Chapter 66 - 2.27

As the System watched his Host go ballistic, he suddenly doubted itself. Did he choose the wrong Host? Insanity. That was all he could see inside the Host's eyes right now.

He also held an emotional meter in his hands, where he was supposed to be able to monitor the Host's feelings. And yet, the meter depicted a blank slate. That would indicate that the Host wasn't feeling anything at the moment, but how could that be the case? She was killing others, yet she didn't feel anything?

The System lamented the case. Sadly, his authority was reset when he contracted Xu Jiaqi. If he wasn't bound to a newbie Host, then he could pry into Xu Jiaqi's records and database, seek what the anomaly was within this soul. However, since he was deprived of that ability, he could only watch in fright as the Host hummed a joyful song.

Did he accidentally awaken a beast? A beast, a devil that was supposed to die and not be revived? Did he just make the largest mistake ever?

"..The moon looks faintly red tonight, is it just my eyes?" Xu Jiaqi rubbed her eyes as she looked towards the bright moon that was supposed to be white, but was somehow stained with red, as if marking her killing spree tonight.

System: You got filthy blood in your eyes. You deserve it. Congratulations!

Xu Jiaqi had just finished one sidedly killing fifty or more heads.

"..Ah, whatever. I'm done with this place.. Wind magic!" Xu Jiaqi called out a wind gust that led the items around and collected it in one place. She then balled them up into a sphere and dragged it back to the town with a deadpan expression.

She was still a bit pissed at Zenith for not matching up to her expectations. She thought that Zenith would be her most useful pawn, given that he was essentially an endless battery pack, but she might have to reverse that opinion now.

She couldn't help but grit her teeth at the uncomfortable feeling that was rising inside of her. Her heart was enticed to destroy everything and leave nothing behind. So that her heart would be at ease. But naturally, she had to subdue this feeling down for the time being because she wasn't the strongest yet.

She couldn't defy the Main System's authority. For now. The one who gave missions were them, and it meant that how much her life would be prolonged by would also be determined by that being.

She got back to Zenith. He was sitting down next to several other villagers, conversing in a lighthearted mood. It made Xu Jiaqi even more disturbed. Her heart wasn't in peace. It was completely out of her usual tendencies.

In one motion, she threw the ball of wind magic that contained their valuables without warning. The wind magic coating was broken, and the items inside spilled outwards. With an annoyed face, she left without saying a word, as if she was a child throwing a tantrum.

Xu Jiaqi thought that she was sensible. Sensible to the point that she would get called a robot from time to time. But now, it felt like she was terribly affected by the littlest things.

She went to the nearest inn and checked into a room, paying the innkeeper money and laying down on the mattress.

'..Why am I like this? It's not at all.. like how I'm supposed to act. I have to be composed.. But my heart.. ugh.' Xu Jiaqi banged on the mattress, expressing her annoyance.

'How I am supposed to act? Why should I act in a certain way? I should just follow my mind. My mind is the best indicator.' Getting even angrier, Xu Jiaqi stopped thinking altogether and began descending into sleep. She was tired, tired of thinking about everything.

As she slept, Zenith entered her room.

At this point, Xu Jiaqi's eyes were already closed and it looked like she was dead asleep.

The woman in question was awake, and her consciousness was as bright as day. Zenith stood in his place for a few minutes just watching over the resting girl. It was a creepy sight if someone walked in on them, but because Xu Jiaqi roughly understood why Zenith was doing this, she just let it be.

Zenith must be in so much conflict over her words and actions. She must have shocked him. Perhaps, he wouldn't even want to ally himself with her anymore.

'That would be a stupid move'. Xu Jiaqi said to herself.

There was a limit to how stupid one can be. If Zenith really chose to abandon her just because of this incident, then Xu Jiaqi didn't need him in the first place. She wouldn't want to be dragged down by someone like him.

After the long rounds of staring, Zenith finally spoke up. He was trying to convey what his heart held without saying it directly to the lady- a cowardly move. Perhaps he thought that talking to the lady who was asleep would be easier, and would count just as much as if he had to face her.

Zenith wouldn't know how to face her after the incidents that shook them apart.

"I'm sorry for the offense, Lady Ariel. I simply think that.. You weren't thinking on your right mind. You seemed off. Like you were in a dreamlike state. You zoned out a lot, and your eyes kept.. becoming scary. It really was my intention to save them, but I also thought that you would have made the same decision had you were in your usual condition."

Unbeknownst to him, Xu Jiaqi heard it all. Zenith's words, it was well received by her. She didn't know how to respond to this, so she just kept sleeping until Zenith decided to leave the room.. Normally, someone who was faking sleep would be discovered by Zenith quickly, but since Xu Jiaqi was a master in acting, the man left while thinking that his words were not at all heard by anyone.