Chapter 168 – Queen of Curses

The dizziness gradually subsided, and the scarlet haze around Zhao Xinning slowly faded.

Just as she thought she was safe, an unfamiliar voice spoke.

“So love truly can conquer all. Your will is the strongest of any human I have ever encountered.”

Zhao Xinning thought she was hearing things.

“You are not hearing things. You should consider yourself fortunate that you can hear my voice, because it means you are still alive,” the voice continued.

Zhao Xinning: “…”

She looked around in alarm. No one else was there. Her gaze fell on the dagger.

Was the dagger speaking?!

“Who-who are you?!”

“What just happened to me?!”

“What do you want from me?!”

The voice answered without hesitation.

“I am the Queen of Curses.”

“I intended to make a fine meal of you as well-to drain every drop of your blood. But your powerful will to live… no, your powerful love saved you.”

“What Queen of Curses?” Zhao Xinning did not understand what the other party was talking about. “What do you want?!”

“Hehehe…” The Queen of Curses let out a soft, seductive laugh. “The question is not what I want. It is what you want.”

Zhao Xinning: “???”

“Forgive me,” the Queen of Curses said. “You do not yet understand what kind of existence I am. I believe an introduction is in order.”

“I am the Queen of Curses, the most powerful existence in the Dark Realm.”

“Wait-” Zhao Xinning interrupted. “Aren’t the Seven Monarchs of Desire of the Dark Realm the strongest beings there?”

“Heh. What are the Seven Monarchs of Desire?” the Queen of Curses scoffed. “I could curse every one of them to death in no time.”

Zhao Xinning: “…”

“If you’re that powerful, why are you trapped inside a dagger?”

Zhao Xinning suspected the thing was bragging.

“Let me finish,” the Queen of Curses continued. “I am not trapped inside this dagger. This dagger is my home.”

“I was born on a bright, sunny afternoon-“

“Wait,” Zhao Xinning interrupted again. “I’m not interested in your story.”

Queen of Curses: “…”

“Believe it or not, I can curse the person you care about most to death in an instant.”

Zhao Xinning tensed at once.

“As you hovered on the brink of death, you kept crying out the name ‘Xi.’ Is Xi the person you care about most?”

“You-!” Zhao Xinning knew that even pulling the sniper rifle from beneath her bed would be useless. Nevertheless, she snarled, “If you dare hurt Xi, I will never forgive you! No matter what form you take, I will kill you!”

The Queen of Curses merely chuckled at the threat.

“I cannot be killed. After all, I was born from a death.”

Zhao Xinning no longer dared interrupt. She could only listen as the Queen of Curses continued.

“It was a bright, sunny afternoon. A girl took this dagger and drove it into the heart of the person she loved, because her beloved had betrayed her. Then the girl used the same dagger to pierce her own heart.”

“The gleaming blade was stained red. With her dying breath, the girl cursed every false love in the world.”

“And thus I, the magnificent Queen of Curses, was born!”

“That is why I say this dagger is my home.”

Zhao Xinning finally understood how the Queen of Curses had come into existence. Then she asked the same question again.

“So what do you want?!”

“The question is not what I want, but what you want,” the Queen of Curses said. “Your blazing love for Xi saved your life and made you worthy of wielding me.”

“R-Really?” Zhao Xinning could hardly believe it.

“Did you not listen to the story of my birth?” the Queen of Curses asked. “My very essence is a curse upon every false love in the world.”

“In other words, I champion all true love.”

“I can sense that your love for Xi is true. That makes you worthy of wielding me.”

At last, Zhao Xinning understood.

“You mean I can use you to curse false love and protect my true love for Xi?!”

“Yes,” the Queen of Curses replied.

“That’s wonderful!” Zhao Xinning jumped for joy. “If you really are that powerful, I can borrow your strength to clear away all those pests clinging to Xi!”

“Of course I am powerful,” the Queen of Curses said. “A curse born from love is the strongest force in existence.”

“Whether in the Dark Realm or this world, I am the strongest and most invincible being there is.”

Zhao Xinning was overjoyed.

“Good. Very good. There are quite a few people I want dead.”

“That will not be a problem,” the Queen of Curses said. “However, my power cannot be invoked without meeting certain conditions.”

“What conditions?” Zhao Xinning asked.

“First, your heart must remain faithful to the person you love.”

“That goes without saying. Xi is the only person I will ever love.”

“Second, the person you wish to kill must pose a threat to the love between you and Xi.”

“That goes without saying too. Shi Yu, Xia Xun, Qin Ling… all those pests are trying to destroy the true love between Xi and me.”

“Finally, you must be certain that their love for Xi is false. I can curse only false love.”

“What?!” Half of Zhao Xinning’s excitement vanished in an instant. “Suppose-just suppose-Shi Yu and Xia Xun genuinely love Xi. Would that mean I couldn’t use you against them?”

“That would be correct,” the Queen of Curses replied.

“Then what good are you?!” Zhao Xinning deflated. “Shi Yu might not truly love Xi, but Xia Xun definitely does.”

“That damned Magical Girl!” Zhao Xinning dreamed of killing Xia Xun.

The Queen of Curses sounded puzzled. “Do that many people sincerely love Xi? Can true love really be so common around her? What kind of person is she?”

What was she, some kind of magnet for true love?!

“Xi is the best girl in the world,” Zhao Xinning said. “Of course plenty of people sincerely love her.”

“So you see, Queen of Curses, you can’t help me at all.”

“Who says I cannot?” the Queen of Curses countered. “True love has degrees of ‘purity.’ As long as the purity of your true love for Xi exceeds theirs, you can use me against them.”

“You should have said so earlier.” Zhao Xinning’s mood brightened instantly. “The purity of my true love for Xi is unquestionably the highest!”

“How could Shi Yu’s or Xia Xun’s feelings for Xi possibly compare with mine?”

“You sound quite confident,” the Queen of Curses observed.

“Of course!” Zhao Xinning declared. “No one loves Xi more than I do!”

“Uh… very well.”

Zhao Xinning asked eagerly, “How do I use you against them?”

“It is simple,” the Queen of Curses said. “You need only prick them with this dagger, then place any curse you like upon them.”

Zhao Xinning asked, “For example, if I prick Xia Xun and curse her to be killed by a car, will a car kill her even though she’s a Magical Girl?”

“It will,” the Queen of Curses said. “As I told you, I am the most powerful being in the world. A mere Magical Girl is nothing to me.”

“Provided, of course, that Xia Xun’s love for Xi is false-or that the purity of her true love for Xi is lower than yours.”

“The less pure her true love for Xi, the more powerful your curse against her will be.”