Chapter 219: Blown Up by My Grandfather

Chapter 219 My Grandfather Blew It Up

Neo slid the ring off his finger and proffered it to Garen. "Care to try this mask on for yourself?"

Garen shook his head. "I am far more curious, Captain, about your reasons for doing so."

Neo slipped the ring back onto his finger, and in a flash of light,

Neo became Neo once more.

"The reason for doing so... well, one morning as I washed my face, I looked into the mirror and suddenly found myself rather tired of my own countenance. I thought I might try another on for size.

Yet the moment this face was taken off, regret set in. I could do nothing but fashion it into a mask and put it right back on."

Garen knew full well that this response was pure nonsense.

The reason for such nonsense was that the Captain had already placed a chip upon the gambling table; now, it was Garen's turn to wager an equivalent stake.

It had been agreed upon beforehand: they would proceed step by step, matched in measure, so that neither party would stand to lose.

Neo pulled over a chair, seated himself, and gave Garen a nod.

Garen had failed to find a second chair within the vault. It seemed Lemar was not fond of sharing his collection room with others, leaving Garen with no choice but to lean against the adjacent wall.

"I am not afraid of pollution. Under normal circumstances, it is not a matter that concerns me."

"Garen, do you understand the consequences of making such a claim? Should the squad encounter a threat of pollution during a future mission, you might well be the first one ordered to charge in."

"That is not a problem."

Garen's reply was crisp and without hesitation.

The source of pollution beneath the sausage factory had been remarkably dense, yet it had merely caused him a brief spell of discomfort from initial unreadiness without leaving any true mark. This was proof enough that he had no need to fear the vast majority of such threats in this world.

"Continue," Neo said, lifting a hand. Evidently, in his eyes, this secret was not quite enough.

Garen went on, "Because this body of mine was personally remodeled by an evil god."

Neo froze.

They were not ordinary folk who used exaggerated exclamations such as "O God" or "the Devil" or "demons" lightly;

when the words "evil god" left their lips, it signified only one thing: an existence judged to be an actual god, a true deity!

After a long silence, Neo finally spoke:

"Ranyedal?"

"Yes."

"When you uttered that name to Talina, did you already know I was watching from the sidelines, and spoke it intentionally for my benefit?

Or perhaps, even then, you foresaw this moment of candor and were merely laying the groundwork in advance?"

"In truth, I did not think so far ahead at the time." Garen looked at Neo. "Do you know of Ranyedal, Captain?"

Neo shook his head. "I do not. I have rarely read the texts of mythological narratives with any great care. I assume this evil god left behind no legacy, is that correct?"

"Yes."

Garen knew that his own hound had left no followers—or rather, it had never established a church.

This meant that unless Ranyedal had shone as brilliantly as the God of Order during the previous epoch, he was doomed to be forgotten in the long river of history, his name appearing only fitfully within the mythological accounts of other churches.

Of course, this did not mean an "unknown" god lacked power.

Some evil gods could be incredibly potent, stronger than ordinary deities, stronger than true gods with an established church lineage, and perhaps even stronger than chief gods who possessed orthodox inheritances.

It depended largely upon who exactly had suppressed them.

His own hound could do little more than bark, and it seemed loath to recount its past tales. Garen had only glimpsed a few fragments of memory while helping to loosen its seal; he knew only that it had once been an admirer of the Goddess Mils, and in all likelihood, its shadow lingered within the schism of the Sea God Church.

"What is the nature of your relationship with Ranyedal?"

"It is difficult to say. It behaves much like a pet dog I keep."

"A pet dog?"

"Yes. Usually, you can perceive its tranquility, its gentleness, and its obedience. It seems to approach you of its own accord, panting with a smile and letting you pat its head.

Yet you can never truly treat it as a mere pet, for it is hard to be certain what lies hidden behind that smile.

Perhaps the happier it appears to smile, the more intense the hatred festering in its heart."

"A fascinating metaphor."

"Indeed."

"Are you the descended evil god?"

This was a question many had misunderstood before—Mr. Hoffen, Pu'er, Alfred, Lady Molly; at one point, they had all believed him to be an evil god.

Only Dis had remained certain throughout that he was not.

After a moment's hesitation, though Garen felt his chips for this round were sufficient, he did not mind raising the stakes a fraction higher:

"I am not him. Though I do not know your circumstances, Captain, I am well aware that I am no evil god, nor will I be bewitched by one. I am myself, entirely pure."

"And your body?"

"Only the body was altered by the evil god, which is why I can ignore the effects of most pollutions. For it is entirely possible that I myself am the greatest source of pollution."

"How was this accomplished?"

"I was mischievous as a child, fell from an upper floor, and so it became."

Neo tilted his head back and laughed. "It seems, once again, to be my turn."

"Yes, Captain."

"Where shall we begin? Never mind, you ask the questions, and I shall answer."

"The 'it' within your body, Captain—who is it?"

"Before I answer that, I should like to know what your guessed conclusion was beforehand."

"For a long time, I believed you were a powerful remnant of Light working undercover within the Church of Order."

"And then?"

"Then, I began to suspect that your episodes of losing yourself were a form of self-confusion regarding your true identity, since one who wears a mask is easily influenced by the persona it represents."

"And now?"

"Now... in truth, during our psychological consultations at the café, I realized all my prior conjectures were mistaken, flawed from the very start. Until you removed your mask just now, I felt there was no further need for guesswork. I wish to receive the answer from you, Captain."

"I am Neo." Neo looked at Garen and smiled. "Just as you described yourself a moment ago, I am purely myself. At least, I am for now, though I cannot guarantee the future."

"So, the 'it' upon your person is actually the intruder?"

"Yes. Are you familiar with the Sea of Glen?"

"I believe it lies to the north of Wien, not terribly far from here."

"Ten years ago... eleven years ago, to be precise, when I was still a member of a Whip of Order squad, I accompanied my team to the Sea of Glen for a mission. We were pursuing our target by ship when a sea-eye manifested in those waters."

Neo traced his finger in several clockwise circles before Garen's eyes. Garen understood this to mean a phenomenon akin to an ocean maelstrom.

"The vessel we boarded was drawn into the sea-eye. I fought desperately to break free; though I managed to leave the ship and force my way a certain distance apart, my spiritual power was ultimately exhausted, leaving me powerless to resist the pulling force any longer. I drifted into unconsciousness."

I shall not answer this request.

"All I can say is that the portion it released has already been assimilated by me, or rather, killed; yet I know an immense part of it remains, still untriggered.

You used a metaphor, did you not, about me walking into the depths of the flames with open eyes? After Elisa died, I began attempting to leaf through its pages."

"So that is how it was."

"In truth, before my first meeting with Elisa, I was originally executing a moderately hazardous mission, but right at that time, I had just slain it, reclaiming my soul and body. This left me utterly drained and my consciousness in utter chaos; during the mission, I was even talking to myself while locked in a death match with the target.

Then, I was gravely wounded.

Elisa saved me, and to keep me alive, she shared her own Bloodthirsty Demon lineage with me.

So, you understand now why I possess the bloodline of a Bloodthirsty Demon yet have no need for the Draught of Peace.

What do the whispers of those ancestors amount to compared to that entity? Heheh, I even feel that since that entity was assimilated by me, my entire soul has become a bit too quiet, too tedious. Letting the voice of that Bloodthirsty Demon ancestor echo from time to time is actually quite nice to dispel the boredom; it is only a pity that the ancestor always prefers uttering nonsense and never takes the initiative to step inside, otherwise, I would be quite willing to yield the stage again to continue playing such a game."

Neo took a deep breath, looked at Garen, and said:

"Very well, your turn now. I hope the stakes of your second round will not disappoint me."

"My surname is Inmeles."

"Inmeles?"

Neo frowned slightly; evidently, this surname was highly unfamiliar to him, as Neo himself did not hail from an orthodox Holy See family, and furthermore, an Inquisitor family still paled in comparison to the fame of Richard's Magistrate lineage.

"Captain, you should know about the explosion that occurred at the Temple of Order, correct?"

"Of course I know. That incident triggered a massive chain reaction, and even directly pushed forward, or rather accelerated, this war between Order and Reincarnation."

"Yes. My grandfather blew it up."

"..." Neo.

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