Chapter 678: Handling the Aftermath

"Seems you're smarter than I imagined."

Loren raised his hand, preparing to snap his fingers.

A dying person's words are kind, and Elder Number One had already let go of her grudges by now:

"At least they'll believe I survived, even after I'm dead."

"Though the three of us were all elders, I had the least seniority, and they often sent me on dangerous missions, like killing you."

"My risk was the highest, yet every time my share of the benefits was the smallest. I barely had any authority either, and usually I could only obey their orders."

"To put it plainly, I was no different from those body doubles. They could discard me at any moment."

"Finally, before I die, I've stepped on their heads."

As she spoke, Elder Number One spread her arms, ready to embrace death.

She didn't believe she could survive at all now. She knew very well that with Loren's temperament, he could never forgive what she had done before.

Even in the deep sea, she had heard plenty of intelligence about Loren.

Thinking of this, she found it laughable. They had actually sent her to ambush and kill Loren, the man who had slain so many Angels. It was blatantly obvious they wanted her to die, so they could use the opportunity to slip away.

Her thinking wasn't wrong. Loren truly couldn't spare her. That was always how Loren operated.

No matter what hardships you had, if you committed evil, you committed evil. You couldn't just set the facts aside.

"By the way, Lord Observer, my name is..."

Before she could say her name, her head fell from her body. In the end, she never spoke her name.

"I told you, your name doesn't matter."

Loren snapped his fingers and activated Return to Earth, making the three elders' corpses vanish from this place.

"You didn't piss yourself, did you?"

Having done all that, Loren looked toward the trembling Crystal.

"N-no... I didn't..."

She frantically shook her head in denial. In all her years, Crystal had never seen such a scene. The three elders had died too miserably, turning directly into fragments, their blood dyeing the seawater red.

If Loren hadn't activated Return to Earth, they wouldn't even be able to see clearly right now.

Crystal suspected that if she made any move that displeased Loren now, she would be reduced to fragments herself.

She had experienced Loren's methods firsthand. Even now, the wounds on her body still hadn't healed.

"Melody, how should we deal with Crystal? Kill her?"

Loren asked for Melody's opinion, and Crystal instantly trembled in terror.

Melody was a decisive person too. She now knew what had happened during this time, and she felt no aversion at all to Loren killing so many people.

After all, this really was for the merfolk's own good.

"She is indeed an unstable factor..."

Melody began to think, her gaze sweeping over Crystal without a trace of emotion.

She personally didn't care at all about her grudge with Crystal. She would only consider things from the standpoint of the merfolk race's interests.

"Melody... I was wrong... I shouldn't have opposed you..."

Crystal hurriedly knelt, frantically kowtowing to Melody. This also pulled at the wounds on her body, causing them to burst open completely, blood seeping through her clothes.

"You were pushed into this position by the elders, so you truly haven't done much wrong..."

Hearing Melody's words, Crystal lifted her head. But before she could feel happy, Melody suddenly changed tack:

"Unfortunately, you know too many things you shouldn't know. Only the dead can best keep secrets."

"This girl is like me."

Loren silently gave Melody a thumbs-up. Indeed, Crystal's crimes didn't warrant death, but for their interests, it was still better if Crystal died.

As she spoke, Melody raised the Merfolk Sword. Crystal had also possessed the Merfolk Sword for a time, so she knew very well how terrifying that thing was.

"I won't reveal any information... I swear... I swear by the Perpetual Observer..."

This was what Crystal blurted out instinctively. Her swearing by the Perpetual Observer actually had nothing to do with Loren. It was simply a custom within the merfolk race.

Those words from Crystal were sincere, and Melody's sword stopped midair.

"Master, do you have a way to completely control her? I need some assistance now. Crystal's strength is decent, she's a good choice."

Melody planned to take complete control of the merfolk next, so that one day when Loren went to war with the Orthodox Gods, she could provide him help.

Now that the elders had been wiped out, it could be said that the only one left among Atlantis's upper ranks was Melody alone.

Although she now held power firmly in her grasp, she simply couldn't manage it all by herself.

Besides, when she had been the Merfolk Princess, she had always focused on doing practical work and hadn't developed her own power base. This was also why the elders had been able to replace her with a new princess so easily.

Back then, the only ones who spoke up for Melody were commoners like Korali. Their words carried no weight and couldn't provide Melody any help. Instead, they would only be dragged down by association with her.

"I do have a way."

Melody had a point. As long as Crystal could be completely controlled, keeping her alive was more useful than simply killing her.

"Please, control me... I really don't want to die..."

Upon learning that Loren had a method, Crystal actually became more excited than Melody.

"Next, I will form a contract with you. You cannot do anything harmful to us in any way. You must obey Melody in all things without any disobedience, or your soul will scatter.

"Do you agree?"

Loren invoked the power of the demon card. With the demon card, Loren no longer had to kill to silence people. When he encountered a slightly valuable target like this, he could simply control them directly.

"I agree, I agree..."

Crystal nodded frantically, afraid Loren might go back on his word.

"Done. The contract is formed. You will never have freedom for the rest of your life."

Freedom was something the current Crystal didn't dare even dream of. She nodded hurriedly in agreement.

"Alright, my purpose for coming here is complete. What happens next is up to you."

Loren stroked Melody's hair and spoke.

Having Loren kill people was fine, but he truly couldn't be bothered to govern a nation. This kind of thing was best shoved onto someone else whenever possible.

It was just that Melody wasn't all that capable either. Fortunately, the current situation was special. The merfolk here had all been brainwashed by Loren using the Sun Card. Controlling them was simple and wouldn't require much effort from Melody.

What she needed to do was guard against those merfolk who hadn't been affected. But with so many people dead here, those who hadn't been influenced by the Sun Card could probably guess something.

Even if they did discover something, they wouldn't dare take action.

Melody only needed to hold out for a while. Once Loren dealt with the Orthodox Gods, everything would improve. He could simply merge Atlantis into another nation.

Loren toyed with the Tear of the Abyssal Sea in his hand and began to ponder.

Should he go deal with the God of Light and Fire immediately, to avoid any further complications, or wait until all the rituals were completed before acting, to prevent other gods from joining forces?