Chapter 275: Retaliation!

Nio sat down on the beach. The waves lapped over his boots again and again, only to retreat again and again, cycling endlessly, tireless.

"Heh... heh..." He first began laughing, the sound broken and intermittent, continuing for a very long time.

Perhaps the most laughable thing in this world was not even knowing what one was laughing about.

When Nio raised his head again and looked at the Darkmoon in the sky, his smile gradually faded. In his eyes, what slowly appeared was a deep indifference.

Karon was not present. If he were, he would probably feel that the captain he had first gotten to know seemed to have returned at this moment.

Nio opened his left hand. Holding a dagger in his right, he cut a wound across his palm. He continued sitting in place, allowing his injured hand to rest casually on his knee as blood dripped from it.

The blood did not seep down, but instead gathered into a small puddle on the sand.

Gradually, the blood began to condense into an aged face which looked up at Nio.

The old face revealed an expression between laughter and tears. "He left, and you immediately summon me?"

Nio did not respond. His gaze shifted out to the sea.

The wrinkled face continued, "This sort of bloodline ritual for summoning an ancestor will cause great damage to the quality of your bloodline. You cannot be so careless, so wasteful."

Nio still said nothing.

"He left, so he left. He never existed to begin with."

Hearing this, Nio finally turned back to look down at the old face.

"You know what I am saying is true. That night, in your dream, did you not tell me that you found an excellent psychologist in a café? His explanation of you has always been very reasonable.

"Nio, to prevent yourself from being assimilated by him, you went from one extreme to the other."

"He is not me."

"But he is you," the old face declared with absolute certainty. "You possess my bloodline. Because of the Light ritual, your connection with me has deepened and strengthened. Although you are not someone born from the Anavas lineage, what lies within you conforms to the spirit of my Anavas family. You are more suited to inherit my will than my own blood descendants.

"In fact, I need to thank him, because without him, I may not have been able to communicate with you to this degree.

"The truth is that I am the only independent consciousness within your bloodline. Although my main body has already been sealed and isolated, and my memories are already fragmented, although I do not even know where my main body is now, nor who sealed me... the Bloodfiend within you clearly exists, so I clearly exist as well.

"And he does not.

"Nio, if you feel lonely, you may give me the place he left empty. Perhaps I can replace him, so you will not feel uncomfortable because of his departure."

"Dream on."

The old face was rejected bluntly, but it did not become angry. Instead, it smiled. "See? You can accept him occupying that place in your heart, yet you are unwilling to make a seat for me. The reason is very clear: you were assimilated by him. It is only that you were replaced by another version of you who believes in Light. Like the front and back of the same coin. Whether front or back, both belong to the same coin.

"But I am not the same. You know very clearly that once you are assimilated by me, I, Anavas, will use the bloodline of my descendants to replace the body and life of my descendant, obtaining a rebirth.

"You and I do not belong to the same coin. He does. You have always known this in your heart, have you not?"

Nio fell into silence again.

The wrinkled face was somewhat helpless. Nio had paid the price of lowering his bloodline’s purity to summon him, yet was now refusing to speak at all. This behavior was truly willful.

"Or perhaps you can fully open your memories to me. Perhaps I can help you more. For instance, I am very interested in that subordinate of yours named Karon. Instinct tells me you have hidden many things about him from me. At least in this treatment, let me be equal to him, all right?"

"You are not worthy."

"Sigh..." The old face could not even bring itself to be angry. "You have not had it easy either. If it were anyone else, with both me and him poured into their body, they would have either gone mad or been assimilated, yet you have still managed to preserve yourself.

"But I still must say, he does not exist. He truly does not exist. What he left in your body was only a morsel of memory. He was never an independent consciousness. You have always been competing with another version of yourself.

"Do you think the one who gave up vengeance was him?

"No. It was you, Nio. The one who gave up vengeance was you. You awakened Torathos. You ordered Torathos to advance toward the town. You signaled Torathos to reveal its death and decay. But at the same time, it was you who made it stop and finally give up vengeance.

"Phileas, from beginning to end, did not exist. He did not exist!

"He gave up vengeance not because of Light, but because that was the choice of another you. Could you truly let Torathos crush through the town? Could you truly let Torathos self-destruct and completely contaminate Darkmoon Island?

"No, you would not. Your identity, your position, would not allow you to do so.

"So Phileas choosing to give up vengeance was actually always you correcting your own extremity. You raised the torch, but did not wish to ignite the firewood before you, so you invented a beautiful reason for yourself and gave up vengeance.

“Heh. This was always only a game that you played alone."

A disdainful smile appeared at the corner of Nio’s mouth. Seeing this, the face continued, "You should trust my understanding. Although the current me is like a piece of broken wood floating on the sea, I have seen far too many storms.

"I hope you can wake up, Nio. He does not exist. Now that he has gone, you can return to your original state.

"Perhaps this was your plan to begin with, was it not? To use the most extreme emotion to draw out that nonexistent him, then use the most suitable reason to send that nonexistent him away.

"Because although he does not exist objectively, subjectively, he truly affected you. Torathos was controlled by you. Of course, as a divine beast of Light, it may indeed have been kind by nature."

"What about the others on its back?"

"Those were merely illusions you created yourself. While deceiving yourself, you were also deceiving others. Nio, all of this was a play you directed and performed alone. He does not exist."

"He exists."

"Unfortunately, our argument cannot produce a result, nor can it be proven. We can only wait for you to wake up. I believe it will not take you long to come out of it."

"No. It can be proven."

"How?"

"Snake Island."

***

There were only a few lowest-ranking guards inside the Palace of Remembrance. They wore uniforms instead of armor, with only a single crescent moon printed on them. Their usual work was maintaining street security. They were practically ordinary people. Any warrior with even slightly presentable strength had long since been gathered and added to the army that had been sent to stop Torathos.

Dealing with these temporary guards was very simple. One Light Art, and they were stunned.

Karon arrived at the coffin. The Sea God's Armor covered his body. With his enhanced strength, he slowly pushed open the coffin lid.

The one lying within it was Bernard. His corpse was very well preserved, with no signs of decay at all. His appearance differed greatly from the statues and portraits found everywhere on Darkmoon Island, because those sculptures and paintings basically depicted Bernard in middle age. The Bernard inside the coffin already had half-white hair.

The traces of age could be seen, yet he did not appear old. This was an old man who had maintained himself very well in life and who had been quite particular about his own refinement.

He wore an aristocratic Darkmoon robe with a full moon embroidered on the chest. On his head was a Darkmoon crown cap. Around his neck hung a string of pearls. His left hand held a scepter, his right hand grasped a short sword, and tied at his waist was the blue Covenant Conch.

Anything that could be buried in Bernard’s coffin was undoubtedly good, but Karon chose to ignore it all.

It was not that he did not want to take them, nor that he did not desire them. Rather, he very clearly understood that while he could carry these holy relics away from the coffin, afterward, his location would very likely be sensed because of them.

At this moment, the attention of everyone on Darkmoon Island was focused on Torathos. Once the turtle left and the threat was gone, people would immediately discover that their ancestor’s corpse was missing. After that, they would certainly concentrate their forces to investigate this matter. They might even request the Church of Order’s assistance.

These buried holy relics could not be studied or sealed in time. With only a bit of effort, others would be able to sense them. Taking them would only bring great trouble down upon Karon.

Most importantly, his primary goal was Bernard himself. He did not intend to simply set a fire and burn Bernard’s corpse. That would be far too easy for Bernard.

Karon needed to find a quiet place where he would not be disturbed and where he could take his time.

Karon removed his priest’s robe, then also stripped the luxurious robe from Bernard’s body. Afterward, he wrapped the corpse in his own Order robe and carried the corpse on a shoulder.

He then hesitated, feeling that this arrangement did not look very good. While he was carrying a dead man, he did not want outsiders to see that he was carrying a dead man.

In the end, Karon gripped both of Bernard’s arms and carried him on his back.

His body transformed into black mist. He left the Palace of Remembrance, remanifesting after reaching the road. He let out a long breath, then continued carrying Bernard towards Bernard Hotel.

Along the way, he encountered some Order priests and Darkmoon warriors who were withdrawing from the front. Quite a few of them even greeted him, asking if he needed any help. Karon responded to each in turn, saying that his companion was only mildly injured and had lost consciousness, but that it was not a major problem.

Halfway to the hotel, Karon encountered a carriage and stopped it. The compartment was stuffed with quite a number of things. The driver should have been fleeing the earlier disaster, but was returning at just the right time.

A carriage was much more convenient. When they reached the hotel’s gate, the driver stopped the carriage.

"Go in," Karon ordered.

"That- my lord, outside carriages are not allowed into the hotel."

"I told you to go in."

The driver could only continue urging the unicorn forward, pulling the carriage ahead. There were far fewer guards at the entrance than usual, with only four or five men in uniforms with a single crescent moon. Seeing an outside carriage about to enter, they stepped forward to block it.

Karon opened the door and leaned out, shouting at them, "My companion is injured and unconscious. Move aside!"

"Yes, yes, my lord."

"Yes, my lord."

The carriage was allowed through. At Karon’s direction, the driver drove to his courtyard.

Karon put Bernard on his back again and stepped down from the carriage. The driver hurriedly said, "My lord, goodbye. No fare needed. Thank you for protecting Darkmoon Island."

"I wasn’t the one protecting you."

"Yes, yes, thank you to the great Church of Order."

"Not the Church of Order either."

"Uh... then who was it?"

"They probably don’t care about your thanks."

Torathos’s final halt had earned Karon’s sincere respect, though if the same matter had been placed upon him, he would not have been able to show such mercy. This was probably due to a difference in faith.

However, Phileas had indeed allowed Karon to witness what true Light was, and it was entirely different from the Light vermin he had come into contact with before. Those had been true believers of Light.

Since the believer in Light had already chosen his way to follow Light, then next, it was time for Karon to use Order’s way to uphold Order.

"You may leave."

The driver looked puzzled, but could only turn the unicorn around and head toward the hotel gate. Inside the carriage, Karon had left one hundred Order credits as the fare.

The courtyard was very quiet. At this time, although Torathos had already turned around, the various personnel had not yet returned to their quarters. Still, that was not to say that there was no one in the courtyard. Some people, even if present, would not disturb the quiet.

For instance, Memphis was currently sitting beside the small pond at the center of the courtyard. This man was also known as Karon’s uncle, Eisen.

He had been sent to the Palace of Remembrance by the captain to help instigate the earlier conflict. After the conflict had erupted, Eisen had remained hidden for a while longer. Then, according to the captain’s original orders, the man had returned to the hotel. Because of this, he had missed the Whip of Order summons.

In truth, the efficiency at which Nio’s squad had gathered had been quite pathetic this time. Their captain had been absent, as had Karon and Memphis. The three strongest members of the squad had all been absent.

Still, the problem was not very serious, because Archbishop Wolfram leaned towards a civilian administrative role. He would not lead a team to set up ritual arrays or prepare a charge. Once the Whip squads gathered, they had been immediately assigned to various bishops to work under them. Nio’s squad would not attract any attention due to their failure to gather all of their members.

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

Karon did not answer. He carried Bernard straight to his room. After that, he threw the corpse onto the captain’s bed.

Eisen followed Karon in, holding a magic scroll and preparing to cast a healing Art.

Karon did not stop him. He simply washed his hands, and then poured himself a large cup of ice water and drank several large mouthfuls.

Eisen turned Bernard’s body over and saw the man’s face. With that, he stopped moving.

After a long while, he turned to look at Karon, and then upwards to the portrait of Bernard that hung in practically every room of the hotel. After that, Eisen looked back at the person lying on the bed.

Karon said, "That is him."

Eisen nodded, then pushed Bernard further across the bed, covering him with the blanket before sitting down on the bed.

Karon said, "Torathos has retreated. By now, it should be almost at sea."

"I saw it from the courtyard."

"I reached an agreement with the person controlling Torathos. I will help him to take vengeance on Bernard, and he won’t let Torathos destroy the town. What do you think?"

"It is reasonable."

"So next, I need your help."

"Please tell me."

"Help me activate a teleportation array."

"All right."

Karon felt that communicating with this uncle of his was always very simple. He only needed to give the man an appropriate reason, and then state what needed to be done.

"I'll change into a priest’s robe now. Go prepare a carriage from the hotel. We leave as soon as possible. There should be no one guarding our destination right now, so we can use the teleportation array right away."

"Understood."

Karon took his clothes and entered the washroom. After taking everything off, he turned on the shower and thoroughly rinsed himself. It was not that he was deliberately obsessed with cleanliness, but the thought of having carried Bernard made him want to wash.

After a quick rinse, Karon began wiping himself down.

At that moment, Richard’s excited voice came from the room. "Oh, Karon, you’re actually still sleeping? Do you have any idea what kind of spectacle you missed today?"

Karon finished dressing and walked out of the washroom. He saw Richard lying on the bed, affectionately hugging Bernard.

"..." Richard.

He blinked, then immediately turned around and lifted the blanket. He turned the person over, and upon seeing the face, Richard immediately turned to look at Karon, then up at the portrait on the wall.

They are indeed father and son. The entire series of movements is exactly the same.

"This- that- no..." Richard was so shocked he could barely speak properly.

Eisen opened the door, looked at Karon, and announced, "The carriage is ready."

Karon pointed at Richard and said, "Pick him up. Come with us."

"Oh, all right."

With the father, Karon still needed to offer a reason, but with Richard, Karon did not even need that much.

Richard carried Bernard on his back and climbed into the carriage. Eisen rode outside, while Karon and Richard sat inside.

Richard was still carefully studying Bernard. "Is this really Bernard’s corpse?"

"Mhmm. I pulled him out of his coffin."

"Why did take him out?"

"Adults’ business. Children shouldn’t ask."

"All right." Richard nodded. His mind was still somewhat dazed.

The carriage arrived at Tafmann’s villa. Richard still carried Bernard’s corpse down from the carriage. There was not a single person at the villa. The guards had long since been transferred, and the servants had fled, seeking refuge, and had not yet returned.

Karon led them to the master bedroom on the third floor and pointed at the enormous chandelier above. "The ritual array switch is up there."

"All right." Eisen turned into a mass of black mist and arrived at the ceiling. After fixing his position, he began adjusting the chandelier, only to very quickly descend again.

Karon was somewhat surprised. "So fast?"

"Because they were basically all in the correct position already. No adjustments were needed."

Did Darkmoon Island’s people study the ritual array since last time and simplify the switch?

No matter.

"Initiate the teleportation," Karon said.

Eisen activated the array. White light appeared from the floor, and three people plus one corpse vanished from where they stood.

When he opened his eyes again, Karon had arrived before that stone tablet. "Richard, put down the corpse."

"Oh, all right." Richard carefully placed Bernard on the ground.

Seeing this, Karon said, "Pick him upagain."

"Oh, all right." Richard carried Bernard again.

“Drop him. Hard.”

"..." Richard.

Thud! Richard threw Bernard’s corpse directly onto the ground. Face down.

Karon’s eyes went to the corpse pit before him. He intended to select a few audience members, the main one being Genevieve. She had once been Pu’er’s good friend, and Karon would Awaken her later as well, so she could attend the ceremony.

However, when Karon’s gaze swept over the corpses before him one by one, shock and confusion appeared on his face. He turned to Eisen, standing beside him, "Mr. Memphis, can you sense spirituality in these bodies?"

"The corpses have probably been stored for too long. The spirituality in them has long since dissipated."

"No. When I was here just a few days ago, there was still spirituality in them." Karon could confirm this. It counted as a sort of professional habit for him. Priests of the Church of Order more or less had this professional habit, while Karon himself was even more sensitive to it.

"Then... someone purified them? But I cannot sense any residual purification aura. To purify this many corpses, and for it to be this clean after just a few days, is impossible."

Karon suddenly said, "I understand."

He then lightly patted his own forehead in disbelief. Shouldn’t it have been the captain’s own split personality?

But the fact before his eyes showed otherwise. "...They really did set off on a new voyage."