The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

"They managed to stop it, but it must have failed. So even external spellcasters have limited abilities in death missions," the teammate said. "As for your contribution, we need to be careful. Teammates are supposed to attack during death missions, but he was allowed to."

“Perhaps it wasn’t an ‘attack’ at all, which is why it wasn’t included in the evil god’s judgment,” said the fishman with three rows of teeth.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, but they still had to continue the ceremony, even if it meant giving up all the items they had obtained from the previous nine missions, because this was their only chance to return to their hometown.

……

As for the half-elf's soul, Xue Luding didn't do anything to it. Instead, he let her fall into a good sleep before slowly placing her in the "Holy Grail".

"Don't worry, I've brought you a new life. The power of immortality can't resurrect you; at most, it can only turn you into a lich-like undead," Xue Dinglu said. "But the Mimic King has a way to let you be reborn with your memories intact. This is my compensation to you."

This is Xue's plan. I'm truly sorry, although I've used them, I will try my best to compensate them by bringing them back to life.

Perhaps this is not the right thing to do, because it would destroy her original life and everything else. She would have to live in another world with a completely new identity, just like the protagonists who travel to another world, even though she would still have her memories.

Although Xue's Law has done this more than once, whether it was by accident, his own lack of ability, or other factors, it has caused too many people who should not have died.

But every time I do this, I feel my own arrogance, that sense of "I'm saving you, what's it to you?"

However, this sense of arrogance was quickly swallowed up by the vast emptiness within his body, and now even this little bit of guilt is gone.

All tragedies stem from the inadequacy of the individuals involved...

Xue Dinglu silently left, placing this soul, waiting for rebirth, into the Holy Grail.

Upon returning to the castle, both the noble lady and the baron looked at Xue Dinglu with expectant eyes.

However, after seeing only Xue Luding, who was soaking wet, and not any sign of the half-elf, their hearts finally settled down.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't save her," came Xue Dinglu's voice.

Although this was contrary to the original plan, he was indeed a step too late and failed to save the half-elf; she was already dead when he reached out his hand.

The remaining plan was merely an idea that came to me through the activation of my extraordinary wisdom; it was simply a way to make use of waste.

The noble lady and the baron fell silent instantly. Clearly, they had also realized the problem. If that half-elf had died so mysteriously, and in accordance with the prophecy, then they were doomed to the same fate!

These people will all die tragically, just as predicted!

Upon hearing this, the Baron fell silent, sitting beside the Holy Light Orb without uttering a word, while the young lady from the noble academy immediately covered her face, as if tears were welling up.

The shadow of death seemed to follow them everywhere, like a giant hand gripping their necks, making it hard for them to breathe.

Even the baron, who seemed to have experienced the vicissitudes of life, remained silent, let alone this noble lady.

She could still force a smile, even though there were others protecting her, and Xue Luding, the spellcaster who could summon holy light, had promised to protect them.

But now, there's nothing left... They can't do anything...

"Why did this happen...why..." she said, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"There's no reason why. We were brought into this world as sacrifices. Someone offered us to an evil god, and we walked into the trap like fools." The baron said, his voice tinged with barely concealed anger.

"Who? Why are they doing this to us?"

“Those veterans, didn’t you notice? They came to the island with us, but we haven’t found any trace of them,” the Baron said.

"No, why don't we go out and find them, strike first... why..." She seemed to be having a mental breakdown, and was now hysterically rambling incoherently.

"Calm down. Your crying and screaming will only drain your strength and extinguish even the last vestige of hope for survival," Xue Dinglu said.

The noble lady stopped crying. Her tears smudged her light makeup, making her appear even more fragile. She wasn't a girl born in the 21st century on Earth, and couldn't utter such nonsensical words as "Why couldn't you protect us?"

She knew that at this moment, the only way to survive was to cling to the priest.

Because he was the strongest among his new recruits, and also a noble spellcaster.

A spellcaster... perhaps that wasn't so unattainable for her in the past, but now, she's nothing more than someone else's plaything...

The atmosphere became extremely quiet for a moment. Even though they knew their fate, they didn't know how to retaliate.

This feeling of having one's fate in someone else's hands, and being unable to control it, made them feel extremely uncomfortable.

“Father, may I come a little closer?” the noble lady asked.

“Okay,” Xue Dinglu said, adding a word of comfort, “Things haven’t gotten to the worst point yet. I swear in the name of God, you will live.”

For some reason, when Xue Luding said those words, this noble lady inexplicably believed them, as if a contract guaranteeing her life had been formed.

She had a feeling that, no matter what, the priest would guarantee her life.

"Thank you, Father," she said, moving even closer as if greedily seeking that sense of security.

They stopped approaching when they were only a foot apart, and maintained that distance from each other.

“Father, actually I didn’t tell you the whole story before. I was indeed a princess, but that was a long time ago. I was a princess of a small country that was destroyed by an empire…” she said, slowly recounting her background.

"Hmm..." Xue Dinglu simply listened quietly, occasionally responding to indicate that he was listening.

But is she really a princess?

The cursed blood was extracted from a sliver of her skin through a crack in the wall, and tests revealed that she was not a virgin.

However, Xue Dinglu patiently listened to the story of this woman who claimed to be a princess of a fallen kingdom.

“After my country was destroyed, I was captured by the duke who led the expedition, becoming his spoils of war, and also his…mistress…” she said, revealing her identity, the soft light emanating from the holy orb shimmering in her pupils.

It was early morning, yet Xue Dinglu sensed a feeling of relief emanating from her.

It also seems like the relaxation of revealing the deepest secret buried in one's heart to someone one has only known for a day.

She wanted to see Xue Dinglu's expression, to see what kind of expression he would give her—pity, disdain, or regret...

But when she looked up at Xue Dinglu, she found that the young priest had no expression at all, just as if he had only heard a simple question like "Have you eaten today?"

There was no pity, no contempt, no regret, only a calm response.

"Oh."

She smiled, perhaps the most genuine smile she had ever shown since the fall of her kingdom.

"Thank you for not looking at me strangely," she said, even keeping her distance from Xue Dinglu to avoid contaminating the kind priest with her own filth.

However, Xue Dinglu silently took out bread and water and said, "Eat something. It will be completely bright soon. Next, we need to explore this island together and unravel the secrets of the prophecy."

Xue made up a reason on the spot and handed her the freshly made bread and water.

At the same time, a portion was also given to the Baron.

"Hmm, freshly baked bread? Where did you get this?" Taking the bread, her eyes widened instantly at its softness, like down.

"Bread magic, the last divine spell I know, can turn trees into bread and water, just like they're fresh out of the oven," Xue Dinglu said, taking a bite of the Divine Tree bread.

"Let's replenish our energy. I estimate we'll be safe until tonight."

Chapter 453 The Past on the Island

Although the death of the half-elf had left the small group in a state of panic, they still wanted to look for clues during the day, at least clues that would give them some peace of mind.

However, Xue Dinglu simply watched all of this silently, like a cold-blooded animal.

"Why not tell them the truth? You're not the kind of person who enjoys seeing others fall into fear, are you?" The Mimic King seemed to have started again, beginning his philosophical critique and interrogation of human nature.

Xue Law really thinks that this Mimic King might have been invincible for too long, so he has nothing better to do than to come up with some crazy topics like the trolley problem, the questioning of humanity, and the dark future.

Although He always followed the path of revering the king, He seemed to have become somewhat neurotic from contemplating philosophy.

"There's no particular reason, it has nothing to do with human nature, it's simply unnecessary. If we don't say it, they'll continue on their original trajectory, but if we do, various unpredictable events might lead to an unforeseen future," Xue Luding said, looking at the Mimic King.

“I think you’re just bored. Only someone with nothing better to do would think so much. When you’re so busy that you don’t even have time to think about things, when even a second of hesitation or indecision could kill thousands of people, when you have to choose between a bad future and an even worse one, it seems like you wish you could be a second faster so you wouldn’t have time to think about these trivial matters.”

Xue's words plunged the Mimicry King into deep thought.

Despite his somewhat far-fetched arguments, the Mimic King did not argue back this time.

"However, this is somewhat cruel to them," said the Mimic King, looking at the somewhat anxious Baron and the noble lady.

“Maybe I did something wrong, but I’ll make sure it has a good ending. They’ll all survive in the end; it’s just like playing a super realistic immersive horror game,” Xue said, beginning this seemingly meaningless search for clues.

"The joy of surviving a disaster, like a dreamlike experience, may help them regain their confidence in the future."

The three of them decided to take a walk around the island to look for any clues.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side...

The four veterans could hear everything they did, including their conversations, through a mirror.

This is their power, obtained through previous death missions, including a large number of rule-level items. Even some seemingly terrifying demons, capable of destroying the world, can be affected by these rule-level items.

However, each of these props contains a "mysterious creature" sealed within it, and each time they are used, they are one step closer to the creature's permanent release.

The half-elf was instantly transported from the castle to the sea using an item called "Sea Vortex," which they obtained during their third death mission. The strange occurrence that time wasn't a specific monster, but the entire ocean.

They survived countless near-death experiences, with all the newcomers dying and nearly half of the veterans perishing, before finally completing that mission and obtaining this rule-level item.

It can instantly teleport any unit to the nearest sea, where it will be entangled by a strange phenomenon called "sea vortex".

In order to ensure that the deaths corresponded to the order of the prophecy, they took out all the items they had obtained in the previous nine missions and used them at all costs, regardless of whether the eerie things inside would resurface.

After all, this was their final mission. Once it was over, they would return to the real world and no longer have to struggle and live in fear every day in this strange and demonic world.

The death rate on this third mission was so high that they were all terrified. So they started using new recruits as bait to survive mission after mission until the last mission, when the captain died at the hands of the butcher, giving them a final chance to return home.

And now, they've even started to dream about their future after returning to their hometown.

“My home is by the sea, where our fish-people’s village is. The whole sea is black, but it’s full of resources. I think it must have been a long time ago.” The fish-man with three rows of teeth said, thinking of his hometown.

Although it was an ignorant and backward place, and many people there actually looked more like fish than people, he was the only one who looked most like a human.

"Haha, me? After returning to my hometown, we plan to keep in touch, find each other, and then get married." The other man laughed. He was now the captain of the team. Originally, he was just the second-in-command, but after the captain died, he automatically became the new captain. "At the same time, I'll see if I can fulfill my dream."

The woman in his arms thought, "I can't let him find me, let him know that I'm a woman who rose to power by selling my body... even someone who survived so many deadly missions by selling my body..."

The last woman, who resembled a secretary, simply said, "I see. Congratulations on your marriage."

She also thought a lot: how was her empire doing these days? What about her father and brother? How was their attack on the neighboring empire going? Had any of them died outside?

If I die, that would be wonderful. I could even use the abilities I brought out of here to usurp the throne and become the first queen.

She thought this, but didn't show it, still wearing that sweet smile.

The four veterans—a princess, a courtesan, a fishman, and a final idealist—though worn down by nine missions, unite in this final mission to return home, unleashing their last vestiges of survival.

"We will definitely succeed."