"I really don't understand what you mean by wanting to form an alliance."
White Night answered calmly.
"I came to you personally to form an alliance. Are you doubting my sincerity now?"
"It's a lie. I know that. Both the Demon King and I are just means to an end for you."
As Ash burst out, White Night's eyes narrowed.
"You plan to use everyone to your advantage and then discard them when you're done. Isn't that right?"
"Let's say what you're saying is true. Then shouldn't you not be telling me that?"
White Night chuckled.
"If my true intention is to use you and then throw you away, shouldn't you be quietly planning a countermeasure knowing that? Why tell me?"
"I told you. I really want to form an alliance with you."
The second song ended, and the third began.
The human commander and the undead legion commander continued to dance without rest.
"Whatever your hidden intentions may be, you've helped us so far. We communicate well. And now we're even dancing together."
"..."
"I don't want to be your enemy. I want to be on your side until the end."
White Night couldn't stop her sneer.
But Ash's gaze was firm and unwavering. White Night was honestly a bit flustered.
'What's this now? This almost feels like a proposal.'
Is this human really trying to charm me?
'But... it's not unpleasant.'
In this hellish world, how many had approached her with such honesty?
To her, a mere copy, a fake...
So, White Night decided to give a bit of lip service.
"Alright, I promise."
As White Night stepped closer to Ash with a twirl, she whispered secretly.
"I'll truly be on your side."
"Really?"
"Until we defeat the Demon King and save the world from destruction... I won't betray you. Is that enough?"
There was no reason not to make such a promise. To some extent, it was sincere.
'Until we defeat the Demon King and save the world from destruction,' she would be on his side.
White Night winked with eyes heavily made up in red. A look of relief appeared on Ash's face.
"Good, White Night."
As the third song ended.
The two leaders bowed to each other after completing three dances. Ash stood up slowly and gestured towards the inside of the banquet hall.
"Then follow me."
White Night tilted her head.
"Where are we going?"
"To perform the blood oath ceremony."
Ash's guards rushed to follow, but Ash waved them off.
"Don't follow. This is something for White Night and me to resolve."
"You too."
White Night gestured similarly to the Jiangshi trailing behind her.
"Stay here. This is something for the commander here and me to handle."
A young female waiter, with a red scarf around her neck, led them inside.
"This way, please."
In the innermost part of the banquet hall, a small private room was set up.
On the table in the special room were two empty plates, two empty cups, a wide-mouthed bottle of clear liquor, and two daggers.
The two sat facing each other at the table. White Night tilted her head as she looked at the tableware.
"The blood oath ceremony, you mean that old tradition?"
"Yes. The ritual performed by the rulers of this world when they form a blood oath."
Ash rolled up his left sleeve and picked up one of the daggers on the table.
"We exchange and consume each other's flesh and blood. This binds the blood oath."
"Bringing up such an antiquated ritual... you're serious, aren't you?"
"I'll go first."
Ash unhesitatingly cut his left arm with the dagger.
A piece of flesh, neatly sliced, fell onto the plate, and blood streamed down from Ash's left forearm. Without even a grimace, Ash let the blood drip into the bottle.
"I'll stop the bleeding."
The waiter untied her scarf and tied it around Ash's arm to stem the bleeding. Ash, composed as ever, gestured towards White Night.
"It's your turn."
"..."
White Night was wary of any magical principles hidden in this ceremony, but detected nothing.
"Are you afraid of the knife? You're not thinking of backing out now, are you?"
"Why would I?"
Holding the dagger before her, White Night gave Ash a bitter smile, then swung the dagger with magical force.
A piece of the sturdy Jiangshi's flesh fell onto the plate. White Night let her cold, black blood flow into the bottle, just like Ash had done.
"You don't seem like it, but you're quite wild, aren't you?"
"It might be a bit barbaric, but it's best to keep to tradition in such matters."
White Night stopped her own bleeding. Once ready, the two sat opposite each other at the table.
The waiter shook the bottle to mix their blood and then poured it into their cups.
"First, please drink the wine mixed with each other's blood."
Ash drank without hesitation. White Night peeked at the wine, suspecting some magical spell, but detected nothing.
'Really just a pure ritual...?'
After downing the wine, the waiter brought a long pair of tweezers and picked up the flesh from the plate.
"Next, please swallow each other's flesh."
"I'm happy to swallow the flesh of a living young person, but are you okay with it, Ash? It might taste like a corpse."
The waiter first brought White Night's flesh to Ash's mouth. Ash smiled and opened his mouth.
"If it's the flesh of an ally, I'll gladly swallow it."
And he really did swallow it without a grimace.
Then, the waiter used the tweezers to bring Ash's flesh to White Night.
White Night remained guarded to the end, but detected nothing from the flesh, the tweezers, or the waiter.
Gulp.
White Night swallowed Ash's flesh.
Watching his enemy swallow his own flesh, Ash declared.
"Now that we have shared each other's flesh and blood, we are bound by a blood oath."
"..."
"We are like one body, and we shall join forces and fight for each other. Betrayal is a breach of heavenly laws, and the betrayer shall be punished without mercy."
A mischievous smile formed on Ash's lips.
"So, let's look forward to working together, White Night."
Ash extended his hand, and White Night slowly reached out to grasp it.
"..."
Perhaps it was because of this cumbersome and bloody process.
The opponent truly felt like a special being.
"Alright, let's get rid of this bloody, tasteless wine and food! Bring the real good wine and snacks! Let's drink till we're cross-eyed tonight!"
Ash, who had taken a seat next to White Night, casually draped his arm over her shoulder.
"Let's set this party on fire, ally!"
"..."
White Night, looking blankly at Ash, then draped her arm over his shoulder in response.
"Alright! Let's revel together till the end of this world!"
***
After the party ended, and the alliance was formed.
White Night and the Lich Legion began fighting alongside Crossroad as allies.
They officially declared rebellion against the Demon King and together crushed other monsters on the monster front.
The third year of the monster front was terrible and harsh. But with White Night, a powerful ally, Crossroad could continue the tough fight.
Initially, everyone was wary of White Night, a monster, but as she fought alongside them, risking her life, it didn't take long for everyone to recognize her as a comrade.
White Night grew close to the people of Crossroad. Trusting each other with their lives, they continued the fierce battle as part of the front line.
...
The battle raged endlessly, and death piled up like hills. Countless sorrows and tears flowed like a river.
Crossroad, at last, endured the third year of combat.
They repelled the endlessly assaulting Nightmare Legions.
Defeated the Demon Guardian and annihilated the Black Dragon swarm...
Finally, the last desperate squad faced the Demon King in the deepest part of Lake Kingdom.
In this elite squad of the human side, White Night was also proudly a member.
Crack!
A giant eye appeared in the air and blinked.
White Night's instant-kill ability - direct intervention through the vision of an external being, was able to damage even the Demon King.
"Haha, this. I thought it was a cat I took in my arms."
The Demon King, fatally wounded by White Night's attack, coughed up blood and laughed.
"I suspected it might become a tiger someday, but I never imagined it would bite at my neck..."
Crack!
One more hit.
After completely annihilating the Demon King, White Night successfully usurped the Demon King's throne as originally planned.
Seizing divinity from the corpse of the Demon King and greedily consuming it, White Night received a direct message from the external being that had lent her power all this while.
"Congratulations. You have successfully rebelled, ant."
"..."
"Now you are the new Demon King."
Darkness from another realm sprouted all over White Night's body. As her entire body was covered with pitch-black shadows, the external being's cries continued to echo in her mind.
"Now, hurry...! Show this world its true destruction!"
"..."
"Your predecessor, what was his aim, endlessly repeating this tiresome world! Do you know how boring it was to watch!"
The external being was repeating the same tiresome words it had always said.
"The one who should bring us, the audience, joy! How dare he! Used destruction as a means for his own goals!"
"..."
"Now, destroy it in one breath! Pour water, light fire! Proclaim the eternal end of this world!"
The external being roared.
"Then your ascension will be complete! Ascend with us to the heavens, and together we shall witness the destruction of all worlds!"
White Night's body was completely engulfed in shadows, and where her face was, a white void drew a long curve instead of a mouth.
"White Night..."
Ash trembled as he looked up at the newly risen Demon King floating in the air.
"Weren't we comrades? Was this your intention from the beginning?"
"I'm sorry, Ash."
White Night looked down at her once sincere comrade with a bitter smile.
"The blood oath ceremony we shared, the friendship we built... in the end, it's all just a lower world affair."
Among the ants, no matter how deep the relationship, it's still just among ants.
Now, looking down from above, everything seemed so small and insignificant.
White Night flicked her hand.
Kwaah!
From the deepest part of the black lake, countless monsters emerged anew and rushed towards Ash.
The last desperate squad of the human side fought valiantly, but one by one, they lost their lives against the overwhelming tide.
Crack...
Finally, the flag of Crossroad fell, and even Ash was brought to his knees.
Thump! Whack!
Dozens of monsters, each with their own teeth, pierced Ash's body from all directions. Blood splattered everywhere.
White Night did not avert her eyes from the death of her first friend since becoming a Lich.
And then.
"What a pity, White Night."
With a voice that seemed to fade away at any moment, Ash slowly murmured.
"Failed the final test."
"...What?"
"I really thought, perhaps we could be comrades..."
Ash slowly lifted his head.
Bloodied, his face bore an unprecedented cold light.
"So, it comes to this."
Suddenly, the world halted.
Not only the monsters summoned by White Night but also her entire body, and even the eyes of the external being in the sky...
The whole world stood still, as if someone commanded it to 'stop'.
"What...?"
"Now then."
Ash, who was being torn apart by the monsters, effortlessly shook himself free. The surrounding monsters dispersed like dust.
His body, once bloodied, was now clean.
White Night stared blankly at Ash, unable to comprehend the situation.
"It's time to wake up from the dream, traitor."
Before White Night's eyes, Ash snapped his fingers.
Snap!
***
"...Huh?!"
White Night jolted awake in shock.
As her blurred vision cleared, she realized... she was in the private room where the blood oath ceremony had taken place.
White Night discovered she couldn't move a muscle.
And there was Ash, sitting with one leg crossed, his eyes cold.
"You said you would form a blood oath with me."
Ash poured whiskey into a glass he held. Ice clinked in the glass as it filled.
"Yet you didn't hesitate to betray me. I'm disappointed, White Night."
"This is, what... What I just saw..."
"It was an illusion."
"An illusion...?"
White Night stammered with a trembling voice.
"The year I experienced... was it all an illusion?"
"Yes. To test your true intentions, I showed you that illusion."
Ash shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I only directed the 'course' of the illusion, the detailed situations and outcomes were all drawn by you. You had quite the plan, didn’t you? It helped me understand you better. And I got various information that I couldn’t know otherwise."
Dumbfounded, White Night yelled desperately.
"That's impossible! I am a Grand Sorceress! How could I, fall for a mortal's illusion so completely...!"
"That's why it wasn't easy to prepare."
Ash glanced at the five heroes standing behind him.
Orange, Lime, Cobalt, Violet, Scarlet.
These were the five key agents who conducted this operation. Ash grinned as he looked at them.
"But pulling off such a difficult design and stripping a fool bare, that's what a con artist does."
--TL Notes--
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