National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

"madman......"

Father Myriel repeated the two words in a low voice.

The broken stained glass overhead is like an eye, coldly watching over the group of insignificant mortals struggling with fate below.

After speaking arbitrarily, he fell silent, but his elongated raven claws remained unfolded.

He was on guard.

Aurora and Nathan exchanged a glance but remained silent.

Now is the time for the arbitrary and the priest.

a long time.

"...I did nothing wrong."

Myriel said softly, his voice weak with exhaustion, yet utterly resolute.

He tilted his head slightly, looked directly into Ren Yi's eyes, and repeated:

"I did nothing wrong."

"..."

Ren Yi didn't refute it, but thought about it carefully.

He then casually sat cross-legged on the ground in front of the priest, with his two-meter-long sword slung over his shoulder.

"Yes." He nodded. "You're right."

"In that situation, anyone would have made the same choice."

"Father, you did the only thing you could do at the time, and it was the right thing to do."

Often, when we look back...

All the choices and struggles will eventually point to a single outcome; everything is predetermined.

"But looking ahead, there is hope."

hope......

Father Myriel hadn't thought about that word in a long time.

He thought he had kept the pain to himself and left the happiness to the townspeople, but the group of outsiders in front of him shattered his self-delusion.

Now you're telling him hope again?

Look ahead...

Extinguished lives, shattered souls, a small town imprisoned...

Where else can they see, and where else can they go?

"After saying all that... all you really want is to leave..."

Myriel closed her eyes wearily.

"Kill me."

Consider it payment for that circus performance, thank you for bringing a little life to this dead town.

"Kill me, and this 'playground' will disappear, and you can leave."

"This one?" Her random thoughts instantly veered towards Shibalipu.

His eyes flickered. "Anything else?"

Miri Ai paused for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.

"Yes... This is the truth I only glimpsed after merging with the Touch of Fate. His... true name—or one of his code names—is Nyarlathotep."

"His playground is many, many."

"Golden Anchor Town is just one of them—the mildest one. And that thick fog outside..."

The priest's gaze fell upon the broken gate, as if piercing through the town's architecture to see the boundless sea.

"...It is a barrier set up by some unknown entity to protect travelers outside."

"As long as you don't see, don't hear, and don't know, you won't mistakenly fall into any soul-devouring cage, so..."

He looked at Ren Yi with a complicated expression.

That's why he said, "Who told you to dispel the fog?"

What to do?

All eyes were on Renyi, waiting for him to make a decision, while Aurora simply closed her eyes, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and began to silently recite a prayer.

The atmosphere was as heavy as if it were filled with lead.

[Although it was out of necessity, I still feel like Bo Ren died because of me...]

Being a leader is so hard; no wonder those who achieve great things all seem so ruthless...

[I'm standing guard here today! Let's see who dares to utter a single "no" to the big boss!]

"...Couldn't we just kill that tentacle?"

Ivan let out a heavy sigh.

"Leave the priest behind."

Upon hearing this, Myriel revealed a somewhat frighteningly kind smile.

"We've been coexisting for far too long."

He stated this unchangeable fact in a soft voice:

"We've been inseparable for a long time; killing it or killing me makes no difference."

There's nothing we can do about it.

With his eyelids drooping, the Raven, now activated with the Snake Shadow, slid off his shoulder with a clang as its tip struck the gravel-strewn floor tiles.

He was also struggling with the decision.

However, it wasn't out of overflowing sympathy; rather, they were rapidly calculating their next move.

Lv8, Lord.

One strike should yield around a thousand evolution points, plus the top-tier materials belonging to "Little Nine's relative" that I missed last time... If I'm lucky, I can upgrade a certain module of [Deep Sea Shadow].

but......

That's all.

It's a foregone conclusion that the entire town of Golden Anchor will vanish without a trace along with the deaths of the priest and the Touch of Fate.

A stable and special space without threats just disappeared like that?

That would be a terrible waste.

In the eyes of his teammates, the audience on Blue Star, and the priest, Renyi is caught in a difficult moral dilemma.

[Ugh...but this is really a tough choice.]

[I think the big boss will take action; he's always been decisive.]

[Look at his companions, not one of them urged him on! What a great team!]

[The Chinese player is truly righteous...]

After about a minute of silence—

"Boss."

Klaus stepped forward, his gray eyes filled with determination.

"Let me be the villain."

"You?" Ivan shoved Klaus aside. "I've killed more people than you've ever seen. Don't try to take this dirty work from me!"

"Boss, you rest, let me handle this!"

Nathan glanced at Renyi furtively.

This group of people...

Is there some misunderstanding about the boss?

"Ugh."

A soft sigh, seemingly carrying the weight of a thousand pounds.

With a simple release of his hand, the nearly two-meter-long "Raven" silently retracted, transforming into an ordinary watch.

Miri was enduring the frantically biting monster inside her, closing her eyes and waiting for death.

The expected relief never came; instead, a shadow fell over him.

It turned out that he had stood up randomly.

"I am a doctor."

He blurted out something out of the blue.

"You can't always be doing the work of a forensic doctor."

He casually tossed Xiao Jiu, who was still wearing Dora's wig, onto the priest's head.

Xiao Jiu, acting as if they were old friends, coiled one of the "horns" on his head and stared at Ren Yi with a silly, adorable look, just like the priest's bewildered expression.

"Father Myriel, before we settle things, let's do a little surgery first."

"Without a sterile room, without anesthesia, the success rate is not guaranteed... and there's mandatory liability exemption; life or death is uncertain."

surgery?

The priest nearly lost his breath, his facial expression contorted with shock:

"Are you kidding me...?"

Before he could speak.

He casually bent his finger and flicked Xiao Jiu lightly.

"Wake up, neighbor."

"You got off easy again."

His tone was calm and even, but Nathan detected a deep sense of resentment in it:

"Eat your relatives, but leave the person behind."

"Let's see if I can survive."