When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 442: You’re A— What?!

Chapter 442: You’re A— What?!

The one-eyed mouse whispered urgently, "I will hold it back! I’m the one who brought you here and put you in danger, so you should quickly leave ciit!"

And leave you alone?! Gu Luoxin almost blurted out, only to hold himself back at the very last seconds. Once again, the gaze he used to look at the one-eyed mouse became extremely complicated. They had clearly just met today, but it had almost risked its life twice to save him.

How could there be such a good mouse in the Cycle?

"Are you done whispering?" Jackie The Cat brandished its sharp claws. In a flash, it abruptly pounced forward with the ferocity of a cheetah. "Now that you’ve eaten, it’s only fair for me to have my share meow—!"

At the same time, the one-eyed mouse bellowed, "Go!!!"

"Ciit...!" Flinching in surprise, Gu Luoxin’s body moved faster than his brain could process as he turned tail and frantically fled from the waste corner. It wasn’t until he had eaten a few mouthfuls of dust along the way that he abruptly screeched to a halt. Despite his erratic heartbeats, he had practically ceased breathing as the weight of his actions sank into his mind.

What had he done...?

How could he... how could he run away alone and leave the one-eyed mouse behind?

Even though it might have been driven by his mouse instinct, Gu Luoxin knew that deep down, he was not a person like this! He would never leave anyone behind, even at the expense of his own life. Not to mention, the other mouse had saved his life once!

The enemy wasn’t even a nightmare creature or... or the Nightmare itself! It was just a cat— an ordinary, dirty stray cat! And he had already run away at the first chance he got? Shame on you, Xinxin!

Cursing under his breath, Gu Luoxin turned to rush back to the waste corner. However, he knew better than to charge in unprepared lest Jackie The Cat succeed in devouring two mice today. It was fortunate that he could still access his prop, but much to his despair, he couldn’t utilize them with his current body! Yes, he had a dagger, but how was he supposed to wield it? Holding it in his mouth?! With his luck, he would likely end up cutting himself instead!

Should he activate his skill card? Gu Luoxin looked around the narrow streets and cramped houses and sank deeper into the pit of despair. Oh no, he would only destroy this part of the city if he did summon his kingkong!

Moreover, calling upon his gigantic kingkong to fight an ordinary cat was... Gu Luoxin hastily shook the mental image before he truly lost his mind.

What other option did he have?

As he neared the waste corner, a brilliant idea suddenly sparked in his mind, prompting him to spring into action at once.

Meanwhile, Jackie The Cat had the one-eyed mouse pinned under its paw, guffawing, "Hahaha, still want to fight?"

The two of them were sported with injuries all over their bodies. Jackie had a few patches of plucked fur and a bloody nose, but it was apparent that the mouse’s condition was more severe. Its already matted fur was now stained with blood, and its vision swam due to the blow it received on the back of its head. It tried to retaliate by biting off another patch of fur off the cat’s body, yet much to its horror, it found itself unable to muster any strength on its weakening body.

Jackie The Cat mockingly rolled the mouse back and forth, relishing in its misfortunes. "Not gonna struggle again meow?"

Is this it? The one-eyed mouse thought bleakly. Years of struggle and torment, only to end up in a cat’s stomach?

The mouse’s one eye blurred, and this time it knew it wasn’t due to the dizzy spell. Just as it was about to resign to the tragic fate that was waiting for it—

"Let it go ciit!"

Gu Luoxin’s voice thundered within the dim corner, instantly capturing the other two’s attention.

"W–What the..." Jackie The Cat gaped in shock.

The one-eyed mouse gasped in surprise, not expecting that Gu Luoxin would foolishly run back to sacrifice himself together with it. It blinked back the tears in its eye and was ready to reprimand him, but all the words evaporated in its throat when it caught sight of the creature before it.

It had never seen anything like that before. The creature clearly looked like a human baby, yet the lower half of his body was covered in deep blue scales, and a pair of blunt blue horns peeked out of the fluffy black hair atop his head. A thick scaly tail with white fur at the tip swished in the air, and... cradled within the baby’s arms was none other than the dirty brown mouse it had just sent away moments before!

W–What was going on?!

Glaring at the cat, the divine prop Toki opened his mouth and spewed out a menacing tongue of blue flame, causing Jackie to yowl in surprise.

"MROOOW—!" Jackie’s fur bristled, and it hastily scampered away with its tail tucked between its legs. As quickly as it appeared, the divine prop vanished, leaving only Gu Luoxin and the one-eyed mouse who was still sprawled on the ground, unable to react.

"T–This..." the one-eyed mouse looked at Gu Luoxin as if it was the first time it had ever seen him. Everything was over so swiftly and suddenly that it felt a little unreal. It remained in a dazed state of mind, wondering if it had actually died and was dreaming right now. How else could it explain what had just happened?

In the next moment, Gu Luoxin rushed forward and clumsily tried to help the one-eyed mouse to its feet, asking in concern, "A–Are you okay ciit? Oh no, you’re injured...!"

The one-eyed mouse didn’t even register the state of its own body, for its attention was entirely consumed by the brown mouse before it. Its murky eye, which had been dulled by years of enduring this forsaken curse, began to flicker as though the first spark of light had finally pierced through the boundless expanse of darkness.

Without caring about its injuries, the one-eyed mouse abruptly grabbed Gu Luoxin’s tiny paws like it was clutching onto a lifeline, eliciting a startled squeak from the latter.

"W–What is it...?"

"Y–You..." its whiskers shook violently as it struggled to articulate its words. The rims of its eyes reddened, and it would have shed a flood of tears if it could. "You are finally here ciit. I’ve been waiting for you for so long..."

Gu Luoxin blinked in confusion. "...Huh?"

Presumably fearing that it would scare off the other, the one-eyed mouse hurriedly rolled over and stood on all fours, its eye sparkling. It seemed to radiate bright vitality, a stark contrast to its weakened state earlier. "Forgive me for coming onto you like that. I... ciit I’m just too overwhelmed. God knows how many years I’ve been waiting for this day to come."

Under Gu Luoxin’s increasingly puzzled gaze, the one-eyed mouse finally introduced itself,

"I am Caen. I used to be a human like you, but because of a vicious curse, I am trapped in this body, living a life worse than death." The one-eyed mouse – Caen – lowered his gaze bitterly. "I’m ashamed to admit this, but I am supposed to be the King of this country..."

Gu Luoxin nearly choked on his saliva. "You’re a— what?!"

***

The royal procession was finally over as the sun dipped toward the horizon, and Noir could at last make his way back to the palace.

He felt dead tired even though he literally did nothing other than sitting on horseback. Alas, as much as he wanted to head straight to his room and collapse onto the bed, the custom required him to offer his respects to the King, his ’father’. He had no choice to follow along, otherwise he would be deemed as OOC.

Summoning what remained of his energy, Noir dragged himself to the throne room where he knew the King had been waiting for him. After the guards announced his arrival, he stepped through the door, walked on the velvety red carpet before smoothly going down on one knee, placing his right hand over his chest. "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have returned from the royal procession."

"Good," the King replied with satisfaction. "You may rise."

Noir rose to his feet and raised his head, meeting the eyes of the middle-aged man seated upon the throne. Despite being in his fifties, he looked not a day past thirty, with a head full of thick black hair untouched by the passage of time.

He directed a smile at Noir, drawing attention to the vertical scar running across his left eye. "You’ve done well, my son."