"You must die!"
"Bang!"
Accompanied by the soul-piercing scream of a woman, Dunn was thrown by an invisible force, crashing heavily against the wall opposite him.
But before that, numerous black, cold, and slimy threads, like tentacles, had tightly bound Megose to the spot.
Almost no longer resembling a human, Megose struggled desperately. Her shoulders bulged with lumps of flesh, mixed with blood vessels and veins, round like a child's head.
On these two "heads," cracks were rapidly spreading, seemingly about to become eyes.
An evil god was being born.
Meanwhile, Klein and Leonard quickly rushed out of the partition.
Klein didn't look at Leonard; he didn't have the time.
He only gripped the dagger given by Ashes, sliding forward to Megose's bound position.
"Light!"
He then leapt up, uttering an ancient Hermes word as he plunged the dagger into one of the heads.
However, it was futile.
...
"Where is Will Auceptin?"
When Ashes returned to the ward, it was already empty, making him frown slightly as he inquired of the nurse who was tidying up.
"In the operating room."
The nurse glanced at Ashes, her eyes focusing on his face, and softly replied, "Dr. Allen is performing surgery on him. Sir, are you Will's older brother?"
"No."
Ashes shook his head.
After asking the nurse for the location of the operating room, he left the ward and headed there.
Outside the operating room, Will Auceptin's father, Mr. Auceptin, was anxiously waiting.
He paced back and forth in the hallway, nervously glancing towards the operating room, even though he couldn't see anything through the closed door.
Yet, after a while, he couldn't help but look away.
He feared the doctor would come out and give him bad news, even though the surgery wasn't complicated and the best surgeon was operating.
Ashes silently watched the anxious Mr. Auceptin.
He knew this was an ordinary father worried about his son's safety.
After hesitating for a moment, he walked towards the operating room.
He didn't enter but sat on a bench in the hallway.
He wasn't waiting for Will, but for Fors.
Although Will could be used for a long time, he wasn't insane enough to prioritize a child before the end of the world.
At least, not yet.
...
"We saved Tingen."
Dunn Smith turned his head to Klein, his pale face showing a gentle and relaxed smile. His voice remained rich and mellow. After speaking, he seemed to return to his twenties, no longer so serious, winking at Klein.
But in the next moment, as the heart in Saint Selena's urn stopped beating and turned into dazzling light spots, dispersing around, Dunn's eyes lost their luster, his body fell backward, and his hands released the urn, letting it drop to the ground.
Leonard watched in pain, while Klein showed a relieved smile.
But the next second, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
A slightly pale hand pierced through his left chest, covered in blood.
Klein's thoughts scattered quickly, his vision losing focus, and his breathing gradually stopped.
In his last moments, he saw a pair of shiny boots and a reaching hand, a slightly pale hand.
It grabbed Saint Selena's urn.
"No!"
Leonard's pupils contracted, filled with anger and pain.
But the wounds on his body made it difficult to move. He could only struggle to reach out to the figure holding the urn.
The figure glanced at Leonard, kicking him aside casually.
He didn't even kill him, just disappeared instantly after taking the urn.
He didn't want to waste a second here, knowing that any delay could become a fatal "coincidence."
Moreover, a mere Sequence 8 posed no threat.
Letting him live was the greatest pain and torture.
As for why he killed Klein?
Purely personal grudges for disrupting his plans too many times.
Leonard watched helplessly, seeing Dunn and Klein die, seeing the figure glance at him disdainfully and leave—
He didn't even deem him worth killing.
This greatly insulted his self-esteem.
But this humiliation was quickly overshadowed by pain and regret.
He staggered to Dunn and Klein's bodies, finally unable to hold on.
Leonard's legs gave out, and he knelt, his green eyes filled with pain.
Tears fell from his face, washing away the blood and dust.
"Bang!"
"I can't do anything!"
Leonard roared, pounding the floor with his fists, crying continuously.
Until he heard a gentle voice.
"So noisy."
The pain in his heart made Dunn cough twice, complaining with a hint of humor.
He didn't know why he wasn't dead, maybe it was the goddess's protection, maybe not.
But who cared?
He knew this was the best outcome, everyone safe.
"Leonard, why are you…"
Dunn got up, seeing Leonard's surprised expression, noticing the tear stains on his face.
But soon, his attention was drawn to another person.
Klein.
The last person he saw before dying.
He lay quietly on the floor, looking like he was sleeping, everything so harmonious.
Except for the bloody hole in his chest, ruining everything.
"Why…"
Dunn's pupils contracted, stumbling back in disbelief.
Leonard watched Klein's body with hope, believing he would stand up in the next second.
Like Dunn, who was thought dead, suddenly jumping up to scare them.
They waited quietly, hoping for a miracle.
Unfortunately, miracles weren't so cheap.
"Click, click!"
Running footsteps approached; it was the 'Punishers' and 'Mechanical Hivemind' members coming to aid.
But neither Dunn nor Leonard looked back; they just stared at the body.
Hope turned to dead silence.
Dunn instinctively touched the ring on his right index finger.
The ring, once scratched and dull, now turned stone gray.
As Dunn touched it, it crumbled to dust and vanished.
Dunn painfully closed his eyes.
He understood.
"I can't do anything!"
"Bang!"
Dunn punched the broken wall on the second floor, usually gentle, now filled with pain and hatred.
(End of the Chapter)
50 Power stones = Extra Chapter