The Nun's Ultimate Suffering

"Wake up... wake up..."

A voice, ethereal and illusory as the endless drone of a mosquito, swirled in his mind.

Wu Wang groggily opened his eyes.

He subconsciously blurted out, "Was the prefrontal lobotomy a success? You've deprived me of my right to be an idiot! I'm taking you to court!"

God knows what he had dreamed about while he was unconscious.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the nun's flawless face. She was whispering to him from a distance so close it was almost touching his own.

"Fuck! I'm no longer pure!"

Wu Wang scrambled up and felt his clothes.

Okay, they were still on.

Then, he began to survey his surroundings.

This place still looked like the church, but he knew very well that this was not the same one as before.

Or rather, it was an even earlier version of it.

His mind couldn't help but recall what had happened outside, after he had watched the last group of players get sent into Aiguyi.

Unfortunately, only one person from that final group had passed the nun's test of Suffering. By that point, even the agony of digging out one's own organs was no longer enough to gain her approval.

Now, without the extraordinary abilities of Spirit Calamity Players, to go a step further than that kind of Suffering was basically suicide.

The only one who passed was someone Wu Wang knew very well.

Zhuge Yue.

She had been a little surprised to find him still there. When she asked the nun why he had been kept in the church, the nun replied with a gratified smile.

"This young man has grasped the true meaning of Suffering. He voluntarily stayed until the end to experience the ultimate Suffering with me!"

Hearing this, the look Zhuge Yue gave him turned strange. It was slightly disdainful, yet she also seemed to find the situation perfectly reasonable.

Hey, lady! I think you've misunderstood something!

From her gaze, Wu Wang could read a clear message.

So, you really are a masochist.

But he couldn't be bothered to explain. Instead, he was more curious about how Zhuge Yue would pass this trial.

Deep down, Wu Wang really wanted this crazy woman to just die right here in the Instance. She was too great a threat to his real life. Coupled with the fact that she had a screw loose, his interactions with her had always been a mix of the surreal and the extremely cautious, lest his true identity be exposed.

However, as he watched, Zhuge Yue simply walked over to the nun, a similarly infatuated smile on her face.

Pointing a finger at her own head, she said, "Then I invite you to examine my memories. See if they might satisfy you."

The nun agreed.

This was actually Wu Wang's fault. He had proposed the idea of mental anguish, which made the nun take special care of those who suffered internally.

And so, she placed her hand on Zhuge Yue's forehead.

A moment later, a joyous expression appeared on the nun's face.

"Your Suffering is admirable."

The next second, Zhuge Yue vanished from the church. She had successfully gone to Aiguyi Town.

This made Wu Wang curious. Just what kind of Suffering had she experienced for the nun to approve of it with a single glance?

But in response to his question, the nun just shook her head.

"I am sorry. It is impolite to reveal another's Suffering."

The fuck? You're being polite now?

Then why didn't you mention that 'our bodies are gifts from our parents' when you were tearing people apart?

You looked pretty damn happy while you were cutting them up!

Especially when those who tried to escape showed expressions of despair as you sliced them to death, cut by cut.

The flush on your face made it look like you were about to climax.

Where was your 'politeness' then?

"Now, it is your turn to enjoy Suffering."

The nun walked toward him with a saintly smile. The iron Throne of Thorns beneath her began to spread and grow, its tendrils snaking into Wu Wang's body.

His skin, flesh, and even his bones were entwined by rings of iron thorns, so small they were almost invisible.

A large amount of blood instantly flowed out, staining the ground a brilliant red.

Imagine being unable to move. With every tiny movement of the iron thorns inside the body, the pain receptors in that entire area would throb wildly.

The iron thorns covering his entire body began to squirm.

Even Lord Guan having poison scraped from his bone would be child's play compared to this agony. This heart-piercing, bone-gnawing pain would have made any normal person fall unconscious long ago.

But Wu Wang did not pass out.

His experiences of countless suicides and self-dissections had long since accustomed his mind to this kind of pain. The body's instinct to induce unconsciousness was a protective mechanism he had lost years ago.

Not only did he not struggle in agony, he gave a contemptuous smile and whispered to the nun.

"Is that all?"

As he spoke, a few hair-thin iron thorns even drilled out from his eyeballs, blooming like metallic roses.

The nun's eyes widened in shock.

Although the iron thorns were merely an appetizer, she had never imagined that an Outlander, without faith in Suffering and without having received a miracle, could face such pain without even a change in his expression.

Moreover, she could sense that he truly, from the bottom of his heart, looked down upon this low-level Suffering.

And so, she grew moist again.

She knelt on both knees before Wu Wang. Even while kneeling, her tall stature allowed her to look him in the eye. She gently caressed his cheek with her long, pale fingers, memorizing the contours of the young man's face, inch by inch.

The blush on her face grew more pronounced as her voice trembled.

"I apologize. I should not have insulted you with such low-level Suffering."

"Then now, as a devout believer of 【Suffering】, the High Priestess of Aiguyi, and a survivor of the Day of Extinction..."

"With the utmost respect, I invite you to welcome, together with me, the most ultimate Suffering in my memory."

"Are you... willing?"

Wu Wang looked at the nun kneeling before him.

Hey, lady, can you just speak normally?

These lines are way too easy to misunderstand.

We're going to suffer, not get married.

And your hands, stop fucking touching me! Any lower and this wouldn't pass the censors!

Am I willing? If I had a choice, of course I wouldn't be! I'm not a real masochist!

But who do I have to blame? This is all for the sake of killing you.

A smile appeared on Wu Wang's savage face, which was covered in blood and iron thorns.

"Of course, I am willing. Please, begin."

Omm—

As Wu Wang gave his consent, the entire church began to tremble.

The rose windows, so exquisite that every line was filled with artistic flair, shattered. The snow-white floor tiles began to crack, and the wooden pews and chairs, which had stood for a hundred years, began to rot and decay.

The temperature in the air plummeted by dozens of degrees, in an instant becoming as frigid as the arctic.

Outside, the inky night turned as crimson as blood.

The earth was wailing, and the sky was weeping. It was as if a never-ending twilight had descended upon this place.

A flash of sorrow crossed the nun's eyes as she wrapped her arms tightly around Wu Wang, who was pinned by the iron thorns. Leaning close to his ear, she spoke word by word.

"Welcome to the eve of the Day of Extinction."

"In seventy-two hours, the entirety of Aiguyi Town will be reduced to ruins."

"You will accompany me in witnessing the ultimate Suffering, countless times."

"Until eternity."