Lucan grinned. "Hehe! No, you tell me first." He was completely calm despite being strangled.
The slime's stranglehold intensified. It asked, "Aren't you afraid that you will die? Like this, before you reach your so-called goal?"
Lucan simply smiled at it. The slime frowned and asked, "You?... Do you still have any... trump cards left?"
"I honestly have no way to escape," Lucan replied. "With just one thought, you could actually strangle me to death. This human body is fragile."
The slime lifted its hands and sliced off one of Lucan's arms and legs. They snapped off like pieces of paper. As Lucan had said, it was fragile. He gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed his pain. Yet, his faint grin remained, even through the agony.
The slime could not believe that such a person could exist—someone who literally grinned when death was just a step away. It gulped down saliva and asked, "How are you still so confident? Hahaha! You are going to die now anyway."
Lucan smirked and said, "Kill me! Go ahead and try it."
The slime's grasp tightened further as it demanded, "How can you be like this? Ugh! Answer me!"
Lucan replied, "I am 100% confident that I won't die right now, because you can kill me, but you won't." He pointed his remaining index finger toward the slime, even though his other arm and leg were already amputated.
Blood dripped out continuously. "Why is that?" the slime asked with intense irritation.
Lucan replied, "Kill me, and who else is going to revive your ocean? Hehe!"
The slime was left speechless. Lucan's words made perfect sense. It immediately released him. Without a moment's delay, Lucan instantly froze time. He even stopped his own body from moving below his head, except for his intact arm.
"A very wise decision on your part," Lucan said. "The sun and the ocean, huh? I will give you one piece of advice: let them go. They are just mere illusions; they aren't worth it. Focus on developing yourself while listening to your inner heart. Stop being blinded by love."
The slime clenched its teeth. "You! What do you know about love? It is a beautiful emotion, and you were the one who taught it to us!"
Lucan nodded in agreement. "Of course, you are right. I taught it to you. But I taught you all the emotions, not just love. Moreover, did I ever ask you to go out and love someone?"
The slime asked, "Then what is love to you? Your ocean? Your sea?"
Lucan looked up at the sky, which was twinkling with stars filling the dark void, illuminating the darkness with brightness. His eyes shone with a glow, and his smile was gentle and warm. He pointed up at the sky and then pointed at himself.
As he spoke, he said, "For me, love is to pursue the end of space and go beyond it, and also to listen and act according to my true self. That is what true love is!"
Although his gaze looked normal, beyond it lay countless ambitions and thoughts that continuously flickered. They seemed to echo: 'Lucan! Oh, Lucan! Go and find the end of space. Then walk beyond it, and learn the truth that lies on the other side.'
The slime muttered, "Such ambitions... even I can't help but admire this."
Lucan then healed himself, regenerating his lost limbs. The sensation of the sudden regeneration struck him, tearing him apart inside, but he still endured it.
The slime asked, "Then what about our love? The love on Earth that you taught us earlier—the one I feel right now?"
Lucan shrugged. "Love is just a form of entertainment to me. A story you guys consume to escape boredom."
The slime felt awkward, as if it had betrayed itself. It felt surrounded by darkness with no light. Sitting down, two conflicting thoughts collided within its mind.
One thought said, 'Lucan is right, believe him! After all, he was the one who taught us emotions. How can he be wrong? Hahaha!' Agreeing with this, the slime muttered, "You are right. They are just a form of entertainment or a way to pass the time."
But the other thought spoke up, 'No! They aren't! He is wrong. Love is a feeling that you must never treat as entertainment or a pastime. It is divine and pure. Your heart will ache for a person to look after you. Without her, you are incomplete. Without you, she is incomplete. Do you really believe his cold words? Answer me!'
The slime shook its head. "Actually, you are right."
The thoughts continuously bargained and argued, tearing its mind apart and causing a severe headache. The slime fell to the ground. With no more hope left, both thoughts finally disappeared.
In the darkness, a blue light shone in front of its face. It was her—its ocean.
The slime asked, "Which type of love are you? An entertainment to watch, or something more?"
She tied her hands behind her back as she walked ahead. After a few steps, she stopped and spoke. "That is a question you have to ask yourself. I won't answer it. That guy Lucan said one right thing: 'Ask your inner heart!' Do it, and make your decision." Saying this, she vanished instantly.
The slime went into deep thought, sinking deeper and deeper into an endless abyss. The darkness grew heavier. Finally, it decided on an answer. Its eyes widened, and its lips curled upward.
It lifted its hands, and another hand appeared instantly to meet it. It was her hand. She smiled. "Hehe! So this was your decision."
The slime was lifted out of the darkness, and its world turned bright. It said, "Yep! The sun needs the ocean to escape the darkness!"
The slime woke up again, but it was still frozen in time. Lucan was standing right in front of it. The slime began to laugh crazily.
Lucan asked, "Have you gone insane? Well, it doesn't matter to me. Tell me about this place now!"
As the slime kept laughing, Lucan decided to forcibly extract the details from its mind. He walked closer, but the paused time suddenly resumed on its own. Lucan felt a violent backlash and spat out blood. Panting heavily, his eyes widened.
A pink light started to condense in front of him, growing brighter and brighter. His crystal of betrayal dimmed, flew out of his grasp, and collided with the pink light.
Stumbling backward, Lucan asked, "You are refining a crystal? It feels greater than my betrayal. Greater than the Great Lord's pride. Greater than the Vice Lord's thousand years of calmness. What is it?"
Lucan was blasted away by the expanding light, completely suppressed by its pressure. He coughed up blood again, wiping it off as he breathed heavily and watched silently.
The crystal grew bigger and bigger, becoming the largest one Lucan had ever personally seen. The slime held onto it, laughing at him.
It said, "Guess what crystal I am refining? It is the thing you call a mere entertainment to watch in your foolish terms."
Lucan frowned as he replied, "The love crystal? Or the crystal of love?"
The slime nodded. It teleported right beside him and punched Lucan with its full might, using cosmic energy. Lucan reacted just in time and defended himself.
However, the pink light suddenly flashed over his face. He flew backward, suffering another backlash, and smashed into the ground, forming a crater. Lucan gasped, "You think you can kill me? Who will reviv—"
Before he could finish, multiple consecutive punches landed straight on his face. Lucan fell all the way to the bottom of the deep underground crater.
The slime hovered in the air above. "Lucan! Just do one thing, and the rest of us will all become your crewmates. We will do anything for you. Just accept the true meaning of love. I won't force you to love! Just listen to it, and you will automatically feel like doing it."
Lucan was severely injured; his bones were broken, his seven orifices were bleeding heavily, and even some of his teeth were shattered. Yet, he still grinned as he said, "Love? Hahaha! Nice joke."
The slime sighed. "Huh! Let me tell you, with this crystal's help, I can revive her and even my friends by myself! So I won't hesitate to kill you if you keep refusing."
Lucan spat, "Then kill me instead of yapping!"
The slime raised its hands, preparing to deliver the killing blow. It asked, "Any last words?"
Lucan smirked. "Pride or Love?"
"Pride!" the slime shouted. "A selfish armor worth even less than shit!"