When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 358: Die, Die, Die!

Chapter 358: Die, Die, Die!

The air hung heavy with silence as the group pressed forward, focusing on getting away from the core of the labyrinth. The further they went, the cacophony of rumbles and eruptions receded into a distant echo until all they could hear were their hastened footsteps and labored breaths.

It was then that Noir decided to break the silence,

"What is he?" His intense gaze bore down on Shen Nianzu. "He... can even summon the Nightmare here. What exactly is he?"

Ordinary people couldn’t have guessed that the twins were Jin Jiuchi all along. After all, what were the odds that a player could split himself into two? But Noir did. His steely gaze showed that he was not just testing Shen Nianzu to trick an answer out of him, but he was truly certain in his discovery.

Even Gu Luoxin, who had witnessed Jin Jiuchi’s confrontation with the Nightmare once before, couldn’t help but stare at Shen Nianzu curiously. He must have a lot of questions in his mind, considering how he had just had the front row seat to the macabre spectacle of the twins tearing and devouring each other.

Shen Nianzu closed his eyes in a futile attempt to expel the gruesome images lingering on the back of his eyelids. Even though he knew that Jin Jiuchi should be fine now, his heart still ached immensely when he recalled the pain the twins had to go through. Even more so when he was the catalyst that had driven them to do it.

"...I don’t know either," he replied in a hoarse voice. It was apparent that Noir had guessed that Jin Jiuchi was not a human to begin with. His question held a deeper meaning, demanding a more specific answer, and Shen Nianzu had no choice but to tell him honestly, "I don’t know what he is."

Shen Nianzu hung his head listlessly as he limped on his good leg, his arm hooked around Gu Luoxin’s waist for balance. The newly regenerated flesh on his formerly missing leg still looked too raw and felt too tender to be touched, not yet ready to bear the full brunt of his weight. He reckoned that he still had to wait for a little longer until he could regain his full mobility.

He had been prepared for a barrage of sharp questions from Noir, but unexpectedly the emerald-eyed teenager merely let out an intrigued ’huh’ and muttered under his breath, "I thought you would know..."

"I didn’t," Shen Nianzu admitted with a bitter smile.

Sensing the bleak atmosphere, Gu Luoxin spoke up in a forced cheerful tone, "W–Where should we go now? Toki, where are you leading us to?" He shifted his gaze to the baby tour guide who had made himself comfortable as his leg pendant.

Toki blinked up at him and answered sweetly. "Chirp."

Gu Luoxin put on a helpless look. "I don’t understand what you’re saying. Should we check—"

"Sssh!"

All of a sudden, Shen Nianzu, Noir and Ying hushed him at the same time, prompting him to seal his mouth shut with a nervous look. W–What was it? Had he said something wrong? No sooner than this thought crossed his mind, Ying looked around with furrowed brows, "You guys heard it, right?"

Hear what?

Instead of asking, Gu Luoxin wisely kept mum, held his breath and strained his ears to listen. And there it was, the rhythm thumps of footsteps that sounded like a horde of army. It had started to become familiar to him. As soon as the recognition sank into his mind, chills ran down his spine as he mouthed silently, "C–Chrono beasts?!"

Why were they here again?! Hadn’t they been fully devoured by that witch’s dark power?!

As though answering his doubt, the speaker a few distance away crackled to life and Momoko’s voice, seething in rage, rang out. She did not even sound this furious when they took Toki from her. "Do you think everything will be over? Ha, dream on! You have embarrassed me in front of Master Khronos and destroyed his proudest creation. Die, you lowly humans! Die, die, die!!!"

The footsteps abruptly accelerated as if resonating with her boiling wrath.

The four of them looked at each other before coming to a single conclusion – run!

Gu Luoxin threw the teenage Shen Nianzu onto his back and broke out into a mad sprint. "Can’t we catch a little break?!" He really wanted to cry when he demanded that. It seemed like they had never gotten a chance to let their guard down since entering the labyrinth.

"Let’s enter another attraction!" Ying suggested in a haste. "We have to throw them off first!"

"Right, right, right! Toki, please help us!"

"Chirp!" Toki straightened up, looked left and right before pointing in a certain direction. "Chirp chirp chirp!"

Gu Luoxin and Shen Nianzu took the lead, followed by Ying who was carrying Qiuiqu on her back, and Noir who was dragging Buzz Cut by the collar. Under Toki’s guidance, they took a couple of turns, not even stopping to catch their breaths because they could hear the Chrono beasts closing in on them! They were like bubble gum stuck on the soles of everyone’s feet, annoying and impossible to get rid of.

Gu Luoxin was starting to lose his breath under the combined weight of teenage Shen Nianzu and baby Toki. However, his hope was reignited as he caught sight of a familiar door. "I–I can see it! I can see the entrance!" He almost burst out into tears of relief. "We’re close now!"

Without any delay, he wrenched the door open and scrambled in, just as Shen Nianzu caught a glimpse of the nameplate by the side. "Wait—"

Ying reacted swiftly and skidded to a halt, but she had done it too suddenly, and Noir, who was wholly unprepared, crashed onto her back and everyone tumbled through the door in a mess of limbs.

"What is it?" Noir demanded in annoyance as he rubbed his throbbing forehead.

Due to his short stature, he hadn’t seen the nameplate and could only blindly follow the person in front. Alas, it was already too late even if he realized that something was amiss because in the next moment, the door abruptly slammed shut behind him, separating them from the pursuing Chrono beasts.

"Fuh!" Toki wiped the sweat on his forehead and raised his head eagerly, seeking praise from Gu Luoxin. Yet all he saw were tense and pale faces. He questioned with a hint of uncertainty, "...Chirp?"

It was not Toki’s fault, of course. After all, they had not specified anything and only asked him to lead them away. But who could have guessed that... the nearest attraction to the core would be the ’Reflection of Emotions’?!

That’s right, it was none other than the attraction they had been warned about multiple times!

Gu Luoxin put on an expression as if he had nothing left to live for. "Is it too late for us to find another attraction?"

In response to his question, a series of loud bangs landed on the door, causing it to shake and tremble. The Chrono beasts were right behind them, and it was unknown for how long the door would remain standing!

Gu Luoxin let out a panicked yelp, "Oh no, Xiao Shen. What should we do?!"

Shen Nianzu clenched his jaws, his mind racing. At this point, did they even have another choice? Furthermore, he had a nagging hunch that this might not be a mere coincidence. They had frantically chosen the paths without the Chrono beasts, only to find themselves in this attraction. This might very well be another ploy to lead them here in the first place!

"Let’s go inside," Shen Nianzu made a determined decision. "I’m not sure what we will encounter here, but keep your guard up and prepare your life-saving prop."

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A/N: delana *shake hands* murphy’s laws

lolol putting it aside, in case you think that Momoko is annoying, let’s put ourselves in her shoes. She has been waiting for Toki to hatch for DECADES, only for some random lowly humans to come and ruin everything for her. Plus they wrecked the labyrinth apart, which is the territory of her beloved master. If I were her, this won’t end with being chased by Chrono beasts *laughing-crying*