Chapter 938: "The Root of Calamity," concludes!
Finally, the story came to an end.
The young hero successfully climbed the stairs and killed the god who was high above him.
Interestingly, in this part of the story, it's not a new platform or stairs that lifts the hero up, but other people.
There were hunchbacked old men, sick and weak women and children, merchants who made a fortune from the war, and proud nobles who refused to reflect on their mistakes.
It was as if, at that moment, humanity had truly achieved world peace.
With a common goal in mind, they finally united and pushed the brave warriors to attack the enemy.
Beneath the surface of unprecedented harmony lies a false prosperity.
The poor are struggling to hold it up, but they are crying.
The ruling class calmly contributed a small portion of their power, but began to secretly rejoice.
But by this time, the brave warrior who was stepping on them to move forward could no longer be seen.
His eyes were only on the god on the high platform—
Kill Him, then replace Him, become Him!
And so a new god was born!
Amid cheers from the crowd, Xiao He, playing the evil god, fell heavily backward from the high platform and crashed into the thick smoke below!
Amid gasps of surprise from the crowd, the stage lights began to flash wildly.
Everyone retreated in a distorted posture, as if their souls had been ripped away, turning them into figures from "The Scream." The hero also fell from the platform formed by the people, but just before landing, he rolled quickly and landed steadily. The surrounding lights flickered rapidly and then suddenly went out.
There was only one light shining in front of him.
And beneath that light, a mirror also appeared.
The evil god who had died has reappeared.
The invincible hero finally showed signs of panic at this moment.
The mirror was clearly facing him, but it reflected the image of an evil god.
The evil god raised its head and revealed a terrifying and eerie smile to him, then vanished once again in the next moment!
The hero stumbled back, crashing heavily onto the stage floor, muttering in terror, "No! How could this be! He's still here!"
As he stepped back, a mirror silently bumped into his back in the darkness.
The startled hero scrambled to his feet once more and ducked to the side.
However, the evil god in the mirror didn't even glance at him this time. Instead, he sat at a table and frantically devoured his food.
The food on the table was not plentiful; it was all bright red stuff, making it difficult to discern what it was. The face of the evil god was filled with a morbid craving and a frenzied appetite. He held the food in his hands and slammed his head against the plate, as if trying to drown himself in the sticky, disgusting delicacies. When he looked up again, his face was covered with blood from eating.
Although it didn't affect his appearance, when he raised his head and stared intently at the hero with eyes that seemed to devour him, the hero was only immersed in the fear that he too would be eaten.
He raised his hands in horror, covered his face, and loudly denied, "No! That's not it!"
However, it was too late. After seeing the evil god in the mirror, his body began to swell wildly!
Stomach, arms, thighs, neck—
His clothes, filled with air, made him look bloated and obese, and also made him repulsive. The suffocating feeling of obesity left him only able to pant like a stupid pig, so pitiful that it made people laugh.
The beam of light in front had disappeared, and the mirror was once again hidden in the darkness.
Next comes lust as she clutches the bizarre rag doll; laziness as she sprawls on the ground, too lazy to even exchange a glance; fury as she shouts at the hero through the mirror; and greed as she tries to break free from the mirror and wrest control from the hero, despite carrying a heavy bundle of gold coins...
Jealousy would occasionally utter sarcastic remarks, its hoarse laughter haunting the senses like a ghost, sending shivers down one's spine. Its bloodied face became increasingly distorted, unlike a real person, more like a demon, ready to drag the hero into hell at any moment.
Until later, each appearance of the evil god elicited gasps from the audience. It seemed that no one expected that this stage flash effect would evoke fear rather than amazement.
The effect of this mirrored effect is absolutely stunning!
Appearing at the edge of the stage one moment, in the center the next, and even behind the hero—the pervasive sense of threat, coupled with the increasingly twisted and terrifying performance of the evil god, caused even the hero outside the mirror to gradually become distorted and changed, his body becoming obese and weak, vile and cowardly, ugly and stupid, until finally he could only sit on the ground and frantically curse the evil god...
Until finally—the most serious of the seven deadly sins, pride, slowly rose to prominence.
The mirror tilted precisely at that moment, stretching his shadow even longer until it completely enveloped the hero.
A cold, inorganic gaze scrutinized the hero from head to toe, casually examining his physical form, as if selecting the part that pleased him most to attack.
In the end, however, his arrogance did not lead him to devour the hero; instead, he let out a disdainful laugh.
Arrogant God, you have no respect for a fallen hero!
A large amount of smoke billowed up, the evil god's laughter was piercing in the darkness, and there was a sharp sound of a mirror shattering. The next moment, all of the evil god's scenes came to an abrupt end!
When the surrounding smoke cleared and the lights came back on, only the hero remained in the same spot.
The hero returned to his previous appearance, as if the previously bloated and ugly person was not him at all; he was still the handsome and powerful hero.
The evil god never existed, nor did the mirror.
Everything that just happened was just a dream.
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the hero walked step by step up to the high platform, and reclaimed his throne—
People knelt with their hands clasped together to witness the new king...
The warm light above them shone so brightly, so gently, silently witnessing the end of an era and the beginning of a new cycle.
The root of the problem has never been resolved.
Peace is just wishful thinking.
...
There is no doubt that the performance of "The Root of Evil" went very smoothly.
When all the actors stood up and bowed to the audience, thunderous applause erupted.
Yang Heng, who plays the hero, stands in the center, next to Xiao He, who is dressed in black. In the final chapter, Xiao He played the evil god whose face was covered in blood, so even now, when he appears in front of everyone, the blood on his face has not yet dried, and his expression still carries a bit of coldness.
He only turned his gaze and slightly raised the corners of his mouth when the audience below the stage called his name.
The cheers at the scene grew even louder, and Xiao He even saw several support signs.
Huh? Wait, how did you manage to bring this thing into the theater?
This is an opera house! Not a fan meeting! Could you guys over there please stop holding up his support signs and shouting loudly?
Xiao He had already witnessed everyone's enthusiasm, but he hadn't expected it to be even more frenzied than he had imagined.
Even among the screams were other passersby who had become fans.
Although everyone in the "The Root of Evil" troupe speaks Chinese, there is a real-time translator on site, which translates the actors' dialogue in real time, greatly facilitating the audience's understanding.
Moreover, the performing arts are inherently interconnected.
Everyone who appeared was unique and left a deep impression.
Especially that evil god.
"No wonder the troupe specially invited Xiao He to participate in this performance."
Zong Jiwei was still immersed in the performance, clapping and unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
"If that's what the gods are like, then I truly sympathize with the hero."
The fans nearby whispered among themselves, not taking their idol's side at all, "Just look at that evil god's appearance, how could the hero possibly defeat him?"
"Indeed, it's not that the brave are weak, it's just that the opponent is too strong. The final result was a complete and ruthless crushing. I feel like I can't look at Brother Xiao the same way after watching it for three days. A perfectly good play gave me goosebumps."
"Me too! Me too! Especially that last evil god flashing by, my god, how did they arrange this stage set? Although I roughly know it's based on the principle of mirror refraction, I still have a hard time figuring it out! It felt like he was a ghost, just flashing by in a flash."
"So what does it all mean in the end? I thought the evil god faked his death, possessed the hero, and then took his place."
"I think so? The last part has a lot of action scenes, mostly physical performances. I think each company has its own interpretation."
"It shouldn't be," Zong Jiwei couldn't help but interject, explaining to the two girls who were seeing a stage play for the first time.