Volume 7: The Hanged Man Chapter 40: The Seal

　　The black figure stiffened, loosened its grip on Bernadette’s neck, and seemed to be gazing at the “mysterious queen” with non-existent eyes.

　　A dry, hoarse voice then echoed through the hidden space:

　　”Hometown ……”

　　The voice was a little hesitant, a little bewildered, a little seeking confirmation, as if it came from another world.

　　The erosion that Bernadette had encountered disappeared, and the connection between her and her own seal was instantly restored.

　　The “pale death” had begun to kill her a little bit more, which helped her to fight against the gradual confusion of her thoughts, and to keep her basic consciousness and sanity.

　　Just as she opened her mouth to say something else, the black figure suddenly reached forward again.

　　But this time, instead of pinching Bernadette’s neck, it gave a heavy push.

　　Accompanying this push was the disintegration of the hidden space, and a voice with a clear hint of pain, as if it was resisting something:

　　”Leave!”

　　As the voice echoed, the black figure disappeared into thin air.

　　A split second later, it surfaced on that high platform in the center and sat down on that huge, iron black, high-backed chair.

　　Its face immediately split into two slits, as if it had grown two eyes that were not symmetrical enough.

　　However, the “eyes” had no pupils and were blood-colored.

　　Immediately after, another slit opened below the two “eyes”, filled with the same pure blood red light.

　　This allowed the black figure to finally open its mouth.

　　It faced towards Bernadette, and again the voice echoed around it, as if resisting something with a clear hint of pain:

　　”Get out of here!”

　　Bernadette was pushed out a dozen meters, easily stabilized on her feet, but did not follow the voice’s order to leave the “Black Emperor” mausoleum, she stood there, staring blankly at the central platform, looking at the black figure, with a sadness that she could not and did not want to hide.

　　She could sense, she was already sure that the black figure was her father, the man who called himself “Caesar”, Rossel Gustav.

　　In the next second, more slits opened up on the black figure, and they blossomed into blood-red flowers on different parts of the body, from the head all the way down.

　　This made it look like Russell was nothing more than a layer of shadow, encased in a mass of something blood red that radiated pure light.

　　When Klein above the gray mist saw this scene, he naturally associated it with the red moon high in the sky.

　　At this moment, Rossel seemed to be transforming into a shadow, trying to cover up that red moon, only to be torn open one mouth after another, allowing more and more moonlight to shine into reality.

　　By the time these mouths connected together, that black shadow would completely split open, giving birth to a whole new round of red moon.

　　At that time, something extremely terrifying was bound to happen.

　　Right at this moment, Rossel’s black figure became quite illusory, seemingly becoming some sort of illusion.

　　It made him look like he was isolated in another world, with an invisible barrier to reality.

　　Then, with great difficulty, Russell raised his shadowy right arm and pinched his forehead.

　　The frequency of the blood-red cracks in his body suddenly decreased to a minimum, but the “eyes” that already existed before began to blink, one after another.

　　However, this did not have a bad effect on the surroundings, and seemed to be a simple change in order – the tendency of the blood-red cracks that had been “newborn” was distorted to the original ones that were gradually becoming active.

　　After completing this matter, Russell raised his head and looked towards Bernadette, who was a few dozen meters away, and laughed in a dry, hoarse voice:

　　”You’ve really become a big shot in the Mysterious World, you can come here all by yourself.

　　”Come over here and let me see what my little princess looks like now.”

　　Bernadette’s eyes suddenly reddened and she took a step forward.

　　Roselle gave another laugh:

　　”You were only that big when I got you picture books, made up textbooks, and invented all sorts of little games, and now you can come to the rescue of your poor old father.

　　”I remember, when you were little, you loved the various clothes I designed for you, but unfortunately, when you grew up, you couldn’t wear cake dresses anymore ……”

　　This great emperor rambled on as if he had come to the twilight of his life, always enjoying remembering the beautiful images of the past.

　　Bernadette walked faster and faster, and Klein above the gray mist frowned faintly.

　　Suddenly, Rossel the Great’s head buried a little lower and said very hard:

　　”Stop!”

　　His voice carried unspeakable pain.

　　Bernadette froze for a moment, and flew to a halt as she slowed her steps.

　　An indescribable sadness grew in her gaze at the dark figure.

　　Russell raised his head again and said with a light cough:

　　”Are you tempted to ask why the ‘Black Emperor’s’ tomb should be inscribed with its own established order and guiding customs outside, in fact, it is not necessary, I just want those who see it to remember my greatness …… ”

　　Before the words fell, this great emperor clenched one hand on the armrest next to him, and pressed his voice in extreme agony:

　　”Do not, come near!

　　”I am tainted …… ”

　　The sadness in Bernadette’s eyes thickened a little more.

　　Her guess just now was finally confirmed.

　　At this moment, the bright red slits on Russell’s face appeared chaotic, sometimes “closing”, sometimes “opening”, no longer having a unified will.

　　Seizing the opportunity, this Archon straightened his body slightly, looked at Bernadette, and cried out rather hard:

　　”Seal me!”

　　Seal …… “Mystic Queen” Bernadette repeated that word wordlessly, her azure eyes flew to become moist and covered with a faint mist.

　　Even if she had lived for many, many years, even if she was not the same little girl at the time, at this moment she still could not contain the change of emotions within her heart.

　　However, she did not ask why, nor did she hesitate, but only struggled a little, and then firmly, without wavering, raised her right hand and pressed it onto the pale metal mask.

　　As she had done in the past few years, when faced with all the great events that had befallen the Elemental Dawn, she had made a decision with exceptional calmness.

　　On the surface of “Pale Death”, the metal instantly softened and reorganized into a new face with black eyes.

　　Inside these deep black eyes, a pale line protruded, drawing out an extremely complex and mysterious three-dimensional symbol, which resembled a bird with abnormally long feathers or a feathered serpent with its body coiled up.

　　The symbol absorbed the surrounding light and quickly took on a solid form, then detached itself from Bernadette’s eyes, spread out its “body” and flew towards Rossel Gustav on the iron black seat.

　　Along the way, the strange symbols dimmed the surroundings, causing the tiles and walls to weather and decay once again, as if the god of death had passed final judgment.

　　The falling debris and dust followed the materialized symbol to Rossel’s side, and then coiled up, wrapping the rather illusory black figure in layers as if it were located in another world.

　　Several times during this process, Rossel was unable to control himself and attempted to leave the iron-black seat, but sat back down, not fighting the seal Bernadette had imposed.

　　As the symbol merged into his figure, he was instantly connected to the Pale Death, and saw an illusory deity towering above the countless dead, and a swollen body hovering like a water ghost in a dark river.

　　Rossel’s breath faded, and the cracks of bright red closed one after another.

　　A sleep as peaceful as night awaited the Great One.

　　And the symbol would be cemented within Rossel’s figure, exerting its influence until the Pale Death no longer responded.

　　In the blink of an eye, a few more blood-red slits grew on Rossel’s body, and his aura, after failing to the extreme, gradually renewed itself and fiercely fought against the materialized symbol.

　　Klein, above the gray mist, sighed at the sight and clenched his fist against his lower mouth.

　　The “curtain” he was wearing lifted up, and the entire “Source Castle” appeared to “boil” visibly.

　　Without a sound, Rossel’s newfound aura began to fade again.

　　After fading to a certain extent, it regained a new life, and then was affected by the “pale death” and continued to fade away.

　　Klein utilized the extraordinary characteristics of the “Secret Servant” and the power of the “Source Castle” to directly “graft” new life and death together, omitting the intermediate process.

　　In this way, Rossel’s contamination could not be restored to a level where he could break through the pale seal.

　　Then, Klein stretched out his right hand, mobilized the power of the “Source Castle”, and sketched the mysterious symbol behind the “Fool’s” high-backed chair in front of his body – a symbol made up of half of the “Pupil-less Eye” and the “Pupil-less Eye”. It consisted of half of the “Pupil-less Eye” and half of the “Twisted Thread”.

　　The symbol absorbed the aura of the “Source Castle” and quickly became solid, and with a wave of Kline’s wrist, it fell into the point of light representing Bernadette’s prayers, and landed on Rossel’s black figure, merging into his body.

　　–Whenever that “grafting” was about to disappear, the symbol that was directly linked to the “Fool” and the “Source Castle” would The symbol directly linked to the Yugi and the Fortress of Origin would draw in new power to complete the grafting once again.

　　In the state of passing and gaining new life, Rossel’s purely shadowed face took on the contours of his features, and then he looked up to the top of the mausoleum, as if gazing into the infinite heights.

　　He then withdrew his gaze and looked to Bernadette, smiling in an unusually weak voice:

　　”This seal is good, I can sleep in peace ……”

　　Speaking here, he frowned slightly and asked with a change in tone:

　　”Why are you dressed like this, who taught you?”

　　Bernadette was in a trance as she listened, and seemed to have returned to her youthful years.

　　At that time, whenever she dressed up to attend other nobles’ balls, Roselle would ask a series of questions with a similar expression and a similar tone.

　　The mist in her eyes became visible all of a sudden, and she could no longer control herself as she let out a low, suppressed cry:

　　”Daddy ……”

　　Rossel’s face, which was only the outline of his features, softened for an instant, then boarded up and snapped:

　　”Leave.

　　”And never come back!”

　　Bernadette opened her mouth to say something, and already her eyes darkened, as if she saw the shadows of order.

　　The next second, she found herself back on the edge of the pristine island.

　　Bernadette stared blankly at the peaks in the middle of the pristine island for a few seconds before slowly turning her body towards the sea.

　　This time, she wasn’t stubborn enough to look back, and every few steps, she would pause and turn to look.

　　Soon she was back on the Dawn, walking into the captain’s cabin and opening the room dedicated to her collection.

　　Glancing around, Bernadette saw picture books, stacks of textbooks, dresses, skirts, chess, which only a few people in the world knew how to play, and neatly stacked blocks and toys.

　　She leaned her back against the wooden door and slowly shrunk down, sitting on the floor.

　　She looked up at the overcast sky outside the captain’s cabin window, pinched her lower lip with her right thumb and forefinger, and whistled a lilting, euphonious, calming melody with a hint of sadness.

　　As the melody echoed, droplet after droplet of water slid down Bernadette’s face and dripped onto the surface of the floor.

　　After an unknown amount of time, a voice rang out from the captain’s chamber like a voice pressed into his throat:

　　”Dad ……”