Leo had been so engrossed in delivering the lynx cub, that he had completely missed the conversation between Ethan and Celeste.
Celeste remained silent, but Victor stepped forward, grabbing Leo by the arm and pulling him toward the exit.
"Wait…" Celeste called out just as they stepped off the altar.
The four of them turned around.
Celeste walked to the center of the altar, reached down, and yanked something out from beneath it.
The entire mountain seemed to tremble.
What she pulled out was a drum-like object, with something slimy still attached to it. Upon closer inspection, it reminded everyone of the umbilical cord the lynx cub had bitten through earlier. However, this one was much thicker, about ten centimeters in diameter, and it wrapped around the lower half of the drum-like object in Celeste's hand.
As everyone watched, Celeste gave the object a firm slap. Ethan, however, knew that she had first established a soul connection with the object before striking it.
With one hand holding the drum—which was only about 20 centimeters tall, Celeste used her other hand to tear at the back of her neck. The parasitic creature, which she had previously said couldn't be removed directly, was ripped off effortlessly.
At the same time, the small lynx cub in Leo's arms began to gag. A smaller version of the Candle Abyss wriggled out of its mouth and plopped onto the ground.
"Holy crap…" Leo lifted his foot and stomped on it, squashing it flat.
The others showed no unusual reactions, and Celeste spoke up. "It's done. Nothing will control the Twinborn Lynx anymore. As for the Candle Abyss on your bodies, I've removed them as well. Don't worry about the others; I'll find a way to remove theirs when I get back. From now on, if you see me again, we'll be enemies."
Leo and the others hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.
Ethan smiled at her. "We'll be waiting for you…"
"No need for such a dramatic farewell," Celeste said. "I've absorbed her memories. Her original plan was to possess my body. By taking the Candle Abyss back with me, I'll have enough leverage to infiltrate their ranks, maybe even their upper echelons. When the time comes to close the net, we'll meet again."
The trembling from beneath the ground grew more frequent. Celeste continued to rhythmically tap the drum in her hand as she addressed the group.
Ethan guessed that this drum could both nurture new Candle Abyss creatures and control them. Otherwise, how would Doe have controlled the Candle Abyss even if she had managed to create it?
Celeste had devoured Doe's soul and absorbed her memories. This plan of turning the tables on their enemies shouldn't be too dangerous.
As they waved goodbye, Ethan turned and noticed Victor nudging Leo, who looked both bitter and conflicted. Even as they left, Leo seemed to want to say something but couldn't bring himself to speak.
"Coward. No wonder you've been single for twenty-six years," Williams muttered under his breath.
Leo hung his head, looking utterly dejected, but he didn't argue back.
Even Victor nodded in agreement. "Leo, I'm not trying to be harsh, but if you like someone, just go for it! Chasing girls requires thick skin, attention to detail, and courage. You've charged into gunfire without a second thought, but this scares you?"
Leo looked up at him, his face full of grievance. "Don't act like you're some expert! When have you ever chased a girl?"
"Uh…" Victor was momentarily speechless. He hadn't, but then he glanced at Ethan and quickly added, "Ask Ethan! Ask him how he managed to win over Lyla. Let him give you some lessons!"
Ethan had been enjoying the spectacle, but when the spotlight suddenly turned to him, the smile on his face froze. He awkwardly scratched his head and said, "Uh… Victor, I'm in the same boat as you!"
As soon as he said this, Victor's expression also froze.
Leo, on the other hand, looked utterly defeated. It seemed like everyone else had girls throwing themselves at them. To find some psychological balance, he glanced at Williams, finally letting out a sigh of relief. At least there was one person worse off than him.
Without even looking at him, Williams knew exactly what Leo was thinking. He calmly said, "You won't find anyone to share your misery with. I'm married."
This statement shocked even Victor. "Since when?" he asked.
"Just a few days ago," Williams replied.
"We've been together for three or four years. One time, I was driving my taxi, and she pulled up in a Porsche 911, revving her engine at an intersection, trying to provoke me. I shut her down! After that, we kept in touch. She's from Ember City and would visit me in Harbour City when she had time.
She kept asking me to come to Ember City, but I thought she was just playing around. Plus, I had already made plans with Victor to go abroad, so I never made it official. This time, when I came to Ember City, I reached out to her. Turns out, she was serious.
She asked me, 'After all these years, what's wrong with me that I'm not even your girlfriend?' I don't know what came over me, but I got carried away and said, 'What's the point of being a girlfriend? If you're serious, let's get married!' And then, we actually did! That day I left early while we were shopping with the others, I went to see her."
As they walked, Williams continued his story.
The more he spoke, the darker Leo's expression became. Finally, Leo blurted out, "Damn, you've been hiding this so well! No wonder there were women's hairs in that dump of a place on the rooftop. You said it was from the wind! You actually took a girl to that crappy place? Didn't you think it would make you look cheap?"
Williams grinned at him and said, "I don't think you're getting the point here."
This piqued everyone's curiosity. The point? What point?
Leo, clueless as ever, asked directly, "What point?"
Williams smirked and said, "The point is, even a crappy place like that was good enough for her to come with me. And she drives a 911! Remember, she's a girl, not some sugar momma!"
As he said this, his eyebrows started dancing, wiggling up and down in a ridiculous display.
Ethan was stunned. Williams had always come across as someone with a high level of sophistication. He wasn't cold, but he always wore a polite smile that kept people at arm's length. With his glasses and calm demeanor, he seemed like the epitome of composure. Yet here he was, doing a ridiculous eyebrow dance to taunt Leo.
The contrast was so absurd that Ethan almost choked trying not to laugh.
Victor, standing next to Ethan, chuckled and said, "You'll get used to them over time. They might be a bit older than you, but honestly, they act more like kids."
Ethan was taken aback. Did he really seem that burdened? He thought he had been hiding it well. But how could he not be weighed down? As far as he knew, he was the only one aware that the world would face an apocalypse in five years.
According to Morzan, he had been reborn to shoulder this responsibility. While he didn't have a savior complex, he couldn't ignore the fact that this world still held the people he loved—Lyla, and these quirky, friends of his.
By now, they had walked quite a distance. The mist formation they had encountered earlier didn't reappear, likely because it was a directional array that only activated upon entry, not exit.
It wasn't until they had walked over ten kilometers that they suddenly noticed a thick fog rising behind them!