Facing Harvey's question, Ash sat in the sunlight outside the shade of a tree, looking at the Necromancer with a strange expression.

"You are not the type to speak ill of others behind their backs. If you have something to say, you say it directly to their face, and if that's not forceful enough, you'd even bring Alice to join in on the talk," Ash said. "Recently, Igula hasn't offended you, has he?"

"I have no complaints against Igula," Harvey replied. "I'm just curious about your thoughts."

"Why?"

"Ash, you are a good person," the Necromancer stated. "Regardless of whether you were a Cult Leader in the past, since I've known you, you've not been a bad person to me. Valcas, Igula, Liss, Hanna... You're not some naively kind person, but you've never done evil; you're so clean you don't even seem like a Blood Moonian."

"This is a question I think Igula also wants to ask, but he doesn't dare to. What exactly do you see in the two of us, convicted criminals who have done so much evil?"

"I just came out to enjoy the sun; I hadn't planned on answering such weighty questions..." Ash massaged his temples. "Using your words, since I've gotten to know you—"

Harvey interrupted him: "At the Gospel, we were constrained by Hanna and didn't have a choice, but after coming to Senluo... You surely haven't forgotten why the food factory town drove us out, have you? The blame placed on the Silver Lamp was only one of the reasons; our main problem was that we were too unrestrained there."

"But you were also wary of the impact."

"That's why we couldn't catch the Silver Lamp," Harvey declared. "Doesn't the Swindler know that a gas station can become a massive weapon? With the abilities of a Spirit Mage, why would he draw Silver Lamp to a sparsely populated area instead of turning the crowd into his own weapon?"

"Even if we can't catch Silver Lamp, we will definitely find a way to lift the curse of the Blood Seed," Ash said earnestly. "I promise."

"The point isn't that; the point is our true natures," Harvey, stroking Alice's head, posited. "Do you think I'm satisfied with just Alice? Now there's no Hanna to constrain us, Senluo doesn't even have a unified government, and I have inexhaustible materials... If not for being with you all, to support my research, I'd probably join a faction that wouldn't impact my work and become their enforcer, bringing a Necromancy disaster to this land."

"The Swindler feels the same way; this world where order and chaos coexist is simply too perfect for him, a veritable Heavenly Kingdom. He could freely display his wit, tricks, and schemes here, manipulating everyone at his whim... If only he had come here, by now he'd probably already be a minor leader in the Four Pillars God Sect."

Ash: "But you didn't do that."

"Indeed, we didn't. Why is that?"

Alice grabbed Harvey's cigarette and swallowed it whole.

"There's one thing that sets me apart from the Swindler," said Harvey as he bit into a bar of chocolate. "I'm like a withered leaf that's fallen into a river, drifting along, indifferent to whether I end up in the sea or a mire; but he's a fish swimming upstream, who might even become a bird soaring in the air... He holds his own fate in his hands and refuses to drift along with the current."

"But in one respect, we are the same; we've never treated others as people. Talking corpses, usable props... nothing more than that."

"If one day we do something you can't accept, how will you treat us?"

Ash said, "Such a hypothetical is too boring, like relatives asking a child what they would do if their parents no longer wanted them."

"You haven't forgotten that we're Blood Moonians..."

"Oh my, but you understand what I'm saying."

"Take the food factory town for example," Harvey continued. "If Igula, in order to catch Silver Lamp, risked dragging the whole town into a fight, if I chose to become a dragon sorceress spreading plague instead of a Netherworld Knight to intercept Silver Lamp... what would you do?"

Ash looked at him calmly, saying nothing.

Harvey ate most of the chocolate bar, and then Alice swallowed the last bite.

"When you hesitate, you've already made a decision in your heart," he said. "We are no longer companions who escaped from prison together, nor slaves bound by a Contract, nor comrades you can trust unconditionally."

"No, I'm not hesitating; I'm just surprised that under such restraint, you still nearly managed to kill Silver Lamp," Ash clenched his fist tightly. "Next time we encounter Silver Lamp, we must take him down!"

"Hm?" Harvey blinked.

"I understand what you mean," Ash said. "If it weren't for your concern about me, your actions would definitely be much more ruthless than they are now. I've never doubted the evil in your hearts. How could someone bred in the environment of the Blood Moon not harbor resentment and bitterness towards the world?"

"So, I'm honored to be your concern," the Cult Leader chuckled with a snicker. "It feels like I've become your guardian."

"Trust, of course, has to be given to those who deserve it. Since you've handed the chains over to me, how could I refuse to become your shackles? Even if, as you said, you were to do something I can't accept..."

"I could suppress you instantly," Ash said, his eyes ablaze. "Don't underestimate me, Necromancer."

Harvey was taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Then I look forward to it."

He reached out to search Alice's body, and just as Ash was considering whether to turn away, he pulled out a harmonica.

"Where did you get that harmonica?"

"Merchandise from the Transcendence Temple," Harvey said. "Their best-selling products are these luxury items with artisanal barriers; it's a pity it's a chromatic harmonica. I used to play the diatonic harmonica."

"Oh... wait, you used to play the harmonica?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "We're so familiar with each other that even if you boasted like this, I wouldn't praise you."

Harvey used his thumb to press the slide button, and a melodious harmonica tune arose. It sounded somewhat familiar - perhaps it was a song broadcast in Shattered Lake Prison.

Under the shade of the trees, the curly-haired black youth played away his harmonica, beside him snuggled something that looked quite like a beautiful young girl, which was Dongdong. But the thought that this was the Necromancer with his dead body made Ash feel even more bemused—compared to the average Necromancer, one who could play the harmonica was clearly a more terrifying and perverted existence.

However, Harvey was unexpectedly good at it, and Ash leisurely lay on the grass, enjoying the rare ease. After several tunes, when the harmonica's sound ceased, Ash, yawning, sat up and discovered that many Transcendence Believers had appeared around him.

They seemed to be under the age of ten, wearing the same blue and white uniforms, but with fewer attached Mecha enhancements, just by the ears and nape. They looked curiously at Harvey, their gazes urging 'one more song' 'encore.'

"Why are there so many kids?" Ash asked.

"This is the basic education level," Harvey replied. "All children under twelve receive education in the classrooms on this level; this is actually their playground."

So you just smoked in the primary school kids' playground...

"So, what now? Play another or leave?"

"Another one and then we'll go."

As Harvey started playing, Ash suddenly recognized the tune; it was the theme song of a drama he and Freyja had watched together. The catchy rhythm was so distinctive that it had made a deep impression. He sat there tapping along, gradually the tapping turned into a chain, and the onlooking children were quickly influenced by Ash, turning the sports field into a music class.

When the tune ended, Harvey prepared to stand up to leave. Suddenly a little girl ran over and hugged him, giving him a mua with a kiss.

Alice, who had been completely tensed up ready for combat, finally relaxed. Harvey looked strangely at the little girl, whose face turned beat red. She stammered for a while before stumbling out two words: "Nice... sound!"

After saying this, she quickly returned to her group of friends, exchanging glances with them, without a word in the air. They communicated through their smart neural hubs, not needing such inefficient methods of communication as speaking.

The long pause she had just now was probably because she herself hadn't reacted yet—the smart hubs might dampen self-consciousness but strengthen impulsive responses. Simply put, the Transcendence Believers were a group of people whose bodies moved faster than their consciousness, accomplishing their goals before the specific thoughts even formed.

Watching these kids scatter, Ash suddenly fell into thought.

"Let's go. What are you thinking about?" Harvey asked as he put Alice back into her coffin.

"I was just wondering, while I pity that their self-consciousness will gradually fade in the future, are they also pitying me for never having the chance to evolve into a more intelligent being in my lifetime?"

"They definitely are," Harvey said with certainty. "Just like I also pity you for not choosing to learn Necromancy and instead eat shit."

"Yeah, you have your hobbies, they have their ideals, and even I have my Light of Life," Ash said. "If reality really is an illusion..."

"But one's self is still the protagonist that no one else is allowed to deny."

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