Ch. 103 - The Goat-Faced Demon Has Arrived
Scarlet DescentThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
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This scene was beyond awkward.
For the War Demon-affiliated Battle Nun, the turn of events had left her completely unprepared. She had seen how terrifying her opponent’s bullets were and noticed that despite being shot twice, he seemed completely unscathed. Her plan was simple: close the distance quickly and kill him with melee weapons—a favorite tactic of many War Demon transcendentals. Even if she couldn’t kill him, she could at least keep him occupied and prevent him from finishing off her teammates.It was a sound plan, and she successfully closed the gap to within two or three meters of Wei Wei. But at that moment, a strange thought entered her mind.The black short gun in Wei Wei’s hand suddenly became extraordinarily captivating, like the most beautiful thing in the world. She forgot everything else and fixated on the gun barrel.And then…When her mind snapped back to clarity, she found her mouth cold and metallic.She was stunned, staring blankly at the absurd goat-faced mask mere inches away. She had indeed charged forward, knife in hand, raised high in a poised and powerful stance. But somehow… she had ended up biting down on his gun barrel?What the hell?She froze, dumbfounded, looking up at him.“Huh?”Wei Wei was equally surprised: “The Awareness Bullet worked this well?”In his haste earlier, he hadn’t even had time to carefully construct his Awareness Bullet; it had formed naturally. While assembling it, an image had flashed through his mind—a memory of persuading some Black Goat cultists to reform when one of them had bitten his gun in a gesture of goodwill. He didn’t know why he thought of that moment—perhaps because both were tall?Of course, what inspired the Awareness Bullet didn’t matter. In training camp, Knowledge Demon system students often said that the key to an Awareness Bullet’s success was catching the target off guard. The more unexpected the suggestion, the more likely it was to work. For example, commanding someone to “commit suicide” would trigger strong instinctual resistance unless the user’s rank vastly exceeded theirs. But something as innocuous as making them cough? That was easy to achieve.This Awareness Bullet likely worked because no War Demon transcendental would ever imagine someone implanting a thought that made them rush forward and bite a gun barrel—a gesture entirely outside their combat instincts’ defensive scope.So now both of them were frozen in place, equally dumbfounded.Wei Wei couldn’t help but think: Are all Knowledge Demon abilities this ridiculous?“Bang!”Instinctively pulling the trigger, Wei Wei watched as the War Demon transcendental fell backward. Even in death, her face bore an expression of grievance mixed with disbelief.“You…”A terrified voice suddenly rang out from afar—it was another Battle Nun who had just extinguished the flames on her body. She stared in disbelief at her fallen comrade, unable to comprehend how someone so skilled in direct combat and physical prowess could be killed so quickly—especially by a gunshot wound to the back of her head.“Whoosh…”For less than a second, both Wei Wei and she froze before simultaneously springing into action. The distance between them was too short; as she retreated while activating her ability, her pupils turned milky white, and the air around her distorted violently.Knowledge Demon Third-Stage Ability: Spiritual Baptism.Last time Wei Wei encountered this ability while driving his jeep, he barely managed to survive it. But now he was in his third stage of crimson power—and much closer to her.Before her twisting spiritual energy could fully manifest, Wei Wei darted forward, grabbing her by the neck and shoving her into a burning car nearby—the same car that had exploded moments ago.He slammed the half-open car door shut with a powerful kick to ensure she couldn’t escape before retreating swiftly.“Ahh… much better.”Wei Wei stepped back cautiously until he saw no further movement from inside the car.Even though his head throbbed painfully and sweat poured from his body like water squeezed from a sponge—leaving his limbs weak as noodles—his third-stage crimson power gave him an overwhelming advantage against this Battle Nun squad.And this was despite being unfamiliar with many of his newly acquired abilities.“Clang-clang…”Suddenly, heavy metallic noises echoed from afar—a ruggedly modified vehicle rolled down the street with an unmistakable wilderness aesthetic. Its occupants laughed maniacally as they picked off fleeing Scrap Iron City residents for sport, their faces filled with twisted satisfaction.But then they saw him—the goat-faced demon standing amidst burning wreckage and three charred Battle Nun corpses.Their expressions shifted instantly—from smug arrogance to sheer terror.These Battle Nuns were revered as angelic warriors among wilderness dwellers—yet here they lay dead? And who—or what—was this goat-faced demon standing before them?“Rat-a-tat-tat…”Someone on top of the vehicle shakily grabbed its mounted machine gun and opened fire wildly at Wei Wei. Bullets shattered nearby windows and tore through vehicles as they rained down like a storm.“Hahaha…”Instead of retreating under fire, Wei Wei laughed wildly as he dashed forward—leaving behind a crimson blur as he leaped between walls on either side of the street with uncanny agility.In an instant, he landed behind the machine gunner atop their vehicle—and plunged his hand into their chest.With a sickening squelch, he ripped out a still-beating heart connected by pulsating veins glistening with heat.As blood dripped from his fingers onto its surface like crimson threads weaving together life itself—Wei Wei grinned wickedly before channeling crimson energy into it through his palm until it pulsed unnaturally bright red.The mercenary screamed in terror—but soon fell silent as blood-red mist clouded his eyes; turning mechanically toward his comrades below—the once-human machine gunner began firing indiscriminately upon them instead.Screams filled the air alongside bursts of gunfire until silence finally returned—with nothing left but shattered bodies strewn across blood-soaked pavement beneath flickering flames licking hungrily at debris piles nearby…Wei Wei discarded what remained of his puppet’s heart carelessly onto the scorched earth below before muttering: “So that’s how ‘Touching Minds’ works on living beings…”The crowd stared in shock. Suddenly, someone’s trembling hands grabbed the gun mounted on the roof of the modified vehicle and unleashed a torrent of bullets at Wei Wei. The vehicles on both sides, along with their windows, shattered under the relentless barrage as bullets rained down like a storm.“Hahaha…”Wei Wei, in high spirits, burst into laughter. His figure blurred like a streak of red as he dashed forward, leaping between the walls on either side of the street. In an instant, he landed behind the mercenary operating the heavy machine gun. Without hesitation, he plunged his hand into the man’s chest and ripped out a bright red heart, still connected to pulsating blue-purple veins, steaming and beating rhythmically.Wei Wei gripped it tightly, and crimson threads from his palm spread across the entire heart. The mercenary screamed in terror, but his eyes gradually turned blood-red. His expression went blank as he mechanically turned and began firing at his comrades.Blood and flesh splattered everywhere amidst endless screams of agony. Wei Wei’s face lit up with excitement and satisfaction as the heavy firepower wiped out everyone around him. Only then did he discard the heart, letting it fall to the ground.The mercenary collapsed limply onto the ground. The heart twitched twice more before finally going still.Wei Wei couldn’t help but marvel: “So this is another way to use ‘Touching Minds.’”For ghosts or other spiritual entities, crimson power could envelop and control them like physical objects. But what about living beings? They had minds too… Previously lacking suitable test subjects, Wei Wei hadn’t been sure how it worked on living people. Now he understood—just touch a living heart to find out!No wonder his instructors used to praise him as a little genius in developing new abilities…Even while tormented by fever and weakness, Wei Wei felt exhilarated by the potential of his third-stage crimson power. He bent down to unmount the multi-barreled rotary gun fixed to the modified vehicle and hoisted it onto his shoulder—but after just a few steps, he was panting heavily and had to set it down again. Picking up a submachine gun instead, he slung it over his shoulder but still found it unbearably heavy.He was too weak…The disease was ravaging his body, rapidly draining his strength. Taking a deep breath, Wei Wei abandoned even the submachine gun and climbed back into the vehicle. He reinstalled the rotary gun on its mount before kicking out the driver and taking control of the vehicle himself. The engine roared as he drove forward—his body too weak to walk far but still capable of driving a powerful vehicle.However, such a strongly modified car needed someone to operate its guns…Wei Wei’s eyes lit up as he thought of the ghostly noblewoman in her bottle. Scrap Iron City was teeming with wandering battle squads and mercenaries treating it like their playground. Wilderness refugees roamed greedily through its streets, looting everything in sight.Panic-stricken civilians fled helplessly while ragged figures chased them down one by one. Some were dragged into alleys and pinned to the ground; screams filled every corner of the city—women’s shrieks mingling with men’s cries of pain.Hoarse voices shouted:“Punish these city-dwellers who don’t believe in God! They are cursed people…”“They’re destined for hell—they’re all demons…”“…So against demons, can’t we do whatever we want?”Screams echoed alongside laughter and the sound of sharp objects scraping against bone.This was inevitable.Whether or not the Seventh Clergy had explicitly ordered them to do so, this was always going to be the result once wilderness refugees entered the city. They harbored deep hatred for Scrap Iron City’s “cursed people.”They hated them for abandoning faith for worldly pleasures.They hated them for living better lives despite forsaking belief.This hatred surpassed reason—a madness more extreme than blood feuds or ordinary vengeance.The moment they entered Scrap Iron City, its descent into hell was inevitable. And now, with its residents severely weakened by disease, they were powerless to resist.Even those with weapons couldn’t fight back; dizziness clouded their vision while weak limbs failed them.They stumbled as they tried to flee—legs trembling uncontrollably—while their foggy minds teetered on unconsciousness.In their despairing haze, they couldn’t see clearly or think straight enough to seek help.Then suddenly came the roar of an approaching modified vehicle.Their blurry eyes couldn’t distinguish it from other city vehicles at first—but as it drew closer, something strange happened: their minds cleared slightly.Finally able to focus their gaze throṣugh its grimy windows—they saw him:A figure wearing a goat-faced mask…“Rat-a-tat-tat…”Bullets rained down from atop the modified vehicle with pinpoint precision—tearing through crazed attackers’ bodies.Standing atop the vehicle was an elegant noblewoman in a blood-red gown wielding a multi-barreled rotary gun—firing wildly into her enemies with unrelenting fury!