901 A Pure Flower

An honest question Varian always asked himself was regarding his death. Even with things as miraculous as the slivers, living forever was unlikely. Even if he grew strong to a point he couldn't even imagine, he might not transcend death.

But perhaps he wouldn't even grow that strong. His journey might end abruptly like that of many geniuses.

If that's the case, then how would you like your story to end?

…How do you want to die?

'A battle.' Was Varian's honest answer. It didn't matter if he won or lost, all it mattered was he fought with everything he had.

For a man with such conviction, fainting abruptly and sleeping until his death was perhaps the worst end.

When he started fainting a few days ago and knew it'd be like this until his time ran out, Varian was so vexed that he didn't think it could get any worse.

But it did. And it got way worse than he could've imagined.

"Enigma!" Varian shouted his lungs out and his aura exploded outward.

On the cliff that was deadly silent except for the weak breathing of Enigma, his yell grabbed the attention of everyone.

The Undead that were about to attack Enigma froze for a moment before turning to Varian.

But the man himself disappeared and appeared in front of the bloodied Enigma. Like a wall that would never collapse, he stood in between the Undead and Enigma.

"Y-You…" Enigma was close to collapsing at this point. She couldn't even keep her eyes open, much less stand properly.

But seeing the familiar back, her eyes that already accepted death grew wide and her emotions exploded.

Even if every emotion Enigma felt since her birth until now adds up, it'd still not be enough for the torrent of feelings that flooded her heart at this moment.

Unprecedented joy. Deep sorrow. Endless regret.

'I…' Enigma couldn't respond to the tumultuous changes inside her mind. So, she did the only thing she could do now. Drawing the last bit of strength from her body, she yelled at him or at least tried, unsuccessfully. "W-Why? I-Idio…!"

Realizing she couldn't even speak, she used her psychic power. But due to her terrible state, even that sounded like a weak whisper in Varian's mind. '…I sacrificed my life for you and you're throwing it away!'

Even though she meant to speak in anger, her words only conveyed her anguish.

Varian took a deep breath and hold Enigma's injured, charred palm so cautiously as if she was a baby.

His Plantae power poured into her at full force. The minor injuries simply disappeared while the serious injuries were healed to the point they were only minor. Finally, the fatal injuries turned into normal ones.

Even though Enigma was still soaked in blood and lacked any strength, she was no longer on the verge of death. Varian single-handedly pulled her out of the hell gate.

'Varian, what are you doing?! Why did you even come back? We'll all die! Why? Why?!' Enigma's slightly invigorated voice continued in his mind.

Feeling her condition, Varian sighed in relief and glanced at the Undead with killing intent.

The Undead glared back at him with equal bloodthirst. But strangely, they didn't attack him yet, as if they were restraining themselves for some reason.

To bring up the sliver powers, he'd need more time. Time that the Undead wouldn't give him.

But from the moment he touched Enigma, Varian was giving off the dangerous sliver auras.

That's the reason the Undead refrained from attacking him. Their instincts warned them against it.

But the Undead's irrational bloodthirst for living beings was far stronger than their survival instincts. So, even Varian knew the bluff was going to be blown at any moment.

Still, the few seconds were precious and crucial to his plan. Varian's psychic power radiated out and sent Sarah a message. Sarah's expression stiffened and she shook her head frantically at Varian. But despite that, the space around Enigma fluctuated.

This was the tipping point for the Undead. They growled and charged their auras, ready to attack the injured woman along with this new living being, even though their instincts warned them against it.

Feeling the space twisting and twirling around her, Enigma too realized something was wrong and intertwined her fingers with Varian's instinctively, rejecting the action he was about to do.

'No! I don't accept it! Stop it! Varian! Listen to me! If you do it, I'll hate you! I'll hate—'

The space suddenly shrank and Enigma appeared in front of Sarah. Sarah caught Enigma with a blank face and stared down at Varian.

'Sarah, take her and leave.' Varian's message came again.

"Graahh!"

"Wragahh!"

The two peak level 9 Undead, a giant spider and a great lizard, growled as they stepped towards Varian.

The spider's body was covered with reddish soil while the great lizard breathed fire.

The remaining Undead growled in frustration and turned their attention to the two girls in the air.

Even the Undead around them stepped back and let them seize the special prey—a pure soul.

The Undead in the Twilight Zone had undergone many births and deaths. Their souls were cleansed to the point they were just a bunch of instincts and memories.

For such creatures, a pure soul that was never touched by this zone's perverse laws was a novelty. It's like a pure flower growing in a dirty swamp.

If the Undead were usually dictated by instincts in their killing of the living, it was the deepest instinct, the desire from the soul called for the death of these pure living beings. It demanded to drag that pure flower into the mud and contaminate it with the same filth.

So, killing Varian, Sarah and Enigma was a great delight for them. Instead of finishing it in a blink, the Undead wanted to relish the experience as much as they could.

That's why Enigma survived despite fighting such a strong force. Of course, she was about to be killed. Even though the Undead wanted to play, the final goal was always to kill.

When they were about to finish that off, Varian appeared and spoiled the whole thing. It's like working an hour and about to make a fire only to be doused at the last moment.

The Undead were pissed off.