novel bin Chapter 6 Butterfly
Chapter 6 Butterfly
"Humans".
The sound wasn't loud, yet it overwhelmed all the wind, rain, and thunder, resonating directly in everyone's minds, carrying a metallic, friction-like quality and an ancient, icy chill.
Chu Tianjiao, carrying the long sword still dripping black blood, retreated step by step to the Maybach. His face was expressionless, the rain washing away the bloodstains, but the hand holding the sword, with its white, bulging knuckles and slight trembling, betrayed the volcanic emotions surging beneath the calm surface.
"I know what you want." Chu Tianjiao raised his head, his gaze fixed on the deity on horseback like a nail, his voice hoarse yet exceptionally clear, "Okay. It's yours."
He paused, without turning around, and said to Chu Zihang inside the car, "Son, the trunk. A black box with silver markings. Bring it here."
Chu Zihang flung open the car door, the icy rain instantly soaking him. He staggered to the back of the car, his fingers trembling as he opened the trunk. Inside lay a black briefcase, neither leather nor iron, its surface cold to the touch. In the center of the briefcase, a simple yet strange silver emblem gleamed faintly. He clutched the briefcase tightly, ran back to his father, and shoved it into his blood-stained hand.
With the box in hand, Chu Tianjiao seemed to have received some kind of confirmation. He looked up again, meeting Odin's golden eyes: "I'm ready."
"Then, human," Odin's voice was devoid of emotion, only a divine pronouncement, "come before me."
Chu Tianjiao didn't move immediately. He suddenly turned around and, with his cleaner hand, roughly ruffled Chu Zihang's soaked hair. Rainwater streamed down his wrist and into Chu Zihang's collar, icy cold.
"Son," he grinned, trying to force his usual, slightly roguish smile, but the muscles in his face were contorted with pain and tension, making the smile look strange and desolate, "Dad was...cool, wasn't he?"
Chu Zihang's vision was already blurred. He nodded hard and forcefully, a hot lump stuck in his throat, and could only squeeze out one word: "...Handsome."
"Good." Chu Tianjiao seemed satisfied. He leaned closer, his low voice carrying a rusty, bloodthirsty edge, each word piercing Chu Zihang's ears, "Remember, the moment I yell 'Run,' get in the car immediately, turn around, and leave as fast as you can. Don't look back. I'll find a way to catch up."
"Hmm!" Chu Zihang's teeth were chattering, but he forced himself to respond.
Chu Tianjiao patted his shoulder one last time, the force quite strong. Then, he gripped the long sword tightly in his right hand, raised the black briefcase high in his left, turned around, and walked step by step towards the divine light illuminating the rain, towards that invincible being.
He walked slowly, even somewhat unsteadily, his soaked trousers flapping in the wind. His back looked as small as an ant under the divine might, yet he stood ramrod straight, exuding a reckless and almost shameless composure.
"I will give you new life," Odin proclaimed, his voice echoing between heaven and earth. "Gods do not lie."
"To become like them?" Chu Tianjiao pointed the tip of his knife at the silent Death Servants around him, his tone full of sarcasm.
"No. Your bloodline is more precious, and you will gain a more powerful form."
"No room for negotiation?"
"All who step into this land become my subjects. This is the ironclad law." Odin's words carried an absolute, law-like quality.
Chu Tianjiao stopped in his tracks. He was still a hundred meters away from Odin, but this was the closest distance between a mortal and a god.
"Then..." He took a deep breath, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes vanished, leaving only a resolute determination after being tempered, "there's nothing to discuss then."
Before he could finish speaking, something unexpected happened!
His left arm muscles bulged suddenly, the dark blue veins protruding like dragons and snakes, and his eyes flashed with golden light! A low growl, inhuman in sound, burst from his chest, and he hurled the black briefcase with unimaginable force, like a boulder thrown by a catapult, into the endless dark abyss beside the overpass!
"Son! Run—!!!"
The shout and the throwing motion happened almost simultaneously!
Chu Zihang's mind went blank, but his body moved before his consciousness could. Like a spinning top whipped by a whip, he whirled around and lunged at the driver's seat of the Maybach with all his might! The car door slammed shut, and the world was instantly shut out.
Outside the car, the chaos caused by the thrown box had just begun. Countless Dead Servants let out sharp screechs, like a swarm of piranhas drawn by the scent of blood, and frantically rushed towards the direction the box had flown. But even more shadowy figures, filled with chilling killing intent, swirled toward Chu Tianjiao, who stood alone on the bridge, and the Maybach that was about to start moving.
"Get out of here!"
The blade flashed again! No longer a precise pinpoint kill, but a devastating arc of light that swept across the battlefield! The rain was forced aside by the blade's energy, creating a brief vacuum. The approaching Death Servant was as if he had crashed into an invisible meat grinder, shattering in an instant!
He cleaved the rain curtain in two, giving half to God and half to his son.
Chu Tianjiao stood beside the carriage, continuously brandishing his sword. A transparent aura suddenly opened around him, firmly protecting the Maybach behind him. He was slightly hunched over, breathing heavily, blood mixed with rainwater streaming down his forehead, but his eyes, burning with golden light, were fixed on Odin on horseback, unyielding.
Inside the car, Chu Zihang gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white. He looked at the center console and, with all his might, hoarsely shouted out the command:
"start up--!"
The sleeping V12 beast suddenly awoke! The deep roar instantly transformed into a furious howl, causing the entire vehicle to tremble slightly. Chu Zihang abruptly turned his head, looking through the blurry car window at the figure that appeared incredibly lonely yet towering amidst the Deadpool horde and under the divine might.
"Dad—Dad—!!!" He pounded on the car window and shouted hoarsely.
In the wind and rain, Chu Tianjiao seemed to hear it. He didn't turn around, but simply raised his left hand, which was not holding a knife, and waved it forcefully and resolutely behind him.
"Drive! Go—!!!" His shout pierced through the roar of the engine and came through clearly.
Then came even more urgent and weighty words, like a final entrustment, striking Chu Zihang's heart hard:
"Listen to me! Remember what you promised me! All I have left in this world is you! If you die, I'll truly have nothing left!"
"Son, live on! Only then can we see each other again!"
"Trust Dad! I'll definitely be at the parent-teacher conference!"
Before his last words had even finished, he had already spun around, his blade cleaving through the rain, facing the surging black tide once more. In the brief moment between the flashes of light, he hastily glanced back, seemingly trying to force a smile:
"Next time it rains... Dad will come pick you up again."
At that moment, Chu Zihang felt something inside his chest shatter completely. He slammed on the gas pedal, and the Maybach roared forward! In the rearview mirror, the figure rapidly shrank amidst the dense shadows and dazzling light, becoming blurry until it was swallowed by the rain.
Tears finally broke free, mingling with the rain and gushing out uncontrollably. He clenched his teeth, his jawline taut, using all his strength to fight against the urge to tear him apart and turn back.
Chu Zihang didn't notice that a glimmer of light appeared in the tightly closed eyes of the unfortunate kid lying in the back seat.
"...Well done, son." A low, almost drowned sigh came from Chu Tianjiao in the wind and rain. "Your death here...that would be the greatest shame for your father."
The Maybach sped away, leaving the battlefield behind. But neither Chu Zihang nor the unconscious Lu Mingfei inside the car saw it—
At the end of the overpass, Odin slowly raised the lance, Gungnir, crackling with destructive lightning. The tip pointed in the direction Maybach had fled, and an invisible law of "guaranteed hit" began to weave, locking onto the nine-million-dollar car.
"One minute."