Have You Come to Take Me Home, Father?

Jie La Er emerged from the darkness and looked at that incredibly familiar face.

Just like I remembered, he showed no signs of aging and remained as young as ever, as if he had begged me to join the Evening Star Squad just yesterday.

This left Jie La Er feeling somewhat dazed.

Then he heard Yong Xin speak again, "You've aged a lot, Father."

The voice pulled Jie La Er from his daze.

He looked at that face again.

It is indeed more than 90% similar to what I remember.

The only difference is that the smile that was once full of youthful energy and vitality has become an extremely uncomfortable... fake smile.

But for Jie La Er, that's the biggest difference.

"You..." he began slowly, "What exactly is it?"

Hearing this, Yong Xin sighed softly, "Isn't it a bit too much to call me 'thing'? Father, have you forgotten who I am? Or is it that there's no need to leave such a deep impression on a son who isn't your biological son?"

Jie La Er ignored Yong Xin's low-level provocation and simply watched him quietly.

Yong Xin's gaze gradually shifted downwards, landing at Jie La Er's feet, where a man lay—his former subordinate.

That subordinate was also once an elite member of the Devil Squad, but in front of Jie La Er, he didn't even have a chance to utter a word of warning.

As expected, it's because...

His gaze gradually moved upwards, landing on Jie La Er's left eye, that very special eye that still emitted a faint light in the darkness.

"You've gained a very good eye," Yong Xin said with a light laugh. "I've always been puzzled as to why you, after returning from the Rhine, can suddenly see so much. Our cover is useless in front of you. You see through all our actions and all our schemes, as if you have a new pair of eyes... What I didn't expect was that it was actually true."

He paused, then showed Jie La Er the opened letter in his hand while sighing softly.

"It's a pity that the information I received from Rhine came too late. If I had known earlier that the eye might have ended up in your possession, I definitely wouldn't have waited until now. But I still really want to know how you got that eye. According to my intelligence, the one who took the eye should have been a Rhine Father named Ulu... What kind of deal did you make with him to get the eye to you?"

"Or... did you kill him?"

"If that's the case..."

His gaze shifted downwards again, landing on Jie La Er's left hand.

"Then you have more than just one eye."

"No wonder you were able to defeat Bishop Holman."

Yong Xin kept muttering to himself, as if he were talking to Jie La Er.

But Jie La Er didn't answer any of his questions, he just kept getting closer to him, his heavy footsteps like the ticking of a pocket watch.

Then, Jie La Er stood in front of Yong Xin.

A metallic scraping sound.

The massive Chainsaw Sword landed on Yong Xin's shoulder, its menacing Yong Xin, sharp teeth slicing through his neck and drawing blood.

"You haven't answered my question yet." Jie La Er stared at Yong Xin and slowly began to speak, "What exactly are you?"

Yong Xin finally stopped talking to himself. He looked down at the Chainsaw Sword against his neck, knowing full well that if Jie La Er activated it, his head would fall to the ground instantly.

Even so, his expression didn't change much.

"Are you going to kill me, Father?" Yong Xin smiled at Jie La Er. "You abandoned me ten years ago... and now, are you going to kill me with your own hands?"

... Ten years ago?

Jie La Er seemed somewhat dazed.

"It seems you really have forgotten, Father," Yong Xin said softly. "Ten years ago, in the Abyss Land, I could no longer walk. You told me that you would come back, and that I must wait for you to come back and take me away. I waited and waited, but I never saw you again, until... now."

Yong Xin opened his arms as if to give Jie La Er a big hug.

"Now, have you finally come back to pick me up?"

"I've been waiting for you for so long."

After saying that, Yong Xin slowly moved closer to Jie La Er, but Jie La Er did not make any further response.

Just as Yong Xin's hand was about to touch Jie La Er's body, he heard a faint clicking sound.

Before Yong Xin could figure out what it was, the old Chainsaw Sword on his shoulder immediately emitted an even louder roar, like a wild beast howling.

The frantically spinning saw teeth sliced Yong Xin's neck in an instant, then continued downwards without hindrance, splitting his entire body in two.

Amidst the spurting blood, Yong Xin stared wide-eyed at Jie La Er, seemingly unable to believe that Jie La Er had actually made such a move.

"Why..."

By the time he was able to make a sound, he was already lying in a pool of blood, half of his body intact.

He stared intently at Jie La Er, his eyes filled with shock, disappointment, and pain.

"Father... why..."

Jie La Er looked at Yong Xin's twisted half-body and said calmly, "My son died ten years ago. You are just a monster who came back in his body."

Yong Xin opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but the huge amount of blood loss drained him of his remaining life force and strength. In the end, he opened his eyes wide and remained motionless.

It was as if he had died just like that.

But Jie La Er didn't leave just like that; he simply took a few steps back and watched quietly.

Then came a sigh.

"Well, under that eye, we really shouldn't do too much pointless disguise."

Yong Xin suddenly "came back to life".

Under Jie La Er's watchful eye, the severed half of the body crawled back up and reattached itself to the other half.

"I'm getting more and more curious about that eye." Yong Xin said, glancing at Jie La Er's left eye again as he finished speaking. "Logically speaking, I can even stop my heartbeat, so there's no way you could see through me. Besides, before you made your move, I should have been no different from a normal person..."

He paused.

"Or is it that you didn't act because of that eye, but because... you wanted to kill me from the very beginning? Yes... that must be it, that's the real you, that's the real you!"

He gradually became excited, licking his blood-soaked lips and shouting.

"Just like how you could harm your contaminated comrades back then! Now you can harm your contaminated son too! That's you, that's you, hahahahaha!"

Before Yong Xin's laughter had even subsided, the Chainsaw Sword was swung up again, drawing a semicircle in the air before slicing off his still-unassembled head once more.

Then he turned the sword around and slashed down the headless body again.

This Chainsaw Sword, repaired by Ju, is far less powerful than the current models or even the original version from ten years ago, but it is still sufficient for a mortal body.

Moreover, Jie La Er clearly did not treat Yong Xin as a normal person. He treated him like a pollutant that had been lingering at his doorstep for the past ten years, and every attack was aimed at chopping him into pieces so that he could never rise again.

Soon, Yong Xin was hacked to pieces by Jie La Er and could no longer even stand up.

But Yong Xin was still not dead, because his voice was coming from all directions.

"Yes, yes, that's it! This is the you I remember, this is what you taught me back then."

Jie La Er discovered that the things that were talking were the scattered flesh and blood of Yong Xin.

So he moved forward again, crushing every piece of flesh that could make a sound with his Chainsaw Sword.

But Yong Xin's voice still didn't disappear; he shouted at Jie La Er.

"You want to kill me now? Why?"

Have you forgotten?

"You were the one who told me not to die!"

"You're the one who told me not to die!"

Jie La Er paused for a moment, then turned around abruptly, seeing the flesh and blood that had been floating in the air like dandelions gradually coalescing behind him.

He struck a strange pose, huddled in the corner, battered and bruised, as if he were seriously injured, and gave him a pale smile.

"Why have you forgotten?" Yong Xin said softly. "You were the one who told me not to die, Father."

This image struck Jie La Er's heart like a heavy hammer.

No, don't die?

These words left Jie La Er feeling somewhat dazed.

At the same time, he heard a series of hurried footsteps.

He instinctively turned his head, and then his eyes widened.

Because he saw someone walking towards him.

The person was wearing Xiaoxing's uniform, and his face was full of urgency and panic, as if he was eager to accomplish something.

But that's not the point.

The key point is that the person was... Jie La Er himself.

He thought this was another of Yong Xin's tricks, and subconsciously slashed at it with his Chainsaw Sword.

But the Chainsaw Sword didn't touch anything and slashed down without any resistance.

Is this... an afterimage?!

Jie La Er was shocked and before he could react further, the phantom from ten years ago rushed in front of him and merged with him.

Then Jie La Er felt a sharp pain, as if new things were constantly being generated in his mind.

Then he heard Bai Wei's voice.

"I see."

"Is this the price you paid?"

...cost?

What price?

Before Jie La Er could figure it out, the new memories that flooded his mind instantly pulled him away.

He pulled into that place, ten years ago, which he had forgotten.

"Lord Jie La Er, this is an urgent mission. Please lead your Night Star to the Contaminated Land as soon as possible."

Clerk 44 smiled and handed over a letter.

"This is important, please do it as soon as possible."

He took the letter and opened it. Inside was a simple drawing: an open box containing a piece of tongue.

"Bring it back," said Clerk 44.

"Captain, isn't this mission location way too deep?"

A well-dressed middle-aged Knight pointed solemnly at the map.

"This is far beyond the designated exploration area; it's completely unknown there... What are we supposed to look for there?"

He raised his head, looking at the thick fog in the distance, and at the enormous, indescribable body within the fog, which resembled a small mountain. He spoke softly.

"Search for the hope of Lyra."

"Captain, what exactly is this thing?"

A Knight covered in wounds sat there, looking over with a weary yet unusually serious expression.

"Once it was removed, all the pollutants in the Contaminated Land rushed towards us like crazy. If this continued, we would all die here... I'm not afraid of sacrifice, but I want to know what we are risking our lives for."

He looked down at the tongue in the box, then looked up at the line that was now only half full, and clenched his fists tightly.

"I... can't say."

The ground began to tremble, and the roars of wild beasts echoed in his ears again. He knew that those damned guys had caught up with him again.

"We can't rest anymore," he said.

"Father, it seems this is all I can do..."

The excessively young Knight gave a weak, pale smile.

"You must take it out of here; it's... our last hope. And Ina, please tell her... I'm sorry."

"No! Ian!" he shouted hoarsely at the young Knight, clutching the box. "Don't die! Don't die!"

The tongue in the box trembled slightly.

He turned his head. The monster in the distance was still approaching, and of the entire squad, only he and the young Knight remained.

He also knew that he couldn't take the tongue back on his own; the monsters wouldn't let him leave.

"No, don't die, Ian."

He spoke once more to the young Knight was on the verge of losing all his life force, his voice pleading, even he was on the verge of collapse.

He was seriously injured.

They couldn't take the young Knight away.

You can't take this tongue with you.

He... needs reinforcements.

We're almost out of the Contamination Zone. As long as reinforcements arrive, we'll be able to return here soon.

Looking at the young Knight who was barely clinging to life, he knew he had only one choice.

"Don't die." He pressed his forehead against the young Knight's, as if trying to share some of his body heat with him. "Wait for me to come back... I will definitely come back."

Then, he buried the box inside the massive Purification Source Crystal beside him, hoping that this product from the Holy Sound would provide some resistance to the monsters.

Even just a tiny bit would be fine.

He took one last look at the young Knight, then without further hesitation, he galloped off toward Lyra.

He knew that he was Jie La Er, the Knight of the Evening Star.

He needs reinforcements.

To save her son and to take away what could save Lyra.

He must come back; his son is still waiting for him.

That's what he was thinking.

But... my head hurts so much.

It really hurts.

It felt as if something was tearing at his body... and his soul.

It made him feel like something was constantly falling.

He is Jie La Er.

He needs reinforcements.

His son was waiting for him.

Lyra is waiting for him.

He is Jie La Er.

He needs reinforcements.

His son was waiting for him.

He is Jie La Er.

He needs reinforcements.

He is Jie La Er.

He finally broke through the fog, but his eyes were full of confusion.

Why is he here?

What was he going to do again?

He looked up and saw countless people rushing towards him, roaring at him.

"Jie La Er!"

"You betrayed Lyra!"

He suddenly opened his eyes.

Yong Xin was still sitting there, covered in blood.

"Do you remember now, Father?"

"You told me not to die, and you said you would come to pick me up."

He spoke softly.

"Are you... here to pick me up?"