A Boiler-Style Room, So She'd Feel at Home

Beatrice deliberated for a long while before ultimately choosing the word "fear" to describe Pollution's state.

She felt that the Pollution within her was no longer like when it had been suppressed by the steam engine—though weakened, it had still stubbornly caused trouble for her.

Now, the Pollution inside her seemed as though it did not exist at all. It simply stayed quietly in place, completely devoid of any signs of life, like...

Like a rat seeing a cat, or a sparrow seeing a hawk—the blank helplessness of facing a natural predator with no ability to resist.

More accurately, it was waiting with its eyes closed for death.

But what existed here that made Pollution so afraid?

Beatrice looked up at Theus, and a thought suddenly struck her.

Could it be the Stellar Furnace?

There was an incomparably powerful evil god within that Stellar Furnace. Just one glance had made her lose all ability to resist, and it seemed that the Pollution within her had settled down after that.

Moreover, Beatrice had heard that one of Pollution's sources seemed to be the sea. Pollution had constantly poured forth from the ocean for thousands of years, so it was very likely related to it.

Theus nodded noncommittally. To be honest, he had more or less guessed that it had something to do with him.

Though he did not know why, Pollution had always feared him. Even when he descended into the evil god's shell, that dense Pollution, nearly solid in form, had been unable to harm him in the slightest and had instead been effortlessly purified by him.

Wait, if he thought about it that way...

Theus narrowed his eyes. If he could descend into Beatrice's body, wouldn't he be able to directly purify the Pollution within her?

Unfortunately, he could