Chapter 1: Jun is not Here, First Day (1)
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the ceiling.
After my consciousness cleared, I immediately started recalling what had happened before.
When Xue Qing and I went to buy clothes, we ran into Lily. While we were picking out clothes, the sky outside suddenly turned dark, screams erupted from outside, and then disgusting black monsters started appearing one after another. It was the first time I saw Xue Qing go on a killing spree, using only a dagger to leave the surrounding monsters utterly annihilated.
Even so, it was too much for Xue Qing to deal with so many monsters alone. We fled upstairs… and met her.
Kaoru Tsukiyose.
No, that was something else already.
Monster, demon, shapeless, or perhaps… a god.
A higher existence that mortals could not contact.
As expected, my feeling on the island was not a mistake. Kaoru Tsukiyose had already ‘become’ not herself at that time.
Amnesia was just the precursor to the change. She was being constantly ‘replaced’ from the inside. Her appearance had already become a mere shell, and soon her very body would change.
Realizing this, I didn’t try to communicate with her. I turned and pulled Xue Qing and Lily, preparing to escape. But my intention was immediately seen through. Black tendrils of hair attacked me overwhelmingly. I was almost entangled by Kaoru Tsukiyose’s hair. Although I wasn’t swallowed, my abdomen was grazed.
At the critical moment, Yuhui Bai appeared and saved us. Then, Xue Qing stayed behind to cover us… I really was becoming a burden.
After that, I lost consciousness… and briefly woke up to see Juncheng.
He did come after all…
If even Ji Lianbing couldn’t stop him, then there was no point in saying anything more. so I could only watch him leave.
Then my consciousness became increasingly blurry. As expected, I fainted again.
The memory ended. I sat up, feeling my throat dry and my mouth sticky.
A glass of water was handed to me. I took it and slowly drank it down, then let out a breath and said.
“…Thank you.”
“Zi’ai, you’re awake.”
It was Yuhui.
She had a bandage around her head; clearly, she was also injured.
“Is this a hospital?”
SF Light Novel
“Yes, it’s the organization’s medical center on Black Street.”
“I see….”
Her eyes were red-rimmed, looking like she had been crying.
Although her voice had stabilized, it still had a slight tremor. This composure was forced, wasn’t it?
In an instant, I had a general understanding of what had happened.
These tears were definitely not shed for me. My injuries weren’t life-threatening, and Yuhui wasn’t the type of delicate girl to cry just because I got a minor injury. That meant…
The worst possible development had occurred… He… I actually believed you.
No, it’s not yet… things might still turn around…
I pressed my forehead, controlling my emotions, gritted my teeth, and pulled out the IV needle from my wrist, getting out of bed.
Seeing me try to get out of bed, Yuhui panicked and pressed her hands on my shoulders, trying to stop me.
“…Wait! Zi’ai, you can’t get up yet!”
“It’s alright, this small wound is nothing.”
“…”
“The priority now is to check on everyone else’s condition. Do you know where the others are? And what’s the situation in the city? What about Kaoru Tsukiyose?”
Juncheng, you didn’t even save her, did you?
You aren’t a man who would do pointless things.
Yuhui was rendered speechless by my questions, stammering and unable to speak. Her mind was still in turmoil, probably thinking only about Juncheng.
I was more or less the same, but it was useless to just immerse myself in sadness.
So, I shouted at her directly.
“Bai Yuhui, you’re not such a useless woman, are you? Cheer up! We can only rely on you and me now!”
As for the others… the situation was likely the worst it could be.
Especially those few particularly ‘dangerous’ women. I couldn’t imagine what they would become upon learning of Juncheng’s death.
“Be a little considerate of her. Bai Yuhui only woke up an hour earlier than you. She just received that kind of news, and it’s remarkable she can hold it together this much. We were worried her memory might become confused too, after all, the amount of information from nine lives is no joke.”
A woman wearing a red business suit and a black trench coat, with a cigarette in her mouth, walked into the ward.
“Principal? Or should I call you the leader of the organization?”
“Just call me by my name. That guy also called me by my name directly.”
“It’s over. Thanks to An Juncheng’s active participation, the source of the incident was resolved before Class 6 of the Control Department intervened. The organization is handling the follow-up. The remaining Children of Darkness have all been dealt with. It will take some time to repair the city, but the organization only needs to do a ‘naturalization process’. The troublesome part is that a large-scale memory blurring process will likely be necessary. The official announcement is that there was a major earthquake.
However, there are still people who escaped the scene and are spreading ‘rumors,’ and they will be dealt with.
…They can even control the news like that? It’s terrifying.”
“It’s a branch, after all. Maintaining world balance isn’t just talk.”
“That’s true.”
From some details, one could see the depth of the organization’s foundations.
“I… I thought you would be like the others… No, it’s not strange for you to act this way. After all, you are ‘him’.”
“I’m not ‘heartless’ like you. It’s just that now that he’s gone, I need to ‘take his place’.”
Nana Yang frowned. Juncheng had told me a lot about himself and some of the titles he had seen. This information now became my ‘weapon’.
“Your mouth needs to be even sharper.
Women can survive with just their mouths… both upstairs and downstairs.”
“What about the others?”
“If you’re asking about the ordinary people who died because they were caught up in this incident, they’ve all been taken care of. Some members of the organization sacrificed themselves, but overall, the sacrifices were not great…”
“You know who I’m referring to. What do I care about the others.”
“Hmph, An Juncheng has disappeared.”
“At the scene, there was nothing left except Kaoru Tsukiyose, who had returned to her original state. However, a large amount of An Juncheng’s blood was detected on Kaoru Tsukiyose’s red dress. He’s likely in grave danger.
I bit my lower lip, not stopping even when it started to bleed.
So… he died… You big idiot…
Although I had already made a rough guess from Yuhui’s expression earlier, my heart still refused to accept that Juncheng was dead.
Hearing the declaration of his death now, I felt as if a knife had been plunged into my chest.
…Hold on. This is not the time for grief.
Juncheng wouldn’t give up. No matter how bad things got, he would desperately search for a solution.
“That’s amazing. Unlike my useless daughter, who has already cried herself unconscious.”
“Although I really want to cry my eyes out right now… but before that, tell me, what exactly are you guys up to?”
“Don’t joke around.”
I glared at her fiercely, pouring all my emotions into it, and said in a cold tone.
“These things happening around Juncheng, what exactly is going on? Don’t tell me you don’t know. I’m not naive enough to think this is just a ‘coincidence’!”
Nana Yang was silent for a moment, finished her cigarette in one go, flicked it away, and said calmly, as if stating a fact.
“He couldn’t withstand the ‘Calamity’ and died. It’s that simple.”
“The Four Calamities: Slaughter, Death, Famine, Plague. The Witch of Calamities who harbored these ‘Calamities’ appeared by his side, triggering a series of events. He couldn’t withstand these trials, so he died. Who were the Witches of Calamities harboring the Calamities? You’ve probably guessed. [Witch of the Calamity of Death] Ji Lianbing, [Witch of the Calamity of Slaughter] Jiang Xueqing, [Witch of the Calamity of Famine] Kaoru Tsukiyose, and [Witch of the Calamity of Plague] Li Nai. Among them, only Li Nai was confirmed to be the Witch of the Calamity of Plague from the beginning and was actively recruited by the organization. The other three transformed during their contact with An Juncheng… Unfortunately, they failed in the final Calamity.”
“Why did these Calamities gather around Juncheng?”
“It’s complicated to explain… Did An Juncheng ever mention ‘Destiny Power’ to you?”
“That power to make wishes come true?”
“Exactly. Destiny Power is a power everyone possesses, but because an individual’s Destiny Power is too weak, they cannot change ‘established facts’. However, there are extremely rare individuals with immense Destiny Power who can even change the fate of the world. Such people are called [Children of Destiny], people who can change the world.”
“Juncheng is a Child of Destiny.”
“Yes. It wasn’t a mistake that we arranged him in the Anomaly class. He is a Child of Destiny. And the Four Calamities are the ‘destined pronouncements’ given to him by the world. Even if the organization didn’t interfere, the Witches of Calamities would inevitably gather around him.”
Yuhui murmured dazedly from the side.
…Destined, is that what it’s like….
“However, this time it was also because the organization was not well-prepared. If we could have predicted who the remaining Calamities were in advance, we could have made preparations before the incident… But there were too many women gathered around him; it was difficult to determine who the remaining Calamities were. We thought it would be Bai Yuhui, who had the deepest romantic entanglement with him, and you, who appeared suddenly, were also on the shortlist. But we never expected it to be Kaoru…”
Nana Yang showed regret for the first time.
Kaoru Tsukiyose lived with her and was her close friend. This must not have been what she wanted to happen either.
….I roughly understand what’s going on. Then, what about them?
“They have been forcibly contained for now. After An Juncheng’s death, these Witches of Calamities completely lost control and might do unpredictable things. Depending on the situation, we might have to…”
Nana Yang didn’t say the rest, but the implication was clear.
Depending on the situation, they might have to ‘execute them’… Heh, how ruthless. This is the organization’s style.
“How…”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen.”
“Ai…”
Now, what would he say?
What expression would he make? What actions would he take?
His appearance naturally came to mind.
A smile naturally appeared on my face, and I said, as if making a promise, hitting my chest.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the rest.”
That’s right, he, An Juncheng, was this handsome.
