# Chapter 77: Trust and Determination
The gray-haired girl walked out of the cabin.
Nornie Nolan came to the deck of the Time Vessel. She calmly looked at the four people still standing on the scene, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.
The alchemist girl's body showed no trace of dust or disorder. The previous events—rushing toward the abyss rift and crash-landing on the stone island—seemed to have had no effect on her at all. Her white alchemist robe was clean and tidy, without even a single wrinkle.
When the High Sister saw Nolan, she exclaimed the other's name—a nickname she was accustomed to using. But after saying it, Saya realized that the girl before her was very unfamiliar.
Completely different from the person she knew.
The Nornie in her memory was a delicate, naive, somewhat childish alchemist. She liked cleanliness but couldn't manage her own daily life. Every time she did experiments, she would forget to bring some tools or materials and had to rush back to find them. She was afraid of waves, afraid of octopuses, to the point that she never left the cabin. She liked to cling to Saya, calling her "Saya-sister."
The Nornie Nolan in her memory was absolutely not the girl before her—wearing a neatly arranged alchemist's attire, with an indifferent and calm expression, wise light shining in her gray pupils, and a hint of mocking cold smile at the corner of her mouth.
...Had everything before been a disguise?
There was no need to think; the result was already known. Saya was, after all, an elite clergy member. Although she was pained by her own mistaken judgment, she hadn't lost her reason. The High Sister gently pressed her hand to her heart and continued silently using Holy Light Power to suppress the parasites in her brain.
Holy Light could dispel all evil, purify negative energy, and even resist chaotic forces besides healing wounds. Ironically, this almost omnipotent power could do almost anything—except deal with parasites inside the body.
Because parasites were also life.
Forcing the parasites out with power—the three church members present could do it, but it would certainly cause them great harm, possibly even damage their brains. Moreover, the enemy wouldn't allow them to do so.
Just like now.
"Go, my guardian."
Nornie Nolan wasted no words. Using a gentle girl's voice, she commanded the void: "Knock them out."
A pillar of light appeared before her, and a giant humanoid puppet three meters tall stepped out from it.
"As you command, my master."
This giant humanoid puppet had four steel arms as thick as human limbs, its imposing presence like that of a giant from ancient legends. Its entire body was wrapped in black metal exoskeleton, deep as ink, as if it could absorb all light. On the puppet's head, there was a red observation strip where the observation crystals for gathering information were placed. Beyond that, not a single gap could be seen.
The limbs and torso of this giant puppet were inlaid with translucent energy crystals, storing numerous spells. Now, under the effect of these spells, the puppet floated up and then charged rapidly toward Saya, who was closest.
During the charge, one of its steel arms transformed into a longsword shape. The blade was extremely sharp, with a hint of blue arc light on its edge—clearly containing potent poison. The puppet raised the sword in its hand and then aimed at the High Sister's position, decisively slashing down.
This strike was full of momentum, with no restraint at all. The blue arc light flashed through the air, lingering for a long time—such a strike showed no sign of any intention to merely "knock out." If Saya didn't dodge, she would certainly be cut in two.
But Saya did dodge. She lifted her foot slightly, and her entire figure disappeared from the spot, reappearing hundreds of meters away. This was Holy Light Teleportation—like the instant short-distance teleportation of mages, this divine art allowed some clergy and sisters specialized in divine arts to instantly reach any place that light could illuminate.
But after using this divine art, Saya's expression became even more pained. By diverting power to fight, she couldn't suppress the parasites in her body at all. Her thinking ability dropped significantly in an instant, and she was only one step away from unconsciousness.
The giant puppet was about to pursue, but at that moment, Robzek and Loranda also acted simultaneously. The Silver Knight reached out and waved his hand in the air, and a silver Holy Light descended like a giant sword, slashing at the puppet's head. Meanwhile, Loranda exploded with full force in an instant and sprinted toward the Time Vessel where Nolan was.
Both were severely limited in their abilities. At this moment, their battle qi and Holy Light could at most unleash less than one-tenth of their full power. But even so, their attacks were extremely fierce and certainly not easy to block.
But clearly, Nolan and her puppet had no intention of fighting head-on. The giant puppet abandoned its pursuit of the nearly unconscious High Sister and easily dodged Robzek's Holy Light sword. Meanwhile, the alchemist girl lightly stepped back, and three spells—Silver Peak or even Gold Initial rank—instantly appeared on her alchemist robe.
[Hold Person], [Power Word: Stun], [Ring of Wind Shield]
Two control spells and one shield spell instantly ensured her own safety while causing Loranda's movements to stall slightly. Then, from Nolan's bosom, countless strange small alchemical seals jumped out. These were magical creations similar to magic scrolls but more expensive, capable of storing a spell that the user's current energy level could use, and could be reused.
Over a dozen alchemical seals were thrown out and simultaneously triggered by the alchemist girl's mental power. Instantly, the area where the Gold Saint Knight stood was occupied by lightning, flames, and gale winds. Terrifying magical elements boiled and bombarded Loranda's body, causing the surrounding sea of blood to surge with waves.
Under normal conditions, a Saint Knight wouldn't fear this level of barrage—whether dodging or tanking, he had enough strength to do so. But now, although Loranda used Holy Light to block all the attacks, he stood there panting, cold sweat continuously dripping from his forehead.
With the Holy Light's resistance gone, the parasites moved more frequently. The Saint Knight felt that he could no longer hold on.
On the other side, Robzek shattered that giant puppet. Countless steel gears and mana structures flew everywhere, sinking into the sea of blood. Although he looked uncomfortable, his condition was much better than Saya's and Loranda's.
But Nolan only spoke a third sentence.
"Number Two, Number Three, both of you go."
With two pillars of light, two equally giant alchemical puppets appeared beside the girl. Silently, they charged rapidly toward the Ultimate-rank Saint Knight and engaged him in combat.
These alchemical puppets each possessed Gold Mid-rank to High-rank strength. They were equipped with various small mana cannons and soldier-type equipment, and their combat AI was very powerful, enough to trade blows with Robzek. When the situation turned unfavorable, they would quickly retreat and attack the Saint Knight from a distance with powerful spells like [Flame Jet] and [Aurora Ray].
But even so, they could do nothing to Robzek. The Ultimate-rank Saint Knight's expression was grim. He fought steadily, counterattacking when he could. In just a few dozen seconds, these two powerful alchemical puppets were already covered in wounds, with many dents from being struck by a giant hammer.
But the result didn't change.
With a muffled grunt, a vein bulged on Robzek's forehead, and his movements momentarily paused. Seizing this opportunity, the two giant alchemical puppets rushed forward and cleanly knocked him unconscious.
The only one left was Joshua, who had charged the farthest and was now closest to Nolan.
The warrior slowly paced back to the side of the Time Vessel. He calmly watched as the church trio was knocked unconscious one by one by Nolan and placed on the ark's deck, without any reaction.
After the alchemist girl finished all this, he finally spoke: "Why didn't you attack me?"
Joshua didn't seem uneasy about the current scene. He asked with slight interest: "And why didn't you kill Saya and the others?"
At this moment, a massive floating island fell onto the Red Moon, swallowed by the sea of blood. Moments later, the fourteenth massive Chaos Rune leaped out from it and was projected toward the Mycroft World.
"Because even if 'Earth 2' and the others attacked together, they might not be able to deal with you."
After finishing her work, Nornie Nolan slowly turned around and said in a calm tone: "As for Captain Robzek and the others, I had already collected enough data and made various targeted plans. I had enough confidence to defeat them while they were parasitized."
"But you—you were an unexpected variable."
'Earth 2' type puppet.
Hearing the familiar term, Joshua couldn't help but reveal a faint smile.
Seeing the warrior's smile, Nolan shook her head. Faced with this unexpected variable, she was very cautious. Even though Joshua was still a considerable distance away from her, the alchemist girl still made the two giant puppets stand in front of her, forming a steel barrier.
"I know that you still have the strength to fight, just like Captain Robzek. The brain-eating worms transformed from abyss derivatives can't yet affect your basic combat ability."
Nolan's voice came from behind the puppets: "But this combat ability lasts for a very short time. I don't need to defeat you—I just need to stall until the time is up, and you'll faint on your own... As for why I didn't kill them, there's no need yet. Whether it's you or them, you're still useful to the plan."
"Can you tell me why you betrayed us?"
Joshua's tone was very calm, as if he wasn't angry about this at all. His gaze was peaceful, without any ripples.
"No, there was no betrayal." Nolan seemed willing to stall for time. The girl took a breath and then said in a slightly mocking tone: "Mr. Joshua, from the very beginning, you—who didn't know the truth of this world—and I were never on the same path."
"The world was already destroyed long ago."
Without waiting for the warrior to ask what the truth was, she looked up at this broken abyss plane—aside from the Blood Moon and scattered stone islands, this world had nothing, only a chaotic, endless void.
Lowering her eyes, her eyelashes slightly fluttering, Nolan said calmly to Joshua: "The Mycroft Continent is a world that was destroyed long ago, just like this 'Blood Moon' plane."
Seeing Joshua's surprised expression, the girl revealed a cold smile devoid of any warmth. She sighed softly: "In ancient times, at the end of the Era of Radiance, the world was destroyed by an unprecedented apocalyptic catastrophe. Many deities perished, and the continent that originally occupied one-fifth of the world shattered into seven pieces. Three of them sank to the bottom of the sea—now the Far South Far Sea, the Extreme North Sea of Bewilderment, and the Eastern Is Sea Abyss... Of course, the world didn't completely collapse and return to nothingness. A being of immense power, surpassing the gods, used their own might to forcibly stabilize the remaining four continents and used a part of the 'Cataclysm' to fuse them, forming the current Mycroft Continent."
"'He' sealed the abyss and reignited the First Flame, allowing this world to continue for an entire millennium. But now, the fuel is about to burn out, and everything is nearing its end."
"My bloodline."
Saying this, Nornie Nolan pointed at herself. She didn't care whether Joshua could see her or not, and just poured out her thoughts: "Originates from the Era of Radiance, from the Saint Incarnation of the Earth Mother Goddess."
"From the moment members of my family are born, we can hear the lament of the continent beneath our feet, hear the voice of this world—it was already shattered, already dead, but it lingers on, maintained by that great existence."
"I understand that much."
The girl was speaking happily, but Joshua interrupted her: "But what does that have to do with you cooperating with that magic dragon who defected to the Chaos Evil God?"
Nolan wasn't annoyed either. She was originally just stalling for time, waiting for the warrior to be unable to resist the parasites in his body, while also venting her desire to confide. So, regarding Joshua's question, she slightly shook her head and directly replied: "Simply mutual benefit. This time, Mandagar is holding the ritual to connect this broken abyss world with Mycroft. This is the Evil God's request—it can use this fragile abyss to send its power into the continent, and the abyss forces can also use this to establish contact with the Mycroft World."
"Mandagar can gain the power to advance to Legendary from this. The Five-Colored Dragon Clan can obtain the strongest support from the Abyss Lords cooperating with them. At the very least, if the Dragon Calamity fails, they can escape from here."
Nolan said in a slightly bored tone: "As for me, I'm simply fulfilling the remaining wish of the Earth Mother Goddess."
"Oh?" Joshua raised an eyebrow, showing curiosity, but he didn't ask further, as if he had no more strength.
Seeing that Joshua was already beginning to tire under the erosion of the parasites, Nolan couldn't help but relax a bit. The warrior's strength and combat power were astonishingly strong—completely beyond her plans. Fortunately, he seemed to have no guard against acquaintances, so he had drunk tea containing the original parasite bodies in his daily meals.
But even so, the girl didn't dare to move the puppets beside her away. She even hid more securely, only using her voice to answer the warrior's doubts: "Mr. Joshua, on the surface, you're a noble of the Northern Lands, but in reality, you're a Chaos Warden of the Northern Empire used to suppress the sealed lands. You should know that this world needs the chaotic power overflowing from these sealed lands to maintain the burning of the First Flame and ensure the stability of existence—this is clear proof that the world was destroyed, but a great existence intervened to forcibly maintain it."
"If chaos is the nothingness that existed at the beginning of creation, then disorder is the end of the world, the termination after all things are destroyed."
Nolan said softly, as if sighing: "The abyss is the embodiment of disorder. It's an aggregation of countless worlds like the Mycroft Continent that have extinguished their fire but haven't yet perished. Those demons are races that have lost their fire—they are ashes that have burned out and can never be reignited. That's why they crave the light of fire and invade those worlds where the First Flame still burns."
"Mr. Joshua, the earth beneath our feet, the world that carries and nurtures us, wants to merge with the abyss. After all, the Mycroft Continent is a world that perished long ago, maintained only by burning the nothingness of chaos to keep its flame alive... But relying solely on the sealed lands guarded by Chaos Wardens like you is completely insufficient. When the fuel left by that existence burns out, if we haven't yet merged into the abyss, the world will quickly collapse and return to nothingness."
At this point, the alchemist girl's tone became firm. For the first time, she spoke to the warrior with such sincere words: "I don't look forward to the world's destruction, nor do I like demon invasions. We just want this world to continue existing for a longer time, even if..."
"Even if it means becoming the ashes you mentioned, becoming demons, no matter the cost."
Joshua replied calmly: "Right? Nornie, that's what you think. You want us to join you, which is why you haven't killed Saya and the others yet."
The warrior raised his eyes. His crimson pupils seemed able to pierce through the puppets' barrier and see directly into the gray-haired girl's eyes behind them. Joshua said in a thoughtful, self-muttering tone: "So that's it. I see. The Mycroft World was already destroyed long ago. No wonder the plot unfolded that way. Although Loranda is a bit foolish, he doesn't seem like someone who would open an abyss gate."
"Now it seems, it's indeed the power left by the Sage that maintains the entire world's burning, allowing the Mycroft Continent to last for a thousand years..."
"You know about the 'Sage'?" Behind the puppets, Nolan's surprised voice came. The gray-haired girl had been hiding in the cabin to avoid Joshua, so she didn't know about the empire's information, nor that the warrior possessed the Azure Orb and was one of the Sage's successors. But then she shook her head and said: "No, it's not that person's power that maintains this world. Order is a cycle—endless birth and continuation. A broken world doesn't have this perfect cycle. It must burn chaotic matter to ignite its flame."
"The power that maintains this world's existence comes from one of the beings in that 'Cataclysm'—an Evil God."
"Evil God?" Joshua repeated doubtfully.
"Yes, don't you know?"
Knowing about the Sage but not such simple information, Nolan's tone couldn't help but reveal a hint of strangeness: "It's everywhere. It has coexisted with our New Era civilization for a thousand years, bringing us pain and countless wealth."
Silent for a long time, Joshua squinted his eyes: "The Black Forest."
"Yes." Nolan nodded, confirming: "To be precise, the Evil God [Plenty]."
"As one of the most powerful Evil Gods in the multiverse, it was killed by the Sage in the cataclysm a thousand years ago. Its corpse, along with the remains of the Earth Mother Goddess, fused the four remaining continents together—that's also the reason our world still exists."
After explaining this, the gray-haired girl paused. Then, with a hint of probing in her tone, she asked the warrior: "Mr. Joshua, what do you think of my opinion?"
Undoubtedly, she was referring to the opinion of joining them, letting the Mycroft Continent merge into the abyss for a longer continuation.
After a moment of thought, Joshua couldn't help but laugh.
He asked: "How many people share your thoughts?"
Nolan remained silent, not answering this question.
"I see." The warrior didn't mind. He nodded slightly and said: "I understand... You have this kind of thinking. No wonder Saya, who can see through people's emotions, couldn't detect your betrayal. Because you believe you are righteous. The High Sister can't see through people's hearts, so she couldn't see your true face."
"You have already given up, so you plan to compromise and let the world merge into the abyss."
Saying this, Joshua's voice gradually grew louder, like thunder echoing over the sea of blood: "But I don't plan to give up."
On the warrior's chest, a cyan light spot appeared—the power of the Azure Orb, the pulse of Order Force.
"Nornie Nolan, genius alchemist."
The warrior said softly: "My former comrade."
"I trusted you."
"Although I was indeed betrayed in my past life, I still don't want to believe that my partner would stab me in the back."
The power of the Azure Orb flowed through the warrior's body in an instant, expelling all nerve speed and paralysis toxins completely. It replaced the warrior's battle qi, suppressing the parasites in Joshua's brain. But at the same time, intense pain also came, stimulating the warrior's nerves.
But Joshua didn't care at all. He raised his left hand, and then, under Nolan's utterly shocked gaze, aimed at his own head and stabbed down fiercely.
Five fingers easily crushed part of his skull. The warrior's eyes showed no emotion—no pain, no anger at being betrayed, no excitement either. While stirring his left hand, covered in blood and translucent fluid, inside his own cranial cavity, he said calmly: "I gave you a chance, my friend. You lost it."
With that, he pulled out from his cranial cavity a silver-white long worm, as thick as a finger and ten centimeters long. Without any hesitation, he crushed it. Joshua took a deep breath, and battle qi began to burn fiercely all over his body.
Ultimate Essence—using the human body to surpass human limits, reaching the realm of the unbelievable.
Force's Ultimate Essence—forge steel as the body, cast iron as the heart. A mere damaged brain—what does it matter?!
A terrifying pressure far beyond ordinary Ultimate-rank began to spread. Black-red light flames swirled around the warrior's side, like a thick fire dragon.
In just that instant, scorching burning wind overflowed in all directions. The sea of blood within hundreds of meters was instantly burned to nothingness, not even steam remaining. Terrifying shockwaves began to spread outward. All the sea of blood within sight rippled, and the calm red sea surface raised huge waves, emitting rumbling thunder.
"This..."
Completely unable to imagine this scene, Nolan's hands and feet began to go weak. Before Joshua, who had released his full power, she felt an infinitely huge shadow began to spread, filling her vision.
Turning her head, she wanted to find Saya and the others' bodies to use as hostages, but what the girl saw was a silver steel puppet.
The Steel Elemental Chu Hao had silently thrown Robzek's body into the cabin. Although it couldn't move the two giant dragons, Nolan couldn't use two thick-skinned dragons that couldn't be killed anytime soon as hostages either.
"Them being unconscious is actually a good thing."
Joshua's voice came from behind her. The warrior at this moment was like lava about to erupt—suppressed to the limit, yet ready to explode at any moment. Red battle qi mixed with black killing intent fluctuations condensed behind him into a burning, blurry image. It seemed to be the eyes of a giant god, with crimson-gold pupils revealing pure killing intent and battlelust.
"Otherwise, letting them see my divinity might cause some trouble."
The next moment, the sea of blood surged.