Restriction Release

Diana was startled by this sudden idea.

No matter how you look at it, it's highly unlikely that Isaiah would harm her and Luo Qi simply because he couldn't find his Hand Eye.

After all, putting aside Luo Qi, she is from the Contract Land, Ring Finger through generations in the Contract Land. Isaiah should not possibly lay a hand on her.

Etc.

Diana suddenly realized a crucial question: Did Isaiah really know the origin of the Ring Finger?

Thinking about it carefully, Diana doesn't seem to have ever revealed her identity in Peach Blossom Paradise. Although everyone else could guess that she came from the Contract Land, they obviously didn't know her more detailed identity. And the ability of Contractor is also a top secret in the Contract Land. Apart from the Warden and the Contractor, even some of the less senior Guardian don't know it.

Given this, it's entirely possible that Diana could become a target in the eyes of Isaiah, who was unaware of the situation.

After all, compared to Hand Eye, she and Luo Qi seemed to be easier to deal with. As long as he dealt with her and Luo Qi first, Isaiah would also be able to obtain four pieces of the body, and then contend with Hand Eye.

Thinking of this, Diana felt a strong sense of crisis.

The crisis didn't entirely stem from Isaiah targeting her, since her true form was in the Abyss Prison, making it impossible for Isaiah to track her down and attack her.

What truly troubled Diana was that if Isaiah targeted her and dragged her into the water, the Warden might discover the existence of Peach Blossom Paradise. Diana's involvement in Peach Blossom Paradise would then be exposed.

And if this continues, and everything she did in Peach Blossom Paradise, such as using information about the Contract Land as leverage to sell to other holders of body parts...

In that instant, the image of the Warden's abyss-like eyes flashed into Diana's mind, and she felt a chill run through her. Only then did she realize the extent of the trouble she had unknowingly found herself in.

... I was careless.

Diana pinched her thigh hard.

They should have thought of these things before they even arrived at the Contract Land; how could they be so slow to realize them?

Diana felt a pang of annoyance, partly because she had considered herself a safe enough outsider for most of the time, only to realize at this moment that she was already in the water.

Diana knew perfectly well that the Warden didn't care about power or status, nor did he care about the Contract Land's connections with the black market. The only thing he truly cared about was the Contract Land itself, or rather, the mission entrusted to him by the Gods. And if he found out that Diana had betrayed the Contract Land in Peach Blossom Paradise, he would absolutely not let Diana go.

After all, there have been countless Contractor have wielded the Ring Finger over the past thousand years, but there has only been one Warden.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Diana took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

It's not too late for her to realize the crisis; she still has plenty of time to make amends.

So how should we do it?

Did he previously send a servant to contact Isaiah, revealing his identity and warning him against any wicked intentions?

Impossible. Even Luo Qi wouldn't do something so foolish as to expose the enemy's weakness.

So, what if you cooperate with Isaiah, offering to help him find Hand Eye as a bargaining chip, so that he would eliminate Hand Eye and you would get two pieces of Hand Eye's body? That way, you would have six pieces of body, and handing over three more wouldn't be a problem. He shouldn't refuse, and you might even get a piece for yourself.

But that would be far too dangerous. Putting aside whether she could even find the Hand Eye, just getting close to Isaiah in person was risky enough. Heaven knows what Isaiah, with so many pieces of his body, was capable of.

Even assuming Isaiah didn't intend to harm her, the two of them successfully eliminated the Hand Eye together. So what happened next, when Isaiah was given the choice of which body parts to dispose of?

Everyone knew what Isaiah wanted most from the body. In fact, Diana believed Isaiah would be willing to give up all the remaining body parts if he could just collect the eyes, since the Warden hadn't forced him to hand over the other eye.

But what if he manages to gather both eyes and successfully escape this calamity...?

Diana couldn't even imagine how terrifying a person with eyes and the knowledge of everyone else could be—the number one being under God.

So that won't work either.

Therefore, cooperating with Isaiah seems almost impossible.

So, what if we cooperated with our Hand Eye to directly defeat Isaiah?

Diana pondered for a moment and realized that this was even more impossible. Because to cooperate with Hand Eye here required a prerequisite: that Isaiah's words were true, that Hand Eye, and Tongue were one person. Otherwise, Hand Eye should still be in the small town where he made the agreement with Isaiah, and would never have come here.

If he were to arrive here, he would be an enemy far more formidable than Isaiah, and Diana would certainly not be willing to help him.

Thinking about it this way, Diana didn't really have many choices; cooperating with anyone would have been too dangerous for her.

So Diana had to do it herself, and if she did it alone, what situation would be most advantageous for her?

Diana narrowed her eyes slightly.

There is only one answer: they must both die.

Using the Obedience of Heavenly Voice twice is the safest approach. Of course, if the Hand Eye are telling the truth and Isaiah is lying, then the first Heaven's Obedience take Isaiah's life, and they will recover four pieces of Isaiah body, so there's no need to use the second Heaven's Obedience. However, if Isaiah is telling the truth and the Hand Eye are lying, then after killing Isaiah, the second Heaven's Obedience can be used to eliminate the Hand Eye.

Although the cost is somewhat high, it is indeed the safest option.

On this point, Diana and the Warden shared the same view.

The difference lies in the fact that the Warden gave Isaiah a chance to "save himself," while Diana wanted to execute it immediately, regardless of whether Isaiah was innocent or not, she couldn't allow him to have any possibility of self-destruction in his desperate situation.

Yes, Diana had realized that things had progressed to this point, and regardless of whether Isaiah was innocent or not, he was now facing certain death.

The dead are the best at keeping secrets.

That leaves only one last question.

How can we get Isaiah to skip the "self-rescue" phase and proceed directly to his execution?

Diana pondered.

Suddenly, she thought of something and slowly raised her head.

The prison, which led straight into the abyss, was right before her eyes.

She gazed into the abyss for a long time, then whispered.

"It really is the only way."

Immediately afterward, Diana heard hurried footsteps behind her.

"Contractor, the Warden is looking for you."

What the hell is going on tonight?

Back at his lodgings, Luo Qi was restless.

To be honest, he still can't be sure what happened and is completely confused.

That idiot Warden was murdered, but not completely, and managed to come back to life. Not only did he come back to life, but he also claims to remember who the murderer was, though he doesn't remember everything except for one eye.

What good is your mother's one eye? She can't even tell if it's her left or right eye.

Someone with this level of skill can be a Warden?! In our Rhine, he'd be at most a low-ranking old Father like Ulu!

Luo Qi cursed inwardly.

It's understandable that he was irritable; after all, even he could see that the Warden's actions had pushed Isaiah to the brink, and who knew what Isaiah would do?

Isaiah knows Luo Qi's identity! He wouldn't be so stumped by not being able to gather all the body parts, and then turn around and kill him, would he?!

Luo Qi thought about it more and more and it seemed very possible. He was never afraid of jumping off a cliff; what he feared was that he would be standing right at the bottom of the cliff when the other person jumped.

If you want to die, then die, but don't drag me down with you.

So what should we do now? Should we just go and confess to the Warden, tell him about our body parts, and have him warn Isaiah not to have any ulterior motives towards us?

What if the Warden says, "How would he know you have body parts?"

Should we all reveal the story of Peach Blossom Paradise to the outside world?

To be honest, Luo Qi really didn't want to do this unless absolutely necessary. After all, he had twice given that guy Hand Eye a handy (referring to the rules of losing) in Peach Blossom Paradise. If His Lord Lan Ge thought that this was the reason for Fei Ge's defeat... no, not just if, that old B-Den would definitely make a big deal out of this. Luo Qi knew him too well.

From this perspective, he's already stained with mud; even if it's not excrement, it's still excrement.

Luo Qi scratched his head in distress, already regretting not reporting Lan Ge to him the first time he entered Peach Blossom Paradise. He thought that he wouldn't be in this predicament now.

Looking back on his series of experiences in Peach Blossom Paradise, it can be said that he did all the work for nothing, not only did he gain nothing, but he also lost four fingers.

Losing four fingers is bad enough, but now he also has to risk betraying his faith.

Who can I complain to about this?

Where's that damn Ring Finger? Weren't we supposed to be working together? Why is he nowhere to be seen?

I'm all left alone, what the hell am I supposed to do?!

Luo Qi's hair was almost completely gone.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Didn't I tell you already?" Luo Qi roared impatiently, "I don't need you to sleep with me tonight, get out!"

"Uh, Bishop Luo Qi, you've misunderstood." The Chief Knight's slightly embarrassed voice came from outside the door. "A lady just came looking for you..."

"A lady? I'm even less interested... Huh? A lady?" Luo Qi realized what he meant and immediately rushed to Open the door. "What kind of lady? Tell me!"

The Chief Knight looked at Luo Qi with some surprise at his sudden interest in the woman, but instead of criticizing him, he honestly said, "She covered her face and used a disguise, but she asked me to give this to you, saying that you definitely know who she is."

Upon hearing the word "lady, "Luo Qi could only think of the Ring Finger.

But isn't the Ring Finger used for men's bodies during the day? Why does it switch to using women's bodies at night? What kind of weird fetish is that?

Although Luo Qi was somewhat puzzled, he still accepted the envelope, then warned the Chief Knight not to talk nonsense before returning to his room.

After opening the envelope and reading the contents, his pupils gradually dilated.

This is indeed a letter from the Ring Finger.

The letter also addressed cooperation, inviting him to join forces against Isaiah.

This is indeed the kind of cooperation Luo Qi wanted, but the method of cooperation was simply... far too risky.

Once discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But...

Luo Qi narrowed his eyes slightly.

After a while, he conjured a ball of flame with his hand and burned the letter.

After it had completely burned out, Luo Qi went out again and spoke to the Chief Knight outside the door.

"Summon a few trusted men; I have something to tell you."

Outside the Rhine's camp, Ina breathed a slight sigh of relief after watching the Chief Knight deliver the letter to Luo Qi, and then returned to her quarters.

Not long after he returned, his subordinates brought him a report.

"Miss Ina, someone from the Contract Land said that the restrictions here will be lifted tomorrow morning, and they told us to be careful."

Ina nodded. "I understand."

She understood the meaning of the Contract Land.

Lifting the restrictions means lifting the surveillance on Visas's power.

This allows Isaiah to act without any restrictions, to find and eliminate the "Ulu" he spoke of.

Found it! Everyone's happy.

If they can't find it... the desperate gamble of the number one person under the gods, no one can predict what the final outcome will be.

"What preparations should we make?" the subordinate asked anxiously. "Won't we be affected?"

"No need." Ina shook her head, then said firmly, "This conflict has nothing to do with us. Our war is over. This is their war."

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

The dawn light fell upon the Obedience of Heavenly Voice, their sacred forms and twisted tentacles creating an eerily strange atmosphere.

In the morning light, one restrictive device after another slowly closed, announcing the lifting of the restrictions.

This scene, witnessed by Mina, made her even more anxious.

Although she knew that her teacher was the number one being under God, the most powerful human in the world, and that there was nothing he couldn't do in the past.

But now, facing the Hand Eye that have pushed him step by step into a dead end, does the teacher really still have a chance to turn the tide?

Mina didn't know either, but she still remembered how haggard her teacher looked last night, as if she had aged countless years in an instant. She had never seen her teacher behave like that before.

So... is it really possible to turn things around?

But just then, she heard the door behind her open, and she instinctively turned around. "Teacher..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

Because she saw Isaiah as he is now.

There was no anxiety, no unease, only peace and ease, just like his right eye that sealed the Star Sea.

Her expression was exactly like when Mina first met Isaiah in class more than ten years ago.

"Teacher..." The drastic change left Mina somewhat at a loss.

Let's go.

"Where... are we going?"

"To follow the stars," Isaiah said with a soft laugh, "To seek the truth."