Sarcophagus...sarcophagus.
His pale hands brushed against the rough wall, slowly tracing the traces left by the disaster. The delicate skin rubbed against the dust and tiny bumps, and the weight of the years passed through the blood to Mephisto's body. He seemed to see the magnificent scene during the construction of the sarcophagus, where countless people, countless steel, and countless wisdom merged with each other. epic.
It’s just that at that time, the sweat of the workers and the sparks of the machine’s operation had embraced each other and lost all traces in this world, leaving only this architectural feat that is difficult for the world to understand and the truth that can never be revealed under the thick stone walls.
The snow has stopped, but the wind is still cold. The dark clouds in the sky have not dispersed, and seem to have turned into a quilt covering the earth, locking the low temperature and sadness brought by the frost to the ruins.
Even those Origin Stone Clusters that were born from the most violent chemical reactions in the world fell silent and restrained their arrogant power. As a person severely infected with ore disease, Mephistopheles seemed to feel no restlessness caused by the Origin Stone except for the coldness and calmness at this moment. Those sharp objects looking up at the sky quietly looked at the surface of the earth. Chaos and blood, silence as stone.
Taking a deep breath of the cold air, white mist appeared in front of the boy wrapped in warmth, disappearing in the cold, just like the continuous pain in his body at this moment. Perhaps Mephisto's indifference at this moment was the result of Faust's death, but he could not find any reason for this physical change and the gradually disappearing pain except for the "ruins" in front of him. .
Oh no, there is another one.
That is, he is about to die and comes back to his senses.
But is death so scary now?
After gently rubbing the dust on the rough wall, Mephistopheles raised his hand and reached towards the sky. He turned his wrist so that the palm of his hand faced his face, looking at his fingers through the light coming from the hollow above.
The light passed through the gaps between his fingers and shone into his eyes. Dust slipped from his fingertips. These tiny beings dance slowly in the light, not knowing where they are going. Maybe they will attach to the wall again in a few seconds, or they will fall on the ground among the countless similar ones and no longer be found, or they will float into the respiratory system of a living being and go through a long and painful journey. Strange adventure.
But no matter where they go, how many worlds they pass through, how many adventures they experience, they will eventually return to the earth and blend into this huge cemetery like countless others of their kind, waiting for the wind to pick them up again and live a new life.
Sending mayflies to heaven and earth is like a drop in the ocean.
At this moment, memories of the past appeared in front of Mephisto's eyes involuntarily. He quietly raised his head and looked at his hands, and also looked at his past life. Like traveling through time and space, those memories of pain, numbness, or pleasure enveloped the boy, making him immersed in the scene, as if he had returned to that place again.
But he felt nothing.
Guilty? Are you scared? Happy?
Mephistopheles once lost the ability to think independently and was more like a corpse that relied on instinct to act. Faust was the rope holding him. With Faust around, he hardly had to think about anything, he just had to do what he felt in his heart, and someone would lead him to move forward.
But now Faustus is dead.
The existence that relied on his life disappeared. Is there any point in doing these things?
there is none left.
Faustus wants Mephistopheles to live well, but he doesn't know that he is his fate.
Now……
Memories are short-lived and end quickly. To Mephistopheles, these past events were nothing to behold. At this moment, the only thing left in his mind was to figure out what secrets this thing called "sarcophagus" contained.
On the day when Chernobog was captured not long ago, he happened to bump into the Doctor and Rhode Island's group who had just come out of the sarcophagus. At that time, Mephistopheles clearly felt that the tightly wrapped person whom Rhode Island called "Doctor" was the same existence and the same kind as him.
What is hidden by the mask and lost memories is resentment and pain towards the world.
He possesses Originium skills that touch the depths of his soul, and he is extremely sensitive to the negative emotions of wanting to take revenge on society and the world. Even if the other party conceals it well, he still grabs the little tail exposed under the disguise.
Not only that, Mephistopheles also barely glimpsed the truth in that guy's heart. If he felt correctly, this seemingly harmless doctor was actually a bastard hundreds of times more vicious than his former self.
I used to be nothing more than a bastard who liked to vent his abnormal desires. No matter how serious he was, it was just a school and a city. But that guy...
He has the whole world in his mind.
An undead who wants to subvert the entire world is something Mephistopheles cannot compare to. He was once blinded by the devil and was particularly sensitive to the feedback of despair and pain from the outside world. He used it to satisfy his twisted heart, but he was extremely insensitive to this "danger".
If he had been clearer at the time, he would never have let the people from Rhode Island leave Checheng. Even if he has to sacrifice all his subordinates, he must die in front of his eyes.
Rhode Island had no idea what he had unleashed. They would most likely be killed by this guy in the future, along with the entire world of Terra.
but……
Does this have anything to do with who you are now?
Not at all.
Although he was awake, he still didn't care about the world at all. On the contrary, if this land was really destroyed because of the evil spirit in the sarcophagus, he would even applaud.
Is there any need for such a world full of despair and darkness to exist? The uprising was so strenuous that it was impossible to succeed. The soles of the feet of those who stepped on top of their heads seemed to have taken root. Blood-sucking vines entangled everyone underground, tightly binding the people together, and they seemed to be spinning around. The whole body is very strenuous.
Under such circumstances, the infected and non-infected are still fighting among themselves, completely ignoring the real pressure from the top. Forget about the internal fighting, now at least someone is standing up to resist. Although there were some deviations in the process, at least the flag was raised...
Then there was a mole.
This mole was the one carrying the flag, and deceived all those who followed her into a trap.
Looking at it this way, it was destiny that that guy was able to leave Kirishima alive. Is there any need to exist in a world where there is no trust between people and people are being persecuted everywhere?
Forget it.
Mephistopheles could clearly hear the chaos outside. People who supported Tallulah and those who resisted Tallulah were fighting. The slogans were loud, no less than when these guys attacked Chernobyl. When grid. Mephistopheles did not regard them as human beings before, and he did not regard them as human beings now.
If he expected these people to resist tyranny and establish a country of infected people, he might as well expect that there was a sleeping Faust locked in the sarcophagus in front of him, waiting for him to turn on the machine to wake him up.
is it possible? impossible.
After taking a look at the surrounding environment, Mephisto used a cane and moved with difficulty on the gravel pile. His physical condition was already poor. Not long ago, he gave the Sakaz mercenary his abilities and blood, and now he was having trouble even breathing.
His face was as pale as snow, his hair was dull and pale, and his pale clothes were stained with dust. He looked as decadent and lifeless as a person folded out of white paper. At this moment, Mephistopheles looks no different from a walking corpse. I am afraid that if anyone comes over, he will yell first...
"Ghost!!!"
A scream came from the other side of the ruins, mixed with the sound of something falling to the ground, which sounded a bit harsh. Mephisto glanced back briefly and continued to move against the wall, trying to find something similar to a switch.
An Integration Movement soldier sat on the ground and kicked his legs in panic. He seemed to be frightened by Mephistopheles. His scream soon attracted the soldiers, and more than a dozen evil spirits in white surrounded this guy and looked at Mephisto, who was moving with difficulty not far away.
They were whispering to each other, but no one dared to come forward to talk. These people did not leave, but stood on the edge looking at the desolate Mephistopheles, as if waiting for something.
After about a minute, a soldier stood up.
"Mephisto!" He took a step forward and stood in front of the soldiers, his voice sounded a bit muffled because of the mask.
"What are you doing?"
There was no respect for this integration movement cadre in the questioning, and it was full of vigilance.
He naturally knew that Mephistopheles would not stand on the side that resisted Tallulah, but this guy did not deserve the respect of him and these soldiers.
Mephistopheles did not respond to the questioning from behind. He was still moving slowly against the wall, with his left hand pressed against the wall and his right hand holding a cane. In the eyes of these soldiers, it looked like he was searching for some switch on the wall.
"Now the traitors have captured part of the stronghold and are advancing towards the core command tower. We are missing a commander."
This statement attracted the attention of all onlookers, and those who were talking quietly fell silent. Someone pulled the soldier, but he ignored it.
The soldier's idea was simple. They had just escaped from the rebels led by a group of shield guards and were now moving towards safety, hoping to join other groups. But at this time, there is no commander in the core city except Tallulah. It was impossible for Tallulah to contact these teams outside, except for Mephistopheles who was now in front of them.
This guy is indeed inhumane, but rather than die at the hands of the rebels, they hope that Mephisto will not go crazy when commanding them.
As for surrender...
Some people did surrender at first, but they were killed by the resisters just after the shield guards left. Conflicts have been building up for a long time, and now we can only speak with swords.
The soldiers' wariness is real, as are the expectations. But Mephistopheles didn't hear these words at all. All he could hear in his ears was the whistling of the wind and the sound of palms rubbing against the wall. The life and death of these people has nothing to do with him, and all he can see is the secrets buried in the ruins.
The soldiers left, and silence returned to the place once more. Mephistopheles has searched all the surrounding walls, but has not found any place that can be opened. When the doctor woke up in a facility in a room, the ruins were the location of that room. Perhaps the "sarcophagus" had been buried underground by the collapsed building.
He retracted his hand, held it tightly, and twisted the dust into his palm. After a few seconds, Mephistopheles sighed and prepared to leave, wanting to find the soldiers just now.
But just as he turned around and stepped out with his left foot towards the exit, a sound similar to the opening of a can came into his ears. Mephisto's body stiffened, and his raised feet stopped in mid-air.
It seemed as if something had opened and the gas inside leaked out.
He slowly put down his steps, turned slowly in the direction of the sound, and saw the light coming from the wall not far away.
A straight crack appeared on the wall he had touched just now, slowly spreading to both sides. White mist seeped out from the cracks, and it looked like it was filled with dry ice. Blue light came out from inside, catching Mephisto's eyes, as if letting him see substantial hope.
The boy moved his steps, leaned forward on crutches and walked towards the gap. His steps were getting deeper and shallower, and it seemed that he would fall down in the next second. Soon, he stood in front of the blue light, leaving a gap as wide as one person.
It is not spacious inside, and there is no dry ice. It is just a place that can accommodate one person to lie down. It does look like a coffin, and it is worthy of the name "sarcophagus". Mephisto turned around, put the crutch in front of him, lay down in the sarcophagus, and closed his eyes.
Along with the sound of gravel grinding, the light gradually left his body, and was finally replaced by darkness. The wall ate Mephisto's body and returned to its original form, covered in dust.
Whether what awaits Mephisto is the end of his life or a new experience will be revealed soon.
——————Periphery of core area————————
Leonid lay on the ground, staring at the sky with his eyes wide open, as if he was severely frightened. The white clothes on his body were now stained with a light red, and ice was condensed in some places. It should be due to the explosion of the huge ice block that froze the enemy not long ago.
This offensive battle was over, and it ended with a Sakaz mercenary being beaten away by the shield guard, which brought a perfect ending to the victory of the rebels. The calls of his companions echoed in Leonid's ears, but what he was thinking about was the beautiful face he just saw.
Well, this old guy is thinking about our main character, Valentine.
Of course, during the period when Leonid was undercover in the Integration Movement, it was impossible for Leonid to forget that his wife had changed her preferences and fell in love with a strong man, but Valentin's appearance just now was indeed too sudden.
What does this amount to? A group of gangsters were fighting in the street for a few meters of territory. As a result, one person was accidentally knocked out and bumped into the special forces who were performing a secret mission. The soldier at this guy's feet was still his friend. The best outcome would be physical amnesia, and in more serious cases, these people would die.
If Leonid hadn't turned his head quickly and quickly used his Origin Stone skills to seal the hole and kill the enemy who caught up behind him, he would have been silenced by Rhode Island by now.
If you bump into the killers on a mission in Rhode Island...
He shuddered.
Everyone present had to be tortured.
"Hey, how are you?"
A hand waved in front of Leonid's eyes, and then a girl's face appeared. He blinked to hide the memory in his heart, held Anfiya's hand and stood up.
"I'm fine."
"Something's wrong with you." Yefim on the side looked up and down at Leonid who just seemed to have lost his soul, and frowned.
He also held a light crossbow in his hand, and the quiver on his back was empty. It seemed that he had shot well in the battle just now.
"I've never seen you so panicked."
"Me too."
Anfiya nodded in agreement.
In the minds of these two young people, Leonid belongs to the type of person who lives in seclusion in the city. Although he looks ordinary and his face is burned, he can always tell the truth or clear up the fog in one sentence at critical moments, leaving the listeners enlightened and enlightened. After spending time with him, you will know that he is definitely not simple.
Even when he was in Longmen, Yefim thought that he was a leader as corrupt as Tallulah, a hidden cadre of the integration movement, pretending to be a soldier just to spy on others, but he was taught a lesson by Leonid. A meal.
At this moment, such a "mentor" figure suddenly appeared, and Yefim felt that this was troublesome.
"Do you believe in coincidences?"
This time Leonid did not insult them as usual, but pretended to be profound and asked a question. Looking at the boss whose eyes suddenly darkened, Yefim was stunned and shook his head.
"It's just because you don't believe that you're like this."
Snapped.
Leonid slapped his younger brother, the force was not strong but it still stunned him.
"And you?"
He turned to look at Anfiya on the other side.
Anfiya looked at Yefim who was covering her head with a look of "Who am I, where am I, who hit me?", the corner of her mouth twitched and she nodded.
"Uh...I believe it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Leonid raised his hand.
Anfiya blinked and subconsciously raised her hands to cover her head. But the slap he imagined didn't come, only the old guy's words.
"I believe it too."
…
Believe it or not, there is no other explanation for the situation just now except coincidence. The two had been separated since the fall of Qie City. Valentin thought that Leonid was dead and felt guilty for Vera. As a result, during a mission a few months later, he suddenly bumped into a friend who had been given a death notice by him. ; Leonid thought that Valentin and his daughter went to Rhode Island to work and live well. Who knew that as soon as he took off, he bumped into Valentin who was on a secret mission, and was almost controlled by his companions? …
The paths under the two people's feet intersected in an extremely magical way, and they both saw each other. What else can be said other than coincidence?
But even though I was in danger just now, there are still some benefits. After returning to the core city, Leonid was thinking about going to Rhodes Island to get some inhibitors and asking how his daughter was doing. As a result, the inhibitors were sent over before the battle was over, and he also It was truly a gift from heaven to get the news that my daughter was fine.
If it were placed on an ordinary person, this would be the luck of winning 5 million.
"Okay, no more joking."
Looking at the integration movements around him who had packed up the battlefield and were waiting for orders from the shield guards, Leonid raised his arms.
"Hey, Shield Guard!"
His voice caught everyone's attention.
"What do we do next?"
This stronghold has been removed, and further inside is the area surrounding the core command tower. That was the place that belonged to Tallulah, and there were Sarkaz mercenaries stationed around it. It was definitely a tough nut to crack.
"Of course, keep going forward and hit the control tower!"
Someone in the crowd said loudly.
"These ordinary soldiers are no match for us. If we really want to overthrow Tallulah's rule, we must first kill those Sakaz mercenaries!"
"right!"
"That's right!"
The voice of this integration movement soldier was supported by most people. The shield guard did not speak, but turned to contact other guerrillas.
"What do you think?"
After glancing at the burly figure, Leonid tilted his head and asked Anfiya beside him. The girl's words not long ago aroused everyone's emotions, causing them to walk out of the stronghold and head to the core area with their weapons and shield guards. Now that the core area was in sight, Leonid thought it was time to listen to her words again.
"I think we should not rush to the command tower now, but join the other rebel teams and wait until the force is strong enough before going to that place."
What he said was exactly what Leonid was thinking.
"We've all fought here, and now we want to quit?"
A soldier stood up to refute Anfiya's opinion.
"Why should we give up the hard-won victory?"
The soldiers gathered together, surrounding him and Anfiya. The shield guard put down his shield and looked at the people beside him.
He is quite good at fighting, but commanding the general direction...
To be honest, the shield guard still prefers Anfiya. After all, this little girl was in command all the way.
"We don't know how many troops there are in the command tower." Anfiya didn't panic when faced with the question, her voice was as calm as usual: "If you rush in now, you will end up like the battle at Longmen. Without support, you will be killed. Surround and destroy.”
"The Sakaz mercenaries are not like the Longmen Guards Bureau. They will not give us a chance to escape."
"But if we don't go in now, there's a good chance Tallulah will run away!"
Leonid almost couldn't hold back his laughter when he heard this.
"Tallulah...if she leaves the core city, that will be the best outcome for us."
Anfiya raised her head and looked at the towering command tower in the distance.
"Mr. Shieldguard, are you sure you can defeat Tallulah?"
The shield guard shook his head.
"That's right." She nodded: "Don't be blinded by anger, fellow citizens, everyone is angry about the death of a patriot, but we also need to know our true strength."
"I think you all saw it when Chernobog fell. The fire dragon burned throughout the city and even melted the entire building into liquid."
"Mr. Patriot died for us infected people. If we only want to avenge him now, but lose our lives in the hands of Tallulah, wouldn't this be treating the Patriot's death as nothing?"
After all the words were said, no one stood up to oppose Anfiya. The soldiers discussed in low voices, and finally turned their attention to the shield guard. The shield guard nodded and gave the order.
"I have just contacted the compatriots closest to us. They are fighting the enemy two kilometers to the west. If we rush over now, we should be able to flank the enemy from the front and back to join them."
"Then, let's go."
Sparse footsteps sounded on the road, and soon they became uniform. Leonid walked at the end of the team and turned to look at the command tower, as if he saw the person standing there looking into the distance.
"Don't let me down, Rhode Island."
"...Valentine."
He raised the corners of his mouth slightly, turned his head and followed the team, disappearing around the corner of the road.
