Zhou Huai's words were like a sharp thorn, precisely piercing Ying Yinman's most arrogant nerve.

"Natsume Rinku," those pitch-black eyes had crimson light points flashing frantically.

She stared fixedly at Caesar, her ancient and venomous anger almost turning into substance.

"How could the will of a mere mortal be worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as mine?"

The hoarse, overlapping voice was filled with disdain.

"I will let you watch with your own eyes how she is crushed bit by bit and completely devoured by me!"

Before the voice fell, the energy inside Natsume Rinku's body rioted once again.

However, this outburst seemed somewhat all bark and no bite.

The dozen or so Alien Parasites lurking within her body, like the most greedy leeches, frantically sucked away that majestic power.

Ying Yinman's expression grew increasingly ugly.

She could feel her power flowing away at an unprecedented speed.

"Damn bugs!"

She tried to mobilize her power to expel these Parasites, but Zhou Huai's Mental Strength stimulation also arrived at this moment.

Countless chaotic and miscellaneous thoughts poured into her consciousness like a tide through the Parasites' mental link.

That was the collective will belonging to the swarm, cold, chaotic, and possessing only the most primitive devouring instinct.

Ying Yinman's soul trembled violently.

She had to split most of her attention to resist this mental pollution.

As one waxed, the other waned.

The faint speck of light originally suppressed in the deepest part of her soul, which belonged to Natsume Rinku's own will, began to flash violently.

Opportunity!

Zhou Huai's gaze condensed.

"Natsume Rinku!"

"Right now!"

His voice exploded like a thunderclap in the depths of the girl's soul.

Natsume Rinku's body shuddered violently.

An expression of extreme pain surfaced on her face.

Two completely different wills began a most tragic slaughter within this fragile shell.

"Let... go... of... me..."

An immature, trembling voice with a crying tone was squeezed out from the girl's throat with difficulty.

That was Natsume Rinku's voice.

"Give up, Rinku."

One voice, yet it uttered two completely different tones.

The previous second, it was still Ying Yinman's surrender-urging tone with seduction and majesty.

"This world is far more cruel than you imagine; only I can better protect you."

"Rest assured, I will not hurt you."

"As long as you give up resistance, I will grant you eternal life and supreme glory."

The next second, that voice turned into Natsume Rinku's own weak, tearful entreaty.

"No... don't..."

"Please, leave my body..."

Ying Yinman's patience seemed to have been exhausted.

"Stupid girl! You simply have no idea what kind of great bestowal you are refusing!"

"You bitch!"

"Humble ant, how dare you contend with me?!"

Ying Yinman's voice became sharp and harsh, filled with furious anger at being provoked by an ant.

She tried to mobilize the energy in her body once more to completely tear Caesar to shreds.

However, the dozen or so Alien Parasites lurking within her body were like the most stubborn bone-gnawing maggots.

They were firmly nailed onto her energy core, frantically absorbing every wisp of escaping power.

Every devouring was accompanied by a sharp mental stimulus, like steel needles piercing fiercely into Ying Yinman's arrogant soul.

The excruciating pain almost drove her mad.

Zhou Huai manipulated Caesar, crossing his arms over his chest, watching this wonderful "schizophrenia" with great interest.

He spoke again:

"Natsume Rinku, did you hear that?"

"She said you are an ant."

"She said you are a bitch."

"Are you just going to watch helplessly as she takes away your body and erases your existence?"

Every word of Zhou Huai's was like a heavy hammer, fiercely pounding on Natsume Rinku's fragile soul.

"No... it's not..."

Natsume Rinku's voice trembled, filled with helplessness.

"I... I can't beat her..."

Ying Yinman let out a hearty laugh, the laughter filled with disdain and mockery.

"Hahahaha! Did you hear that? She has given up herself!"

"As an outsider, why bother poking your nose into other people's business!"

She targeted Zhou Huai again, her voice venomous.

"When I completely take control of this body, the first person I'll kill is you!"

Zhou Huai shrugged indifferently.

"Is that so?"

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

He looked at the girl's painful, struggling eyes, saying word by word.

"Natsume Rinku, answer me a question."

"Why don't you want to die?"

"Your life is full of pain; your father is abusive, your mother is a gambling addict, and your brother treats you as a plaything."

"Isn't living a torment for you?"

"Why not just give up, hand your body over to her, and put an end to it all once and for all?"

This question exploded like a thunderclap in the depths of Natsume Rinku's soul.

Yeah...

Why?

Why must she live in such pain?

If she gave up, would she be liberated?

A momentary confusion allowed Ying Yinman to seize the opportunity.

Her powerful will, like a breached flood, instantly took the upper hand.

The last shred of clarity in Natsume Rinku's eyes was about to be devoured by endless darkness.

"Like this..." Ying Yinman's voice was full of enticement, "Sleep, once you fall asleep, you won't feel pain anymore..."

But right at this moment.

Zhou Huai's voice sounded once again, like the evening drum and morning bell.

"Because you still have hope!"

"Because you haven't seen the true beauty of this world yet!"

"You haven't worn a pretty dress, eaten delicious cake, been to the seaside, or watched fireworks yet!"

"Your life has just begun; are you resigned to ending it just like this?!"

"Are you resigned?!"

For the last three words, Zhou Huai used Mental Strength, echoing in the girl's mind like an exploding thunderclap.

Natsume Rinku's consciousness, which was about to sink, shuddered violently.

Not resigned...

I... am not resigned...

That desire to survive, like wild grass blown by a fierce wind, stubbornly raised its head once again.

Ying Yinman let out a startled and furious scream.

"Shut up! You shut up!"

She could feel that the resistance will, which had originally been weak to the extreme, was re-gathering and growing at an incredible speed.

The Parasites inside her body let out joyful hisses, greedily devouring that majestic and out-of-control energy.

Ying Yinman's power was already consumed hugely due to the previous battle.

Now being frantically absorbed by the Parasites, as one waxed and the other waned, her advantage was disappearing rapidly.

She panicked completely.

"You damned girl! I'll kill you!"

"I'll kill you!!!"

Violent energy crashed frantically inside her body. Natsume Rinku's body was like a balloon about to explode; the blood vessels under her skin bulged one by one, and black cracks spread once again.

But this time, Natsume Rinku did not cry or beg anymore.

An unprecedented courage surged from the deepest part of her soul.

"No..."

A weak yet incomparably clear voice uttered from that small mouth covered in bloodstains.

"The one who should get out... is you!"

Ying Yinman's will suffered a heavy hammer blow and suddenly stagnated.

"You... what did you say?"

Natsume Rinku's voice was still weak, yet like starlight piercing through ancient darkness, it carried a resilience that could not be ignored.

She struggled, word by word, to say the sentence that had been held back in her heart for a long time.

"Be... cause... I... want... to... live!"

The last five words seemed to have exhausted all her strength, yet they also seemed like igniting a prairie fire.

Right now!

Zhou Huai's thought moved, and the suction force of those dozen or so Parasites instantly surged to the extreme!

Ying Yinman, already weak, coupled with this sudden mental shock and energy extraction, saw her line of defense of will collapse crashingly at this moment!

"No—!!!"

A shrill and unwilling scream echoed in the courtyard.

That scream grew further and weaker, finally dissipating completely into invisibility.

The cold, tyrannical aura on Natsume Rinku vanished without a trace like a receding tide.

The girl's eyes, previously occupied by pitch-black, recovered their original clarity.

She slowly raised her head, looking at the figure not far away that was identical to her brother.

Revealing the purest smile.

"Brother, we seem to have... succeeded..."

After finishing, her eyes rolled back, and she actually passed out directly.

Zhou Huai manipulated Caesar's figure to flash, appearing in front of her just in time, steadily catching that light body into his arms.

The little girl's body was very light, as light as a feather.

She lay quietly in Caesar's crook of the arm, breathing evenly, and fell into a deep sleep.