I'll kill you after I finish this game!

Lei Zhe's words were cold and fierce. Upon hearing this, the Mercury Serpent's eyes also turned cold, and its massive head slowly nodded in acknowledgment of Lei Zhe's words.

His and Reiz's plan was huge and complex, and the order of each step was crucial.

In particular, the accumulation of cause and effect is what the Mercury Serpent is responsible for.

Both he and Lei Zhe wanted to transcend their own limitations, and they also wanted to do anything for the people they cared about.

From the very beginning of the eternal cycle, there were many errors that required numerous cycles of eternal return and restart to correct them.

At first, there was still the real Raiji who could help, but now he can only confront someone at the bottom of the Abyss. The number of times he can intervene is decreasing.

The world of the Day of Wrath of the Gods begins on the fourth day and involves the scope of multiple parallel universes.

After Lei Zhe, this powerful newcomer, arrived, the universe expanded into an infinite multiverse, many of which were created by him.

He can be considered as the will of heaven possessing half of the world's origin authority, aside from the Lord of the Seat. As for who holds the other half, there's no need to elaborate.

His ultimate goal, besides achieving his own transformation through eternal recurrence and the accumulation of cause and effect, is also to incorporate this worldview into his infinite world territory.

------

Meanwhile, some time before Skadi and Matilda were invited into the Golden Castle, Mary, who had fallen into a coma after suffering excruciating pain in her soul, felt her consciousness slowly returning.

Golden rays of light tore through the darkness of her unconsciousness, entering her eyes through the slits of her closed eyelids.

She slowly opened her dazed and confused eyes. She hadn't fallen down; instead, she was still standing and being embraced.

"This is our second meeting, and this is the most formal one yet. Did you hear about me from Karl and Gray?"

The reflection in the water was Reinhardt's handsome face, and in an instant, he felt a touch on his body. When he came to his senses, he found himself on the other man's arm.

Her radiant beauty and elegant voice evoked a sense of nobility and refinement.

Perhaps the other person has perfect virtues as a man, and no matter which angle you look at it from, his brilliance is a golden ratio that will never be dimmed.

"I have prepared this party for you. Before your friend takes you back, may you dance with me?"

Some women were led by the nose in a daze, their sweet actions numbing Mary's soul. This was not the mindset of a woman attracted to a man of high status.

Mary knew this was wrong; kindness, respect, subordination, dependence... it was definitely not like that.

So, what is it?

Her jade-like hand was led by Reinhardt as she danced, and the music of the orchestra could be heard from the surrounding golden hall.

They were surrounded by dozens of orchestras, standing at the very center.

Moreover, there are quite a few people with strange postures here.

“They are all my knights, my comrades.” Reinhardt smiled and invited Mary, “Everyone welcomes you, come, let’s sing a song together.”

Then, without Mary realizing what was going on, the party began.

Reinhardt, who was dancing with Mary, looked down at the stunned Mary with a smile, and suddenly said:

"What do they say about me, Margaret?"

It's unbelievable that Mary had no idea, absolutely no idea, how to dance, or the etiquette of aristocratic social settings.

But being led by Reinhardt, it was as if he understood everything.

“As one of the best ways to deepen mutual understanding, it is very meaningful to talk about people we know. How do those two people you know evaluate me? I would like to hear it,” Reinhardt asked with a light laugh.

With impeccable escort, Mary was treated as if she were a woman born and raised in a palace or castle, and no one dared to look down on her.

What is this? What's going on? Judging from my own 'common sense', I must have received the kind of warm welcome that most women dream of.

The best treatment one can receive is probably from a man who is almost without flaws, as I once received from Rai Zhe, who was like a loving elder.

However, Reinhardt was clearly different from the other party.

Everything was magnificent, luxurious, and exquisite... Although frightening, few women could refuse or resist it.

But for some reason, Mary felt that this man, this castle, this music, everything was different.

I can't express it in words, I don't know how to show it.

The orchestral music flowed in my ears, its solemn tone clear and bright, clearly commanded by superb skill.

But everyone who continued playing looked somewhat distorted, almost as if they were in mourning.

No, compared to this...

"......Well!"

After a moment of silence, she suddenly looked surprised and her jewel-like green eyes widened slightly.

Reflected in Mary's pupils was a dark red-haired woman in military uniform playing the cello, her left cheek burned and charred like charcoal.

The white-haired boy playing the flute had his right eyeball completely detached from its socket, and blood was flowing out like a tap being turned on.

The middle-aged, black-haired man in military uniform who was conducting the music had a body fused with some kind of steel, as evidenced by the blood and gore on his cheeks.

Upon closer inspection, everyone here had lost part or most of their bodies, and some didn't even look like they were alive...

Living... and in the end, I understood through my own intuition.

The people playing here are undoubtedly the Dead Men's Orchestra.

P.S.: I wish everyone's city is free from pneumonia, and that those around you are also safe. There have been quite a few positive cases recently, and the city near me is also quite tense. I hope everyone is safe and sound.

Chapter Forty-Six: The Gift of the Beast, the Hospitality of the City

"So, what's the answer?"

The golden-haired man smiled. He was all alone in this place, and there was nothing unusual or lacking in his body.

Just like, yes, this person and the world as seen through Mary's eyes...

"hell......"

Unconsciously, Mary whispered the answer in her heart: the other party was devouring countless people, creating a vortex of death and suffering for them.

The girl felt a slight nostalgia for that impression...

"I see. This is probably just Qing and Karl's assessment. Gray wouldn't care about that."

Reinhardt heard Mary's murmur and smiled as gently as a devil.

That's right, the anomaly was there from the beginning.

My emotions are now overflowing, as if I've been corrupted by this place, by this world.

Skadi nurtured the seedlings of her emotions, Ren Fujii was watering them with sweet spring water, and Reinhard... was painting his world and pouring out his true feelings to Mary.

Yes, there are too many emotions involved, and they are too complicated. It's like trying to help seedlings grow by pulling them up. Reinhardt used methods that Skadi would never have used before.

"it hurts."

She muttered to herself without realizing it, and at this moment she could clearly feel a pain she had never felt before, and her sense of self became more fulfilled.

Just like the dead who are playing music right now.

"Hell, hell... I personally feel that the name doesn't matter at all."

Reinhardt, who was leading the dance while holding Mary's hand, smiled as he looked at the goddess before him, who was already taking on the appearance of a human, and said leisurely:

"But if there is no feeling, there will be no pain. In my world, this is not allowed. Haven't I already taught you how to love?"

The goddess, as Reinhardt had heard from Karl and Gray, was originally an executioner's block devoid of emotion.

It is precisely because they have no emotions that they can behead any being without hesitation.

It's creepy and unsettling, but optimistic people like Carl and Reinhardt are very appealing.

Now, in Reinhardt's eyes, Mary is just like he once was—an innocent child, someone who has just acquired emotions she doesn't understand, not a goddess.

This is also Skadi's doing; she's now being guided and nurtured by someone else.

Since his close friend intended to do this, Reinhardt also offered her his own love, hoping she would grow and mature.

It was because of this that Mary understood terror through Reinhardt.

Her only lingering feeling for this man was fear.

Well, because Cagliostro and Reiji said that the other party is a very, very scary being, and so willful and enthusiastic that it's unbearable.

Previously, Fujii Ren had also felt it while trembling. The gold in front of him was too terrifying. Only Skadi would crush and reject it without any mercy.

"You're all alone..."

Mary murmured this to herself, and the other person was the same as her, yet different.

Even if he is alone, he can defeat everyone else by himself.

There was a quality in the other person that resonated with Titi, no... no, it was similar to Luo Xiu.

"Maybe."

Reinhardt knew what Mary meant, but he smiled and indicated that he didn't care.

Yes, to give an example, that's the kind of description used to distinguish between the two people.

"You are a gem that will not melt even if you fall into the sea, while I am the ink that stains the sea red."

Although they are all just a single grain or a single drop, the difference lies in their individual influence.

"Domineering and seeking the Way, that's what Gray and Carl say. The former is 'I, the lonely one,' and the latter is 'Your Excellency.'"

Reinhardt looked at Mary with warmth and affection. She was born more terrifying than himself, but he was unaware of it. He said, "To me, that place looks more dazzling. I also have many people with similar talents among my subordinates."

Mary didn't want to understand, didn't want to know, because she hated it, but she understood what it meant.

“Karl and Gray crave a fierce and domineering conflict, and so do I, of course.” Reinhardt smiled meaningfully at Mary and said, “All those knights who need you by their side, those who love you, I ask you, Margaret, what do you think of hell (me)?”

The alley was filled with the strains of a final requiem, played by the Orchestra of the Dead.

If the other person's world sinks into the ocean called the world, all colors will be painted over it.

so......

"...How scary."

Mary's voice was already filled with rejection and trembling, expressing her deepest fear of the man in front of her.

They themselves, and the people they care about... are all afraid and repulsed by the possibility of being invaded and disappearing by the country of the deceased.