13 Mink Street

The fire continued to burn. Bernard’s corpse had already been scorched into blackened charcoal, yet Karon still continued to incinerate it.

Back when he had worked at the funeral home, whenever a body had needed to be cremated, the churches would always worry that the crematoriums might try to save fuel and would fail to burn the corpse thoroughly enough. In the end, someone would still be required to take a small hammer and break the remains apart in that manner.

The labor itself was not the issue. What truly mattered was ensuring that the client received true ashes. Large bones that retained their shape were difficult to fit into an urn.

No matter what, Bernard had once been Pu’er, Genevieve, and Phileas’s friend. Out of professional ethics alone, Karon would not allow Bernard to leave behind such a regret.

Finally, after the floor of the cave was burned into a large sunken pit. Only then did Karon bend down and gently blow on Bernard’s now-fluffy remains.

The corpse had been roasted so thoroughly that it had turned brittle. With that one breath, the vaguely humanoid shape that had barely managed to hold together collapsed completely, leaving nothing but a glittering pile of bone ash.

Karon grabbed a broom from elsewhere in the cave. The broom head had long since rotted away, leaving only a stone handle, but he used that stick to carefully stir through the ashes, making certain that no impurities had been left behind, and that no gallstones had survived the fire.

Afterward, he found a large stone basin and gathered all of Bernard’s ashes into it, leaving the cave absolutely spotless.

When finished, Karon carried the stone basin to the shore. As he walked along the coast, he used a spoon he had found in the cave to scatter the ashes into the sea, one spoonful at a time He walked the entire way while scattering them.

Once all of the ashes were finally gone, Karon lowered the stone basin into the sea and carefully washed it clean with the water.

“Whew...” Letting out a long breath, Karon realized for the first time just how troublesome it was to actually destroy a corpse completely. As expected, our Pu’er really does see things most clearly. The safest method truly is to scatter the ashes.

Karon picked up several particularly beautiful seashells and placed them in the basin before carrying it back to the burial pit.

There was still half a pack of cigarettes left in his pocket. Karon poured them all out and stuck them upright before the gravestone. He took out a lighter and lit every one of them.

Watching the trails of smoke slowly rise, Karon could not help but muse, ”I wonder if anyone will burn incense for me and my followers in the future.”

The words he had carved into the gravestone remained clear and bright. Only time could wear away such sharpness. “I probably won’t return to this island again. Still, I wish all of you smooth sailing on your new voyage.”

Afterward, Karon returned to the cave and arranged the seashells atop Genevieve’s stone coffin. “I may have spoken too confidently earlier. If Pu’er ever wants to come visit you in the future, I might tag along.”

At this point, all of the cleanup work was complete. Karon found a stone stool and sat down. From his pocket, he took out two crimson crescents. They were only the size of little fingernails, yet their redness was dazzlingly bright.

Everything that had once belonged to Bernard had already been completely erased by Karon. He had cleansed these two things thoroughly, casting Purification alone nearly ten times.

During the process, Karon had tried smashing them with rocks and burning them with fire, but neither crescent had suffered the slightest bit of damage.

This meant that Bernard had never truly feared Karon destroying his corpse earlier, because this pair of Darkmoon Eyes would inevitably survive. As long as the eyes remained intact, Bernard would retain the possibility of “coming back to life.”

In truth, if Karon had not returned to the cave and discovered Bernard’s false resurrection, he never would have inspected Bernard’s corpse so meticulously while disposing of it.

But now a new problem had appeared; How exactly was he supposed to use these Darkmoon Eyes? That white worm was unusable to him and could only be given to Richard, but these Darkmoon Eyes felt perfectly suited to him.

Karon’s combat style currently relied heavily upon the enhancements he received from the Darkmoon Blade. If he also possessed these Darkmoon Eyes, the amplification he would gain when using the Darkmoon Blade would undoubtedly grow astonishingly.

Bernard had chosen to endure horrifying torment rather than reveal the secret of these eyes. The reason he had placed his coffin above ground was likely because he wanted his eyes nourished nightly by the radiance of the Darkmoon.

All of that meant that these eyes had to be invaluable, possibly even exceeding what Karon imagined.

He attempted to channel his spirituality into the crimson crescents, but they gave no response whatsoever. That meant that they were used differently from ordinary holy relics.

Do I stick them onto my eyes? Karon hesitated briefly before placing one crescent up to his eye, but still nothing happened.

Is there some kind of internal activation mechanism? Karon pursed his lips.

The awkward thing at this moment was that if he could not master these things immediately, then as soon as he took them back to Darkmoon Island, there was a strong possibility that the people there would sense them.

Bernard’s descendants likely did not know their ancestor had been buried with such a treasure, yet the connection between this item and the Darkmoon was simply too deep. Karon could not guarantee absolute safety.

“Tch...” Karon inhaled deeply, then took out a dagger and sliced open his palm. Recently, his hands had been getting cut far too often.

After making the cut, he pressed one of the crescents to the wound.

Still nothing happened. No fusion. No activation.

After casting a minor healing Art on his palm, Karon condensed the Darkmoon Blade, only for the blade to also show no reaction to the crescents, and the crescents showed no reaction toward the blade either.

Fine then.

At the very least, one thing was certain: this was unquestionably an extremely high-level holy relic. It might even have surpassed the category of holy relics entirely to some extent. After all, merely figuring out how to use it was already so complicated.

If only the cat and dog from home were with him. They definitely would have found some way to deal with these things.

But dawn had already broken. Karon truly needed to leave. Should he risk bringing these things back with him? Leaving them behind really was difficult to accept.

Earlier, while transporting Bernard’s corpse, Karon had managed to resist the temptation of the objects he had been buried with, but this time, he genuinely found it difficult to resist these crimson crescents. The value involved was entirely different. Every person’s rationality had a price attached to it.

Next, Karon tried the power of Order, the power of Light, the water-element power he had inherited from Progenitor Allen, and he even summoned his black chains, yet nothing could produce any effect.

Unfortunately, he had already sent Eisen and Richard away through the teleportation array. If Eisen were still present, Karon could have had him use his cube again to analyze the crescents.

There was no other choice. To be safe, he should first place a simple seal on them and hide them somewhere.

Karon clasped the crescents in his left hand, tossed them upward, then caught them again. He weighed them several times.

At that moment, the ring finger of his left hand suddenly trembled.

He looked down to discover that one of the crescents had actually attached itself to the silver ring on his left hand.

Ever since he had put on the silver mask left for him by Tiz, the mask had made itself at home within the ring Lemar had crafted for Karon, and had even changed the ring’s original style and color.

Karon raised his hand and watched the crescent remain fixed to the ring as though magnetized.

This works? Karon placed the second crescent onto the ring as well. It too was immediately absorbed. “Heh...”

He had no idea what might happen next. He did not know how to use the crescents, and he knew even less about the true purpose of the silver mask left behind by his grandfather.

Well, no. Once, while wearing it, he had entered a sealed space and met Lenora. Another time, he had relied on it to impersonate a Temple Elder as a sphere of light.

Still, Karon clearly understood that neither of those were the mask’s true functions. He had merely triggered a few peripheral effects through coincidence.

Now then, there were two objects that he could not fully control. Perhaps something might spark between them.

At that moment, Karon sensed the silver ring started to heat up, while the crescents began radiating a crimson light.

He reached over and touched the ring before rolling his neck slightly. The silver mask appeared on his face.

Immediately after that, the two crescents detached themselves from the ring and floated before Karon. They began rotating around each other in alternating patterns.

That signified one thing: the pair of Darkmoon Eyes had been successfully activated.

Very well. Though he had no idea what the principle behind it might be, the current situation appeared to be quite promising.

The two crescents continued rotating until they finally collided with each other. They then transformed into a stream of moonlight that enveloped Karon.

Still wearing the silver mask, he stood motionless.

After the moonlight landed upon him, it coalesced towards his eyes. When that happened, Karon felt an intense dryness in his eyes, though the discomfort quickly faded and was replaced by a refreshing coolness.

He blinked forcefully several times. He discovered that his vision had gained a layer of dark red afterimages. Fortunately, the overlapping shadows gradually receded, and after a short while, his sight fully returned to normal.

That’s it? All done? He attempted to mobilize his spirituality, only to discover, much to his astonishment, that all of it was moving towards his eyes, as though they were absorbing it.

“Hiss...” The process apparently could not be stopped once it started. Karon collapsed to the ground in pain. The speed at which his spirituality was being drained far surpassed even when he had Awakened various corpses in the past.

“Huff... huff...” The process lasted for approximately an hour. Karon felt as though nearly all the spirituality within his body had been emptied out.

Fortunately, it finally stopped. Once it did, the spirituality that had been absorbed into his eyes began circulating outward, forming a complete cycle.

“A storage effect...” Karon immediately realized what had happened.

This was equivalent to having an additional spirituality reservoir within his body. Furthermore, the reservoir provided by the Darkmoon Eyes had clearly not yet been filled, but had only absorbed an amount equal to what he had retained.

In other words, once he was fully rested and recovered, the total amount of spirituality he could store would instantly double.

Originally, his greatest advantage had been his abnormal reserves of spirituality. Now, that advantage outright doubled. This meant that in future battles and when using Arts, unless he encountered an exceptionally dire situation, he would almost never need to worry about overdrawing himself again.

However, the moment Karon straightened his body, his eyes turned crimson once more, and a tearing force suddenly assaulted his soul.

After storing my spirituality, is this thing now trying to split my soul apart?

The attack came without the slightest warning. An indescribable agony smashed directly into Karon’s consciousness, making him personally experience what Bernard had suffered earlier.

But the silver mask suddenly emitted light, and the attempt to divide his soul instantly ceased.

It felt as though someone had viciously stabbed him with a needle before abruptly stopping.

Sweat drenched Karon’s face. He raised a hand and touched the mask. It had protected the integrity of his soul.

“Whew... should that finally be the end of it?” Karon stood still and waited for a while. No further changes occurred.

After confirming the fusion was fully complete, Karon opened his palm and summoned the Darkmoon Blade.

This time, however, the blade was three times longer than before, while the Darkmoon power flowing through it was far purer.

Upon invoking the power of the Darkmoon, a bloody glow surfaced within Karon’s eyes as well.

He casually swung the blade once. Several deep grooves instantly appeared across the cave wall.

“So it’s not just extra reserves, but it also gives me another output channel when casting Arts.”

Karon felt that if he fought Ophelia in close combat again, he would probably be able to force out a draw with her, and even that was a conservative estimate. After all, as long as he did not fall into a disadvantage at the start, then in any prolonged stalemate, Ophelia would definitely lose against someone with his level of endurance.

“In the future, as long as my opponent can’t defeat or heavily injure me immediately, if I can drag the battle out, then I’ll have the ability to turn the fight around in the mid to late stages.” Karon reevaluated his own combat strength once more.

Of course, the actual effectiveness still required practical testing. For example... the captain.

Once they returned to Veyn, Karon could spar with the captain again in close combat and let the captain evaluate him properly.

A thought stirred within Karon’s mind, and the silver mask vanished from his face. However, he noticed that there now seemed to be something extra within the silver ring.

He activated it again, and the silver mask reappeared on Karon’s face before vanishing once more.

The next instant, Karon transformed into Mr. Pavaro, and then returned to his original appearance.

“There’s another mask now...” Karon stimulated the ring once again. In an instant, he transformed into someone else entirely.

He walked in front of the smooth stone mirror that was in the cave to examine himself. Though the reflection was not very clear, it was still enough for him to identify the face.

This was actually... Bernard’s human-skin mask. “Damn. That’s disgusting.”

This did not mean Bernard’s aura or spiritual imprint lingered. Karon had already cleansed everything thoroughly and completely. This meant that the only explanation was that the Darkmoon Eyes preserved traces of their first owner’s existence, and those traces had been replicated by the mutated silver ring. Of course, the silver mask left behind by Tiz had played the biggest role in all this.

“Lemar probably never imagined that the ring he made could actually evolve...”

Then again, perhaps he did. After all, the parent puppets the man had created for Serena had somehow managed to develop emotional conflicts severe enough to end in divorce.

“Once I get back, I’ll have Kevin and Pu’er see if Bernard’s mask can be removed. Or maybe I should ask Lemar?”

Although Mr. Pavaro’s appearance was greasy and slightly balding, Karon did not mind that mask at all.

On the other hand, Bernard, despite looking refined and well-maintained, caused Karon genuine psychological and physical discomfort.

Overall, this entire incident had been beneficial to him. Not only had he learned about the organization known as the Keepers of Silence, he had also obtained the Darkmoon Eyes. As a bonus, he had helped both the captain and Pu’er scatter Bernard’s ashes.

Alright then.

It was almost noon already. Karon inspected the cave one final time. Richard had already carried off the Aelius Sword and its case for him earlier, which meant that there was nothing more that Karon needed to take.

After confirming there were no remaining traces, Karon exited the cave and went to the teleportation array.

The ritual array activated, and white light enveloped Karon. Buzz!

He appeared atop the carpet in the master bedroom. Eisen and Richard were not present. They were likely waiting for him outside in the carriage.

However, just as Karon prepared to open the bedroom door and leave, he heard footsteps and a conversation coming from the staircase. “Are you all a bunch of useless idiots? You actually lost the ancestor’s remains?”

“Admiral, the fault lies with us. But at the time, every available guard was gathered with the army. There truly weren’t enough personnel left at the Palace of Remembrance.”

“At any cost, recover our ancestor’s remains! And seal this news entirely. Under no circumstances is it allowed to spread. Also, notify the Council of Elders and have them detect the location of the ancestor’s remains through prayers to the Darkmoon. Our ancestor’s remains are definitely still on the island, or at the very least, they’re somewhere in the sea nearby.”

“Yes, Admiral!”

“One more thing. Aside from the Light vermin that were killed at the Palace of Remembrance, there are still some imprisoned in the dungeon, correct? Personally go and arrange for them to secretly leave the island by ship.”

“Admiral, this—”

“Do as I ordered.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

The captain of the guards departed. Meanwhile, Tafmann stared at the bandages wrapped around his shoulder. The island physician had already treated him, and although the corruption of the evil spirit had been extracted, the arm itself would be recovered.

Even so, Tafmann did not feel particularly sorrowful over it. Instead, looking at the now-empty shoulder somehow made him feel slightly better.

He continued climbing the stairs.

“Who exactly stole the ancestor’s remains?” Upon reaching the third floor, Tafmann, who had originally intended to head toward the study, suddenly stopped before the master bedroom door.

Behind the door, Karon, who had been listening as the footsteps stopped outside, was instantly alarmed. Various delays had caused him to return too late. He was actually trapped inside the bedroom by Tafmann himself, and the man even seemed to suspect that someone was inside.

Karon turned to face the bedroom window. Should he jump?

But Tafmann’s guards were probably already outside. By now, the various forces of Darkmoon Island had likely already returned to their posts.

Outside the door, Tafmann reached out, grasped the handle, and opened it.

He saw the person standing behind the door.

Tafmann’s expression froze. Shock filled his face. “You... You... how is this possible...?”

Standing before him was actually their ancestor himself. The man’s eyes glowed with incomparably pure light of the Darkmoon. This was the symbol of supreme nobility, the Darkmoon Eyes!

Karon stared at Tafmann, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips as he slowly said, “I heard you were looking for me?”