"So, it was you all along..." Mori stared at Xu Xiaoyou, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Yes, it was me."

For over half a month, the actions of the Dark Night Walker had faced numerous obstacles, as if the Octagonal Spider knew all their moves. Repeated failures in their missions led their companions to point the finger of blame at her.

Even Chichu Tianyi, that damned Demon's location, had been discovered by the Octagonal Spider, and their attempt to relocate him was intercepted by the Spider's armed squad.

These lunatics planned to use Chichu Tianyi to extort a huge sum from the Chichu Family. Just thinking about this scum who deserved to die a thousand deaths soon roaming free, with more innocent girls and families falling victim to his evil deeds, made Mori's tightly clenched nails almost dig into her flesh.

In the cold mire that kept pulling her deeper, each breath brought the stench of decay into her mouth, as if the wails of countless girls echoed in her ears, with innumerable innocent hands reaching up from below, dragging her body, blocking her sight, making her unwilling to face what she saw.

"Why, You..."

Mori struggled to maintain eye contact with Xu Xiaoyou, swaying as if a slight push would make her collapse.

The girl who once accompanied her through countless days and nights, who soothed her soul with humor, empathy, and understanding, was gone. That mask not only blocked her sight but also created a chasm that completely separated them, constantly whispering, 'See, how well I played the role of You? The time for playing house is over; standing before you is a Devil adept at manipulating hearts.'

Countless memories of being with the girl turned illusionary, as if at a sunset crossroads, leading in opposite directions, diverging with no intersecting path, their figures gradually blurred and unfamiliar.

"You, you're just lying to me, right?" Mori could not accept the crushing blow, feeling on the verge of breakdown, her voice suppressed with a trembling sob.

"You're just joking with me, this is all fake, just a play you and they acted out to trick me, right?"

"This joke is not funny at all, I don't want to play anymore, let's go back..."

"It seems you still don't understand the situation." Xu Xiaoyou sighed softly as a member of the Octagonal Spider respectfully handed her an M1911 pistol. She loaded it with bullets and closed the safety in front of Mori.

Mori's eyes shook, recognizing the gun as the one she had once handed over at the steel mill.

The suspended Sparrow was lowered, the expression of fear on her face so profound and real, her pupils constantly dilating and contracting as she looked at the gun pointed at her forehead, then at Mori, desperately struggling but to no avail.

"What are you doing!" Sparrow's face twisted as she yelled at Mori. "Young Miss, you're going to get us all killed?!"

"Wait, You, don't!" Mori crawled toward Xu Xiaoyou in a trance, her shapely legs and knees bleeding from the grinding stone shards and glass on the ground.

BANG—

The girl's heart-wrenching scream drowned in the deafening gunshot. In the flickering flames, Mori watched Sparrow's body helplessly fall before her, tears streaking across his dimmed eyes.

Xu Xiaoyou listlessly glanced at her underlings, and soon someone understood, stepping forward to drag Sparrow's body away, leaving Mori clutching her mouth, kneeling like a marionette without strings, dried tear marks on her face, the once vivacious Little Witch now dull and devoid of all light.

Unending cold and silence enveloped Mori as Xu Xiaoyou's voice echoed in her ears:

"This is the price for easily trusting others."

"If you continue to be naive and foolish, your remaining companions will also die because of your nature, Young Master."

Mori looked up, a tear silently tracing a path across her face: "So... you knew all along."

"Of course, they offered a deal I couldn't refuse, just by getting close enough to you with a bit of sweet talk, you let your guard down completely."

"Did you forget why I fled to Chichu Heaven?" Xu Xiaoyou caressed the mask indulgently, her tone sinister,

Only now did Mori remember, the other had come here because she was wanted. From the beginning, she approached Mori with the identity of a Devil, and it was Mori's naïveté and willfulness that ignored these facts, brought this Devil among her companions, leading to today's events.

"How could you naively think this world is your personal fairy tale, where everything unfolds beautifully around you, how laughable."

"The leverage you possess is enough for me to turn the tide at my lowest ebb, and I will return to the gaming table in absolute victory, winning once again. The Goddess of Fortune has always favored me, never shifting her gaze."

"Victory!"

Xu Xiaoyou spread her arms, embracing an invisible God, her tone arrogant, a stark contrast to her usually gentle and courteous demeanor. A gambling table slowly ascended before her, the green baize unfurling smoothly, golden chips cascading from above, instantly piling into a mountain on top of the table.

"What do you intend to do?" Mori shakily stood up, supporting herself on the table to barely stand.

"Before leaving, let's play two interesting little games. You're in no position to negotiate with me, my resources are endless."

Xu Xiaoyou approached the table, knocking over the mountain of chips, placing two M1911 pistols gently on the table before her. Like magic tricks, her slender, nimble fingers moved and the complete guns were disassembled into two equally sized sets of parts.

"And the stakes you need to wager on in the two games are the lives of your remaining two companions."

Hearing this, the two above them struggled violently, chains clinking with sharp clarity.

Mori's blood flow gradually cooled, exhaling frost, her overheated mind calming down, no longer holding any naive or beautiful illusions about what was happening.

Xu Xiaoyou was truly a Devil, she had personally witnessed her killing her companion, and if she continued being willful, she would lose all her remaining companions one by one.

Regardless of the situation, she had to hold onto everything she had left, even in disgrace. Losing everything is not her usual style; at least in the game Xu Xiaoyou spoke of, she had to win!

"If I win, let them go." Mori's voice was so tense she almost bit her gums, speaking each word heavily.

"Of course, my dear Young Master," Xu Xiaoyou replied with a smile.

Across the gambling table, the dark red-haired girl's eyes stopped wavering, secretly resolving something.

But clearly, she overlooked one thing,

——a Devil never smiles when making promises.

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