World of Rules

38: In Death’s Embrace… Faces Are Revealed

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Amid the wreckage left by the battle between "D" and the caravan master, silence reigned.. as if the earth itself was holding its breath.

 

 

 

 

D stood quietly among the ruins, his dark eyes scanning the area without emotion. This wasn’t the first devastation he left behind.. and it wouldn’t be the last.

 

 

 

 

He turned south. He said nothing, didn’t look back, and simply began to walk. His steps were slow at first, then became firmer, as though the sands themselves were making way for him.

 

 

 

 

He had decided to return to the city.

 

 

 

 

This journey, though short, had proven fruitful. His power had clearly grown.. he had broken through to the second layer, and his energy now flowed with an unfamiliar strength and fluidity. Anyone else would have rejoiced, shouted in pride, perhaps even thrown a celebration.

 

 

 

 

But D didn’t celebrate.

 

 

 

 

His heart was as silent as his face.. no expression, no pride, no regret.

 

 

 

 

And with every step, his footprints were quickly erased behind him, as if the desert itself did not wish to remember the one who had passed through.

 

 

 

 

Eventually, D vanished among the sand dunes.. as if he had never existed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As D continued walking toward the city, amid the hush of the sands and the heavy breath of night, he sensed a disturbed aura approaching from behind.. weak, hesitant, but familiar.

 

 

 

 

He stopped without turning, his eyes fixed on the horizon, seemingly indifferent.

 

 

 

 

Fast, stumbling steps broke the silence, and then the frail figure appeared behind him, covered in dust and blood.. it was Mei.

 

 

 

 

Her face was pale, her clothes torn, her eyes wide from exhaustion. But when she saw the one standing there, she seemed to catch her breath after a long drowning.

 

 

 

 

“D...!” she called out hoarsely, with a voice filled with relief and longing, then ran toward him despite her body's pain.

 

 

 

 

She stopped in front of him, gazing as if she had found her lifeline.

 

 

 

 

“I never thought I’d see you here… how lucky.”

 

 

 

 

A faint laugh escaped her lips, despite the blood trickling from the side of her mouth.

 

 

 

 

D remained silent, his calm gaze unchanged.

 

 

 

 

She stepped closer, placing a hand over her chest, breathing slowly, trying to appeal to him without saying it outright.

 

 

 

 

“I was being chased… barely made it out alive.”

 

 

 

 

She looked up at him from beneath her lashes, a faint smile playing on her face.

 

 

 

 

“Ling and Rui… they’re dead. The mission failed,” Mei said in a sorrowful tone.

 

 

 

 

“And now they’re after me.”

 

 

 

 

She took another step closer, her gaze deepening, a small glimmer of cunning flickering in her eyes.. barely hidden.

 

 

 

 

“Will you really let a girl like me die here all alone?” “You don’t seem that heartless…”

 

 

 

 

Then she tilted her head slightly, her tone softer:

 

 

 

 

“Or maybe… you have a better reason to help me? Who knows…” “I can be useful… if you know how to use me.”

 

 

 

 

She fell silent, waiting for his answer.

 

 

 

 

But D didn’t reply.

 

 

 

 

He simply looked at her for a moment, then turned and continued walking… slowly, as if leaving her the choice: Follow.. or return to the blood.

 

 

 

 

Mei gave a small sly smile despite her pain, then silently followed behind him.

 

 

 

 

She had succeeded.

 

 

 

 

Both D and Mei continued their walk across the endless sea of sand, the sky watching in heavy silence. Mei looked exhausted, but she didn’t stop talking.

 

 

 

 

“Why don’t we speed up?” she asked, glancing nervously behind her from time to time. “The bandit chief… he might catch up with us. Wouldn’t it be better to run?”

 

 

 

 

But D didn’t answer. He simply kept walking in silence, as if her words didn’t reach him.. or he simply saw no reason to respond.

 

 

 

 

She grew more anxious.

 

 

 

 

“D, you hear me, don’t you?! We can’t act like this is a stroll!”

 

 

 

 

He suddenly stopped, still not looking at her, and began scanning the area.

 

 

 

 

After a few moments, he moved toward a large rock jutting from the sand, sat in its shade, pulled a water pouch from his jacket, drank a little, then closed it and set it aside.

 

 

 

 

Mei approached cautiously.

 

 

 

 

“What’s wrong? Why did we stop? Aren’t we in danger?”

 

 

 

 

D raised his head slightly, his eyes expressionless, his voice calm like the night breeze: “We need to rest.. and recover our strength.”

 

 

 

 

Mei stared at him in surprise for a moment, then narrowed her eyes and smiled inwardly.. but didn’t show it on her face.

 

 

 

 

“Heh…” she thought, staring at his side with determination. “So, even you can’t resist my charm. You’ve fallen into my trap, you cold fool.”

 

 

 

 

She quietly sat next to him, feigning exhaustion, while inside, she was weaving a new plan.

 

 

 

 

What she didn’t realize.. was that D had never weakened.. not even for a moment. And her trap.. was made of air.

 

 

 

 

Not much time passed…

 

 

 

 

Until the air around them trembled, followed by a sudden explosion:

 

 

 

 

Boom!

 

 

 

 

A massive fireball shot down from the sky like a blazing meteor, crashing into the sand just meters away from where D and Mei sat.

 

 

 

 

Dust flew everywhere. A wave of suffocating heat surged, bathing the area in a blinding red glow.

 

 

 

 

Mei gasped, her body trembling. Her eyes widened in shock as she quickly turned to the source of the attack.

 

 

 

 

Through the swirling dust, two figures emerged.

 

 

 

 

One was massive, covered in scars and wounds, his face wild and brutal. He wielded a black iron spear, its tip glowing with fire.

 

 

 

 

Beside him stood his subordinate, cloaked in dark robes, eyes glinting with malice.

 

 

 

 

The bandit chief.

 

 

 

 

He let out a dry, short laugh, then spoke in a harsh voice:

 

 

 

 

“So here you are.. you didn’t get far.”

 

 

 

 

He stepped forward and nodded toward D:

 

 

 

 

“You… the little one who escaped earlier.

 

Did you think the sand would protect you forever?

 

No more running now.”

 

 

 

 

Then he looked at Mei, smirking:

 

 

 

 

“And you… how pathetic. Hiding behind him?”

 

 

 

 

He drew his spear and stabbed it into the ground, causing the sand beneath his feet to crack.

 

 

 

 

“Get ready.. because this time, I’ll leave nothing behind.”

 

 

 

 

The air was thick with tension.

 

 

 

 

Mei didn’t speak.. her body frozen in fear.

 

 

 

 

D remained seated.. still unmoving.

 

 

 

 

But something in his eyes changed.

 

 

 

 

His usual calm.. began to take another form.

 

 

 

 

While Mei was still stunned, her body frozen in shock, eyes wide with terror from the flames that nearly consumed them..

 

 

 

 

D vanished.

 

 

 

 

No signal. No sound. No warning.

 

He simply disappeared, as if he had evaporated into the air.

 

 

 

 

Then..

 

 

 

 

"Poof!"

 

 

 

 

He appeared in front of the dark-robed subordinate. The latter didn’t even have time to lift his head or grasp what was happening.

 

 

 

 

The last thing he saw.. was a palm descending from above.

 

 

 

 

"Crack!"

 

 

 

 

The air shook. His skull exploded like a watermelon under a hammer. Blood, bone, and brain matter splattered across the sand, while the body stood for a brief moment.. before collapsing slowly, like a puppet with cut strings.

 

 

 

 

The bandit chief was still smiling, arrogance plastered across his face.

 

 

 

 

But..

 

 

 

 

When he saw what happened, his expression froze.

 

 

 

 

His smile turned into pure terror. He began to back away slowly, each step betraying his confidence, his eyes darting around in fear.

 

 

 

 

“No… impossible…” he muttered hoarsely.

 

 

 

 

But he wasn’t given time.

 

 

 

 

D vanished again.. silently, like a shadow unseen.

 

 

 

 

Then..

 

 

 

 

He appeared directly in front of him. His hand moved faster than the eye could follow, glowing with immense power.

 

 

 

 

“Smash!”

 

 

 

 

A sound like a boulder shattering.

 

 

 

 

One strike.

 

To the bandit chief’s neck.

 

 

 

 

"Crack!"

 

 

 

 

The head was severed.

 

 

 

 

It flew high into the air, the terrified expression still frozen on its face..

 

 

 

 

While the body fell to its knees, then collapsed to the side.. quietly.

 

 

 

 

Everything went still.

 

Even the wind.. paused for a moment.

 

 

 

 

Mei stared at D.. As if he was no longer the same person who had walked beside her just moments ago.

 

 

 

 

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