# 1624
Chapter 1624: Why
An Qingyu walked calmly past the bodies of the two knights, heading deeper into the cathedral.
"Is it here…"
His gaze locked onto a doorway. His hands pressed against its surface, but instead of pushing it open, he simply grabbed it. The two multi-ton doors were instantly turned into countless fragments of paper, scattering like snow throughout the cathedral.
He passed through the shower of paper scraps and entered the room. In those gray eyes, a reflection appeared—a red-haired girl sleeping soundly on a stone platform.
So this is Yreland's proxy?
An Qingyu raised an eyebrow. He had expected a great battle against Chloe, but he hadn't expected her to simply fall into slumber, completely unguarded.
He stepped onto the red carpet beneath his feet, walking step by step toward the sleeping girl on the stone platform. A sharp black surgical scalpel slipped from beneath his robe into his palm.
An Qingyu stopped beside the stone platform. Just as he raised his hand, a violent hurricane suddenly roared to life around the girl!
This wind was completely different from the one that had faced the Knights. The moment the wind blew, a cold gleam slashed off half of An Qingyu's body. Even those eyes capable of analyzing all things couldn't track its speed. He only felt his vision blur, a tremendous force striking his body and slamming him into the thick wall!
An Qingyu's pupils constricted sharply. He forcefully pulled himself free from the crack in the wall. The next moment, another wind blade sliced through the wall, tearing off a corner of his black robe. If his reaction had been any slower, his head might have been cleaved in two this time.
An Qingyu landed on the ground. His half-bloodied body rapidly regenerated. He frowned as he looked at the girl in the eye of the storm, his expression somewhat gloomy.
Was she faking?
No… she hasn't awakened. It's the wind that's protecting her actively?
Just as An Qingyu was contemplating, a ball of blazing purple flame suddenly condensed from nothingness in front of the girl. The high temperature warped the surrounding space, like a miniature sun whose dazzling light made the entire cathedral shine blindingly.
An Qingyu's eyes narrowed instinctively. At the same time, a sense of crisis enveloped his heart. Without hesitation, he dodged sharply to the side.
Almost simultaneously, a purple fireball erupted from beneath the ground, transforming into a pillar of fire that submerged An Qingyu's original position, piercing through the cathedral's dome and shooting straight into the clouds!
Before An Qingyu's feet even touched the ground, the second pillar of fire accurately predicted his landing spot and erupted from the earth once more!
In that instant, the air beneath An Qingyu's feet suddenly deconstructed and reorganized into a solid steel plate. Using it as leverage, he dodged the second purple fire pillar.
An Qingyu looked up at the sky. Above the shattered dome, the two purple pillars of fire had transformed into two Western dragons blocking out the heavens. They roared and howled at his ant-like figure below, as purple flames rolled across the entire night sky.
"She's not even awake yet, and she has such terrifying combat power?" An Qingyu's eyes reflected the purple fire dragons, his expression rarely turning grave.
"It seems I need to use some real skill."
ROAR—!!
The two purple fire dragons pounced on An Qingyu with savage howls. The churning flames seemed ready to reduce all of London to ashes.
An Qingyu stared at the two fire dragons. Tiny lights flickered continuously in those gray eyes. Standing in the ruins, he slowly spread his arms apart, as if to embrace that world-destroying flame!
The fire dragons crashed down like meteors, instantly engulfing An Qingyu. But as the firelight swept across his outstretched hands, the surging flames transformed into countless golden maple leaves. They crashed against the ground, then were caught by the wind generated by the flames above and blown back into the sky!
At this moment, on the desolate ruins of London, maple leaves danced like a golden blizzard.
An Qingyu stood beneath the swirling leaves. Other than his robe being slightly scorched, he bore no wounds. He gazed at the sleeping girl on the stone platform and once again took a step forward.
From the nothingness behind him, the silhouette of a gate shrouded in mist gradually took shape!
The aura of the Gate of Truth permeated the surroundings. An Qingyu stopped a few meters from the stone platform. He bit his fingertip, and the blood-stained finger reached toward his eye…
Since he couldn't approach Chloe, he would simply use the Gate of Truth to devour her!
"An Qingyu."
A voice came from above the dome. An Qingyu's finger, about to touch his eye, suddenly stopped.
He slowly looked up. Standing at the edge of the shattered cathedral dome, a figure wrapped in a Crimson Cloak stood among the swirling leaves, looking down at him with complex emotions.
Seeing that familiar face, An Qingyu lowered his hands. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a deep voice:
"It seems I still couldn't avoid you…"
Lin Qiye lightly leaped from the edge of the dome, landing in front of Chloe's stone platform. He stood on the blackened red carpet, facing An Qingyu.
"Why try to avoid me? Do you not even have the courage to talk to me face to face?"
"No." An Qingyu shook his head. "Your existence is too special. Even without the Mortal Divine Realm, you can create miracles again and again… I have confidence in beating Zeus, but even if you're not yet a god, I have no confidence in beating you."
Lin Qiye looked at An Qingyu's familiar yet foreign face. After a long silence, he finally asked the question he had been suppressing in his heart:
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why betray us?"
Lin Qiye stared into An Qingyu's eyes, wanting to see even a trace of hesitation in those quiet gray eyes.
But the answer he received was destined to disappoint.
An Qingyu's expression remained completely unmoved. His face was stern as he spoke coolly, "When I was at Heavenly Court, I already said that humanity has no chance of victory. So why should I stay on the side that's destined to fail?"
"You're lying." Before he could finish, Lin Qiye cut in firmly. "You're An Qingyu—the An Qingyu who would rather actively walk into the Zhuxian Sword Formation and have his soul destroyed than allow any possibility of the Key to the Gate's revival. The An Qingyu who would rather self-destruct to escape from the Migo… How could someone like you choose to side with the Cthulhu Faction just because you're afraid of failure?"
Lin Qiye had known An Qingyu the longest and understood him the best. He couldn't believe An Qingyu would betray Great Xia for such a reason.
An Qingyu frowned silently for a moment, then continued:
"The reason I made those choices in the past was because I hadn't seen the world beyond the Gate of Truth… But now, I have witnessed 'truth' with my own eyes. Some things can't be solved by simple death."
…
…
It's New Year's Eve, and San Jiu wishes everyone a happy New Year here~
Since I'm going back to my hometown for the holidays, there are many things to do, and I still have to visit a lot of relatives. Originally, I boldly and recklessly fantasized about taking a day or two off for the New Year, since it's been a continuous year and a half without any rest since the book started. I'm extremely exhausted, and after the New Year there's also the San Jiu Rush Update Festival where I'll need to add a lot of chapters…
But thinking about it carefully, I definitely can't just take a break and not update, so I'll stick with two chapters a day. Once I get through these few busy days, I'll get back to three chapters as soon as possible. Hopefully that will be around the third or fourth day of the New Year. I hope everyone can understand~~