Chapter 1116. Charles

"Maybe we were wrong, and that thing didn't join us but turned into this little girl?"

Anna and the others looked at the little girl in front of them with some doubt.

Anna wounded the little girl's arm, and red blood flowed out of the wound.

"Are you sure the color of their blood is different?" Charles said, sounding doubtful.

Anna glared at Charles and replied, "You made so many holes in me back then. Do you not remember the color of the liquid that flowed out of me at the time?"

Charles tried hard to recall the scene from that year, but he couldn't remember the tiny details. After all, it had been such a long time.

"High Priestess, we should just kill her first, just in case," a Fhtagnist said, taking out his dagger.

Charles raised his steel arm and stopped the Fhtagnist. "There's no need for that. Since her blood is red, she's not a Dioite."

The Fhtagnist holding the dagger didn't reply but instead looked at Anna, awaiting her orders.

Anna glanced at Charles and the little girl. She sounded surprised as she asked, "Why do you sound anxious for her? That's funny. You're good at protecting the daughters of other people, but you couldn't even protect your daughter."

Charles looked at her with furrowed brows. "She's a person—a living person. And don't talk about taking a life so lightly."

"Spare me the hypocrisy, will you? Do you not have any idea how many people have died at your hands so far? And you're actually pretending to be a good person despite that?" Anna said, expressing great disdain for Charles' behavior.

Charles couldn't be bothered to argue with Anna. After comforting the little girl in a low voice, he looked up at his wife and said, "Seriously, do you really want to give up your human body and become a Dioite again?"

"What do you think? I've been working so hard for this, and you still think that I'm not sure?" Anna answered without any hesitation.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Charles walked up to her and placed his hands on her soft shoulders before gazing at her with a complicated expression.

"If you have something to say, say it! Why are you being so mysterious? We're still in this damned place; we don't have the luxury of time for some chitchat. Perhaps that Dioite is hiding somewhere, enjoying this show."

Anna was very dissatisfied with Charles' actions and behavior.

Charles fell into deep contemplation. After a long while, he sternly said, "Anna, you're human now—a living, breathing human. You've finally become a human being, and I don't want you to become a monster again."

"Did you really think I became human when you shoved me into a human body?" Anna asked, smiling faintly at Charles. "When are you going to change that bad habit of yours? You always take the liberty of deciding for someone else."

"And what monster are you talking about? You're not much better than me."

Charles took a deep breath and suppressed the annoyance within. "Anna, since you've finally become human, stay human and don't go back down here. I'll take care of Sparkle for us."

"You want me to rely on you?" Anna's face showed a hint of contempt. "If you're that reliable, then send Sparkle over here. Otherwise, don't even bother spouting nonsense!

"And you'd better show me some respect! Are you even qualified to give me advice?" Anna shoved Charles away. At the same time, a cold gleam shot out from between her fingers and grazed the back of Charles' hand.

A wound appeared on Charles' hand, but instead of a blood-red liquid, some kind of translucent purple juice had flowed out of the wound.

Everyone instantly saw through Charles' identity. He was a fake; he was none other than that monster.

Realizing that his cover was blown, Charles' scarred head cracked open. The next moment, massive tentacles burst out of him as he ran frantically into the distance.

However, the Fhtagnists instantly surrounded him. Unfortunately, a Dioite with their cover blown wouldn't be able to escape at all.

Everyone pounced on him.

Soon, the Dioite was nailed to wooden stakes and lay spread-eagled on the ground.

"As I said, I'm considered your ancestor when it comes to altering memories. Don't you think you're underestimating me by altering just my memories?"

The giant tentacled monster's flesh writhed and transformed into a humanoid figure. The figure was none other than Charles. In the face of its impending death, the Dioite created a temporary personality that showed no fear before Anna.

Its emotions didn't really fluctuate as it said, "Anna, it's me. I'm Charles."

"Stop pretending. You're just a fake."

"I'm a fake, but you're a fake as well. Am I wrong?"

The Dioite's words seemed to have touched Anna's reverse scale. She snatched a gun from someone's hand and started shooting at Charles. After just a few bullets, Charles was reduced to rotten pieces of torn flesh.

"How dare a newborn like you compare yourself to me. I've been living for many years, and I can confidently say that Anna is real!"

The rotten pieces of torn flesh wriggled and converged on one point to transform into a human fleshly body. Charles looked at Anna with a complex face and remarked, "You're pretending that you don't care, but I disagree.

"You still care about your identity. I admit that you've become the real Anna, but if you return to this body, you'll find yourself under the influence of a Dioite's fleshly body. By then, will you still be the real Anna?"

Surprisingly, Anna quietly lowered the gun in her hand without refuting anything.

"If you return to this body, then you will be the same as me—a mere amalgamation of a human being's dying thoughts. I really don't want you to become like this."

Upon saying that, Charles' face revealed a tinge of realization as he added, "You know what? When I realized that I was just a copy of Charles from your memories as a Dioite, I got this one and only urge to change your mind."

Charles had never thought about hurting others. Everything that he had done so far was all for the sake of making Anna change her mind.

"Anna, you should cherish your current life. Don't go back there. I'm begging you. If you return to the Subterranean Sea, everything will repeat itself, and you will die!

"Stay up here and don't go back! I can shoulder the despair all by myself!!"

Bang!

The barely formed human head was torn to shreds by a bullet.

Anna's eyes glimmered with extreme hatred as she exclaimed. "Do you really think that you can make me let you off by doing all that? Dream on! This trick will never work on me!"

With that, Anna walked over with a small knife in her hand. She immediately peeled away the Dioite's sticky skin, revealing what was inside its skull. Then, she reached in and grabbed the cerebellum containing the Dioite's temporary personality.

The Dioite used all its strength to manifest Charles's torn upper body.

"Anna, I can feel it. You're slowly becoming a human being. Don't throw that away, okay?"

"I don't need you to tell me what to do, you impostor!"

Anna pinched the cerebellum, and the newborn Charles collapsed into a pile of rotten flesh, disappearing not even ten minutes after he was born.