Translator: CinderTL
The Wei Family men in the audience nearly exploded with rage, stung by the venomous insults hurled by their junior, who was about to be executed.
The Gate on his back trembled violently, a clear sign that his time was running out.
But if the Abyss Plan succeeded, none of them would remain bound by the Curse Behind the Door. They would ascend to a new existence, towering over the mortal world.
"Over twenty years ago, you selected the most promising children from each family to participate in the Abyss Plan. You gathered us at an orphanage in District 13, where we grew up alongside Zero."
"There, we were forged into your sharpest blades, becoming the Crimson Squad, directly subordinate to Night Watcher Headquarters. We purged everything that threatened your dominion—supernatural events, nightmares, even Night Watchers who dared to see the truth and refused to be manipulated any longer."
"You deceived us into believing it was all for justice, that necessary sacrifices were unavoidable. We thought we were ending the nightmares once and for all, securing the chance for more to watch for the dawn."
"It was during that process that each of us became burdened with a Gate. What we initially believed to be a gift turned out to be the most vicious of curses."
Wei Jinting's calm voice suddenly wavered, his body trembling. "Until the very end, twenty years ago, you deceived us. You promised that if we cleared just one more Gate, the Nightmare would end, and we would return to our families as heroes."
"But—" Wei Jinting abruptly raised his head, revealing a mangled, bloodied face. "You never told us that the final Gate was Zero's!"
"After we realized something was wrong, you took advantage of our respite to secretly gather all the elite Night Watchers and ambush us."
"If Zero hadn't forcibly borrowed the power of his Gate to send us away, you would have wiped out the entire Crimson Squad."
"Even then, you managed to subdue Zero. But his Gate fell into dormancy, and without finding it, you couldn't activate it."
"So you sealed away his memories, forced him to live as an ordinary person, and waited for the opportune moment to reintroduce him to the Nightmare."
"You know perfectly well that the best way to open Zero's Gate is to drive him to despair."
Wei Jinting sneered, "Just like twenty years ago. You never believed we could breach Zero's Gate. You simply used us as expendable pawns. When we were on the verge of collapse, you'd unleash your ambush teams and slaughter us one by one before Zero's eyes."
He lifted his head, two streams of bloody tears tracing paths down his face. "How cruel. Zero doesn't belong to this world. We, the Crimson Squad, are all he knows here, yet you seek to strip away everything he holds dear."
"All to plunge him into despair and force open his Gate."
"Once his Gate is breached, the true nightmare will descend."
"In an instant, the Nightmare World will merge with our own. The great terrors lurking behind those Gates will manifest in their true forms."
"There's no such thing as Abnormality. These are entities beyond our comprehension—gods from another world."
"But we can control them!" A voice boomed like a great bell, ancient yet fiercely zealous. One could imagine another centenarian, consumed by an impatient fervor for the Abyss Plan.
"Once the two worlds merge, the curse that punishes those who abuse the Power of the Door will vanish. We'll wield divine power without restraint—what difference will there be between us and the gods themselves?"
"No! If those Abnormities are gods, then we, who can master them, will transcend divinity!"
The old man's voice crackled with hypnotic fervor. As his words spread, the robed figures below raised their heads, revealing pairs of crimson eyes burning with greed beneath their hoods.
They had endured suppression for too long, restrained by the Gate, the Curse Behind the Door, and the cold disdain of ordinary people. The Abyss Plan was their chance to seize power.
Wei Jinting, barely clinging to life, suddenly chuckled. His hoarse laughter echoed through the vast hall, growing louder and more unhinged until it crashed like a torrential downpour, extinguishing the crowd's frenzy.
"You think you can control the gods?" Wei Jinting wheezed, his voice dripping with pity. "Fools."
"Why waste words on a shameful traitor!" someone shouted from the crowd. "Execute him! Let this be the price for his defiance!"
"Execute him!"
"Execute him!"
The loudest voices came from the leader of the Wei Family, Wei Jinting's own uncle.
"By unanimous verdict of the tribunal, Wei Jinting, former member of the Abyss Plan, has committed heinous crimes and shown no remorse. He is hereby sentenced to immediate execution!"
With the crack of a black wooden hammer, the verdict was sealed.
A cold gun pressed against the back of his head. "Open your mouth," An Xuan said quietly from behind. "The bullet will pass straight through, leaving your face intact." An Xuan had been standing there for some time, unnoticed until now.
As the sole survivor of the Iris Operation, he had been chosen as the executioner—an immense honor.
An elderly man in gold-and-white robes shuffled onto the platform, his heavy footsteps echoing as he approached Wei Jinting. He resembled a religious officiant.
"Child, do you have any final words?" the old man asked, his voice as pale as his skin. "God will forgive you."
Two youths followed behind him, struggling to place a half-human-sized divine statue on the ground. The pristine white figure glowed with an ethereal purity.
Wei Jinting tilted his head slightly and noticed the white statue. His fading gaze momentarily sharpened, and his lips moved slowly. "I once met a woman," he murmured, "a very stubborn woman. She was polite to me, inviting me to accompany her to hell."
"The road to hell, huh?" Wei Jinting lifted his head and chuckled softly. "Gentlemen, shall we embark together?"
"Execute him!" a furious voice boomed from the judge's platform.
Bang!
A large-caliber pistol bullet streaked toward the platform, leaving a dazzling trail in its wake. It struck the presiding judge—the old man who had just issued the command—squarely between the eyes.
The immense kinetic energy tore through his pitch-black robe but failed to shatter his skull.
Unfazed, An Xuan fired again, severing the ropes binding Wei Jinting. He dragged Wei Jinting backward at full speed. Before anyone could recover from their shock, a deafening explosion rocked the center of the hall, as if something colossal had crashed down from the sky.
Blood splattered across the pristine white statue. The two terrified youths tumbled to the ground as a humanoid figure nearly three meters tall descended from above, crushing the old clergyman's head beneath its massive foot.
(End of the Chapter)
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