Ark, after I died, the operators started to love me.

The sharp corner of the card pierced Mike's clothes, lodging right in the middle. If Ragnar activated her Originium Arts, the lightning would instantly engulf him.

She thought she could be ruthless towards the Collapsed Entity, but looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, Ragna couldn't help but tremble. Reason told her that she should activate Originium Arts, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

64. Cruel Fate

Mike could tell what Ragna was thinking just by looking at her conflicted expression, so he quickly reached out to stop her, saying, "Wait a minute, I'm standing right in front of you. You can find out for yourself whether it's true or not."

Although he wasn't afraid of Ragnarok's Originium Arts, getting electrocuted and blackened in front of so many people was just too embarrassing.

Ragna was even more shocked. The tone of voice, appearance and expression were exactly the same as that man. If it was really the collapse body impersonating him, it was too similar.

The diviner hesitated for a moment, but knew the importance and urgency of the matter, and subconsciously wanted to activate the Originium Arts.

Everything she was seeing was a figment of her imagination. The doctor was dead; how could he possibly be standing in front of her saying these things?

Seeing that things were going badly, Mike almost simultaneously took off his coat and threw it into the air, letting the tarot card fly away with it.

The next second, the Lightning Stone Technique erupted, and lightning flashed and thunder roared in the air, exploding into a chaotic mess.

Meanwhile, Mike, who was standing directly below, had already tackled Ragna, who was right next to him, and the two of them barely avoided the power of the thunder.

He collapsed onto the snow, then propped himself up, staring intently into Ragna's eyes, and said earnestly, "Now that things have come to this, shouldn't you believe me for real?"

Ragna realized the seriousness of the situation, her eyes widening in disbelief. "How is this possible? I clearly saw you with my own eyes..."

She stopped halfway through her sentence. There was a possibility she had guessed before, which she thought was just her imagination, but she never expected it to become a reality one day.

The Doctor did not actually die; he faked his death to leave Rhodes Island and begin a completely different secret operation.

But what kind of secret operation would require deceiving so many people and abandoning everything in order to cover up the truth?

Ragna couldn't understand, and didn't want to understand. If the Doctor was real, then that meant...

"It was Elchi who told me everything about you; you should have already met her."

Mike's words cleared up some of Ragnar's doubts. She pulled the man up, and when she let go, she found that he was holding her tightly and wouldn't let go.

At that moment, Mike realized that Ragnar's corruption was not too severe, or rather, the demons had not had time to corrupt her.

“The people you brought are at risk, and I don’t yet know the extent of the contamination.”

Ragna gave Mike a deep look and said briefly, "I had a feeling about this, but I couldn't find any evidence. Maybe my perception was distorted."

"That makes things easier."

Mike whispered a few words in Ragna's ear, and she stared at him with a look that said, "Are you crazy?"

"Don't worry, I may be a little crazy, but I'm not at the point of wanting to die."

No madman wants to admit he's sick.

Despite feeling like she had regained something she had lost, hearing Mike's crazy remarks made Ragna want to punch him to bring him to his senses.

Looking into the man's eyes, it seemed he wasn't joking.

The trust that had once been placed in this man regained its dominance, and a voice in her heart silently told Ragna that perhaps she should trust him.

The fortune teller grabbed Mike's collar tightly and said in a low voice, "I'm willing to believe you because of your previous promise to me. If you deceive me again, I will personally send you to the River Styx!"

This warning was very severe for the Sami people.

The River Styx holds immense significance for the Sami people, symbolizing the cycle of life and death. Ragna's use of the River Styx to warn Mike demonstrates the importance she places on it.

Mike swallowed hard, knowing that things wouldn't be so easy to resolve. Although he had managed to evoke Ragna's memories and make her believe in him, it was only a temporary measure.

The way he left Rhodes Island was too extreme. Many operators thought he was dead and were heartbroken. Now he has appeared alive and well in front of them, proving that his death was just a hoax.

The operators, feeling deeply deceived, naturally wouldn't give him a friendly look; the fact that Ragna hadn't thrown a punch at him was already a sign of mercy.

Honestly, if Mike were standing here, from Ragnar's perspective, he would consider it an act of kindness to poke a few holes in the wall, out of consideration for the past.

After much internal struggle, the man finally convinced himself and replied, "Of course, no problem. I will explain everything I have been through to you. Some things cannot be clearly explained with simple words."

……

the other side.

Horhys noticed that the Doctor and Ragna stopped fighting. They stood up from the ground and separated. Everything seemed calm, as if the battle had never happened.

Frostnova withdrew her Originium Arts and turned to ask, "Has Mike convinced that crazy woman yet?"

Without turning her head, Holhaia said, "It seems so. It's not easy to persuade a madman."

"Are you saying this guy paid a heavy price? I don't believe it. Does anyone here believe it?"

As Feathered Serpent listened to Frostnova's accusations, he thought to himself, "This girl is really sour. Her tone reveals a strong sense of dissatisfaction. Is she also that man's prey?"

Despite his thoughts, Quetzalcoatl did not voice them. Sometimes, saving face is more important than anything else, and unspoken words can have the best effect.

Andorn also shut down his domain. He didn't care about the current situation at all and praised with a smile, "As expected of the Doctor, you solved a problem with ease."

Holhaya silently labeled Mike in her heart.

A womanizer, or rather, his previous caution and the tug-of-war with people had concealed the man's true nature. Now, no one can stop him anymore, and the darkest part of his heart has finally been revealed.

But what does it matter? Horhaia never cared about that. If she had to say something she absolutely had to care about, it would be to ensure the continuation of the Feathered Serpent race.

Feathered Serpent was already quite old. In her extremely short life, apart from spending some time studying, completing special missions, and traveling, she believed that she should have a wonderful experience in the little time she had left.

Those who know say that the feathered serpent race is immortal, but who knows that it is the feathered serpent race, the concept, that will continue to exist, while she as an individual will completely disappear with the end of this life?

Holhaa thought to herself that being able to meet Mike again in the last moments of her life was perhaps a gift from fate, making all her previous hardships and sacrifices meaningful.

Although Mike didn't know what this crazy woman was thinking, when he returned to the team and saw that Feathered Serpent's eyes were full of aggression, even if he was slow-witted and didn't understand what was going on, he would pay extra attention to tonight, because Horhyah might just crawl up to his side.

"The problem is solved, temporarily."

Andorn glanced at her; the diviner had vanished at the edge of the snowfield. No one knew where she had gone, because she hadn't returned to the group. All the people she had brought remained where they were, awaiting further instructions.

On the icy plains, the days are short and the nights are long, with significant temperature differences. A team of a hundred or so people cannot stay in one place for long; the base camp in front of them is their only place to survive.

Thinking of this, Mike said to everyone, "The review we arranged will continue as planned. There are no delays or special requirements."

After those two battles, everyone except Mike's team members was filled with the thought that they could be killed at any moment.

After all, the opponent showed no mercy when using Originium Arts. Even if the thunderstorm did not cause any casualties, it would still have caused some harm to the others present.

Typhon asked incredulously, "Is that how it's resolved?"

The Sarkaz girl originally thought there would be another fierce battle, as her older sister Ragna was quite stubborn and not so easily persuaded.

Before Mike returned, the girl had already prepared herself to save Ragna's life at all costs. It was true that Ragna was contaminated, but she had not turned into a collapse body, which was excellent news.

The fact that it is not a collapsed body does not mean that there is a possibility of dispersing pollution.

Typhon had witnessed too many tragedies on this icy plain, especially after crossing the Wall and venturing further north. The various troubles that expeditions encountered along the way often threatened their lives.

In the eyes of the Sami people, the rather intelligent Colombians made foolish mistakes time and time again at crucial moments, putting their lives at risk and charging one after another towards the far north.

Because the base camp was relatively close to Kazimierz, caravans from the south also brought back outdated newspapers from the Kingdom of Knights and a large number of knightly novels.

Ignoring those romance novels about knights who are obsessed with love, what moved Typhon the most was the last knight who charged into the waves time and time again.

These Colombians seem to possess this spirit of unwavering commitment.

Before embarking on the adventure, they would fill in the names of the people they trusted most regarding the money and insurance beneficiaries, and then proceed with the determination to die.

Unfortunately, Mac's behavior reminded Typhon of the Last Knight, who led a team across the Wall to find the source of the land's long-standing chaos.

The evil spirit of Northern Plains.

However, Mike was unaware of the turmoil in Typhon's heart. When he walked to the Sarkaz girl's side, he whispered to her, "You can see Elchi if you go back to my office now."

Typhon was taken aback.

what?

Elki?

Wasn't Elki in the frozen mountains of the Sami Icefield? How did he end up here?

Typhon couldn't believe her ears, but she knew that what came out of this man's mouth was very likely true.

The young girl was eager to go back, and just as she was about to leave, she heard a man groan.

“Miss Typhon, we are still on a mission. Even if you have family members visiting, you should wait until the mission is completed before going back.”

Typhon blushed immediately upon realizing what was happening; she had completely forgotten that she was on a mission.

Mike thought about it and decided that Director Ann was more reliable, but he also got a glare from Director Ann.

At such a critical moment, he actually said something that could undermine morale.

Director An looked at Mike with a disappointed expression.

How could he not understand what this man meant?

They clearly wanted to see Typhon make a fool of himself, since Typhon hadn't given Mike a friendly look before.

So this guy found an opportunity to retaliate.

If Mike heard Andorn's inner thoughts, he would only say that Andorn's idea was a poor one. If he really wanted to take revenge on Typhon, the simplest way would be to find a way to get on good terms with Elchi and become Typhon's godfather instead of Typhon's boss.

However, he only briefly considered this idea in Mike's mind, because he worried that if the plot really developed this way, it might end up with Typhon shooting two transparent holes in Mike with his giant bow.

It's best to avoid some unpleasant things from happening.

Moreover, the crisis is not truly over yet.

……

With a heavy heart, Ragna returned to her warriors.

If she had previously perceived certain things as a blur, now, with the power of Mike, the scene before her eyes suddenly became real, and the veil that had been obscuring her vision was lifted.

It turned out that more than half of the two hundred warriors she brought were strange monsters. They had no faces, and their facial features were like shining stars, flashing with an eerie glow from time to time.

Although they have no mouths and cannot speak any language, the meanings they can express appear directly in Ragna's mind.

"I can actually understand what the collapse body is saying. No wonder the doctor said I've been contaminated too."

Ragna remembered what Mike had told her, and coupled with some of her strange experiences, she completely accepted what Mike had told her.

The evil spirits are truly terrifying; they were able to manipulate her consciousness and, in the event of an accident at her headquarters, summon another team of collapsing beings to invade.

If Mike hadn't sent men to stop them at the city gate, they might have gone straight into the base camp and caused secondary harm to the survivors inside.