The truth of the ghost ship

"The Folk of Rage" Griffin, holding a long sword in his left hand, stared expressionlessly at Mia, the "Beast Tamer," who stood in front of Danitz, and hissed:

"Intruders deserve to die!"

Before he finished speaking, his face contorted with rage, and he charged forward, brandishing his sword.

Danitz clutched his lower abdomen tightly, but still couldn't stop the blood from flowing out.

He glanced at his subordinate who had launched an attack without hesitation, and urged, his face pale, "Go! He... he's not himself anymore!"

"You really think he won't kill you?"

"Go, go find the captain!"

Tell her that those Fourth Epoch things are dangerous! Be very careful!

"Then what will you do?" Mia's voice was no longer calm as before, and trembled slightly.

"It's better for one person to die than for two." Danitz exhaled forcefully, his voice broken. "I'll try my best to buy you some time."

"Alright, enough talk, hurry up..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the woman in front of him nod and leave without hesitation. The tragic grandeur of impending death was quickly replaced by frustration. "That was a bit too decisive..." Danitz thought bitterly, shifting to a more comfortable position against the wall, and began to summon the little Spirituality he had left.

Flames erupted from his palm, gradually coalescing into shape.

In the time it takes to say a few words, "The Folk of Rage" Griffin has caught up again.

Danitz glanced sideways at the familiar figure rushing towards him, his gaze sweeping over the other's expressionless face, and a complex emotion involuntarily surfaced on his own.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he threw out the blazing white fireball in his hand.

"Die!"

Griffin roared, instantly unleashing the anger he had been holding back.

Furious Strike!

A flash of snow-white light suddenly appeared in the darkness, heading straight for the blazing fireball.

The two collided, resulting in a violent Explosion.

The raging flames instantly engulfed Griffin's figure, and the aftershocks sent him flying, crashing into the corridor wall with a thud.

Then, he fell to the ground with a thud and couldn't get up for a long time. Danitz chuckled, quite satisfied with his victory.

If it weren't for your Dogshit attack, you really think you, a Sequence 8, could defeat me? I am the strongest Sailor Chief of the "Golden Dream"!

With his Spirituality nearly exhausted, Danitz, who vaguely saw layers of Illusions and heard unknown roars and murmurs, amused himself.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mia return, and he froze on the spot:

"Why are you doing this again...?"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw a figure emerge from behind Mia. After a slight surprise, his face lit up with delight. "It's you?!"

Her gaze swept over the gruesome wound that Danitz had inadvertently revealed in his excitement, and Lorry nodded almost imperceptibly before turning her attention to Griffin, the "Folk of Rage."

Two flashes of light suddenly appeared in his pupils.

Spirit Piercing!

Griffin's forward momentum stopped abruptly, his face contorted in Affliction.

Mia opened her mouth as if to speak, but ultimately chose to remain silent, waiting quietly for everything to unfold.

Danitz sighed inwardly and said, "He's probably under the control of this ship; perhaps there's still hope."

Lorry hummed in agreement, but did nothing further.

He slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over Danitz leaning against the wall and Mia, whose eyes held a hint of relief, and asked in a relaxed and comfortable tone:

Are you ready to meet the other people?

Danitz and Mia exchanged a glance, both looking utterly bewildered.

The two asked almost simultaneously:

"What's the meaning?"

"The literal meaning," Lorry said with a smile.

He reached out and touched the White Bone Ring, gently stroking it. Then, amidst the astonished and uncertain gazes of the other two, he raised his hand and pointed a finger into the void.

What is this guy/ Third Mate doing?

Such thoughts flashed through Danitz and Mia's minds uncontrollably; the latter looked blank, while the former couldn't help but frown.

But they soon learned the reason. As the finger was pointed out, the void visibly began to tremble, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, ripples spreading in all directions.

They saw that outside the corridor, the layers of space collapsed one after another, triggering a chain reaction like the dominoes invented by Emperor Roselle.

The two felt as if something had silently shattered.

But you can't see anything.

Ignoring their questioning looks, Lorry smiled and said nothing.

This is the "chaos" of the "Fallen Earl"!

It can affect the structure of things, causing a behemoth to collapse.

This behemoth can be either real or abstract, exploiting minor flaws to expose the whole problem and thus impact the entire system.

Having learned the purpose of those Fourth Epoch artifacts, he had completely deciphered the mystery and mastered the operating rules of the Ghost Ship.

With his understanding of the rules, he could easily use "chaos" to dismantle the order that had been established here for over a thousand years, thereby gaining control of the Ghost Ship.

However, these reasons are not suitable to tell the two people in front of me.

Knowing too much without sufficient strength is not necessarily a good thing. Just as they were horrified by what they were witnessing, Danitz and Mia suddenly heard a familiar, questioning voice coming from not far away:

What are you doing here?

Danitz was taken aback by these words, and abruptly turned his head. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the other person walking towards them excitedly, saying:

I'm so glad you're all alright!

"Hey, you there, haven't you always envied the captain for having a Solomon Empire Gold Coins in his collection? I found two while exploring a room just now."

"Here's one for you, as repayment for the favor you did me last time; the other is for the boss, to thank him for taking care of me all these years."

"Don't overthink it. I'm just returning a favor; I didn't mean anything by it."

"Look, they even have a leader."

Dogshit... What do you mean, "Even I have it?!" And what do you mean, "It's great that we're okay?!" Do I look like I'm okay?!

You'd better look at me! If you don't need your eyes, you can donate them to someone who does!

Danitz watched as the Instigator had nearly killed him frantically used him as an excuse to pursue women, and his facial muscles twitched slightly with anger.

Mia was silent for a few seconds, opened her mouth as if to speak, then fell silent again. After repeating this several times, she finally hummed in agreement, reached out and took the Gold Coins from the Solomon Empire, gripping it tightly in her palm.

Griffin chuckled, then had a chance to look at Danitz:

"Boss, this is me..."

His voice abruptly stopped, and he suddenly erupted in fury:

Who is it?!

"Who hurt you like this? I'll chop him to pieces!"

Danitz: "..."

Mia: "..."

Griffin scratched his head blankly. "Why are you looking at me like that? It couldn't have been me who did it, could it? Hahaha... Uh, why aren't you laughing?"

Seeing that Danitz's injuries were far less severe than last time and that he wouldn't die anytime soon, Lorry chuckled to himself, leaving them some space, and stepped forward.

He had only taken a few steps when he saw the door at the end of the corridor be pushed open, and a dozen people surrounded the "Vice Admiral Iceberg" as he walked towards him.

Three still died...? Rory's gaze swept over the crowd, Lorry sighed silently. He then gathered his thoughts and looked at Edwina, whose eyes were sparkling. "Let's talk as we walk," he said with a smile, extending his hand in an inviting gesture.

Edwina nodded slightly and turned around to say:

"Wait for me here."

After saying that, she Feather Fall leaped to catch up with Lorry's steps.

Lorry said without looking to the side:

"The endless, maze-like corridors—you've probably guessed why."

The designers have constructed an order from countless "Distortion" elements, so that the owner of the Ghost Ship can easily manipulate all those who covet it with a mere thought.

"If the order cannot be disrupted, even Demigod will be trapped and die—the order here has been stable for thousands of years, and even forces of the same level would find it difficult to break."

Edwina gave a soft "Mmm" and smiled, saying, "The one most adept at dealing with order is order itself."

Lorry smiled but didn't reply.

"The Fourth Epoch antiquities, coins, and other items deliberately left in the corridor maze were another means designed by the legendary duke to deal with those who coveted them."

"Anyone who accepts the Ghost Ship's 'bribe' will become its most loyal servant under pre-established rules. This effect is similar to ' Enchantment '; those controlled will have no memory of it upon regaining consciousness. Only those without Spirit Body can disregard this rule."

"No Spirit Body?" Edwina frowned slightly, looking bewildered, not understanding why Lorry would say that.

All things have spirits... Apart from inanimate objects, what kind of creature doesn't have Spirit Body? Even Spirit World Creature and controlled Marionette are no exception.

Without explaining the existence of the "Shaman" Pathway, Lorry continued, "After most people boarded the ship, the connection between this place and the Spirit World was severed."

The reason is:

"This Ghost Ship is not simply a ' Black Emperor ' Pathway; it also incorporates the Beyonder Characteristic of the ' Arbiter ' Demigod."

"The effect of the Decree makes this space self-contained, unable to communicate with the outside world."

After speaking, he strolled as if he were walking in his own Garden, leading the "Vice Admiral Iceberg" around several corners and into a magnificent palace.

The two walked side by side toward the highest point of the palace, and Lorry spoke eloquently:

"As for the blood-red Yamaha that everyone encountered on the ship, they are actually the same species as the Yamaha outside, just with different roles."

Edwina blinked and said, "Similar to worker ants and soldier ants?"

"That's right." Lorry smiled upon hearing this. By then, they had reached the highest point of the palace.

Edwina looked around and asked uncertainly:

"This appears to be an altar?"

Her gaze fell upon the center of the altar, inscribed with countless esoteric symbols and Incantation, where she saw a dead, enormous, bloated Yamaha.

"The queen ant of the Yamaha tribe?"

Lorry smiled and said, "Yamaha is what the local natives call it. To be more precise, their name should be Blood-Devouring Worm."

"The most distinctive feature of this race is that each group actually consists of only one Blood-Devouring Worm, one mother and countless offspring."

"Mia is unable to communicate with her offspring for this reason—in a sense, these offspring already have owners."

"Your guess is correct; it is indeed the mother of the Blood-Devouring Worm."

"This demigod, who accidentally wandered into our world, was captured alive by the last legendary duke of the Solomon Empire and had his Demigod abilities extracted, leaving him with only the title but no power, is here because of an ice coffin beneath the altar."

"Extend lifespan?" Edwina guessed the answer immediately.

Lorry nodded and said, "This altar utilizes the characteristic of the Blood-Devouring Worm swarm's offspring feeding back to the mother, using their mother as a transit point to prolong the life of the one in the ice coffin."

The original purpose of that "Arbiter" Demigod characteristic was actually here: to better seal the mother body and prevent accidents from happening at the altar.

"Unfortunately, that legendary duke was not a true god after all. No matter how ingenious the arrangements he left behind were, loopholes still appeared more than a thousand years later."

"The seal has malfunctioned, and the mother of the Blood-Devouring Worm is gradually breaking free of control."

"After outlasting the one in the ice coffin and gaining initial control of the Ghost Ship, it continued its previous strategy, periodically scattering its offspring to the outside world to collect blood."

"This is also why the Ghost Ship doesn't leave this area; given its level of control, it cannot disobey the Ghost Ship's mission."

"Unfortunately, it was too unlucky. Just when it had finally accumulated some power to split its offspring and was ambitiously preparing to restore its strength, the Intis arrived."

"Later, it lay low for several decades, and once again ambitiously prepared to restore its strength, before the Intis people had left."

"In short, we have to thank that chef with the wildly imaginative idea."

"If it weren't for him, we might have been faced with a Demigod who had regained his strength and completely controlled the Ghost Ship after boarding Ghost Ship."

--This is some information he learned after taking control of the Ghost Ship.

"Hmm." Edwina nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over the countless complex and obscure symbols on the altar, a thoughtful expression on her face. Seeing this, Lorry smiled:

"This is the result of our joint exploration; you are free to study it as you wish."

Edwina shook her head and said:

"No, neither I nor they made any significant contribution; it should belong to you." She paused briefly, then said somewhat apologetically.

"I've heard of this legendary duke; he was an Angel."

"I was just wondering who was in the ice coffin that would make Him go to such lengths to meticulously arrange all of this?"

Anyway, it's either a woman or a daughter... The memories of the clone tell me that there is a woman inside... Thinking this, Lorry snapped his fingers.

With a deafening roar, the altar where the Blood-Devouring Worm Mother was located slowly rose, followed by the platform on which the uncovered ice coffin was placed.

The platform came to a stop, and the two of them took a few steps forward side by side.

After glancing at the ice coffin, Edwina abruptly turned to look at Lorry.

Why is it empty inside? Lorry frowned slightly, exchanged a glance with "Vice Admiral Iceberg", and took the lead in walking towards the ice coffin platform.

Looking down, his gaze suddenly froze, lingering on the ice inside the coffin, near the crystal pillow, on the ice wall where a word appeared to have been carved with a fingernail. It was an Intis word, meaning—

Thanks.