Chapter 525: Inmorales-Plunder!

Chapter 525: Inmules - Plunder!

Although the "memory" had not yet developed further and the two sides had not yet started fighting, Karen had already foreseen the result, and it was an extremely certain result.

The current "self," who was the host in the memory of the silver mask, must have lost.

Because later on, Dis grew old, returned to 13 Mink Street, ran a funeral parlor while being a priest, and raised his grandson.

Therefore, in this clash, Dis must have won.

However, knowing the answer in advance did not have any impact on his "spectating" emotions at this time, because what happened to Dis, in the vast majority of cases, had only one outcome.

Even when facing the final capture by three temple elders and a group of high-ranking priests, when Dis faced them alone, although he made certain compromises for his family and himself, Dis still did not lose.

He just lay there, fast asleep, yet he could still make the "Great Existences" in the Temple of Order very uncomfortable.

Karen recalled that Mr. Dalis had said his great-great-grandfather had a relationship with a temple elder, and that temple elder was named "Rohan," right?

According to age, the two sides did not seem to have any overlap, but if this ancestor of the Naidun family tried every means to prolong his life in various ways in order to condense the divinity fragments, it would make his "meeting" with Dis possible.

Dis took a step and walked towards "self."

"Who on earth are you?"

"I said, I am unwilling to introduce myself to you."

Sometimes, feelings cannot deceive people.

Karen clearly perceived the fear of "self" at this time.

This ancestor of the Naidun family sensed the suppressing aura coming from the man in front of him, who was simply too young compared to him.

The successful condensation of divinity fragments represented a total sublimation of a life level, not only in terms of power, but also in other aspects.

For example, the current "self" actually did not choose to attack Dis, but turned around, wanting to escape.

Karen guessed that it should be that the memory part of the silver mask was still unable to be fully substituted into the realistic environment. The current fear of "self" must have a deeper reason.

However, just walking over could make an elder who had just condensed divinity fragments choose to run away. It was really exaggerated.

Dis's expression was calm, and a deep black color began to flow in his eyes, making his whole person look like a demon god descending upon the world.

Compared with the confidence and indifference over there, "self" over here became more and more faint-hearted.

Finally,

"Self" turned around, his figure disappeared, and rushed towards the temple gate on the sea that was about to open.

There was nothing better to protect oneself than entering the temple gate. As long as he entered there, he would become a temple elder, protected by the entire temple and even the entire Church of Order.

Dis raised his hand,

And said softly:

"Order — Eternal Ban."

A layer of boundary appeared on the sea, wrapping the temple gate. The next moment, the temple gate seemed to be isolated from all perception of the outside world, losing the aura of the guide. The original transformation from virtual to real was stopped, and instead began to continue to fade, and at a very fast speed, began to disappear.

"Self" was already very fast, but when he arrived at the door, the door was already gone.

"Self" turned his head in astonishment and looked at Dis:

"Who on earth are you?"

Dis did not answer him again. His right hand was bound behind his back, and his left hand was spread open. A wooden hilt appeared in Dis's palm. The next moment, a black flame appeared at one end of the hilt.

"Buzz!"

Dis's figure appeared in front of "self," and stabbed out a sword towards him, while saying in a deep voice:

"Ban — Abyss of Despair!"

Originally, this strike was already extremely fierce. Before it stabbed over, Karen had already perceived the pain of his body and soul about to be cut. But accompanying this strike, there was also an instantaneous forbidden spell.

He didn't know whether this strike was to cover for this forbidden spell, or whether this forbidden spell was just an embellishment for this strike.

In short, the sea below where the two were located was instantly swallowed by the black abyss. Countless black hands stretched out from below, wanting to drag everything above down.

And "self" seemed to finally wake up, hands intertwined in front of his chest, and began to condense the spell.

Just as Karen was preparing to observe a battle of this level, the same tearing sensation as before came again.

Damn it!

Karen really wanted to swear. Once again, at the link he looked forward to the most, when the foreshadowing had been completed, and when the excitement was about to be staged, it cut the power for him.

Either don't let him see it, or don't let him see it here. When he was most itching with curiosity, it suddenly disappeared. It was simply a torture that surpassed the "tearing sensation."

However, Karen also knew that this was not intentional by the silver mask. In a specific environment, it was unable to perform spiritual memory rubbing.

The feeling of a jammed tape appeared again, and Karen experienced this torture once more. Then after a period of torture, some pictures would flash past.

The battlefield between the two sides was huge. In those fleeting pictures, Karen saw:

Thunder was guided down from above, turning into the shape of a giant dragon and smashing down with a crash;

A huge one-horned evil ghost crawled out of the deep sea abyss, opening its mouth to swallow all the light in front;

Terrifying lava spewed out, reflecting a bright red color all around;

Countless cages of order were shattering, thick chains of order stirred the dark clouds in the sky, roaring in anger, snarling hideously...

Although this feeling of being tortured while looking like watching the exciting clips of a trailer made Karen suffer a lot, he could also perceive that the grandfather at this time was far from being as strong as the grandfather he contacted later.

The grandfather at this time fought

"I hope... you succeed."

"I disdain your blessing. You have already lost, though I too have paid a heavy price. Originally, I believed I could successfully sever that godhead fragment from within you; now, I doubt I can manage it.

Thus, you may self-destruct that fragment now. Consider it one final fireworks display."

A solitary fragment of a godhead drifted up from "Karen." It appeared thoroughly withered, like a tuft of dandelion fluff requiring the gentlest care, yet it remained profoundly pure. Radiating from it was the genuine... aura of a god.

Diss asked, "What do you mean?"

By voluntarily offering the godhead fragment out of his body, the man before him had effectively completed the most intricate part of the severance. This meant that if Diss so wished, he could easily claim the fragment, sealing it to cut off its connection to the host.

Well, a total severance was impossible, for they were of one essence, but killing the host outright would suffice.

"My family... they know nothing of what I have done. My descendants do not even know I still live; they all believe I am dead, long dead."

"And so?"

"It belongs to you; do not destroy my clan."

"A highly profitable transaction, yet one I have little desire to make. If Tethys found out, that fellow would only bother me again."

"I beg of you..."

"Begging me is useless. When you slaughtered my friend's entire clan, you should have prepared yourself for the massacre of your own.

In this world, the most universal truth is reciprocity.

However, I can promise you that I will not personally raise a hand to slaughter your family."

"Thank you..."

"No. It is simply because I feel that would be far too easy on you. I shall guide Foerscher to pay your home a visit."

"Foerscher... the cursed family..."

"It seems you are not entirely detached from the outside world."

"You did this... the Foerscher family of the York City Area..."

"Certain rages can only be quelled with a curse. Yet it will also preserve a final glimmer of hope for your family. But precisely because that sliver of hope lingers, the agony tends to redouble.

I dislike owing others, but I tolerate others owing me even less."

Diss reached out, grasping the godhead fragment.

"Do you intend to detonate the fragment?"

He waited a moment; there was no movement.

Diss smiled faintly. With a sweep of his palm, a silver mask appeared in his hand, bearing the faint vibration of a summons.

"An exquisite mask."

Diss brought the remarkably frail godhead fragment and the silver mask together.

"Very well. Now, you may die."

Diss stood up, raised his sword, and thrust it down toward "Karen."

Grandpa!

"Pfft!"

...

"Pfft!"

Karen spat a mouthful of fresh blood, his entire body lurching forward.

"Damn! Is it really that absurd? The backlash from something left by your own grandfather is actually this immense?"

Neo immediately supported Karen, attempting to cast a healing spell on him, but he stopped almost instantly because Karen’s injuries were not external.

The silver mask slipped, transforming into a beam of light just before hitting the floor and flying back into Karen's ring.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm alright..."

Karen sat up straight, followed by a fit of violent coughing.

Neo quickly leaned in, offering Karen water while massaging his back.

After a long while, Karen finally recovered. Though his head throbbed, he was no longer in any grave danger.

"Rest well first. There is no need to rush into explanations, it does not matter. Even though I am dying to know, even though I do not want to wait a single moment, and even though I am currently being scratched to death by sheer curiosity, I still feel your health is more important."

Karen rolled his eyes at Neo.

The Neo before him could no longer be reconciled with the Neo he had initially met.

Everyone, in truth, was changing.

"After I put on the mask..."

Karen began to recount what he had encountered after donning the mask. To Neo, he truly had nothing he needed to withhold.

Having listened to Karen's account, Neo's eyes widened, and he lowered his voice.

"I knew it! Based on the records I reviewed before and my observations of Philomena, yes, exactly. The sequence system of dreams and reality inherited by the Foerscher family is indeed prone to causing one to lose oneself, but it never caused such massive problems in the past.

So, the curse on the Foerscher family was laid by your grandfather?"

Evidently, the Director was excellent at grasping the core issue. Compared to the real point, Bishop Dolph's suicide note could be temporarily set aside.

"It should be... yes."

"Was your grandfather's temper truly that terrible? The Foerschers were practically a hereditary Chief Bishop family in York City back then, and just like that, they were ruined by a single curse from your grandfather?"

"I thought my grandfather was very kind."

"Oh, apologies, a slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue.

Then, you suspect Dolph actually suffered the same fate as Philomena?

To a certain extent, the curse endured by the Naton family was also one of the curses your grandfather inflicted upon the Foerscher family?

No, to be precise, it should be a form of infection and transition."

"I suppose so."

There was no reason for the memory imprint preserved within the silver mask to deceive him, because this mask had always remained in his grandfather's hands, passed down to him only after his grandfather entered his slumber.

Diss had no reason to plant false memory images inside to blacken his own image.

"So what exactly did the Foerscher family do back then to draw such vengeance from your grandfather?"

"I do not know. Before I came to Wien, I did not even know the Foerscher family existed."

"Before you came to Wien, there were plenty of things you did not know." Neo exhaled a long breath. "If Philomena ever found out that the person responsible for her family's condition was your grandfather, what would she think?"

"I am not sure."

"If I were her, I would stand by your side even more firmly. Because you are your grandfather's grandson, the possibility of breaking the curse must lie with you."

"I do not wish to consider these things just yet."

"But you will have to face it eventually. Damn it, I find myself admiring your grandfather more and more. For a man to live a life like your grandfather's—that is truly a life not lived in vain."

"He suffers deeply, and has done so ever since the tragedy befell my parents."

"I don't need you to remind me," Neo said, tapping his chest. "I can feel it."

Karen froze for a moment, then quickly replied, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. There's no need for such civility between us. Poke at the wound all you like."

"That wasn't my intention."

"But have you noticed it? A fascinating coincidence. You might not have perceived it yet, but from my perspective as an outsider, it struck me immediately."

"What coincidence?"

"The curse of your grandfather."

"What?"

"The Felsher family, at the very peak of their prosperity, suddenly saw their members die off in a single day, many while still holding office. In the end, only Madame Felsher—Philomena's grandmother—was left."

"And her father."

"What difference is there between her father being alive or dead?"

"True."

"Now, aren't Madame Felsher and her granddaughter Philomena on the verge of facing their sharpest conflict? Because each wishes to step over the other to reach the shore.

Though from Philomena's perspective, her grandmother views her as the hope for 'rebirth,' I doubt Philomena is unaware that once she triumphs, she will inherit everything her grandmother possesses.

Oh no, not just her grandmother's, but also that of her deceased lineage.

Then consider the Naughton family. Their status is certainly much lower than the Felshers, but the effect Dalliss produced within them is identical. Bishop Dolph himself has actually noticed that his second son carries a curse—one that not only restricts the reproduction of the third generation, but also drains and regresses the cultivation talent of everyone else in the family.

The Naughton family was previously capable of producing a powerful entity that successfully vied for a shard of divinity, and though many underhanded, despicable means were employed, it at least proved the family's bloodline inheritance wasn't poor. Yet look at Vicolai now... reduced to this.

Just as your grandfather said, it preserves a single sliver of hope;

this curse is nothing less than one member of the family draining the blood of all the others to fatten themselves up as the sole survivor.

This entire process inevitably obliterates human morality, driving the family to mutual slaughter, drenched in blood and oppression.

So,

have you thought of it,

do you realize anything,

does this not seem remarkably similar to a certain place?"

Karen's voice suddenly began to tremble

as he asked,

"Similar to where?"

Neo stared into Karen's eyes,

delivering each syllable with deliberate weight:

"The characteristic of the Immels family's belief system... plunder!"