When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 476: A Price To Demand

Chapter 476: A Price To Demand

Gu Luoxin’s furious outbursts reverberated through the air, aimed squarely at the Queen who now seemed lost in a daze. He had no idea whether the other party was listening to him or not, but he simply needed to get this out of his chest. Sure enough, he felt much better now that he had vented his years of hidden anger and frustration!

"Impossible..." the Queen’s voice rang out in disbelief, her massive shadowy form trembling under the weight of the revelations that had just turned her world upside down. "Impossible, you must be lying to me! What about the scenes I have witnessed with my own eyes? What about the voice inside my mind?!" She demanded, her tone bordering on hysteria.

Gu Luoxin hesitated, for that was the one mystery he still couldn’t fathom. "About that..."

***

"Have you found her yet?" Shen Nianzu asked urgently from where he was perched atop Jin Jiuchi’s body. "She was in the ballroom earlier, and she was among one of the people who fled first so she couldn’t have gotten far. That woman, Vivianne... we must find her as soon as possible!"

That’s right, the mastermind who leaped into Shen Nianzu’s mind as soon as he learned of the Queen’s plight was none other than the bizarre hybrid creature they had confronted once before, also the one they had been living with all this time— Madam Vivianne aka his mother!

It had always struck Shen Nianzu as odd how Vivianne was the only nightmare creature disguised as a human in the household, but if her objective was to remain close to Cinderella, then everything suddenly made sense!

In most fairytales, witches were depicted as antagonist characters who stood in the protagonist’s path to happiness— except she truly succeeded in sabotaging the Queen’s supposedly happy-ever-after life.

Now she must be staying close to Cinderella so she could enact a similar scheme. And Shen Nianzu suspected that her goal was the ’price’ she had mentioned to the Queen.

First, she made the Queen lose all trust in the people around her, so that she felt she was alone and could only resort to desperate measures. She then claimed to help the Queen ’see’ the truth, but it was nothing but a well fabricated illusion aiming to shatter any hope left within the Queen, pushing her into the brink of despair. She painted herself as a powerful and trustworthy ally, and when the time was ripe, she demanded a price for her assistance, knowing fully well that the Queen would cling to her like a lifeline.

It was such a well-crafted and insidious plan that sent chills down Shen Nianzu’s spine.

That woman was undeniably dangerous, and they had to locate her before she could exact her price from the Queen. Shen Nianzu had a foreboding premonition that the situation would take a turn for the worse if that were to happen.

But alas...

Crouching on top of a tall roof, Jin Jiuchi let out a series of frustrated barks, causing Shen Nianzu to furrow his brows. "Don’t tell me... you can’t find her trace anywhere? But how is that possible?"

In the next moment, the huge wolf-dog suddenly transformed back into a human and Shen Nianzu, who was wholly unprepared, lost his mount and plummeted from the sky! Fortunately, Jin Jiuchi caught him just in time, but it didn’t mean that Shen Nianzu wasn’t scared out of his wits! Before the jade doll could express his anger and frustration, however, Jin Jiuchi addressed his earlier inquiry,

"It’s not that I can’t find her trace, Nian’er. On the contrary, her stench is literally all over the town! Augh, it’s so disgusting!" He pinched his nose in repulsion. "Even the very air I breathe smells like her!"

Stunned, Shen Nianzu echoed, "All over the town...?"

***

"About that..."

Upon sensing the uncertainty in Gu Luoxin’s tone, the Queen released a laughter tinged with madness. "You can’t answer, can you?" she sneered. "It’s too late now if you want to—"

"NO—!" A desperate cry interrupted her from below, barely audible amidst the chaos. It came from none other than Caen, whose small figure was desperately trying to get closer to the Queen by climbing over a piece of fallen debris. "You’re wrong if you think that I’ve betrayed our love ciit! Not a single day passes where I don’t love you, my Queen! Please believe in me!"

"That’s right!" Lumina chimed in, her voice filled with regret, "I... I never realized what kind of suffering you’ve been enduring. Please let me apologize for not noticing it sooner!"

The Queen’s form shook violently, but otherwise she remained silent. Sensing that the other party had begun to waver, Gu Luoxin seized the moment to give a final push, "You know it deep down, don’t you? You know that they are two people who wished for nothing but your happiness!"

"But... but..." the Queen’s voice cracked as the tormented wails of the shadows grew louder.

But if that was the case... if she had been mistaken all along... then what had she been doing all this time? Draining Lumina’s magic and keeping her locked up in prison, transforming her husband into a mouse and forcing him to live a life worse than death— what was the meaning behind it all?! What was the truth, and what were the lies? Had they truly betrayed her, or was this all a ploy to deceive her once more?

She didn’t know... she truly did not know what to trust anymore!

Amidst the violent turmoil in her mind, a sinister laughter pierced the air. "Hahaha... HAHAHA! Do you think you can sway her with this feeble display?" it spat out. "Foolish!"

Gu Luoxin’s fur bristled in alarm, and even the cyan kingkong assumed a defensive stance, ready to intercept any incoming attacks that were directed at them. "Who’s there?!" he demanded. After looking around, he was shocked to find that the source of the voice had come... from within the Queen herself!

"It’s you!" The Queen cried out in relief. "You finally showed yourself again! Tell me, they’re lying to me, aren’t they?!" she asked in a haste, desperate to hear reassurance from the mysterious figure that had been helping her all this while.

Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed as the voice responded with chilling malice.

"My dear Queen," it cooed softly, its tone dripping with sinister intent now that all pretenses had been shed. "Thank you for nurturing me all these years. Thanks to you, I can finally obtain a magnificent power I never dreamed possible before!"

"W–What are you..." the Queen sputtered, but before she could even register what the other party meant, an agonizing scream tore out of her throat when she felt her consciousness being taken over bit by bit. It was as if an unrelenting surge of electric shocks were assaulting her most fragile and delicate brain nerves. "AHH—! What are you doing?! Please... make it stop!!!"

Not good! Loud sirens clamored in Gu Luoxin’s mind. The final Boss had finally revealed itself, and he had a hunch– no, he was certain that the enemy he had to face had grown exponentially stronger!

"RUN—!" he cried out to Lumina and Caen, while urging his kingkong to maintain a safe distance. "Protect yourselves!"

The cyan kingkong swiveled agilely, fleeing from the onslaught of malevolent forces exploding from behind. Yet they hadn’t even covered much ground when the sinister voice sounded once more.

"The time has come for you to fulfill your promise," it declared with ominous certainty. "Offer up to me... the life and blood of your firstborn!"

As soon as Gu Luoxin heard that, he snapped his head back in horror and incredulity.

Wait a moment, the Queen’s firstborn...?

Wouldn’t that be... Noir?!