Chapter 71: One Day Left

Chapter 71 One More Day

That night at the Hughes Crematorium, Karen sat in the chair, gesturing for his grandfather to bind him to fabricate the illusion of being a victim and escape subsequent trouble from the police.

Diss, however, picked up a knife and plunged it directly into Karen's chest.

Though the blade missed any vital organs, it left Karen bedridden in the hospital for many days.

At first, Karen assumed his grandfather believed this was necessary to make the scene realistic and avert all following scrutiny and complication.

When that hook-nosed man, clearly an operative from a special government department, arrived in his ward to question him, Karen figured his grandfather had done it to evade the eyes of these people, who were, after all, the regulators.

Yet after that night of slaughter,

Karen suddenly realized a flaw in that logic: his grandfather did not care about the police, let any special government department, at all.

He had no need to put on a show whatsoever,

So,

why did he stab him that night?

It was a doubt Karen never voiced, deemed unnecessary to ask.

If an elder dropped a child while playing, causing a small scrape, could one truly hold a grudge over a bit of broken skin?

Furthermore,

Karen suspected Diss’s arrangement at the time was for him to remain a "blandly obedient" ordinary person within the Inmerice family, making a clean cover imperative.

But,

until this very moment,

the true purpose of that stabbing finally revealed itself!

Sometimes,

it was genuinely difficult to comprehend, or even imagine,

that an old man could weave such profound, meticulous preparations for you,

merely for that single utterance... "Grandfather."

...

Oak Cemetery,

the black barrier.

Diss withdrew his hand from the dark void in his own chest, clutching a mass of black mist within his palm.

"I swear in the name of Renedal, if you spare me now, I shall grant you and your lineage a hundredfold, a thousandfold reward."

Diss offered no reply at all, his form descending slowly until he landed before Hopen and the golden retriever.

"You are facing your greatest crisis, and casting me aside is your most correct choice. I, Renedal, have always kept my vows and faith."

Mr. Hopen stared curiously at the grey mass, the loose skin hanging upon his excited face tightening upward as if he were a master chef beholding the rarest, most precious ingredient of his lifetime.

"I can forge an alliance with the Inmerice family, and should you survive this ordeal, I will grant you the signposts to the path of godhood."

Diss looked toward Hopen, who gave a firm nod.

This grey mass was set down before Diss, the gold beneath his eyes radiating a genuine divine majesty that gradually traced the grey edges with a thread of gold.

Diss asked:

"What is... your name."

"Renedal, my name once echoed through the previous era!"

"No, that is not your name."

"Not my name?"

"Your name is... Kevin."

The moment the words fell,

Diss slammed the grey mass directly into the body of the golden retriever before him.

Mr. Hopen immediately activated the array, and the retriever flared with a prism of seven-colored light that reached a brilliant peak before vanishing into nothingness.

The golden retriever, which had previously foamed at the mouth and nearly fainted from sheer terror, lazily opened its eyes, scanning the surroundings. Sensing the scene remained just as terrifying, it promptly shut its eyes, forcing a couple of coughs from its throat to try and squeeze out a bit more foam.

Alfred stared with wide eyes, witnessing the spectacle.

Even though he saw it with his own eyes,

even though he took part in it himself,

until this very moment, he still felt a profound sense of unreality.

An evil god, sealed just like that?

And... sealed into the body of a dog.

At that moment,

numerous pillars of light arrived upon the scene.

Descending first were three elders of the Order of Order, while four other pillars of light lingered on the periphery.

The barrier opened, and Diss soared upward once more.

The gold remained in his eyes, yet he exercised constant restraint; one foot had already stepped across, while the other remained outside, though he now possessed a tangible, existing divinity.

The attention of the seven entities present fell entirely upon Diss, for his reaction would dictate their next moves.

Diss faced the pillar of light belonging to the Church of Samsara,

demanding:

"Does the Church of Samsara wish to question whether my Church of Order still possesses the qualification to represent order?"

Following Diss's interrogation, the entity within the Samsara pillar was visibly stunned.

Right at this moment,

Sidi stepped directly before the entity within the pillar of the Church of the Night:

"Does the Church of the Night wish to question whether my Church of Order still possesses the qualification to represent order?"

Niven stepped before the entity within the pillar of the Church of Principles:

"Does the Church of Principles wish to question whether my Church of Order still possesses the qualification to represent order?"

Geller stepped before the entity within the pillar of the Church of the Abyss:

"Does the Church of the Abyss wish to question whether my Church of Order still possesses the qualification to represent order?"

At this very moment,

the four entities within the four pillars of light were undeniably astonished.

They had received word that an elder-level figure of the Church of Order had chosen self-exile and was about to break with the Church, yet the scene before them bore not the slightest resemblance to a schism.

The problem was, after making extensive inquiries through their respective churches, they had confirmed that the piece of news was absolutely true!

So, the internal negotiations within the Church of Order have concluded?

“The Church of Samsara respects the right of the Church of Order to maintain order.”

“The Church of the Dark Night acknowledges the capacity of the Church of Order to sustain order.”

“The Church of Principles thanks the Church of Order for its dedication to order.”

“The Church of the Abyss agrees with the rules of the Church of Order to continue governing order.”

When the so-called rupture ceased to exist, they also lost their chance to intervene.

For in this present age, no church dared to completely tear away the veil of civility and declare open war when facing the Church of Order alone.

Even if they allied together, it would be impossible, because they could never truly unite; to make the god they worshiped the sole deity was the ultimate pursuit and goal of every church.

Most importantly, the Church of Order had always maintained order, and though it had forcefully demanded many privileges, forcing the other major churches to take a step back, its path was completely different from that of the former Church of Light.

This also meant that the other churches lacked the fundamental motivation to unite for the sole purpose of targeting the Church of Order.

Four pillars of light, one after another, sped away into the distance.

They came,

And then,

They left again.

“Diss, return with us to the Church of Order and accept the seat of an elder, achieving your supremacy; at the same time, the brilliance of Order will shine upon your family,” Geller spoke to Diss.

Diss did not respond, his figure descending once more, his feet treading upon the muddy soil of the cemetery.

Inside the cemetery were Alfred, old Hoffen, and a dog.

Because Diss had previously used a barrier to isolate the area, what had just occurred within the barrier could not be perceived by the outside world.

As for that evil god, he was already unseen, and at this moment, he was further sealed inside a dog's body, which was equivalent to adding another barrier, making him naturally even less visible.

“Diss, you should know well the consequences of flouting the Temple of Order.”

Siti's figure appeared before Diss, blocking his path.

Diss paid no heed to this high-and-mighty temple elder; the gold within his eyes faded entirely at this moment, and his aura plummeted at an extreme speed, until finally, it remained only at the level of a basic inquisitor of the Church of Order.

Which meant,

Now Siti could easily crush the Diss before her with a single finger, yet her face remained entirely stiff.

Diss bypassed her, walking past, and she merely stood there without moving.

Although her temper was notoriously explosive before entering the temple as an elder, and she had not restrained it in the slightest after entering the temple, she was someone who prioritized the greater good.

The Church of Order needed Diss.

Unless Diss truly expressed a clear stance of defection, even if she shouted loudly with her mouth, she still could not bear... no, she was reluctant to erase this newly ascended elder just like that.

This was a loss for the Temple of Order, and even more so, a loss for Order.

What angered her was that Diss had clearly seen through her mindset, which was why he was so... unscrupulous.

In particular, although Diss was an old man, in her eyes, he was still a junior; her true age was actually very advanced, and Lasma, in their eyes, seemed more like a child.

No respect for the Church of Order, and no respect for the elderly!

Siti's eyes filled with a surge of anger, and she turned to look at Diss's retreating back:

“The temple will not choose to indulge you forever; the rules of Order will not allow the existence of dust.”

Diss did not look back,

He merely raised his hand and waved it:

“There are still two days.”

Seeming to realize that midnight had already passed,

Diss corrected himself:

“There is still one day.”

Geller spoke up:

“This is the date you gave, and it is also our deadline; we can continue to wait, wait until Sunday.”

Diss replied:

“It is the afternoon.”

Because in the morning, he needed to lead the believers in the church for service.

Three pillars of light pulled up into the sky and vanished.

“Siti, did you see that? He wasn't breaking through his realm; he has actually been familiar with this domain for a long time, he just deliberately kept

This must be a dream.

Karen let out a soft sigh,

and said,

"I really wanted to make an effort, but I truly cannot bring myself to utter the words 'Father' and 'Mother'.

I am also deeply sorry for seizing your son's body, for taking his name, his identity, and, well, for taking his family too."

When facing the elders like Mason, Mary, and Winnie, Karen felt no psychological burden; their interactions and contact were perfectly normal.

Yet, when confronting these two,

an uncontrollable wave of guilt surged within his heart.

Because the very body he inhabited belonged to their son.

"You do not need to call me father," the man said, "nor have I ever regarded you as my son."

The woman spoke next: "I once tried, but I failed. You are not my son."

Karen rested his hands behind his head,

shifting himself as best he could into a more comfortable posture to lie down,

and said,

"I see."

In truth, the postures of all three were quite casual, and all quite comfortable.

The man spoke again: "In my eyes, you are very much like Mason and Winnie, like another younger brother of mine."

The woman added: "Though I have no way of looking at you as my son, seeing my 'son' able to go on living brings a profound sense of solace to my heart."

Karen's mind began to analyze the deeper meaning behind their words, trying to decipher their inner thoughts.

Though this dream was likely a mere projection of his own subconscious, it was a professional habit of his—and at this moment, the only thing he could do.

For it was impossible for him to climb up, take his "father's" hand and then his "mother's" hand, and call out in imitation of a real son:

"Father, Mother, shall we fly a kite together just like when I was little?"

The man's surname was Inmeles, so he regarded Karen as family.

Though the woman had taken her husband's name, her attachment to the Inmeles family was surely not as profound as her husband's; her mindset resembled that of a parent who had donated her child's organs, perhaps finding a shred of comfort in the thought that, though her child had departed, they were still "shining bright" in this world.

Except, for the woman, she had donated her son from head to toe, and then, the recipient had appeared before her once more, inheriting her son's organs in a perfectly whole and complete form.

The three of them fell silent, just lying there.

Feeling the breeze,

basking in the sun,

listening to the distant murmur of the flowing stream.

Until,

the wind began to die down, the sun began to dim, and the running water began to slow.

Karen spoke up:

"Is there anything I can do for the two of you?"

This was a question asked from the bottom of his heart, devoid of the slightest affectation or polite pretense; in both sentiment and reason, Karen owed them.

The man replied: "It is enough that you live a good life."

The woman then supplemented: "And try, as much as possible, to live happily."

As their words fell away,

the dream began to shatter,

and Karen opened his eyes to find himself asleep in the chair within Diss's study, the candlestick before him long since extinguished.

His hand instinctively moved first to his chest, where a scar resided; the old wound had healed long ago, and his touch revealed no black hole existed there.

Then, Karen stood up, his joints aching slightly all over, his throat parched with a fierce thirst.

He first picked up the thermos beside the desk, only to find it empty, then opened Diss's teacup, which held nothing but dregs.

Karen could only push open the study door and step outside.

Pu'er was crouching on the windowsill; when Karen emerged, the cat remained unmoved, for its gaze was fixed entirely upon the courtyard gate.

Diss was walking back, leading that foolish golden retriever.

"Phew... Diss has returned safely."

Pu'er exhaled a long breath, the heavy stone hanging in its heart... dropping only halfway before snapping right back up to the cat's throat.

It immediately stood up,

lowering its head,

its feline eyes staring dead at the golden retriever Diss had brought back.

Karen saw Pu'er's body instantly tense upon the windowsill, even its fur seeming to stand on end.

"That foolish dog... what is going on with it!"

"What is wrong with you?"

Karen habitually reached out to stroke Pu'er's head.

In its highly agitated state, Pu'er directly unsheathed its claws and swiped downward.

"Hiss..."

Three bloody claw marks were scratched onto the back of Karen's hand.

"Oh, heavens, heavens!"

Pu'er shrieked:

"I am sorry, so sorry, my dear Karen, Karen, I have wronged you, I did not mean to, I was just spacing out for a moment."

Pu'er immediately lunged forward, extending its tongue to help lick the wound on the back of Karen's hand, while also deliberately wagging its tail gently, brushing it softly back and forth against Karen's arm.

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, it won't hurt after a lick, my poor little Karen, cat-cat loves you."

Karen did not grow angry over the few small bloody scratches Pu'er had left on his hand; instead, he felt rather perplexed by Pu'er's current sycophancy:

"What has come over you today?"

"What do you mean what has come over me, my dear little Karen."

"You are a bit strange today."

"How am I strange? Haven't I always been like this? Don't worry, you will get used to it in the future. I am a gentle cat possessed of a century of aristocratic upbringing; you will discover more of my tenderness in the days to come, trust me."

Karen withdrew his hand and said, "I am going downstairs to pour a cup of water."

"No need, no need, I will go wake Lunt up and have him come out to pour water for you."

Just then,

Disce walked up the stairs, and Karen saw his grandfather leading that golden retriever by his hand.

"Grandfather, you went out to walk the dog so early in the morning?"

"Mm," Disce grunted in response, stepping up to Karen and holding out the leash. "Take it."

Karen reached out and took the leash from him.

The golden retriever immediately pressed close, gently nudging its head against the leg of Karen's trousers.

Beside them, Purr wore a solemn expression on her feline face.

Disce pointed at the golden retriever,

and said,

"Take this golden retriever with you to Wien as well, though it won't be of much use."