Chapter 1433 – Last Words
Pierce had his Inner Eye removed by Jarvis, so he would no longer be subjected to the continuous whispers of gods. Then, he unleashed another burst, expelling all the abnormal energy from his body. This was likely the clearest he had been in twenty years.
To be honest, I didn’t quite understand what those blood-like tears Pierce spewed out were. They didn’t feel like magic power, more like chemical agents of various compositions. These dangerous agents mixed and erupted, reacting as they shot towards the enemy. Some were highly corrosive, some emitted intense heat, and some were deadly poisonous. These agents were dumped all over Jarvis, leaving it with no intact corpse.
Is this the mutation and price of a chemist? It was truly terrifying. I couldn’t imagine how these chemical agents existed within his emaciated body without killing him. As a price, he was now on the verge of death, beyond recovery. It was only thanks to my Life Elixir and Older Brother Jayad’s Holy Light that he regained a bit of vitality and could speak a few words, but it was merely a final burst of energy.
Of course, there were ways to forcibly save Pierce, such as Older Brother Jayad killing him with the ruby dagger, sealing his soul, and then finding a way to transform him into an Undead in the future. But to be honest, Pierce had been tormented his whole life, and now he could finally be free. I didn’t want to trouble him further; let him leave peacefully. From his appearance, he showed no signs of wanting to linger.
“Lorna, my daughter, come here. Let me see you one more time,” Pierce extended his hand. Via supported Lorna as she knelt down, allowing Pierce to touch his daughter’s face.
“Dad…” Lorna sobbed uncontrollably. She could tell that Pierce was on his deathbed.
“Daughter, I am truly sorry for the terrible things I did to you and your mother. At the time, I didn’t realize it, but it was actually your love that prevented me from falling completely into endless madness,” Pierce said, caressing Lorna’s face affectionately.
“I… I visited Mom’s grave. I even saw Mom’s soul. She said she doesn’t blame you and that Dad always loved us,” Lorna buried her head against Pierce’s chest.
Pierce then caressed the back of Lorna’s head and looked at us. “I have been engrossed in my research, neglecting the most precious things right beside me. But I still cannot let go of this knowledge.” He struggled to raise his hand and pointed to a drawer on the desk. We opened it and found a collection of handwritten manuscript pages, a thick stack. “This is the culmination of my lifelong research. Since you are Lorna’s friends, I give it to you. If you can’t understand it, feel free to donate it to a university library.”
“Alright, I accept it. I will not let it be buried in obscurity,” I solemnly promised. In truth, I had been coveting his knowledge for a long time. I had been planning to collect the remaining manuscripts when I unexpectedly found a compiled edition. That was perfect.
“Sherris, thank you for coming all this way to find me. I now remember everything. You don’t actually know Lorna, do you?” Pierce’s thoughts were exceptionally clear during his final moments.
“No, I got to know Miss afterwards. We are very good friends. Please rest assured, I will take good care of her,” Sherris said with deep sorrow.
“Actually, I’m more worried about you. In the countryside, I always treated you as a substitute for Lorna. I’m truly sorry.” Pierce said.
“Sob sob… Please don’t apologize. I have received a lot of care from you, I should be the one thanking you.” Sherris couldn’t hold back any longer, tears streaming down her face.
“Sherris, I have one last request. That thing that tormented me was put inside Lorna’s head by Jarvis. Please help save her. Perhaps you ghouls have a way,” Pierce said.
“Yes! I will do my best to save Miss!” Sherris promised.
At this point, Pierce’s life had reached its end. He looked fondly at his biological daughter and the neighboring girl who held his daughter’s affection, then slowly closed his eyes. Sherris and Lorna wept together, and we also felt a sense of sorrow. Although Pierce’s life had been complicated and bizarre, his true intention was to love his family.
“Rest assured, I have listened to his repentance. His soul has been safely sent to the Celestial Realm after his death,” Older Brother Jayad said. He had remained silent, listening to Pierce’s last words the entire time. This was the duty of a priest and pastor: to listen to the last words of the dying, to ensure they passed peacefully, and to protect their souls from lingering in the world to be exploited. Many churches offered this service.
I was just thinking if we could delay a little longer, to let Lorna and Sherris vent their emotions, when Older Brother Jayad suddenly said, “Do you all feel the temperature rising?”
“It really is! The fire is getting in!” It was only then that I realized the protective Magic Circle of the experimental development zone probably couldn’t hold. With the entire New Energy Company turning into a Sea of Fire, it was only a matter of time before the Magic Circle was destroyed, and the fire would inevitably burn into these hidden spaces.
“We need to leave quickly!” I said, and together with Via, I pulled Lorna and Sherris. Lorna hesitated, looking at her father’s corpse, as if wanting to take him with her.
“Miss, let Master rest here in peace. This was his favorite study. Let him depart among his manuscripts. We cannot take him out now,” Sherris advised. Tears still streaked her face, but she had regained her composure. In truth, I also didn’t want to take Pierce’s body. Taking it out would cause a series of troubles, and a funeral would need to be held later. However, out of respect for Lorna, I couldn’t say so. If Lorna insisted on taking Pierce’s body out, I would agree, even if it was a bit troublesome. But Sherris saying to leave Pierce behind was clearly better than me saying it. She was also one of the people entrusted by Pierce in his will, giving her more standing to say such things than I had.
Lorna hesitated and did not insist further. In reality, her current condition was also very bad. Her soul power was constantly fluctuating, and her Spirit Body was unstable. She had been implanted with the Inner Eye and was now heartbroken by her father’s death and resurrection. Her mental state was extremely poor.
“Let’s get out of here first.” We supported Lorna and walked out of the sealed area, leaving Pierce behind. As we ran down the stairs, we saw that the entrance to the experimental development zone had been penetrated by flames, and the First floor had turned into a Sea of Fire.
“What do we do now? Older Brother Jayad, can you extinguish the Heavenly Fire?” I asked. The situation now suggested that the entire factory complex outside was engulfed in flames.
