Klein's gaze swept across the crew members of the Black Tulip around him, and he nodded almost imperceptibly. He could already feel signs of his potion being digested. "Good, as long as this matter ferments on the sea, the potion in my body should be able to digest a bit more."
Thinking of this, his mood became much more pleasant. He then raised a hand, signaling Ludwell, who had been completely transformed into a marionette, to walk to his side. He said to the 'Admiral Hell':
"Then, you are my spoils of war today."
"Yes, Master!"
Under his control, Ludwell bowed respectfully.
Two massive arms made of countless bones suddenly stretched out from the void behind them. One hand grabbed Gehrman Sparrow, and the other grabbed Ludwell, dragging them into the Spirit World.
In a place unnoticed by the living crew members of the Black Tulip, a bronze-skinned arm reached out from the Spirit World, pulling the person hidden in the shadows into the Spirit World.
Several minutes passed after the indescribable terrifying pressure disappeared before the living crew members, who had been prostrate on the deck of the Black Tulip, dared to move.
They cautiously looked around, confirming whether the bizarre and terrifying mad adventurer had truly left.
After searching the ship, they finally confirmed that the mad adventurer Gehrman Sparrow had left, and at the same time, their captain, 'Admiral Hell' Ludwell, had also departed.
A Corpse Collector Pathway crew member swallowed and said, "Perhaps, the captain was already a corpse at that time."
As a Beyonder of the Corpse Collector Pathway, he could sense more than the other crew members just now. That sense of oppression was so strong that even if the other party told him to die, he would execute it without hesitation. Even if his will was unwilling, his body would execute it on its own.
No one on the ship responded to his words. Everyone either didn't want to or didn't dare to recall the strange scene from just now.
After a long silence, a crew member looked at the empty deck and asked with hesitation:
"How can we leave this sea area?"
On the Black Tulip, all the crew members fell silent. Without the undead creatures controlled by Ludwell, the remaining living people were simply not enough to sail such a large sailboat.
On an uninhabited rocky island in the Fog Sea, several figures suddenly materialized in the air.
Klein pressed the semi-tall silk top hat he was wearing. Under his control, Ludwell, wearing a silver-white mask, took off the square, dark, heavy ring, a relic of Death, from his hand and handed it to Azik, who was standing nearby.
After taking the ring, a relic of Death, Azik examined it for a few seconds, then put it on his left index finger.
Suddenly, a terrifying, profound, and indescribable feeling spread from him, extremely noble and lacking the aura of the living, like an illusory god high above countless undead.
Leyton, standing by, narrowed his eyes. The Eyes of Mystery Prying allowed him to see more, even directly seeing the missing half of Azik's soul.
A slight burning and stinging sensation in his eyes brought him back to his senses, and he simultaneously averted his gaze. Unbeknownst to him, a line of blood tears flowed from his eyes.
Wiping the blood from his face, Leyton sighed inwardly. It's a bit uncomfortable. My mind can withstand this level of influence, but this body cannot. Essentially, I am still just an ordinary Sequence 2 Angel.
On the other side, the figure that had been maintaining Gehrman Sparrow's appearance underwent a fleshly change, finally transforming into an unknown pirate.
The flesh on his body decayed at an incredible speed, crimson sparks moved through the blood vessels beneath his skin, mottled rust appeared on his skin like rags, falling off in pieces.
In just a few breaths, he turned into a pile of minced meat and scattered, foul-yellow bones.
Bits of crimson light points separated from the flesh, slowly wriggling and coalescing.
Klein bent down and picked up the peculiar crown, full of rust and bloodstains, that had fallen with the flesh. He casually handed it to Leyton, and at the same time said:
"Why are you here?"
"I happened to be passing through the Spirit World and saw you scaring people on the Black Tulip."
As Leyton spoke, specks of starlight overflowed from between his fingers, encircling the peculiar crown, full of bloodstains and rust, solidifying into translucent amber, temporarily sealing it.
After doing all this, he looked at Klein again and said:
"I need to take this Conqueror Beyonder characteristic. It will come in handy soon."
"No problem." Klein nodded, then sighed:
"No wonder after I converted Ludwell into a marionette just now, the marionette I originally controlled didn't immediately lose control. I had originally planned to make my own appearance after he shattered into a pile of flesh and blood, to prove that Gehrman Sparrow was still alive."
"But this is also good, the performance is even more true and vivid."
He paused, then asked curiously, "How did you do it? While delaying the collapse of that marionette, you also allowed me to continue controlling it?"
Leyton chuckled:
"I modified the marionette on an informational level, temporarily hiding some of the negative status information on it. What it showed was that it was clearly at its limit, but there was no sign of collapse."
"As for letting you continue to control it, that's even simpler. There are still a few Worms of Spirit left from what I snatched from Dark Demonic Wolf earlier."
Klein nodded thoughtfully, "So that's how it is."
On the other side, Azik, who had obtained the ring, a relic of Death, and had performed another spiritual communication with Ludwell, suddenly spoke:
"Give me that bronze whistle."
"Alright." Klein was momentarily stunned, then nodded, taking out an iron cigarette case from his Arms and retrieving the ancient bronze whistle sealed inside.
Azik reached out and took the bronze whistle, holding it in his left hand, which wore the ring, a relic of Death.
After sensing quietly for a moment, he said in a deep voice:
"I can almost find where Death fell."
"That fast?" Klein asked, somewhat surprised.
Azik nodded lightly:
"Ever since I recovered all my memories, I've had a certain sense of that place, but because of the special nature of the Berserk Sea, it was difficult for me to pinpoint the exact location of the voice calling in my ear. With this ring, I can directly locate it."
Leyton raised a hand and asked with a hint of curiosity, "Can I go and see?"
"You can." Azik nodded calmly.
Klein took out a reflective metal pocket watch from his Arms, controlled the marionette Ludwell, and had him use the Natural Spirit that could enter the Mirror World to hide himself.
Then he bent down and picked up the deep red, jelly-like object, very elastic and textured, which had solidified from the Beyonder characteristic on the ground, and placed it into a pre-prepared metal iron box.
Azik nodded to Leyton, then raised his hand and placed it on Klein's shoulder, taking him into the Spirit World together.
As Azik and Klein's bodies faded and disappeared, Leyton's body also rapidly etherealized, decomposing into complex and pure streams of information, surging and rushing into the Spirit World.
In the Berserk Sea region, within the deep, dark Spirit World, the sound of howling winds came from all directions, and dim lightning occasionally flashed, causing a chilling sensation from the depths of one's soul, as if the soul was dying little by little.
Leyton, who had transformed into a pure information flow creature, followed closely behind Azik, rapidly traversing deeper into the Berserk Sea.
As he moved forward, his voice transmitted unimpeded into the ears of Azik and Klein:
"Affected by the power radiated when Death fell, the Spirit World here has also been corrupted and become dangerous."
Azik, who was rapidly moving through the Berserk Sea, suddenly stopped. He quietly listened to the calling from an unknown source, then suddenly clenched his right hand.
The surrounding Spirit World area suddenly paused for a second, then all the surrounding scenery collapsed inward, forming a boundless, slowly rotating black vortex.
The vortex suddenly expanded, enveloping Azik, Klein, and Leyton in his information flow state simultaneously.
The surrounding space rapidly changed, as if they had entered a deep, narrow pipe.
After an unknown period, this change finally stopped, and the complex and pure knowledge quickly reassembled Leyton's body.
He calmly surveyed his surroundings, clearly seeing the open coffins in this Dark and cold mausoleum, clearly seeing the rotten corpses with white feathers on their backs inside, and clearly seeing the black thin tubes extending from these corpses, intertwined in mid-air, their source pointing towards the depths of the mausoleum, amidst the slowly flowing black mist like a haze.
His gaze shifted downwards, and he saw Azik standing on the layers of steps. The other party's expression was no longer so tense, and he said calmly:
"I feel like I'm gradually returning to my former self."
"But my experiences after losing my memory keep reminding me, preventing me from truly reverting to my original appearance."
Leyton walked slowly to his side, speaking as he walked:
"Human self is like a boat constantly fluctuating on the Berserk Sea, capable of sinking at any moment into the ocean called 'Madness,' and our emotions and experiences are like anchors, helping us to fix the 'boat' that represents our self."
"And you, now, have enough anchors. They constantly remind you, pull you, and help you stabilize your humanity."
"...Anchors?" Azik muttered, then sighed:
"Perhaps, but since I've come here, I still want to see what is hidden deep within this mausoleum and what connection it has to me."