Self-Righteous

The dragon's fire scorched the air in Hamlet, causing a large amount of what was likely "oxygen" to dissipate in a short time, and the temperature to rise sharply. The entire Hamlet Town seemed about to burn in this dry and scorching environment.

Such an environment is undoubtedly extremely harsh.

Leaving aside the two Sarkaz, Bohdrokasthim and W, this psychic looks extremely thin, and FrostNova's body has long been weakened... No matter what Oute wants to do, he can't last long in this environment!

"Stinky otter!" W wanted to mock Black Snake a few times before continuing to throw bombs, but she suddenly realized how fragile Oute's body was.

Before she could do anything for Oute, a familiar sense of oppression spread from her heartstrings to every part of her body. Although she was still focused on facing the Black Snake, she could almost picture Oute's image in her mind.

The Mind Flayer, as always, wore that arrogant "I'm the smartest person in the world" face, one hand in his pocket, the other unfurling the strange scroll, and said haughtily, "Concentrate and prepare to share the burden."

W wiped the sweat from her brow and reassured herself, focusing her gaze on the Black Snake. She glanced at Patriot and FrostNova out of the corner of her eye and noticed they were clearly listening to something.

Of course, Oute didn't put on airs like some Sarkaz girl had imagined.

He unfurled the scroll with both hands, placed it vertically, and without even glancing at the Black Snake, calmly continued reciting the lengthy incantation while directing Patriot and FrostNova.

But to be honest, his attitude actually makes him seem much more arrogant.

Judging from his performance alone, the harsh environment created by "Talulah" did not seem to have any effect on him. However, upon closer inspection, one can notice that a layer of white powder has hardened on his exposed skin.

This is probably the result of the sweat being dried quickly and repeatedly.

In this case... it seems that apart from the two main attackers, a certain Zhang Yu is acting as a source of emotional support.

Black Snake dodged Patriot's sudden attack, struggled against FrostNova's bombardment, and had to destroy W's Originium explosives in time.

Even though Oute was right in front of her, apart from the "environmental magic card" she had just used, she couldn't find an opening to attack him for the time being.

With his options of action being blocked one by one by Oute, coupled with the tacit cooperation of the adoptive father and daughter, Black Snake felt the pressure on him growing ever greater...

Pressure!?

She looked at Oute in disbelief, and in her distraction, she was stabbed in the lower abdomen by FrostNova's black ice spike.

Oute looked up and added a name at the end of the incantation, "... Flesh's Desire, the Dead Do Not Rest."

A red light flashed from the void, piercing through the Black Snake's ankle. At the same time, a heavy force locked onto the Black Snake's mind, instantly slowing her movements.

Amidst the dripping blood, a dark shadow rose like smoke from the Black Snake's body, twisting and turning, firmly gripping her ankle.

Soon, the dark shadow solidified, transforming into a resolute-looking woman in a crisp military uniform named Draco. Half of her body was buried in the ground, with only one arm tightly gripping the Black Snake's ankle.

"..." the Black Snake asked incredulously, "Talulah...?"

She looked at Oute again, remained silent for a long while, and then asked in a low voice, "Who exactly are you...?"

Oute leisurely rolled up the scroll again and tucked it under his arm.

"That's not accurate, Miss Kashena, that's not accurate." He settled Eryu down and avoided the second question, "After all, using Originium Arts as a medium and the target's personality data as material, a new personality with a completely different self-perception can be rapidly created under specific circumstances..."

"Broadly speaking, you are both the Black Snake and Talulah."

"Could the sequential actions of individuals who maintain the same purpose, the same memories, and the same behavioral patterns represent the continuation of the same individual's life?"

"Frankly speaking, this kind of family will that rests on 'titles'... I'm in a position where it's inconvenient for me to comment, so I'll leave it at that."

After all, from the perspective of the "Crown Monster," at least Black Snake hasn't done anything as outrageous, heinous, or commonplace as saying, "My daughter's daughter is my daughter"...

Patriot and FrostNova instinctively assumed a guarded stance, while W was a beat slower, returning to Oute's side.

"Don't look at me like that, I can't read minds."

"It's just a guess based on my personal knowledge and skills." Oute waved to the blacksmith's shop, calling for the fourth person in the group.

"And I merely did some small work, using techniques you may not be familiar with, using you as raw material, to pull the Talulah of the past back from the deepest part of your heart."

Talulah herself seems to be in a less than healthy state. Her "body" is somewhat incomplete, and her mind is far from clear; she is merely clinging to the Black Snake.

"... Little Tal." The real Talulah leaned against the doorframe, looking at the utterly distraught Talulah with pity.

It took Draco, in his military uniform, a while to hear this, before he replied with difficulty, "A... Lina?"

Oute glanced at FrostNova, then, carried away from the sweltering scene in W's princess carry.

Chapter 192 Self-righteousness

When everything settled down, and when the original Talulah was forcibly separated from her current personality by Oute, Black Snake felt a sense of relief.

Her mind was filled with errors and misunderstandings: it turned out that he could only do...

No, achieving this level is beyond imagination and beyond logic!

But the individuals born from Talulah's mind, and indeed the entire Black Snake swarm, remain unharmed!

In that case... if we can escape from here once, we can escape from here a second time!

Even if we don't escape, it doesn't matter; the only one being imprisoned is this individual right now!

Compared to the utterly terrible outcome of the complete annihilation of the "Black Snake," the current situation is merely a case of years of meticulous planning being halved, and even the fuse for the Wu-Yan War still being lit!

A hint of joy peeked out from her few words: "You've really gone to great lengths for all this pointless effort!"

After being away from the harsh environment, Oute landed slowly from W's arms, his posture somewhat comical.

"That's not accurate." Oute, leaning on his little sister's arm, stood up slightly, but looked at FrostNova: "My original plan was to be more brutal, and I didn't consider waking Talulah at this point in time."

"Thank you, Grand Duchess Kashena —please forgive me for repeatedly altering the feminine connotation of 'Koschei' without my permission," Oute said calmly. "Your efforts have brought me unexpected joy."

In reality.

Because Black Snake focused most of its energy on the Interstice, Talulah's physical body fought almost entirely on instinct. This fully automated mode might be considered a grunt-killing machine, but the operators led by Ace and Scout were far from being grunts.

With resolute assault, skillful techniques, coordinated cover, and the aid of freezing bombs, the operators have extinguished most of the dragon fire while dodging the Black Snake's unwitting attacks.

Scout and Ace received a new order, "Target's mobility and spellcasting abilities are significantly limited. Ace, activate the backup plan, but change the target from retreat to capture."

Scout aimed his crosshair at Talulah's chest and teased in the squad chat, "I agreed to lead the team this time, but she delivered herself right to my doorstep and came right in to set me up! I haven't had enough of bossing you around yet!"

As Ace deployed his operators, he said, "There will be plenty of opportunities to boss me around, whether it's Stool Sliding Race, a drinking contest, or any other game. Just bring your bets, and you'll have a good chance of winning the jackpot."

Under the scorching heat of the fire, sweat soaked through his gloves and anti-slip straps, wetting the handles inside his shield, but Ace's large hands remained steady. From the towering Fedia, all the way back, at the end of the now-cleared road, the Sarkaz youth pulled the trigger.

On the other side.

Pulling FrostNova's ice spikes from her waist, and glancing at Talulah's increasingly solid and complete body, the Black Snake once again adopted a confident expression, bluffing, "Koschei isn't a name; it's a surname, a land, a city."

"Your understanding of me is as shallow as your self-righteousness regarding the declension of this word."

Real?

I vaguely remember there being a Pegasus named Kashena who was a university professor?

Oute raised an eyebrow, offering no rebuttal.

As the military-uniformed Draco gradually solidified from the black mist and even regained his senses, the Black Snake himself grew weaker and weaker, even becoming illusory.

But under Oute's strange gaze, she remained spirited and said, "Congratulations, your superb, unknown Originium Arts have opened a path to failure for you..."

In the blink of an eye, the Black Snake transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished completely.

Oute nodded slowly, confirming FrostNova and Alina's suspicions. "Go."

The girls immediately rushed forward and helped the real Talulah up.

She stared blankly at Alina, then turned her head dazedly to look at FrostNova, followed by Patriot.

Talulah seemed to understand everything. She said bitterly, "So, you guys also..."

"No, they're still alive." Oute glanced at Alina, then changed his tune, "At least most of them are still alive."

Even the usually gentle deer felt awkward and said, "Mr. Oute... I do have some self-awareness."

"What on earth is going on!?"

With FrostNova supporting her, Talulah almost greedily grasped Alina's soft hand, as if the two might be separated by death at any moment.

It's not exactly "as if".

"Given that we are still dealing with your adoptive father—or adoptive daughter—depending on some simple yet complex ethical issues, I will offer a frankly incorrect answer."

"This is the other side of the world of the dead, and I have brought Patriot and FrostNova here to fight the 'Black Snake'."

What is this person saying?

Wait, a triangle and a castle?

I think I vaguely recognize this symbol?

Back in Chernobog, they seemed to be... no, my head hurts a bit, my memory is all over the place...

Seeing Talulah's stunned and dumbfounded expression, Alina laughed.

She pressed her forehead against Talulah's and whispered, "There's no need for that..."

Elafia's voice grew lower and lower, and she even began to sob, but she still insisted on finishing her sentence: "So... so urgent."

A girl as gentle on the outside but strong on the inside as she was, if you don't count the cries she shed at birth, she had almost never cried like this before. And this time, what made her burst into tears was not any pain, but rather the joy of a long-awaited reunion, and the relief she felt.

Just as Talulah awkwardly and helplessly trying to comfort Alina, FrostNova turned to Oute for help. After catching a glimpse of this, Talulah also looked at Oute as if her mind had suddenly changed.

You'd ask Oute about this kind of problem!?

Oute nodded solemnly.

No way! It's one thing for those two clueless straight women to be so clueless, but why are you acting like you've got everything covered for me!?

"Alina, clean up the battlefield. If it were you, you should be able to find something."

He gave this command.

The little deer wiped her tears on Talulah's shoulder, her voice a mixture of laughter and tears, and replied with a nasal tone, "Mm."