The black substance covering Redmond's body kept hardening into scabs. He could no longer move, and The Artisan's left hand remained pressed against his chest.
"Yield, or be devoured. The choice is yours, Lord Malice."
Redmond sneered, his expression full of contempt, and let out a cold snort.
"If you want me to surrender, you'll have to kill me first."
"That bastard Redmond."
John Chou beside me cursed under his breath. I also sensed something was off—Redmond's Ghost Aura hadn't weakened; if anything, it was growing thicker.
"Is Redmond holding back?"
I turned my head in shock and asked. John Chou nodded.
"For months now, ever since we entered the Shadow of the Moon, we've been searching for ways to counter the power of darkness. We've finally found it. Darkness has a trait—it resonates with the darkness in your heart, establishing a link with the darkness inside you. It will hurt you personally."
Suddenly, I understood. Hope filled my heart. Light, as they say, can dispel darkness to a certain extent. Back in the Dark Forest, even though Yuna Ji and Redmond were still suppressed by Synthetic Soul, they had begun to sense something. From Rachel Lan, they felt it too.
"Ethan Zhang, during this time, we've all been working to adjust our emotions, refusing to let a single trace of negativity take root. This way, the Dark Power can't corrode us at all. We've practiced extensively—even in the third layer of pure darkness, as long as hope remains in our hearts, our bodies stay untouched. So The Artisan's Dark Power can't possibly devour Redmond. That guy has always been like this—his words might be harsh, but he's always gentle toward women. It's a real headache sometimes."
As Basil Bertram spoke, I swallowed hard; Mona Ouyang's eyes widened with urgent concern.
"That bastard—how can he act so proper at a time like this? Damn him."
"If you think about it, whenever Redmond faced female enemies in the past, he always let Vivian Maple handle them."
Yuna Ji had recovered somewhat and had already stepped out of Lord Shenyan's embrace.
"Whenever I had a conflict with him before, it was always Vivian Maple and me who fought. He never laid a hand on me himself."
Now, even The Artisan in the air seemed to sense something was off, looking at Redmond with suspicion.
"Why is it like this?"
Redmond gazed calmly at The Artisan.
"You might as well concede, Miss. You're not my match. You're strong, yes, but your Dark Power is useless against me now."
With a crack, the black scab-like substance on Redmond's body shattered and scattered. He brushed aside The Artisan's hand and retreated with a rush of air. The Artisan watched Redmond withdraw, her eyes wide in surprise before she let out a cold laugh.
"It seems you've figured out how to circumvent Dark Power. But if that's all you can do, you pose no real threat to us."
No sooner had The Artisan finished speaking than she was already in front of Redmond, her hands turning into blades as she struck at his sides.
With a sharp crack, black flames exploded, and Redmond widened the distance between himself and The Artisan once again.
"What exactly are you trying to do? If you don't attack, there's no way to determine a winner. Just running away is pointless."
Redmond smiled, and in the instant The Artisan launched her attack, he slipped away.
Even I was starting to lose patience.
There's a reason Redmond is acting this way.
Just then, Lord Shenyan, usually calm and collected, suddenly spoke up. We all turned to look at him.
"How do you know? What happened?"
Mona Ouyang immediately asked.
Lord Shenyan let out a sigh.
"He once personally killed a woman—her name was Rufina Huang. He killed her with his own hands, and from that moment on, he stopped wanting to fight women. Now, he avoids it altogether. Even though Rufina Huang in this lifetime can't remember the past, they once made a promise. You all know Redmond isn't the kind to break his word. If he says he'll do something, he will—he'd never betray a promise."
John Chou sighed helplessly, his expression softening considerably.
"If you can't win in a fair fight, then use another method, Redmond."
John Chou shouted loudly.
"No one asked you, John Chou. Shut up."
Redmond kept dodging The Artisan's attacks, but The Artisan was getting faster and faster. Redmond took countless hits—using his hands as weapons had its drawbacks, but right now, it was all The Artisan could do. Redmond's power let him enslave Soul Objects, and the Dark Banquet's weapons were all forged from human souls.
With a heavy thud, Redmond, unable to retreat any further, crossed his arms to shield himself. The Artisan stomped down with immense force, driving Redmond toward the ground. With a crash, Redmond hit the ground, and in that instant, The Artisan crouched in front of him, sweeping a kick at him.
Redmond staggered, but then he floated in midair. The Artisan grabbed his feet, then kicked at his groin. With a rush of air, Redmond shuddered and transformed into scattered black flames, dodging away.
"Miss, please concede!"
Redmond continued, but The Artisan just laughed. She hadn't managed to inflict any real damage—Redmond always anticipated her moves, dodging every attack almost perfectly.
"I don't mind playing this game for ten days or half a month. Whenever you figure things out, we can get back to a real fight."
The Artisan yawned, then sat down on the ground and stretched her arms. She reached out a hand, and the black stones on the ground groaned and twisted. In the blink of an eye, a comfortable, spacious bed appeared. The Artisan lay down and pulled up the covers.
"Good night. If you want to fight, just wake me up anytime."
I stared in shock, while the other two members of the Dark Banquet glared furiously at us. Xu Fu clapped his hands and burst out laughing.
"A masterpiece, truly a masterpiece. The fight between you two looks like it's going to drag on for ages."
Redmond hovered awkwardly in midair, clearly at a loss, his face pale. The Artisan was genuinely asleep.
After a while, Redmond dropped down from the air, landing about ten meters from The Artisan. He stared at her quietly, then began pacing back and forth, clearly deep in thought.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
Hearing Redmond say that, I sat down in resignation. Clearly, he can't bring himself to fight a woman.
Now I noticed the sly smile on Xu Fu's face across from us. Did he know something? Was this intentional?
"Redmond, is it true you once accidentally killed a woman?"
In an instant, the ease vanished from Redmond's face. He stared at Xu Fu, silent, anger slowly rising in his expression.
"Who told you that?"
"Loraine Locke—or, more accurately, Old Cat heard it from Loraine Locke. I asked him before, and he told me."
Redmond's brows furrowed, his anger intensifying as he slowly walked toward Xu Fu.
"Given the circumstances, you didn't have a choice, right? If you hadn't killed her, you'd be dead. No one can blame you for that. For a ghost chasing power, you..."
"Shut up."
Redmond stopped, hands in his pockets. Two clusters of Malice Wraith Fire appeared on his shoulders, flickering with restless energy.
"I heard things were brutal back then. It wasn't your intention, but she died because of you. That woman—she finally had a chance to..."
"I told you to shut up. Can't you hear me?"
With a thunderous boom, a surge of black Ghost Aura erupted, forming a razor-sharp shockwave. The Artisan, startled from sleep, leapt high as the Ghost Aura smashed her bed to pieces. She landed, smiling at Redmond.
"Ah, sorry about that. I just can't control my mouth. This isn't something we should talk about in public. Everyone has scars—especially the ones on our hearts. They're not so easy to heal, you know..."
"Don't go too far, Xu Fu. Redmond's past has nothing to do with this fight, right?"
I roared, and Xu Fu looked over, laughing heartily.
"Especially if you killed the woman you loved most with your own hands. What do you think, Ethan Zhang? If you ever killed Rachel Lan yourself, what would you do?"
My eyes widened and my fists clenched. Redmond hung his head in silence, anger simmering, his long hair completely hiding his eyes.
With a rush of air, The Artisan flew over, jabbing a hand at Redmond. He sidestepped, dodging her attack completely. Then The Artisan kicked, and Redmond caught her foot with one hand.
"What did she say to you when she died? If it's not too much to ask, could you tell me? I'd like to hear your tragic story, you..."
With a rush of air, Redmond let go of The Artisan's foot, still hanging his head in silence. The Artisan chased after him, but Redmond instantly transformed into scattered flames and dodged away.
"Redmond, I heard something else interesting about you..."
"Didn't you hear me tell you to shut up, Xu Fu?"
Redmond lifted his head, his eyes now burning crimson. With a rush of air, The Artisan flew to his side, her hands striking at Redmond.
With a thunderous crash, just as The Artisan was about to attack Redmond, a mass of flame shaped like a human face struck her. She was sent flying, crashing to the ground, her expression changing in an instant.
"Looks like he's finally ready to get serious."