Chapter 275: Retaliation!

Chapter 275: Vengeance!

Neo sat down by the edge of the beach, the tide washing over the soles of his boots time and again, only to recede each time, repeating the cycle tirelessly.

"Heh... heh..."

First came the laughter, intermittent and lingering for a long time.

Perhaps the most ridiculous thing in this world was not even knowing what one was laughing at.

When Neo looked up once more toward the dark moon in the sky, his smile gradually faded, and his gaze slowly hardened into a profound indifference.

Karen was not here; had he been, he would likely have felt that the captain he had first known seemed to have returned at this very moment.

Neo spread open his left hand, gripped a dagger in his right, and sliced a gash across his palm, then remained seated, his injured hand resting casually on his knee, letting the blood drip continuously.

The blood did not seep into the sand, but instead pooled into a small puddle upon it.

Gradually, the fresh blood began to coalesce into an aged face, staring up at Neo.

The weathered face bore an expression between a laugh and a cry as it spoke, "Now that he is gone, you summon me out?"

Neo did not respond, turning his gaze toward the surface of the sea instead.

The old face continued, "This kind of ancestral bloodline ritual causes immense damage to your lineage's tier. You cannot be so reckless, wasting it like this."

Neo still said nothing.

"He left, so let him be gone. He never truly existed in the first place."

Hearing this, Neo finally let his gaze fall upon that old face.

"You know what I say is true. Didn't you tell me in your dream that night about the excellent psychiatrist you visited at the café? His explanation to you has always made sense.

Neo, to prevent yourself from being assimilated by him, you went from one extreme to another."

"He is not me."

"He is you," the old face said with absolute certainty. "You possess my bloodline, and due to the Light Ritual, your connection with me has progressed and strengthened. Though you were not born of pure Anawas stock, you harbor a spirit that aligns perfectly with my house. You are more suited to inherit my will than my own flesh-and-blood descendants.

Although I must thank him, for were it not for him, I might not have been able to communicate with you to this extent.

Yet the reality remains that I am the sole, independent consciousness within your blood. Though my true body has been sealed and isolated, my memories shattered, and I do not even know where my physical form rests or who sealed it... the Bloodthirsty Demon within you clearly exists, and so, I clearly exist as well.

But he does not.

Neo, if you feel lonely, you can give me the place he left vacant. Perhaps I can take his stead, so you will not feel discomforted by his departure."

"In your dreams."

Flatly rejected, the old face did not grow angry, but laughed instead:

"Look, you can accept him in that place within your heart, yet you refuse to clear a seat for me. The reason is transparent: you have been assimilated by him. It is nothing more than you being replaced by another version of yourself that believes in the Light—like the heads and tails of a single coin. Whether obverse or reverse, they belong to the same coin.

But I am different. You know full well that once you are assimilated by me, I, Anawas, will use the blood of my descendant to supplant their body and life, achieving a new rebirth.

You and I do not belong to the same coin. He does. You have always known this deep down, haven't you?"

Neo fell silent once more.

The old face felt somewhat helpless; the boy had paid the price of degrading his bloodline just to summon him, only to remain silent. Such behavior was truly willful.

"Or, perhaps you could open your memories to me completely. Then maybe I could help you further. For instance, I am quite interested in that subordinate of yours named Karen. My intuition tells me you are hiding many things about him from me.

At least give me the same treatment as him in this regard, won't you?"

"You are not worthy."

"Alas..." The old face could not even summon the energy to be angry. "It has not been easy for you. Anyone else with both of us poured into their body would either have gone mad or been assimilated, yet you manage to maintain your selfhood.

But I must still say, he does not exist. He truly does not exist.

What he left in your body was merely a fragment of memory. He was never a separate consciousness; you have simply been contending with another version of yourself.

Do you think it was he who abandoned the vengeance?

No,

it was you,

Neo,

it was you who abandoned the vengeance.

You awakened Dorons, you ordered Dorons to march upon the town, you commanded Dorons to display its death and decay, yet it was also you who made it stop, ultimately abandoning the revenge.

Philias, from beginning to end, never existed. He did not exist!

He did not abandon vengeance because of any Light, but because it was the choice of the other you. Could you really let Dorons trample the town? Could you let Dorons detonate itself to completely defile this Dark Moon Island?

No,

you would not,

your identity, your position, would never allow you to do so.

Thus, Philias choosing to abandon vengeance was actually just you, all along, smoothing over your own extremes. You raised the torch, yet you did not wish to ignite the kindling before you, so you concocted a beautiful pretext for yourself and abandoned the revenge. Heh.

This was always a game that you were playing entirely by yourself."

A disdainful smile touched the corner of Neo's lips.

Seeing this, the old face continued, "You should trust my perception. Although I am currently like a piece of driftwood tossing upon the great sea, I have seen far too many storms.

I hope you can wake up, Neo. He does not exist.

Now that he is gone, you can return to your original self.

Perhaps this was your plan all along, wasn't it?

To use the most extreme emotions to draw out that non-existent entity, and then use this most fitting excuse to send that non-existent entity away.

For while he does not exist objectively, subjectively he truly influenced you.

Dorons was controlled by you, though as a divine beast of Light, it might indeed be inherently benevolent."

"And what about the other people up there?"

"That was merely an illusion of your own making. While deceiving yourself, you were also deceiving others, Neo. You directed and performed this entire farce alone. He does not exist."

"He exists."

"Regrettably, our argument can yield no conclusion, nor can it be proven. We can only wait until you clear your head. I believe it won't take you long to overcome this."

"No, it can be proven."

"How?"

"Snake Island."

...

Inside the Palace of Longing, there were only a few of the lowest-ranking guards. They wore uniforms instead of armor, emblazoned with nothing but a crescent moon, and their usual duties were maintaining street order; they were essentially akin to ordinary men, as any warrior of decent caliber had long since been assembled into a makeshift legion to block Dorons.

Dealing with them was easy—with a single spell of Light, they were instantly dazed into unconsciousness. Karen approached the coffin, the Armor of the Sea God manifesting upon him, and empowered by its strength, he slowly pushed open the lid.

Lying inside was Bernard himself.

His corpse was remarkably well-preserved, showing no signs of decay, though his features differed greatly from the statues and portraits scattered across Dark Moon Island, as those likenesses were mostly captured during Bernard's middle years; the Bernard within the coffin was already half-gray.

Hints of age could be discerned, yet he did not look old; this was an old man who had maintained himself exceptionally well in life and possessed an exquisite sense of self-care.

He wore a Dark Moon noble robe, with a full moon embroidered upon the chest.

Upon his head rested a Dark Moon crown, a strand of pearls hung about his neck, a scepter was held in his left hand, a dagger gripped in his right, and a blue conch was tied around his waist.

That which could be interred within Bernard’s coffin was bound to be of high quality, beyond any shadow of doubt, but Karen chose to disregard them.

It was not that he did not want to take them, nor was it that he had no desire for them, but rather that he knew full well that though he could carry these holy artifacts away from this place, his location would very likely be sensed immediately afterward.

At the moment, the attention of the Dark Moon Island people was entirely focused on Dolons; once Dolons departed and the threat was no more, they would instantly discover that the corpse of their ancestor had vanished. They would then inevitably concentrate their forces to investigate the matter, and might even enlist the aid of the Church of Order.

He would not have the time to study and seal these funerary holy artifacts beforehand, and they could easily sense them with only a little effort; stealing them along would only bring great trouble upon himself.

Most importantly, his primary objective remained Bernard himself, and he did not intend to simply set a fire to burn Bernard’s corpse directly, for that would be far too easy on Bernard.

He needed to find a quiet, undisturbed place and take his time.

Karen stripped off his own clerical robe, then removed the luxurious robe from Bernard’s body, wrapped him in his own clerical robe of Order, and subsequently hoisted the corpse onto his shoulder.

After a moment’s hesitation, he felt this posture was not quite right; although he was carrying a dead person, he did not want outsiders to see that what he carried was a corpse.

Ultimately, Karen gripped Bernard’s arms with both hands and carried him on his back.

His figure transformed into a cloud of black mist, leaving the Palace of Remembrance before manifesting once more. Arriving at the road, he let out a long breath and continued toward the Bernard Hotel with Bernard on his back.

Along the way, he encountered several Clerics of Order and Dark Moon warriors retreating from the front; many of them proactively greeted Karen, asking if he required assistance, and Karen replied to each in turn that his companion was merely injured and unconscious, and it was no great issue.

Halfway there, Karen encountered a carriage and hailed it down.

The carriage was stuffed with many things; the driver must have been fleeing just earlier, but he had returned quite opportunely.

Riding in a carriage was far more convenient; upon arriving at the hotel entrance, the driver brought the carriage to a halt.

"Go inside," Karen commanded.

"Well, my lord, our outside carriages are not permitted to enter the hotel."

"I told you to go inside."

The driver had no choice but to urge the unicorn forward to drag the carriage onward; the guards at the hotel entrance were much scarcer than usual, with only four or five wearing uniforms with a single crescent moon standing watch, and seeing an outside carriage about to enter, they stepped forward to block it.

Karen opened the carriage door, leaned his body out, and barked at them:

"My companion is injured and unconscious, move aside!"

"Yes, yes, my lord."

"Yes, my lord."

The carriage was granted passage, and under Karen's direction, the driver drove the carriage to the courtyard entrance.

Karen carried Bernard on his back once more as he stepped down from the carriage, and the driver hastily said, "Goodbye, my lord, no fare is needed. Thank you, my lord, for protecting our Dark Moon Island."

"The one who protected you was not me."

"Yes, yes, yes, thanks to the great Church of Order."

"Nor was it the Church of Order."

"Uh... then who was it?"

"They likely do not care for your gratitude either."

The final halting of the giant beast Dolons commanded Karen’s heartfelt admiration.

Yet if the same situation were placed upon himself, he could never achieve such benevolence; this, perhaps, was the difference in faith.

However, Philias had indeed shown him what true Light meant, completely different from the remnants of Light he had encountered before; they were the true believers of Light.

Since Light had chosen its own way to follow the Light, then next, it should be his turn to use the method of Order to maintain Order.

"You may go."

The driver looked completely bewildered and could only turn the unicorn around, driving toward the main gate of the hotel; inside the carriage, Karen had left one hundred Order tickets as the fare.

The courtyard was very quiet; though Dolons had already turned around at this hour, it was not yet time for the various personnel to truly return, but the courtyard was not devoid of people, and some people, even if present, would not disturb the tranquility.

For instance, Mr. Memphis, who was currently sitting by the small pond in the center of the courtyard—otherwise known as his uncle, Eisen.

He had been arranged by the captain to go to the Palace of Remembrance to help ignite the conflict; after the conflict erupted, he hid for a good while, and then, according to the captain’s original arrangement, he returned to the hotel, thereby missing the gathering of the Whip of Order midway.

In truth, the efficiency of Team Neo's assembly this time was very low; the captain was absent, Karen was absent, and Memphis was also absent—the three strongest individuals in the team were all missing, but it was no great issue because Bishop Wolfrun leaned toward civil duties and would not lead a team to arrange formations or prepare for a charge. Once the Whip of Order team gathered, they were immediately assigned to work under various bishops; Team Neo's failure to assemble in full would not attract any notice at all.

Mr. Eisen stood up and took the initiative to ask, "Who is injured?"

As a senior cleric, almost every one of them knew some basic healing spells.

Karen did not answer, but carried Bernard straight into his room; after entering, he tossed Bernard's corpse directly onto the captain's bed.

Mr. Eisen followed him inside, holding a magic scroll in his hand, prepared to cast a healing spell.

Karen did not stop him, but merely washed his hands, poured himself a large glass of ice water, and took several large gulps.

Mr. Eisen turned Bernard’s body over, saw Bernard’s face, and then, his movements froze.

After a long silence, he turned his head to look at Karen, then looked up at the portrait of Bernard hung in almost every room, and then looked at the one lying on the bed.

Karen spoke, "It is him."

Mr. Eisen nodded, pushed Bernard further inward, covered him with the blanket, and then sat down by the bedside.

Karen spoke, "Dolons has retreated; by now, he should be about to enter the sea."

"I saw it while sitting in the courtyard."

"I reached an agreement with the person controlling Dolons; I will help him exact revenge on Bernard, and he will not allow Dolons to destroy the town. What do you think?"

"Reasonable and fair."

"So, next, I need your help."

"Please speak."

"Help me activate a teleportation array."

"Alright."

Karen felt that communicating with this uncle of his was always very simple; one only needed to weave a suitable reason for him and then tell him what needed to be done.

"I am going to change into a fresh clerical robe now. Go prepare the carriage at the hotel; we will depart immediately. That place should be unguarded now, and the teleportation array can be used directly."

"Understood."

Karen took his clothes and walked into the washroom; after stripping off all his garments, he turned on the shower head and took a brief shower beneath it. It was not that he was deliberately fastidious about cleanliness now, but rather that the mere thought of having carried Bernard on his back made him want to wash.

After a brief rinse, Karen began to dry his body.

At this moment, Richard’s excited voice echoed from the room.

"Oh, Karen, you are actually still sleeping! Do you have any idea what kind of brilliance you missed out on today!"

Karen dressed and walked out of the washroom, only to see Richard lying on the bed, hugging Bernard with great familiarity.

Richard: "..."

Blinking his eyes, Richard immediately turned around to pull back the blanket, flipping the man over; looking at this face, Richard instantly turned his head to look at Karen, and then subsequently looked at the portrait upon the wall.

Truly father and son; the entire sequence of actions was completely identical.

"This, that, no, it is not..."

Richard stammered, so utterly confounded that he could barely string his words together.

Mr. Eisen threw open the door, his gaze fixing upon Karen as he spoke: "The carriage is ready."

Karen gestured toward Richard, commanding: "Hoist him up and follow us."

"Oh, very well."

With his own father, Karen still felt the need to conjure an explanation; with Richard, he did not even bother.

Richard hoisted Bernard onto his back and stepped up into the carriage.

Eisen took the reins outside, leaving Karen and Richard seated within the carriage's dim interior.

Richard was still scrutinizing Bernard with meticulous care, finally asking: "Is this truly Bernard's corpse?"

"Yes, I carried him out of the coffin myself."

"And why exactly did you carry him out?"

"Grown-up matters, child. Do not pry."

"Alright." Richard nodded, his mind still entirely benumbed.

The carriage arrived at Taffman's villa; it was once again Richard who bore Bernard's corpse down. The estate was utterly deserted, the guards having long been reassigned, and the servants had fled the turmoil and not yet returned.

Karen led them into the master bedroom on the third floor, pointing upward toward a massive, grand chandelier.

"The matrix switch is up there."

"Understood."

Mr. Eisen dissolved into a cloud of black mist, soaring up to the ceiling. Having secured his position, he began to adjust the chandelier, but it was not long before he drifted back down.

Karen looked on with a touch of surprise: "So soon?"

"Because everything was essentially in its proper place. No further adjustment was required."

Had the people of Dark Moon Island studied the array afterward and simplified the switch?

No matter.

"Begin the teleportation," Karen said.

Mr. Eisen activated the matrix, and a brilliant white light surged from the floor, causing the three men and the single corpse to vanish from the spot instantly.

When Karen opened his eyes once more, he found himself standing before the stone monument.

"Richard, set the corpse down."

"Oh, alright." Richard placed Bernard onto the ground with utmost care.

Witnessing this, Karen spoke again: "Hoist him up once more."

"Oh, alright." Richard lifted Bernard onto his back yet again.

"Now, drop him carelessly."

Richard stood in stunned silence.

With a dull thud, Richard dumped Bernard's corpse directly onto the ground, face down.

Karen cast his gaze into the pit of corpses before him, intending to select a few spectators. His primary choice was Lady Jennifer, who had once been a dear friend of Pu'er; Karen planned to awaken her shortly so she could join them to witness the ceremony.

Yet, as Karen's gaze swept across the rows of corpses, a look of astonishment and confusion washed over his face, and he turned to ask Mr. Eisen, who stood beside him:

"Mr. Memphis, can you perceive the spiritual energy within them?"

"It is likely because the corpses have been kept for far too long; the spiritual energy within their bodies must have dissipated ages ago."

"No. When I came here a few days ago, they still possessed spiritual energy."

Of this, Karen was absolutely certain. It could be considered a professional habit of his—most clerics of the Church of Order shared such an instinct, though in Karen, it ran far deeper.

"Then... has someone purified them? Yet, I cannot detect any lingering aura of purification. To purify so many corpses in just a few days, it is impossible for it to be left so impeccably clean."

Karen suddenly spoke: "I understand now."

Immediately following this realization, Karen gently patted his own forehead with his palm, caught in disbelief. Was it not supposed to be the Captain's own psychological fracture?

Yet the stark reality before his eyes dictated otherwise:

"They have truly embarked upon a new voyage."