Chapter 146: He is Dead

Chapter 146: He is Dead

Luo Ya wore the same cafe waiter uniform as Karen;

but this time, she let her hair down, a head of golden shoulder-length hair that made her look like an exquisite porcelain doll.

In the next moment,

Luo Ya floated up, rising until she was almost level with Qi He, who stood on the high platform.

Qi He looked at her, a smile appearing on his face: "I feel quite happy, seeing that you have returned."

"Me too, Grandfather."

"After all, I was the one who created you. Won't you spare me this once?"

"You created me, but you also destroyed me. We owe each other nothing."

The exchange of pleasantries, which could not have been more brief, quickly came to an end as Luo Ya extended a hand and pointed at Qi He.

The copper coin released a murky yellow luster, transforming into a vortex.

The arm Qi He had used to hold the copper coin, which was now fixed in place, shattered instantly. Torn away and shattered along with it was a part of his soul; in this moment of mortal peril, the Lord Inquisitor displayed his absolute decisiveness.

Immediately afterward, his body began to retreat rapidly, and even as he fell back, he deployed three shields of law before him.

Meanwhile, the four members of the Order squad who had no time to retreat were sucked directly into the center of the vortex. The vortex did not swallow them, but merely compressed them into four clouds of bloody mist.

Luo Ya formed a square seal with both hands, and a withered, yellow hand reached out from within the vortex. Its five fingers bore long purple nails, and the arm seemed infinitely long as it clawed toward the retreating Qi He. In an instant, it pierced through the three shields of law he had previously deployed, seized Qi He by the neck, and then the palm exploded completely!

Boom!

Qi He was blown to pieces.

The copper coin floated back to Luo Ya, settling against her chest. Her gaze scanned the surroundings, and the copper coin on her chest turned in response to follow her vision.

Suddenly,

Luo Ya looked up.

The barrier above had not been removed. Though it had stopped pressing downward, it was still sealing off the overflow of contamination, yet at that very location, Qi He's figure appeared once again.

"Grandfather, I was raised under your watchful eye. How could I fail to see through your substitute puppet?"

Luo Ya spread her arms wide, using the location of her own figure as a starting point. Another massive barrier appeared, and the upper and lower barriers began to close the distance between each other.

Qi He gritted his teeth. By now, he was verging on madness, no longer caring that the surrounding contamination was soaking into his body. The most fatal thing at hand was that this spatial restriction would eventually crush his body and soul to absolute pieces!

He began to chant, and as his incantation commenced, the space where he stood began to tremble.

Karen spoke up to warn: "He is preparing a forbidden curse."

"Luo Ya, must you force your grandfather to this extreme?"

Qi He finished his chant, and a massive black starburst appeared beneath his feet, out of which a colossal single horn emerged.

[Forbidden Curse, Wrath of Anros.]

During the previous era when the God of Order was active, countless fierce beasts had been suppressed. From these fierce beasts, many forbidden-tier arts were refined and enriched, allowing such spells to borrow the power of the sealed beasts.

Of course, the price for unleashing a forbidden curse was also immense.

At this moment, the forbidden curse stopped when it was only half-completed, but the horn that had already emerged managed to prop up the two massive barriers that were closing in from above and below.

"Grandfather, I told you that from the day I was born, my greatest wish was to plant you in this pigsty. This hasn't changed before, hasn't changed now, and won't change in the future!"

The copper coin on Luo Ya's chest projected a curtain of light before her. The light grew larger and larger, and from within it, the phantom of a massive bronze coffin actually emerged.

This was the Coffin of Lax!

The very coffin in which the true god Lax had buried himself along with the nine copper coins of the source of sin.

"Luo Ya, if you remove this barrier above us now and let me leave, I can gain my freedom, and you can gain yours too. If our two forbidden curses clash next, the resulting tremor will absolutely be impossible to conceal, and countless pairs of eyes within York City will immediately look toward this place.

You also know very well that within this city, there are many existences far more powerful than I am. Once they perceive the aura of Lax's copper coin, do you think you will still have a chance to escape their grasp?

I have already resolved to break away from the God of Order and go into exile. You see, this is the punishment I am prepared to accept;

you should consider yourself as well. Do you really not want to possess freedom?

Freedom is something you have never touched since the day you were born. Do you not crave it?"

Qi He was negotiating;

previously, he had done everything in his power to seal the contamination here from leaking in order to maintain secrecy, and the purpose of secrecy was to preserve his identity. Under the current circumstances, he was doing it to save his life; on the basis of saving his life, everything else could be discarded.

"Heheh."

Luo Ya shook her head.

She smiled and said:

"No negotiating. It's much more interesting to annihilate Grandfather's soul a bit sooner."

The moment those words fell,

the phantom of the Coffin of Lax slammed directly into Qi He.

But right at that moment,

a murky yellow light appeared on Karen's body, and this light simultaneously appeared on Alfred, Pavarotti, Little John, Pu'er, and Kevin.

Subsequently,

Karen only felt a blur before his eyes, a sensation like riding a roller coaster. Then, he found himself standing by the side of the road, with Alfred and the others collapsed on the ground beside him;

Pu'er, in particular, had been thrown directly into a tree. Fortunately, its cat claws reacted swiftly, hugging a branch tightly.

"Your body mustn't get dirty, you won't look good if you get dirty."

Luo Ya's voice echoed in Karen's ear.

"Thank you, for letting me experience that kind of feeling the older sisters talked about, hehe.

Alright, time to say goodbye. I need to focus on killing Grandfather now. Can't keep Grandfather waiting too long."

...

The beast's horn and the Coffin of Lax collided, erupting with violent fluctuations of energy. The roar of the fierce beast Anros rippled outward, followed by the even denser aura of the Coffin of Lax, which tore through the already unquiet night sky of York City.

In an instant, streams of auras suddenly took to the air, rushing toward this location;

furthermore, two pillars of light rose directly within York City. Similar pillars of light had appeared back in Roga City when Dis gathered the fragments of godhood at the Oak Cemetery.

...

Qi He shouted anxiously: "Luo Ya, it's still not too late to stop now!"

"Then hurry up and be annihilated, Grandfather!!!"

The collision between the Coffin of Lax and Anros's horn continued, but it could be clearly seen that Anros's horn was slowly cracking. This did not mean the fierce beast Anros was weak—after all, the Coffin of Lax was merely a phantom—it was primarily because Qi He's current state was so utterly wretched that he could no longer sustain the operation of the forbidden curse.

Finally,

amidst the resentful roar of the fierce beast Anros, the horn snapped, and the starburst beneath Qi He's feet crumbled away, the forbidden curse being forcefully destroyed.

A layer of black fire ignited on Qi He's body as he attempted to flee once more, a desperate throw of the dice after utter hopelessness.

But the young girl who kept calling him grandfather and using respectful terms of address did not give him that chance. The Coffin of Lax opened, an infinite pulling force manifested, and Qi He, his entire body ablaze with fire, was dragged directly into the coffin.

"Snap!"

Loya clapped her palms together.

"Bang!"

The Coffin of Lachesis slammed shut.

Loya drifted down slowly, landing gently upon the ground, and the colossal coffin descended with her, its crystalline surface turning translucent; standing outside, one could clearly see Qihe writhing in agony amidst the raging inferno, utterly powerless to escape;

In the end,

Qihe was consumed by the very flames he had ignited, his body and soul together reduced to ashes.

He was dead.

From beginning to end, Loya watched the scene inside the coffin with a faint smile playing upon her lips, and only when her grandfather had completely vanished into nothingness did she wave her hand in quiet satisfaction, causing the Coffin of Lachesis to dissolve into the air.

Loya sat down upon the earth,

And murmured softly:

"Sisters, do you think I will ever see that handsome fellow again? Mm, I think so too. I believe that in the days to come, he will surely appear before me once more, heehee."

"Oh, that's right, sisters, do any of you plan on going outside? I can send you out, you know. You are free now, and you can return to the world above."

After a long silence,

Loya spoke with a touch of melancholy:

"Oh, so you say the world outside no longer has a place for you."

Because they had been forced to ingest the forbidden drug, their bodies had already entered a countdown toward demise; even if they left, there was no way for them to survive, and they would only bring sorrow to their families, perhaps even becoming a burden to them.

When they were trapped, they yearned for the freedom of the outside world;

Yet when freedom finally stood before them, they began to fear that sunlight, which was said to be so warm.

"Then, shall we all sleep together and share a beautiful dream, okay?"

The Lachesis copper coin before Loya radiated waves of soft, gentle light, washing over the women trapped in the pigsty, as well as the lifeless forms resting within the grooves;

Gradually,

Everyone grew still, and they all began to close their eyes; ever since the day they entered this wretched place, it was only during those brief moments in the dreamscape with that little girl that they could forget their torments and catch a fleeting breath of peace.

Tears welled up in the corners of Loya's eyes,

Under her gentle guidance, the sisters in the pigsty, who were already at death's door and unable to stand, saw the last spark of vitality leave their bodies one by one, passing away into the quiet dark, and almost every single one of them died with a serene smile upon her face.

At that moment, the immense aura of corruption that had been suppressed all this time began to slowly dissipate.

A source of pollution could be detonated, but it could also be dissolved.

Specks of starlight rose from their bodies, ultimately converging onto the copper coin resting against Loya's chest.

Loya cradled the coin in her arms, whispering softly:

"Sisters, we will keep dreaming right here."

Loya’s form gradually became transparent, finally melting into the copper coin as well.

"Clink..."

The copper coin dropped to the floor, looking entirely ordinary.

Two pillars of brilliant light descended upon the chamber.

One of the pillars spoke: "Such a dense aura of Order; it is your Church of Order using living humans here to repair a sacred artifact!"

The other pillar of light replied:

"The Church of Order will provide an explanation for this matter after a thorough investigation!"

The copper coin on the ground floated upward, drawn into the pillar of Orderly light.

"The Lachesis copper coin..."

"The Church of Order shall take responsibility for temporarily keeping this piece of evidence;

If the Church of the Abyss objects, they may issue a formal written communique to await our response."

...

"It is over."

Two pillars of light had appeared here, and within the darkness beyond their glow, there were bound to be many other shadows lurking; the blackness beneath the sausage factory had finally been torn open.

At the same time, there was no longer any need to worry about things like corruption, for those entities would never allow an outbreak to erupt within the city of York.

"Young master, are you unhurt?" Alfred stepped forward, inquiring with deep concern.

"I am fine. Are you alright?"

"I am well, young master."

Little John walked up to Karen on his own initiative, reaching out to tug at the hem of Karen's trousers: "Brother Karen, I don't want to go to the orphanage. I won't go, I really don't want to go..."

"If you don't want to go, then we won't go."

"Really?"

"The house happens to lack a servant to look after the pets."

"I love pets the most, especially the ones that can talk!"

"Heh."

Karen reached out to pat Little John's head, then walked over toward Mr. Pavaro, who was sitting on the ground.

"You succeeded," Pavaro said.

"It was you and Madam Annie who succeeded. Without your efforts and sacrifices, it would have been impossible for me to discover this place."

"Annie can now peacefully enter the embrace of the God of Mills."

"Yes, it must be so. Madam Annie was a devout believer of the God of Mills."

"You resurrected that artifact spirit. I, too, know the Art of Awakening, but your awakening seemed to make me witness a miracle."

"You flatter me, sir. How could there be so many miracles in this world?"

His own body had endured under the weight of the corruption simply because it had been remolded by Raneidal; if one were to speak highly of Raneidal, it could barely qualify as a divine act, but it truly had nothing to do with a miracle.

If it is raining outside and you do not get wet because you are wearing a raincoat, does that count as a miracle?

"Then how did you achieve it, an awakening of this nature?" Mr. Pavaro asked, filled with curiosity.

"It is actually not difficult, nor is it that magical."

"Oh?"

"Those women in the pigsty suffered in agony every single day, so the artifact spirit dispersed her own spirituality among them, bringing them into dreams to grant them a brief respite from a torment unbearable to ordinary mortals.

Our 'Awakening' ritual inherently targets the lingering spiritual power within a corpse; all I did was gather back the spirituality that she had originally scattered.

In essence, it was still a common 'Awakening,' just with an extra step added to the process."

"But how many people could have thought of this step, and how many could have actually executed it," Mr. Pavaro lamented softly.

"Mainly because the artifact spirit Qi He poured his heart and soul into cultivating bore a deep, bitter resentment toward him from the very beginning. Even without this occasion, Qi He would have eventually perished at the hands of the copper coin.

We merely accelerated the process a little.

Of course, it was also thanks to a stroke of good fortune, haha." Karen smiled faintly. "When one does good deeds and acts righteously, one is