novelraw Chapter 254 : Chapter 254
Chapter 254 : Chapter 254
The Final Volume 4~An Obsession Too Deep, Ultimately Hurts Oneself
Having obtained the final fragment of the truth, when I recalled Diderlay’s past actions, it all seemed to line up perfectly.
That survey before the holidays, and the fact that as an Elf Elder, he still let himself take such a reckless gamble—telling me that there were many internal divisions among the Moon Elves and that they were unfavorable toward the Gold Elves—all of it was just to gain the greatest amount of trust and favor from me, who had lost key memories, to place himself in the safest position possible.
Diderlay was smart. He never hid those secrets; he laid everything bare, exchanging these truths that could not be concealed for my trust.
In a sense, he had never lied—he just only ever told half the truth each time.
He was still the authority of the Alchemy and Medical Academies. Now Teresa finally understood how he had achieved those accomplishments.
Aside from human dissection, or even vivisection, she could think of no other method.
“Diderlay.” Teresa, gripping Floral Whisper: Eternal Renewal, rushed into the Tower of Sages. At this moment, murderous intent radiated from her whole body, her killing aura fully unleashed. The gentleness once in her eyes had long vanished, and even her voice, shouting out, was filled with an icy killing intent.
Diderlay was not in the main hall of the Tower of Sages, nor were the Moon Elves who usually filled it anywhere to be seen.
He must have dismissed them all.
Teresa was sure that Diderlay had not left the Tower of Sages, because he made no effort to conceal that he was still there.
At this moment, her thoughts were still in chaos—the issue of Astrid’s identity, and Ifan becoming a fragment absorbed by Astrid. It had all happened too suddenly, too absurdly.
But she knew—she alone had no time to dwell on it. Only she could stop Diderlay’s mad actions.
The large door stood open. The passage leading to the deserted basement lay right before her eyes.
It was a hidden door, located in an inconspicuous corner that had always been ignored. Most likely, the others in the tower had never known it existed.
Only Diderlay knew.
And now, that hidden door was wide open, facing Teresa directly.
It was practically an invitation, as if the words “Come in” were written right on the door.
Teresa held her breath and stepped into the secret passage. Even for someone who had been through countless battles, entering a secret path deliberately left by such a powerful enemy made her tense.
The passage was neither long nor short—it led directly beneath the Tower of Sages.
A dimly lit basement.
At its center, an enormous crystal emitted a blinding radiance that forced her eyes, long adjusted to darkness, to squint.
In the dim light, she could faintly see an enchanted table placed beside the crystal, with someone standing before it, back turned toward her, completely absorbed in their work.
Teresa glanced around. She smelled something instinctively repulsive, yet faintly familiar.
The spacious, square basement’s walls were lined with countless experimental apparatus, and many huge glass tubes filled with green liquid that churned and bubbled continuously.
Teresa quickly recalled where she had smelled that nauseating odor before.
Wasn’t this the same stench as in that underground laboratory beneath Ruglian when she first arrived there??
Those abandoned laboratories—and that patchwork abomination—sure enough, they had all been this bastard’s handiwork.
“You’ve come?” Teresa had been standing behind him for quite some time before Diderlay seemed to notice. He stopped his work and washed his hands in the water basin beside him.
“Would you like some tea?” Diderlay pointed to the only table and chairs in the laboratory. His face still bore that same gentle smile as before, as if nothing had happened at all.
Teresa didn’t even know what expression she should wear facing him. That unbothered demeanor of his only made her angrier.
“Diderlay, after all that’s happened, do you still think I wouldn’t recognize you?”
“Me? I’m Diderlay, of course. Why would I ever be so conceited as to think Lady Teresa couldn’t recognize me?” Diderlay smiled and sat down on the chair, lifting his teacup.
“After all, we’re old acquaintances.”
“Clack!” With a sharp crack, the teacup in Diderlay’s hand shattered, along with the teapot on the table. Tea splashed onto his clothes.
“Ah, what a pity. That was top-grade white tea, from the Forest of Elders—it’s hard to come by.” Diderlay said helplessly.
“Shut up, you traitor. I should have brought you to justice four hundred years ago!” Teresa forced down her anger. “But now isn’t too late.”
“Is Lady Teresa planning to kill me?”
“I won’t kill you. If I did, I’d be no different from you.” Teresa stared at Diderlay. “When the Forest of Elders is restored, I’ll send you to the Elf Court, and the court will deliver absolute justice for your crimes.”
“Ah, but that won’t do. That’s the one thing I must refuse. After all, I still have things I must finish. Doesn’t Lady Teresa also have something left undone that must be completed?”
“My unfinished task is to arrest you and make you pay for what you’ve done.”
“And that’s exactly why I find it so troublesome.” Diderlay shook his head. “Wouldn’t it be better to pretend you know nothing? I’m not interested in you—or in those Gold Elves whose fragments lie hidden beneath the ruins of the imperial capital. If you don’t stand in my way, I couldn’t care less what happens to you.”
“Everyone must pay for their sins, Diderlay. You and I are no exception.”
“Is that so?... Honestly, Lady Teresa, I’ve admired you—from four hundred years ago until now.”
“Because your personality reminds me of someone I once knew.” At those words, a flicker of nostalgia flashed through Diderlay’s eyes.
“Birds of a feather flock together. Anyone who stays by your side can’t be a good person either,” Teresa said coldly. “I truly can’t imagine—really can’t—what kind of Elf would harm so many of their own kind for personal gain.”
“Sending you to the Elf Tribunal is only out of regard that you’re still an Elf, Diderlay. In my eyes, you’re no Elf—you’re a demon wearing an Elf’s skin.”
“You’re cruel and heartless, indifferent to your kin, and cold enough to sacrifice every moral boundary for profit… You’re no Elf. Not even the merciful Mother of All Forests could forgive you.”
“To be admired by someone like you—it’s disgusting!”
“Don’t say that, Lady Teresa. I truly admire you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have returned your final memory fragment. Of course, that’s only after I’ve finished my affairs and know you won’t interfere. Then, I’ll rest easy returning it.”
“Honestly, until that condition is met, I can’t quite bring myself to oppose you. Consider that my recognition of your strength.” Diderlay removed his tea-stained gloves and tossed them aside.
“Enough nonsense, Diderlay. I’ll give you two choices now—surrender obediently and confess your crimes, or I’ll execute you right here.”
“Sorry, that’s one offer I can’t accept. I said, I still have unfinished business.” Diderlay spread his hands indifferently. In his eyes, Teresa couldn’t see even the slightest respect for life.
“What else do you want to do?”
“As long as it succeeds, any action is justified.” Diderlay openly told Teresa what he planned next. “I’ll head to the Forest of Elders and personally ‘invite back’ that Queen who hid the Sacred Tree of the Elves in another dimension. If she cooperates, she’ll be unharmed—if not, well.”
“Delusional. You’re beyond saving!” In an instant, Teresa’s blade was already pressed against Diderlay’s neck.
“Lady Teresa, if I’m not mistaken, you’ve already met your ‘senior,’ haven’t you?” Diderlay’s face remained calm. “Did he not warn his junior that continuing to overuse Divine Authority is extremely dangerous?”
“Urgh...” Teresa’s pupils—once pure emerald—rapidly lost their color. A mad, blood-like crimson visibly began overtaking her irises.
She bowed her head, letting out a muffled groan.
Diderlay didn’t even need to attack—she was destroying herself.
“Save your strength, Lady Teresa. Personally, I’d rather you not die like this—or become a mindless lunatic.”
Hands behind his back, Diderlay walked past her. “Get some rest. Sleep well. Perhaps when you wake, it’ll be a brand-new world.”
“I won’t let someone like you succeed!” Teresa gritted her teeth and swung Floral Whisper: Eternal Renewal toward Diderlay’s back.
“Clang! Clang!” The indestructible Floral Whisper: Eternal Renewal was flung aside the moment it touched Diderlay.
“Why don’t you understand what it means to give up at the right time?” Diderlay stood unmoved, brushing dust from his shoulder.
“Even you, Elf War Goddess, cannot overcome a ‘True God’s Body.’ That’s the law of the world—no matter how strong you are, you must abide by it.”
“True God’s Body… you actually did it?” Teresa fell to one knee, enduring the corruption eating away at her, staring at Diderlay in pain.
“As you can see.” Diderlay spread his arms. “A thousand years. I’ve prepared for this moment for a millennium.”
“Including reincarnation, I’ve conducted countless experiments to make the races of Kaleburn more diverse, creating many reversed species—all for the purpose of gathering the gods’ complete facets to achieve ‘Godhood.’”
“That person has also been revived, but it doesn’t matter. Even if she hates me, she won’t oppose me—because she knows everything I’ve done aligns with her vision.”
“When she tried to stop you, I had already completed the gene purification and infusion…” Diderlay said, taking off his coat and undershirt without hesitation. “To accomplish the impossible, one must first become a monster.”
Teresa stared in shock at Diderlay’s body.
Unlike his clean, refined face, his body was covered in scars and stitches. In some places, the skin tone was drastically different—it was obvious that those patches had been taken from other beings, not his own.
Teresa thought of the stitched monsters in the laboratory—it fit perfectly.
It was hard to imagine—on the body of such a handsome, slightly frail young Elf—were grotesque patches and grafts, as if ten thousand knives had shredded him, then needle and thread sewed him back together, pasting shattered organs and skin once more.
No wonder his medical expertise had reached such heights—he hadn’t only experimented on others, but on himself.
Teresa couldn’t understand—after doing something so insane, how could Diderlay remain so calm?
Had he forgotten to sew his own heart back in during those experiments??
“Now, do you understand my resolve?”
“These are merely the process. What matters is the goal.” Saying that, Diderlay turned to leave—but a black halberd suddenly thrust forward, carrying a world-rending roar that tore through space and dimension.
It pierced Diderlay’s chest.
“I... I don’t care what your goal is.” Teresa maintained her stance from throwing [Sacred Oblivion]. At this moment, her once radiant golden hair had turned completely gray—signifying that her life force was nearly gone.
“I will never hand the future of the Elf Tribe to a mad demon like you!”
“Even if it costs me my life.”
When she finished speaking, Teresa collapsed, both knees hitting the ground, her hands barely supporting her body.
“...What’s the point?” Diderlay looked at the decaying Teresa, shaking his head. With a slight movement, the black halberd embedded in him shattered from its tip.
“This halberd, after all, was my gift to you. I led you to use it to break the barriers among the Demon Races, to ignite conflict within them. Did you think I hadn’t considered the possibility you might use it against me?”
“[Sacred Oblivion] can slay all creations of Kaleburn. But if it’s not a creation of Kaleburn—or is above them—it’s nothing but trash.” Diderlay gave Teresa one final look.
“When obsession runs too deep, you bear the cost yourself.”
“Of course, I’m in no position to lecture you.”
“Take care, Elf War Goddess.” With that, Diderlay strode away.
***
“Um, Sister Astrid… did you and Sister Teresa have a fight?” After Teresa had rushed off, the others ultimately decided to stay behind and tend to the rescued Gold Elves from the dungeon.
Little Wenfu finally mustered her courage, trotting over to Astrid and asking cautiously.
She had noticed for a while that something was wrong with Astrid, but Wenfu was just a child—how could she understand? At most, she could only think that “Sister Teresa and Sister Astrid argued because they disagreed.”
“It’s nothing.” Astrid didn’t want to say anything to Wenfu, but in the end, she still replied—considering they were at least friends in this life.