The tide surged endlessly, crashing against the ruined city, striking the shore and stirring up sprays of water.
Derick and Castorice walked hand-in-hand into Styxia.
It didn't take long for them to reach the city gate from the pier. Along the way, they encountered a few scattered Black Tide creatures. Upon seeing them, Derick simply waved his hand and dispatched them.
"To think the Black Tide's influence could even reach here." Castorice's expression turned somewhat grim upon seeing the situation.
The Black Tide's influence was growing, and the crisis in Amphoreus was deepening daily.
"Let it reach wherever it wants. Even if it occupies all of Amphoreus, we'll just clear them out one by one," Derick said to Castorice as he cut down a Black Tide creature.
"Yes, that's right." Castorice matched his actions, swinging her scythe to eliminate another Black Tide creature.
The Black Tide creatures posed little threat to Derick and Castorice now. Soon, the path from the pier to Styxia's city gate was clear of them.
Derick was even multitasking; while attacking the Black Tide creatures, he also controlled his avatar, urging it to advance rapidly towards Styxia. Now that his main body had confirmed the location, Avatar No. 1 wouldn't take long to arrive.
Castorice and Derick walked to Styxia's entrance. Gazing at the dark, dilapidated gate, Castorice couldn't help but press her forehead, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"This place... why do I have a familiar feeling? Derick, I clearly have no memory of being here," Castorice murmured to herself.
Derick knew this was the first place Castorice had arrived in this lifetime. However, the Queen of Styxia knew this place wasn't suitable for raising Castorice, so she had sent her to the elders of Aidonia. Elder Amyntas of Aidonia, for Castorice's healthy growth, hadn't told her these things, only letting Castorice know she was found outside Aidonia.
Castorice clutched her head, trying to dredge up all the memories in her mind.
"Let's go inside and see. Maybe you'll remember more."
Derick knew that within Styxia, there would be souls of those who had passed away in Amphoreus; both Elder Amyntas and the Queen of Styxia would be here.
Let's wait until we meet them to talk about it.
Derick and Castorice walked deeper into Styxia.
After some distance, Castorice and Derick saw a ghostly figure standing at a doorway, wandering aimlessly.
"Why are there so many souls? Haven't they... haven't they gone to the Underworld?" Castorice looked at the sheer number of ghosts here, her expression grave. A small soul quickly ran past.
Derick and Castorice looked over and found they recognized the running figure. It was Annie, the young girl Derick had prepared for burial when he acted as a mortician that day. Unlike when she was bedridden during her encoffinment, the current Annie was running with great strides.
She rushed up to Derick and Castorice and stopped abruptly.
Annie looked at Derick and said in a puzzled tone, "Pretty big brother, do I... do I know... know you?"
"Yes."
Derick smiled and nodded.
"Really? That's great! I actually know such a handsome big brother." Annie's tone was cheerful. Then, she continued to run forward.
"I can't talk to you anymore, brother. Someone told me that if I keep running, I'll eventually find a very, very beautiful sea of flowers."
Annie continued to run forward.
"This child, I didn't expect her to become so spirited," Derick couldn't help but say as he watched her.
"Derick." Castorice tightened her grip on her scythe. "So as not to let that child fall into despair, we must clear the River Styx as soon as possible, so the souls can enter the Underworld."
The two walked forward, encountering even more souls.
However, these souls had been dead for a very long time, and their willpower likely wasn't strong. As Derick and Castorice approached them now, they made no response, merely muttering something to themselves.
"Let's keep going."
Derick and Castorice couldn't possibly liberate them one by one, so they simply ignored them and continued forward.
"Deeper within Styxia, we might find some clues."
Derick pulled Castorice onward.
...
As Derick and Castorice entered the interior, Derick's Avatar No. 1 also arrived in Styxia at this time.
"Hmm, let's first see if there's any energy of the Titan of Death here. If not, then I'll just have to wait for that death dragon to appear and devour a portion of it."
"But before devouring the Titan of Death's energy, perhaps I can try something else first."
Derick thought to himself.
Then he controlled Avatar No. 1 towards the dwellings of the souls. Listening to their ramblings, he found a few souls guilty of heinous crimes.
Souls that hadn't reached the Underworld for thousands of years—it was quite easy to find a few villains among those wandering here. Seeing these villains, Derick immediately controlled his Avatar No. 1 to devour their souls.
Devour, devour, devour...
Derick wanted to feel the power of these souls. At the same time, these souls yearned for the Underworld after death; Derick thought these souls might, of their own accord, head towards the Titan of Death, towards the Underworld.
After a while, while searching for souls, Derick also saw quite a few familiar faces.
Dozens of fully armed souls were gathered together, and at their head was an old-looking woman.
"Caenis? What a coincidence to meet you here," Derick thought.
At that moment, Caenis turned her gaze and saw Derick's Avatar No. 1. She waved her hand and commanded the surrounding souls:
"Go, get rid of this monster."
Her willpower, in a way, was also very strong. Upon seeing Derick's avatar, she immediately recalled the miserable experience of being defeated. Fueled by anger, Caenis ordered the subordinates who had died with her to attack Derick's Avatar No. 1.
Then, all these souls were instantly devoured by Derick's Avatar No. 1.
Without physical bodies, their threat was even more negligible.
Seeing this, Caenis immediately turned and chose to flee. Even as a soul, she didn't want to end up being devoured by someone.
After running a few steps, just as a smile of success appeared on her face, Derick's Avatar No. 1 caught up with her. Swinging the scythe in its hand, it hooked Caenis's soul.
"I..."
Caenis wanted to struggle, but Derick's Avatar No. 1 pulled, severing Caenis's soul, then opened its great maw and devoured Caenis's soul.
Thus, Elder Caenis of the Senate completely vanished from Amphoreus, leaving no trace behind.
Derick walked forward with satisfaction.
However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a shooting star appear behind his avatar.
The "shooting star" precisely hit the back of Derick's Avatar No. 1, causing it to stumble forward a few steps. Without needing to turn around, Derick saw through his third-person perspective that Cipher was the one attacking his avatar.
"You monster, you haven't enjoyed the taste of a light-speed kick, have you?" Cipher said, stretching her legs and assuming an attack stance.
"I didn't expect a monster like you to appear here. Is your goal to devour the Titan of Death after devouring the Titan of Strife? Then let me tell you, that's wishful thinking."
"The energy of the Titan of Death must be inherited by Derick!"
She pushed off with her feet again, further increasing her speed, and began a continuous barrage of kicks against Derick's Avatar No. 1.
Cipher's movements were fast, her strikes accurate. Her increased speed always aimed for the avatar's vital points.
Unfortunately, Derick's Avatar No. 1 also possessed Nikador's energy and combat skills, easily blocking Cipher's attacks. Even if an attack landed, its undying nature allowed for quick recovery.
"Tsk, this guy is really troublesome." Cipher glanced towards the city of Styxia. She muttered to herself, "You two need to get out of here quickly. Fighting this kind of terrifying monster really isn't my forte."
Thinking this, Cipher's speed increased once more.
...
Derick and Castorice were walking through the city of Styxia. However, after a few steps, Derick suddenly paused.
"Derick, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop?"
Castorice asked, puzzled by Derick's action.
"It's nothing."
Derick waved his hand.
This was precisely when his avatar and Cipher began to fight. He now had to divert more of his attention to his avatar so it wouldn't be harmed by Cipher's attacks.
Castorice reminded Derick, "If you feel unwell, you must tell me."
"It's fine. I'm not going to rest just because of this little discomfort."
The two continued forward.
At this moment, Derick and Castorice encountered a squad of soldiers.
The leading centurion saw Derick and Castorice and quickly said, "How did you end up here? The dragon is about to attack! You... you quickly hide. We... we will take care of it soon."
Dragon?
Derick and Castorice exchanged a glance.
"Sir, could you explain the situation with that dragon?"
"The dragon... is very terrifying," the centurion's soul said briefly after a moment of silence. Then, he looked at Derick and Castorice and continued, "You two, hide quickly. We are going to attack the dragon."
Hearing his words, Castorice silently reached out her hand.
"You all... don't need to fight anymore. The battle is already over."
Over?
These warriors were still pondering when Castorice "purified" them using her power.
"Alright, I've dealt with them... Is this a memory remnant?"
Castorice looked at the thing inquisitively.
Then she opened the memory residue.
A giant dragon appeared in Styxia, carrying an infant.
_____
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