Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

Theresis's other half of his body was even more horrifying. The effects of the demonic corruption finally manifested in him, and the collapse occurred irreversibly. He thus became a terrifying monster, half Originium crystal and half collapsed body.

The Doctor herself was not unscathed either. Forcibly erasing Therese's consciousness in the flood of information had taken a huge toll on her body. Blood flowed from her nose and eyes, and her thoughts swirled around in her body like a viscous liquid.

The onslaught of that redundant information damaged the Doctor's body; her physical strength was ultimately no match for that of the Sarkaz, especially a powerful Sarkaz like Theresis.

The Doctor gritted his teeth and simultaneously poured both the life potion and the mana potion into his mouth, while Quessina and Amiya shielded him behind them at the same instant.

Theresis's consciousness was severely damaged, but his obsession with revenge still drove him to act in a non-human body. For him, wasn't this also an opportunity to lure the evil spirits of Babel away from Nautilus's protection and thus kill them?

Chapter 289: A Protracted Battle

The reason that had sustained Therese's madness was almost completely destroyed by the irreversible changes in his body, leaving only the deepest and most stubborn hatred in his heart, which drove him to continue to vent his anger with his inhuman body.

Theresis has always had a clear understanding of the situation on Terra. He knows that the Sarkaz must fight for a chance to survive in the cracks. Perhaps Theresis has also considered that the current situation of the Sarkaz is the best outcome that the race can achieve, but he is still not satisfied. He has painted a grander vision for the Sarkaz.

He was used to finding a way out of the impossible, so he was never intimidated by extremely unfavorable circumstances.

Let Originium cover the earth? Theresis did indeed reach a similar agreement with the evil spirits of Babel back then, but he never gave up trying to make the power of Originium exclusively available to the Sarkaz. The data verification in the Black Crown had long helped him determine a feasible path.

Theresis was never satisfied with merely restoring the Sarkaz; he also sought revenge against the arrogant god Precyth who had allowed the people of the gods and Originium to take root on Terra.

"Arrogance, gods, I will judge..."

The demonic fragments within the Shard Tower's guiding device dangerously amplified Theresis's power while also emitting a dangerous collapse contamination. The Doctor activated Anana, while Amiya mobilized the Black Crown's computing power to counteract the collapse contamination released by the demonic fragments using the power of Originium.

"Doctor, is he still Theresis?"

Although Amiya had grown a lot during her time traveling from Chernobog to Londinium, she still couldn't help but feel a sense of fear when faced with this bizarre monster.

“Don’t be afraid, Amiya. That’s Theresis. It can only be Theresis. He chose this path himself.”

The Doctor was well aware of the dangers of demonic cognitive corruption, so she told Amiya that it was Theresis, and she had to convince herself that it was Theresis, the former regent of the Sarkaz.

"Quisassina, before we leave, let's inform the Kazdel Royal Court Council that they will send elites from the Carrion Eater Royal Court and the Blood Demon Royal Court. We'll make sure they arrive within a few hours, right?"

The Doctor confirmed the situation of the reinforcements with Quessina once again. Before teleporting into the inner space of Originium, she also notified Rhodes Island's elite operators to set off in ground effect vehicles. After all, such a complex three-phase positioning and Originium inner space teleportation could not teleport too many people at once, and there was no window of opportunity to kill Theresis for several hours.

She could call on Loting for help, but she and Loting had already discussed it beforehand—she wanted to be more of a help to Loting, so she would handle Therese herself first.

The places Lotin needs to go now are geographically vast and scattered, and the doctor believes that helping Lotin save a TP will help Lotin gain more initiative.

"They will arrive in a few hours by ground effect vehicle, but of course, we may have already taken care of the enemy by then."

Quessina drew her sword again. Not long ago, this sword had been used against the Seabred Warhorse of the Tide Hunter Knights. Although Quessina had only managed to suppress the powerful Seabred creature at that time, it was only because the Seabred Warhorse Rosinant's physical strength was too extraordinary.

Among the Sarkaz, even the White Horned Demon King "Knocker" Quesatushta had to be wary of Quesatushina's drawn sword.

Quessina's sword was fast, so fast that Amiya couldn't even see it, but Theresis was even faster. The non-linear movement of the demon allowed him to truly teleport. What was even more terrifying was that Theresis's fighting spirit was rooted in habit. Even though he had lost most of his rationality, he still attacked Quessina with the same level of skill he once had as the Demon King's Sword Guard.

Quessina reacted just as quickly. She could tell that Theresis was much stiffer than he had been in Londinium, since half of his body had crystallized. However, the crystallized parts of his body were dangerously enhancing his magical abilities and physical resistance.

Black Sarkaz magic erupted from the crystal-covered blade, causing a massive explosion in a range that Quessina had not anticipated. Quessina immediately dodged in the best possible position and launched a counterattack in mid-air, but with a crisp metallic clang, only a fragment of the floor was cleaved apart.

"To restrict his movements, we must prevent Theresis from using the properties of the collapsible body for nonlinear movement!"

"Amiya, allocate more computing power from the Black Crown."

The Doctor wants to project the power of Originium into reality. This is the Silver Mountains, and the huge Originium veins mean that the Doctor can use Anana to activate more Originium. She wants to clear the disordered information flow emitted by the demon fragments, just like she did inside the Originium space, so as to clear the collapse and contamination here and prevent Theresis from making non-linear movements.

"But Doctor, your body won't be able to take it if this continues!"

The heavy use of the Black Crown's computing power and the influx of information into her mind were almost too much for Amiya, a Terran, to handle, let alone the Doctor, whose physical hardware was even more fragile.

"It's alright, I still have the potion that Nautilus gave me, I'll grit my teeth and persevere."

With most of the Originium's internal space sealed off by Precys, only the Doctor can do this; only she has sufficient authority to unleash the power of Originium to this level.

The doctor's eyes sharpened, and her smile, like Laurentina's, took on a hint of madness.

"Don't think I'm just a pretty vase."

The doctor opened both the life potion and the mana potion, biting them in his mouth, enduring the intense throbbing pain in his brain and the shocking side effects of receiving a massive amount of chaotic information.

"Originium is merely a gift that I and we gave to the people of Terra. At the same time, it is also the final inscription we left behind."

"This is the power you've always dreamed of, Theresis, the true power of Originium."

Anana activated the Originium veins in the Silver Mountains. Redundant information is being covered by well-ordered Originium transcription information, and the dirty and chaotic demonic fragments are being gradually broken down and banished.

Blood tears streamed down the Doctor's face, but the wounds on his body were being healed by the life potion, and his mental exhaustion was being relieved by the magic potion. As the damage was repaired and his fatigue returned, he became clear-headed. Even with Amiya sharing the burden with him, the Doctor's frail body still had to endure even greater pain.

"PhD......."

Amiya held the Doctor's hand tightly. She knew why the Doctor had gone to such lengths, and that person was indeed worthy of the Doctor's efforts.

"From now on, Mr. Nautilus should spend more time with you, Doctor."

The Doctor couldn't speak, but Amiya guessed that he was probably going to say something like "children don't understand, so don't meddle." They reached a tacit understanding with a knowing smile.

Although the Doctor and Amiya have almost completely eliminated the power that Theresis gained from the demon, that is, from his collapsed half of body, Quessina is still unable to suppress Theresis.

Her sword couldn't cut through Theresis's crystallized body, and Theresis deliberately let that part of her body take the damage. She could only use her more agile movements and more rational battle decisions to restrict Theresis's movements and buy time until reinforcements arrived.

If Margaret cooperates, I might be able to attack the side of Theresis that has collapsed.

Therese brought out a tangled soul from the inner space of the Originium. He instinctively wanted to use his authority to regenerate a body for it from the Originium, but the Doctor firmly held onto control of the Originium in this area.

Thus, with her reason completely consumed, Theresis unconsciously mixed this chaotic "entangled soul" with the disordered information emitted by the demon fragments, and took advantage of the gaps when the Doctor was too busy to pay attention to it, using her authority to transcribe it bit by bit, reshaping its body.

Because the doctor held the initiative, the whole process proceeded extremely slowly, and the two sides engaged in a tireless tug-of-war.

Chapter 290: The Fallen Chimera

Kazdel's ground effect vehicles were not in very good condition, but they were still able to carry out transport missions normally. They took off from the Life Spine airship commanded by Ersula and rendezvoused with Rhodes Island's two ground effect vehicles in the designated airspace.

"Is our only task to eliminate the losers who still refuse to give up?"

Ducarre showed no resistance to the order to kill Theresis; he merely grumbled about the mission's absurdity. After the bloody battle with Haizi in Iberia, he felt that fighting someone of Theresis's caliber was no longer of interest to him.

"Therese has pulled off almost impossible comebacks more than once. He always has a clear understanding of the situation, but when the situation is difficult and the chances are slim, he will always fight with all his might."

Therefore, we must be extremely careful.

It was Nezre who first proposed electing Lotin as the new Demon King. He would not allow Theresis to use the entire Sarkaz as a bargaining chip for his revenge gamble. Only the conqueror could bring a stable and hopeful future to Sarkaz. Therefore, this King of Carrion would not hesitate. He was just more cautious than Ducarre.

“I am not like you, whose bones have rotted away, the king of carrion.”

Ducarre gave a haughty snort, but he wasn't foolish enough to actually believe that Theresis was a helpless, defeated dog. Before he "summoned" the Conqueror again, Theresis was indeed one of the most capable Sarkaz leaders, so he had no doubt that this cunning former regent was hiding some dangerous trump cards.

The message that Quessana sent them also basically explained that Theresis could use some of the power of "spirits" (demons in the Sarkaz context).

"Huff, huff..."

After several hours of intense fighting, Quessina's stamina was gradually depleted. She had no spare time or opportunity to drink life potions or mana potions, so she had to plan more carefully how to allocate her remaining strength.

"when!"

The heavy metallic clang was enough to make an ordinary person release their hand in excruciating pain, and the tendons felt torn due to the violent stretching. Each of these factors accumulated damage on her body.

The collapsed and crystallized monsters do not suffer from fatigue, but the flesh-and-blood Quessina ultimately has her own limits—she has no chance to unleash her healing Originium Arts.

"Ha, Theresis, what a sorry sight."

The Doctor deployed the scout guards from the Lotin trinket at the location where they engaged Theresis, just like when Laurentina and Skadi helped Lotin place wards in Hillsshire. Only those recognized as "teammates" by the system could have this privilege.

"You know everything, you know you have almost no chance of winning, you know your fate is sealed, yet you still drag the entire Terra down with you in a catastrophic destruction."

"But I know you will choose this path, a determined Avenger will choose this path."

Loting now appeared calm and relieved, largely because he had personally scuttled the Fool, subdued Hai Si, and completed his revenge; therefore, he possessed the composure of a victor.

Aside from his struggle for survival, he rarely had strong emotions about anything else—except for a slight personal preference for his partner's personality.

"You're really stubborn, Doctor."

Seeing how hard the Doctor and the others were working, Luo Ting asked the Doctor in the system chat if he needed his help. But the Doctor refused without hesitation every time, always saying seriously that he only needed to accept her help without worry.

"Don't overexert yourself."

Of course, Lotin wouldn't really abandon his partner; he just believed that reinforcements were about to arrive and the situation was still under control, so he was willing to respect the doctor's wishes.

This was also a test and challenge for the doctoral student, a task she set for herself in order to be more qualified to stand beside her.

In the footage transmitted from the reconnaissance guard, a spherical, multi-limbed entity is slowly forming, and the doctor in the footage is trying his best to prevent the birth of this enemy, which is formed by the corruption and desecration of the souls of the dead by evil spirits.

This kind of enemy was still a bit too terrifying for Amiya. Although she bravely suppressed her physical reactions, the discomfort still made her start to gag.

The consciousness of the Sarkaz fallen, including Manfred, is being filled into a flawed body formed under the guidance of disordered signals from demonic fragments. Extraneous and meaningless limbs are being generated, and the withered body falls off this mass of flesh, becoming a horrifying, undead-like collapse.

Their skin was pale and dry, yet they still possessed the most basic physical form of the Sarkaz. They repeated meaningless, perhaps wailing, syllables as they staggered toward the Doctor, who could suppress them the most—their inability to move non-linearly was the most direct manifestation of the Doctor's suppressive effect.

"Boom!"

Scorching air currents, accompanied by a rumbling sound, filled the space that had once been used to store the original Originium. The damage from within made it vulnerable, making it susceptible to destruction from the outside.

A Firing surrounded by annoyance descended from the sky. The Doctor immediately recognized that this descent without a parachute belonged to the elite operator "Huang".

Rhodes Island's ground effect vehicle, thanks to its better maintenance, reached its designated destination earlier, and Rhodes Island's most elite operators once again unleashed their power for their Doctor.

"Doctor, please be careful."

Kal'tsit summoned Monster-3, a shimmering crystal monster that immediately pierced through the few collapsing bodies closest to the Doctor. Fortunately, Kal'tsit didn't have to hand over the stage to Monster-3 in this timeline, but instead continued to let it serve as her assistant.

The Doctor didn't have time to speak, but simply gave Kal'tsit a thumbs up to indicate that everything was fine.

"Rhodes Island elite operators, organize the defense line according to the pre-arranged plan, medical team in position!"

Kal'tsit could tell from the Doctor and Amiya's condition that they didn't have the energy to command, so she took charge of organizing Rhodes Island's reinforcements to form a defensive line. Because the Doctor had suppressed the further impact of the demonic contamination on reality, these elite Rhodes Island operators were clearing away the collapsed bodies with overwhelming force.

"It's not just for the doctor, it's also to repay that guy's favor."

"Whether it's the Sarkaz or the Sakotas, the threat this behavior poses to this land is probably no longer related to race."

A burst of revolver fire quickly riddled some of the rushing collapsing objects with bullets, Elite Operator Outcast said while reloading.

She is a very cool Sakota grandma who briefly fought alongside Lottin in Little Hills County. It was thanks to Lottin's help that she did not overwork herself.

On the other side, as a burst of blood erupted, Kazdel's reinforcements joined the battle.

"Consul Quessana, thank you for your hard work."

Nezirei's desolate spell repelled Theresis, who was charging towards Quessana, giving Quessana time and opportunity to recover—Quessana's public identity in Kazdel was indeed only that of a member of the Royal Council.

"Theresis, your bloodline was already quite ordinary, but I didn't expect you to abandon even the blood and body of the Sarkaz?"

Theresis's appearance immediately turned Ducarre's mood from boredom to anger. In Ducarre's mind, the Sarkaz were noble because of their blood, but Theresis had actually given up the Sarkaz blood and turned herself into a bloodless and tearless monster made of collapse and crystals.

Enraged, Ducarre abandoned Neczre and Quessina and launched a fierce attack on Theresis alone.

Chapter 291: The End of an Era for a Tycoon

"Theresis, how disappointing!"

Crimson Sarkaz magic tore through the cave; Ducarre was extremely dissatisfied with Theresis's current state.

"I never imagined you would even relinquish your right to exist as a Sarkaz, Theresis. Do you intend to defile the sacred grounds of the Exiles with your death?"

The Blood Lord roared and cursed Theresis, but the response was Theresis's dark magic, which had become strange and chaotic due to the demonic fragments, making its trajectory difficult to predict. Like Quessana, Ducarre had no choice but to parry and defend against it.

The blood protected the Blood Demon's body and transformed into terrifying thorns that rapidly spread toward Theresis's location. Theresis, once again relying on his superior combat awareness, used his crystallized body to confront these blood thorns that he could not dodge.

Even if Ducarre didn't want to admit it, the facts were still there for him. The compatibility between Theresis in this state and him was extremely poor. This bloodless and tearless monster had no blood that could give him a weakness, and the substances that made up his body were not even ordinary inorganic matter. Ducarre was in the same predicament as Quesasina. He could restrain this monster that had lost consciousness and reason, but he could not gain a decisive advantage.

"Damn it, Theresis, why did you have to go this far?"

In Ducarre's eyes, Nautilus the Conqueror was a legendary and powerful Sarkaz, and it was only natural for the Sarkaz people to be led by the most powerful Sarkaz. Even in the eyes of the most docile and cowardly Sarkaz, Nautilus was a guardian who provided security.

He simply couldn't understand why Therese would go to such lengths, even if it meant turning herself into a monster.

"Judgment, evil spirits #@$Gods$#@......."

Previously, Theresis could still utter some meaningful sentences, but now he can only barely squeeze out a few still recognizable phrases. Theresis was indeed prepared to sacrifice everything, but his current state was by no means his original intention.

But what other choice does Theresis have now that she's come to this?

Perhaps the ending was already predetermined from the moment he chose to dabble in the power of evil, even at the cost of dragging the entire Terra down with him.

“Ducarre, you can’t defeat Theresis by yourself. We can only deal with him by setting up a magical array, just like we did in Londinium.”

Nertzrei began to have his elite carrion eaters set up a malignant array of Sarkaz magic. His court was a master of manipulating death and decay, a master of projecting irrational rot onto his enemies.

"Ahem, the other side of Theresis is not a demon, but merely an empty shell corrupted by demons, a collapsed body. On the contrary, inert Originium that has lost its activity can remain stable on a timescale measured in geological ages."