Arcanum: Chaos Path

Chapter 355 You will no longer despair, Bethel

“A little, but not much.” Amon raised his hand and pinched the monocle on his face, saying, “After all, even in the original destiny, I could not achieve final victory. Since that’s the case, why regret it?”

Amon hadn't been wasting his time; he had already found out about some of his original fates, since Rolin hadn't intended to hide anything from him.

“You’re quite open-minded. Thinking about it this way, I’m the one who’s gotten a great deal.” Bethel could tell that Amon wasn’t just making excuses, but genuinely felt that way.

“Actually, I’m very happy,” Amon continued, looking at Bethelio’s somewhat surprised expression, and said with a slight smile, “I don’t have many old friends, and you are one of them. It would be a pity to lose you.”

Bethel paused for a moment, looked up at Amon, and after a few seconds suddenly smiled and said, "Amon, it seems you have changed quite a bit too."

“I’ve learned a lot of new knowledge recently, so naturally I’ve changed a bit.” Amon didn’t deny it. He simply took off his monocle, wiped it with a handkerchief he produced from somewhere, put it back on, and then looked at Bethel with a sharp gaze, saying:

"But even if it's an old friend, I'll have to be convinced first before I can give up my unique status as a thief. Bethel, I'm looking forward to seeing your strength after you recover. We didn't have the chance back then, but now we can finally have a proper contest."

At this point, Amon looked at Rolin and said, "Although I know that the Lord of Mysteries you are looking for is not me, this world has always respected the strong. If I can achieve final victory, I wonder if I will get that opportunity?"

When Roland heard this, he laughed. He looked at Amon with a half-smile, not answering, but that was his answer.

Amon naturally understood what Roland meant. He sighed and said with emotion, "You are really biased."

“I’ve always been biased.” Rowling didn’t deny it at all. He smiled and said, “Just as you said, this world is a dog-eat-dog world. I’m stronger than you, so you have to listen to me, Amon.”

Rowling never denied that he was a biased fellow, and Amon was never on his list of mysteries.

Even if He seems to have changed now, Rowling will not put Him back on the list.

He only ever had his eye on two people.

“You are so frank.” Amon was clearly not surprised by this answer, and his expression was not one of disappointment. He simply continued to look at Bethel and said, “Although I have no chance now, I still hope to have a good match with you in the future, just to wipe away my last bit of resentment, old friend.”

Bethel gave Amon a deep look, but did not refuse. The angel king, who was once closest to God, revealed a proud smile at this moment, and said to Amon, "I will make you lose convincingly, Amon."

"I'm really looking forward to it." Amon raised his hand and pushed up his monocle. Although he said he was looking forward to it, his humble yet confident attitude showed that he had plenty of confidence in himself.

Watching the two of them locked in a tense standoff, Roland suddenly thought of something, reached out and poked Antigonus, the angel king of the three Gou families, next to him, and said with a smile, "This is supposed to be a movie for three people, but you don't have any scenes. Little An, what do you think about this?"

Antigonus looked at his two former colleagues, who were locked in a fierce confrontation yet had both completely ignored him. He felt a little frustrated, but he knew the gap between them in his heart, so he could only say dejectedly, "I am indeed no match for them. They are better than me."

“Poor dog.” Rowling reached out and ruffled the wolf’s hair, then looked at Mr. Door and said, “Get ready, Bethel, we’re about to begin the surgery.”

“By the way…” Roland suddenly thought of something and looked at Bethel, saying, “Bethel, have you ever despaired?” Bethel was taken aback by this question. After a few seconds of silence, he nodded and said frankly, “I have despaired. In the past thousand years, I have despaired more than once.”

This is not something that cannot be admitted. Bethel did indeed despair during those years of impaired consciousness, during the days when he knew he was beyond saving. Even Mr. Men, who was closest to God, naturally experienced despair.

Even in despair, He never yielded, but silently prepared to give everything for this world.

“Then can you lend me your despair?” Rowling paused here, then smiled and said, “That way you won’t despair anymore.”

Bethel paused, looking at the young man who had changed his destiny, then suddenly smiled, and solemnly nodded, saying:
"it is good."

……

The surgery on Bethel went relatively smoothly. After all, Rowling had accumulated a lot of experience over this period and was no longer the novice who was completely inexperienced when he first started.

Even so, the entire surgical process was still not easy. Although Bethel did not do sit-ups in various temporary frenzied states like Russell, he inevitably experienced temporary frenzied situations as well.

Fortunately, while Rowling might not be skilled in other areas, treating temporary madness was a piece of cake for him. He quickly and easily dealt with Bethel's temporary madness, preventing Bethel from suffering too much from it.

But apart from that, the madness, the distortion, the chaos that affected Bethel are still things that Rowling finds difficult to completely discard.

After the surgery, Bethel lay quietly on the hospital bed, his somewhat dazed eyes revealing his condition.

"Are you alright?"

Rowling waved his hand above Bethel and asked tentatively, his tone unusually cautious.

"...It's nothing, it's just a feeling of being reborn." Bethel forced a smile, and despite his own poor condition, he chose to comfort Rowling first.

"Why don't you just say it directly? You feel like you've died once," Amon translated as he adjusted his monocle.

Antigonus, meanwhile, was already in a foul mood, as watching Mr. Men's surgery stirred up some unpleasant memories for him.

"You're so good with words." Rowling glanced coldly at Amon, then looked at Bethel and said with a smirk, "Is it really that bad? I thought my skills should have improved."

“No, it is a bit uncomfortable, but it’s still within my tolerance.” Bethel shook his head, then sat up and said, “I prefer this feeling of ease to the pain.”

Bethel meant it sincerely. Although the pain during the treatment was somewhat unbearable, the feeling of no longer being controlled by the external gods after the treatment made Bethel feel much more at ease.

(End of this chapter)