Chapter 179
Does it hurt?
"Easier than I expected."
"This is bad; in this situation, you're more likely to die. Oh, you're already dead."
Benny said this while looking at the arm that had been completely severed.
Then she brought the object closer to Ark and examined the wound closely.
"I never imagined that the guy who used to only know how to swing a knife and chop people would become a theorist." Ark looked at her and said, "You must have read a lot of books, right?"
“You taught me to read, and the church provided me with books of the highest level of secrecy. It would be a waste of my investment not to read them.” Benny frowned. “Take care of yourself. Your body entered a state of death sometime after I left. Now it has completely lost its ability to heal itself.”
“But as long as I have magic, I can heal.” Ark showed how his arm had recovered.
“Don’t try to be brave. Your magic core only has the capacity of Calamity or even less right now.” Benny sighed. “I really don’t know how you can use something like this to pretend that you haven’t gotten weaker at all. You’re much more useless than before.”
As she spoke, a needle and thread suddenly appeared in her hand, and she quickly sewed his arm back up.
Ark sighed and used his magic to heal his wounds.
“I’m not sure about your current death determination,” Benny said, frowning. “The magic core has been removed, the magic seal has been removed, and the body has been divided into several parts. You have been holding your breath for more than half an hour, yet you are still confirmed to be alive.”
"Does this mean I'm very lucky?"
"No, this means you've become a complete subject of the rules of this world. Are you interested in seeing what's inside your body after it's been analyzed?" Benny ruthlessly ripped off one of his fingers and crushed it in front of him.
Yak looked at it and smiled helplessly.
“I knew it all along,” he said softly.
It was the most common element, a mixture of magic and holy power. A chaotic substance, poisonous to monsters and poisonous to humans.
The only thing I'm curious about is why he's still conscious. He should have become the lowest level monster, a mindless creature that only knows how to destroy.
“Generally speaking, chaotic elements gather in the body and then select the useful ones to absorb. If there is no consciousness, it will absorb everything and then collapse.” Benny paused: “Ninety-nine percent, or even more, of the newly created monsters in the world have a lifespan of less than half a day, that is, the kind that will always block the road. It seems like death is caused by a sudden change in environment, but in reality, it is death caused by internal conflicts.”
“So I should have died a long time ago.” Ark sighed. “This feeling makes me feel like I could die at any moment.”
“You might die any day now,” Benny said helplessly. “I haven’t thought of a good solution yet. Let’s just take it one step at a time. You continue to absorb this chaotic element. Leave all the fighting to me as much as possible. If needed, you don’t have to worry about anything, but don’t try to stand up for yourself.”
"Should I hide behind the woman?" Ark asked hesitantly, looking up at Benny.
“Yes, now all you need to do is be a coward. I, who should have been defending God’s dignity, have now completely betrayed my moral bottom line and beliefs and stand here. And all you need to do is put down your unwarranted dignity, no, the premise is that you think standing behind the invincible me is something that makes you lose face.” Benny’s voice sounded a little displeased as she said, “You just need to survive, and I will help you with anything you want to do.”
After a moment of silence, Ark looked at his wound. He used this time to watch his wound heal.
Watching my wounds heal is a strange feeling; I even question what kind of thing I am. I'm clearly decayed and rotten, yet I can still move.
“You’ve really changed. I didn’t even recognize you as Benny.” Finally, Ark said this again.
Although they had discussed the issue of change not long ago, it is true that they are now unable to adapt to each other's changes.
It's been such a long time since we last saw each other; we've both changed so much. Neither of us is the same as before; the only similarity is that we've become vastly different.
“You’ve changed too. I don’t recognize you as Ark anymore.” Benedict Cumberbatch said the same thing. It was a no-brainer. Although she had watched Ark go through this period of time, she was no longer familiar with this guy who had died at some point.
"This kind of conversation is completely pointless," Yak said, scratching his head. "It's my fault for starting such a boring topic."
“Then you shouldn’t say it again.” Benedict turned around and sat down with her back to Ark. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Since you know it’s a pointless sentiment, then say less and think about what you need to do next.”
Yak sat silently on the rock, looking at Benny beside him.
After watching for a while, I felt like I'd been watching for long enough.
Decades have passed, and this girl hasn't changed at all. Although she's beautiful, after all these years, she must have gotten boring.
So he turned to look at the lake in front of him. The lake water was clear and transparent, and it looked like there were no impurities.
But there were no fish swimming in it, only water with plants growing on it. It was empty, yet alive. Full, yet empty.
This is a fairly beautiful spot in Lingsen. There's no particular reason; it's just that what I did these past few days was seen by others and I wanted to find a more comfortable place. So I chose this place, and they stayed here for the time they were here.
They didn't understand Ark's current situation. Ark could choose to hide things and lie to others, but standing here was Benny. He had no reason or means to hide anything...
He was dismembered several times over the past few days in order to obtain relevant information. Although it was indeed somewhat cruel, it did give him a temporary understanding of what kind of thing he really was.
"And then? Half a month has passed, do you have any ideas?" Benny said, "Send Lori to the Land of the Dead, and then what are you going to do?"
"Let's send it over first and see how things go." Ackton paused and said, "I don't know what to do."
He lowered his head and said listlessly, "Maybe I really did something wrong this time, but I feel like there's an opportunity in front of me."
“You’ve created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Benny said softly, devoid of any emotion. “And you have to give meaning to this opportunity. What can it change, what can it guide, what will happen? These are the things you need to define.”
The appearance of a demon god signifies something that, upon careful consideration, makes Ark somewhat regretful for helping Lori.
If she had died in that city, perhaps everything would have been alright, nothing would have changed, though the world would have been filled with oppressive despair, but she could still have clung to life.
However, her appearance may bring about tremendous changes to the world, but it is impossible for it to become better.
“I don’t know. I’m just a businessman. I don’t know that much.” Yak scratched his head. “Acquiring her was really an impulse at the time, and later it was just something I did on a whim.”
Indeed, although he did consciously protect Lori later, his original intention was still because she was a demon god, and no matter what the reason, he, as a demon, should protect her.
But now, upon reflection, I realize my stance might also be worth considering. What exactly do I need, and what is worth taking such a huge risk for?
“Then you shouldn’t have gotten into so much trouble. This will kill a lot of people.” Benny tilted her head and said, “I don’t care. I’ve thought it through a while ago. My purpose is just to help you. You can do whatever you want, but I’m annoyed by your indecisiveness. Everyone else has already made up their minds, but you still don’t know what you want to do.”
Is it annoying?
“I’m so annoyed, I even want to beat you up.” Benny rested her head on her hand, looking at the lake in front of her. “We’re leaving tomorrow. I’ve been trying to find out what’s going on with the church lately. Those people from the Central Church are all over the world dealing with the problems caused by Blood Day. I hate to admit it, but Blood Day has indeed created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us.”
As she said this, she closed her eyes and said, "Have I told you? I don't know when it started, but when I close my eyes, I see the people I've killed coming after me like vengeful ghosts."
Are you tired of killing?
“I’ve never gotten used to it,” Benny said, somewhat disgruntled. “You’re making it sound like I’m some kind of wicked villain.”
Yak chuckled and declined to comment on the matter.
"So, how would you view those vengeful ghosts?"
“What a nuisance.” Benny paused. “I told you, no, this Blood Day has killed so many people all over the world.”
"Hmm, I can roughly guess. After all, it's such a disaster." Ark hesitated for a moment before saying, "You've repeated this many times these past few days; you seem to care a lot about this."
After a moment of silence, Benny said:
“But because no high-ranking clergy members died in this battle, the Church considered it a perfect response,” Benny said softly. “I hated it. I’ve hated it for a long time. It’s a terrible feeling to be the only one left alive after everyone else has died.”
“You only have Little White by your side.” Yak thought for a moment and said, “So, if she died, you’d feel like you’d failed in your duty to survive?”
“I would be very sad if she died,” Benny said after a pause. “But thankfully she has the ability to protect herself.”
“She’s just a calamity; she’ll die of old age in a few hundred years. You’ve become a monster with a tragically long lifespan, just like me. You’ll see her die sooner or later.” Acton paused and said, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself because of this. Even if she does die someday, it’s just an inevitable event happening sooner than expected. From the beginning, we can’t prevent other people’s deaths; we can only mitigate them.”
“At least until then, I hope she’s alright.” Benedict looked at Ark’s face and asked, “If I died in front of you one day, would you be sad?”
After hesitating for a moment, Yak nodded.
“I will be very sad, but I am powerless to do anything about it.” Yak said softly, “This is not the first time I have lost someone important, nor is it the second time... It has happened so many times that I have become numb. Each time the person who died was different, but I have never changed, and I am powerless to do anything about it.”
“But I have never lost anyone important. In my eyes, you are the only important person.” Benny paused. “So you better live well. I can’t guarantee what I will do after I lose you.”
"Don't deceive yourself like that. We haven't seen each other for too long. There may have been something like love between us, but we are not that close now."
“I’ve decided that the value of my life is simply to repay you,” Benny said softly. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. We have to leave tomorrow. The Church is keeping a close eye on our movements, but there’s no one to stop us. Once the Demon God reaches the Land of Death, the Church will definitely hold a meeting to decide on a countermeasure. I have one-fifth of the decision-making power, and I will do my best to protect you then.”
"But war is inevitable."
"I try to keep things from escalating into a high-level battle and avoid involving ordinary people."
"War inevitably affects ordinary people."
"That's why I said I would try my best."
Yak nodded and sighed.
After a moment of silence, he said, "This is a losing proposition, isn't it?"
“With me here, we will definitely win,” Benny said. “No matter who the enemy is, I will win.”
"I hope so." Ark closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he stared blankly at the sky.
He slowly lay down until he was completely flat on the stone.
I lay there for about three minutes, and it was clear that I could continue lying down without any problem. Today was a day I could have a good rest, at least for now.
Suddenly, Benny walked up to her and looked at her with a strange expression.
Yak whistled but didn't pay any attention.
Then he was pulled up abruptly, grabbed by the collar, and looked at Yak.
"What's wrong?" Ark sighed helplessly and looked at her, saying, "Today is the last day of rest. Can't you let me relax a bit?"
“Let’s go now.” Benny’s voice was very low: “Immediately, right now.”
Yak paused, looked into her eyes, and suddenly realized something, then felt a sharp pain in his head.
An unprecedented sense of crisis made him feel cold all over. Yak suddenly realized that perhaps he was being too optimistic.
Although I never thought things would go as smoothly as planned, I also never imagined that we would encounter such a huge obstacle before we even started.
Because almost simultaneously, they sensed something extremely dangerous approaching from the distant horizon.
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