This time, the youth did not remain silent but turned back to the girl with a smile on his face, “Don’t you like the scene in the painting?”
The girl nodded dully, “I don’t like it.”
“But do you know how the scene in the painting came to be?”
“How did it come to be?”
The youth curled his lips, a mysterious light flashing in his narrow eyes, speaking in a playful tone with deliberate pacing, “It’s… because… of… you~”
“Me? How could it possibly be me?” The girl shook her head and started backing away, not knowing why, but she suddenly felt that the youth in front of her was somewhat terrifying.
“When mortals possess a powerful artifact, that’s the outcome they get,” the youth said with a grin, “Do you need me to remind you? The earthquake at the Royal City of the Heart Kingdom ten years ago.”
The girl’s pupils contracted sharply as she shook her head violently, “What are you talking about, I don’t know!”
The youth squinted his eyes, “Of course, how could the young and ignorant Princess Tasya remember what she did? However, after that incident, you were confined to a secret room, unable to leave. You should remember that.”
The youth turned around and slowly took out a paintbrush from his case.
Holding the paintbrush, he quickly made a few strokes at the end of the paper, then he admired the scene he had created in the painting…
“The descent of a Demon God, that’s what I like the least,” the youth seemed to remember something, a trace of nostalgia in his eyes. After a while, he turned his head back to look at the girl, or more accurately, Princess Tasya who had fled from the Heart Kingdom’s royal family of Ocalleg.
“To prevent the Demon God from descending upon this world, do you know what the best method is?”
A frisson of panic swept through Tasya’s eyes as she slowly backed away.
“That is, to find a way to eliminate the source of it all before anything happens.” The youth lifted the corners of his lips into a beautiful smile, putting away his painting tools, and took measured steps toward Tasya.
Shaking her head, Tasya pleaded, “No… don’t.”
Suddenly, Tasya seemed to have an idea, “Do you, do you think I’m cute?”
The youth gave an ambiguous smile, “Cute indeed.”
“Right! I’m so cute I could melt a heart!” Tasya also burst into laughter, as though she was the sunshine after rain, trying to show off from behind her.
But after a short while, as the youth kept approaching, Tasya’s smile abruptly vanished, and she froze.
“You, you, you how could you…” Tasya pointed at the youth, seeming unable to believe her eyes.
“My heart isn’t melted, does that feel strange to you?” the youth slowly approached, “I have been here for fifteen years, studying you.”
Tasya was just fifteen years old now, which meant that the youth had been by her side since her birth.
“After all, when dealing with a Mysterious Object, one must be cautious. From my observations, ‘it’ must be controlled by your emotions, right? Now do you understand? You cannot control your own emotions, but I can control yours,” the youth shrugged his shoulders, “Your emotional fluctuations are insufficient to melt my heart. So, goodbye.”
With a gentle wave of his hand, Tasya’s head slowly slid off her neck, and blood gushed forth.
The fresh blood sprayed onto the paper, and the scene of the Demon God’s descent, previously depicted, was replaced by a vivid red, until just a hollow, monochromatic bloodstain remained on the paper, with the image of the Demon God’s descent nowhere to be seen.
Looking at Tasya’s severed head, the youth sighed, reaching into her mouth.
Suddenly, he pulled a jawbone glistening with a faint golden light from her mouth.
A gleam appeared in the youth’s eyes, and the information about the jawbone revealed itself to his mind.
‘Chloe’s Regret: Any word spoken with emotion will come true immediately upon utterance. Note: Only negative effects can be realized.’
This information had been deduced by the youth over the years, but the name of the Mysterious Object was new to him.
“Chloe’s Regret, with an effect potent enough to influence the timeline of a Demon God, albeit an ordinary one. It should reach that level, right?” The youth pocketed the jawbone, planning to return to the Origin World for further appraisal.
However, just as he was about to leave, the canvas bag on his back began to move.
A painting flew out of nowhere, slowly unfolding by itself.
The painting depicted an expanse of void, but within the darkness, a faint yellow flame gradually appeared.
“Oh? So Night has finally taken that step,” the youth mused with a touch of emotion, “I wonder if, according to the Book of Kael, it will be possible to stop the shadow of the Demon God…”
“The Book of Kael is said to be on the same level as Augustine’s Twinborn Mirror, one of the Mysterious Objects. It should be correct.”
As he spoke, the youth lightly flicked the pale yellow flame on the painting, “Go.”
As his words fell, the flame on the painting vanished.
After ensuring everything was in order, the youth picked up his painting supplies, tore open a Void Gate, and disappeared.
The ground was left with nothing but a decimated corpse, a shattered head, a clueless little puppy, and a painting stained red with blood…
Latter on, The sheriff began investigating the death of Princess Tasya, but no suspect was found. The only clue discovered was a signature in the corner of the paper—
Feng.