The Last Gentleman
Chapter 565: 563: Return

Hiss~

A large amount of steam and white emulsion seeped out of a hydraulic box that was opening, and after a full 24 hours, a perfect 1:1 pure white model of William was replicated.

Considering the issue of portrait rights, the facial features of the model were completely erased.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation. In return, we can exceptionally send you to any location in the Old World, free from the threat of the Tenth Abyss. Although you have completed the path, it’s still far from enough to contend with the Abyss,"

Upon hearing this, William quickly waved his hand, "No... please don’t! I’ve finally reached the bottom of the Abyss, don’t send me anywhere else."

"Direct communication with the Abyss could be lethal, and while your actions benefit the development of the Old World, your death would also be a great loss to it.

It’s up to you."

"Just let me return to where I was before,"

Even in the midst of an important ascension path, William had been thinking about this matter,

he had finally completed the "Condensed Face" and "Pilgrimage" processes, and he could not give up now with the final "Audience" just in sight.

Moreover, the influence of the Condensed Face brought by the Tenth Abyss was fully applied in the path, and during the silvery turbid period, the Abyss Mask had been completely controlled by William and became a part of himself.

Regarding the mask,

Regarding the Abyss,

Regarding the "Sequence",

William still wanted to negotiate face to face with the Tenth Abyss, even if it might mean death, as it was one of the costs of the audience with the Abyss.

"Then good luck to you, I hope you gain recognition from the Abyss to reduce the risk of destruction to the Old World. Your actions are all being observed by the center of the Sick Focus, and your contributions will inevitably be rewarded."

William suddenly had a flash of insight, "Rewarded? Speaking of which, if I make enough contributions, would I qualify to visit the Suffering Monastery?"

"The Suffering Monastery is directly under the Sick Focus, with executive power and is a special part of the Source Plague Area. The existence of the Monastery greatly enhances the stability of the Old World.

There are only two possibilities to go to the Monastery, either you apply for a position as a Law Enforcer at the Monastery or you are taken there as a prisoner.

Your contributions to the Old World won’t be considered in this regard.

However, due to your contributions in resolving the crisis of the Abyss, the Monastery will no longer pursue you."

William scratched his head, "That’s not right~ A teacher of mine in the human world was arbitrarily captured by the Monastery during a trip to the Old World and forcefully trained as a monk.

Eventually, he managed to escape, and that doesn’t seem to fit either of the situations you described."

"Invasion wars also caused severe damage to the Monastery, with over 60% of the monks dying during the wars, including members of the core management level.

Given the shortage of applicants for the Monastery positions and the blockade of fertility in the Old World, forced by the scarcity of manpower and potentially uncontrollable administration, the Monastery was required to request enforcement authority from the Sick Focus.

Any individual who demonstrates talent in suffering will be marked as soon as they act in the Old World and will subsequently be forcibly taken to the Monastery for induction training. Your teacher must also be a lover of suffering, right?"

"Yes."

"That explains it, although it’s illogical and has caused dissatisfaction among various powers. But if the Monastery really does lose control and the prisoners inside are released, the consequences are unimaginable.

However, what you just mentioned about this human escaping from the Monastery, is that true? Logically, involuntarily recruited individuals should also be detained in the surface cells. Our Gland Area, as an affiliate of the Sick Focus, also has a certain understanding of the Monastery, but we have never heard of humans escaping from the Monastery.

Throughout the old history, there have been no more than five cases of escape from the Monastery, and even if one escapes, they are quickly recaptured.

However, if it involved a human, it’s possible to escape to another world to cut off the pursuit from the Monastery.

If what you say is true, it also indicates that the Monastery deliberately concealed this... but, during such special times, we dare not deal with the Monastery openly."

"By the way, what’s the name of this human you mentioned?"

"Hogni Zed."

"Zede! Wait... follow me!"

Hearing the name, the Sick Servant became excited and led William quickly through the velvety corridors of the Gland Area, arriving at a showroom specially used to store "Human Body Models", which was also the destination of William’s model.

All models were encased in display cabinets and obscured by a white membrane, with William noting at least twenty models.

The Sick Servant used a neural dendrite as a key and opened one of the cabinets.

Accompanied by the release of a strong corpse odor, William felt as though he had returned to Zion, heading deep into the academy to meet with the teacher.

A perfect cast of a human corpse stood within the display cabinet, each muscle fiber meticulously defined, and even now, William could still feel the oppressiveness emanating from this physical body, of which there was no doubt that it indeed belonged to Zede.

"Hmm! It really is teacher Zede’s model."

The cells on the face of the Sick Servant compressed together, appearing as if smiling.

"Indeed~ I never imagined that you were Zede’s student.

Interestingly enough, when Zede first arrived here, I was also the one assigned to receive him.

However, Zede’s personality was drastically different from yours; he came here in terrible mental state, apparently having found the ’Path’ under extreme torture.

He didn’t say a word throughout the process and also radiated a terrifying aura.

It now seems that he might have accidentally found his own Path during the Monastery’s ’training’ and came to us."

Zede’s physical form was rather remarkable, having reached nearly its pinnacle during the silver haze process, which is why he was included here.

Such a physical form could have made a significant mark in the Old World; who would have thought he would go back to become a teacher?"

"Indeed, teacher Zede was incredibly strong, but the torture he suffered during his time at the Monastery continued to affect his psyche. Even after returning to human society, he could not fully control himself and now, being detained deep within the organization, he occasionally takes on some teaching tasks."

"Permanent torture influences, huh? There’s no helping it.

I’m just a small-time gland area worker and can’t interfere or change anything, nor can I understand what Zede is thinking now. But I hope, William, when you go back, try to persuade him not to be impetuous. Even if the two of you join forces, you won’t be able to shake the Monastery.

I’m serious. If Zede can’t let go of his grudges and even wants to team up with you to stir up trouble in the Monastery, it might provoke the Sick Focus Center to issue a full-scale ultimatum against you both, and at that time, all Source Epidemic Areas will see you as enemies."

"Understood."

"When you go back, send my regards to Zede~ that’s all, then. You’ve already been here nearly 80 days, and the milkers are quite afraid of you."

"Just one moment," William said, looking at the human body models covered with white cloth in the current area. "By the way, among those modelled, is there a young man related to the moon?"

"Taking you here to see Zede’s human body model was already bending the rules; I cannot disclose any more information, otherwise, I might be directly arrested."

"Okay then, please lead me to the exit of the gland area."

They returned the same way they had come, to the doorway symbolizing ’Order’.

With William’s promotion as a Pioneer of the Path,

the black door also underwent corresponding changes, transforming into a special material that fused bone and metal. In the center, a bas-relief resembling William’s human body was protruding.

The posture of the bas-relief was very similar to Da Vinci’s "Vitruvian Man,"

and it also had spiral-structured lines drawn between the bodies, symbolizing ’Order’ and expressing the concept of perfect life.

As William pushed open the door,

the consciousness of Grape and Yellow Skin also returned, and all external objects reverted back to him. The scene before his eyes shifted from pure white to sudden darkness.

And there was also an unfathomable overwhelming aura.

The black curtain as skirt, the Abyss as face.

The very essence of the Tenth Abyss stood before him.

Eighty days after their last meeting,

William was no longer just a mask; not only had he completed his physical form but also achieved promotion, a situation that the Tenth Abyss could not comprehend, tilting its head,

as if a large question mark condensed out of black aura over its head.