Even if a miracle from the Abyss would never bring happiness or peace.
"Hatred... I... hate..."
Bloody tears flowed down a distorted face that closely resembled King Ocean's. The shadow crawled on the ground, whimpering like a deformed Hunting Dog and rolling in pain.
Until at last, it found a small button in a crevice.
"Found it..."
It licked the button that had fallen from the young man's sleeve, crying out in delight and frenzy, "Found... it... Found it... Found you!!!"
In an instant, the shadow boiled over, engulfing the button. It writhed ecstatically as it slithered through tiny cracks, returning to the surface of the earth.
The shadow, as it flitted across the ground, was utterly invisible.
Free from the confines of matter, it moved at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
It shot straight over the city in Deep Sleep, constantly circumventing various obstacles. Completely indifferent to the people it brushed past, it headed directly towards Stone Marrow Pavilion.
In the end, after passing through a gloomy forest, it stopped outside an iron gate.
Under the moonlight, the shadow on the ground twisted hungrily. It collided forward repeatedly but could never penetrate the gate, which was hollow and large enough for a stray cat to pass through freely.
Eventually, with a forceful leap, it squeezed through a crack in the wall. It hopped into the courtyard overgrown with Wild Grass, hungrily moving toward the locks Huai Shi had secured.
POP. Like a bursting bubble, it was repelled.
Its pale face was reflected in a shattered window on the side of the main building, along with its contorted body.
It looked as if organs from seven or eight people had been randomly stitched together. Several limbs twisted wildly. A large maw in its abdomen opened and closed, dripping with saliva-like blood.
The reflection also revealed the figure that stood in front of it.
In the grimy glass, one could only see a lean and tall silhouette.
One could barely make out the riddled suit on its body, the meticulously placed bow tie at its broken neckline, and the monocle resting on its nose.
But at that moment, just as a patrolling Guard might spot a thief attempting to scale a wall, its seemingly empty face now displayed unmistakable anger.
Its lips moved, forming a silent warning: Get out!
The completely out-of-control erosion body screeched, flailing its limbs randomly, pressing forward step by step. Then, the figure raised its left hand.
Its five fingers slowly closed.
Silently, an invisible Power converged toward the center, like the collision of iron walls, crushing the ghastly thing into a pulp.
Immediately afterward, the pulp spontaneously combusted, leaving nothing but a wisp of black smoke to vanish into the air.
The button that had fallen to the ground was then carefully picked up. The figure rinsed it clean under the water pipe, meticulously wiped it dry with an old towel, and then placed it in a box in the backyard storage room.
It was placed carefully alongside several dirty toys, two broken award certificates, and an old photograph of a baby.
The box closed.
The figure nodded slightly to Raven in farewell.
Then, it vanished silently.
「In the quiet room.」
A four-armed Naga sat in front of a mirror, silently wiping the blood from his wounds. After cleaning the withered gashes, he took out a small knife and began to scrape away the dead flesh bit by bit, until the grim bones beneath were exposed.
He bent down and opened the box on the floor. After hesitating for a moment, he took out a tube of red Potion. He broke the seal, clenched his teeth, and poured the boiling, metal-like solution onto the wound.
Amid the SIZZLING sound, the Naga convulsed violently. He let out a muffled roar as his long tail thrashed, nearly reducing the entire bathroom to rubble.
At last, the metallic solution solidified on the bone, merging with the flesh as if it were newly formed muscle, becoming indistinguishable.
Apart from the ghastly gap in his scales, no other wounds could be seen.
He seemed drained as he let out a sigh of relief and released the Stigma. The sturdy Snake-man in the mirror slowly shrank, and even his two extra arms retracted into his shoulder blades.
The man named He Luo, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, looked at himself in the mirror. After a long moment, he splashed his face with cold water, then finally stepped back and collapsed into a chair, his face pale.
After a while, he picked up the phone and dialed the number.
"Boss," he said, "I might have screwed up."
"Did you slip up?"
"No, everyone who knew is dead. But while I was cleaning up, I ran into two Sublimators. I'm not sure where they were from."
Qi Wen on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time, then sighed regretfully. "Then we'll have to resort to the backup plan..."
The call was disconnected.