“I can’t control it much longer. It’s going to kill you. Run!” the little girl said, the panic in her voice growing.
Han Sen looked at the little girl holding that knife. Her hands continued to bleed profusely. As her blood continued to flow the blade, the sharp knife’s presence faded a little. It wasn’t gone, though. The knife’s aura was still there, pressing out against the little girl’s hand. It moaned gently. Han Sen knew that if the little girl stopped giving it blood, the knife would immediately go after him again.
“I’ll leave then. Can you tell me how to exit this planet? And also, what is your name?” Han Sen knew that if he stayed, he would only be causing the little girl more pain. He crouched down as he prepared to leap up into the sky.
The little girl shook her head. “I don’t know. You just need to get away from here, as far as you possibly can.”
“Fine. What is your name, though?” Han Sen asked.
“Gu Wan’er. You should leave now. Get as far away from here as you can, and don’t come back until I am gone,” the little girl said.
Han Sen was ready to leave, but when he heard her name, his body went completely still. He looked at the little girl in shock, and he asked her, “Your name is Gu Wan’er? Do you know Lone Bamboo?”
Han Sen remembered that Lone Bamboo had once mentioned his little sister was called Wan’er because Pray to God was taken away by God. It was an incident that the man was never able to let go.
If Han Sen remembered things correctly, Lone Bamboo’s sister was around ten years old when she was taken away. It had been many years since then, so Gu Wan’er should have been a grown-up. Finding her in a child’s body was quite the surprise.
“You… you know my big brother…” A sudden smile bloomed over Gu Wan’er’s face as she looked at Han Sen.
“I know him. We are good friends. Why are you here? What is this place?” Han Sen glanced at Wan’er’s sharp knife, then walked closer to her.
He could have simply left if they were strangers. Now that he knew this little girl was Lone Bamboo’s sister, though, he couldn’t just leave.
“This is God’s Farm. It is like a buffet for God’s Knife. God brought me here to take care of the knife…” Gu Wan’er explained. Then she quickly asked, “Is my big brother okay?”
Although Gu Wan’er’s explanation had been brief, Han Sen understood. She had been taken by God and brought her there. God had then given her this sharp knife and put her in charge of feeding it.
God’s Knife ate by feasting on the blood of creatures. This place was called God’s Farm, but it was one of many. Many similar planets were in this system, and Gu Wan’er had to follow a precise schedule. She took the blade to each planet at the right time, allowing God’s Knife to feed on a variety of different types of blood.
Han Sen could immediately see that there were gaps in what Gu Wan’er was telling him. She was hiding something.
“Aside from the blood of those xenogeneics, it also requires your blood, right?” Han Sen asked, looking directly at Gu Wan’er.
Gu Wan’er hesitated and forced a smile. “Yes. I have to feed it some of my blood every day. But do not worry. I have an immortal body. When I sleep, my body recovers. That is fine with me. But about my brother, is he doing fine? If you leave this place, can you not tell him you saw me?”
“No.” Han Sen looked terrible.
Although Gu Wan’er spoke with little concern for herself, Han Sen knew that God had done something very cruel. God had brought Gu Wan’er here and given her an immortal body so she could use her blood to feed the knife. There was nothing godly about this knife. It was more like a depraved vampire.
Gu Wan’er had been made a slave who was forced to sacrifice her own blood. Every day, she needed to offer the demon her blood without rest. She couldn’t even die.
“What do you mean by no? What happened to my brother? God promised me that if I helped him raise the knife, he would let my brother go on to live a good life…” Gu Wan’er paled, and she spoke more rapidly.
Her body was so small, and it was obvious that she didn’t have much blood to give. She had been bleeding for too long, and her body couldn’t take it anymore.
“If you aren’t there, the world means nothing to him.” Han Sen walked in front of Gu Wan’er, and he reached his hand out to the sharp knife. “Give me the knife.”
“No, no, no. You should leave now. It will kill you…” Gu Wan’er stepped back.
Han Sen knew that Gu Wan’er wasn’t lying. When he first sensed the knife, he knew it was a ruthless weapon. That was why Han Sen had originally intended to leave. He didn’t want to put himself at risk.
But now that he knew that Lone Bamboo’s sister was right here, and she was being tortured, he couldn’t just turn his back on her and leave her to her fate. He had to try and help, no matter the cost. He was hoping to take Gu Wan’er away.
“It can’t kill me.” Moving fast, Han Sen slapped Gu Wan’er’s hands away from the knife. He stole the blood-sucking knife and clutched it in his hands.
Gu Wan’er’s eyes widened when she saw that she was no longer holding the knife. She said, “Give it back to me quickly! This is God’s Knife. It is so scary, and it will kill you.”
Han Sen ignored Gu Wan’er. He continued holding the knife by its handle, and he observed the blade carefully. Without Gu Wan’er’s blood, the crimson color of the metal was starting to fade. The demon-like shadow rose again. It was like a beast that would merrily feast on anyone it could. It turned to look at Han Sen. The blade began to tremble in his hands.
Boom!
When the sharp knife realized that Han Sen was holding it, a flash of bloody light shone around it. Han Sen’s power was insufficient to maintain a grip on the knife, and it flew out of his hands.
The demon shadow of the knife formed a body out of bloody flames. Its shape was roughly humanoid, but it seemed to be wreathed in fire. It rattled and shook as it held the sharp knife. The red, ghostly eyes peered at Han Sen as if it wanted nothing more than to dine on his blood.
Bzzt!
The bloody shadow moved. The sharp knife tore through space, carrying a bloody presence with it as it tried to attack Han Sen.
“Don’t kill him!” Gu Wan’er shouted. She stepped in front of Han Sen, spreading her arms.
Before the sharp knife got close enough to touch her, Han Sen grabbed the little girl and spun her around him. He threw a punch toward the sharp knife and said, “Remember; no matter when or where, girls should stay behind men and be protected. Don’t try to get in the way of the man. You’ll just get him hurt.”
Boom!
While he was talking, the fist and the sharp knife struck each other. The bloody flame danced madly as the punching power was shattered. The resulting shockwave tore into the field around them, forming a giant crater.
The nearby sheep were affected, too. The explosion washed over them, reducing them to a bloody mist.
Han Sen didn’t fall back, but he felt something tear in his chest. He felt the urge to cough up a little blood, but he swallowed it back down.
The knife roared, sounding like some terrible beast issuing a challenge. The next second, all four of Han Sen’s geno arts activated within his body. He combined with Spell, and he entered his xenogeneic battle body mode.
