Chapter 255: The Other Side of a Simp

Chapter 255: The Other Side of a Devoted Sycophant

Everything, it seemed, fell completely still in that very instant.

In truth, the moment General Tafman instructed Ophelia to draw the curtains, Karen had already considered how he would respond.

Though the Captain had told him that they should use Light magic to break through and escape the moment they were discovered,

and while Karen had indeed prepared for that—planning to obscure their vision with Light magic, smash through the glass window to drop outside, and then flee at all costs to some secluded corner to change into the robes of the Church of Order or head straight for the Bernard Hotel—

as for what would become of the Captain who was still inside the villa, Karen felt that the Captain should be entirely capable of making his own escape.

Yet, the moment Ophelia pulled the curtain aside, Karen knew that running away had lost all meaning.

Despite the black veil masking his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, Ophelia recognized him in a flash.

She spoke no words, but her gaze delivered the answer.

She knew exactly who he was, notwithstanding the disguise.

Karen did not know the reason for this, nor did he care to ponder it.

But now, flight was pointless, and utilizing Light magic would be an act of utter foolishness, for his identity was already laid bare.

If the Dark Moon Island ever learned he could wield Light magic, they would undoubtedly question his "Dark Moon lineage."

Ophelia did not scream, nor did her face betray the slightest panic; at this moment, she actually smiled, as if appreciating a brilliant performance presented to her by a master of comedy, a spectacle finally unveiled just as the anticipation reached its peak.

The one who appeared awkward was, instead, Karen.

Ophelia took the fully drawn curtain and tugged it slightly back toward the middle, whereupon Karen immediately pressed his hands against the ledge, shifting his body over to hide behind the fabric once more.

Once his form was hidden by the curtain again, Karen parted his lips, doing his best to steady the rhythm of his breathing.

Ophelia turned around and walked toward the bookcase, helping General Tafman take down the books and notebooks from the shelves.

General Tafman finally finished organizing everything, and together with Ophelia, placed all the items onto the desk.

"So many," Ophelia murmured with a sigh.

"It is merely an older edition of the 'Era of Light,' but the most crucial items are these two notebooks, both recording the events that transpired on Dark Moon Island during that period.

This notebook was left behind by our ancestor, Bernard;

while this one was left by that personage.

Fortunately, both of them shared the habit of keeping journals; as their descendants, we truly ought to be grateful to our ancestors for such an excellent practice, haha."

"But, Uncle, I can understand why the diary of our ancestor Bernard is here, but why that personage's diary..."

"This particular villa was originally that personage's home. Didn't you ask me before why the decor here looked so peculiar? Because when that personage designed and decorated it, they retained the style of Dark Moon Island while also incorporating some of their own flair—one might say, the style of Light."

"May I take these with me?"

"I am afraid not, Ophelia, not for the time being. These two notebooks must remain here and cannot be taken out of this villa. You should be well aware of what the remnants of Light signify today.

Particularly now, when your father has managed with great difficulty to climb aboard the great ship that is the Church of Order, we cannot afford any complications or storms. Look at it as doing it for your father's sake."

"Yes, I understand. Shall I read them here?"

"Yes, you read them here. I must head into the palace now to meet with your father and the elders. If I don't show my face, I fear they will worry—worry that I might have dynamic regrets and wish to reclaim the position of Patriarch."

"How could that be..."

"Nothing is impossible, Ophelia. Sometimes, matters do not shift according to your personal will, because there is a vast crowd behind you pushing you forward.

But rest assured, I will handle it properly.

I shall stay at the palace tonight, so you may remain here, and my guard will continue to station themselves here to protect you.

See you tomorrow, and do not stay up too late reading."

"Alright, Uncle."

General Tafman walked out of the study.

Karen remained concealed behind the curtain, not because he feared General Tafman might have forgotten something and would turn back, but simply because he did not know how to face Ophelia.

How, exactly, was he supposed to explain his presence here?

After a long while,

a voice echoed within the study:

"How much longer do you intend to hide?"

Karen sighed and stepped out from behind the curtain.

Ophelia was seated behind the desk, an open notebook spread before her, her cuffs rolled back to reveal a length of pale, pristine wrist.

Her hands were very fair, and owing to her swordsmanship practice, she kept her nails short and wore no jewelry whatsoever.

Ophelia looked at Karen and inquired:

"Why are you here?"

Karen replied, "That is precisely why I did not emerge sooner; I have not yet devised a reason to explain my presence here."

"Is it necessary to conceal your motive?"

"Yes."

"You could fabricate a reason—that after I left the hotel, you trailed my carriage to this place, and then, solely to see me, you slipped secretly into the study."

"You would not believe such a reason."

"Sometimes, what people wish to hear is not necessarily the truth."

Karen pulled out a chair and sat down across from Ophelia: "I do not wish to deceive you. I am accustomed to being candid with my friends. Deception, to me, feels like an offense against you."

In truth, even the matter of the "Dark Moon lineage" was not a deception of Karen's making; she had conjured up that conclusion entirely on her own at the time.

Thus, when uttering these words, Karen felt no guilt whatsoever.

"A blunt directness is not the same as candor."

Karen nodded and said, "You are right."

He knew Ophelia was referring to the events of that afternoon.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, I am."

"I assume you can depart safely on your own, without requiring me to escort you out personally?"

"There is no need. Please continue with your reading."

Karen stood up, preparing to depart.

Ophelia made no gesture to detain him, nor did she ask: Did you hear everything my uncle and I just said?

She chose composure.

Just as Karen was about to open the study door, the sound of footsteps approached from outside, forcing him to step aside and conceal himself behind the door frame.

The study door opened, and a maid stood at the threshold: "Your Highness, the General has instructed us to prepare late-night refreshments for you. Would you care for some dessert?"

"No need, I am not hungry. Furthermore, I do not wish for anyone to disturb me for such matters while I am in the study."

"Forgive my intrusion." The maid closed the door behind her and departed.

Ophelia closed her notebook, stood up, walked to the threshold, opened the door, and stepped outside.

Karen knew she still intended to see him out, so without any affected courtesy, he followed behind her.

At the top of the stairs, Ophelia came to a halt.

"It seems every time we meet, you always bring some sort of surprise."

"This time, it truly was just an accident."

"I will not tell my uncle that you came here, nor do I wish to press you for your purpose, but this courtesy is limited to tonight, and only until you step outside this villa. After that, I shall do whatever duty demands of me."

"Understood."

Just then, the door to the master bedroom behind Karen was pushed open.

Karen and Ophelia turned together to look behind them, but though the door had opened, no figure was in sight.

"Your companion?" Ophelia inquired.

It was impossible for the bedroom door to have malfunctioned and blown open by the wind; the servants inspected everything in the villa daily, especially upon learning that her uncle was returning today.

"I came in pursuit of him. He slipped into this place after I left the hotel. I did not know whose villa this was, nor did I expect you to be here."

Ophelia stepped into the master bedroom, and Karen followed at her heels.

At that moment, a figure appeared upon the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, his face concealed beneath a stag's head—the sort of decorative deer head one might find mounted upon a living room wall.

Yet from the attire, Karen recognized him; it was the Captain.

Thus, most of the time, one could place unconditional faith in the Captain;

he had even known, in such a short span of time, to change his disguise to prevent Miss Ophelia from realizing the two of them were accomplices.

Only, clinging to the ceiling with such a massive stag's head upon his shoulders made for a truly comical sight.

"To think you would pursue me all the way here."

Having spoken, the Captain reached out and began to turn the chandelier before him. The fixture was intricate, yet he adjusted but a single section, and in an instant, the glow of an array manifested upon the floor of the bedroom.

Karen was certain that the Captain must have calibrated everything within, leaving only the final step untouched as he waited for him.

Once the array materialized, it emanated a white radiance; it was a teleportation formation.

Releasing his grip, the Captain, still wearing the stag's head, let himself fall downward. There was no sound of impact upon the floor; he was instantly teleported away.

Seeing this, Karen immediately shouted, "Do not run!"

Promptly, he rushed forward himself, and the moment he stepped into the boundary of the array, his form vanished.

The sudden activation of an unfamiliar formation within the villa alarmed the guards downstairs, who were now rushing toward the third floor.

Yet by then, the light of the teleportation array was swiftly fading.

Ophelia did not wait for the guards any longer; instead, before the formation dissolved completely, she stepped into the light. As the final white gleam extinguished, the array vanished, and Ophelia's figure disappeared from where she stood.

…

"Thud!"

Karen fell onto a patch of turf. Looking up, he discovered that this was an exceptionally vast and empty area; above was a starry sky, and behind him stood a stone tablet, though it bore no inscriptions, only a single handprint.

Where was the Captain?

Karen was searching for the Captain's silhouette when another disturbance came from above. Ophelia fell downward, and Karen instinctively reached out to catch her, but she adjusted her posture mid-air and landed gracefully on her feet.

"Karen, what exactly is going on here?" Ophelia asked directly.

"I do not know either."

"Then where is this place?"

"I know even less."

"Just who is it that you are pursuing?"

"A remnant of Light."

"A remnant of Light?" Ophelia frowned slightly. In that very instant, she spun around, a red light materializing in her hand as she slashed directly behind her.

"Splat!"

A black python was severed cleanly through its middle, yet the fallen portion bearing the head seized the momentum to spring up, lunging to bite Ophelia once more.

"Order—Guardian Wall!"

Three black walls materialized, completely crushing the snake's body beneath them, pinning it down immovably.

Ophelia stared at the three walls before her. This was but a simple spell of Order, yet the manner in which Karen deployed it felt entirely different; such solid, immense walls were sufficient to make most attacks appear pale and powerless before them.

"Your strength has improved significantly." Ophelia recalled that when they last met in Wien, Karen did not possess such power, or at least, not the commanding presence of strength he displayed now.

"After you left Wien, I applied myself rather diligently."

Before the two could exchange another word, six or seven pairs of green lanterns appeared in the darkness, swaying as they rapidly drew near.

Those were the eyes of serpents; to think there were so many pythons here!

Ophelia raised her arms, and two Dark Moon Blades appeared like crimson whips, slashing directly across the space ahead.

"Order—Purification!"

Karen chose not to engage the snakes in close combat, standing instead behind Ophelia to continuously bestow purification upon her. These pythons appeared terrifying, and ordinary men facing them would essentially be destined for nothing but sustenance, yet Ophelia had no trouble dealing with them; the only concern was likely the venom that might erupt from their bodies.

Finally, these pythons were all sliced into neat segments by Ophelia.

Karen mused that if there were a pot large enough, he could prepare a meal of "braised eel."

Because so many pythons had been slaughtered here, the surrounding stench of blood suddenly grew exceedingly thick, and from not far away, a rustling sound echoed once more. It seemed the scent of blood had drawn even more pythons.

"Move!"

Ophelia chose not to continue the slaughter; instead, she waved a hand at Karen, signaling a retreat, intending to leave this place at least for the time being.

The two of them sprinted forward, traversing a stretch of woods, and after running for some distance, the sound of ocean waves drifted from ahead.

Had they been teleported to the seashore?

Karen halted his steps, while Ophelia looked toward the position of the blood moon in the sky, saying, "We are no longer on Dark Moon Island. The teleportation array has cast us off the island entirely!"

"Where are we now?"

"To the southwest of Dark Moon Island. This should be the archipelago region; we must be upon a small, isolated isle."

Karen recalled his conversation with the Captain. Surely it wouldn't be just another teleportation array? The Captain had replied that it was impossible, for one could hardly be teleported from Dark Moon Island back to Dark Moon Island.

Very well, now they were teleported to an isolated island in the sea.

Where on earth had the Captain fled?

Just then, Karen perceived an unfamiliar ripple of energy beneath the sand under his feet.

"Watch out!"

After warning Ophelia beside him, Karen manifested the Dark Moon Blades in both hands and plunged them directly into the ground beneath.

Yet the Dark Moon Blades shattered at that very moment, and the surrounding sand began to sink. A python, its body shimmering with a green luminescence even in the dark, violently thrust itself upward, its head crowned with a fleshy crest that resembled a small, open umbrella, its serpentine eyes brimming with a sense of majesty.

It gaped its maw, and a horrifying torrent of acid sprayed forth.

"Dark Moon Sanctuary!"

Ophelia cast a dark crimson barrier, enveloping Cullen and herself behind it; the acid splashed against the shield, emitting a piercing, corrosive screech.

Cullen had tried before and found that the Blade of the Dark Moon seemed incapable of piercing the creature's scales; this was by no means an ordinary python, proving to be a decidedly ferocious entity even among monstrous beasts.

Spreading his arms, Cullen began to chant, and two ancient, unadorned black spears manifested above him.

Instantly, Cullen glared at the python, and the two Spears of Punishment flew straight toward the beast.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two colossal explosions thundered.

Since there was no way to pierce its scaly defense with sharp finesse, he would attack it with raw, crushing force; it was just like dealing with a heavily armored opponent, where a warhammer was far more suited than swords and daggers.

The python let out a wail; it was not crushed to death, but it was clearly terrified by the strike of Cullen's two Spears of Punishment, abandoning any further attempt to attack and turning to flee backward.

Ophelia withdrew her barrier and looked back toward the distant dark moon hanging in the sky.

Cullen, meanwhile, could not help but lament, "Is this... Snake Island?"

"I never knew a snake island existed in this quarter of Dark Moon Island, and it isn't very far away, but these snakes simply shouldn't exist; in such vast numbers and so close to Dark Moon Island, they would certainly have been discovered and hunted to extinction long ago, even if it required deploying fleets and armies."

"So, you mean to say this island was deliberately isolated and hidden away?"

"Yes, there must be something surrounding the island that cloaks it." Ophelia looked at Cullen and said with great gravity, "We must return through the teleportation array; otherwise, we will never be able to wait out a passing ship here."

"Then we can only return to where we first teleported and attempt to restart the array; that stone monument should be the activation device for the formation."

Cullen and Ophelia had no choice but to retrace their steps, their best hope now being to successfully activate the array and return; otherwise tomorrow... no, there was no need to wait for tomorrow, for while Cullen might not mind, the news of Ophelia's disappearance had likely already stirred up waves of unrest by now.

The serpent king had evidently been frightened off, and the swarm of snakes did not reappear on the path back; when they returned to the stone monument, they found that the python carcasses previously strewn across the ground had completely vanished, leaving only bloodstains, the bodies likely dragged away by other pythons to serve as rations.

Ophelia knelt before the stone monument, beginning her investigation.

Judging by her posture, she possessed a deep understanding of arrays, so Cullen did not press any closer, well aware of his own limitations in that field.

Cullen's attention was quickly drawn to the grassy patch he had tripped over earlier, as the vegetation in this specific area differed markedly from the surrounding growth.

Squatting down, Cullen reached out to touch it; it felt slightly cool, not like grass, but more like... hair.

Yet how could such a dense thicket of hair exist on the ground?

What exactly lay beneath this?

Just then, Ophelia must have triggered some restriction on the stone monument, for it began to tremble slightly.

Immediately following, the original "grassy patch" began to contract rapidly, those black clumps actively retreating toward the stone monument.

Ophelia also retreated to Cullen's side in some bewilderment, watching the massive expanse of vegetation rapidly shrink away.

And the scene beneath, previously covered by the growth, gradually revealed itself at this moment, abruptly exposing row upon row of densely packed corpses; the clothing on some had rotted away, while others still bore remnants of white robes, and garments capable of resisting total decay for so long in such a damp island environment... were very likely divine robes.

Once the black hair had entirely withdrawn beneath the stone monument, a complete burial pit was thoroughly laid bare before Cullen and Ophelia, containing no fewer than a thousand corpses!

The temperature dropped imperceptibly, and a wind resembling whispered murmurs echoed past their ears.

When Cullen looked back at the stone monument, he discovered that a line of text had actually appeared on the originally wordless stela:

[My heartfelt thanks for your contributions to Dark Moon Island; you are weary, and you have labored hard, so I invite you to sleep here in eternal rest. ——— Bernard]

———

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