Chapter 258: Professional "Actors"

Chapter 258: The Professional "Actor"

The air fell suddenly still.

Cullen released his grip, his entire body rolling onto the ground as he gasped heavily for breath, yet his eyes remained fixed unyieldingly upon the Captain.

The Captain reached behind his back with both hands, but because Cullen's sword had pierced through from behind, and given the sheer length of the greatsword, he could not reach the hilt.

The gesture looked somewhat ludicrous, leaving the Captain with no choice but to look toward Cullen, who remained entirely unmoved.

Resigned, the Captain could only grasp the blade protruding from his chest with both hands, pushing the greatsword back out of his body inch by inch.

Once it was nearly clear, he seized the momentum to rise, leaning his torso forward, until at last the greatsword broke free from his flesh and clattered to the ground.

Afterward, the Captain leaned against a large boulder nearby, using his fingers to measure the placement of the wound on his chest, and said:

"Heh, right at the heart. You truly intended to kill me."

The Captain reached out, tearing open the wound upon his chest to thrust his hand inside, whereupon a sound of "churning and tearing" immediately echoed from within—a sound guaranteed to cause psychological distress to anyone of sound mind.

"Fortunately, I shifted the position of my heart in advance. This particular spot is far too tedious to mend."

Having finished restoring his internal organs to their proper places, the Captain withdrew his hand from his chest, gazing at his blood-slicked palms as if considering whether to lick them clean on the principle of wasting nothing.

Yet out of consideration for the feelings of the man beside him, he merely flicked his hands quite casually into the open space before him.

Cullen spoke, asking, "Captain, when exactly did you regain your senses?"

"Just moments ago. The battle between the two of you and myself consumed a vast amount of my strength, leaving 'him' unable to maintain control over me, forced to sink into dormancy, whereupon I awoke.

Ah, fortunately, the awakening came precisely at the right moment. A fraction later, and you would have been burned to ashes. Truly a perilous close call."

"I do not believe you. Every instance of a perfect moment carries an element of deliberate arrangement; those were your own words to me."

"Very well, I awoke the moment I defeated Ophelia."

"Still, I do not believe you."

"I awoke when Ophelia offered me her formal sword salute, but I thought it fine to indulge her in a bit of play. After all, I had long heard that Dark Moon Island abounds with first-rate martial artists, particularly exceptional duelists, so I thought I might as well test my bladesmanship against hers."

"I do not believe you."

Neo turned his head, casting a glance at Cullen, and said:

"You think I was pretending? No, in truth, I was genuinely lost, genuinely. When you two first emerged from the cave and I cried out that Elisa had left me forever, I was indeed lost.

But the moment I cried out that Jennifer had left me forever, I came to my senses.

Hahaha, the only woman in my heart is Elisa, how could I possibly invoke another woman's name, and with such profound devotion? 'He' overstepped, I felt revulsion, and then I woke."

"So, from the very moment you prepared to strike, you were conscious."

"Mmh, you could say that."

"Why?"

"Since we are already here, we must leave something behind, must we not?"

"Leave what behind?"

"As I have said, I dislike returning empty-handed. I initially divined that there would be something of immense importance here. Curiously enough, there indeed was something important, but it turned out to be an immensely important memory!

What use have I for that? Merely to satisfy my own curiosity, to feel as though I were living within a biographical chronicle?

I wanted sacred artifacts, I wanted rare materials, I wanted formations logs, I wanted treasures worth vouchers.

Yet here, there is nothing but stones and corpses... oh, and that pack of pythons that go down to the sea to fish. I can hardly harvest a crate of snake gallbladders to take back and sell, can I?"

"You still have not told me what you left behind..."

"I left nothing behind myself save for wounds, but I have left a splendid thing for you. The Princess of Dark Moon Island already harbored affection for you, and now, with this devotion of risking your life to save her, how do you think things will unfold from here?"

"Solely for that?"

"Yes, solely for that."

Cullen felt a sudden urge to laugh out of sheer exasperation. He truly wished to point at the Captain's face and unleash a torrent of curses, yet the words failed to form, for the Captain currently lacked any skin on his face.

"A young lady from such a noble house possesses status, experience, comeliness, and refinement. Not only is she highly capable in combat, but her abilities in other matters are also exceptional, and her character is first-rate.

Her sole defect is that she is currently too young; a matter like affection truly requires age to settle and be understood.

Therefore, it is precisely at this juncture that one is best suited to capture their hearts.

Give it a few more years, once she matures in these affairs, even if she harbors goodwill toward you, she will easily crush such a notion in its infancy."

"Are you imparting your own experience here?"

"Indeed, Elisa was exactly like that back then. Boys and girls of that age still harbor dreams in their hearts."

"Captain, you ought to have always known my attitude toward affection."

"Yes, I have always known, but you ought to have always known my attitude as well. In any case, I am merely watching the spectacle; the grander the affair, the happier I am. I never intended to consider your feelings or your emotional choices.

I simply found it amusing, entertaining, splendid, and interesting, so I did it."

"..." Cullen was speechless.

With the Captain speaking so transparently, Cullen truly found himself unable to offer any refutation.

"In truth, you are the same." Neo looked at Cullen. "Believing yourself to be highly mature, believing you have experienced many things, believing you can be more composed, capable, and discerning than most. I was exactly the same back then, truly.

And then, I regretted it.

Do not be like me, truly, do not be like me."

"Captain, promise me, should you wish to do this again next time, you could give me a hint in advance."

"To give a hint would render the performance unconvincing. Lady Ophelia is not someone easily deceived; she is highly intelligent. If one is to stage a play, one must enact it with absolute reality, so that no flaw or omission may appear."

"But to use such a method, do you not think it somewhat too..."

"Too despicable?" The Captain smiled with disdain. "Then are intentionally engineered chance encounters considered despicable? Is deliberately preparing a gift in advance for another's birthday considered despicable? Is purposely feigning drunkenness to afford the other an opportunity considered despicable?"

The Captain rubbed his rapidly healing wound and continued:

"In matters of affection, where is there so much natural occurrence? Every natural occurrence is inseparable from the deliberate prompting of one party, and sometimes, the tacit prompting of both.

It is merely that most people lack the circumstances to play it on as grand a scale as we do.

The next time you see Lady Ophelia, you will be able to perceive her difference. You are the initial affection in her heart, and you risked your life to fight for her survival; this imprint cannot possibly be erased."

"I believe I should feel too embarrassed to see her again."

"What is there to be embarrassed about? At the moment you thrust this sword into me, did you know I was feigning my lost state?"

"I..."

"At the very least, at the moment you helped her forge an opportunity to escape, you were sincere, were you not?

There is no need for guilt, nor any need for embarrassment. You did indeed once risk your life for her, and you did save her; that is a fact.

Of course, you could also choose to be entirely candid and tell her the truth.

Tell her that the man who sought to kill you was your Captain, that your Captain deliberately engineered the opportunity for the sake of your relationship with her, and see whether she will be moved by your candor.

And then, your Captain's identity as a remnant of the Light will be exposed;

And then, your own identity will be exposed as well."

"How was my identity exposed?"

"You denounced me, yet you still expect me to keep your secrets. A man cannot be so utterly shameless."

"Captain..."

"Rest assured, we have our agreement, and we both understand the terms. Barring a deliberate betrayal by one of us, we shall guard each other's secrets, no matter the hour."

"Captain, my point is, what do we do next?"

"What do we do? You have no choice but to acquiesce to this development. She claims you saved her, so you must believe you saved her. There is no possibility for explanation, nor can you even attempt one.

After that, you may resume your proper decorum. Continue to treat her exactly as you did before—keep your distance, and do not venture across that line.

Yet, she will not seek to stifle her affection merely because of your coldness. Instead, it will offer her a different perspective. The more you behave in this manner, the more she will find it impossible to forget you, and the deeper the impression will become."

"Captain, you are drifting from the subject. What I wish to know is how we are to bring this affair to a close."

"A conclusion? That is simple enough. That formation does not teleport back to Dark Moon Island. The true formation leading back to Dark Moon Island is on the other side, where there is another platform."

"What!"

"Oh, come now, do not fret. Do not fret. That formation teleports to a completely different island, inside a cavern upon a port isle. When she steps out, she will spy a multitude of her family’s retainers upon the docks. From there, she can send word of her safety to her home, board a vessel, and spend roughly three hours returning to Dark Moon Island.

As for myself, I can utilize this interval of time to utilize another teleportation formation, sending myself directly back to Dark Moon Island. Then I shall return to the hotel, step into our quarters, lie upon the bed, pull up the counterpane, and catch up on a bit of slumber."

"And what of me?"

"As for you, you shall remain here and await the rescue party she sends for you."

"I am to remain here?"

"Indeed."

"But that defies all logic. I am no match for you in combat, yet I survive while you vanish, having spared my life. The rationale simply does not hold together."

"It does seem so, indeed."

"What do you mean, 'it seems so'? Did you not consider this when you were feigning your madness and striking out earlier?"

"I am no deity. How could I possibly weigh every variable with absolute perfection in so brief a span of time?"

"Then what are we to do now?"

"That too can be managed. We might arrange an alternative scene. For instance, my physical vessel was failing, and so I desired to possess your form, but the attempt met with disaster. Thereupon, I fell into a frenzy and perished abruptly.

There are numerous corpses within that pit, all of them skeletons of the Light. We shall excavate one, dress it up a little, kindle a blaze of holy fire to scorch it, and leave behind a few traces of the remnants of Light. That should prove plausible."

"Plausible?"

"Yes, for they believe you carry the lineage of the Dark Moon Clan within your veins."

"Captain, how did you come to know of this?"

During their last exchange of confidences, Karen had not disclosed this matter to the Captain, for in comparison to his grandfather detonating the Temple of Order, this could only be deemed a minor affair.

"Ah, while you were conversing in the study, I happened to stand by the door for a brief moment and overheard her mentioning that you and she belonged to the same clan. Yes, it truly was a mere coincidence that I caught a portion of it.

It appears she mistook the Dark Moon power you converted using the power of Light for that of her own kin, did she not? We shall use this very misunderstanding to arrange our design."

"Can it truly be made believable?"

"It depends on how we spin the tale. As you know, when it comes to fabricating identities, I am an absolute master."

"Yes, I know."

"Let us organize our thoughts from the beginning. If you possess any additional little secrets that might be suited for disclosure and beneficial to our arrangements, speak them now. Our time is short; once matters here are settled, I must return to the hotel with the utmost celerity.

Your disappearance is something I can suppress; after all, the daily duties of the honor guard do not require every single member. But if I, the Captain, should vanish, Bishop Wolfrun will undoubtedly harbor suspicions.

Nor need you worry that the folk of Dark Moon Island will report this matter. Firstly, this island involves the sordid relations between their ancestors and the remnants of the Light in days gone by. Secondly, they have no desire to expose this identity of yours to the Church of Order, so they will only search for you in secret and will absolutely make no public outcry.

My body has encountered a fault, and I must change vessels. Ophelia should know from my narrative that I am Philias, but Philias could not possibly have survived for so long. Therefore, Philias must have 'returned' through some other extraordinary means.

He requires a change of vessel, which is a perfectly natural occurrence, given that he is not truly among the living.

And it just so happens that my vessel was damaged by your blade, making it inconvenient for continued use. Thus, I subdued you, intending to borrow your form.

During this process, the Dark Moon power within you erupted to shield you, dealing me a grievous blow. You fell senseless, I failed, and I was consumed by fire.

How about that? It fits the theatrical narrative perfectly. Darkness suffers a fatal stroke at the critical juncture, and the righteous, young, handsome lad receives a providence from the unseen. It suits the taste of the audience marvelously."

"The mad pope of the Philias family once declared that he did not believe in the existence of the God of Light. Therefore, I suspect the folk of the Dark Moon family, though they revere the Dark Moon, would scarcely credit that I am the Chosen Son of the Dark Moon, preserved by such forced intervention.

Furthermore, there remains a glaring flaw in the logic here: Ophelia witnessed me battling you with the Blade of the Dark Moon, so she knows that you are aware of the Dark Moon lineage within me. You would not commit such an error while forcibly requisitioning my body.

For example, halfway through the possession,

You would suddenly cry out in astonishment: 'Ah, I did not expect you to possess the Dark Moon lineage within you, the Dark Moon shields you...'

Such a thing simply could not occur."

"Quite so. Why, then, did you employ the power of the Dark Moon just now?"

"Can that be blamed on me?"

"Very well, let us pivot and devise another angle. This actually gives me an inkling—perhaps we might seize this opportunity to leave behind something more. For instance, we could incidentally elevate your standing within the Council of Elders of the Dark Moon Clan.

In this manner, when I essayed to requisition your form, Bernard suddenly manifested his spirit to protect you, resulting in an accident on my part while you survived. What do you think?"

"How is that any different from the Dark Moon shielding me?"

"Bernard ranks lower than the Dark Moon, which makes it far more palatable. Look, is there not a statue of Bernard within the cavern? I shall place your body within the sarcophagus, or perhaps you might lie upon the lid yourself, and then I shall shift the position of Bernard’s statue so that it faces you, as though it were guarding you. Then I shall leave the traces of my remains beside it. An ancestor manifesting his spirit to protect his chosen, excellent descendant—this too fits the audience's taste marvelously."

"Captain, it still seems somewhat far-fetched..."

"Still defies logic? Are your standards perhaps a trifle too exacting? You must understand that things which befall certain individuals are inherently devoid of logic. For instance, whose grandfather goes about detonating the Temple of Order?

Reality—this wretched reality—is more often than not entirely unconcerned with logic."

"Captain, let us do this instead. Let us not only include Bernard, but also the statue beside him. Place them together on either side of my body, so they may guard me in tandem. For in their understanding, I am the descendant of Bernard and Miss Paul."

"Miss Paul? The heroine of that romance?"

"Yes."

"Hold on..." The Captain struck the back of his own head. "I seem to recall certain images. Bernard loved that lady dearly in those days, yet she wished for nothing to do with him and found him thoroughly vexatious. This matter exists within Philias’s memory. When he and Bernard were still close companions laboring together for the construction of Dark Moon Island, he frequently used this matter to tease Bernard.

Ah, back then, Bernard would flush red with embarrassment time and again under the teasing, laughing and cursing at Philias: 'If you dare continue to tear open my scabs, believe it or not, I shall bury you alive.'

Let us proceed precisely as you say. But the trouble is, will adding another character render the matter more tangled and less credible?"

"When they enter, I can employ the fire-attributed power of the Primordial Ancestor Alan to bake the surroundings of the cavern. By the time they reach me, I shall feign unconsciousness and conjure the aura of Miss Paul. Captain, you can assist me by arranging a formation to reinforce the effect, allowing me to summon a phantom of Miss Paul.

In this manner, it will appear to them as though Miss Paul is lying beside me, keeping me company in my slumber."

"The aura and phantom of Miss Paul? Can you successfully forge such a thing? In my memory, Bernard left behind a great many mementos of Miss Paul in his collection room. He went so far as to fashion a puppet using her secretly hoarded hair to keep him company and converse with him.

Therefore, the high officials of the Dark Moon family may truly have had contact with Miss Paul—and I do not mean merely through portraits."

"I can accomplish it, because Miss Paul and I share a symbiotic relationship."

"Oh, why did you not inform me of this last time?"

"Because you had no more secrets left to exchange, Captain."

"Damn it!"

Neo struck the ground with force and said, "Which is to say, Miss Paul is still among the living?"

"Yes, she is currently a cat kept by my family."

"Hehehe... Well, now even if you said the Evil God was a dog kept by your family, I wouldn't find it strange."

"So, can we begin preparing now?"

"Of course, we can begin preparing." The captain stood up, spreading his hand, and a sword of light materialized within his grasp.

"Captain, you are doing this for..."

"Preparing."

"Why do you need to take out a sword to prepare..."

"Oh, because your injuries aren't severe enough, I'm going to add a bit more to them for you."

"..." Karen.