Chapter 67: Chapter67-Just a Laughable Lie (Part 2)
John scoffed, raising his head to look directly into Lawrence\'s blood-red eyes. He spoke steadily.
"After the disaster, all laws disappeared completely. Nothing could bind you anymore, so you unleashed the nature you had kept hidden inside.
You were always cruel and inhuman; it was the law that forced you to suppress your nature. Now, your chance has come.
Your almost pathological need for control makes you want to dominate everyone and everything around you.
So, whenever someone or something beyond your control appears, you do everything you can to eliminate it.
Qing, Helena, and I all faced this because you knew deep down that you could never control us, so you chose to kill us."
John took a deep breath, put away the [Firewalker Dagger], and stood with his hands empty, calmly looking at Lawrence.
"Aren\'t you curious? You were clearly killed by Lily\'s [Starfall], so how could you be alive again?
Let me reveal the truth to you. There is no such thing as resurrection.
Even if there were, a miracle like that would never happen to someone as rotten as you. The fact is, you\'re dead. You just can\'t accept it, so you\'ve fabricated this lie that you\'re still alive."
At this point, John was certain that all this was the work of [Deception Apostle].
Otherwise, how could Lawrence be standing here, alive, when all evidence pointed to his death?
"I can even smell the foul stench of [Deception Apostle] on you. Don\'t you get it? You\'re already dead."
Hearing this, a locked-away memory in Lawrence\'s mind seemed to awaken. He took a few steps back, shock written all over his face.
"This... this can\'t be. I\'m not dead! You\'re talking nonsense!"
"Stop deluding yourself. The whole world has accepted your death. You\'re the only one who can\'t. What\'s the point of clinging to this?"
"No! Absolutely not! You\'re lying. It\'s you who\'s lying! How could I..."
Lawrence\'s voice cut off abruptly.
His chest swelled rapidly, like a scene from a horror movie where something is about to burst out from within.
In that moment, a brief clarity returned to Lawrence\'s eyes.
He looked up at John, a calm smile spreading across his face.
"John, I\'ll be waiting for you in the Abyss!"
Bang!
As soon as he finished speaking, his body exploded, sending shards of flesh and blood flying.
John stepped back, staring intently at the figure of [Deception Apostle] rising from within Lawrence. His voice was unnervingly calm.
"I knew it had to be you behind Lawrence\'s situation."
"Just a little joke. Besides, without him, how else could I get a vessel to sneak in?"
[Deception Apostle] shrugged and smiled. "But regardless, I\'m pleased to see you\'ve mastered the abilities of a [Trickster]."
"Even death can be deceived. The more I think about it, the more I realize that partnering with you was a mistake."
"Don\'t say that. Up until now, I\'ve never lied to you."
"Who knows? Enough talk. Why are you here?"
"Two things."
[Deception Apostle] brushed the bloodstains from his clothes and straightened the folds on his shoulders before speaking in a serious tone. "First, the soul you asked me to find—I brought it."
With that, [Deception Apostle] tossed a pure white crystal, about the size of a fist.
"This is Qing\'s soul. Extracting it wasn\'t easy."
"Thanks. I owe you one for this. What\'s the second thing?"
"You\'ve probably sensed it too, right? [Lust] is sealed here, in the deepest part of the labyrinth. He shouldn\'t have appeared in the game world, but I don\'t know the exact reason why he did."
"Since you\'re here now, help me kill [Lust] and take his power."
"Sorry, no can do."
[Deception Apostle] shook his head with a wry smile. "Do you think an [Apostle] is like a final boss in a game? No, no, no. It\'s far more complicated than that.
I don\'t know why [Lust] is here. The only thing I know for sure is that he is an immortal presence in this world.
To put it in your terms, [Lust] is like a malignant bug. Only the game\'s developers can delete this bug. We can\'t."
"What do we do then?"
John frowned, his face darkening. Knowing that an [Apostle] was right there but being unable to do anything about it was a huge blow, making it hard for him to accept.
"There is a way. When [Lust] wakes up, he will be at his weakest. If we can forcibly remove him from the game world then, we can figure out a way to eliminate him. I can help you."
"And now you\'re going to say you have a condition, right?"
"Bingo! You\'re pretty smart. I enjoy talking to smart people; it\'s much easier."
[Deception Apostle] smiled and then looked at the scattered remains of Lawrence\'s body, a hint of regret in his eyes. "You killed the vessel I painstakingly found. You need to find me a new one, so I can appear in the game world whenever necessary."
"Why should I help you? What\'s in it for me?"
Allowing such a ticking time bomb to freely switch between the real world and the game world was something John would never agree to unless he was out of his mind.
But what [Deception Apostle] said next left John with no room to refuse.
"What if I told you that before me, another [Apostle] had already awakened and infiltrated, hiding somewhere right now? Would you believe me?"
John\'s face changed dramatically.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me. I don\'t need to repeat myself. You can choose not to believe me, and I will still help you. But the consequence will be that if this [Apostle] gathers enough power and fully restores their abilities, you, your companions, and even the entire world will be doomed. So, John, what will you choose?"
Facing [Deception Apostle]\'s smiling gaze, John remained silent.
He couldn\'t accurately judge whether [Deception Apostle] was telling the truth, and he didn\'t dare make a rash decision.
If what he said was true, and another [Apostle] had already infiltrated, it would lead to a catastrophic disaster once they were ready!
The only way to deal with a tiger was to set another tiger loose in the forest!
With this thought, John exhaled deeply.
"It seems you\'ve made your choice."
"Tell me, who has infiltrated the game world?"
"[Betrayal Apostle]. Somehow, he didn\'t fall into slumber. I only recently found out and came to you immediately."
"[Betrayal Apostle]..."
John rubbed his temples, his mind racing. In the end, he chose to agree. He really had no other option.
"I\'ll find a new vessel for you, but before that, you must do everything you can to help me kill [Lust]."
"No problem. That\'s why I came here today. I hope we can work well together."
John hesitated for a moment before firmly shaking [Deception Apostle]\'s outstretched hand.
"[Lust] will take some time to awaken. In the meantime, you need to find a new vessel for me. Once [Lust] wakes up, we must remove him immediately. If he activates his power, even I won\'t be able to handle it."
"Handle it? Is [Lust]\'s power that strong?"
"It\'s not about strength. It\'s... a very twisted ability. You\'ll understand once you experience it firsthand."