Infinity, The Arcade Age-Chapter 395: Dirge of the Wind

Goenitz's soul-extraction divine technique truly did kill Qin Ming in an instant—at least, on the surface.

However, this special form of attack failed to truly finish Qin Ming off. On the contrary, it caused Qin Ming to completely unlock his restraints.

That's right—he unlocked the shackles!

Qin Ming's soul, far from being an aid to his body, was actually a burden.

Because Qin Ming possessed human instincts. When facing attacks, he would dodge by reflex, and weigh the consequences of taking a hit.

But the body governed purely by instinct didn't. The blood-flesh instinct craved only devouring! The body of steel knew only to charge!

One half existed to fight to the death. The other to keep itself alive!

The moment rationality was stripped away, what Goenitz faced was no longer a martial artist—but a beast. A pure beast! A monster born solely for killing and devouring!

Staring at Qin Ming—whose skull was half missing, yet somehow still wildly alive and attacking—Goenitz's expression turned to one of utter terror.

His entire throat had been ripped open by Qin Ming's jaws. He no longer dared to fight close-quarters. With a flicker, his body shimmered bizarrely and vanished on the spot.

Skill: Spatial Shift!

Using the power of space to put distance between himself and Qin Ming's berserk body, Goenitz watched in horror as Qin Ming dropped to all fours and pounced again like a wild beast.

Desperately, Goenitz raised his only remaining right hand—the one clutching Qin Ming's soul—high into the air.

With a flash of light from his palm, the divine art "Sunlight Radiance" activated!

Chaos descends—return all things to the void!

Buzz!

A blinding white light erupted from his palm and engulfed everything. Wherever the light touched, all things began dissolving at terrifying speed.

The ground dissolved. The buildings dissolved. Even the very soil beneath their feet crumbled into dust.

Goenitz's expression turned grave. His body was already covered in cracks from the overwhelming power he'd been using.

Clearly, the relentless use of divine power was pushing his body closer and closer to collapse.

Amid the shower of radiant light, just as Goenitz was about to stop the spell, he suddenly heard a violent disturbance in front of him.

Startled, he looked up—only to see a grotesque figure, its flesh rapidly melting, no features left on its face, no trace of humanity—rushing straight at him on all fours through the light!

Qin Ming wasn't dead! He was charging forward—with his face melting off!

"RAAAARGH!!!"

A terrifying roar erupted. Floating in the air, Goenitz was instantly slammed into and sent flying. His spell was forcibly interrupted.

He hit the ground and tumbled, struggling to rise in a last-ditch effort to fight back. But just then, he saw something that made him freeze.

The monster that had rolled with him onto the ground... was gnawing on its own flesh.

And it wasn't devouring Goenitz's flesh—it was eating its own!

Qin Ming, grievously injured, had bitten down on his own arm with savage force. In just a few bites, he tore it off and drained it of every last drop of blood.

This was how he regained blood—by voluntarily amputating himself! Forcibly restoring his strength!

Then, with a furious howl, he sprinted forward again, jaws wide, pouncing once more at Goenitz.

Goenitz was stunned. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Right up until Qin Ming lunged at him face-to-face, Goenitz finally snapped out of his shock.

His lips twitched. The hand gripping Qin Ming's soul abruptly released.

With nothing binding it, the soul shot back into the body with a swoosh.

Thud! Qin Ming, now back to three limbs, collapsed to the ground.

Watching Qin Ming's soul return, Goenitz let out a long breath, lying on the ground, eyes slowly closing.

Amid the storm, within the eye of the hurricane, the two combatants fell into an eerie silence.

Several seconds later, with the faint sound of shifting debris, Qin Ming began to move. Bracing against the ground, he struggled to rise.

His mutilated head throbbed with pain as he knelt, gritting his teeth, and looked across at Goenitz.

He saw Goenitz lying there, no longer resisting—or perhaps, no longer capable of resistance.

His body was covered in cracks, one arm gone, wounds everywhere. Goenitz lay there, staring blankly at the sky.

Qin Ming clutched the gaping hole in his skull, gritting his teeth in pain.

At last, unable to endure it any longer, he pulled out a bronze gong and struck it—summoning his black horse mount.

Then, without hesitation, he forcefully extracted blood from the horse to heal himself.

As his flesh squirmed and regenerated, his wounds began to mend.

Letting out a long breath, Qin Ming staggered to Goenitz's side, standing over him with a complex expression.

He stared for three seconds before suddenly asking,

"Why didn't you kill me?"

Goenitz had indeed lost to Qin Ming's berserk body, unable to compete after its rampage.

But even if he couldn't beat the body, that didn't mean he couldn't defeat the soul.

If Goenitz had wanted to, he could have crushed the soul at any time—and taken Qin Ming down with him.

But in the end, he chose to release it instead.

Hearing Qin Ming's question, Goenitz finally turned his gaze from the sky to the man standing over him.

"Since it's a battle... there must be a winner, right? Qin Ming—congratulations. This time, you won."

Qin Ming frowned, still clutching his throbbing skull.

"I won?"

"Yeah. You won. I lost. But if I'm going to die, I'd rather die at the hands of my opponent—not some mindless monster."

He slowly closed his eyes. His body had completely collapsed, and fragments of debris began falling from his face like porcelain. Even so, Goenitz revealed a bitter smile.

"Evil never triumphs over good... a textbook ending, really. But between the two of us, who is truly evil, and who is good?"

"Who cares? I don't. Do you?"

"...Heh, I don't either."

As their voices fell, the two—one standing, one lying down—burst into laughter at almost the same time.

At that moment, along with Goenitz's body reaching its limit, the violent storm that had been rampaging around them finally began to subside.

Countless fighters and adventurers who had been swept into the air now began crashing down like raindrops. Those powerful enough not to be blown away had already gathered, their expressions solemn.

They looked at Goenitz lying on the ground. His body was in pieces, with even his entire lower half gone. Many experts wore complicated expressions.

Such terrifying power—this was the first time they had witnessed anything like it. As fighters, they admired Goenitz's strength, yet at the same time, they deeply resented his ruthlessness and cruelty.

Even now that the battle had ended, the thought of that terrifying storm still sent shivers down their spines.

In the crowd, a few surviving adventurers, seeing that Goenitz was about to die, had glints in their eyes. Some couldn't resist their urges and stepped forward quietly.

But just as they moved, Qin Ming, who had been standing beside Goenitz all along, slowly turned his head with a stern expression.

Feeling Qin Ming's icy gaze and staring at his scar-covered, ferocious face, those adventurers who had acted on impulse suddenly froze, then quickly retreated back into the crowd.

Just as Qin Ming used a single glance to scare off those around him, sudden footsteps rang out beside him.

In the next second, the crowd was pushed aside, and a figure stumbled in.

It was none other than Goenitz's adopted daughter—the Christian nun, Sharan.

She was still dressed in her black habit. Having seen the massive storm that suddenly appeared over the city, she realized something was wrong and had rushed over in a panic.

After all, her adoptive father's specialty was wind!

"Father!"

Seeing Goenitz in the center of the crowd, now in a state far worse than 'miserable' and with less than half of his body remaining, Sharan cried out in shock and rushed over, dropping to her knees and holding him tightly.

Goenitz froze the moment he saw Sharan appear.

"Why are you here? What are you doing? Go back!"

"Father!"

Despite his scolding, Sharan didn't reply. She was already sobbing uncontrollably.

She couldn't understand. This man, always kind and helpful to others, a devout follower of God and a gentle spreader of compassion—why had he ended up like this?

She had always known the god her father worshiped was somehow different, and that he seemed to be secretly involved in something. But to her, Goenitz had always been perfect.

Merciful, kind, good-natured, and unwavering in his faith.

He wasn't supposed to meet such an end. He should've died peacefully in the distant future, returning to his god's embrace to the sound of scripture and prayer.

Why did it have to be like this?

Looking at the sobbing Sharan clinging to him, Goenitz's hardened expression gradually softened. He let out a gentle sigh and revealed a warm smile—the kind he only ever showed to this girl, his adoptive daughter.

"Don't cry. You won't look pretty if you keep crying."

"Father."

"No one escapes death. This is my fate. Sharan, this might actually be for the best. At least now, you're safe."

He raised a hand to hold Sharan's head, pressing his forehead against hers. A flash of light passed through Goenitz's eyes as he spoke gently.

"Sharan, everyone has their own fate. When the gods descend, they will pass judgment on everyone—this is inevitable. But you... you're the only one whose fate I never dared to guess. Now, finally, I don't have to be afraid anymore."

Lifting his head, Goenitz—whose face had mostly crumbled—turned to look at Qin Ming standing nearby.

Meeting his gaze, he spoke softly.

"Qin Ming... I leave her to you."

Qin Ming's face remained expressionless. He didn't say anything, only gave a small nod. freeweɓnøvel.com

Seeing this, Goenitz squinted his eyes and smiled.

"If I weren't one of the Hakkesshu, maybe we really could've been friends."

At these words, a twitch passed through the corner of Qin Ming's eye.

"If you were given another chance... would you abandon your mission?"

"No."

"Then we'll never be friends, Goenitz."

Staring at Goenitz with a blank expression, Qin Ming's voice was firm.

"Because I'll never befriend someone who dared lay a hand on the people I care about. Never."

(End of Chapter)