped onto an impenetrable armor — Lu Yizhou’s lover.

Supposing that Baines had been receiving power from the black witch’s sacrifice, then the same would also apply to his lover. Their lives were tied together. The more powerful Baines was, his lover would also gain strength. But at the end of the day, it was a forbidden magic.

— Forbidden magic would always demand a great price to pay.

His lover did not participate in the black witch’s scheme but he was on the receiving end. If at first, he was a glass of clear water, then the droplet of ink that fell into him would have dyed him black by now.

The more Lu Yizhou thought about it, the more furious he was. It took all of his willpower not to deliver a punch straight on Baines’ annoying face. This bug’s scheme was truly deep and cunning! By tying his life together with Lu Yizhou’s lover, then he would be able to slowly drive the latter crazy by feeding him dark power he did not ask for!

What kind of price he had to pay, Lu Yizhou wondered?

Was it his consciousness, his freedom or... his soul?

In a way, Diana was not lying. Perhaps his lover had long lost his sanity and perhaps, he would really go on a mad massacre as soon as he opened his eyes. Therefore, he chose to chain himself in this independant space so he would not be able to harm anyone.

Even though Lu Yizhou knew that, he was absolutely unwilling to accept that truth! His lover was so brilliant and quick-witted. Based on his temperament, there was no way he would accept being treated like a hostage just like that. He must have left a leeway for himself. Otherwise, how could Lu Yizhou explain the existence of Ella and Ellie?

Both of them had granted Lu Yizhou a powerful skill card and escorted him to this place. They said that only Lu Yizhou could save them, so there must be a way! He recalled Ellie saying ’one more’ but until now, he still did not know what she meant—

A possibility flashed in Lu Yizhou’s mind.

What was the core of this quest again? The mystery surrounding the Knox Family. The black witch’s sacrifice.

Sacrifice. He had complained about this before. Sacrifice, it was always sacrifice. Two of the clues he obtained from the library recounted Ariel’s sacrifice for love and Jesus’ sacrifice for humanity. Lu Yizhou really wanted to hit his own forehead. How could he fail to notice such a big clue?

From the start, the quest had given him the answer.

—Sacrifice. One more sacrifice.

666 and Ozzie were shocked when they sensed the direction of Lu Yizhou’s thoughts. ’No!’ Ozzie hopped to him and said anxiously, ’Daddy, it’s too risky meow! What if something goes wrong?! Then both you and Mommy—’

[666: Ozzie is right! This is too risky, Host!]

[This is the only choice I have. Even if something goes wrong midway, I will still try.] Lu Yizhou’s face hardened in determination. Baines wanted to borrow his hand to kill his lover, but Lu Yizhou would not have that! He had to bring his lover out of here, no matter what it took!

666 and Ozzie were both helpless. They knew how stubborn Lu Yizhou was when he already made up his mind. Not even the sky falling could force him to bend. Not to mention that it concerned the life of the most important person in his life. Asking him to back down was the same as punching cotton, he would not listen and you would only get frustrated in the end!

"Ozzie, I have a task for you." Lu Yizhou suddenly said.

Ozzie was startled. All this time, they had always been communicating via mind link and this was the first time Lu Yizhou had communicated with her out loud. Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this. ’W–What is it, Daddy?’

Lu Yizhou said a sentence that shocked everyone, "Take Diana out of here and bring her to the kernel."

Ozzie froze. ’What?!’

"Take her out. You’re the only one who can do this, Ozzie." If Cyrus and Luan were out there, then they would know what to do. They might even help Diana back to her rest station. Lu Yizhou had been planning for this ever since he decided to confront 404 head on. Without her system, Diana would lose her way back to her rest station but in exchange, there was Ozzie.

Ozzie was an anomaly in the simulator. Not only could she choose her own identity, she could also go in and out as she pleased. Bringing Diana out would not pose a problem for her. Lu Yizhou could also ensure her safety this way.

’Daddy!’ Ozzie stomped her foot, exasperated. ’I am not leaving you here meow!’

"You... what are you saying?" Diana was shocked. She stared at Lu Yizhou and Ozzie back and forth, unable to make heads or tails of his words. She knew that Ozzie was a cat familiar. Even though she had not spotted any familiar in this world before, she had assumed that it was Lu Yizhou’s skill card. But now... Lu Yizhou said that this cat familiar would be able to bring her out of this world? How...?

Lu Yizhou faced her with a calm look. "Exactly what I mean."

Disbelief shook through Diana’s whole body and her eyes were layered with mist. "You... can bring me out of here? Are you sure?"

Lu Yizhou merely tilted his head at Ozzie, his meaning was clear: ask her yourself.

Diana shifted her teary eyes to Ozzie, causing the latter to stiffen. "You can help me...?" She had been prepared for the worst yet all of a sudden, someone suddenly offered her a hand to bring her out of this quagmire? How could she not take it?! She directly jumped in front of Ozzie. If she had not been intimidated by the cat familar’s large stature and the imposing horn, she would have clasped her paw and pleaded on her knees! "Please!" She choked out. "If you can bring me out of here, I... I will give Irene all of my unbound skill cards!"

Lu Yizhou: "..." He did not expect this kind of development.

"Unbound skill card?" All this while, Lu Yizhou had always been bound to the skill cards he received. He had no idea that there were unbound ones.

Upon seeing the interest in his eyes, Diana regained her vigor. A stack of cards appeared in her hand which he shoved toward Lu Yizhou. "Here, I have received a lot of unbound skill cards. It might be useful for you in the future."

Lu Yizhou was rendered speechless. Among the cards in his hands, he found ’Rose Gun’ and ’White Silk’ she had used before. The others were miscellaneous cards like ’Bloody Dagger’, ’Lazy Chair’, ’Multi-colored Dye’ etc. Lu Yizhou did not even want to know what kind of quests she had gone through to get these cards. Anyway, all of them were useless because Lu Yizhou preferred to rely on himself. But then, when he got to the last one, his eyes widened in surprise.

—’Silver Gun’

Lu Yizhou recalled that one of his skills was ’Silver Gun’ and it was currently unavailable. He activated the card and a silver pistol appeared in his hands.

[[Congratulations! You have obtained the skill card ’Silver Gun’ and from now on, your skill is unlocked! Please check your profile for more details]]

[[Skill: Silver Gun.

Description: You’re a hunter hiding in the dark and your enemies are prey under the light. This gun is equipped with silencer, a perfect instrument for assassination. Tips: you can inject your witch power in the place of bullets and then, you will be invisible!]]

Lu Yizhou looked at Diana with a perplexed look. "Are you sure that you’re giving all of these to me?"

Diana nodded firmly. "Yes. This is the least I can do after everything you have done for me."

"Well... I appreciate it." Lu Yizhou would not look a gift horse in the mouth. He still had no idea what kind of thing would happen after his lover was awakened so it was better to have one more skill at his disposal. Turning to Ozzie, Lu Yizhou told her. "It’s okay, Ozzie. You can go."

Ozzie showed a sullen look but in the end, she could not disobey her Daddy’s request. ’I will be waiting for you, Daddy. If there’s something wrong, I will come back again meow!’ Together with Diana, their bodies morphed into two wisps of light that shot out of the cathedral into the pitch black sky.

Baines’ jaws hung open. "T–They really left this world?! How—"

Lu Yizhou did not even deign to look at him. Now that the ownership of ’White Silk’ had been transferred to him, he was the one holding onto the ’leash’. Lu Yizhou simply tied the other end of the silk around the pillar before securing it twice around Baines. Fortunately, the white silk could be lengthened up to two meters. His movement was fast and ruthless. In a blink of an eye, Baines found himself trapped to the pillar, unable to move even a finger.

Baines’ face abruptly changed. He sensed something was off with Lu Yizhou, however Lu Yizhou’s strong poker face meant that he would not be able to gauge anything from his expression alone. Baines did not survive all this while just relying on wits alone. His instinct was also extremely strong! Yet this time, warning bells started to ring inside his mind. "What... What do you want to do?"

"Scared now?" Lu Yizhou sneered as he fastened the ends of the white silk into a dead knot.

"It’s no use holding me captive." Baines retorted, trying to keep his confidence afloat."You will not be able to deal with me."

"Unfortunately, it’s not me who will deal with you." Lu Yizhou simply tilted his head toward his lover and relished in the dawning horror on Baines’ face once the man realized what kind of crazy thing Lu Yizhou was going to attempt. A bloodthirsty grin formed on Lu Yizhou’s face as he leaned forward to whisper into Baines’ ears "Be prepared... because he is the one who’s going to make you pay."

Before Baines could do anything like comitting suicide by biting his tongue or twisting his own neck, Lu Yizhou activated his skill card — Time Suspender!

In an instant, the entire world stopped as though someone had just pressed the pause button. Baines’ face was frozen in an awkward look between anger and fear. The floating dust stilled in midair like particles of snow, the rustle of trees quietened, even the moonlight seemed to halt as if holding its breath.

Amidst this silent space, only Lu Yizhou’s calm breathing was heard.

[[Ella wishes that happy times will last forever so she can always be together with the people she loves. Use this card to suspend the time for five minutes so that you, too, can also be together with the ones you love. Remaining uses: 0/1]]

Five minutes. That was all Lu Yizhou got. He decisively walked toward where his lover was held captive. This time, Ella and Ellie showed themselves again. Both of them looked sad and nervous, and their mouths were moving without a sound. Even without looking, Lu Yizhou knew what they were going to say.

"It’s okay." He gave them a reassuring smile. "I know this is not why you gave me this card, Ella, but this is the only way I can think of. Trust me. I will free you out of this hellish place."

Lu Yizhou glanced down at the small puddle of blood under his lover’s feet. Without any hesitation, he crouched down and started to draw the Soul Swapping Array according to his memory. His movement was quick and precise, every stroke powerful and rigorous. In a blink of an eye, a huge bloody circle formed under his lover’s feet, faintly emitting an ominous red glow.

His lover might not be able to kill Baines because he was directly connected to him, but... what if he wasn’t? With this, the one who would be connected to Baines was him, Lu Yizhou.

Using the Soul Swapping Ritual to become a sacrifice and free the villain — that was his method to clear the quest!