Chapter 161: The Final Battle

However, Kevin gave them no chance.

Before Darius could finish speaking, Kevin cut off the radio connection.

It was clear that Kevin had no intention of sparing the people from the Eye of Tarot or Sky Island.

As the Grion family's cruise ship fell, the entire sea turned into a blazing field of fire.

Kevin showed no mercy to any enemy who had come to hunt him down.

Just as the remaining eighty-some ships were about to turn around and escape, they realized that the sea was covered with countless mines.

These were not ordinary floating sea mines. Each one was a mechanical unit with an electronic soul.

At Kevin's command, they rushed toward the nearby ships without hesitation.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted across the sea.

More than eighty ships were blown into pieces in a single wave of attacks.

Darius, Black Knight Aaron, Draven, and several others survived the first explosion. But they were badly injured, covered in blood, and floating helplessly in the water.

Soon, the nearby Eldritch Entities were drawn in by the smell of blood.

"Damn it!" Draven cursed.

He dove underwater and killed the Eldritch Entities that came close. Then he looked at Black Knight Aaron, and the two immediately understood each other's thoughts.

If they wanted to survive, they had only one choice: take Kevin's ship.

At the very least, they had to make Kevin accept them.

So they swam toward the "Daddy" Cannon as fast as they could, like propellers spinning at full speed.

But when they were only halfway there, Nova's singing suddenly echoed across the sea.

Soon, countless Eldritch Entities gathered around them.

The Survivors who had fallen into the sea and were still alive were surrounded, swallowed, and dragged beneath the waves by the Eldritch Entities.

They became nothing more than lost souls in the Terror Sea.

After everything finally settled down, Kevin guided the "Daddy" Cannon toward the only ship still floating on the sea—the Grion family's cruise ship.

At the center of the cruise ship, Messi Grion had been pinned to the deck by a mech. His whole body was covered in blood.

Kevin gave him a quick glance, then threw a grenade enhanced with a Big Fireball Rune.

Messi Grion was instantly swallowed by flames. His body turned to ash and scattered into the air above the sea.

At that moment, Stephanie brought Bella aboard.

Bella was still alive, but her wounds had become infected and were starting to rot. Scales had even begun to grow on her feet.

After all the cruel torture she had suffered, Bella had clearly started to mutate into an Eldritch Entity. And the change could not be reversed.

Stephanie held Bella tightly and cried.

"It's okay, Sister. Kevin will heal you. Kevin is powerful. You have to believe in him."

Bella looked at Kevin. She opened her mouth, but she did not know what to say.

In the end, all the words in her heart became a single sentence.

"I'm sorry."

Kevin looked at her and snorted coldly.

"You're suffering because of the choices you made. You deserve this. And one more thing—I will never forgive you."

After saying that, Kevin turned his back on Bella and walked toward the "Daddy" Cannon.

Stephanie continued comforting Bella while tightly holding the Holy Spring and the Tear of the Goddess.

Luna had secretly given these items to her. Stephanie had not dared to take them out while Kevin was watching.

Now that Kevin had left the deck, Stephanie quickly brought out one precious item after another. She tried again and again to remove the tumors and scales from Bella's body.

After using a large number of valuable items, Stephanie finally stopped Bella's mutation from getting worse. The pale color slowly faded from Bella's face, and some warmth returned to her skin.

Bella took several deep breaths. Then she looked at her younger sister in shock.

"You have so many treasures. Did Kevin give them all to you?"

When Bella mentioned Kevin, Stephanie suddenly felt proud.

She smiled and gave her sister a charming look.

"Sister, Kevin treats me very well. I have red wine to drink every day and steak to eat. At night, I don't have to worry about Eldritch Entities attacking us. And in the morning, I can sleep until I wake up naturally."

Bella listened as Stephanie proudly described her daily life. Jealousy filled her heart.

While Stephanie was not looking, Bella clenched her fists.

She was still unwilling to accept it.

Why?

Why had Kevin given all these things to Stephanie instead of her?

They should have belonged to Bella.

She was the woman Kevin should have given everything to without asking for anything in return.

How could he give all these benefits to someone else behind her back?

Bella stared at Kevin's back, her eyes trembling.

Stephanie did not notice the change in her sister's mood. She continued trying to drive the Eldritch curse out of Bella's body.

Bella sighed and stopped her.

"Don't bother. These mutations can't be reversed. I know what will happen to me in the end."

As she spoke, Bella turned toward the railing at the edge of the deck.

"Come on, little sister. Help me over there while I can still stand. I want to take one last look at the sea."

Stephanie quietly wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"Okay. I'll help you over."

She supported Bella, and the two of them slowly approached the railing.

Bella looked at the bodies floating in the surrounding sea and sighed.

"Do you remember the game we played with the fish tank when we were children? I threw all the paper airplanes you had folded into the water, and you cried and chased me around for the entire afternoon."

Stephanie sighed when she heard this.

"Sister, you were so mean back then. I spent several days folding those one hundred paper airplanes. Then you threw them all into the water at once. I was so upset."

Bella grinned. Her smile became more and more twisted.

"I couldn't stand seeing you do better than me. Why could you fold such beautiful paper airplanes? Why were you better than me? I couldn't accept it. I couldn't stand it."

With that, Bella used all her remaining strength to pull a dagger from beneath her skirt and drive it into Stephanie's heart.

Stephanie stared at her sister in shock.

She lowered her head and looked at the blade buried in her chest, completely unable to understand what had happened.

However, Bella gave Stephanie no chance to call for help. She covered Stephanie's mouth tightly so Kevin and the women behind him would not notice anything was wrong.

"Little sister, you've really been living well these past few days. I never thought you could stay so weak after spending so long on this terrifying sea. It seems Kevin only wants to keep you as a caged songbird. He never intended to make you stronger."

Tears ran from the corners of Stephanie's eyes, and panic filled her face.

But she could not break free from Bella's arms.

No matter how weak Bella was, she had undergone a month of strengthening. She was far stronger than Stephanie now.

Bella could feel Stephanie's life slowly fading away. In the end, she became calm again.

She sighed.

"I know I'll die as soon as they find out what happened. But if I can take you with me before I die, I'll be satisfied."

"Stephanie, don't think that following Kevin will give you a good life. If I can't have something, neither can you."

With that, Bella pulled Stephanie into the sea with her.

Splash!

Kevin and the others turned around. Only then did they see Bella and Stephanie floating in the water, their bodies covered in blood.

At that moment, neither Nova nor Kevin used their soul-control abilities on the surrounding Eldritch Entities.

The Eldritch Entities, drawn by the smell of blood, rushed over like starving beasts. In an instant, they tore Bella and Stephanie to pieces.

The girls all looked away, unable to bear the sight.

Kevin sighed and gazed out at the distant sea, his face filled with sadness.

All the old grudges had finally come to an end.

The storm continued for three full days and nights.

The large ship alliance stationed on the island never saw any sign of the Eldritch giant monster.

They realized that something unknown might have happened behind the storm. However, no one dared to go out to sea in such violent winds.

When the storm finally began to fade, Bruce Lee immediately stepped onto his flying sword and flew into the distance to search for Kevin and the others.

However, Bruce Lee had barely flown any distance when he saw the "Daddy" Cannon racing across the sea like a high-speed train.

Bruce Lee let out a breath of relief.

"Thank goodness they're okay."

But just as he was about to land on the deck of the "Daddy" Cannon, he suddenly froze.

The deck was covered with the bodies and organs of all kinds of Eldritch Entities. There were even several huge organs that clearly belonged to Eldritch giant monsters.

Bruce Lee counted the giant organs on the deck, and his body began to shake.

"Damn... I think I just discovered a big secret," he muttered.

He was now completely certain that no Eldritch giant monsters had attacked the Survivor forces during the storm for one simple reason:

Kevin and his group had killed every single one of them.

After learning this, Bruce Lee did not land on the ship. Instead, he immediately flew back to his island.

His companions had to know this. They could not afford to offend Kevin or his people.

Bruce Lee did not like all the tricks and schemes of politics, but he understood Kevin's personality very well.

If his companions offended Kevin, the consequences would be terrible.

In the center of the island controlled by the Aetherian Alliance, Sunny and Banner both looked serious after hearing Bruce Lee's report.

Sunny immediately picked up the radio and sent a warning to every member of the Aetherian Alliance.

"No one is to show hostility toward Kevin or his companions."

At the same time, Banner called together the leaders of every fleet.

Now that they knew how powerful Kevin was, they had no intention of avoiding him.

On the contrary, Banner believed this was the perfect time to get on Kevin's good side.

They needed to win Kevin over as soon as possible and become his allies.

However, just as Banner and Sunny led a large group of Survivor leaders toward Kevin's ship, they discovered that someone had beaten them to it.

Led by Navea, the Girl Power Alliance reached the "Daddy" Cannon before anyone else.

But in less than ten minutes, the girls who had been waving their weapons and planning to conquer Kevin were all kneeling on the deck. They gazed at Kevin with adoration and began singing "Kneel and Submit."

Kevin chose several innocent girls from the Girl Power Alliance and allowed them to stay.

As for Navea and the other girls who had offended him, Kevin threw them into the sea and left them to fend for themselves.

Just then, Bruce Lee landed on Kevin's deck on his flying sword.

He sincerely invited Kevin to visit his island, where everyone had prepared a banquet to celebrate his arrival.

However, Kevin simply shook his head. He pointed toward the distance and said, "This is where we say goodbye. I'm going to keep sailing toward the next sea area."

"During the next storm, the First Sea Area will be completely wiped out by the Black Curtain. You'll have to head there as well."

"I'll leave first. Use this final month to develop your forces. I'll see you in the Second Sea Area."

After arranging everything, Kevin ignored Banner, Sunny, and the others nearby. He increased the engine power and sped away in the "Daddy" Cannon.

[The End]