13 Mink Street

“Young Master once told us about the scenes he saw through the three windows in the deepest part of Rhanedar’s thoughts. Tell me, doesn’t the scene before us resemble the one past that third window? Rhanedar suppressing and killing the Sea God, while behind him stood the God of Order.

“Rhanedar, Kevin; the Sea God, this Sea God Church believer; the God of Order... This moment and that moment. I have to record this.”

Alfred took out his small notebook and began recording the scene, not with words, but with a sketch.

Pu’er turned and saw what he was doing. She asked in confusion, “Radio demon, when did you learn how to draw?”

“I started learning a very long time ago, in preparation for designing murals in the future.”

“Oh-ho. According to what you mean, you also think Karon is related to the God of Order, but he himself refuses to admit it.”

“Young Master is Young Master. The God of Order is the God of Order. I believe Young Master clearly knows who he is. There is no confusion there. Because the origin point of all thought begins with ‘Who am I?’”

“So everything is just a coincidence? Then why have there been so many coincidences?”

“Because Sir Tiz was an Inquisitor of the Church of Order. Because the first thing that Young Master came into contact with and became familiar with was the Church of Order. More importantly, because what Young Master ultimately chose to walk is the path of Order.

“It is not that Young Master resembles the God of Order, nor is it that Young Master has some connection to the God of Order, such as the Church of Reincarnation’s concept of reincarnation, which Young Master has always held in contempt. The reason for there to be so many coincidences related to the God of Order around Young Master is because the path he walks is the path of Order.

“It is not that Young Master resembles the God of Order. If one defines the God of Order as a ‘position,’ rather than specifically referring to the one who established the Church of Order in the previous epoch, then Young Master is simply walking the same path as that individual. They both resemble the ‘position’ of the God of Order. They are both approaching that ‘position,’ rather than Young Master having some connection to the God of Order.”

“That must have been hard on you, actually finding a complete theory and explaining things so clearly. But what if what you believe is wrong?”

Alfred shook his head indifferently. “Even if Young Master truly is the reincarnation of the God of Order, as long as Young Master believes that he is not, then he is not.

“This question can be very complicated. One could write countless works and spend an entire epoch discussing it without reaching a true conclusion. However, this question can also be very simple; It is nothing more than the two sides of a coin. Toss it once, and the answer appears.”

“What meaning is there in flipping a coin?”

“Exactly. That is why Young Master saved even the step of tossing the coin from the very beginning.” Alfred put away his small notebook and turned to face another direction. There, a group of Sea God Church believers was rushing over.

“Are you planning to help Karon stop them?” Pu’er asked.

“I want to try.”

“Have you forgotten that earlier, when you helped Karon control that errand-running small fry, you couldn’t silently control him?”

“Yes, that’s correct, but the premise at that time was silence. In truth, if someone screams or makes a commotion at a time like this, it won’t matter much.”

“It seems you’re very confident.”

“Of course. I once fought Sir Tiz to a draw.”

“Hahahah—meow!”

“Heh.” Alfred also laughed. “It has been a long time since I fought. Last time, when facing that inheritor of the Gravekeeper Clan, we never actually fought.”

“Alright, radio demon. I’ll cheer for you.”

“Thank you, beautiful Miss Poelle.”

At that moment, signal flares rose into the sky, one after another. Each flare exploded in a different pattern, each one symbolizing the unique emblem of a different Whip of Order squad. In truth, there were no restrictions on the emblems of Whip squads. Each one was allowed to design one freely, according to their own preferences.

With these signal flares fired, the impression was created that the island was already surrounded by countless Whip of Order squads.

As for the Sea God Church fundamentalists rushing forward, aside from the one named Dart who led them in their advance, all of the others abruptly changed direction and moved towards the docks.

Pu’er said, “I’m guessing that the captain ordered people to launch those. I’m not surprised at all that he has signal flares from so many different Whip of Order squads on him.”

Alfred nodded. “I had the same thought. Alright, I’m going down.”

“Be careful.”

“It’s fine. There are many ways to obstruct someone. I will choose the safest one.”

After saying this, Alfred dropped to the ground. This time, the red in his eyes was not a blazing, blood-red, but a deep, profound color, much like red wine.

Dart stopped and looked at Alfred. At the same time, he reached behind him and removed a long blue bow.

There was not any exchange at all between the two. Dart simply drew the bow and nocked an arrow. An invisible yet tangible arrow made entirely of mist flew towards Alfred. He moved to evade it, but the arrow suddenly turned and shot back at him, piercing his body from the back.

Alfred clutched his chest. Blood gushed out, and he dropped to one knee.

“Heh...” Dart put away the longbow and continued moving forward. He needed to go support Enos. The people of the Church of Order had arrived much faster than expected, and they had to relocate immediately. However, just as Dart passed by Alfred, the corner of his eye caught sight of the man he had shot, who should have been kneeling on the ground awaiting death. That body was melting.

Alfred suddenly appeared in front of Dart. His eyes seemed capable of swallowing all light, creating a darkness of despair.

“An illusion?” Dart’s eyes grew sharply focused. The figure of a noble woman appeared behind him, bringing him spiritual protection.

Alfred did not seize the opportunity to attack, even though it was an excellent opening. He did not hesitate at all, and instead chose to retreat, opening up the distance once more.

Dart drew the bow and nocked an arrow again, aiming at Alfred.

Whoosh! The arrow shot out, carrying terrifying power, but Alfred’s figure dispersed again, only to manifest elsewhere.

The two continued their back and forth in this manner for several rounds, and time was gradually being consumed.

There were many ways to obstruct someone. All along, Alfred had no intention of defeating this man, so he had no desire to attack at all. He treated himself as nothing more than a fly buzzing around Dart.

Of course, precisely because Alfred had never launched an attack, Dart grew even more afraid to do anything reckless, subconsciously assuming his opponent was simply waiting for an opportunity to deliver the fatal blow.

If Dart were a little more decisive and attempted to forcefully break through, he would likely have discovered that aside from using illusions, this mysterious man’s attacks were unable to even break through the Sea God’s Armor that protected Dart’s body.

The current situation meant that escape and evacuation were already the main goal of the Sea God Church. Dart did not possess the courage to risk everything, because if he was seriously injured at this moment, he might end up unable to escape the Church of Order’s encirclement afterward.

Still on the rooftop, Pu’er sat on the shoulder of her puppet. Her puppet was also holding Mr. Kevin in one hand. “Heh. So this is what the radio demon meant when he said the safest method...”

Pu’er controlled her puppet to spread open hands. Two fireballs appeared and began rotating around her body, drawing Dart’s attention. He saw a young woman standing on a rooftop in the distance. Beside her, two balls of ghost-like fire circled back and forth.

Her gaze, her bearing, and even her posture all placed heavy pressure upon Dart. This was hardly surprising. As a genius and former powerhouse, Pu’er did not need to imitate anyone. She simply needed to return to her former self to create such an impression. Even if she was currently only able to use some basic ritual arrays and produce a few fireballs, and her sole battle record was burning a golden retriever’s head bald.

At this moment, Pu’er called out in a lazy and impatient voice, “Alfred, how much longer are you going to play?”

Alfred immediately understood and replied, “It’s fine. The game has only just begun.”

He snapped his fingers, producing rhythmic beats that filled the area. “Sir, which piece do you like? This one? Or this one? Please listen carefully and choose properly, because it will be used as the farewell song at your funeral.”

Cold sweat was already seeping from Dart’s bandage-covered face.

***

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” Kevin barked very enthusiastically. This came from being sufficiently confident.

Enos opened both of his hands. A puddle of water appeared on the ground before him, and a roar echoed from within it. The form of a sea wolf slowly rose from the puddle. It was enormous, and although all four limbs remained on the ground, its head rose up a full five meters.

“Roar!”

“Woof!” Although the difference in size was wildly disproportionate, Kevin did not show the slightest hint of fear and continued communicating dog language.

Finally, the sea wolf charged.

Kevin raised his tail and bared his teeth, adopting a posture as though he was about to charge forward, yet ultimately, he did not move.

Karon flashed past, his sword slicing sideways through the sea wolf’s body. The summoned beast was cut in half, but it simply writhed like a liquid, appearing to be about to heal.

However, Karon did not even look back. He directly reached a hand backward, and Order purification struck the sea wolf. The healing was immediately interrupted, and the sea wolf turned back into a puddle of foul-smelling seawater.

A blue barrier appeared beneath Enos, elevating him into the air. His hands started to move, and sea snakes emerged from all directions, coiling toward Karon to crush him.

Chains of Order appeared beneath his feet, instantly locking down all of the sea snakes. When he clenched his fist, the snakes were all crushed and annihilated.

Karon looked up at Enos floating in the sky. He could not help finding it somewhat amusing. In terms of killing and combat, he had always been relatively cautious. Who would have expected that this would be the day that he encountered someone even more cautious than himself?

However, Karon very quickly discovered that something was wrong.

The collapse of the previous two Arts had greatly increased the humidity in the surrounding area. When Enos continued chanting, dense water threads suddenly appeared all around. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a crystalline grid. A strong sealing aura swept the area, and Karon made an immediate decision, swinging his sword through the air before him. However, the Aelius Sword, which had always been unstoppable, failed to break through the obstruction. The mist seemed to have transformed into a gelatinous substance, and it completely dispersed the power of Karon’s strike.

Enos continued chanting. Sheets of blood mist rose from his body, indicating that this Art was far from ordinary.

The enormous seal trapping Karon gradually shrank. Terrifying pressure converged upon him from all directions, like a ball being squeezed with great force. Karon was inside that ball.

“Woof!” Kevin appeared to be a bit anxious. He tried to pounce forward, but before he could even get close, a streak of blue light blasted him away and sent him flying.

Landing on the ground, he rolled across it before quickly scrambling back to his feet. Still, he did not charge forward a second time. Making a token effort was good enough.

Enos continuously poured more and more power into the ritual array. He knew full well that his current opponent was terrifying in close combat. Although that earlier sword strike had relied partly on deception and ambush, the sheer power of the blow had left a deep impression on the man, and even a lingering fear. Even now, the wound on his back was still throbbing violently.

But Enos still endured it, intending to use Arts, his own realm, and foundation to forcibly grind the other party to death.

Karon stopped swinging the Aelius Sword. Instead, he stood in place, ignoring the continuously shrinking water bubble around him. He simply shouted at Enos floating in the air, “Don’t you want to know who I am?”

“No secret, no matter how great, is more important than my own life. I would rather escape with regrets than die with clarity.”

“This island has already been surrounded by the Church of Order. You cannot run. Surrender.”

“True believers of the Sea God will never understand the meaning of surrender. Rest in peace. Do you know how much spiritual power you are forcing me to use just to kill you? I will hold this water burial for you!”

The exchange was not much, nor was there any way for either party to offer lengthy introductions. Enos was bleeding faster and faster, gathering it into power that strengthened the sealing ritual array.

As the water bubble continued to compress, the sound of terrifying tearing rang in Karon’s ears. The pressure that his body was being subjected to also grew greater and greater, until even breathing became extremely difficult.

He tossed the Aelius Sword aside and crossed his hands. “Order—Cage.”

A cube appeared beneath Karon’s feet and directly enclosed him before rapidly expanding.

The moment it touched the shrinking wall of the bubble, the Cage of Order began to violently tremble, and numerous cracks appeared across it.

“Stop dreaming! If I were you, I would stop resisting now and choose to simply close my eyes and carefully recall my life.”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Karon’s lips. “But my life has only just begun.”

He then said in a low voice, “Order—Cage.

“Order—Cage.

“Order—Cage.”

Enos: “...”

Come, then. We’re competing with Arts, are we now?

Cages of Order were repeatedly summoned by Karon. Whether it was summoning new Cages of Order or maintaining those that he had already summoned, both required an enormous amount of spirituality. However, this was precisely where Karon’s true advantage lay.

He did not know whether Sea God Church believers possessed the trait of having vaster reserves of spirituality than the followers of other churches, but Karon was certain that no matter how deep his opponent’s reserves might be, they could not possibly compare to his own.

Gradually, the continuously compressed Cages of Order held.

After a while longer, the water bubble actually began to be forced back open.

Enos’s eyes bulged as he stared. All he could do was continue to pour more of his own spiritual power into it, while Karon continued summoning Cages of Order at a steady pace, following his own rhythm.

To Kevin’s eyes, Karon’s entire body was surrounded by an incomparably thick cube, while the water bubble that surrounded it was becoming increasingly taut. It looked to already be on the verge of shattering.

Kevin immediately retreated. He was well aware that no matter what might happen next, as long as those two forces broke, an extremely terrifying explosion would be released. His current body could not withstand that kind of shockwave.

A blue light appeared at Enos’s heart. It looked as though his heart was pounding rapidly. A moment later, a majestic phantom appeared above him, and it slowly descended to overlap with his own body.

As if he had received some kind of empowerment, the water bubble suddenly began contracting again. “Die! Die! Die! Die already!”

Karon was not disturbed by what was happening nearby. He was staring at Enos’s heart.

Earlier, when he had brushed blood over that black egg, he had sensed a rhythmic beating within it. Is the purpose of the Sea God Church’s bodily transformation method to evolve the heart?

Did that mean that if he wanted to improve the power of the Sea God’s Armor and his own mastery of the Art, he also needed to evolve his heart?

Forget that. Although Karon yearned for power, he was not willing to turn into something neither human nor ghost, to be wrapped in bandages at all times, only to then run to Allen Manor and ask Eunice, “Would you still be willing to be with me if I became like this?”

What should have originally been a brilliant duel had been pushed into becoming a tug-of-war competition. Both sides had added too much power into their respective Arts, and whichever collapsed first would cause the one behind it to suffer terrifying backlash.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Each time Enos’s heart beat, the sound was so loud it clearly reached Karon. He could sense that this was already Enos’s limit, while he himself finally felt his hands were growing sore.

Pu’er’s phantom appeared behind Karon.

***

In the distance, Pu’er, who was watching Alfred continue playing his game of suspicion with Dart, suddenly frowned. “Hiss! Why is it so itchy?”

***

Behind Karon, Pu’er’s phantom stared ahead with vacant eyes. She slowly raised her arms, and from somewhere unseen, the name of Progenitor Allen began to echo, empowering Karon and subjecting him to a transformation.

Enos was shocked. “Rudd’s family faith system?”

The Sea God’s Armor condensed around Karon’s body as he muttered, “Freeze.”

The water-element power of Progenitor Allen appeared and merged right into the water bubble, instantly freezing it. The already incomparably taut water bubble reacted like a red-hot iron thrown into water, instantly developing cracks.

The two stalemated forces finally lost their balance. A beam of light streaked across, and a terrifying explosion erupted. Boom!

Enos felt his soul twist violently. His mind fell into chaos, and his body was swept away by the explosion.

At that same moment, Karon appeared above him. The Sea God’s Armor that had covered the man’s body had collapsed during the explosion, while Karon had borrowed the impact of the blast to send himself over to his opponent.

He raised the Aelius Sword and stabbed directly into Enos’s heart.

Pch!

The greatsword pierced Enos’s body. The two men were connected by a single sword as they fell straight down, finally crashing to the ground.

Enos lay flat, while Karon supported himself on one knee, his hand braced against the hilt of his sword.

Suddenly, a sweetness rose in his throat, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth. His hand automatically loosened on the hilt.

At that moment, the golden retriever darted forward and leapt up. Its mouth grabbed the sword hilt in midair, and the inertia of its body drove the greatsword that was stabbed into Enos’s chest to violently spin, completely shredding his heart.

The dog had completed the finishing blow.