Chapter Three: The Whole World as Foe

Before the battle had even begun, the arena was already a boil of noise. From the grandstands came an unbroken torrent of shouts, abuse, and curses. If looks could kill, there would not have been so much as a speck of dust left of Xie Yan.

"Human, outsider, die."

"A public execution? It excites me."

"A mere human in his teens, no more than an ant, and he dares to duel one of our demon race's strongmen? What shameless trash."

"How can such a human be on equal footing with one of our demon race? It is an insult."

"They say the humans from outside, especially those from the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Districts, are all like viruses—lowly creatures unworthy of being mentioned in the same breath as us."

"Kill him quickly."

"Kill him!"

"Great demon race, use your peerless power and slay him."

What it meant for the whole world to be an enemy—that was exactly what this was.

Xie Yan could be certain that among these tens of thousands, not one stood on his side. No one would support him; everyone wanted him dead.

The crowd stretched as far as the eye could see, thick as a swarm of ants, every one of them an enemy. At any moment, they might rise up together and tear him into minced meat.

It was no exaggeration to say that although most of the people here were ordinary, there were still many ability users among them. If they all attacked together, he would have no path to survival.

Just as Emelia had said, if he killed Aiyu, then he would be swallowed by this sea of people, leaving not a trace behind.

This demon race had already been a meeting with death. To survive would be nothing short of a miracle, and Xie Yan did not dare place his hopes on miracles. So he remained calm.

"Xie Yan." Aiyu looked at him, her eyes as still as water. "I want to speak with you. After I finish saying what I came to say, we can begin the duel."

Xie Yan did not answer. The match had not yet been declared underway.

"In those days, you killed my nephew Darren, you killed my trusted aide Levin, ruined my research plan, and destroyed everything I had," Aiyu said slowly. "Because of you, every night and every day I could not sleep, could not work. Each day was so hard to endure. Do you know? I endured it for a year. A full year."

Her voice grew lower and lower, like a call from the depths of hell, a summons from wronged souls. Merely hearing it made one's flesh crawl.

"Every day and every night, I was consumed by the mad desire to slaughter, to kill you utterly, to devour your flesh and blood." Aiyu gave a soft sigh. "Xie Yan, do you know how much this thought tormented me? It could never be erased. It was a nightmare among nightmares."

The calm in her eyes shattered into frenzy. "At last, I have waited for this. Xie Yan, I am truly so happy, so happy I'm almost mad, because I can finally kill you, cut your flesh into pieces one by one, and chew them hard in my mouth. Tell me, shouldn't I be thrilled by something this exciting?"

"Why, why did that great person have to set the duel a year later? Otherwise you'd already be dead. You would have been killed by me long ago. A lowly ant like you, mere dross like you, what right do you have to fight me? With a single squeeze of my hand, you'd turn into a pool of blood."

"See it now, Xie Yan? The whole world is your enemy. They're all desperate to kill you." Aiyu laughed wildly. "Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily. Right here, I'll make the whole world witness my public execution of you, Aiyu. Your screams, your shrieks—they will spread to every corner of the world."

As she spoke, Aiyu let out an excited laugh, and the madness in her eyes deepened and deepened.

"Finished?" Xie Yan's voice was very calm.

"Mm, finished. And now, it's time to begin!" Aiyu cackled. "Prepare to die, Xie Yan."

"I have something to say as well. I'm here not to die, but to kill you." Xie Yan spoke with grave seriousness. "Some people tried to dissuade me from killing you, but against an enemy like you, holding back is no different from suicide. So I must kill you, even if the consequence is to fall into utter ruin."

"Aiyu, do not forget what happened back then. The tragedy of Gu Yue'er was caused by you." Xie Yan enunciated each word. "And today, you will pay for it."

He had already decided: if he could not survive, then at the very least, he would drag someone down with him.

"Die, Xie Yan." Aiyu wielded a blade of lightning and struck toward him, though the match had not yet been declared begun.

Who cared?

No one cared.

Everyone was eagerly awaiting Xie Yan's death, including the arena staff and the judge.

The entire place roared with noise, voices calling for his death in vicious, ugly words.

No one cared about the rules.

All they cared about was the public execution beginning at once.

All they wanted was to hear the outsider's screams sooner.

"Xie Yan, if you still refuse to listen to me..." Emelia's face had darkened with anger, and she was trembling with rage. Xie Yan's words had not escaped her ears.

Xie Yan, if you won't obey, then go die!

There was no turning back now.

Xie Yan's shape-shifting blade appeared in his hand, and he swung it with all his strength at the charging Aiyu.

In terms of raw power, he still held the advantage. But from Aiyu's lightning-like sword burst a crackling radiance that poured into Xie Yan's body.

At once he felt his body go numb, his movements becoming difficult.

Yet Xie Yan's blade did not stop. With a shift of motion, he unleashed a martial technique, a fierce wind wreathing his entire body, his sword intent weaving into a net that guarded every inch around him, as seamless as dripping water.

For a moment, Aiyu tried to close in for melee attacks, but the blade-net held her outside.

Aiyu's face filled with disdain. Her eyes flickered, and she used yet another ability. Instantly, a veil of light enveloped Xie Yan.

In that instant, Xie Yan felt everything before him become terribly slow, terribly powerless, as if the whole world had come to a halt, while the only thing that had not stopped was Aiyu's attack.

"Xie Yan, I'll start with your limbs. I'll cut off one of your hands and let me see that 'excited' expression of yours." Aiyu sneered savagely, lunging at him like a beast.

"Die, die, human!"

"Quickly, go die!"

"Great demon race, kill this humble human!"

"This human has already lost. His movements have clearly slowed down."

"Kill him. This is so exciting."

In that instant, the uproar on the field grew even louder, the crowd even more fevered. Xie Yan's death would draw cheers from them in waves; it was the best catalyst for stirring the atmosphere.

Amid this chaos, Xie Yan could only close his eyes. Everything before him was swallowed by darkness.