When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 467: At Long Last

Chapter 467: At Long Last

"Grapefruit, something is clearly amiss with that nightmare creature!" Six instructed urgently. "Withdraw first and treat your wound!"

"Hey!" Xiao Zhong, the shoemaker’s assistant, jogged toward Jin Jiuchi while awkwardly gathering the long hem of her skirt. "You’re a player too, aren’t you? Do you know what’s happening right now??"

"Ah, ah, don’t ask me!" Jin Jiuchi recoiled in response and hid his much taller and broader body behind Shen Nianzu. "Even if I knew, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to you. You should ask Nian’er instead!"

"Nian’er...?" Xiao Zhong’s gaze shifted to Shen Nianzu, her confusion evident.

Shen Nianzu cursed Jin Jiuchi inside his mind for tossing the bothersome task to him. He knew that hoarding all the information to themselves was nothing but greedy and purely sinister, but now was certainly not the time for them to stop and discuss, especially with the evil Queen looking like she was out for blood!

That’s right, now that the glass slippers had appeared before her, she seemed to have lost all interest in maintaining her disguise.

The person on the podium no longer possessed the King’s appearance; if anything, she didn’t even look remotely human as her entire body was engulfed in black inferno from head to toe, rendering it impossible to discern what she truly looked like.

"There’s no time to explain!" Shen Nianzu said in a rush, startling Xiao Zhong because what the fuck, this beautiful woman turned out to be a man too?! "In short, that person is not the King, but the evil Queen. We must stop her before she destroys all the glass slipper-related items, or something terrible will happen!"

At this point, Six and his teammates had incapacitated nearly all of the NPCs in the ballroom, knocking them out cold, while the remaining ones were scrambling to leave the ballroom for fear of their lives. The dark shadows still clung to their bodies, following them whenever they went.

Upon hearing Shen Nianzu’s words, the other players’ faces abruptly changed.

"Hold on... what if all the NPCs in the town have also gone mad?!"

"There are so many statues outside. If they’re all destroyed, we will be doomed!"

Six gritted his teeth and made a quick decision, "My teammates and I will handle the situation outside! My skill card’s type is crowd control, so I will be more suitable to fight out there. Cinderella and Rosie, we will leave this place to you! Come on, we have to leave now!" She motioned at her teammates, who promptly nodded and followed her out of the ballroom.

Shen Nianzu had to commend her ability to analyze the situation clearly and make a logical decision. Clearly, she recognized that her team’s roles were not critical to the plot, and thus she chose to be the support. This also meant that she was leaving Shen Nianzu and the others to confront the danger head-on while she ensured her own survival and her teammates’.

If the situation took an abrupt turn for the worse, the last ones to be affected would be her team. However, Shen Nianzu did not blame her for making this safe decision, for this worked just fine in his favor.

He quickly took charge of the situation and instructed the remaining players in the ballroom. "Those who wish to assist them outside, go now. But if you’re staying, be prepared to fight alongside us!"

"Wait, wait a minute!" Xiao Zhong cried out in haste. "I don’t understand! Isn’t the Queen supposed to be dead? If that person is the Queen in disguise, then where’s the real King? And what about our main task?? Who is the core NPC???"

Before Shen Nianzu could respond, the ground shook violently and a massive earthquake rocked the palace, sending fine dust and debris raining from above. Horrified screams and pleas for help resounded from the fleeing NPCs in the distance.

Amidst the chaos, Xiao Zhong tripped on the hem of her skirt and tumbled to the ground. Shen Nianzu, too, would have lost his balance if not for Jin Jiuchi steadying him in the nick of time.

At the forefront, the figure engulfed in black flames seemed to loom larger and taller, surpassing normal human proportions, while the dark shadows vanished from sight once more.

However, even without the aid of vision, everyone could tell that the dark shadows had not truly dissipated. On the contrary, its presence became stronger and more menacing, manifesting as invisible whips of wind capable of inflicting harm.

The situation was growing increasingly dire!

"This..." Xiao Zhong’s complexion was drained of color. "This must be because a lot of statues are destroyed outside, making her stronger... right?!" She turned to Shen Nianzu for confirmation.

Aside from the four of them, there was another player who decided to stay— it was none other than Old Tao, the milk seller. Having joined them and overheard the conversation, he asked in alarm, "Six and the others are working to control the damage outside. What about us? What should we do now?!"

That’s right, what should they do?

Should they join forces and attack the evil Queen together? But what about their main task? Who was the ’rightful owner’ whom they should return the glass slippers to?

Think, Shen Nianzu... think! A droplet of sweat rolled down Shen Nianzu’s cheek from the tension as his sharp gaze surveyed the trembling structure.

At this rate, if they still couldn’t find a solution, the palace would soon crumble and bury them alive beneath!

"...the King."

Amidst the sharp whistles of wind, Shen Nianzu caught Noir’s muttered words.

"Pardon?!"

Noir narrowed his eyes at the looming shadow in front. "We need to bring the King here. Only then will the cast be complete."

Shen Nianzu blinked, slightly stunned. "You mean..."

"Nian’er, watch out!"

Along with that alarmed cry, Jin Jiuchi tackled him to the ground and covered his entire body with his. Almost simultaneously, the wall nearby collapsed as though struck by a powerful force, and a blazing blue flame soared high in the air, incinerating the invisible dark shadows to ashes!

Amidst the cacophony of ear-splitting and inhumane shrieks, Shen Nianzu struggles to raise his head and peeked at the source of the chaos, only to see a familiar baby with blue horns rolling in, followed by a swarm of mice and a little palm-sized fairy. And behind them was the exact same figure as the one they were currently confronting, the evil Queen!

H–How could there be the two of them?!

"Ciit—!" Gu Luoxin charged into the ballroom like a little cannonball, panting heavily after running for his life while Toki covered for them. They had broken into many rooms before this; he didn’t even pay attention to where they were heading and thus he was stunned to find himself in the ballroom, facing another identical nightmare creature to the one that had been hunting them down.

Not only that...

Despite the utter chaos and disorder, his eyes immediately locked onto the attractive figure clad in his royal attire standing amidst the ruins, whose penetrating gaze was also fixated on him, of all mice.

In one suspended moment, time seemed to grind to a halt and everything else... every sound and color faded away, leaving only the outstretched hand reaching out to him.

Gu Luoxin’s breath seized in his throat. Without even thinking twice, he abruptly changed his course and dashed straight toward Noir, who swiftly scooped him up in his palms, shielding him from the falling debris that almost smashed him into meat pies.

Senior... it’s really Senior in the flesh! An overwhelming surge of relief washed over Gu Luoxin and he almost burst out into tears right there and then, his tiny body quivering violently within the warm and solid cocoon of Noir’s large hands.

At long last... he saw this person again!

But alas, before he could even utter a squeak, another prompt rang out inside his mind, this time announcing his personal task. And as soon as Gu Luoxin registered it in his mind, his entire mouse instantly froze on the spot, overcome with sheer disbelief and incredulity.

Impossible...

W–What kind of shitty task was that?!!