Rhodes Island does not exist.

The deafening decibels were even louder than Patriot's earlier roar, so much so that even Patriot himself was stunned by the Doctor's roar, momentarily forgetting that the confrontation between the two was still ongoing.

"boom!"

Seizing the opportunity, the Doctor immediately pulled his pickaxe from the previous confrontation and used it to directly chisel into a piece of armor embedded in Patriot's body.

"Ding!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

That was not just a clash of metal against metal, but also a direct injury to the flesh and blood of patriots.

"Roar--!"

The intense pain immediately caused the patriot to let out a mournful roar.

But this did not stop the doctor from continuing his attack.

"A wail? A scream? You never used to make such sounds." As the doctor spoke, he pressed down hard on the pickaxe he had driven into the Patriot armor plate, transmitting an even greater sense of pain and pressure directly into his heart through his flesh.

"Why not resist? Why not prove that what I just said is true? Do you even remember that your name is Bozokasti?"

The doctor's offensive grew increasingly fierce with each question, while Patriot's incredibly tough outer armor began to crack and ooze drops of crimson blood.

"Roar--!"

At this moment, Patriot was rendered unable to mount an effective counterattack against the Doctor due to the excruciating pain. The I-beam in his hand had fallen to the ground at some point. He looked helpless and resigned, completely devoid of the majesty and pride he had displayed upon awakening, leaving only humility.

"Weak, so weak! When did you become like this? When did you become so weak?"

On the other hand, the Doctor's offensive was at the complete opposite of Patriot's. The more Patriot retreated, the less able he was to retaliate, and the more ferocious his attack became.

"Boom!"

In fact, his strike even ripped a huge piece of armor off Patriot's body from his flesh.

At this point, the patriot was in so much pain that he could no longer even make a sound.

"boom--"

Thus, the mountain that once swept in with overwhelming force can now only sit slumped on the ground, its wounded and bloated body like a beast at the mercy of its prey.

"It seems that you never regained your identity until the very end."

The doctor shook his head regretfully as he gazed at the patriot who had almost lost the ability to retaliate.

Chapter 252 Two Hundred and Fifty, All Things Turn to Ashes

"PhD."

"Now I am old and frail."

"The reason this body has been able to live until now is simply because there is something on my mind."

"My faith was shattered by faith itself. My career was betrayed by the master of the career, so all I have left are my family."

"Yelena, she must live."

"My life is worthless compared to Yelena's survival."

"So I'm standing here, I'm standing in front of Rhodes Island, simply because Yelena is behind me."

"Doctor, a battle between us is inevitable."

"Take your weapons, carry your faith, and forget your identity."

-

Sitting beside the fallen mountain, the doctor looked up at the pale ceiling, his mind replaying all the thoughts that had surged during the battle.

"Sometimes I wonder if I've sacrificed too much for my goals and ideals."

He was speaking to the patriots, but it looked more like he was talking to himself.

"But whenever I see my efforts being transformed into value, I stop having that thought."

"And what about you? What about you, Bozokasti?"

Faced with the doctor's question, the patriot lying on the ground did not give any answer.

What else could he possibly say?

He is now merely an oddity, not a patriot, much less the Bozokasti himself.

He couldn't even compete with the doctor.

“Well, of course you can’t answer that.” Realizing this, the doctor shook his head. “After all, you are nothing right now. You are just a wandering spirit here, a weirdo. Even though you have a body that is much larger than other individuals, you are just an empty shell inside.”

"What can you possibly do? You can't even kill me."

The doctor sighed, shrugged, and gently patted Patriot on the shoulder with his free right hand.

“However… even if you are not Bozokasti, I still have something to tell you, or rather, it is precisely because you are not a Patriot that I have the courage to speak.”

His gaze shifted from the ceiling to Patriot's empty and bizarre head.

The red light that used to shine through the small opening in the eye has now disappeared.

"About Froststar... Yelena."

After thinking for a long time, the doctor finally spoke.

"No one on Rhodes Island survived, including Yelena."

His tone was calm, and his words were completely unwavering; he simply recounted everything he had experienced.

“But it’s all my responsibility,” he said. “From the very beginning, after I made that wrong decision, all the tragedies that happened on Rhode Island were my responsibility.”

“So, I am here now not only to atone for my sins, but also to save you.” He lowered his head, as if apologizing to the Patriots.

"But what I hope for most is not that everyone can be saved, but that everyone doesn't need this so-called salvation in the first place, because I—"

However, before the doctor could finish speaking, his words were swallowed back into his vocal cords.

Suddenly, a huge hand grabbed his waist.

"Whoosh-"

Then, before the doctor could react to the sudden turn of events, the large hand gripping his waist exerted force, throwing him like a pitcher towards the wall leading to the ninth-floor entrance.

"boom--!"

Irregular, spiderweb-like cracks spread out from where the doctor landed, creating an unusual aesthetic.

The doctor himself was like a piece of chewing gum stuck to the wall, deeply embedded in the dent created by the impact.

"call……"

Not far away, heavy breathing sounded just like an engine.

That was Patriot standing up. At this moment, he had relit his red eyes, which were like ghost lights, and locked his gaze on the Doctor, closing in on him.

And the instantaneous throw just now was undoubtedly his doing.

"It seems you're awake." The doctor coughed twice and wiped his dirty mouth with his right hand. "I didn't expect mentioning Yelena to have such a big impact on you. It's really beyond my expectations."

“But let’s leave it at that. Since you understand, let’s stop here.” The Doctor pressed his left hand against the wall and slowly exerted force to free himself from the dent. “Because on this Rhodes Island, your enemy is not me, Bozocaste.”

The power of words finally took effect.

Compared to his previous reckless attack on the Doctor, Patriot now shows a touch more composure.

After hearing what the doctor had just said, Patriot stopped in his tracks.

Meanwhile, the ghost-like red eyes continued to stare at the doctor.

“Take a good look around. This is no longer the Rhodes Island we knew.” The Doctor detached from the wall, landed lightly on the ground, looked up and gazed into Patriot’s eyes, and said to him, “And you are no longer the same person you were before.”

"Tick."

The spot where the doctor had forcibly pried off the armor plate is now a bloody, mangled wound, from which dark red blood is constantly seeping out.

"I'm very sorry about what happened to your daughter," the doctor said honestly. "Although I've said it before, I really want to say it again now."

The patriot's gasps, seeping from between his teeth, became even heavier as the doctor spoke.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, but at least here.” The Doctor’s gaze swept around. “In this Rhodes Island, I hope we can no longer be enemies… although we weren’t exactly enemies in the true sense of the word back then.”

"Well……"

A deep roar surged from the depths of the patriot's throat.

He seemed to understand the doctor's speech, but due to his strange identity, he was unable to freely express his thoughts or weave words into language.

However, his anger had clearly not subsided.

He had been furious ever since the doctor mentioned Yelena, and the doctor's words had not calmed him down.

“I know there is still anger in your heart.” The doctor began to walk towards the Patriot. “That’s because you died with a heart full of anger, so even after death, your anger will turn into firewood, burning your unyielding soul.”

"Then let's set it on fire." His pace quickened.

"The brighter the fire, the better. Burn this hell, this hell created because of me, to ashes."

-

Thank you segment.

Thanks for the blade, thank you.

I changed my D status as soon as I left Rainbow Dragon Cave, that's fast!

Chapter 253, Section 251: The Realm of Life

Immortality and resurrection are the greatest taboos, acts capable of destroying everything we know and cherish. Ethics and morality, regardless of their school of thought, are all built upon the fact that "all men must die, and the dead cannot be brought back to life." Once this foundation is shaken, all effort, dedication, and sacrifice, all laziness, greed, and selfishness become insignificant—life becomes nothing more than a lighthearted farce, nothing worth caring about. Therefore, it can be said that it is death that gives life its weight.

"call--"

When the doctor woke up this time, his reaction was slightly weaker than before.

I guess I've gotten used to it.

"You've been unconscious for longer than before."

Skadi sat beside him, her gaze fixed on the Doctor's face, which glowed faintly with a red light.

“Because I saw more this time than before…it’s unbelievable.” The doctor straightened his back and corrected his posture from slumping in the chair. “It seems that much more has happened than I imagined.”

“Is that so?” Skadi nodded. “Although I don’t know exactly what you’ve discovered, judging from your reaction, you’ve probably found something good.”

“…Some of these things involve you.” The Doctor raised his gaze, which had been lowered, and looked directly at Skadi.

"Something related to me? Is it my mission?" Skadi asked.

For her, finding her own goals and mission is probably the most important thing.

After all, no one wants to wander aimlessly through this suspicious building.

If someone willingly throws themselves into hell, then that person either has a compelling reason to go to hell, or they have something to search for in hell.

Skadi is clearly the latter, and so is the Doctor.

"As for a mission... I think it's irrelevant, but it did cause you harm," the Doctor answered Skadi's question. "Do you remember the enormous anomaly you encountered on the tenth floor?"

“I remember.” Skadi nodded. “After all, he successfully injured me, and his own strength is considerable—and I will never forget someone like that.”

"You only remember the strong, right?" The doctor smiled.

“Would you prioritize remembering the weak?” Skadi retorted. “What need is there for those who couldn’t even withstand a single sword strike from me to be remembered?”

“That’s true. I’ve had a hard time remembering those grotesque, muddy creatures along the way.” The Doctor finally agreed with Skadi’s statement.

“So, that’s it.” Skadi shrugged. “So, what do you have to say about that huge anomaly?”

"First, let's talk about his name. Do you know anything about his name?" the doctor asked.

"I don't know."

Skadi shook her head honestly.

“He has a codename, Patriot.” The doctor recalled the scenes he had just witnessed and tried to recite the information from them. “And above the codename is his real name—Bozokasti.”

"Did you come up with that name yourself?" Skadi asked.

“Yes.” The doctor nodded. “He and I must have been quite familiar with each other, otherwise we wouldn’t have spoken to each other in that way, even calling each other by our first names.”

"Which way?"

“It’s hard to explain, but if I had to put it in a way, the way I interacted with him was like dealing with someone who serves the enemy but is also your longtime friend,” the doctor said after a moment of thought. “Although I have never spoken to him, that’s the impression I get from the fragments of my memory.”