Who hid my body?

Chapter 344 "Only the three of us are left"

……what does that mean?
"Do you think the Land of Contracts will force you to hand over the remaining body parts?" Mina asked.

“The word ‘coercion’ is used very accurately.”

“But would they really dare to do that?” Mina said. “With your strength and status, there is almost no one in this world who can surpass you, not even in the Land of Contracts…”

“Definitely.” Isaiah calmly interrupted Mina. “In this world, everyone is a servant of God. In the eyes of the gods, you and I are no different. Therefore, no one can defy the will of God, and Vessus’s power is the gods’ Achilles’ heel. They will allow some of their servants to possess one or two pieces of the corpse, and they are even happy to see this, because it means to some extent that Vessus’s legacy is still under their control. But they will absolutely not want to see one person possess multiple pieces of the corpse.”

Mina asked instinctively, "Why is that?"

"For to this day, they still fear Vessas."

Mina opened her mouth wide, momentarily speechless.

Isaiah put his hands behind his back and slowly walked forward. Mina quickly followed, feeling as if she had returned to decades ago, to the days when she had just started studying under Isaiah. Only, back then Isaiah spoke of knowledge, while now he spoke of "taboos," absolute blasphemy.

The gods, beings that transcend all mortal existence, actually felt fear, and what they feared was a creature that had been dead for over a thousand years...?
To this day, no one knows what Visas really is.

He cannot be human, for humans cannot contend with gods. And He cannot be a god either, but rather more like... a superior being among the gods?
Mina was startled by her own thoughts, and then quickly prayed in her heart for the forgiveness of the Lord of the Stars.

“If it weren’t for the fact that Vesas’s remains were indestructible, then what the gods would most want to do is erase all traces of Vesas’s existence,” Isaiah said slowly. “Of course, they did do a lot of work in this regard, so many things cannot be found in history books and can only be inferred from their series of arrangements from the past to the present.”

"So you've deduced that the gods still fear Vessus?" Mina couldn't help but lower her voice as well.

“Of course, it’s not difficult,” Isaiah said. “From the land of covenants that has been hidden for a thousand years, to the ultimate weapon, the Voice of Heaven, and to that forbidden scholar who recently terrified many churches, their existence is all related to the power of Vessas. And what do you think is the reason that a guy who has been dead for a thousand years is still so feared by the gods?”

"...Because what He did was too horrifying?" Mina asked.

Mina had expected Isaiah to give an immediate answer, just like before. But to her surprise, Isaiah remained silent for a long time before finally saying softly, "If only it were just like that."

"……teacher?"

"Alright, let's leave this topic at that." Isaiah firmly stopped the conversation from continuing. "Vesas's situation has nothing to do with my current predicament."

Mina noticed that Isaiah was deliberately avoiding the topic, but she wasn't surprised. After all, the last guy who was so interested in everything about Vessas was the forbidden scholar who was being chased by several major churches. Mina guessed that Isaiah didn't want to fall into the forbidden realm himself, so she turned her thoughts back to the previous topic.

“The Land of Contracts will surely force you to hand over the body parts,” Mina said. “But you didn’t… no, you only had that finger. Why don’t you hand over that finger?”

As soon as she asked the question, Mina realized how foolish she had been.

“Handing over the fingers confirms that the guy I fought was Uru,” Isaiah explained. “It also confirms that I kept those so-called ‘unretrievable body parts’ to myself.”

Mina pursed her lips: "So if we don't hand it over, they won't think that way?"

“Of course they could, but they can’t confirm it.” Isaiah glanced at Mina. “If I insist that the person I fought wasn’t Uru.”

At this point, Mina finally understood why Isaiah had previously denied the other party's identity.

If the person fighting Isaiah is not Uru, but some madman of unknown origin, then it's normal that he doesn't have any body parts, since the other party himself doesn't have any body parts.

At least logically, this is absolutely justifiable.

“No wonder you hid your finger,” Mina said. “Indeed, once you hand it over, there’s no way to explain it.”

Mina also figured it out: as long as Isaiah didn't admit that the person he was fighting was Uru, then the Land of Covenants and the other major churches wouldn't be able to really drive Isaiah to the brink, since Isaiah's identity was still there.

but……

"Will they let this go?" Mina asked worriedly.

“Of course not,” Isaiah said calmly. “They will use all sorts of methods to prove that the person is Uru. If they really can’t find any flaws no matter what, it’s not impossible that someone might take their own life.”

At this point, Isaiah stopped and turned to look in the direction of the Covenant Land.

"After all, even I cannot defy the will of Heaven," he said softly.
"Isn't this a dead end?" Mina panicked even more. "What should we do?"

Seeing that Mina used "we" instead of "you," Isaiah's expression softened somewhat.

“The best way is to let them know that Uru is still alive,” Isaiah said. “It’s the simplest and most effective way, but I don’t think that guy would go to such lengths to scheme against me and then so easily slip up. So I can’t expect him to self-destruct.”

"Is there any other way?" Mina felt utterly helpless, unable to do anything but ask Isaiah what to do.

Isaiah, however, did not seem to care. He simply said, "Of course, this is far from a dead end. It's like some seemingly complicated problems; once you break them down, they become much simpler."

"what do you mean?"

“Let’s ignore the Pact Grounds for now,” Isaiah said. “As I said before, as long as I insist that the person I’m fighting isn’t Uru, they won’t be able to do anything to me in a short time. So what I need to do is concentrate all my strength on dealing with that really troublesome guy.”

"...Uru?"

“Who knows,” Isaiah said softly. “Uru, hand and eye, or tongue. I still don’t know who he really is, but I have to admit that he will be the most powerful and troublesome enemy I have ever encountered in my life.”

Mina had never seen her teacher value someone so much, and for a moment she didn't know how to react. After thinking for a while, she asked, "But how exactly did he do that?"

“That’s the crux of the matter,” Isaiah said. “The most direct reason he was able to push me to this point is that he can do something none of us can: the extent to which he can exploit Paradise. Before this, I always thought Paradise was a place that treated every body part holder equally, but now it seems that’s not the case—Paradise favors him exceptionally.”

"Is it because there were enough pieces of his body?" Mina asked. "So, a quantitative change led to a qualitative change?"

“If it’s not for that reason, then we can only assume that he is Vesas himself,” Isaiah said calmly.

It seems that's indeed the reason.

"The information we've always had is that with two body parts, he begins to open and reject the Paradise, but with three or more, we know nothing," Isaiah continued. "So it's even less likely that we'd know what he could do with five body parts at the same time."

Five body parts...

Upon hearing this quantifier, Mina felt an indescribable pressure.

After all, Isaiah rose above all living beings with only one piece of his body, while the person he was to deal with had five pieces of his body. It would be surprising if he did something like that.

So is there really anyone who can stop him? Mina couldn't help but wonder.

Isaiah, having guessed Mina's thoughts, said calmly, "Calm down and don't panic. You must understand that he is not the real Vesas. If he truly possessed power that surpassed everything, he wouldn't need to make such a plan."

"what do you mean……"

“The fact that he went to such lengths to scheme against me only shows that he is not that powerful, or that he is unable to do so for some reason,” Isaiah said. “Otherwise, he could have just killed me and taken this eye, instead of framing me for the price of a finger.”

"Could he be trying to evade Heaven's obedience?" Mina asked. "Is he really Uru himself?"

“That possibility cannot be ruled out.” Isaiah showed the middle finger again. “That’s why I left this finger behind. Now I have two pieces of the body, and according to him, I am qualified to open the Paradise.”

Hearing this, Mina's eyes gradually brightened, and her thoughts quickly began to wander: "In that case, could you seek help from the other two people in Peach Blossom Village? They are your natural allies right now."

“Theoretically, that’s true,” Isaiah said, “but I don’t think he would leave me such an obvious opening.”

“But didn’t you say this finger is real?” Mina asked. “Or is the story about the two body parts opening up Paradise on Earth a lie?”

"We'll know soon enough."

As soon as Isaiah finished speaking, Mina heard a sickening sound. She looked down and saw that her teacher had cut off his left middle finger, and blood was gushing out uncontrollably.

Mina instinctively wanted to step forward to help her teacher stop the bleeding, but seeing Isaiah's unwavering expression, she suppressed the urge and simply watched as Isaiah slowly reattached the severed middle finger to the broken end.

In the blink of an eye, the bleeding stopped, and the middle finger was perfectly reattached to Isaiah's severed finger, as naturally as if it were a natural part of his body.

Despite being somewhat prepared, Mina was still taken aback by the sight, and then quickly realized that this meant the fingers were indeed real.

"teacher……"

“Attack me with magic,” Isaiah said.

Mina was taken aback at first, but then quickly reacted and raised her hand to summon several stardust fragments.

Just as the stardust had condensed, a crisp snap of the fingers instantly made it vanish without a trace.

Mina's mouth dropped open: "This is..."

"Rule [Terminated]," Isaiah said. "Freely interrupt any spell or divine incantation."

"...Such powerful strength."

“Of course, there is no weak power in Vessas.” Isaiah chuckled. “The fact that he gave me the real thing shows that his situation is indeed dire, to the point that he is willing to use a piece of his body to divert his attention.”

Does this prove that he really is Uru?

"It's also possible that he has a bigger plan, just like fishing requires bait, this is the bait he casts."

If he uses real corpse parts as bait, what exactly is he seeking?
Mina didn't dare to think any further, and simply asked, "Then can you open Peach Blossom Spring?"

Isaiah closed his eyes and sensed it for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "Unfortunately, it won't work."

Was Peach Blossom Village really a scam? At least two pieces of body parts couldn't unlock Peach Blossom Village.

Mina was somewhat disappointed, but she noticed that her teacher did not share this sentiment, which puzzled her.

Isaiah explained, “He underestimated me. I used to have only one body part, and I was able to achieve my current status. Now I have two. Regardless of his original intentions or whether this finger is the weakest of all his rules, at least I have it firmly in my hand. When I finally find him, he will have no chance of winning. What I lost to him today, I will take back a hundredfold.”

Hearing Isaiah say this, Mina finally felt relieved after a long period of anxiety.

The confident and powerful teacher is back.

Yes, the teacher is truly the number one person under the gods, while the other party is just a nobody who dares not show his face. How could he possibly be an enemy of the teacher?
At that moment, Isaiah glanced at her again.

With just one glance, Mina felt her heart, which had just settled, suddenly pound, as if gripped by an invisible hand. The intense unease and panic froze her in place.

But this feeling only lasted for a brief moment before disappearing.

"What's wrong?" Isaiah noticed Mina's unusual behavior.

"No, it's nothing." Mina forced a smile. "I'm just a little tired."

Isaiah was still immersed in the immense power he had gained and didn't pay much attention to Mina. He simply nodded and continued walking forward, leaving Mina alone in the same spot.

Mina watched Isaiah's departing figure and recalled that look in his eyes from just now.

She didn't know why, but in that instant, she felt that the person looking into her eyes... wasn't Isaiah.

It was as if, in Isaiah's eyes, there was another person.

...It must just be my imagination.

Mina comforted herself.

But it was only then that she realized that her body was already soaked in cold sweat.

……

Bai Wei withdrew his consciousness from Isaiah's mind, then chuckled and shook his head: "That was really careless, I almost got caught. Looks like I'll have to be more careful next time."

After saying that, he activated Peach Blossom Paradise again, skillfully summoning two illusory images of his ring finger and thumb, and then spoke calmly as the eyes and hands.

"The tongue has already been killed by the right eye, now it's the three of us's turn."

"Tell me, what are you planning to do?"

(End of this chapter)