Chapter 33: Can’t leave

“Bloody hell! I completely forgot this was a battle royale, and the first wave of the toxic zone has already closed in. We’re trapped!”

Meiluo frowned.

“I recall the rules mentioned that as the safe zone continuously shrinks, the damage outside it increases over time,” she stated, “meaning it might not be so severe right now.”

Qilin froze for a moment, then realization dawned.

“You’re right, I completely forgot,” he exclaimed. “Damn it… that Void Fiend really messed with my head.”

And so, the group continued forward.

****

The others, however, remained unaffected.

The moment Meiluo stepped outside the safe zone, the Thorn’s Kiss was immediately agitated, spreading wildly across her arm.

“Ugh…”

Meiluo was instantly incapacitated.

This sudden onset of excruciating pain was so intense that she lost all control of her body, tumbling directly from Qilin’s shoulder.

“Meiluo!”

Seeing this, Meilina leaped down without hesitation.

She rolled upon landing to absorb the impact, and before her body could even regain its balance, she scrambled towards Meiluo.

“What happened to you? Why is this happening? Why are the Thorn Black Markings activating?”

Meiluo trembled and curled up, her face twisted in agony.

Her lips quivered as she struggled to force out a few words.

“Out… outside the safe zone…”

Meilina did not understand the precise reason, but she knew Meiluo’s strange reaction had occurred the instant they left the safe zone, coupled with Meiluo’s own hint.

No further thought was needed.

All she needed to do now was bring Meiluo back into the safe zone.

Meiluo’s sudden affliction did not go unnoticed by Meilina alone.

Seeing this, Qilin also rushed back, carrying Sephilia.

“Meiluo must return to the safe zone; she cannot enter this area,” Meilina declared, hoisting Meiluo onto her back and sprinting towards the safe zone.

Qilin said nothing.

Disregarding etiquette, his mech-clad hand directly grabbed both of them, returning to the safe zone at full speed.

****

“Hmph…”

Only after entering the safe zone did Meiluo finally catch her breath.

“How are you feeling?” Meilina asked.

Meiluo nodded.

“I apologize,” she said. “I’ve held you back.”

“What are you talking about?” Sephilia retorted, clearly displeased.

“We’re teammates; your troubles are our troubles.

It looks like you can’t leave, though.

What if we forcefully take you out?

Speaking of which, how do those who are defeated leave this arena?”

The group exchanged glances.

Qilin took out his token.

“That’s not right,” he mused. “There’s no function to forfeit or surrender here.”

Everyone was utterly baffled.

****

“Never mind that, there’s no time to waste now.

Since Meiluo cannot leave, Meilina, you and Meiluo stay here for now.

I’ll go with…”

“Qilin.”

“Strange name. Anyway, Qilin and I will go scout ahead.

Oh, and perhaps you two can try to rendezvous with Wyatt; it would be good to look out for each other.”

Sephilia quickly made the arrangements.

Yet, while she was speaking, Qilin had been continuously observing Meiluo.

“If you’ll pardon my asking, ma’am, what exactly is the nature of your condition?”

Upon hearing his question, the other three’s brows all furrowed.

Meilina and Meiluo watched him warily.

Sephilia’s eyes darted, and she quickly changed the subject.

“Oh, come on! This isn’t the time for that.

We’ve already wasted enough time; let’s go!”

She patted Qilin’s assembled armor loudly, even actively climbing onto his shoulder.

“Hurry, let’s go!”

Qilin said nothing about her obvious attempt to change the subject.

He had also noticed the change in Meiluo and Meilina’s demeanor.

Something was definitely going on here, but now was clearly not the time to investigate.

Still, he kept it in mind.

‘Meiluo and Meilina…’

‘Could these two girls be the protagonists of this world?’ he thought, and with that, he swiftly left the safe zone with Sephilia.

****

“Speaking of which, you really dare to leave with me alone,” Sephilia chirped. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll take you out?”

“Ha! Go on, try it if you dare,” Qilin scoffed. “Do you think I’m scared just because you have more spirit companions?”

“My Resonance Rate is higher than yours, too,” Sephilia countered. “You have no chance of winning.”

“My contracted spirit is [Radiance],” Qilin retorted. “If you push me, I’ll self-destruct with you. Are you scared?”

Their bickering voices faded into the distance, leaving Meilina and Meiluo standing rooted to the spot, watching the mech disappear.

“What’s with that guy? Why can he contract with so many spirit companions?” Meilina asked suspiciously.

“Actually, anyone can theoretically contract with more than one spirit race member. However, a human’s contract with a spirit race member, or rather, an Equal Contract, is a bond established between souls.

Under such circumstances, an ordinary Spirit Master’s soul cannot bear the burden of more spirit race members, and thus can only contract with one.”

“An Equal Contract? So a Master-s*ave Contract means you can contract with more than one?”

Meiluo nodded helplessly.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “A Master-s*ave Contract is essentially a contract where the ‘s*ave’ dedicates everything to the ‘master’ without compensation.

At the same time, if there are any costs or consequences, they are borne entirely by the ‘s*ave’.

In other words…”

“In other words, a Master-s*ave Contract is a contract where a human unilaterally exploits a spirit race member, right? Can our contract be changed?”

Only now did Meilina fully understand the difference between an Equal Contract and a Master-s*ave Contract.

Meiluo, however, shook her head.

“It cannot be changed.

Madam would not agree, and this is also for your safety, Miss.”

Meilina’s face instantly fell.

“What safety?” she demanded. “Are you implying you would harm me, Meiluo?”

Meiluo smiled wryly.

“Subjectively, I would never harm you, Miss,” she explained. “But firstly, Madam doesn’t fully trust me, and secondly… I do bear the Thorn’s Kiss, the most severe of spirit-sealing punishments.

I still haven’t fully grasped all its effects.”

She revealed the Thorn Black Markings on her wrists and ankles, as well as the collar-like black marking on her neck.

“Should a day come when someone can control me using the Thorn’s Kiss, then… the Master-s*ave Contract is your only trump card to turn the tables, Miss.”

“But…” Meilina scratched her head. “I understand the logic, but master-s*ave, master-s*ave… this… you truly don’t mind?”

Meiluo offered a gentle, soft smile.

“Well… would you use it to bully me, Miss?”

“Of course not! Meiluo, listen to me: unless the situation you described becomes absolutely unavoidable, I, Meilina, swear by the Tree of Life that I will never use the Master-s*ave Contract to oppress you!”

Meiluo smiled with relief.

“Therefore, I don’t mind whether my contract with you, Miss, is an Equal Contract or a Master-s*ave Contract.”

Meilina gave a shy smile, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Setting aside the real-world implications of class, the term “master-s*ave” often carried another, somewhat more embarrassing, connotation.

Meilina found her thoughts wandering to inappropriate places for a moment.

Meiluo didn’t understand why, merely seeing Meilina had inexplicably drifted off while speaking, so she called out to her.

“Miss, I believe we should also get moving now.

While ensuring our own safety, we should search for the others, preferably to rendezvous with Lord Wyatt.”

“Ah… oh, you’re right.

Let’s hurry!”

The two sprang into action.

****

Outside the arena, Cassiel watched Leanne with a chilling gaze.

“Are you satisfied?” she demanded. “Is this the outcome you wanted? To let those future hopes die for nothing here?”

At this moment, the large screen before them was tightly focused on the intruding Void Fiend.

In just five short minutes, the Void Fiend had already slaughtered more than five fully-formed teams, meaning over 15 individuals, along with their spirit companions, had met a tragic end at the hands of the Void Fiend.

There were certainly some clever individuals among them who united two or three teams to confront the Void Fiend together.

However, they did not use their combined strength to escape, instead trying to directly kill the Void Fiend, and the outcome was predictable.

Wyatt moved like a shadow, constantly weaving through the dense forest, searching for other teams.

Without any scanning function, he could only rely on his own speed to search, so the efficiency was not high.

But he noticed something.

Specifically, the Void Fiend always precisely located the surviving contestants; whether full teams or lone wolves, its objective was consistently clear.

Therefore, Wyatt adopted the simplest course of action: predicting the Void Fiend’s route to find the contestants in advance and warn them to leave.

The chances of success were slim, of course.

Most contestants would not trust Wyatt, who appeared so suddenly, but the rumbling roar that followed close behind did add some credibility to his warnings.

Without Wyatt, the death toll in those five minutes would have been even higher.

However, just as Wyatt watched a team depart, he suddenly realized that the Void Fiend, which had been approaching his position, had changed direction, and the rumbling roar caused by its running was now moving away from his position.

“What’s going on?”

As Wyatt pondered this, Meilina’s voice suddenly rang out in his earpiece.

– Wyatt, where are you? Meiluo and I are coming to find you now.

Wyatt froze immediately.

He opened the map on the token in his hand, which he had acquired from another team.

Judging the direction the Void Fiend had taken, he hastily spoke into his earpiece.

“Are you approximately 25 degrees southwest of the forest?”

– Huh? Let me check…

Since Meiluo could not leave, Sephilia had given their token to Meilina.

Meilina now opened the map, looking at the location Wyatt had mentioned.

– Ah, how did you know that? Meilina unexpectedly asked.

Immediately afterward, she heard Wyatt’s urgent shouts through her earpiece.

– Run! Get out of there! Escape to the north! Meiluo! Take Meilina and run! Hurry!

Hearing Wyatt’s urgent shouts, Meiluo’s expression instantly changed.

But immediately afterward, both she and Meilina felt an anomaly.

The ground was trembling!

Without a word, a surge of spiritual energy instantly rippled outwards, and Meiluo scooped up Meilina, cradling the girl in her arms.

Disregarding the Thorn Black Markings spreading across her entire body, she sprinted wildly in the direction Wyatt had indicated.

The Void Fiend… was coming for them!