Chapter 502: Magic Array Activate
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Young Will, or should we now call him the Demon King Belia, gazed at every member of the Meteor Rock Guild with a mocking smirk.
His mockery was evident, and he made no effort to conceal it.
Finally, Qiao Qiao was the first to erupt!
In this "dream," others might have thought it was just a nightmare, but for Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo, the consequences of this dream were far from over.
So, Qiao Qiao, with an angry expression, waited for Belia to shout, "You! You scoundrel!"
Before the words even left her mouth, Qiao Qiao rushed forward and extended her hand to press against Belia's chest.
However, this time, Qiao Qiao's hand passed right through Belia's chest, and she stumbled as she seemingly "passed through" Belia's body!
"You... you don't have a physical body?" Qiao Qiao steadied herself after stumbling and turned back to look at Will in astonishment.
Belia squinted his eyes. "Among this team, besides your leader, you're quite surprising too, my beautiful girl. I rarely encounter such pure darkness. The dark aura around you is truly intoxicating."
Qiao Qiao's anger intensified, and she turned to glare at Belia, seemingly contemplating another method of attack. However, at that moment, Chen Xiaolian stepped forward, walked over, and grabbed Qiao Qiao's wrist.
Qiao Qiao tried to break free from Chen Xiaolian's grip on her wrist, but this time, Chen Xiaolian held on tightly.
"Enough!" Chen Xiaolian's voice was stern as he looked at Qiao Qiao. He took a deep breath. "The system won't allow us to harm it, and... it's still using Will's body. Even if you could harm it, killing it would mean killing Will. Do you want your teammates to be erased?"
Qiao Qiao bit her lip forcefully but finally lowered her arm and stopped struggling.
Chen Xiaolian's expression became even more complex. He seemed to be suppressing his emotions and turned to look at Belia. "So, are you considered resurrected now?"
He glanced at the time and continued, "What do we need to do now?"
"I'm not considered fully resurrected yet. My resurrection requires more dark power, but dark power can only come from the Dark Abyss," Belia snapped his fingers. "Right now, I'm merely awake. But I must thank all of you. The dreams you experienced amplified the weaknesses within each of your hearts, the ugliness, the baseness, the contradictions, the struggles... These emotions are the best source of dark power, and they infused me with life, allowing me to awaken. Now, my protectors, you can follow my guidance to activate the magic array."
Chen Xiaolian remained silent. Behind him, the members of the Meteor Rock Guild instinctively gathered around their leader.
"So, what do we need to do?" Chen Xiaolian asked.
"It's simple. The magic array here was activated from the moment I woke up," Belia smiled, his pitch-black eyes fixed on Chen Xiaolian. "What you need to do... is protect me until I'm completely resurrected!"
As Belia uttered these words, all members of the Meteor Rock Guild received a system prompt.
"System Prompt: The Meteor Rock Guild has completed the first step of the ultimate task on Devil's Island, activating the magic array.
Subsequent Task 1: Please keep the magic array running for at least fifteen minutes. Upon completion, protect the target individual to receive 'Friendship of the Demon King.'
Note: Friendship of the Demon King: The friendship of a demon is not necessarily a reliable thing. It may bring you good fortune or disaster.
Subsequent Task 2: Maintain the operation of the magic array for thirty minutes. Upon completion, you will receive 'Dark Blessing of the Demon King' and successfully complete the final task of this Instance.
Note: Dark Blessing of the Demon King: The power of a demon is magical but also dangerous. Indulging in this power may bring misfortune."
Reading these comments, the members of the Meteor Rock Guild, especially Chen Xiaolian, couldn't help but have the same thought: Indeed, dealing with demons and their tasks was not something to be taken lightly.
"So, where is the magic array?" Chen Xiaolian asked Belia.
"What you see now is the magic array," Belia replied.
"..." Chen Xiaolian stared at Belia, and suddenly his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Is it... you? Are you the magic array? Is the magic array on your body?!"
Belia chuckled evilly, "What do you think a magic array should look like? Do you expect to see a few pillars in this cave and a massive dark hexagram drawn on the ground? Hahaha... amusing mortals!"
The group was left speechless.
"I am the core of this magic array, more accurately, the dark attribute that awakened within me," Belia proclaimed loudly. "And this entire island is the magic array! What you need to do is protect my safety on this island! Ensure that no light forces can harm me. Then... once the magic array completes its operation, I..."
"You will resurrect? And then, only at that time, can you truly be called the Demon King?"
It was Roddy who spoke, his tone icy.
"No!" Belia surprisingly shook his head. "To be precise, there are many versions of me in this world, each one a descendant of the Demon King's bloodline... hidden within those bloodlines. And every awakened individual can be considered a 'Belia'!"
"What does that even mean?" Roddy sneered.
"Foolish mortals, do you truly believe that the great Demon King can only exist as a singular entity?" Belia shouted loudly. "The greatness of the Demon King lies in the fact that each demon's incarnation lacks the ugly and selfish hearts of humanity! Every Belia is driven towards achieving the ultimate ideals of the Demon. Every Belia is a Demon King!"
Will's frail body trembled with excitement, and his pale face now had a sickly flush. The young boy's voice rang out loudly and passionately.
"So... the magic array has been activated now."
Chen Xiaolian sighed.
He had received the system's prompt.
The countdown for the magic array had begun.
And Chen Xiaolian understood that they had once again been ensnared by the system.
...
Protecting the magic array was equivalent to protecting Belia, and protecting Belia meant protecting Will!
Initially, they had a choice: to wait for the magic array to run for 15 minutes and fully resurrect Will, then immediately leave.
But now... that was no longer an option!
The safety of Will must be ensured at all costs! If Will dies, two team members will be forcibly erased!
This was a situation that the Meteor Rock Guild absolutely could not allow to happen.
Lun Tai glanced at Chen Xiaolian, and Chen Xiaolian looked at everyone. He had noticed that the atmosphere within the team had become quite delicate.
Lun Tai's restless demeanor, Roddy's madness, Xia Xiaolei and Qimu Xi's estrangement, Soo Soo and Qiao Qiao's rift...
He took a deep breath and addressed the entire group, "Listen up, everyone!"
When they turned to look at him, Chen Xiaolian clenched his teeth and continued, "I don't know what you all experienced in the dream just now. But what I want to say is that we can solve any problems after we return! Right now, the most important thing is to complete this mission! So, no matter what chaotic thoughts are in your minds, put them aside for now! Let's prepare for battle, each one of us with our designated roles!
Now is the decisive moment for this Instance!"
After saying this, Chen Xiaolian glanced at everyone, then snorted, "I don't care what you all are thinking, this is... an order! An order issued by me as the team leader! So please, everyone, follow the order!"
He looked at Lun Tai, "Lun Tai! Arrange the battle assignments!"
"Alright," Lun Tai rubbed his face vigorously.
However, Chen Xiaolian turned his gaze towards the cave. There were several passages around the cave.
"Belia," Chen Xiaolian suddenly raised his voice.
Belia, who stood in the middle of the cave, grunted, "What is it, my protector?"
"Since we are responsible for protecting you, then our interests should align, right?" Chen Xiaolian looked at him. "You want to be resurrected, and we need you alive for that. Can you provide us with some assistance?"
Belia shook his head, "I haven't fully resurrected yet. I've only awakened, and I can't offer you any help at the moment."
"How about a little guidance then?" Chen Xiaolian suddenly smirked, a hint of cruelty in his eyes. "For example... help me catch a mouse."
...
When Thirteen walked out of the cave, he felt utterly drained.
He was almost on the verge of collapsing to the ground.
But at that moment, the area ahead lit up, and he saw... Will!
Seeing Will standing there alone, Thirteen's expression briefly showed surprise, and he cautiously looked around. That hint of surprise eventually turned into delight!
He immediately ran towards Will!
Will stood in the middle of the cave as Thirteen slowly approached him. Eventually, Thirteen summoned a dagger in his hand.
"It seems... I'm the first one to come out?" Thirteen nervously cleared his throat. "Luck is on my side, haha!"
He walked towards Will's back and then raised the dagger, slowly moving it towards Will's back.
At that moment, Will suddenly... turned around!
Thirteen was startled!
Instinctively, he flinched, but then a hint of grim determination flashed in his eyes as he forcefully thrust the dagger forward!
However, in the next instant, Thirteen froze.
His wrist felt as if it were clamped by iron tongs!
The figure in front of him, who had appeared to be Will, slowly shook his head, then suddenly spoke, "It seems you truly are a rat."
The voice was unmistakably Chen Xiaolian's!
In no time, the figure that had looked like Will transformed into Chen Xiaolian's appearance. All illusions disappeared, and the entire Meteor Rock Guild was revealed in the cave—everyone had been there all along.
"You, you, you all are here?" Thirteen was initially flustered but quickly broke into a joyful expression. "I've been looking for all of you... Ah!!"
He let out a miserable scream as Chen Xiaolian ruthlessly twisted and broke his wrist without any hesitation.
Thirteen was in excruciating pain, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he knelt on the ground, crying out, "Ah!!!"
"You were looking for us? Hmph... you saw that we were not around, so you planned to attack and kill our protected target?" Chen Xiaolian's eyes held a mocking glint.
Thirteen knew he couldn't pretend any longer. He raised his head, his expression twisted. "When... did you see through me?"
"From the first minute after we landed on the island," Chen Xiaolian said coldly. "You belong to the Light camp. In theory, you have never been to Tel Aviv, and your team was wiped out by us without completing the second phase of the mission. Once we landed on Devil's Island, the second phase would be forcefully terminated. As someone who didn't complete the second phase, you should have been forcibly ejected from the Instance by the system. However, you weren't ejected; instead, you remained here... the only explanation is..."
Chen Xiaolian reached out, gripping Thirteen's chin and pulling him up.
"The only explanation is that your team consists of more than just you! You must have other teammates who split up and went to Tel Aviv to complete the second phase! Otherwise, you should have disappeared!"
Thirteen trembled, "Then... why didn't you expose me earlier?"
"After we landed on the island, I discovered your flaw," Chen Xiaolian explained, "but by then, even if I killed you, it wouldn't have been meaningful... You must have already exposed our secret to your teammates. Killing you wouldn't have served any purpose... Plus, I thought about it at the time and realized that keeping you alive might have some utility."
Chen Xiaolian sighed as he looked at Thirteen.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone