Desire Assimilation

Before executing Enlaisi, Aina had already sifted through his memories. Those fragmented images were like ashes scattered by the wind, leaving behind little of value except for a few incomplete scraps of information about an ancient summoning array.

The array used to summon Aise, according to the memories, was found by Enlaisi in an old, yellowed grimoire gifted by the Twilight Apostles. Its pages were worn and torn at the edges, reeking of decay.

Aina speculated it was likely a contingency the goddess had set up long ago, designed to steer fate toward a specific turning point at a certain moment.

Yet none of this helped the current situation. How could Aise be separated from Mian's body? For now, there were no leads.

Aina casually tossed a dagger to Mian, who caught it in a flustered panic.

It was an exceptionally fine dagger, its blade curved like a wave, flowing with a purple, mysterious glow. The hilt was embedded with a red gem shaped like a skull, its eye sockets flickering with faint light.

The dagger exuded an ominous aura, sending chills down one's spine.

"What is this...?" Mian stared at the dagger in his hand, momentarily lost, as if ensnared by some force.

"The Blade of Soul Judgment," Aina said flatly. "It cannot harm the flesh, but it can cut the soul. It might prove useful, giving you at least a shred of resistance... or let you grant yourself a quick end."

She really didn't mince words.

Mian gave a bitter smile, but ultimately took the dagger.

...

To better monitor the abnormality within Mian's body, Xia Lun arranged for him to stay temporarily at the manor.

Aina set up multiple layers of barrier arrays around his room, with glowing runes and shifting seals shimmering faintly. If Aise's consciousness stirred even slightly, she would detect it immediately.

As for Anana, she had already been sent back. The young girl was perceptive enough not to ask any unnecessary questions.

Aina knew exactly who that little girl was and told her she could come play with Mida sometime.

"Oh! I remember you—you're Delyan's junior!"

Liyana suddenly jumped out from a corner of the hallway, rudely pointing her finger at Mian. Behind her, Mo Lini let out a helpless sigh and gently pressed her hand down.

"Liyana... don't point at people like that. It's very rude."

"What did you do wrong? Why did Xia Lun lock you up?"

Liyana stood outside the door, tilting her head, asking without any hesitation, utterly unaffected by the dense arrays covering the walls of the room, like a silent web enveloping the entire space.

"Well... I don't really know either."

Mian sighed. Getting caught up in something like this was pure misfortune.

Luo Lun also poked half his head through the door, sizing up this expert who could trade blows with Xia Lun and the others.

He seemed... nothing special. The young man before him looked so ordinary he seemed almost frail.

Mian rubbed his head awkwardly, feeling like a monkey on display.

"It seems there's another soul inside him," came Musen's voice from the storybook Mo Lini held. He had seen right through it.

"Oh! I get it! It's that thing, you know—that thing..." Liyana's eyes lit up.

"What thing?" Luo Lun and Mo Lini looked at her curiously.

Liyana struck an exaggerated pose, splaying her right hand wide, planting her left on her hip, and said with authority: "Within my body is sealed the most powerful Black Flame Dragon of the demon realm!"

The hallway fell silent.

The companions around her exchanged blank looks, no one responding.

After all, Liyana's antics were nothing new.

"Say something, will you!"

Getting no response, Liyana felt a surge of embarrassment and snapped back to a proper stance.

"Uh... I think it sounded cool?" Mo Lini offered a somewhat neutral reply.

What are they even doing?

From inside the room, Mian watched Liyana clowning around and couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Thump—

Mian suddenly felt his heart pound violently.

Then, a faint tinge of red crept into the corners of his eyes.

Almost simultaneously, Xia Lun and Aina appeared at the door.

"All of you, step back."

Xia Lun said to Liyana and the others, then stepped into the room first. A fire sword materialized in his hand, its blade dancing with real flames.

Inside the cramped room, Aise had no room to maneuver, and Xia Lun couldn't figure out why Aise would choose this moment to surface.

Aina had already begun reinforcing the surrounding arrays, preventing the battle's shockwaves from harming anyone else.

"Mr. Xia Lun... I feel like something's wrong with me..." Mian clutched his head, as if tortured by a splitting headache.

Xia Lun paused mid-step.

So it wasn't Aise? The person still seemed to be Mian?

"Mr. Xia Lun... I don't feel right..." Mian gripped his head, fingers digging deep into his hair, his voice trembling. "I don't know why... I suddenly have this urge... to kill..."

Mian pulled out the dagger Aina had given him earlier, his eyes turning red, and charged straight at Xia Lun.

Xia Lun dodged with a nimble sidestep, easily knocked the dagger from Mian's hand, then grabbed his wrist with the other hand and twisted, slamming him to the ground.

"Hah... hah..."

Mian kept letting out pained groans, lifting his head, then slamming it repeatedly against the floor with a heavy thud.

Xia Lun's expression turned grim.

Aise seemed to have passed his own maddening urge for slaughter into Mian.

Watching Mian spiral into frenzy, Xia Lun felt a wave of vertigo.

Was this what Aise had been enduring all along?

"I... I have to..." Mian was still struggling, his fingers desperately reaching for the fallen dagger nearby. But Xia Lun's strength was like a mountain pressing down on him, holding him fast.

What now?

Was there truly no choice but to sacrifice Mian?

Xia Lun stared at the short blade glowing with purple light, his lips pressed together in a silent line.

"Let me try."

Musen's form suddenly materialized from the storybook, shifting from illusory to solid. He took the book—his own true form—from Mo Lini's hands and walked over to Xia Lun.

Musen extended a finger, pressing it against Mian's forehead.

A gentle, white radiance spread from his fingertip. The chaos in Mian's eyes gradually dissipated, and his movements slowed until he finally collapsed to the floor, his chest heaving heavily, drenched in sweat, as if waking from a nightmare.

"I've suppressed his urge to kill."

Musen explained, looking somewhat dim after the effort. "It should hold for about a week."

Xia Lun released his grip and slowly stood up.

"Hmm. That was a help."