On the evening of his 24th birthday, Jielade sat on the steps of a high platform, overlooking the adventurers below who were injected with blessings, while reminiscing about himself 134 years ago.
At that time, he had fought three battles and finally entered the research institute before reaching the age limit of 25 for humans. However, because he was not interested in academics, Jielade joined the hunting hall as an ordinary hunter.
The one responsible for guiding him was a senior member of the Blood Saint Clan, who had a fondness for smoking and was lazy. Whenever there was administrative work to be done, he would always go to the toilet on time, earning him the nickname “Toilet Hunter”. He taught the young Jielade a valuable lesson.
Being a hunter was not a glamorous profession. The daily routine was just as tedious as any other job, especially in an era that still harbored racial, gender, and class discrimination. Many people were not evil, but they were like fish bones in a bowl of rice, causing an indescribable disgust.
The more he interacted with them, the more fish bones seemed to accumulate in Jielade’s throat, until one day he would need blood to cleanse it.
However, the unreliable senior, who was unreliable in every aspect, always accurately sensed Jielade’s low mood. From time to time, he would take Jielade to tea shops and casinos to relieve stress. Although Jielade was grateful, the senior’s lecherous smile with a face full of stubble truly dispelled the darkness in Jielade’s heart.
Until one day, both Jielade and the senior were transferred to a special task force to participate in the operation to eradicate the Four Pillar God Heresy. At first, Jielade didn’t pay much attention to this organization. Under the benevolent blood moon, evil was like stagnant water after rain, destined to be evaporated by the scorching sun.
However, the operation to encircle and suppress the heresy frequently encountered accidents. The main force was separated, and the heresy members fought fearlessly to the death alongside the hunters. When they finally reached the location of the heresy leader, only Jielade, the senior, and another old hunter remained.
The senior asked Jielade to stand outside the door, to prevent anyone from escaping and to be responsible for early warning.
This reason was very legitimate, and Jielade had no room to refuse.
Seemingly aware of Jielade’s eagerness to make achievements, the senior smiled and said, “When you lead a team in the future, you will have plenty of opportunities to take the lead. Now is the time for me to show off. You, kid, wait outside patiently, but if something happens to me, come in and save the day quickly.”
Even in a tense atmosphere, the senior could still dispel the darkness in Jielade’s heart. So Jielade watched as the two of them pushed open the door, holding their hunting lamps, and walked into the dark room to search for the hidden heresy leader.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes passed, but no sound came from inside. However, Jielade couldn’t wait any longer and also raised his hunting lamp to enter the room.
The darkness in the room seemed as dense as a substance, and the light from the hunting lamp couldn’t penetrate it. Even a modern pistol would be powerless against this unknown fear.
Crack! He stepped on a puddle of liquid, blood. Jielade lowered his head and saw a stranger’s body lying on the ground. Following the trail of blood, he saw two people entangled together.
The senior was biting the throat of the old hunter, and the old hunter stabbed the senior’s heart with a sword.
“Beautiful, don’t you think?” The stranger’s body spoke, and Jielade was so scared that he sat on the ground, only knowing to aim his gun at the body.
“I’m not a sorcerer, nor do I have any weapons. You don’t need to be so nervous.” The body sat up and smiled, “Once you pull the trigger, I will die.”
“You… them, they…”
“Vampires are afraid of hunters attacking them, so they bite and kill the hunters first, and then the hunters fight back and kill the vampires. I just happened to be lying here sleeping.”
Jielade’s tone became intense, “You’re lying!”
“You refute it so decisively. If it doesn’t conform to your own truth, then it’s not the truth, right? I really like this linear way of thinking.” The body tilted its head, “You must be thinking, why are vampires afraid of the old hunter attacking them? That’s because they have a grudge between them.”
“If the senior is so good, then why…”
“Just because he was good to you, does that mean he was a good person his whole life? He never offended anyone or did anything bad?”
Jielade was at a loss for words, but he quickly counterattacked, “You are the leader of the Four Pillar God Heresy!”
“Because I am a bad person, everything I say is wrong, right?” The body revealed a sweet smile, “I really like your linear way of thinking.”
“But do you know why the Four Pillar Gods exist?”
“Desire!” Jielade gasped for breath and gritted his teeth, “You are a group of desire demons who seduce people into corruption.”
“It’s peace of mind.” The body placed its hand on its chest, “People pursue peace of mind in order to become stronger, smarter, more popular, and to obtain more happiness… The Four Pillar Gods respond to their desires.”
“They both wanted peace of mind, so they fought each other and died here. Because if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to vent the darkness in their hearts.”
“You’re lying!””You’ve already agreed with me in your heart, haven’t you, Hunter Jielade? You’re a child with a keen insight. You noticed during the exploration process that the senior and the old hunter don’t get along. You’ve already guessed their unknown story…”
“Shut up!”
“You’re also aware that the senior’s smoking habit, laziness, and unkempt appearance all stem from his dark past. From bits and pieces of information, you’ve deduced that the senior is a pitiful failure. Beneath his smile, madness enough to destroy sanity is brewing…”
“I told you to shut up!”
Jielade pressed the muzzle against the corpse’s forehead. The corpse, however, smiled. She raised her blood-stained finger and drew two blood-like tear marks under Jielade’s eyes.
“Rainwater will indeed be evaporated by the sun, but some of it has already seeped into the soil, becoming nutrients for the earth. The evaporated rainwater doesn’t disappear, but follows the natural cycle, waiting for the next downpour. The rain never stops, because I’m here, because you’re here.”
“In a world where the law becomes a butcher’s knife, crime is not shameful.”
“So, Jielade, who are you crying for?”
Bang!
The corpse finally stopped talking. The other hunters arrived late, and the encirclement operation ended.
A hundred years passed in a hurry. Jielade became lazy, reckless, and unruly, but he also became stronger. Just when he thought he could sleep in the paradise of Camon City, a familiar name awakened the memories covered in dust.
So, Jielade volunteered, formulated a detailed plan, and in his strongest form, eradicated the newly formed Four Pillar God Heresy. He wanted to make up for his past regrets with his current achievements.
But Jielade didn’t feel satisfied at all—because this generation’s cult leader was the weakest he had ever seen.
Innocent, confused, speaking in a soft voice, almost like a recent college graduate, catching him was no harder than catching a cat.
So when Asho claimed to have lost his memory during the interrogation, Jielade believed him on the spot, thinking he was the unlucky scapegoat who had his memory erased by the puppet master behind the scenes.
Later, Professor Xilin found Jielade and explained the danger of Asho, even willing to use his connections to ask him to ‘measure’ Asho’s capacity again. Although Jielade, out of respect for his fellow man, let Asho go, his thoughts didn’t change—he still considered Asho an insignificant scapegoat.
Then a series of events erupted like a storm: jailbreak, prison control, Blood Moon trial, Xilin’s disappearance…
Just now, Jielade received a message that the president of the Elf Rights Association, Xilin Dor, was missing, and his life or death could not be confirmed. The news was temporarily blocked.
A hundred years later, even though he was sitting under the bright Blood Moon, Jielade felt as if he had walked into that dark room again.
Asho Heath, undoubtedly the leader of the Four Pillar God Heresy, is the source of chaos, the head of the secret, his mere existence causes disaster, he himself is an evil vortex!
With his perfect disguise, he gained the trust of the three-winged sorcerer and the foolishness of the captain of the law enforcement team!
“So, just like last time…” Jielade murmured in a voice only he could hear, “Am I only able to make up for it afterwards?”
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the blessing team.