Chapter 365 - 166: A Simple Condition
’Why does it feel like I’m about to make an enemy of the whole world?’
Wei’en let out a self-deprecating laugh. He glanced at Tina, whose eyes, now clear and bright, were fixed on him. He couldn’t help but reach out and stroke her long, silver-white hair. "Do you remember what the clown just said?"
"Tina remembers." The white-haired girl nodded lightly. One of her hands still held his, while the other clutched a tattered teddy bear.
"Do you want to be devoured by that woman?" Wei’en asked bluntly, not mincing his words.
"Tina... devoured?"
"She’ll devour everything you are—your body, your soul, and your origin," Wei’en said gravely, gazing into her eyes. "You won’t be you anymore. It’ll be as if you never existed in this world..."
"Tina... gone?" The white-haired girl instinctively tightened her grip on his hand and swung her teddy bear. "Tina... Brother Wei’en... gone?"
"That’s right. When that happens, you won’t remember me, and I won’t see her as you..."
"Tina doesn’t want that!"
As Wei’en finished speaking, black motes of light once again swirled around them, drifting up and down erratically. Some landed on Tina, others on him.
[You have been affected by a Calamity Seed’s Calamity Origin. As your Origin exceeds 300, you are exempt from the influence of the Calamity Origin World. Evaluation: Calamity, illusion, reality... Tsk! Special Reward: Survival Points +10, Origin +1, Resilience Level +1, Spirit Level +1.]
’She doesn’t want that, huh?’
Wei’en smiled. ’Even someone as simple and innocent as Tina doesn’t want to be devoured and replaced. So how could I possibly give up?’
"We’ll work hard... together!" he said, holding out a clenched fist.
"Tina will work hard!" Tina also held out a small, clenched fist.
One large and one small, one black and one white—the two fists bumped together.
Just like their companion contract, their destinies were now inextricably linked.
"It’s going to be very hard..."
’Hard?’
’Is anything ever easy?’
Wei’en was taken aback for a moment, then decided not to elaborate. Instead, he said, "Like I said before, starting today, you’re going to fight me. You need to learn not only how to fight, but also how to control the Calamity Origin. Can you do that?"
"Tina can!" The white-haired girl’s eyes went wide as she nodded emphatically.
"Good..."
Wei’en patted her head, then stood up and glanced at the clown doll still lying on the floor. He nudged it with his foot. "Mr. Leonard, it’s time to get to work."
The clown doll: "..."
It remained motionless, seemingly ignoring him.
"Arnold Lilith..."
"Damn it! Don’t you say that name!" The clown doll sprang to its feet. Its furry face, covered in stitches, contorted in an attempt to look ferocious.
Wei’en looked at the clown doll with a serious expression, ignoring its fury. "Mr. Leonard, I’ve done what I promised you. Now it’s your turn to honor your commitment."
Just as he had suspected, the Dawn Church had sent assassins after them because of the incident in the Caster City State. Ales and the Lady of Calamity were after Tina—and now, perhaps, him as well.
With all this happening, Wei’en had no time to worry about anyone else’s dissatisfaction, resentment, or hatred.
The only thing he could do was protect himself, guard Tina, and get to the Southern Continent with Clelia as quickly as possible to carry out the Eternal Life Association’s mission.
"Hmph. You’re letting a ’person’ who’s become a forbidden item run free... Time will show you what a grave mistake that is."
"Arnold Lily..."
"Damn it!" The clown doll opened its furry mouth and shrieked, "Shut up! Forget that name!"
"So, can we begin?" Wei’en asked calmly.
The clown’s stitched-on button eyes glared "fiercely" at him as it opened its mouth, taking heavy breaths. "HUFF... HUFF..."
Wei’en stared right back into its "eyes" without blinking and asked again, "Can we begin?"
"Let’s start! We can start whenever you want!"
The clown doll clenched its fists and slammed them into the empty air of the theater space.
POP!
At the impact, the entire theater twisted and warped. The surrounding space seemed to bend, and the stage, as well as the doors to the workshop and rest area, all became illusory.
In just a second, the dim theater transformed into a brightly lit gladiatorial arena. It was just like the dueling chamber where Wei’en had fought Lisi, complete with various pieces of training equipment and an arena at its center.
Wei’en scanned his surroundings, then leaped into the Gladiatorial Arena. "Tina, come on in."
"Mhm!" The white-haired girl nodded. With a light tap of her foot, she appeared inside the Gladiatorial Arena, standing face-to-face with Wei’en.
Before she could react, Wei’en flashed forward and threw a punch.
BOOM!
The punch smashed into Tina’s face, sending her flying backward. She crashed against the edge of the Gladiatorial Arena, blocked by an invisible barrier, and slid to the ground.
"Oof."
Tina shook her head and climbed to her feet. A fist print was visible on her fair face as she looked at Wei’en in a daze, as if she hadn’t expected him to hit her so hard.
Wei’en’s face was cold. "Again!"
He hadn’t used much of his strength in that punch, but it was still comparable to a captain-level blow.
At the same time, he was confident that a punch like that wouldn’t cause Tina any serious injury. Even without her freakish regenerative abilities, the favor she held with the Calamity Origin was enough to prove the white-haired girl’s potential.
Wei’en pressed forward again, landing punch after punch on Tina, each one heavier than the last.