Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1184 - 296: You Kill Me, or I Kill You

"At last, it’s just me left again." Scattering the ashes in her hand, she closed her eyes and sighed softly, "The feeling of loneliness is still so painfully moving."

Having lost family and friends, her own race and companions, she was left alone, wandering in the world. Looking around, all she saw were strangers, and from then on, there was no one to understand, no one to confide in, no one to share with. For a lonely wanderer, the future was so bitterly cold, cold enough to make one shiver. Nobody could understand Nora’s complex emotions then—not even Pannis; it wasn’t despair, because the energy fluctuations emanating from Nora had suddenly become extremely powerful, so much so that Pannis dared not attack rashly even though he didn’t understand why. Pannis knew he was still at a disadvantage, and an enemy who was in a superior position and whose plan could be accomplished at any moment could not possibly be in despair. It was in fact despair, but not about the combat itself, it was despair about the future. What if she won? What if her plans succeeded? The road ahead was still incredibly long, and yet she would ultimately walk it alone.

"Ever since we first met in the world of our Deity, we haven’t had a proper conversation, have we?" Nora crouched down, gathered the ashes on the ground as much as possible, and slowly moved them to the altar’s edge, "Seeing you trying hard to readjust your state, I also need to calm my emotions, to ensure I don’t make mistakes. So, why don’t we take this opportunity to have our first real talk, okay?"

Pannis did not want to chat, not at all, even though Nora’s voice carried a plea that was hard to refuse. He knew that outside, between the rituals, the girls must be in a fierce battle. The sooner he could handle the enemy at hand, the more assured the girls’ safety would be. But as Nora said, just now, to draw the enemy’s attention and support Shadow in battle, he had gone through consecutive high-intensity attacks and defenses, exhausting a great deal of his energy. Though he had rested for a while, he hadn’t fully recovered. He truly needed a bit more time to adjust, so he could only nod slightly, silently agreeing to Nora’s suggestion.

Nora smiled, speaking to herself, "Did you know, I’ve been regretting it for months. According to the original plan, the person you met on the ice field should have been me. I was supposed to be the principal for that important sacrifice. But just before departure, Herr suddenly insisted that he handle that sacrifice. We didn’t know why he wanted to do that, so we didn’t strongly object. Thinking about it now, he must have sensed some ominous omen and didn’t want me to go. Heh, ever since our awakening three hundred years ago, the two of them have always been like that, always protecting me from danger because I was the youngest."

"It was obvious," Pannis nodded. Indeed, during the battle in the World of the Dead, he had faintly noticed that two of the moribund seemed to be intentionally protecting another. But at that time, they were in the form of Dried Corpses, looking indistinct from each other, making it hard to tell who was who.

"In my heart, they were like the closest family. So, when Herr passed, my regret was far greater than Darak’s, and my resentment towards you was much deeper because I knew that he died in my stead," Nora said softly, "You must have seen it coming, which is why you kept provoking me with Herr’s death, hoping my anger would cloud my judgment, giving you a chance to turn the unfavorable situation around." freewebnøvel.coɱ

"I’m very sorry," Pannis said, bowing with a hand on his chest, using the dead to provoke the living was indeed not a tactic to be proud of, so he spoke very solemnly, "My actions were ungentlemanly, but if time could be rewound and done over, I would still do the same."

"Of course, because we are enemies," Nora nodded as if it were obvious, "Just as we have used the name Nellie to provoke you for the same reason several times, there’s no need for apologies."

"Yes, because we are enemies," Pannis sighed, "It has always been that way from the start."

"In fact, up until just now, I have harbored intense hatred for you. You led your comrades to ruin what we painstakingly worked on for centuries. You personally killed Herr. You even harmed our Deity. I have always wished I could personally kill you over and over again, consume your flesh and blood until you could no longer be revived," Nora grimaced, showing a ghostly grin, making a biting gesture as if jesting, chuckling, "But, at the moment when Darak perished just now, I suddenly understood, suddenly I didn’t hate you anymore."

"Why?" Pannis narrowed his eyes, suddenly having a very bad feeling, "Don’t you want to avenge the two of them anymore?"

"Why? The reason is very simple, because I finally understand why Darak didn’t hate you as I did, I finally realized that I have no reason to despise you." Picking up the cloak that Darak left behind after turning to dust, Nora carefully folded it and placed it by the altar, before calmly saying, "This is a battlefield, we are enemies. Anger, hatred, loathing, these have no need to exist between enemies. What is left between us is that you kill me, or I kill you. Aside from that, there’s nothing else. So, I shouldn’t hate you, and you shouldn’t hate me either. It’s meaningless. We only need to focus on killing each other. You think so too, right?"

Pannis sighed internally. He knew that his premonition had come true. His opponent had come to a true understanding after the provocation. She had truly put aside all worries, plans, vendettas, tossing them aside, leaving only the goal of killing him. Even he couldn’t do this himself. Such an enemy was the most terrifying, for there would be no emotional weaknesses to exploit, only their strongest capabilities displayed.

"To be honest, I have some regrets too," Pannis said with a wry smile, "Perhaps I never should have chatted with you just to recover."

"Hehehe, you’re overthinking it. It’s not like I had an epiphany talking to you. There’s no need for regret. It’s just that, for a very, very long time, I haven’t spoken my heart like I am now, not even to Herr or Darak about secrets of the heart." Nora said with a carefree laugh, "Actually, you are a group of adversaries worthy of respect, fearless of death, merely for the sake of your convictions. Such people were rare even in our era. Had you been born in our time, even with differing stances, perhaps we could have had the chance to be friends, much like you and Mr. Filarx."

"Me and Philarx? Hah, that guy." Pannis said noncommittally, "I can’t guarantee such things. But, it sounds like your feelings towards him are quite favorable."

"Of course, because like you, although he thwarted our plans, he’s indeed a person worthy of respect." As Nora’s gaze drifted, she saw the strange expression on Pannis’s face and smiled, "You don’t need to make that face. In truth, we were well aware of what Philarx did. He provided you with potions, guided you on your path, and he had informed us about it before taking any action. Those who peer into time are formidable; he seemed to have seen through our plans. Knowing that we were hoping for your arrival here, he also knew you wouldn’t refuse his gift, that’s why he hid nothing from us."

"Damn bastard, to think I was tricked by him," Pannis said, torn between laughter and tears, "Even in that situation, he didn’t tell the truth. Indeed, it’s terrifying how those who disdain lying are the most dangerous when they do."

"Hehehehe, you are indeed a group of interesting people. It’s such a pity you weren’t born in our era," Nora laughed heartily but then added somewhat wistfully, "But why has it come to be that now we stand as enemies?"

"That question, shouldn’t be directed at me," Pannis said, crossing his arms, "It was you who opened Death’s Gate; it was you who ignited the killing spree. We have always been just fighting back."

"We only wished to return to our own world, to take back what originally belonged to us and, moreover, is currently unclaimed. Is there anything wrong with such a purpose?" Nora asked in return, "Why did you people insist on rushing in to stop us?"

"If it were only for that sake, I don’t think anyone would stop you. The regular appearance of the Undead Disasters over thousands of years clearly illustrates that the Divine Power of Death needs someone to wield it. If your return was purely that, including the Deities themselves, most people would simply welcome you back." Pannis shook his head, "However, you chose to return with an onslaught of killing. Millions of sentient beings perished at the hands of Undead from Death’s Gate. We, too, want to live in this world. How could we possibly not stop you?"

"We didn’t intend to kill any of you who are worthy of respect," Nora asked with puzzlement, "What about the other Undead? They’re just the self-indulgent creations of those cowardly Deities who even peacefully coexist with traitors. What’s the harm in cleansing them away?"

"You see, that’s exactly where the problem lies," Pannis sighed, "Your hatred for certain Deities and differences between races filled you with hostility towards the world from the start. That it ended up as enmity is not at all surprising."

"Maybe it’s just as you said," Nora also sighed, and fell silent as if pondering Pannis’s words. After a moment, she looked up and asked softly, "It seems you’re prepared now."

"Indeed," Pannis replied, reaching for the hilt of the sword on his back, "What about you?"

"I’ve just received the entirety of Darak’s Power of Death, so I don’t need any preparation. I merely wanted to have a conversation, and now that my wish is fulfilled, it’s time for the final matter." Nora’s dagger returned to her hand, "Either you kill me, or I kill you."

"Yes, either you kill me, or I kill you."