Ge Rui's expression first turned blank, then disbelieving, before his face flushed red with the fury of one who had been thoroughly mocked.
"You dare say such things? You dare impersonate that existence?"
The pallor of Ge Rui's face had actually taken on a faint trace of color now.
"It's the one you wish to revive who's impersonating me." Xia Lun pointed at his own face. "I am the Hero, Xia Lun·Morian."
Then, he gestured toward Aina. "She is the Demon King, my wife. You Twilight Apostles seem to have speculated that the true relationship between the Demon King and the Hero is that of husband and wife... Congratulations, you guessed right."
Ge Rui's eyes bulged again, his entire body freezing in place as the color slowly drained from his face.
"Impossible!" Old Cody roared from the side.
Though Old Cody was advanced in years, Xia Lun had no intention of showing him any courtesy, leaving him sprawled on the ground without bothering to help him up.
Old Cody's graying beard trembled slightly. "What proof do you have? How can you prove you are the Hero?"
Xia Lun shook his head lightly. "I don’t need to prove anything."
"Hah! Since you can’t provide any evidence, then—"
Old Cody’s words abruptly cut off as if he had been frozen solid by Mida once more.
Before his eyes, Xia Lun suddenly raised his hand, fingers curled as though gripping something invisible, then swept downward.
Space tore like fragile cloth, splitting open a slender rift.
Peering inside revealed only darkness, as though nothing existed within.
Old Cody stared at the spatial rift as if entranced, his very soul seemingly sucked into its depths.
A spatial rift—this man had just torn open space with his bare hands!
What did this mean?
Even in Old Cody’s understanding, he didn’t believe the legendary Hero was capable of such a feat.
"Hah... That spatial rift is obviously fake..." Ge Rui let out a mocking laugh, staggering to his feet and reaching toward the rift. "A cheap trick like this must be an illusion—it’ll shatter with a single touch..."
Xia Lun didn’t stop his foolish actions.
The rift closed, and a sudden gust of wind whipped around the area as the air itself was sucked into the void.
Along with it vanished the section of Ge Rui’s arm that had reached inside.
It was as though an invisible blade had sliced cleanly through, blood gushing from the stump.
As if he had thrust his hand into the maw of some unknown beast, only for its razor-sharp teeth to snap shut—though the damage from a closing spatial rift was far more devastating than any bite.
"Ahhh!"
Ge Rui let out a piercing scream.
"My hand! My hand—!"
Mida, dozing on the swing, slowly opened her eyes, seemingly annoyed. With a puff of cold breath, she froze the wound solid.
The pain dulled instantly, and Ge Rui gradually quieted, though his face remained as pale as if coated in thick powder.
"Just who are you?" Old Cody stared at Xia Lun, his cracked lips trembling before he finally slumped, all defiance drained from him.
"Didn’t I say? I am the Hero, Xia Lun·Morian." Xia Lun remained utterly unperturbed. "So... You wanted to revive me. What for?"
"The Demon King..." Ge Rui rasped, voice rising to a shriek. "The Demon King slew the Goddess and seized the authority of this world! She must be stopped! If you claim to be the Hero, then go and slay her!"
Xia Lun glanced at Aina beside him.
Aina and Mida sat together on the swing, gently swaying in the breeze. She looked delicate, almost fragile, stirring in Xia Lun the urge to crush her into his embrace.
"Coming to conquer me, my Hero?" Aina covered her mouth with a light laugh. "You’ll have to wait until nightfall."
Jokes aside, Aina slowly rose and stepped to Xia Lun’s side.
"I’m the Demon King. Did you need something from me?"
Ge Rui met her gaze—there was no pressure, no cruelty in her eyes, only a faint softness, as though she were looking at a pebble by the roadside.
His mouth opened and closed, his mind blank, unsure of what to say.
"You killed the Goddess..."
"Indeed. I disposed of her. Her existence would have hindered my efforts to revive my husband."
"You stole the world’s authority..."
"Naturally. Reviving the dead defies the world’s laws, so I had to seize control to carve out an exception." Aina spoke as if discussing trivial matters. "Rest assured, Xia Lun is the only exception. It won’t affect the world much... And no one else will ever be revived."
Her words seemed less for Ge Rui and more for Xia Lun’s ears.
"Any other questions?" Aina asked gently.
Ge Rui forced a smile uglier than a grimace. "N-no... None..."
Aina narrowed her eyes. "Good. Since you’re done, it’s my turn... So, who told you all this? How did you learn the Demon King killed the Goddess?"
"It... It was the Hero..." Ge Rui muttered, before his eyes lit up again. "Yes! It was the Hero’s divine revelation! This impostor must be—"
Xia Lun said nothing. He had no energy left to argue.
Old Cody remained silent as well.
"When the true Hero descends, he’ll surely obliterate this fraud—"
Before Ge Rui could finish, Aina flicked a finger, and his head vanished. His headless corpse collapsed with a dull thud.
No blood sprayed from the neck—only a charred, blackened stump.
"Xia Lun... Don’t mind the ravings of a fool." Aina’s hand caressed his cheek. "I’ll track down that impostor and reduce them to ashes."
"I don’t mind."
Aina was always so impatient.
Still, Xia Lun hadn’t expected any useful clues from them anyway.
Old Cody wasn’t surprised. He knew that from the moment these two revealed their identities, there was no chance of survival.
Their identities... were that of heretics.
If this man truly was the Hero—the benevolent, righteous Hero—he would show no mercy to the wicked.
It was said the Hero’s holy sword had eventually become a demonic blade, one only he could wield.
Because that sword was steeped in the blood and curses of countless evil souls.
Xia Lun stepped before Old Cody, unfazed by the gruesome scene nearby, his lips still curved in a gentle smile.
"Anything else you’d like to say?" Xia Lun asked softly.