Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Is this what you rely on to manipulate all living beings?"

“Talulah, no, she is not that bad. Regardless of her true nature, at least she is a warrior.”

"So utterly vulnerable, you, evil god, Koschche, are you covering up? Hiding? Or are you truly powerless?"

Patriots didn't believe he could take Talulah's or Kosich's life so easily.

A malevolent god that can endure for thousands of years cannot be so simple.

Even Talulah herself, before she was corrupted, wasn't this weak.

“It seems Wei Yanwu, cough cough, has really turned you into a heartless person,” Kosichie said, his face covered by Talulah’s, as if he was struggling to hold back Patriot’s giant hand.

She ignored the patriot's question and turned to look in Chen's direction.

"Are you really going to watch your sister die in front of you, Xiao Chen?"

“You’re not my sister,” Chen closed her eyes, lowered her head, and murmured, “You’re just a despicable… monster.”

"Even if you're wearing her skin, don't think you can pretend to be her in front of me!"

"Ah, I see," Kosiché said regretfully, lowering his hands that were weakly trying to pry Patriot's giant hand off. "So that's what you were thinking..."

"Talulah still had a last place for you in her heart... but in the end, it was all in vain."

"Are you ignoring me?" Patriot gripped the slender neck in his hand, his booming voice echoing throughout the command tower.

“Who can ignore you, Bozokasti?” Kosichek looked at him with regret. “If news of your infiltration of Saint Jun’s Keep gets out, even the Emperor of Ursus will be alarmed.”

"Right now, I've just prepared a few more trump cards."

In the blink of an eye, a dark light flashed across her body, and Patriot's movements instantly froze.

“Even the legendary warriors of Ursus are so vulnerable in the face of divine creations,” Kosicher shook his head and reached out to free himself from Patriot’s grasp.

“What a pity, this wasn’t made for you,” he said, strolling up to Patriot and gently pushing him away.

It is both a pity for the patriots and a pity that their trump card was wasted.

This warrior who had intimidated Ursus for decades, the last pure-blooded Wendigo in the world, the Sarkaz who brought hope to countless oppressed Infected on the snowfields, fell with a thunderous crash.

He died so casually.

“You weren’t originally in the plan,” Kosiché sighed dramatically. “This was a trump card left for that unknown divine creation, enough to erase the mind that gave birth to him and let the divine creation return to the true god’s hands. But he didn’t appear, and now you suddenly want to fight me to the death again.”

"You shouldn't have died here. You were destined to die on the snowfield, on the road seeking a way out for the desperate infected in Chernobog."

“This was unexpected,” he said, maneuvering Talulah’s body over the Patriot’s corpse and strolling toward where Amiya and the others were.

"Something unexpected..."

Why did so many unplanned things happen?

"The divine creation that was expected to be born of me did not appear; the plan for the core city to crash into the Dragon Gate was completely destroyed by a single pebble; even Bozokasti, who would definitely not seek to fight me to the death because he could not abandon the infected, appeared before me with a death-defying determination..."

"You!" Chen raised Chixiao sword, furiously wanting to rush forward and swing it at the evil god.

But they were still forced back by a ball of flame.

“I’m very uneasy,” Koschei said frankly to the Rhodes Island crew from the center of the command tower. “So many unexpected things have happened so far, and it makes me very uneasy.”

"This is all so strange."

“Including you,” Kosiché looked at Amiya, “the look in your eyes when you look at Bozocasti is one of reverence and respect.”

"But when a legendary warrior like him died so easily and casually at my hands, you didn't even show the slightest unusual expression."

"It's as if you knew all along that this would happen."

“This makes me very uneasy,” Kosic said, frowning. “Bozokasti is no fool; his intelligence is as formidable as his strength.”

"But he just stood there in front of me without any protection, as if... I had expected it."

"Could I even detect a hint of expectation in it?"

"This is all too strange, it's beyond my control."

"Who saved Frostnova in Lungmen? Who gave Bodrakasti hope, only to let him die so easily at my hands? Without considering the Infected, who threw that pebble from the heavens, so easily destroying all my hard work..."

"In the darkness I cannot see, there are far too many things happening that I do not know, like being caught in a spider's web without even realizing it."

"Do you understand this feeling?" Kosiche muttered to himself as he forced Chen's attack back once again. "I'm really, really uneasy right now."

He took a step forward, and boundless flames swirled around him.

"I am eager to know everything that is hidden behind this."

ACE stepped forward with his shield, helping Chen block a non-lethal flame.

"And the only ones who can tell me all this are you."

“Tell your sister, please,” Koschei manipulated Talulah’s body, revealing a kind smile, just like a real sister, “tell me, who told you that I was possessed by Koschei? Who guided you here?”

"You know, when you appeared in front of me and the first name you called out wasn't Talulah but Kosichek, I was really curious."

"Stop pretending!" Chen looked at Kosich's friendly smile and felt disgusted. "Do you still think you can hide under that skin you stole through scheming and trickery?"

"You killed her, that's an indisputable fact."

"Do you think I would disregard the facts and not be able to bring myself to do it to this body?"

"The sins you committed by using her body and her name make me want to tear you to pieces!"

“It seems that person didn’t tell you everything,” Kosichek shook his head upon hearing this. “You think Talulah is dead?”

"You don't think I'm Talulah? You think your sister is pure and innocent, and that I'm the one who did all the bad things?"

"Do you really think that I can disregard her will, completely control her mind, and do these things before the ritual is completed?"

Kosicchena's face, hidden in the flames, was beaming with delight; he had found a way in.

"It seems that person didn't tell you everything."

"Everything I've done in this city hasn't gone against Talulah's will."

"Deep down, she wanted to do that too."

"Your sister isn't as pure and innocent as that unknown person described..."

79 The so-called Rhodes Island conspiracy (laughs)

"Do you think you can cover up the crimes you committed with this excuse?"

Just as Chen remained silent, Amiya stepped forward.

Do you think you can sway our resolve with sweet words? To make us tell you everything?

"Do you have any different opinion on the facts I've presented?" Kosiché narrowed his eyes and looked at Amiya.

He suddenly had a strange feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

“Talulah is not completely dead,” Amiya said, coming to Chen’s side. “Duke Kosichä, you are indeed as you say, unable to fully control her mind.”

“Oh, tell me,” Kosichek said, seemingly feeling he had found some clues about the person behind it all. “Why are you so sure? And who told you that?”

“Nobody told me,” Amiya shook her head, looking at Kosichella’s astonished face, “I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Duke Kosichè, if I may be so bold, you should have died the day Talulah stabbed you to death. There is no place for you on this land.”

“Mind reading…” Kosiché narrowed his eyes. “Even if you could read minds and know the truth or falsehood of my words from me, you shouldn’t know this.”

"I never recalled that day before you said it. Where did you hear this rumor from?"

"Am I reading minds?" Amiya gave a sly smile. "Is that what you think?"

"You have always been proud of your Originium Arts, Duke Kosichä, and your political enemies have never been able to do anything to you."

"..." Kosichev remained silent, a sense of familiarity he couldn't quite put his finger on, accompanied by waves of unease.

“All I can see are memories,” Amiya said frankly in front of everyone. “I have no idea what you are thinking, but I can feel your emotions.”

“I have glimpsed the secret in your memories; I have seen the curse that still haunts you.”

Kosichrie raised his hand and flung out a ball of blazing flame, once again demonstrating the Drak's racial advantage.

But Amiya was not alone.

ACE, the warrior who had remained silent throughout the battle, once again stood reliably before Amiya, shielding her from the red dragon's breath.

"How long can you hold out, warrior?" Kosichek lashed out another chain of fire, striking the ACE's shield. "How long do you think he can hold you off, Rhodes Island rabbit?"

Amiya reached out and put her hand on ACE's shoulder.

“I don’t know how long ACE can hold out,” a black line appeared in front of the shield in the warrior’s hand, “but I won’t let him fight alone.”

“Originium Arts that probe people’s hearts, black lines,” Kosichä squinted, “This reminds me of…”

"What are you thinking about?" Amiya smiled slightly. "You can think about it carefully."

“I’ve heard that Rhodes Island is a remnant of the Tower of Babel, and was once part of Queen Theresa’s retinue,” Koschei’s voice was hoarse. “What a joke!”

Chen looked at Amiya with surprise. Apart from the mastermind he mentioned, Amiya was the first person to make the evil god lose his composure like this.

Amiya, he seems quite surprised by you?

“Commander Chen,” Amiya shook her head, “no matter what happens next, don’t be too surprised.”