Rhodes Island does not exist.

The corridor on the tenth floor looked like it had hired a construction team to do some work, kicking up sand and gravel everywhere while also disturbing the neighbors.

The strange distance was drawing ever closer.

However, the doctor was not in a hurry.

Now that it has been proven that he was indeed chasing the sea, he has plenty of leeway.

"call."

He held his breath, staring straight ahead, his fingers trembling slightly.

Then, the time came.

"Snapped."

The index and middle fingers tap the button quickly, and the number "9" lights up red.

The seawater bottle in his other hand was quickly released and thrown into the elevator car in an arc.

At the same time, the doctor slid in a sliding tackle motion, rushing towards the right side of the corridor.

Everything was just right, just like he had done before.

Then, a loud metallic clanging sound echoed through the corridor.

"boom!"

The burly, monstrous creature relentlessly rammed into the elevator car, repeatedly crouching down like a predator hunting its prey, trying to snatch the small glass bottle that the doctor had thrown to the ground.

—This was actually unexpected for the doctor.

After all, in his mind, he should have smashed the glass bottle directly.

However, to his surprise, the bottle that Ghost Shark gave him was incredibly hard; it didn't even break when thrown on the ground.

But in the end, things didn't go wrong. Even though the seawater inside didn't leak out, the strange creature still single-mindedly rushed towards the location of the bottle. And most importantly, the elevator's volume was just right to accommodate it.

"Om..."

The elevator doors slowly closed before the doctor's eyes.

Then came the sound of ropes being driven.

Without a doubt, the elevator is no longer on this floor.

"So... this is resolved, right?" The doctor stared at the elevator button on the screen that displayed 9, seemingly relieved.

“But if I remember correctly, this elevator should be the only way down.” Skadi leaned against the wall and pointed with her right hand to the staircase on the other side of the corridor. “That staircase goes up.”

"Heh." The Doctor shook his head and smiled at her. "Didn't you say yourself that you can't use common sense to look at things here on Rhodes Island? Maybe we'll find a way down as we go up, right?"

“You’re right,” Skadi shrugged.

Then, she slung the greatsword back onto her back and stared at the doctor in front of her.

"So, now I can ask you—where did you get that seawater bottle you're carrying?"

When she asked this question, there were still blue bloodstains seeping from her mouth at the corner of her mouth.

It seems that being hit by that strange object earlier really hurt her.

"Hmm... Do I have to answer this question?" The Doctor and Skadi looked at each other.

“No, no.” Skadi shook her head. “But this is important.”

She wiped the blue bloodstains from the corner of her mouth, then asked in her usual tone as if she hadn't been injured at all, "By the way, you haven't drunk this stuff, have you?"

"To be honest, I've had it once," the doctor replied.

"really?"

“It’s absolutely true, I have no reason to lie.”

"..."

Skadi remained silent.

About three seconds later, she finally managed to stammer out her next question. "How did it feel after drinking it?"

"I feel like I'm...very angry, and then I'm going crazy, like I'm not afraid of anything, completely fearless...basically, I've become a brute." The doctor thought for a while and told her the conclusion he had drawn when he drank seawater last time.

“Ha… just like when I first saw you?” Skadi said.

Then the doctor suddenly remembered that he had indeed met Skadi before, and in a rather unfortunate way.

The elevator in the center of the eighth floor.

Ah, speaking of that elevator, he hasn't asked Skadi about it yet.

"Yes, just like when you saw me... By the way, the elevator you were in didn't have an entrance on the eighth floor, so I wanted to ask how you got in?"

The professor steered the conversation to a different topic.

“Downstairs,” Skadi replied, “as I mentioned before, there’s a shop on the sixth floor.”

"You mean you came from the sixth floor?"

“Hmm.” Skadi nodded.

"And then the elevator can't go to the floors above?" the doctor asked again.

“Hmm.” Skadi continued to nod.

"That's strange." The doctor frowned. "I chased you all the way up to the fifteenth floor before I saw you. How did you get up there?"

"We can't use common sense to look at things here on Rhodes Island. Maybe we'll find a way up as we go down, right?"

Skadi returned the favor by repeating the words the doctor had just quoted her.

The doctor could only nod in agreement.

“Let’s get back to the topic of seawater.” Skadi’s gaze returned to the Doctor’s face.

“I can answer you with anything except the source,” the doctor said.

He still felt he should try to hide his relationship with Specter, since in his eyes, Skadi was still just a slightly more familiar stranger.

"It's okay, I won't ask about the source for now. I'll ask about something else, like... you have more than just that one bottle on you, right?"

Skadi's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the Doctor's coat pocket.

"Since you can ask this question, it means you must already know the answer." The doctor reached out his right hand and patted his pocket, the glass clinking.

“Give me a bottle,” Skadi said.

"What?" The doctor thought he had misheard.

“I said, give me a bottle.” Skadi sighed. “I was injured in the fight with that weird thing. Although I can heal myself with my body’s self-repair, it’s too slow. It would be best to get treatment as soon as possible.”

"You're not thinking of using seawater to heal your wounds, are you?"

The doctor's mind echoed with Ghost Shark's parting words.

"Yes, what's the problem?" Skadi's gaze towards the Doctor became slightly strange. "Isn't that what seawater is for?"

"Can……"

The doctor didn't know what to say.

"But...seawater is highly poisonous."

"Hmm?" Skadi frowned slightly. "Poisonous? Then why didn't you die after drinking it? Do you even believe that yourself? You can't even convince yourself."

“This…” the doctor tried to explain, “It might be because the dosage was insufficient.”

"Nonsense." Skadi shook her head. "If it were truly a deadly poison, this dose would be enough to kill you more than once. So you're actually unwilling to give it to me?"

"This is not..."

The doctor lowered his head, his thoughts somewhat chaotic.

It's not that he doesn't want to give out the seawater, it's just that he's currently confused about one thing—who is lying, Skadi or Specter?

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the monthly pass, Lelouch...

Chapter 30, Part 30: The Maginot Line of Language

You have to save them.

Or rather, you have to save yourself.

Excessive kindness only leads to limitless destruction, as the creatures of Terra constantly prove.

Therefore, there is almost no kindness in Terra.

Without kindness, it means that giving kindly will be more difficult and the cost will be greater.

Can you afford this price?

Don't say you can afford it.

Don't always try to shoulder all the responsibility alone.

The burdens on your shoulders have overwhelmed you more than once; perhaps next time they won't just overwhelm you, they'll crush you.

How can a broken leader take charge of a crumbling organization?

You need more than just rest, Doctor.

Before you start caring about others, you should first pay attention to what you yourself are lacking.

When those who are well-fed and clothed give alms to others, it is out of compassion.

It is foolish for the destitute to give alms to others.

I do not wish for your loving-kindness to become corrupted, nor do I wish for you to be harmed by loving-kindness, Doctor.

I hope you will think about our future, and your future.

-

"Awake……"

There was a disturbance.

"Wake up."

A woman's voice.

"I said, wake up, I only changed my clothes in the room, how could you fall asleep in such a short time?"

The sound channel is activated, and the eyelids open.

In the hazy remnants of sleep, the doctor saw Skadi standing in front of him.

He remembered what had just happened.

"I remember you said you wanted to go inside and use seawater to heal, so I stayed in the hallway to avoid it... and then I fell asleep? Is that right?" His words were full of uncertainty.

“I don’t quite understand how you could fall asleep in a minute.” Skadi shook her head, holding an empty bottle in her hand. “Anyway, my body is healed. What are your plans now?”

"I……"

The doctor's mind slowly cleared, and he remembered the plan he had made before leaving.

The pickaxe has already been found, and Skadi has been encountered, so there's only one left.

"shop."

The doctor spoke.

"Huh?" Skadi didn't hear clearly.

“The shop on the sixth floor,” the Doctor added in a complete sentence. “If I plan to continue surviving on Rhodes Island for the time being, I need to replenish my supplies, and you told me about a place last time.”

“Ah, so you’re planning to go there now.” Skadi nodded. “I can take you there.”

"So kind of you?" The doctor frowned.

His mind was still filled with questions he hadn't asked Skadi.

For example, why was she able to treat herself with the supposedly deadly venom of the ghost shark?

Either Specter lied to him, or Skadi lied to him, or neither of them lied to him.