"Kills a man of Oedipus, and also an angel."

"What psychological burden do you have?"

The shadow continued to tempt Merka in her ear.

"......"

Merka tiptoed to the door, clutching the small stone tightly in her hand, her heart pounding.

But in the end, Merka did not open the door.

"Yanling... I'm changing clothes, come back later."

Merka took a deep breath and said softly towards the door.

"Oh... alright."

After Yanling hesitated and responded with concern, the knocking stopped, and the pressure on Merka's shoulders ceased as well.

Listening to the fading footsteps, the heavy burden in Merka's heart finally lifted.

"How could I do this?"

"If that little stone really helps her, and she gets hurt, or even dies."

"Oedipus will definitely discover that I hid the little stone."

Merka gritted her teeth and questioned the shadow.

"I don't care how you choose, but you do need to toughen up."

"With your mentality, how can you contend with Oedipus?"

The shadow's tone was unusually relaxed.

Frustrated, Merka let go of the doorknob, left the shadow aside, and went straight to the sofa.

"You don't need to worry..."

Falling into the softness of the sofa, Merka really wanted to just pass out like this, without considering anything at all.

——————————————————————————

It was night.

The full moon climbed up the swollen hill.

Merka lay on the bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

The intoxicated reaper seemed to dance on the crimson star.

A burst of faint footsteps shattered Merka's semi-conscious dream.

A heavy breaking door sound followed, and Mammon's petite figure burst through the door and rolled in.

For a moment, Mammon's painful panting filled the entire room.

Startled, Merka suddenly woke up.

He looked at Mammon at the head of the bed, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Ha... ha... ha..."

Mammon knelt on the ground and held onto the edge of Merka's bed, unable to straighten herself in discomfort.

"Mammon... are you okay? What happened?"

"Where have you been these days?"

Merka looked at Mammon's face by the moonlight and saw her eyes full of bloodshot veins.

"His... cough!"

Mammon coughed as if she was about to cough out her lungs, followed by a violent retching. Along with her mouth, a large amount of black blood spurted from her seven orifices.

The pungent smell of gasoline instantly filled Merka's nostrils.

"Merka... calm down and listen to me."

"This world is all fake, everything is made up to deceive you all."

"Angels, mechanical ascension, they are just tools used by the gods to monitor you all."

"Although Oedipus is evil... but do not believe in gods!"

"You must find an ending..."

"An ending where neither a god nor Oedipus can prevail."

"Escape from this tragic world with Turing!"

Mammon pulled out a long wand from his shattered flesh, resembling a conductor's baton.

"Here, take this."

"This is the twisted wand, also known as the Warlord's baton... it should be a relic by now."

"Oedipus hid it in the basement, and I managed to bring it out with my last bit of strength."

"After defying Oedipus like this, I won't be able to survive."

"Use it well, and protect Turing for me..."

As Merka took the wand in a daze, Mammon's head exploded with a loud bang.

Her headless body fell to the ground, blood spurting from her neck like a showerhead.

It spurted for a long, long time, until Mammon's blood finally ran dry.

The entire room was covered in a crimson hue.

"You have something to say, aside."

Merka, covered in blood, sat on the bed with a gloomy expression, her tired eyes fixed on Mammon's lifeless body.

"Did she shake you with just a few words?"

The shadow stood indifferently beside Mammon's corpse and spoke calmly.

"Without a doubt, when she was stealing the relic, Oedipus discovered her."

"Oedipus took advantage, tampered with her memories, and made her mislead you in her final moments."

"Don't doubt it."

"That wand is tainted."

"Though it's genuine in itself."

"But if you use it, you will face endless troubles."

Merka pursed her lips, her eyelids twitching.

While her mind raced quickly, she was already considering the worst-case scenario.

"You said Oedipus was trying to divide us."

"Are you suggesting that Oedipus knew it was me playing Turing all along?"

"And Oedipus knew in advance that Maria would bring the small stone?"

"And Oedipus even knew that Theresa was a spy?"

Merka furrowed her brows, a sense of despair surged within her, almost causing her to explode and curse at the shadow.

"If that's the case, then why are we still fighting?"

"We might as well surrender."

The shadow shrugged.

"I'm just saying it's very likely."

"But are you afraid of this?"

The shadow came to Merka's side and patted her shoulder.

"There's one thing I bet Oedipus definitely doesn't know."

"Are you willing to bet with me?"