Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 997. Friendship

Doomsday Volcano, this is the black volcano that Merlin saw from a distance after waking up in hell, constantly erupting smoke and lava.

The life on this wasteland calls it "Volcano Doom".

Although it will not bring any doomsday to this land, it is a customary name for "locals".

It's like they all call this damn place "Wasteland".

"Look! There, the gate of hell you are looking for!"

Below the Doomsday Volcano, on a barren mountain depression filled with all kinds of twisted bones.

Constantine squinted his dead fish eyes, raised his hand, and said to Merlin beside him:

"A gate made of bronze. Everyone says that you can leave this wasteland by going there."

"But I tell you, it's impossible."

Zha Kang took out a jug filled with wine from his arms, under the ash-filled sky.

While turning on the kettle, he said to the silent Merlin beside him:

"That's just the worst of the countless nonsense lies that go around the world..."

"I can't get out."

Constantine took a sip of wine, and he leaned comfortably on the warm mane cushion of the Hell Manticore they were riding on.

It's like leaning against a burning fireplace, which makes people feel sleepy.

This terrifying creature has a body like a lion, covered with scales like a scorpion, and a tail vertebra like a scorpion at the end.

It is cruel by nature, has its own lair in the wild, is full of brute force, and has deadly poison. Most demons and evil spirits wandering here will not provoke it.

But it has a good relationship with Zha Kang.

Because Zha Kang would provide it with enough fresh meat every week.

This allowed him to eat and drink without leaving the lair, and after a few years of maintenance, the manticore became Zack's "bodyguard".

It takes more than wicked wits and cunning to do business with the damned in this wasteland, and the necessary force.

As for Zha Kang, he is not a fighter.

But he is very good at "making friends".

This is how the ghost Zha Kang can survive in the wasteland, and live a very nourishing life.

Of course, there are also gossips that said that when Zha Kang first came to the wasteland, he hugged the leg of a powerful succubus and relied on selling his appearance to barely survive the most difficult time.

Anyway, there will never be a shortage of true and false news in this place, and no one will pay attention to them.

Manticores are terrifying creatures, and few are brave enough to stand on their heads.

But now, Merlin was standing there, looking at the Doomsday Volcano and the Gate of Hell in the distance.

This manticore didn't even dare to make an angry sound.

It could only raise its head, allowing Merlin to stand higher and see further.

Its beast instinct was telling it that if Merlin was offended, its right to live would be deprived.

"A door that has been pushed open..."

In Merlin's vision, he could clearly see the bronze gate at the end of the black ashes plain.

There are many strange patterns carved on the door, which looks like murals describing the endless war between heaven and hell, but those murals are already covered with ashes and dust.

The door was square and heavy, and the most amazing thing was that it had been pushed open a little.

Two doors interlaced stood there, and a ray of white light shot out from the crack of the door.

It gave people the feeling that as long as you reach out and push gently, the heavy door will be pushed open.

A path to freedom will also appear to the seeker.

a temptation.

A lure of relief.

It is in stark contrast to this piece of hell that is full of chaos and madness, so that anyone who sees it will have an impulse in their hearts.

An urge to run to that door and really embrace freedom.

Jarcon was right.

That door was probably just a hoax, a nasty joke.

But it certainly stands there for a reason.

Merlin rubbed his chin, his eyes sparkled with light of thought, in the past 7 months, he has traveled to every place in this hell, every place where there will be legends related to freedom.

He strangled many creatures and destroyed many demon lairs.

All he searched for was disappointment.

He has a feeling.

My hope of leaving the wasteland is here...

that door...

It may take a special approach to...

But he can't figure it out yet.

"Let's go."

Merlin stretched out his hand and patted the sleeping Zack Kang on the cheek, waking him up.

He stomped his feet, and the manticore under his feet let out a docile growl, then turned around, raised his tail, spread his limbs, and ran towards the direction of Zha Kang's bar.

A thick layer of ashes splashed all over the ground, and another sky fire fell from the sky, just like a blood rain fell on this land.

It was a strange sight.

But Merlin had already turned a blind eye to this.

"I said, why did you kill those horned demons?"

Zha Kang leaned on the cushion behind the manticore, while playing with the flagon in his hand, he asked curiously:

"I've dealt with that group of horned demons before. They just occupy the hillside at the wharf of the Sworn River and monopolize the business of the River Styx. They're not as vicious as other local gangs."

"Actually, they'd be more than happy to take you across the river for a paltry fare. I wonder how they pissed you off?"

"Why do you hate it so much... Throw souls into the Styx, and they will never be resurrected."

"Oh, that thing."

Merlin sat beside Zha Kang, and he took the flagon from Zha Kang. While drinking the spicy wine, he turned his head and looked at the endless wasteland beside him.

He said flatly:

"That incident was an accident."

"Tell me and listen."

Zha Kang said boredly:

"You dragged me out of my tavern and kept me out of business. You have to make it up to me. Tell me."

"They asked me for money to cross the river."

Merlin said dryly:

"I just came to this ghost place at the time, and I didn't know the rules, so I asked them if they could use other things instead. I didn't have soul gold coins with me at the time."

"They said it was ok... Well, that's the end of the matter."

Merlin whispered:

"Unfortunately, they chose something that I could never give them."

"What do they want?"

Constantine looked at Merlin's slightly emaciated body with great interest, and said:

"I heard that there are females among those horned devils. Could they..."

"How did you die and still be so nasty?"

Merlin glared at Zha Kang.

He was silent for a moment, then he said:

"They ask me for memories."

"Oh, memory! Yes!"

Zha Kang snapped his fingers and said:

"The horned demon lord over there is a lunatic. It likes to watch different stories and store the memories of those victims, just like watching a movie... then give it to them."

Zha Kang spread his hands, he said:

"Memory is the source of pain. If you have less memory, you will have more happiness."

"that is you!"

Merlin said in a dejected tone:

"I've lost everything. I live only on memory. The good, the bad, the happy, and the unfortunate are all mine...no one can take them away!"

"So you killed them?"

Zha Kang pouted, and said in an exaggerated tone:

"Just because of one excessive request, you slaughtered an entire tribe of Horned Demons, my God..."

"What kind of terrible things did you go through, my friend Merlin, how did you become like this?"

"Have I changed?"

Merlin turned to look at Zack Kang, he said:

"No, I haven't changed, I'm still the same person."

"The pain and the darkness are part of who I am, and in hell, I need both to push me, to remember who I am, and to make me a better person."

"Better people?"

Zha Kang seemed to have heard the funniest joke, he was lying behind the fast-running manticore, laughing forward and backward.

Pointing at Merlin, he said out of breath:

"Stop telling jokes, I'm almost dying of laughter... Merlin, you have come to this place, and you still think you are a good person?"

"Do you know what the meaning of this place is?"

Zha Kang looked at Merlin and said:

"As I said, I have visited all the bigwigs in this place, and they told me that this hell is different from all other hells, it is special."

"It is used to imprison and exile those souls who are not accepted by everyone and not liked by everyone."

"Me! Look at me."

Zha Kang pointed at himself, and said:

"I died because of Sangong, after my death, thanks to those damn contracts I signed before, I can't go to any hell that is more normal, I can only come here, I have nowhere to go! Abandoned by all worlds."

"Everyone here, all demons, all dead souls are the same, no one cares about them, even the most despicable hell will not open the door to them."

"Every soul here is abandoned, full of sins... Do you know? I heard a crazy Judgment Demon tell me that this place was not actually established by the princes of hell!"

Zha Kang pointed to the sky and said:

"This place was established by the one in heaven, and the purpose of this establishment is to punish people like us!"

"He makes us live between panic and madness every day, and makes this hell resurrect those poor dead creatures at the turn of day and night every day. When the new day comes, endless suffering strikes again."

"A nightmare of endless reincarnation, never ending, until we are utterly broken, assimilated into this hopeless world, and become a part of it."

"Every piece of ground we step on, there is a wailing soul buried. You can't hear it... It's not that you can't hear it, it's that you ignore those voices."

"You thought you were saved!"

"Do not be silly!"

Zha Kang rushed over, grabbed Merlin's collar with both hands, and roared uncontrollably:

"Be sober! If you fall here, there is no hope!"

"You idiot! We join hands, your strength and my wisdom, we can call wind and rain in this place and become gods and demons!"

"Look at you, you've fallen for yourself! Trapped like a pug by the illusion of freedom... and dragging me to a dead end!"

"Snapped"

The crazy Zha Kang was pushed away by Merlin, who stood up.

In the mane of the galloping manticore, he bent down, and with Jarkonti in his hand, he stared at the soul that might have gone mad.

他 说:

"Come on, I'm still working with a bunch of gods after you're dead."

"I'm telling you to wake up, Jarcon, you're going crazy with despair and fear, I don't blame you, but if you can't wake up after 2 minutes... then I don't care about you, I said real."

Zha Kang was thrown aside and received two slaps on the face.

Merlin controlled his strength, Zakkang was not strong, too much force might shatter his soul.

He was lying there, making a sound like weeping, which was mixed with crazy laughter, like a complete neuropathy.

After more than a minute, Zhakang got up.

He rubbed his swollen face, looked at the expressionless Merlin, and whispered:

"What if I go back?"

"I don't have any friends in that world, and I don't have anything to be attached to. You are not you, Merlin. You are liked by everyone. If you just tickle your fingers, girls will climb into your bed, but I can't."

"I'm a sucker, I know...I'm going to screw everything up."

"There is no difference between me in the world and hell, just leave me here, I am more comfortable here."

Merlin ignored Zha Kang's self-pity.

That poor man has lived alone in this wasteland for ten years, and he lived with a group of demons. He hasn't gone crazy until now, which shows that Zhakang has a firm will.

"After your death, every year, Chas will ask for a day off to pay homage to you, rain or shine."

Merlin says:

"You didn't ask me how Chas was doing after we met, you were scared, weren't you? Afraid he'd forget about you too..."

"He didn't, even after becoming a mechanical knight, he didn't forget his friends."

"Zha Kang, your life has been a failure!"

Merlin said to Constantine:

"You only had one real friend the first half of your life, and you bullied him all the time, but Chas remembers you, and when I was, Chas had a girlfriend, and while he might never have kids in his life, . ..he does remember you."

"Did you hear that?"

Merlin yelled:

"There are people in that world who miss you! You act like a man to me now, I don't ask you to help me, at least you don't hold me back!"

"I..."

There was a gleam in Konstantin's eyes, and he wanted to say something.

But the next moment, on the ashes plain behind the two of them, a low engine roar sounded like thunder.

Merlin stood up abruptly and looked behind him. He looked at the straight line of fire drawn on the plain of ashes. He said to Constantine:

"what is that?"

"Oh, that one."

Zha Kang stood up, he shrugged:

"A lunatic, he has been here not long ago, maybe less than a year. Anyway, he walks alone, doesn't communicate with anyone, is powerful and ruthless, no one dares to provoke him... similar to you."

"Oh, by the way, I've heard people say that it's a skeleton on a motorcycle with a burning head..."

(End of this chapter)