Xingtetsu: You are not included in Elio's script!

Chapter 677

At this time, Bai'e has returned to his hometown - Aili Mishe.

This place has been corroded by the black tide and cannot be corroded any further.

Why did Bai'e return to Aili Secret Pavilion?

Because he wants to overcome his inner fear.

So...you must not back down!

...

Dust covered the ruins of Ashfall Village, and the solidified black magma on the broken walls looked like petrified tears.

Bai'e stepped on the crushed bricks and stones, and every step stirred up choking ashes.

The blazing flames when he was twelve years old revived in his memory like an indelible nightmare.

At that time, he was weak and helpless. He could only curl up beside the cold well, his eyes wide open, watching his grandparents' figures twist in pain in the raging fire, gradually turning into charred outlines until they disappeared.

At that moment, his world collapsed. Fear was like a surging tide that completely submerged him. From then on, it took root and grew in his heart, becoming an insurmountable gap in his heart.

And now, standing on this familiar yet unfamiliar land, he is determined to face it all and have a thrilling battle with the fear in his heart. No matter what the outcome, he will not escape again.

Just as Bai'e was immersed in painful memories, a sharp whistle broke the silence.

He looked up suddenly and saw a huge strange bird with black mist wrapped around it flapping its wings from the spire of the ruined church and rushing towards him.

The strange bird's eyes flashed with a faint green light, and its beak was like a sharp blade shining with cold light, emitting a cold aura.

This sudden change made Bai'er's heart beat faster in an instant, and a familiar fear began to spread in his heart.

However, he bit his lower lip tightly, his nails digging deeply into his palms, and forced himself to calm down despite the pain.

"Don't panic. Don't be swayed by fear anymore." He whispered softly and quickly drew the long sword from his back. The sword trembled slightly, but it was pointed firmly at the strange bird.

The strange bird's sharp cry became more and more shrill, and it swooped down suddenly, with its claws wrapped in black air currents, and rushed straight to Bai'e's face.

Bai'e dodged to the side and narrowly avoided the fatal blow. The claws of the strange bird brushed against his shoulder, tearing his clothes and leaving a shallow blood mark.

Taking advantage of this gap, Bai'e took a deep breath, suppressed the dizziness brought by fear, and swung his sword to chop at the wings of the strange bird.

With a "clang" sound, as if metal collided, the long sword hit the hard feathers of the strange bird, sparks flew, but failed to cause any substantial damage.

The strange bird felt pain and twisted its body angrily, then flew up again. After circling in the air, it attacked again with even more fierce momentum.

At this time, Bai'e's clothes were soaked with sweat, and his hand holding the hilt of the sword turned slightly white due to excessive force, but his eyes were extremely firm, and he had no intention of retreating.

At the moment when the strange bird was about to attack again, Mimi on the side spoke.

"Be calm, seize the opportunity, and attack with all your strength."

He took a deep breath and adjusted his breathing rhythm. The moment the strange bird rushed in front of him, he squatted down, drew an arc with his long sword along the ground, and accurately cut the leg of the strange bird.

The strange bird let out a shrill scream, injured its leg, lost its balance, and fell heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of black dust.

Bai'e didn't hesitate at all. He rushed forward, raised his sword high, and stabbed towards the neck of the strange bird.

The strange bird struggled desperately, and the black mist surged wildly, trying to stop him.

But Bai'e was supported by a resolute belief at this moment. He only had the enemy in front of him in his eyes, and the sword in his hand fell without hesitation.

With a muffled sound, the strange bird's struggle gradually stopped, its dark green eyes slowly lost their light, and the black mist gradually dissipated.

"Mimi...thanks." Bai E leaned against the wall, panting.

"You're welcome. Didn't we make an appointment?"

"When the Aili Secret Pavilion disappears, you will become the savior and save the world."

"What... do you mean by that?" Bai E frowned and looked at Mimi.

At this moment, the light around Mimi became brighter. The light was no longer as soft as before, but became strong and dazzling, like a star about to explode.

The strong light instantly dispelled the thick fog around, illuminating the dilapidated land as bright as day.

Bai E subconsciously raised his hand to cover his eyes. Through the gaps between his fingers, he saw a human figure gradually emerge in the light.

When the light slowly dissipated, a graceful girl appeared before his eyes.

Mimi and Bai'e were both stunned. Bai'e's eyes widened in disbelief, and his body trembled slightly with shock.

The girl in front of him quietly overlapped with a shadow deep in his memory, but she also carried a strange aura that impacted his cognition.

The girl's skirt fluttered gently, as if carrying a wisp of fairy air.

Her short pink hair fell softly on her shoulders, and her eyes were like bright stars, bright and moving. Her eyes seemed to contain endless tenderness and stories.

"Remember me? Little hero?"

"Xi.. Lian? You..?" Bai E muttered to himself, his eyes filled with even more shock, his lips trembling slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but was so shocked by this sudden change that he was speechless.

The girl in front of him was the dreamlike figure deep in his memory, but he had never thought that they would meet again in such a situation and in such a way.

Mimi also came back to her senses at this time, and flew over quickly, circling around Xilian, and exclaimed, "Hmm... It seems that I am not a different memory spirit~ There is such a lovely girl living in my body, no wonder I call myself that~"

Xilian raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a charming smile. She looked at Mimi and said softly, "Hello, little one. Your name is...Mimi, right? Thanks to you, I can wake up earlier."

"Xi Lian... why are you..." Bai'e's voice was trembling, as if he was dazed and bewildered after being hit by a heavy hammer.

"Xiao Bai'er, first of all, I want to say sorry to you. All the pain you have endured... was actually caused by me." Xi Lian lowered her head slightly, her eyelashes hiding the complex emotions in her eyes.

“What…” Bai’e’s pupils suddenly contracted and his body shook uncontrollably.

His lips opened slightly, but he could not utter any other words. The doubts in his heart were like a surging tide, completely drowning him.

He could never have imagined that the extremely dark past in his life was inextricably linked to the familiar yet unfamiliar girl in front of him.

"Didn't I ask you a question before, if Aili Secret Pavilion disappeared, would you become the savior?" Xilian slowly raised her head and looked towards the ruins shrouded in fog in the distance, and her thoughts seemed to drift back to that distant time.

"You didn't answer at that time." There was a hint of melancholy in her voice.

"But... after a few weeks, the village caught fire." Xilian's words were full of guilt, "Your grandparents were burned to death in the fire, and your father and mother were captured by a group of bad guys..." She paused, a trace of pain flashed in her eyes, "I didn't do those things, but they were related to me..."

"As for why... I can't tell you." Xi Lian looked at Bai E again, her eyes full of apology, "But you have to understand that I did all this so that you can become the savior and save this world."

"So, when you saw your parents being taken away, you chased after them with your sword in hand."

"And the first person you met in a black robe was me." She closed her eyes slightly. "You lost your mind at that time, but I understand that if you don't do this, your mind will never grow."

"So, I didn't dodge that sword because I knew I was doing something wrong..."

"After that, heavy rain put out the fire in the village, and you woke up from your controlled consciousness."

"What you saw when you opened your eyes was me, dead in your arms."

"And this is the thing you least want to recall in your heart."

After hearing Xilian's words, Bai E stared at Xilian in disbelief, his lips trembling, but he was unable to speak for a long time.

"You...how could you..." Bai E finally squeezed out a few words, clenched his hands into fists, and his joints turned white due to the force.

Tears rolled down Xilian's eyes. She took a step forward and tried to get closer to Bai'e, but he angrily stepped back to avoid her.

"Xiao Bai'er, I know I can't beg for your forgiveness, but I really have no choice. From the first moment I saw you, I knew that you were tasked with saving the world. This world has been eroded by darkness and is riddled with holes. Only you can be the light that penetrates the haze."

"So, you decided everything for me without my permission? You used the lives of my family and all my pain to create your so-called 'savior'?"

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry... But when I saw you hugging me and crying in the ruins, with a look of determination that showed you would never bow to fate, I knew that I had made the right choice."

Bai E turned around abruptly, with his back to Xi Lian, his body trembling slightly.

The pain of the past came flooding back like a tide: the village ravaged by fire, the painful faces of my loved ones, my own despair and helplessness...all of these were as heavy as shackles.

But at this moment, in addition to anger, there was also a trace of indescribable complex emotions in his heart.

When fighting side by side with Xi Lian, there was an inexplicable tacit understanding and trust. Was all this just a lie?

After a long while, Bai E slowly turned around, the anger in his eyes slightly reduced, replaced by deep fatigue and confusion, "What now? You told me all this, what do you want me to do? Continue to help you complete your so-called plan to save the world?"

Xi Lian raised her head and looked at Bai E firmly. "The choice is yours. I just want you to know the truth. No matter what decision you make, I am willing to bear the consequences. But please believe that this world really needs you. Countless lives are struggling in the darkness, waiting for salvation."

Bai'e was silent, he lowered his head, and a thousand thoughts ran through his mind.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai E raised his head, a look of determination flashing in his eyes. "I won't forgive you easily, but I can't watch the world sink. I will keep going, not for you, but for those innocent lives, for the homeland I once loved so much."

"Thank you, Xiao Bai'er. I will always be by your side and do my best to make up for my mistakes."

At this moment, the earth suddenly shook violently, and a low roar came from all directions.

Bai'e and Xilian looked around vigilantly, and saw countless twisted black shadows emerging faintly in the fog, with fangs and claws bared, rushing towards them.

Wherever the black shadow went, the ground was corroded into black grooves.

"It seems that the Black Tide will not let us go easily." Bai'e clenched the sword in his hand.

Xi Lian's body glowed with a gentle light, "Then let's fight. We will fight side by side again to protect this land."

...

"We can't go on like this, there are too many of them!" Bai'e shouted.

"Xiao Bai'e, we have to find their weakness and defeat them from the inside!"

At this moment, a huge black shadow swooped down from the sky like a black meteor, aiming directly at Xi Lian.

Bai E was quick-witted and quick-handed. He turned around suddenly and stabbed the black shadow with his sword with all his strength.

With a "puff" sound, the black shadow was hit, let out a shrill scream, and turned into a ball of black smoke and dissipated.

But Bai'e also lost his balance due to this full-strength attack and fell to one knee.

"Bai'e!" Xi Lian exclaimed, turned around quickly, and released all his light to form a barrier to protect Bai'e.

However, more dark shadows took this opportunity to surround them, intertwining and entangled with each other, forming an airtight encirclement that trapped the two.

The dark shadows in the encirclement kept twisting and struggling, making terrifying roars, as if venting their anger.

Bai'e gritted his teeth, inserted the sword into the ground, held the hilt firmly with both hands, mobilized the strength of his whole body, and guided the powerful energy in his body.

I saw a dazzling light spreading along the sword to the ground and quickly spreading in all directions. Wherever the light reached, the black shadows roared in pain, their bodies began to twist and dissipate, black mist spread, and the pungent smell became stronger.

Seeing this, Xi Lian immediately cooperated with Bai'e and merged his own light with Bai'e's power.

At this moment, Bai E suddenly spoke, his voice was tired but firm, "Xi Lian, I know in my heart that those tragedies were not your intention. You have your own unspeakable secrets. From the beginning when we met, I knew that you would never lie, so I choose to forgive you."

"No matter what difficulties we face now, or how bumpy the road ahead is, we will walk on together hand in hand." He slowly turned his head and looked straight at Xi Lian. The determination surging in his eyes was like a flame that never goes out in the darkness.

A touch of emotion flashed across Xilian's eyes, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She stretched out her hand and held the hilt of the sword together with Bai'e, "Okay, let's do it together."

Afterwards, the two forces blended together in the sword, and the light became brighter and brighter, like a rising sun, illuminating the entire dark battlefield.

Under the shining of this light, the black shadows gradually lost their ability to resist, their bodies gradually became illusory, and finally disappeared all.

The light sprinkled on the earth, dispelling the thick fog and bringing a ray of hope to this vicissitudes of life land.

...