Elizabeth suddenly gave a short laugh.
"Big talk. Stay here and dream with the rest of them until you're all buried on this island."
Ririko tilted her head and pointed upward.
"Didn't you understand? That old man's head just acknowledged that I've taken over the Court of Owls, and that Dick is the Crown family's heir."
She looked at Elizabeth with a wicked smile. "You're the one who should stay on this island for treatment."
The smile remained on Elizabeth's face. Her years of wielding power still gave her confidence.
She slowly raised her head and looked at the silent head above her.
"Grandfather," she called, raising her voice a little, "are you all right?"
There was no response from the tank.
The head now floated quietly inside it. The liquid no longer churned, and the bubbles in the tubes had stopped.
The waveform on the vital signs monitor was gradually flattening. Occasionally, one or two faint fluctuations appeared, then grew slower and slower...
Elizabeth's pupils contracted.
She whipped her head toward Ririko. "What did you do to him?"
Ririko took a step forward.
"You're the one who should answer that. You stuffed him into this tin can and made him your puppet... now I've helped fulfill his wish, so he could die in peace."
Elizabeth's lips pressed into a tight line.
Her chest rose and fell twice.
She raised a hand and gestured to the Talon Assassins behind her. "Seize them all."
But the Talon Assassins didn't move.
Elizabeth's hand froze in midair.
Suddenly, a blade swept across from behind her, its edge settling against her neck. The cold of the steel seeped into her skin.
Elizabeth's breath caught.
"Cobb... what are you doing?"
The rebellious Talon Assassin slowly pulled off his mask, revealing a middle-aged man's face. William