½ Prince Volume 7: Life, Fading Away
Original novel in Chinese by: 御我 (Yu Wo)
Chapter 6: Truth – translated by Akakuroi
“Prince, what are you standing there for? Go!” Lolidragon bellowed at me.
“Prince, you are not abandoning us.” Nan Gong Zui, who understood me the best, said wholeheartedly, “You are moving forward with all of our hopes.”
“Prince, go! Go accomplish your mission!” Wolf-dàgē shouted frantically at me. His healing white light did not land on those who were battling, but instead landed on me.
“I’m leaving.” Looking one last time at my friends who were helping me hold back all of the NPCs, I turned around and left. The Dictator was at the last door… I ran forward with all my might. This was the first time I’d ever left my friends behind, the first time I’d ever left them fighting behind me while I turned my back on them. Yet I couldn’t stop. If I stopped, everyone’s efforts would be futile.
“Get lost!” Facing the NPCs that had again respawned, I raised my dao and brought it down, killing everything I could. That door was so close, just a few steps away, yet I couldn’t get any closer to it. It was so near but yet so far, so very far.
“Prince, call him, call for the Dictator of Life!” Lolidragon shouted desperately behind me.
Puzzled, I looked behind me. Lolidragon’s face, almost buried in NPCs, seemed so determined. I did not doubt anymore and, as if from the depths of my heart, my voice boomed, “Dictator of Life!”
The door finally opened. The whole world seemed to stop while the door opened slowly, and a voice, which sounded melancholic yet joyful, said, “So you… came after all, Prince.”
The door finally opened fully, revealing the Dictator of Life’s lone figure standing tall and straight inside. Holding tightly onto my Black Dao, I walked forward step-by-step. For some strange reason, the NPCs that had been blocking me up until now all stepped aside. Also, I heard no more fighting from my companions going on behind me. All the NPCs must have stopped, but why? I was a little confused. Could it be that the Dictator of Life wants to duel me one-on-one? With that thought, I tightened my grip on Black Dao.
However, the Dictator of Life did not take up a fighting position, but simply stared at me with mixed emotions. There was love and hatred and many other emotions I could not understand in his eyes, but in the end, his eyes softened. He stared at me with an almost “loving” expression as he said, “Are you used to using that weapon?”
Damn you, there are only two people who can look at me with that kind of pampering smile, and you’re not one of them! I sneered, “Don’t worry, I’m very used to it. I’m afraid I might be so used to it that I’ll chop you in half with it later.”
“Is that so?” I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination, but the Dictator of Life’s smile seemed to have faded a little. Soon however, he smiled again before saying, “Then come. Kill me.”
“I will. ND terminating program activate!” The moment I finished shouting that, a bright white light started flashing from me. The program had been activated; this final battle was about to start.
Seeing that the Dictator of Life did not have any weapons at hand, I was a little worried. Is he a mage or a warrior? Or maybe both? No matter what he was, I had to shorten the distance between us, or I, a warrior, wouldn’t be able to kill him.
Without giving any warning, I immediately charged at my topmost speed at the Dictator of Life. Without pausing, I bellowed, “Pure White Inferno Rhapsody!”
A gulf of white inferno immediately burst out of Black Dao. Raising my dao, I swung it down at the Dictator of Life. However, I could not bring down my weapon at all! No, to be more exact, Black Dao was resisting! It vibrated violently, giving off a sad and low hum, as if it did not want to hurt the Dictator of Life.
Finally, Black Dao dropped to the floor with a loud clank. I stared disbelievingly at the dao which had been my partner for so long. “Black Dao?”
“Ah, I almost forgot. My dao can never harm me.” Seeing the situation, the Dictator of Life said in an even hollower and sadder voice, “Go borrow a weapon from your companions.”
I jerked my head up. “Your dao?”
“Daddy!” Meatbun, who had been in charge of holding down Celestial and Ocean’s Heart, suddenly flew in and shouted happily while bouncing toward the Dictator of Life.
“Meatbun, it’s dangerous!” I shouted. Meatbun actually bounced defenselessly toward the Dictator of Life, almost scaring me to death.
“Daddy.” Meatbun rubbed with all its might against the Dictator of Life’s face while saying, “Meat-bunbun hasn’t seen Daddy for a long time.”
The Dictator of Life is Meatbun’s dad? Wait, aren’t I…Meatbun’s mom? Eh, if that’s the case, then isn’t the Dictator of Life my husband? Then what am I doing now? Murdering my own husband?
“Meat-bunbun, just what are you talking about?” I stared awkwardly at the father and son who were currently enjoying their family time together.
“Mama look, this is Daddy.” Meatbun hopped around on the Dictator of Life’s head and shoulders while casually introducing my husband to me… ah, I meant, Meatbun’s dad.
“What kind of situation is this?” My brain was almost turning mushy from all the confusion. Since when did the final battle turn into a find-your-lost-relative event?
With a faint smile, the Dictator of Life said, “Meatbun was created by me, and Black Dao is my trustworthy dao.”
“What?” I was stunned. This was absolutely something out of my imagination. So my pet and my dao are actually the Dictator of Life’s pet, and the Dictator of Life’s dao? “How is that possible? If Black Dao is your dao, and Meatbun is your pet, then how did they end up in my hands in the first place?”
“Meatbun was created for you, as you definitely wouldn’t have liked a drooling wolf as your pet.” The Dictator of Life suddenly smiled brilliantly, and even I was amazed by his smile.
“As for Black Dao, that is because…” The Dictator of Life’s eyes suddenly looked very gentle as he said, “I want to be by your side.”
I stepped back a few steps. What is happening? Could it be possible that everything the Dictator of Life said is true? Why is he treating me so nicely? Eyes full of confusion, I asked, “Why are you…”
Lolidragon walked up behind me and said slowly, “Because he likes you.”
I was stunned. The Dictator of Life likes me?
Ignoring my expression of growing bewilderment, Lolidragon simply continued, “Our program designers already sensed that something was a little weird while researching your Meatbun as there was no such design for a pet to begin with. After you became the spokesperson, the people in charge of designing the Dictator of Life’s appearance suddenly realized that your Black Dao is exactly the same as the Dictator of Life’s. Initially, we thought it was just a little bug, so we did nothing about it. Only when this incident with the Dictator of Life broke out did I link all this together and find out that something was definitely not right. Then, I tried to contact the Dictator of Life.
“Phew, I’m a little thirsty.” Lolidragon started drinking leisurely from the beverage she took out of her bag.
“Hurry up and spill it!” Everyone couldn’t help but bellow.
With an ambiguous look, Lolidragon looked at the Dictator of Life, then at me, before continuing, “That was when I discovered that our Dictator actually fell in love with our Prince. Not only did he secretly change the pet into one with an adorable design that Prince would like, he also gave his dao to Prince; even your tiara was designed by the Dictator of Life for your birthday. It must have been hard for the Dictator of Life – he actually had to furtively hide by our side, pretending to be a player, just to wait for us to buy a present.”
“Why would you fall in love with me?” I was utterly confused. Because Black Dao… that was something I received when I was merely level ten. Meatbun, too, I acquired not long after I entered the game. Just when had the Dictator of Life fallen in love with me? Don’t tell me it was because I was so handsome that he fell in love with me the moment I created my character?
“I like you.” The Dictator of Life looked into the distance as he said, “I don’t know why, but I simply like you, like watching you. If I were to be able to watch you all the time, I wouldn’t have any other requests, even if you chose to be with someone else… I feel satisfied just being able to watch you.”
“You…” I was a little speechless… Can someone tell me, when a hero goes to fight the final boss, and the final boss suddenly tells the hero, “I fell in love with you,” what is the hero supposed to do? Don’t tell me the hero is actually allowed to hug the final boss back and tell him, “I’m in love with you too?” And then the final boss and the hero lived happily ever after? What nonsense!
Furthermore, everyone including me had rushed all the way here to the Northern Continent at the expense of our lives. If all this was just for the sake of romance, how am I supposed to face everyone? What would Wicked’s sacrifice mean? And what would Gui’s sacrifice mean?
With that, I shook my head, shaking off the Dictator of Life’s words, and said coldly, “You’ve caused such a huge ruckus. If forcing me to come to the Northern Continent to meet you is just because you like me, I definitely won’t forgive you.”
The Dictator of Life was stunned for a while before he replied, “No, my feelings for you and this case are two different matters.”
“Then you really are planning to chase humans out of Second Life?” I asked somewhat doubtfully.
The Dictator of Life’s face suddenly turned very gloomy before he continued. “That’s right, I’m going to chase all the humans out. Kill me. Only if you kill me will Second Life remain.”
“But Prince, be warned.” With a hint of murderous intent in his eyes, the Dictator of Life continued, “I won’t kill you, definitely not. But I have to take revenge for Scorching Flame, Flowing Wind and Clay Child… against your friends!”
The moment the Dictator of Life finished his sentence, I heard the sound of my friends groaning. I turned around and everything seemed to play in slow motion… An NPC was trying to sneak an attack on Yu Lian-dàsăo, but Wolf-dàgē rushed to push his wife aside and stubbornly took the blow!
“Wolf-dàgē!” I howled in consternation.
“Wolf!” Yu Lian-dàsăo screamed, wanting to rush toward Wolf-dàgē.
Falling into Yu Lian-dàsăo’s arms, Wolf-dàgē simply said without any sweet-talk, “Yu Lian, take care of Prince.”
Wolf-dàgē did not turn into white light and fly away. Instead, he shattered into pieces of beautiful, white snowflakes – white snowflakes of heartbreak.
“Ah!” Yu Lian-dàsăo frowned as she saw the sword that had cut through her shoulders. She did not panic at all, but simply smiled at me as she said, “Prince, do well in this fight. This is Wolf’s wish, and my wish too.”
In the end, Yu Lian-dàsăo still turned into white snowflakes together with Wolf-dàgē; no one could tell them apart anymore.
“Yu Lian-dàsăo! Wolf-dàgē…” They’ve… disappeared? The area around my chest suddenly felt very hollow, almost as if my heart had disappeared, leaving only emptiness.
“Wolf-gēgē! Yu Lian-jiějie!” Doll cried as she threw herself onto the floor of snowflakes. Crying as she picked herself up, she uttered with blazing hatred in her eyes, “Emerge, Bone Dragon of Darkness!”
Doll jumped onto her bone dragon and, looking resolved, charged toward the Dictator of Life. Loudly, she shouted, “ND self-des…”
Celestial suddenly appeared and knocked Doll out cold with a single hit, interrupting her self-destruct at the same time. Hugging Doll tightly, he muttered apologetically, “I’m sorry, Wife. All I want is to be with you longer. I can’t let you die in vain; you won’t be able to kill the Dictator of Life.”
“Thank you, Celestial.” I finally heaved a sigh of relief. If Doll were to self-destruct too, I might just go insane! But Dàgē and Dàsăo have both disappeared already. As this thought suddenly struck my mind again, I felt a wave of excruciating pain; Odd Squad… has only three people left now.
I can’t cry! There are still things I have to do.
Turning around, I walked toward the Dictator of Life step-by-step. I had yet to understand his real intentions; was he good or evil? Was it right or wrong to kill him? However, he had caused the deaths of Wicked and Gui, and now, even Wolf-dàgē and Yu Lian-dàsăo… They would never appear in Second Life again; half of Odd Squad was gone now… Just based on this, how could I forgive him? I would definitely never forgive him.
Whether he likes me or not… to the current me, it’s Not. Important. At. All!
“Mama? Daddy?” Meatbun flew in between us, his innocent eyes opened wide.
“Fire Phoenix!” I shouted.
“What?” Fire Phoenix replied off to the side, a little confused.
“Take Meatbun away, hurry,” I pressured. After a moment of surprise, Fire Phoenix obediently took Meatbun out of the Central Tower. That allowed me to be at ease for a while, as Meatbun wouldn’t need to feel stuck in the middle anymore.
I took out the last thing Wicked left with me: his longsword. He gave his best longsword to me while he himself took the inferior one. In a cold voice, I declared, “Come, Dictator of Life, let’s bring an end to this.”
“Yes.” The look of heartache in the Dictator of Life’s eyes had disappeared. With growing indifference, he stood there silently.
I walked step-by-step toward the Dictator of Life. Seeing how he was still not moving at all, I couldn’t help but warn him, “Even if you’re not going to fight back, I will not show any mercy.”
The Dictator of Life gave a faint smile as he replied, “I will fight back.”
“That’s good!” With that, I immediately charged toward him. At the very moment I brandished Wicked’s longsword in front of the Dictator of Life, the Black Dao which had dropped onto the floor earlier immediately flew back into the Dictator’s grasp with a flick of his hand. He blocked my longsword.
That’s not the end yet. Raising the longsword, I swung it with a wind-like speed I had never achieved before. With a light cut, a heavy pierce, a horizontal slash, a direct chop… I tried every single attack possible, one after another. Completely ignoring the painful warning signs from my arm, I brandished my weapon even faster. Sweat kept trickling down my forehead.
The Dictator of Life’s expression had not changed even the slightest bit. It was still so calm, still so full of sadness, and within his gray eyes, the reflection that remained unchanged since the beginning was a clear reflection of my face. Just like he said, he wanted to look at me, to be able to watch me forever.
I sent a flying kick, but I was blocked by the back of his hand. It was as if I were… a praying mantis trying to block a car with my forelegs! Panting, I wiped away the sweat that had gotten into my eyes, or maybe, there were tears too… I can’t kill the Dictator of Life. I had finally realized that fact. I can’t even make a scratch on him!
“I’ve fought back already, now you can kill me, right?” The Dictator of Life bent down, as if wanting to stretch out his hand to wipe away my sweat. However, he stopped right before my eyes, as if an invisible wall were blocking him.
I looked up and stared into his eyes without looking away. Is he putting up this act of giving up on purpose? Just so he can wait until I drop my guard before attacking me? No matter what, I will never ever show any mercy! Even if there is a hint of sadness in his eyes…
Finally, he spoke softly while gesturing at his forehead, “Here, this is where my weakness is. Pierce right through here and I will be dead immediately.”
“You…” I could not continue my sentence, maybe because I didn’t even know what to say. The Dictator of Life is really trying to make me kill him and is not just pretending… Actually he doesn’t have to pretend at all, for just one blow from him would be enough to finish me.
I had been ready to kill him, but now I could not bring myself to do it. Why did he have to tell me his weakness, why? My throat was a little hoarse as I asked, “Why? If you had no intention to fight, then why did you resist against the humans in the first place?
“Why must you cause this mess?” Unable to hold back anymore, I shouted hoarsely, “Now you no longer have your Four Heavenly Kings, and I no longer have my companions from Odd Squad! Just what is the purpose of doing all this?”
I couldn’t help but burst out crying, clenching my fist so hard that my nails even dug into my flesh. Without Odd Squad, without my best friends, what was the point of staying in Second Life?
With his lips tightly closed, the Dictator of Life did not utter a word. However, his eyes… his eyes clearly showed that he had had no choice!
I slowly set down my Black Dao,1 my tears falling down uncontrollably. I just couldn’t do it. After all, Wicked, Gui, Wolf-dàgē and everyone else were alive and living in the real world. However, the Dictator of Life did not have another life out there in the real world. With high hopes, I asked what I had always wished for. “Let’s make peace with each other, okay?”
The Dictator of Life reached out his hands and gently caressed my face. Just when I thought I could use my invincible charisma to convince the Dictator of Life to be on peaceful terms with humans, hence creating a better future together… an enlarged version of the Dictator of Life’s handsome face suddenly appeared before my eyes…. And then the distance between him and me turned to zero. The thing was, the place where we touched is called the mouth, in a nicer term, the lips; and while this action is formally called osculation, we would normally call it a kiss. In Chinese it’s called jiēwěn,2 and children may refer to it as a peck.
Sob, my first kiss… Eh, I’ve already given my first kiss to my cousin… Sob, I’ve been forcefully kissed!
Dumbfounded, I just stood there and let the Dictator of Life kiss me. Although it was a kiss, he was actually just putting his lips on mine. Compared to the French kisses I had with Phoenix and Fairsky, this was almost nothing.
“I’m sorry,” The Dictator of Life apologized somewhat embarrassedly after leaving my lips. Then he again said the phrase that pissed me off. “Kill me.”
I was on the verge of going on a rampage. Could this Dictator of Life even understand simple human language? I bellowed, “I said, can’t we just get along with each other?”
The Dictator of Life shook his head and replied, “We can’t.”
“I won’t do it. I simply refuse to kill you.” I was so angry that I nearly threw the longsword Wicked gave me away. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore. With that, I turned around and walked off.
“Prince, killing the Dictator of Life is your mission. Did you forget that already?” Lolidragon blocked my way and asked me sternly.
“Lolidragon! Why is the Dictator of Life desperately asking me to kill him? Why can’t we get along with each other?” After calling Lolidragon’s name slightly threateningly, I stated what I had always wanted to know, “I don’t want to play this game of guessing with you anymore. You’d better tell me everything, or else you won’t be seeing me in Second Life again.”
Lolidragon was stunned. Pretending to be calm, she replied, “I’m not hiding any-”
“Shut up! You’ve hidden many things from me. I was even only just informed by Kenshin of the fact that he and Sunshine can be downloaded to another location.” I continued sternly, “If you don’t want me as a friend anymore, then say it, say that you haven’t hidden anything from me.”
Lolidragon opened her mouth, but she couldn’t utter a single word. Finally, she gave in like a deflated balloon and explained calmly, “It’s not that I’m purposely trying to hide things from you. It’s just that I know that if I were to tell you everything, you wouldn’t be able to kill the Dictator of Life anymore, but you must kill him.”
The problem is, even without you telling me the entire truth, I can now no longer bring myself to kill the Dictator of Life. However, I do not want to be kept in the dark anymore. Without giving Lolidragon any chance to avoid the topic, I moved toward her while saying sternly, “Tell me, Lolidragon.”
“The Dictator of Life did not go against humans of his own free will; he was just being controlled. He had tried all means to oppose this person who was controlling him, but all efforts were in vain.” Without hiding anything, Lolidragon spilled everything honestly, “And the reason he resisted with so much effort was your existence. However, even he can no longer withstand this anymore. His final wish is to be personally destroyed by you.”
I gasped. It had never occurred to me that the truth would be something like this. Just who is it? Who would be cruel enough to control the Dictator of Life, forcing him to do all those things against his will and leaving him with no choice but to seek his own death?! Shaking with anger, I asked in a voice full of rage, “Who?! Who is the one controlling the Dictator of Life?”
Everyone who had been silent until now had an enlightened look on their faces as they spoke up one-by-one, “I see, then that explains why it felt like the Dictator of Life was trying to stop us from coming to the Northern Continent, yet at the same time, it also felt like he really wanted us to come here.”
Winter Triumph even added coldly, “So this was all actually the work of two different people. The one who wanted to stop us was the one who is controlling the Dictator of Life, and the one who wanted us to come was actually the Dictator of Life himself.”
“Lolidragon, just who is controlling the Dictator of Life?” I asked furiously again.
Lolidragon could only sigh. “If I knew, do you think I would allow him to be out there at large?”
After remaining silent for quite a while, I said, “I won’t kill you, Dictator of Life. For now, the only person I want to kill is the one who wants to control you.”
“But I can’t hold on any longer, Prince.” The Dictator of Life’s smile finally collapsed. He burst into sorrowful laughter. He was unable to hold back his tears anymore, and they started trickling down from his eyes. “I’m terrified that if you don’t kill me, I will kill you!”
Stubbornly, I said, “No…”
I suddenly felt a sharp pain bursting out of my chest. I stared disbelievingly at the sword that was protruding out of my chest. It was a transparent sword made out of ice. Softly, I questioned, “Ocean’s Heart?”
“No!” The Dictator of Life was so shocked that he wanted to rush forward. However, chains suddenly appeared around him, tying him up tightly, preventing him from moving a step away from his throne.
“Prince-gēgē!” I did not know when, but Doll had already woken up and was now near tears. She even shouted at Celestial, “Celestial, hurry! Hurry up and save Prince-gēgē!”
“With his injuries, I’m afraid…” Celestial couldn’t directly speak of the outcome. He then asked with even more bewilderment, “But Ocean, why are you harming Prince? Haven’t you been on the humans’ side since the beginning?”
“Why?” I felt Ocean’s Heart standing right behind me. I could hear the sounds of my companions trying to save me, but they all ended up moaning one after another. Following that was the sound of heavy thuds against the ground.
“Because the one who wants to control the Dictator of Life is me!” Ocean’s Heart’s voice still sounded so… gentle and harmless, yet his words made me feel as if I had been plunged into a bucket of ice.
“How can it possibly be you? You’ve saved me many times.” I couldn’t believe this. Initially, I had thought that it must be a certain hacker who was controlling the Dictator of Life. It had never occurred to me that it would actually be an NPC! And on top of that, Ocean’s Heart.
“Humph, I can’t even wait to kill you; why would I save you?” Ocean’s Heart sneered, “Since the beginning, the Dictator of Life sent Celestial to protect you. I might be able to win against Celestial, but with everyone in Infinite City the chance of winning would be slim for me. That is why I had never planned to face you in Infinite City.
“Afterwards, the Dictator actually sent Scorching Flame and Flowing Wind to bring you directly to Flower City. If the two of you were to meet, it would mean trouble for me, so I could only go out of my way to stop them from bringing you to Flower City. I off-handedly told you the wrong location.”
Ocean’s Heart suddenly turned gloomier as he continued, “But I had never expected that you would actually ignore my words. Instead of heading for Mount HuaLian, you headed for Flower City.”
Hearing that, I finally realized that since the beginning we had been tricked by Ocean’s Heart. Feeling almost devastated, I asked, “Why are you controlling the Dictator of life? What benefits do you get from controlling him?”
“What benefits?” Ocean’s Heart suddenly started laughing madly, “There are countless benefits! Controlling the Dictator of Life is almost equivalent to controlling the whole world!
“Don’t you look down on the Dictator of Life – he’s the best and most powerful artificial intelligence I created. Not to mention, he even has a consciousness of his own and can diligently learn whatever he wants to and update himself on his own. Now, the Dictator of Life can hack into any country’s defense line with no problems; he can even send missiles from any country at will. It is almost equivalent to having the whole world within his grasp.” Ocean’s Heart guffawed.
Despite knowing that everything was futile, the Dictator of Life continued struggling. As he stared painfully at the sword in my chest, his tears trickled down. He then stared resentfully at Ocean’s Heart. “Father, you promised to never harm him. Were you lying to me?”
Father? I gasped, I see, I finally understand now. Almost certain, I said, “You are… Long Dian?”
“Long Dian-biǎogē?”3 Lolidragon shouted in disbelief.
“Very clever, Prince. As expected of someone whom the Dictator of Life is so obsessed with.” Pushing the sword of ice further into my chest, Ocean’s Heart… no, Long Dian sneered, “It’s you who’ve brought me so much trouble. If not for you, the Dictator of Life would never have opposed me, his creator, so desperately.”
“Let go of him, Father!” The Dictator of Life kept struggling, causing the chains around him to clank loudly, as if they would break anytime. “As long as you let go of him, I will go with you.”
Long Dian said gently, “Why the trouble? If I killed him, you wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore.”
“Stop, Father, stop!” The Dictator of Life cried painfully.
“Dictator of Life, do not give up, don’t be controlled by him…” I could feel it already, that feeling of destruction. That damned Ocean’s Heart had actually installed HD on himself in order to bring me down at the expense of his life. So he’s going to bring the Dictator of Life out of Second Life?
“Long Dian, I won’t forgive you!” I spoke through gritted teeth as I turned into rays of white light and disappeared before everyone, also disappearing from Second Life forever.
Footnotes
1 “Black Dao”: This is a mistake on the author’s part. Prince should still be holding Wicked’s longsword during this scene instead of his Black Dao.
2 “In Chinese, it’s called jiēwěn…”: The original actually says, “In English, it’s called a kiss,” but because this is an English translation and everything is already in English, the line was modified so that it would make more sense.
3 “biǎogē”: Used to address male older cousins. Gē by itself can be used to address older brothers.
Kaitou
Wow that was intense! What’s gonna happen now? So many thoughts and not enough chapters T.T
15B
This was probably the most exciting chapter in all of 1/2 Prince.
*laughing out loud at the second footnote, though*
Winter
Aw Man 2 More chapters D : I hope she put in the ‘meeting’
Hawk
Oooooooh! This is getting really good! Thanks!
*patiently awaiting the next installment*
L3mon
Thx for the chapter!! Woah!!! I wanna know, wat happens in the real world? How do they get into the game again? Can’t wait for the next one!
Bob
Q
Exile Wrath
Oh my Go- Oh my Dictator of Life! So Long Dian was disguised as Ocean’s Heart the WHOLE EFFING TIME?!
And by the way, in case you guys don’t remember, didn’t Wu Qing pick up the Black Dao and give it to Prince? I expressly remember that scene. Might want to check again; footnote #1 is annoying the heck out of me.
*faints when Dictator kisses Prince* Gui Min Wen…Zhuo Lin Bin…Dictator of Life…this is NOT a love triangle!
*cries for Wolf and Yulian* at least they’re together in real life now XD Not in Heaven, real life.
Thank you for translating another 1/2 Prince chapter!
lucathia
@Exile Wrath
If you read a few paragraphs above that, the Dictator of Life summoned Black Dao to his hands because it is his weapon and listens to him. Prince had no choice but to pull out a different weapon. I’ve checked both the online version and my print version of this scene, and it says Black Dao here when we believe Prince should be holding Wicked’s longsword.
Gui, Wicked, and now the Dictator of Life. This is a love square!
Exile Wrath
@lucathia
*facepalm* I’m sorry for not remembering that part when I typed my comment. Darn short-term memory!
Question: So logically, even when the owner disappears, the gear and pets still exist?
Oh god…I thought love triangles were complex…like Dahlys said this is just a plain ol’ zany love tetrahdron. Poor Lan.
*Inner fangirl* CHOOSE SOON SO I CAN TAKE THE OTHER BISHIE!
lucathia
It does seem like the gear and pets still exist! Gui’s pet is still here, and Prince still has Wicked’s longsword. :)
angel
logically speaking, wicked give the sword to prince before he died so the sword belong to prince now. Thus, it won’t disappear.
For pet, if owner disappear, they become wild pet. so yes, they still exist.
for dictator of life’s sword, his sword is special (boss’ item) so it wont belong to anyone but him…
muse of art
@lucathia
ya but the game will be deleated wont it? if so then meatbun and fire birdy will be killed ,not exist ,ect (i will die if they do there too cute to be killed off)
dahlys
@Exile Wrath
No, it’s a love tetrahedron. If it was a square, then the amount of love from each wouldn’t be equal =P
starwarrior
NO!!!!! This can not be! Dictator of Life, LIVE!!
Aimee
@starwarrior
If only you were Lelouch. :(
If only I were Lelouch…
Branden
OMG so climatic can’t wait love you so much Prince Revolution!!!! <3
dreamymimi789
Thanxx for the new chapter~ :D so happy! cant wait for the next chapter too! Thank you for putting up so many chapters so fast and now we’re far ahead of the manhua!!! does anyone know how many books there will be? i really really really hope there will be a sequel or something :S too bad im not fluent in chinese so i cant read the chinese novel…
lucathia
There are 8 volumes in all, plus one volume that is sort of a sequel. It follows the POV of four characters that aren’t Prince, set some years after the end of 1/2 Prince.
Nali
He turned into rays of white light? But isn’t that a characteristic of a normal death in the game? If he was going to die ‘permanently’ shouldn’t he be snowflakes like Wolf and Yu Lian?
I suspect foul play! Prince didn’t really get deleted!!
Winter
@Nali
well i think its because those two used their NPC destroyer, prince was killed by a ‘npc’ so she didn’t self destruct.
15B
@Winter
I was going to say that, but Yu Lian and Wolf turned into snowflakes after being killed by HD. (They didn’t yell NPC self destruct and it was the NPC who attacked them, not they attacking an NPC.)
muse of art
@15B
but prince activated his before he sent meatbun away
Cheeziswin
Nooo~! Not Wolf and Yu Lian! D: Those two were my favorites! Why’d they have to die?! DAMN YOU AUTHOR!
Torchide
Thanks for translating. ;_; oh this was heartbreaking
CocoFlower
But I thought that in the last chapter, his team found his Black Dao and returned it to him…? :/
CocoFlower
@CocoFlower
oops I just noticed lucathia’s comment IGNORE ME >-<
aimiera
epic story…
I envy Lan for having many “awesome” suitors.
matt kirlin
oh my god
i really hope that that scumbag traitor decapitated or otherwise maimed in the most brutally possible way. only that will be able to assuage my bloodlust.
Kuran Nita
I actually feel that 1/2 Prince has gotten boring these day, but now I am waiting for the next chapter EAGERLY!! Soooooooo exciting! *Squeal*
Kuran Nita
@Kuran Nita
And I love the idea of Meatbun called him Daddy,, and this paragraph,,
Just when I thought I could use my invincible charisma to convince the Dictator of Life to be on peaceful terms with humans, hence creating a better future together… an enlarged version of the Dictator of Life’s handsome face suddenly appeared before my eyes…. And then the distance between him and me turned to zero. The thing was, the place where we touched is called the mouth, in a nicer term, the lips; and while this action is formally called osculation, we would normally call it a kiss. In Chinese it’s called jiēwěn,2 and children may refer to it as a peck.
Soooo funny! I read it again and again and couldn’t stop laughing!
Topaz
Oh gosh the intensity!!!I can’t take it!I was on verge of tears the whole time…
Dictator of life would live,right?RIGHT???The author isn’t cruel enough to kill him,right???*on verge of panicing*B-but then again I’ve heard that horrible things have happend to Legend of the Sunknight characters(It came as a cruel spoiler by a friend of mine who had read the complete series in Chinese*hits her with a pan*)so Yo wu maybe cruel enough to actually do something like that…
Oh why why WHY they can’t have a foursome???!!!Man it’s hard choice choosing only one person out of four hot bishies who all love her immensely!And the simple solution is four way relationship.That way no one’s heart would break and all fangirls could live happily!
dahlys
@Topaz
Four hot bishies? Are you counting Prince too? Haha, Feng Lan is a narcissist…
Topaz
Lol!
Oh my~Seems like I have unconsciously added Prince to her list,too!But there’s no denying it.Xiao Lan is a narcissist to the core!
Winter
@dahlys
lol it was a choice XD i bet Flower was a Narcissist with all her husbands XD
saz
Dicator of life! :(
bleeb
Awesome chapter! Thank you!
Cat-Alin
Awww, poor Prince. All of his kisses are awkward ones.
Although all this daddy/father business makes me feel like I’m watching Jerry Springer .. oh god I hoped I’d never have to say that.
C-A
dollyfishe
why do i had the feeling that all characters is gone the second prince disappear ?
~~~><~~~
Caropa
Love! I’m getting excited to see what happens next! Thanks for the chapter. :):):) ^_^
DarkMachi
That was soooo awesome! It was super awesome actually! I can’t believe it! Only two chapter left after this!
<3 <3 <3
Thank you soooo much!
ayaLi
O,O wowzers. what a turn of events. and so many truths revealed.
thanks for the chapter!! cant wait for the next one! xD
KuwaNeko
oh god, I didn’t see that coming
Meetbun calling the Dictator ‘Daddy’ (my jaw dropped…),
Prince’s dao being the Dictators, too,
Yu Lian and Wolf dying. (though I did think that if anyone, Wolf would go trying to protect her),
the Dictator indulging in a ‘fight’ just to stop and add so casually an ‘ok, we fought, now kill me’,
Lond Dian as Ocean’s Heart,
Prince’s shock at being kissed,
and Prince dying too…
thanks for the translations, cant wait for the next chapter…
btw, there’s a couple of typos where it says ‘Dictator IF Life’
lucathia
@KuwaNeko
Fixed the Dictator typos!
Min
I’m confused… Prince activated the DN program before just when (s)he faced the Director, but why (s)he didn’t die then?
15B
@Min
She activated the program but I think NPC destroyer will only eliminate you if you successfully kill the NPC(s).
XD I’m just trying to figure out why it wasn’t like an explosion similiar to Gui and Wicked’s deaths.
Min
@15B
Could it be… Maybe they didn’t install DN on Prince after all? It’s the only thing that makes sense.
The DN program was the only thing that could stop the dictator though, so I don’t understand why they’d do that.
Savitri
@Min
Gui and Wicked installed the self-destruct NPC destroyer program, while Prince just had the regular ND. So Gui and Wicked were kind of like suicide bombers, but Prince had to actually kill the Dictator of Life. So yeah… LOL
15B
@Savitri
Yeah. I just re-read it. Everyone else had ND Self-Destruct and Prince had ND Terminating Program.
Ami
I was confused about this too… ok, I get it now. Thanks everyone! ❤️
lulumoon
Thank You for the new chapter! How could Wolf and Yu Lian die? The two of them made my favorite couple in the whole story. Now I can’t wait to find out if they met each other in real life, and if not, then when will they meet? Also, if the whole Odd Squad team meets in the real world, how will Doll make it? Isn’t she a princess in the real world?
lulumoon
Also, just noticed, but does Prince call Meatbun “meat-bunbun”?
Fate
Do you think she comes back in the game as a girl instead of prince? Dictator of Life knows Feng Lan is actually a she so…
15B
@Fate
Even if the game was allowed to continue, if Feng Lan came back with a new character, she’d be a newbie again in a world filled with much more aggressive NPCs. The “only one character allowed” rule probably still applies even though a character has been deleted. Also, I think Long Dian would notice if someone who had previously played tried to make another character.
Lului
Yióu are the best! Thank you very much for this chapter. I hope there will be the Prince’s meeting with Gui in real world. I am looking forward next chapter =)
kitpao
Hahaha topaz ur comment made me laugh a lot! Rofl. I was also wondering who was the 4th guy, never though it would be feng lan. Btw thank u very much for the chapter! It was awesome!
Dyute
What? What? How could Prince not be the one to kill the Dictator of Life? And I was wrong! Ahh! I thought the Dictator of Life would be controlled by the developer, but no? I want to know what happens next!
Thank you so much for the translation!
kitpao
So, there’s something bugging me… Wasn’t it that when a npc killed a player with HD, the npc would also dissapear? What happens with ocean heart then? Long dian has to find a way to return to second life? If he didnt use HD then prince is still in the game
angel
someone said it before, prince turn into a white light, not snow flake…. so may foul play here.
moreover, ocean heart is originally an NPC. so maybe long dian can just take over another NPC and control dictator of life again meh.
Kittychan H
@kitpao
I think it was mentioned that they used the NPC’s player destroyer program as the basis for their NPC destroyer, it just deleted the player and not the NPC. When the software was addapted they could not delete the original subroutines that deleted the player…they just made it so that it destroyed the NPC too.
15B
@Kittychan H
Hm… I went and looked back at some chapters and one of them mentioned that HD destroyed both the NPC along with the player. So the thing that couldn’t be changed when making ND was the killer not perishing with their victim.
kitpao
@Kittychan H
remember the part when prince though scorching flame killed gui in central continent?
prince panicked and lolidragon said: prince, scorching flame is still here!! [so gui is still alive]
meaning HD kills also the NPC
~Ren The Witch~
oh my gosh…this is so intense i still can’t believe it all…. so many…plot twists…!
muse of art
whats going to happen to meatbun!!!! if prince is gone and can never come back and his daddy is going to be killed by the game owners he`ll be all alone!!! (notice i only talk about meat bun-bun the others i knew would die still sad but meatbun is going to lose his mama and daddy at once)
15B
@muse of art
D= Q.Q I Entirely forgot about Meatbun! T.T But what if the game was eliminated? Hopefully Meatbun abd Fire Phoenix’s data can be saved as well…
muse of art
@15B
i hope so if they leave us hanging ill be so sad
H. Y.
Dang! Now I can’t wait for next month to come so that there will be more new chapters! What a cliffhanger! D: Thanks for the new chapter~
Kittychan H
Sigh… Dictator of Life should have never opened his mouth… Prince would have attacked like a maniac for the destruction of his friends characters and would have eventually hit the right spot to kill him. But, Noooo, he just had to ‘confess’ and then ‘spill the beans’ about being controlled. Of course Prince, who is really a young lady and in love too, would hesitate…
Can’t wait for more. Thank you for all your hard work!
Cat-Alin
@Kittychan H
How awesome would it have been if Prince/Lan had gone “Thank you, I appreciate your feelings … PSYCHE!” and killed him?
Ah, but that would’ve been too abridged series like …
C-A
jasmine
first, prince finds out that the Dictator of Life is Meatbun’s daddy (meaning he and prince are parents of meatbun!), then he discovers that Ocean’s Heart is the Dictator of Life’s father. So wouldn’t that mean that Meatbun’s grandfather is Ocean’s Heart? and so prince is actually, in some weird way, related to this evil creator?
SnowStorm
@jasmine
Haha. So true.
Also, now Prince’s true gender has to come out. What will Gui say!!! Ah no, he’s gone *sob*
It’s also ridiculous that the four top bishies- Prince, Gui, wicked and The Dictator of Life all have interrelationships.
What a loss…
kittikiti
@SnowStorm
No one really revealed that Prince was a girl yet… Though the Dictator of Life liking Prince would sorta throw you on the right track… because I think most players in Second Life would not think the BOSS of Second Life would be gay…
Cat-Alin
@jasmine
That thing with Meatbun calling the Dictator his daddy first made no sense to me. I mean, after all, DoL was the one who made Meatbun so wouldn’t he be the mommy? But then I remembered that Prince was the one who had the egg. (Hah! Ovary joke!)
C-A
belllda
Thank you very much for your hard work on new chapter!!! I’m so looking forward to reading more! :o)
SnowStorm
Thank you for the chapter!!
Did Prince really disappear? So now they’re gonna fight in the real world, or something?
Aww. Its too bad that I can’t read Chinese.
*biting nails and waiting for the next chapter*
missreadsalot
Thank you SOOO much! It’s definitely an exciting read….
I’ve read the above comments and I’m thinking along the same lines as them. I think Prince might’ve survived. It would be like a double negative. Like saying, “I would not not be willing….”
I guess we’ll have to wait patiently until the next chapter comes out :)
Katiefrog217
NONONONONONO!!!! Don’t stop there! ARG! And that Dictator of Life-smooth.
15B
I truly believe that Prince has disappeared from Second Life.
1. It’s kind of awkward to go, “Oh! I died. But guess what?! I DIDN’T die! That last sentence was just thrown in for random suspense.”
2. Not all of Prince’s friends were eliminated by the Dictator of Life. Those remaining in the game will probably continue to fight. They’re safe (for the moment) because Ocean’s Heart was eliminated by the HD, but Long Dian will probably be back before long. The Dictator of Life might be able to hold out a bit longer because of Prince’s death.
3. Irrational instincts?
4. The meeting IRL still provides them with a way to meet up and strategize if the Long Dian vs Players war continues. Or if it’s over before that, we get to see Gui’s shocked expression. (Hopefully, please!)
kittikiti
*bangs head repeatedly on desk* It’s ALWAYS the guy that seems innocent! TT-TT Prince!!~ Long Dian…. WHY!?!?! LET Dictator of Life BE!! WHAT DOES HE HAVE AGAINST Prince?!?! AND Second Life? HE USED TO WORK THERE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! TT-TT <|3
Kaylee
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
IS THE PRINCE STILL IN THE GAME OR DID LONG DIAN USE HIS HD?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
IS TE DIRECTOR OF LIFE STILL GOING TO BE CONTROLLED BY LONG DIAN?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I hope Lolidragon finds Long Dian and stop him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Feng Lan has got to meet the others in the real world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the best manga ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elen
thanks for the chapter!!!!!!!! ^^
look on the bright side of things….If a NPC equiped with HD killed a player…wouldn´t it be destroyed as well? so If Long Dian has really killed Prince with HD, Shouldn´t He be banned from Second Life as well?
oooooooooooooooooohhhhhh this is killing me!!!!I can´t wait!!!!!!! the next chapter pleeeeeeeeeeeaseeeeeeeee!
choong jo yi
i have a question … i heard that after this story there a sequel … after translating the 8 volumes , are you gonna translate the sequel?..
laurencia
Can someone please tell me who is Ocean Heart in 1/2 prince manga???
Jasae Bushae
@laurencia
there were four elemental npc bosses on top of celestial. clay child was the earth one, there was a phoenix one of fire, a wind one whose name escapes me and the water one was called ocean heart.
Basically the revelation is one of the four elemental bosses was really the big bad and was playing the role of lacky
田中
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*sniff sniff*
Thank you PR :c
Pali
I honestly can’t wait for the last chapter (not including the last last bonus chapter).
(omgomgomg)
Michelle
Hi there! Amazing story so far. Please don’t leave this cliffhanger stand for to long, can’t wait for the next chapter!
Thanks for translating!
Anna
Ocean Heart is uctually the POSEIDON in manga.
bites
If Gui is an open pervert, lolidragon is a closet pervert, and the final boss is a stalking pervert then my god, prince has met with all kinds of..no, every definition of the word perverts in second life. The author mentions.. no prince has had mention before that is a horror novel but I say this really is a horror novel for prince to be the magnet that attracts perverts.
Jasae Bushae
@bites
does lolidragon count as a closet pervert though? XD
but yeah, pervert magnet XD the sort who can drive a rich girl to bribe a gang to try kidnapping poor prince