（BGM—《4 AM (Feat. I Hate This Place)" Singer: re:plus, if NetEase Cloud can't play it, QQ Music has)

Everyone subconsciously held their breath, as if they had witnessed the arrival of the demon god, as if this was not a battlefield in the Gobi Wilderness, but a gloomy and solemn, evil and elegant altar.

Standing in the center of the altar, Cheng Mo sacrificed his heart and summoned a noble deity from the dark netherworld.

Even the Shaxx Demon God was stunned, and watched Athena fall from the sky with empty eyes, and when Athena fell to the ground like a butterfly and walked towards Cheng Mo, the Shaxx Demon who stepped on Cheng Mo's palm couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Probably to hide his nervousness, the Shaxx Demon God put his right hand on his chest, bowed slightly, and said, "Good evening, respected Monarch Asmodeus. ”

The seventy-two demon gods of the "Black Death" knew that Athena was a lot of Berret, but almost no one knew that she was still Asmodeus of the "Supreme Four Pillars".

However, even if the Shaxx Demon God told such an important secret, Athena didn't even look at the golden Shaxx Demon God, but just stared intently at Cheng Mo, who was lying on the ground covered in scars.

His expression was indifferent, but there was an imperceptible warmth in his eyes.

The warmth was like a little ember buried in the black dust.

When she noticed that Athena saw that blood was still gushing out of Cheng Mo's chest, her brows furrowed. The Shaxx Demon God immediately popped out a few clusters of light from his fingers, and the golden clusters of light flew and fell in the night wind, and they fell into Cheng Mo's body, so those terrible wounds miraculously grew and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

So Cheng Mo's pale face had a hint of blood, he wanted to raise his hand to tidy up the messy hairstyle, but found that his hands were full of sticky blood, he smiled reluctantly, opened his lips full of blood foam, and whispered tremblingly: "It's really bad, let you see me so embarrassed." ”

Athena didn't respond, she took off her backpack, unbuttoned her tweed coat, walked to Cheng Mo's side, and inserted the long sword of Perseus beside her, then took off her coat and squatted down, covering Cheng Mo's body, and then she sat on the gravel floor like this, holding Cheng Mo's arm and holding him into her arms.

Such a warm and affectionate behavior is quite unreasonable under such a situation and environment, which makes everyone stunned. The expression of the Shaxx Demon God was especially dazed? Or even a feeling of being humiliated? His hands were trembling slightly, as if he was ready to release his skills at any moment? But in the end, he endured it? Lower your eyes and let the cinematic picture continue.

Athena didn't seem to care at all about the astonished gaze around her.

In her world, it was as if no one else existed.

She looked down at Cheng Mo in her arms? Whispered, "Is it still cold?"

A wave of warmth completely drowned Cheng Mo, making him suspect that all this in front of him was just a "dream of the void".

He blinked vigorously? Athena's face is ethereal? But the temperature in the crook of her arm was so real, and the distant aroma of her light breath diffused in the cool air, making him comfortable. Her bright pupils are like stars reflected in a deep blue lake? It seems that he just needs to reach out and touch? can make ripples.

The pain and disappointment were dispelled by Athena's soft embrace, surrounded by strong enemies, and in full view of everyone, Cheng Mo actually felt a little inexplicably shy. But his strong self-esteem prompted him to avoid Athena's direct gaze. But when he found himself in Athena's iceberg-like cold countenance? Unable to observe any mood swings at all, he began to suffer from gains and losses again? He even began to wonder why Athena had returned.

He was afraid for the sake of the "Lord of the Plague".

Such thoughts made Cheng Mo sad, he thought that he would never be disappointed for another person? But after all, he was mortal.

He will too.

So Cheng Mo gently shook his head leaning in the crook of Athena's arm, and pretended to ask casually, "Why didn't you go to Damascus?"

The moment you asked? Is his broken heart in overdrive? Maybe it's because he didn't have a long life? I've never been so tired and vulnerable. Cheng Mo felt that he had entered the age of a middle-aged man in advance, and he could not escape the heavy responsibility on his body, and he could not bear it, he was like a page of stationery lying on the ground, which would be blown away by the wind at any time, or crushed into dust.

Compared to him, Athena seemed so quiet.

Cheng Mo was upset by this, he was worried that Athena's answer was unsatisfactory, and he was also a little afraid that Athena would snoop into his heart, he was ashamed of his suspicion, and he couldn't wait to hear Athena say what he expected.

He stared intently at Athena, uneasy as a defendant waiting for a verdict.

Athena didn't seem to perceive the apprehension in Cheng Mo's heart at all, she raised her hand to caress the corner of Cheng Mo's lips, wiped the blood for him, and asked rhetorically, "Why did you come back?"

"Because ......" Cheng Mo hesitated for a moment, but still said calmly, "Because I want to ...... My Wife..... Try to change the world. He smiled wryly and laughed at himself, "But the result is ...... I failed to do anything, instead became a murderer, a liar, a slaughterer, a ........ Joke. ”

Athena was indifferent to Cheng Mo's horrific words to describe himself, and didn't seem to think that Cheng Mo risked his life for the sake of a dead woman. She just listened carefully to Cheng Mo's explanation, thought for a moment, and then said straightforwardly: "I didn't go to Damascus, I just wanted to ask you, when you said goodbye, is there anything else you want to say to me.......?"

Cheng Mo's fragile heart hung high and fell back into his chest, and Athena's answer was somewhat unexpected, but he still didn't know whether the ending would be happy or sad. He said in as relaxed a tone as he could: "Actually, at Fayle's house, I thought about what I would say to you at the time of separation, but in the end I couldn't say anything. I don't want to be separated from you for any reason, but I owe you so much......" he smiled, "I've always been thick-skinned and selfish, but I'm not to the point of revenge." ”

"So..... What can't you say?"

Cheng Mo turned his head, avoiding Athena's cold and sharp gaze, and he struggled for a moment before he whispered, "When I was born, I thought that this world was terrible, not only because of my heart disease, but also because there are so many imperfections in this world, such as war kills innocent people, desire kills and destroys beautiful creatures, greed makes people fight between people, and there are many sad and humiliating things happening on this earth every moment. Of course, there are great and selfless characters, and there are beautiful and warm confrontations, but that is only a drop in the bucket. It is impossible for a person with a conscience and a vision like my wife not to suffer, and it is impossible for a person like them to settle for a corner and feel that everything has nothing to do with them. I am certainly not the one who suffers for the misfortune of others, in fact many times I have more compassion for nature than for human beings, and I enjoy the benefits of this world with peace of mind, but I evade the obligations that I should bear. At first I thought we were so compatible...... Both of us are rational bystanders. But now I realize that I'm far from being as rational as I thought I was....." he sighed. I once said to you: every time the world shows me its beauty and cruelty again and again, I will bow to desire, I will want to care about it, there are so many tragedies in the world, I will avoid as long as a moment of indulgence can make me dodge, I know that you are a tragedy, I am also a tragedy, we are all a tragedy, so don't be stingy with your little love, and don't hesitate what kind of person I am, let's do our best to give each other a little comfort..... I say this to you in the bilge of the 'Mediterranean Overture'..... Kissed you, remember?"

"Yes. Athena said lightly, "You still say you don't know how much comfort you can give me, but if I give you a kiss, it's enough." ”

Cheng Mo's white paper-like face flushed with a faint flush, and his voice softened, like the wind of a lonely migratory bird waving its wings, "At that time, I have gradually understood you, no matter what the cause of our understanding, and what kind of situation we were in at that time, I can be sure that I did not say these words to impress you, at that time, I really felt that in such a bad world, only we can give each other some comfort, no, maybe we should say that we should comfort each other." It's just that I don't dare to admit it, I'm afraid to admit it.... I asked Captain Omero to sail and didn't wait, not because I didn't believe you, but because I was running away from myself, and I was a coward in the middle of a second. ”

Cheng Mo untied a knot in Athena's heart, but tied another knot. This time she didn't ignore it, but asked bluntly, "Why run away?"

"You ....... that night" Cheng Mo didn't say "throw away Uloporos", he skipped this half-sentence, "I know that no one but me can understand your loneliness." Maybe someone likes to play math guessing games as much as you do, maybe someone will watch "Crayon Shin-chan" with you until dawn, maybe someone can accept your indifference, maybe someone cooks all kinds of dishes for you, maybe someone will quarrel with you, maybe someone can go to great lengths for you just to make a bottle of Coke...... But I want to ...... No one but me happens to be a set that meets all the criteria. The world is really bad, but there are people who can make the world a better place for each other, I don't know if that counts as love, I just know that the journey with you is beautiful. I can't tell you how happy I am with you, in fact, I don't think it's romantic at all, it's so ordinary, it doesn't seem to be different from the ordinary life around us, such a simple and casual life is everywhere in the world. But when something so easy happens to us, I can feel a simple happiness, a happiness that doesn't need to think, it doesn't need too many ideals, it doesn't need too much construction, it just needs to open up a little bit, let each other see that broken heart, and try to comfort each other. But the wonderful thing is that no one knows that our request is so simple, except that we know each other by heart...... In these ridiculous times....." he smiled wryly, "I know all this, I feel so deeply, but I am a coward! I am like a spinning top being whipped by whips from unknown places, and they won't let me stop spinning, I am so involuntarily, I still have questions to find out, and blood revenge to avenge, my enemy is the most powerful ...... in the world I know I can't give you the life you want......."

Cheng Mo was silent, and Athena's blue pupils lit up with gold, brighter than the moonlight. She stroked Cheng Mo's cheek, "Go on..... I know you're not done yet....."

Cheng Mo raised his eyes and stared intently into Athena's eyes, his bloodless lips trembling slightly, "I have never seen anyone smarter than you, and I also know your strength and your family background, and I know it better..... Your beautiful ...... It's amazing. I'm just a monster, my hands are covered in blood, and I can never be cleaned, in fact, I feel like I should have died a long time ago, if it wasn't for my deceased wife who gave me strength, I owe her so much, so I have to do something for her......" Cheng Mo closed his eyes, rolled his throat before whispering, "I want to change the world for her and fulfill her wishes." I know I'm not strong enough alone, and I know I don't deserve you...... So...... So ......"

"So what?" Athena grabbed Cheng Mo's bloodstained hand and squeezed him tightly. She didn't care at all about the sticky filth, and seemed willing to be stained by it, and their hands trembled a little in the cold night wind of Syria, but they both knew in their hearts that it was not because of the cold, but because of some indescribable tacit understanding. They know that they are not as strong and invincible as others think. Like ordinary people, they have their own wounds that they don't want to talk about, sins they don't want to talk about, and remorse that they will always have in their hearts.

They will all be hurt, and they will all crave unconditional protection when they are vulnerable.

Others see them as gods, but they prefer to be mortal.

Cheng Mo took a deep breath, he reopened his eyes, and looked at Athena, there was only a faint moonlight between heaven and earth, it shrouded them through the darkness, and in the silence he could hear the cold wind howling on the Gobi, and the stars were like wild flowers blooming in the lonely wasteland, fluttering in the wind one after another. With a faint glow of fire flickering in the distance, helicopters already gone, armored vehicles and tanks clattering against the gravel ground, lights lingering in the cold air, what should be the mood of the soldiers searching for their way?

"Can you lend me your life?"

Saying that he was done, Mo held his breath. This is the first time in Cheng Mo's life that he has asked others to make a promise to him, and even Xie Minyun has never asked her to promise him anything. He was such a strong and suspicious man that he never trusted anyone.

But at this moment, he wished that he could have some kind of intimacy with Athena that transcended friendship, not because he was afraid of the threat of death, nor was it entirely an impulse to love, but a need, a pervasive urgency.

From soul to desire.

He once thought that his life and future had lost his direction with Xie Minyun, and he would become a migratory bird with nowhere to go, but now, a fire burned in his heart again.

Athena looked down at him, like a dull moon shining on him, their colors as cold as water, far and near. She pursed her lips, like a fiery red maple leaf in the moonlight, Cheng Mo felt that he might not be able to hold this maple leaf, in the lonely waiting, his heartbeat began to accelerate, he regretted that he opened his mouth, and asked Athena to respond to his absurdity. He felt that he could not possibly get an answer from Athena.

The light in his eyes dimmed, and he felt as ridiculous as Don Quixote.

For the sake of your loved ones, do you want to make this world full of sadness and misfortune, cruelty and indifference a better place?

How absurd.

Athena's embrace was warm, but it didn't belong to him.

Cheng Mo's heart tightened and he breathed heavily, and the only pride left allowed him to break free from Athena's grip, and he struggled to sit up from Athena's arms.

Athena hugged him tighter, she looked at Cheng Mo calmly, and asked in a serious tone, "What do you give me back?"

This seemed to be the answer he was expecting, but he didn't have the confidence to be sure, he looked directly at Athena's face that was better than the happy time, and whispered without thinking: "Do you remember that there is an episode in "Crayon Shin-chan" called "Happy Studying"? In this episode, Miya and Xiaoxin read a story called "The Ordinary Adventure of Ordinary Taro......."

"I remember. Athena imitated Meiya's tone and said, "A long, long time ago, in an ordinary place, there lived a very ordinary old man and grandmother, and one day this old man said, old woman, we should eat." Really, didn't we just eat it? old man. Next door to the old man and the old woman lived a man called Ordinary Taro, and one day Ordinary Taro heard that there was a ghost who had been bullying other residents living in the town, but Ordinary Taro was just an ordinary child, and he lived his life like this. After that, he got married and spent an ordinary life, which is really gratifying!"

"As far as you're concerned, I'm probably just as ordinary as Ordinary Taro, so I can't do much for you, I'm willing to study those esoteric mathematical conjectures with you, and I'm willing to watch childish cartoons with you until dawn; I want to build the most magnificent and beautiful aquarium in the world with you, and I also want to cook all kinds of dishes with you, I stir-fry and you chop vegetables, I make Coke and you pay; sometimes you make mistakes I will quarrel with you, but I will never leave you behind, I will wait for you, I will hold your hand....... Cheng Mo breathed deeply, as if there was a raging fire in his chest that needed to be extinguished by cold air, he lowered his voice, trying to make his words sound flat, as if he was just talking about an inconsequential little thing, "I want to give you back a truly wonderful world, so that you and I can also be people who spend our lives in ordinary life." ”

Cheng Mo's progressive literary and artistic expression wants to be replaced by a literary and artistic young woman, and she must feel that she doesn't want it, maybe she has tears in her eyes, but Athena is not only indifferent, but her expression is quite confused.

Athena didn't speak, as if she was stuck in a long exam.

Cheng Mo was worried again, so nervous that he forgot what he had just said, his mind was in chaos, and his always sharp thinking became an incomprehensible mess, he opened his mouth to say something, maybe he was kind and skillful, but he couldn't find a suitable sentence for a while.

Just when the atmosphere was getting more and more dull, and even the Shaxx Demon God standing on the side couldn't help but speak, Athena probably soothed the confusion in her heart, and she asked a shocking sentence in a flat tone.

"Are you proposing to me?"

Cheng Mo, who was a mess in his head, was stunned for a moment, but subconsciously nodded, and after nodding, he realized what he had done, and his weak body suddenly sweated, and he thought: Why did you fast forward to the marriage proposal. But there seems nothing wrong with Athena understanding it this way.

As soon as he wanted to explain that he had not been so self-conscious and bold, he felt Athena hold his hand again, and calmly said "I promise you", as if he had promised an insignificant trifle.

Although this sentence is extremely simple in English, it sounds like it is composed of stars in the sky. He could feel it in Athena's light breath, the weight of a hundred years.

He almost stopped breathing, his heart beating and the flow of blood frozen, and the explanation he almost blurted out was stuck in his throat like candy that he had unintentionally swallowed. His chaotic thoughts were shattered by Athena's scissors, and his brain went blank. But he knew he couldn't and shouldn't have rejected Athena. For him, Athena has a fatal attraction, partly due to her mathematical attainments, and Cheng Mo always has a heartfelt admiration for highly intelligent people. But Athena's charm is certainly not only her high IQ, but also the deep resonance of some similar experiences.

In addition, he wanted to reforge the world, and he couldn't refuse Athena, which was the ideal situation. If you want to go from a monster to an emperor who creates a new world, there is no more suitable empress than Athena, which can make him do more with less.

He thought: this world is wonderful, a monster has learned feelings, wants to be crowned, and is ready to change this bad world for the sake of another person, so he gives his feelings to another monster.

Cheng Mo didn't know what he should say to Athena, although Xie Minyun gave him gentleness and strength far beyond Athena, but the pressure was incomparable. Many times he can't find trust and solace in that girl with a strong sense of justice, but Athena can.

It's just that he didn't understand why Athena agreed, this was called Cheng Mo confused, he raised his left hand covered with dried blood stains, put Athena's long golden hair behind her ear, stared at her pupils tightly, and asked very unconfidently, "Why?"

Athena shook her head naturally, and she whispered: "I don't know why, but I know it's not impulsive, in fact, I have no illusions about love, I don't love those sweet love words, nor do I want gorgeous rings." I don't even know..... Touched or sad is something, but I know that when I am with you, I can feel a taste of happiness, just like the lemon mousse cake that my mother made for me many years ago, and I always remember the sour sweetness in my heart..... And you're my special Coke....."

Cheng Mo smiled and asked softly, "Then I'...... What does it smell like?"

"Actually, Coke tastes very strange, a lot like potions, but it is addictive and pleasant......"

"Anyway, as long as you like it. Cheng Mo squeezed the two of them clasped their hands, "I don't know how to express my feelings, anyway, I'm very grateful......"

Athena nodded and shook her head, and then said as a matter of course: "Don't be too grateful, I'm just used to relying on you, and...... I also don't know how to be a wife. ”

"You can rest assured that you can be yourself. Cheng Mo said softly.

"We can say these things slowly, you are already very tired, take a good rest first. And also...... Whatever you want the world to become, I'm going to pamper you...... Whoever dares to stop you, I will split his head....."

This warm and murderous wedding prayer made the Gobi where the night reigned colder and colder.

Cheng Mo looked at Athena's side face, his eyes lit up, and then he remembered that Athena didn't have "Uroboros", and he asked softly, "Do you have enough energy?"

"Not enough. Athena said lightly, "But it should be enough for you to kiss me now." ”

Cheng Mo said solemnly: "This Shaxx Demon God is a bit powerful, and there is a holy robe....."

Hearing Cheng Mo say this, Athena turned her head to look at the golden Shaxx Demon God standing aside, she pondered for a while, and then said to Cheng Mo with a self-respecting momentum: "Then kiss a few more ......"