Chapter 467: Devouring God's Bone!

Chapter 467: Devouring the Divine Bone!

The promise was fulfilled.

The silhouette of the Goddess of the Dark Moon began to dissipate, and the bone within her, which had been on the verge of exploding, settled into a profound stillness; as Karen commanded the chain, rusted with purple corrosion, to coil around it, the hysterical shrieks of a woman echoed from within.

For an entity that had birthed its own consciousness, she was naturally consumed by a bitter reluctance, and even more so by an absolute hatred.

Yet, Karen cared nothing for any of this now; the skeleton, stripped of all defensive measures by the Goddess, finally began to crumble and disintegrate, absorbed entirely by the chains, while a look of pure intoxication spread across Karen's face.

Purr, who had only

...

"She is gone."

"Who?"

"That bone. She is gone, her wisdom wiped away. She and I lost. I sensed the aura of that entity appear just a moment ago, though it vanished again. Heh, it turns out she never trusted us from the very beginning."

"That entity... the Goddess?"

"Who else?"

"She descended?" Philomena asked in surprise.

"No. There is a third being on this island, but she has remained silent."

"I do not quite understand."

"You do not need to understand. You only need to know that you won, and we lost."

"But you still exist right now."

"Once that bone fades away entirely, I will dissipate as well. I am merely a mental imprint upon it. It didn't just give birth to her; it is also the anchor for my own existence."

"A bit... dizzying."

The woman in red looked at Philomena and asked, "Do you know what it feels like to always be treated as nothing more than a tool?"

"I know."

"Oh, right. Of course you know. You are the perfect vessel to be replaced, and your dreams, your peculiar... lineage; you were practically raised to be a replacement. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen you directly out of so many people."

"Yes."

"Do you dare to open the deepest layer of your dream to me?"

"Why?"

"If you want to go back and deal with your grandmother, I can leave something behind for you to help tip the scales. What do you think?"

"Really?"

"Of course, there is also the possibility that I want to seize this chance to invade the deepest layer of your dream, take complete control of your body, and see if I can find a way to turn the tables—or at least drag someone down to the grave with me before I fade."

"If you are willing to help me, thank you."

"And then?"

"Alright."

"You aren't afraid? Let me tell you, I haven't actually decided which of the two possibilities to choose yet. I don't even know what I will do myself."

"I am not afraid."

"Then why did you refuse at first?"

"Because you said we won."

"If you won, do you no longer care about yourself?"

"No. Since we won, he has no reason to say I disobeyed his orders anymore, and he won't isolate me again."

"A fascinating reason. Are you certain you don't love him?"

"When I learned that he would die with me, I felt quite relieved. Perhaps human emotions are rather complex, something a lower intellect like yours cannot comprehend."

"Hehehe." The woman in red burst into laughter. "I am not angry, because I truly believe now that even though she and I developed thoughts, our fundamental nature never changed."

"Are you going into the deepest layer of my dream? I can open it to you."

The woman in red shook her head.

"Regretting it?" Philomena asked.

"I am afraid I won't be able to control myself. People make different choices in different environments—if I can still even be considered a person."

"That is a pity."

Hearing these words, a meaningful smile suddenly surfaced on the face of the woman in red: "I am even more afraid that if I really chose to agree, you wouldn't be able to open the deepest layer of your dream at all."

"What do you mean?"

"You know it in your heart." The woman in red reached out to caress Philomena’s cheek. "I can feel that you were meant to be a very bright and kind girl. That is the impression I get from your dreams. Look, even the grandmother you treat like a dog in your dream wears clothes that are perfectly clean."

"I don't think being bright and kind is a compliment."

"Perhaps. I know you need to be strong. Actually, do you know? There is something deep within the imprint that has never changed. The reason I was left behind was solely to fulfill that entity's command to bestow a gift.

Now, I will leave the thing meant for you right here."

The woman in red opened her palm. From the sky, from the ground, from afar, and from nearby, the red color that had previously saturated the entire place began to shrink and condense.

Ultimately, beneath the woman's palm, a dark red sphere coalesced.

"What kind of weapon are you skilled with?" the woman in red asked.

"A dagger."

"Very well."

The dark red sphere reshaped itself into a dagger. With a flick of the woman's hand, the dagger plunged into the pillar of the small wooden cabin, embedding itself completely and vanishing from sight.

"Do you remember the position?"

"I remember." Philomena nodded.

"I failed, but I hope you succeed."

"Thank you."

"How hypocritical." The woman in red waved her hand. "What is your name?"

"Philomena Fischer. And yours?"

"I..." The woman was about to speak, but stopped. "I almost blurted out that entity's name just now, but suddenly realized I am not worthy."

"A name is just a simple title."

"Then what is a person who doesn't even have a simple title?"

"A pitiful soul."

"My dear, you certainly know how to comfort someone. Are you sure I won't summon that dagger back and stab you to death right now?"

"Heh." Philomena smiled.

"Heh." The woman in red smiled as well.

After a long silence,

The woman in red let out a sigh: "We lost, but at last, there is liberation. You must press on, you must win, you must conquer this damned destiny."

"I will."

"Yes, I believe you can... oh no, it's over, hehehehehe, hahahahaha..."

The woman in red suddenly clutched her stomach and bent over, laughing hysterically.

"What is wrong?"

"Something hilarious is about to happen, haha, I can't take it, hahaha."

"What on earth happened?"

"Can you believe your captain, that very man, is actually capable of fusing a god's bone? Even though that bone shattered, weathered, and lost most of its divinity long ago, it is still a remnant left behind by a god."

"I... find it not entirely unbelievable."

"Mm."

"Is that all?"

"No, it is that this island might still be annihilated."

...

The bone had dissolved by a third, with a massive segment still remaining outside, yet Karen discovered to his consternation that he could no longer continue digesting it, for he was full, unable to consume another morsel.

Unlike the "vast capacity" of his soul, the "appetite" of his physical body seemed rather ordinary by comparison.

Yet the remaining two-thirds of the bone could not be extracted from his body; the moment it was pulled out, it too would detonate.

If the destructive force of the bone's prior explosion would have devastated this island and a radius of several nautical miles, it had now become much safer, meaning only this island and its immediate surroundings would be annihilated.

Very well... truly very well.

Never did he imagine,

The ultimate conclusion would turn out like this!

"No way..." Pur's eyes widened. "How can it be like this? Stupid dog, how did you design this body, that it cannot even digest a single broken bone?"

"Woof, woof, woof."

"I don't want to hear any excuses about how a specific quantitative change can only trigger a specific qualitative change! Tell me what to do now, what do we do? Karen can't digest it, and it can't be taken out—isn't this like holding a terrifying forbidden curse that could be triggered at any moment?"

"Woof, woof."

"Three methods?"

"Woof, woof."

"Let the bone explode and we all die along with Karen? Leave Karen here alone to continue gridlocking with this bone while we depart first? Don't tell me the third method is for us to leave and watch from afar as Karen and this island blow up together."

"Woof."

Kevin reached out and pointed toward Memphis behind them.

Catching sight of Memphis again, Pur gasped in fright; once things had stabilized earlier, Pur had stopped paying attention to those searching for the concluding ritual, only to discover now that blood was seeping from Memphis's eyes, ears, and nostrils.

He was operating the Rubik's Cube Key while his body practically convulsed; the Rubik's Cube Key was no longer merely concealed within his cuff, but was now fully revealed.

The rotating cube appeared somewhat thick, resembling a churning mass of plasma, and upon it was the very blood Memphis had shed.

Mars had noticed this long ago; he had seen Richard use it, so he already had his suspicions, but now was clearly not the time to question it.

"Cough..."

From down within the well, Karen let out a cough.

His body could hardly continue absorbing this bone, leaving him to shout upward:

"Pur, hurry to the sea, hurry!"

The fur all over Pur's body stood on end, yet it did not hesitate, immediately shouting to the nearby Alfred: "Radio sprite, Karen orders us to return to the sea quickly, go inform the others!"

Alfred, who had been intently studying and deriving the concluding ritual, looked up; his instinct was to say something more, but he still chose to directly obey the young master's command.

"Memphis, Mars, evacuate! I will go notify the others to leave together, move!"

"No, wait!"

Memphis let out a great roar, then a mouthful of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, his entire face turning instantly deathly pale, but the Rubik's Cube suddenly locked into place, unfolding to reveal a bloody painting that depicted the detailed process of the concluding ritual.

"Hahaha, I derived it, hahahaha, I derived it!"

Memphis collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily for breath as if he might slip into shock and lose consciousness at any moment, his mouth continuing to mutter something.

"Woof, woof!!!" Kevin immediately barked excitedly at Alfred.

Alfred turned to Mars and said, "Quickly, you and I will arrange the concluding ritual at the fastest speed possible."

Pur shouted excitedly to Karen down in the well:

"Karen, hold on a bit longer! The concluding ritual has been derived by Memphis, we can put the lid on this well right away!"

Hearing these words down in the well, Karen breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart: Uncle...

Above, two lines of tears flowed from the eyes of Memphis as he sat on the ground, the tears turning muddy as they mixed with the previous bloodstains, yet Mr. Eisen looked up, a trace of relief surfacing upon his face:

"This time I am in time... this time little brother is in time... Sister."