Rest in Peace

The rain poured down harder and harder, the torrential noise easily drowning out the ticking of the pocket watch.

Ina stood at the bridgehead, gazing at the lake below, churning in the torrential rain, and remained silent for a long time.

The agreed-upon time with Jie La Er has passed for a long time.

But he never showed up.

Ina was left standing there alone, just like the night ten years ago when they suddenly set off for the Land of Corruption.

"Father... why?"

Ina spoke softly.

"Why are you leaving me all alone again?"

She raised her head, letting the rain lash her cheeks. In the moonless night sky, obscured by dark clouds, she thought of another person's face.

"...elder brother."

Tear!

With some difficulty, the Chainsaw Sword cleaved the mangled body in front of it in two.

At this point, its operation was already very poor. Too much flesh and small bones were stuck in the serrations, making it lose its initial sharpness and turn it into a "dull knife".

Just like Jie La Er at this moment.

Pfft!

Jie La Er retreated repeatedly, pulling out the broken bone embedded in his shoulder and then breaking it, but it was no use; the broken bone quickly healed.

"You're getting slower and slower, Father." Yong Xin's voice came from all directions. "You're getting old. You wouldn't have been this disheveled ten years ago."

Jie La Er looked up and saw Yong Xin's body converging not far away.

This scene looks like a dandelion that has flown away has returned to the branch. If these flying things were not flesh and blood, they would probably be quite beautiful.

"Actually, I've been thinking about this all along," Yong Xin said slowly, "Father, why do we have to fight to the death? The New World is clearly big enough to accommodate both of us."

Jie La Er stared coldly at Yong Xin without saying a word.

"Besides, why am I not your son?" Yong Xin said. "Why do you have to treat me as an enemy? I'm not a monster. I'm just another personality of Ian. I can also be called Ian. No, I am Ian. I was born in his body. I have all his memories. I know what you like and what you hate. I also have feelings for you..."

Yong Xin pointed to his chest and said.

"Yes, it's right here, naturally, it's been there since I was born, that's the best proof, Father."

Yong Xin reached out his hand to Jie La Er once again.

But Jie La Er silently shook off the flesh and small bones from the Chainsaw Sword, trying to restore its power.

"So this is your answer." Yong Xin sighed again, then withdrew his hand and said calmly, "Why does it have to be this way? Have you ever thought that when a person dies, nothing remains? Even what you want most—the truth—will be completely buried with your death. You will die as the last member of Xiaoxing, without being able to clear their names. In fact, the things you did before you died will deepen people's hatred and fear of you. A hundred years later, you will receive a title even worse than that of traitors... Even so, does it not matter?"

Splash!

The last small bone was removed.

After a series of tremors, the Chainsaw Sword slowly regained its power, but it was far less powerful than before.

Yong Xin was naturally not afraid of such a thing.

Compared to the rusty Chainsaw Sword and Jie La Er's rudimentary equipment that could barely enter the [Overload] state, what Yong Xin feared even more was Jie La Er's left eye and left middle finger.

To be precise, it was Visas's Left Eye and left middle finger.

From a certain perspective, Yong Xin himself was created by [Domination], so he understands more clearly than ordinary people just how powerful Visas is.

If it weren't for that eye and that finger, Yong Xin wouldn't have wanted to say so much to Jie La Er at all.

However, Jie La Er never used the power of Visas, and simply blocked Yong Xin's attacks, leaving Yong Xin unsure of what Jie La Er was thinking.

Even though Jie La Er was covered in injuries, he still hadn't made a move.

All of this made Yong Xin wonder if he had guessed wrong, and if Jie La Er had not obtained Visas's eye at all. After all, the information he had was that the West Archbishop of Rhine had been killed by a Father Ulu Uru, and Ulu had disappeared without a trace. The West Archbishop's left eye of Visas had also been lost.

Combined with the series of changes Jie La Er underwent after returning from the Rhine, Yong Xin concluded that Jie La Er had regained his lost left eye, which was why he could see so many things.

Jie La Er hasn't used it yet.

Could it be that he doesn't have that eye, and everything before was just a coincidence?

No, impossible, absolutely impossible.

The idea had barely popped into Yong Xin's mind when it was quickly rejected.

After all, the strange cause of Terrell's death, the lingering echoes on his body, and Yong Xin's several near-disintegration crises during this period all pointed to something.

That eye is the real thing.

Are you afraid of death?

Jie La Er, who hadn't spoken for a long time, suddenly opened his mouth, which startled Yong Xin, since he had previously thought that Jie La Er would remain silent until his death.

"Do you think I'm afraid of death?" Yong Xin said with a smile. "I was born from Land of Corruption, a forbidden zone for you, right? But for me, it is..."

"Then why did you escape from there?"

Yong Xin's smile suddenly froze.

"You were born from death, yet you are desperately trying to escape death and chase after new life." Jie La Er looked up at Yong Xin and said softly, "What you fear most is going back there, but we are different. As you said, that place is a forbidden zone of death for us, but we are never afraid to go there. But that doesn't mean we are not afraid of death. Rather, for us, there are always some things that are more important than death."

After Jie La Er finished speaking, the Chainsaw Sword in his hand gradually regained its power, and the roar it emitted became louder and louder.

Jie La Er looked at Yong Xin, whose smile had faded considerably.

"And these things are things you can't understand. You were born from Ian's body and have all his memories, but you don't have the most crucial thing. So you can never be my son. You will always be one of those monsters that wander in the swamp. Even if you wear human skin, I can still smell the stench on you."

After Jie La Er finished speaking, Yong Xin's already dwindling smile vanished completely.

He was like a creature stripped of all pretense, its skin peeled away, leaving only a writhing contaminant.

"You... you really dare to say that."

Yong Xin spoke softly, trying to remain calm, but the anger beneath that calm seemed ready to erupt at any moment.

"I was going to spare your life, out of respect for you being my father, but since you don't need it, then forget it." Yong Xin's tone grew increasingly harsh, and his body underwent a transformation. The flying bones crumbled and then transformed into sharp bone spurs, like blooming flowers. "After you die, I will bring your head before Ina, and then... well, that's pointless. I might as well send her to see you too. When your family is reunited in hell, then we can discuss what is more important than death."

Jie La Er could naturally sense Yong Xin's ruthlessness, but he didn't care and didn't even look at him much. Instead, he focused his attention on Yong Xin's right hand.

Yong Xin clearly noticed this as well, and sneered. Then, his right hand exploded with a "poof," pierced through from the inside out by bone spurs.

Amidst the blooming blood mist, Yong Xin forced his struggling right arm toward Jie La Er.

"Since you care so much about your son," Yong Xin said calmly, "Then you should die with him."

As his right arm drew ever closer, Jie La Er lowered his head and whispered, "I'm sorry, Ian."

Just as his right hand touched Jie La Er, Yong Xin suddenly heard the sound of wind.

...wind?

He was somewhat dazed.

Because it was pouring rain outside, and howling winds were pouring in through the windows.

But Yong Xin felt that the sound of the wind he was hearing did not belong to this gale.

Instead, it comes from a gentler, lighter breeze.

A gentle breeze blew through the decaying giant tree, causing the branches to sway softly, as if calling out to something.

Wait... calling?

Yong Xin suddenly realized something and his eyes widened in shock.

His body suddenly went out of control. The blood and flesh floating in the air trembled wildly, and some small pieces even fell directly to the ground and then quickly rotted, as if some force was drawing away the "life force" from their bodies!

No, to be precise, what was taken away was not "vitality," but rather "dominance."

Here we go again!

Here we go again!

Yong Xin was greatly alarmed and retreated abruptly.

This wasn't the first time he'd experienced something like this; it had happened twice before.

This time, however, he was certain that Jie La Er was behind it all!

Yong Xin desperately maintained his physical condition, then grabbed his right hand that had just flown out, and used his last bit of strength to attack Jie La Er.

But such a hasty attack was clearly useless against Jie La Er, who easily cut off the bone spikes.

The severed bone spurs did not reassemble after hitting the ground as before, but instead quickly decomposed, turning into mud that Contaminated Land.

Jie La Er looked up and saw that Yong Xin, who was barely able to maintain his human form, had already begun to flee.

Without hesitation, he immediately gave chase.

"Damn it! What kind of power is that?!"

Yong Xin cursed under his breath as he fled.

As far as he knew, neither the eyes nor the fingers possessed such power.

Even when the scope is expanded to the entire "Forbidden Book," Yong Xin cannot recall any similar power or rule.

But it doesn't matter.

If this were the first time Yong Xin had encountered such a situation, he might not have known how to deal with it, but this wasn't the first time, and he already had a way to deal with it.

The solution lies within this Tower of Babel.

Because this Tower of Babel is the closest place to Lyra.

Therefore, it is naturally the place closest to that New God.

Here, Yong Xin can directly access the power of the New God and enter a state similar to Rhine's God's Blessing!

It is even more powerful than Rhine's God's Blessing state, because Rhine's God is in the Divine Kingdom, while his New God is right under his feet!

Therefore, the closer one gets to the core of the Tower of Babel, the more...

Bang!

The ground beneath Yong Xin's feet suddenly cracked open, and as soon as he ducked, he bumped headfirst into Jie La Er and his Chainsaw Sword.

Jie La Er, starting from below, pinned Yong Xin to the wall with his Chainsaw Sword. The roaring Chainsaw Sword immediately shredded Yong Xin's still-fragmented body into mud.

"You can't escape," Jie La Er said coldly.

Yong Xin struggled desperately, but now that he could barely maintain his [Domination], he couldn't break free at all and could only watch helplessly as his body melted away in those sharp serrations.

For the first time in ten years, he felt death was so close.

"You think you've won?!" Yong Xin roared at Jie La Er. "Where do you think you are right now?! Do you think you can defy the Great Lord with just that one eye?! I'm telling you, impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

With a "snap".

Yong Xin clasped his hands together, his eyes seemingly burning with fire.

After he finished speaking, Jie La Er and Bai Wei both felt something responding to them from the depths of the Tower of Babel.

Bai Wei immediately frowned at Jie La Er.

The power of [Domination] is still a little short of being fully recovered. If Yong Xin were to use the power of that New God at this moment, it would indeed be quite troublesome.

After all, the descent of a god cannot be canceled by a finger, and the eyes require even more preparation time.

Could it be that...

"Puff"!

Just then, Yong Xin's clasped hands suddenly separated.

His right hand was firmly pressed against the palm of his left hand.

Yong Xin and Jie La Er's eyes widened at the same time.

"Impossible!" Yong Xin exclaimed in shock. "How could you still have so much power?! This is impossible... um..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yong Xin's expression suddenly became distorted.

Under Jie La Er's gaze, Yong Xin's expression changed rapidly, as if he were going through a fierce struggle.

Then, he looked up at Jie La Er again.

It was the same face, but Jie La Er's body suddenly trembled.

"Father..." Ian said softly.

In that instant, Bai Wei could feel Jie La Er's hand trembling as he gripped the sword.

"... Ian?" His voice had become hoarse.

Ian opened his mouth, as if he had a lot to say to Jie La Er, but his expression turned to struggle again, clearly he was trying hard to suppress his Yong Xin.

"Do it, Father," Ian said. "There's no time left, and I'm almost... unable to hold on any longer."

As if to prove his point, his left hand began to shake violently, gripping his right hand again, and the distant response became clear once more.

"That's enough, Jie La Er," Bai Wei's voice rang out at that moment. "You can only say one sentence now, just one sentence."

Jie La Er looked up at Ian's face.

Scenes etched in his memory flashed before his eyes, from the boy in the orphanage who protected his younger sister behind his back, to the spirited young man who wanted to join Xiaoxing, and then to the warrior who made him persevere in living.

And now.

Looking at that familiar face, Jie La Er had so much to say.

But at this moment, all he could say was—

Rest in peace, Ian.