Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1279 - 131: Offer the Holy Grail to Dispel the Illusions (Part 2)

"Orianna, Alandia, run!"

Orianna hurriedly wielded her sword to protect her companions, but someone acted even faster than her. Mo Yuankai rushed out from the depths of the alley, using his own body to slam into the waist of the tentacle monster. Though he was now weak and bloated, a faint heroic aura still protected him, granting him a bit of strength. However, Mo Yuankai’s power was too feeble; he couldn’t even knock the monster away and instead stumbled back himself. The monster’s tentacle wrapped around him and slammed him harshly against the wall, eliciting a weak scream from him.

"Mo!" Orianna rushed to his aid, only to be met with malicious laughter from high above. Threads from the Chaos Theater fell like torrential rain, firmly controlling her head and limbs. They had arrived too late; Situ Yi had completed all the steps, and now he could slowly alter the lives of others. In an instant, Orianna saw countless diverging paths, saw herself unable to overcome post-war depression, unable to break through the Creation Realm, unable to become the Starlight Knight...

Those numb and powerless false pasts flooded her mind, cruelly corroding her spirit. She mustered all her strength to rally her world, holding back the sudden sense of weakness, and shouted, "Alandia, think of something!"

The Dawn Knight was also controlled by the threads; Situ Yi couldn’t twist her past, so he tried to forcibly control her mind through violence. Yet she still stood there, as clear and sharp as an unsheathed sword. She looked at the tentacle monster across the street, her voice carrying unwavering determination.

"Stand up, Ce! It’s just a twisted past, nothing more. The you who rescued me from the Illusion Realm isn’t a man who’d be defeated by such means!"

The theater’s laughter turned into unabashed mocking ridicule, almost leaving Orianna stunned. She thought, your spirited words are as stirring as the heroines Mo loves in those animations! But Knight Alandia, we’re in reality, not in an animation, and can the Faceless God’s script be overturned with sheer willpower? Please, wake up, this isn’t a predicament that can be changed with courage and determination!

Orianna realized that this was the weakness brought by the false past, and she was about to lose resistance to the controlling power. Reality was as cruel as the script; the knight’s idealistic declaration had no effect at all. Gongsun Ce, now a monstrous change, pinned Mo Yuankai to the wall, using a tentacle burning with Tribulation Flame to pierce his dear friend. His movements were cold and meticulous, like a killer born with a passion for inflicting pain and torment on others.

The wailing had already ceased; the excessive pain had almost robbed Mo Yuankai of his voice, and the endless blood stained the wall, yet had not been washed away by rain, disappearing into the Tribulation Flame. The blood and fire splattered with the tentacles, dyeing half of the Dawn Knight’s face red.

Alandia continued to speak with difficulty, nearly being made into a puppet by those threads, yet her gaze was as steadfast as the stars.

"Remember, Ce... life... isn’t solely yours!

It’s the time you’ve spent with others... the memories you and I have woven together!"

The Faceless God didn’t need to say more; everything that happened in reality already confirmed the outcome. Gongsun Ce broke the defenses of the heroic aura with a single punch, his fist plunging into Mo Yuankai’s abdomen, eliciting a near-wailing cry of pain. He left his fist there for a prolonged moment, seemingly savoring his enemy’s suffering. The red and black mask turned toward the knights on the brink of death, a low laugh emanating from the clown’s smile beneath.

"Ah, that’s right.

Those are... memories that belong to you and me!"

From beneath his black robe burst forth a blinding flash, akin to the dawn, a pure white cross star!

The Faceless God’s laughter abruptly ceased, and under the starlight, the monster’s black robe shattered, the mask falling to the ground, revealing the proud face of a young man, his eyes fleetingly reflecting memories. Orianna’s reasoning hadn’t erred; persistence and idealism couldn’t break Situ Yi’s theater, and thus Alandia’s previous actions weren’t mere encouragement...

She was unlocking a segment of her own memory. A memory belonging to Gongsun Ce!

In an old, cramped hut filled with books, he and the silver-haired woman discussed strategies for combat. They wracked their brains, devising tactics that the enemy would never foresee. They were so close, they could almost hear each other’s thoughts whirring.

The room was simple yet warm, all the books were her memories. She bared herself without reservation, and he was somewhat embarrassed to admit he wasn’t entirely focused on thinking. He left a little room in his mind to cherish the moment longer with her, wanting to express his feelings...

As soon as this memory emerged, it was quickly drawn away by an eerie force, leaving only a faint shadow in Gongsun Ce’s mind. But that was enough, that fleeting emotion was sufficient for him to understand what he should do. He swung his fist with all his might, propelling Mo Yuankai towards the two knights, displaying a brilliant smile to the three of them.

"Hey, big brother! I’ve brought you a souvenir from this trip, you must use it well... it’s something that can grant wishes, definitely a good thing!"

Mo Yuankai, dazed, clutched his abdomen; at the moment he was sent flying, Gongsun Ce had opened his palm, leaving a gift for him.

It was a yellow metal cup, entirely lacking an aura of elegance or nobility, as unremarkable as a freebie from a roadside shop. Yet as soon as he touched the cup, countless things that hadn’t occurred came to mind; he remembered laughing loudly with friends, the jokes made while pursuing the female knight, the praise from the people after victory...

He recalled the night of his successful confession, the sky filled with dancing lights, so warm it almost brought tears to his eyes.

—Upon hearing the Holy Grail, you undoubtedly thought of the Wish Machine for realizing wishes, right? This is because in the Country, the Holy Grail is an omnipotent treasure...

He even recalled the idle banter one tends to forget after chatting about it, remembering the conversations he had over the phone with Ah Ce about the legends of the Holy Grail in the Country, how the King sent knights to foreign lands in search of the omnipotent Wish Machine, yet the knights never returned with results. Because in the stories of the Holy Grail’s quest, the true treasure of "omnipotence" is...

"The beautiful qualities gained from the journey... friendship, growth, and love..."

Mo Yuankai lifted the cup, realizing the truth and bursting into laughter. That utterly useless yet brilliantly beautiful golden cup emitted a radiant glow akin to gold in the hands of the former King Morton’s kin. Ignoring the harassing threads around him, he held the Holy Grail high above his head, wearing a dignified and solemn expression like a monarch.

"Knights escort on the journey, I have received your achievements. You have found the most precious quality in the world, which is the treasure to fulfill all wishes. I bestow the Holy Grail upon the purest of knights, for only she is worthy of using the Wish Machine’s power!"

"Don’t you dare!!" A man’s angry shout reverberated in the city sky, furious and gloomy like the howl of bones. Mist gathered into a giant ghost claw that descended, and Mo Yuankai threw the cup with all his might, the golden Wish Machine spinning before Orianna’s eyes.

The quest for the Holy Grail, the legend of seeking a Wish Machine, the knights enduring countless hardships to bring the treasure to the King; only the purest of knights has the right to hold the Holy Grail, for its omnipotent power is noble and transcendent, only usable for others.

She fully understood her dear friend’s plan, one that didn’t even need an explanation, a fairy tale every child in the Country was familiar with. The useless Holy Grail was a mere tool for completing the Skill, the "Pilgrimage Journey" aimed at repairing the Holy Grail and pursuing wishes was the true killing move. In that moment she forgot the surrounding dangers, forgot even her own past, rising on tiptoe to touch the Holy Grail in the air, voicing her most sincere wish.

"Please let my best friend Alandia Helison once again have the power to fight!"

Instantly, a pure white cross star rose from the mist, the clear starlight sweeping away layer upon layer of fog, returning the world to its true form!