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Chapter 493 - The Gradually Disappearing Arm

Ellen acted with remarkable speed. As soon as her conversation with Isaac ended, she immediately dispatched intelligence agents to investigate the current situation of the Spirit of Origin, preparing for the next phase of the plan.

Soon enough, intelligence came in via phone that a human very close to the Spirit of Origin had appeared at her side. The news reached both Ellen and Isaac.

Upon hearing this, Ellen instinctively wanted to abandon the plan she and Isaac had formulated and instead carry out an alternate backup plan.

Since someone had already made contact with the Spirit of Origin, trying to insert themselves into the situation now would likely be ineffective. It would be better to wait until the time was ripe and then seize control of the human who had appeared beside the Spirit of Origin.

However, as soon as Ellen voiced her opinion, Isaac vetoed it. He had no intention of giving up such a golden opportunity to win over the Spirit of Origin.

In his view, the Spirit of Origin had only just descended into the current world. Even if she had met someone, it was impossible for her to have formed a deep bond with them in such a short time.

More importantly, the following intelligence revealed that the person who had appeared beside the Spirit of Origin was a teenage girl, not a male.

Isaac had immense confidence in himself. He refused to believe that he could lose the Spirit of Origin's favor to an ordinary girl.

Faced with Isaac's insistence, Ellen had no choice but to agree to proceed with their original plan.

Soon after, waves of combat personnel were dispatched by Ellen.

However, these operatives weren't sent out to engage in combat. Their actual purpose was to protect Isaac during his interaction with the Spirit of Origin, and to ensure his safe escape if anything unexpected happened.

All of these operatives were disguised as ordinary pedestrians and positioned themselves around Eriri and Mio. Although they were stationed some distance away, their presence could not escape Eriri's perception.

Still, Eriri couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind. She had long anticipated this kind of situation and already knew who they were.

In Eriri's eyes, if DEM dared to provoke her, then they had no right to exist—just as she had previously warned Ellen in the chat group.

Unfortunately, Ellen had no idea of Eriri's identity. Otherwise, she would have already taken Isaac and fled the city, giving up entirely on the Spirit of Origin.

But reality can be cruel. Inadequate intelligence can be deadly in certain situations.

...

By 4 p.m., nearly an hour had passed since Eriri brought Mio out from the neighboring realm.

During this time, Mio had been visibly excited, and Eriri hadn't felt bored at all, being constantly pulled along by Mio's questions.

As they finished strolling down one street and crossed the intersection into the next, a sudden figure blocked their path.

"Hello, my two lovely ladies. Could you tell me how to get to the museum?"

"Oh, pardon me. I just arrived in this city yesterday, so I'm still unfamiliar with the area."

Standing about two or three meters ahead of Eriri and Mio was Isaac, dressed in a white suit with a black trench coat draped over it.

As he spoke, a warm smile appeared on his handsome face, and he carried himself with utmost courtesy—an ideal image of gentlemanly charm.

Had they been ordinary girls, they might have at least felt some goodwill toward such a presentation, even if they didn't swoon.

But unfortunately for him, Eriri and Mio were anything but ordinary girls.

Eriri glanced at Isaac indifferently.

Of course, she recognized him instantly. Although she had expected DEM to make a move on Mio, she hadn't anticipated that Isaac would confront them directly.

Even though she could have instantly uncovered Isaac and Ellen's plan if she wanted to, she chose not to.

Because to her, it simply didn't matter. The moment Isaac appeared before her, his fate was already sealed.

Unlike Ellen—who, though a villain in the original story, wasn't someone Eriri particularly disliked—Eriri harbored a strong aversion toward Isaac.

So if he dared to approach her directly, she had no qualms about casually crushing the bug that annoyed her.

Mio's reaction, however, differed slightly. Though she didn't develop any goodwill toward Isaac for his gentlemanly demeanor, she also didn't feel any animosity—merely treating him as a stranger asking for directions.

While Mio had been created due to Isaac, Ellen, and Elliot, she hadn't paid particular attention to their appearances when she was born.

Thus, she didn't recognize Isaac.

Isaac himself wasn't sure if Mio would recognize him, but even if she did, he wouldn't mind. In fact, he saw it as an opportunity to get closer to her. After all, he was one of the trio responsible for her creation.

But when he saw the look in Mio's eyes, Isaac knew that plan had already failed—a slight disappointment for him.

Though Isaac's outward demeanor was calm and gentle, his inner emotions were anything but. Not only had he encountered the Spirit of Origin he was obsessed with, but he had also met another girl even more stunning.

For him, this was a delightful surprise.

Winning the Spirit of Origin's favor remained his top priority—but no longer his only goal.

If possible, he also wanted to win over the girl beside the Spirit of Origin who had captured his heart even more.

With that hope in mind, Isaac looked at Eriri and Mio with a gentle smile.

"Sorry, I don't know where the museum is either," Mio replied with a light laugh.

She then clung to Eriri's arm and playfully asked, "Eriri, do you know?"

Given Mio's abilities, locating the museum would've been easy.

In the original story, her split-off angel, "Tome of Revelation," had information-gathering powers. As her complete self now, she naturally possessed similar capabilities.

But rather than checking herself, she preferred relying on Eriri a bit more.

Eriri pinched Mio's nose affectionately and grinned. "Of course I do. How about we head to the museum after this?"

"Sure! I've heard about museums, but I'm really curious to see one for myself!"

"Alright, it's decided. After we finish the museum, we'll head home."

Watching Eriri and Mio's exchange, Isaac—who had only intended to use the museum question as an icebreaker—immediately saw an opening.

Suppressing his excitement, he clapped and said to the two, "Oh, that's wonderful! Since you're also planning to visit the museum, how about we go together?"

Isaac had absolute confidence in himself. He believed this proposal was almost guaranteed to succeed.

He was already considering ways to win their favor next.

But Eriri and Mio's response left him speechless.

"No need."

Mio rejected his offer without hesitation, and her impression of Isaac shifted from neutral to unpleasant.

Eriri's following words perfectly reflected Mio's current feelings.

"You really lack awareness. Can't you see we're on a date, just the two of us?" Eriri said coldly.

Hearing this, Isaac opened his mouth but was at a loss for words.

Just as he was about to change tactics, Eriri's next words made him furrow his brow.

"Rather than thinking about those unrealistic things, wouldn't it be more practical to guess whether you'll make it back alive today?" Eriri said with a mocking smile toward Isaac. "Don't you agree, one of the founders of DEM Industries—Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott…"

Exposed!

That was Isaac's only thought upon hearing Eriri's words.

He couldn't understand how his identity had been exposed. The Spirit of Origin herself hadn't recognized him, yet this girl—whom they had dismissed as an ordinary person—had unerringly revealed who he was.

But there was no time to ponder this. He knew he was in grave danger.

After all, he was facing a powerful Spirit of Origin born from the accumulated spirit energy of the entire planet—and an unknown "ordinary" girl.

So the moment Eriri's words fell, Isaac turned and tried to flee without a second thought of engaging in battle.

Eriri didn't stop him. She simply stood there quietly, watching. Mio, realizing something was wrong with Isaac, also fixed her gaze on him with growing hostility.

But since Eriri made no move, she too refrained from acting, merely standing beside her as they watched Isaac attempt to escape.

However, just a few meters into his retreat, Isaac noticed the fingertips of his right hand beginning to dissipate into particles.

The rate of disintegration was slow. At this pace, it would take over an hour for the entire arm to vanish.

At this point, Isaac hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem. There was no fear on his face—only curiosity at this unknown phenomenon.

This situation was entirely orchestrated by Eriri. Though the dissolution was slow, it was irreversible. In less than half a day, Isaac would be completely gone.

Eriri's intention was to let him experience the feeling of life gradually slipping away—whether that sensation would also bring him some twisted sense of pleasure.

Since Eriri didn't intervene, Isaac quickly fled from their line of sight.

Seeing him escape, the nearby DEM operatives made no move either. One by one, they quietly withdrew.

With no one left to interfere, Eriri and Mio held hands and cheerfully set off for the museum, as if nothing had happened.

...

By the time Isaac returned to the DEM branch, more than ten minutes had passed. By then, his right palm had completely vanished, and the particle dissolution had reached his wrist.

Upon learning of his return, Ellen rushed to his location.

Seeing Isaac sitting silently in his seat with his back to her, Ellen hurriedly asked, "Isaac, did the plan fail?"

"Yes, it failed. Our plan had a flaw. The girl accompanying 'Deus' recognized me."

"Sigh, I knew it wouldn't go smoothly." Ellen couldn't help but sigh.

"But it's fine—as long as you're okay. There will be other opportunities."

"I'm not exactly 'okay'," Isaac replied with a wry smile, then turned his chair around to face her.

The moment he did, Ellen saw the state of his right arm, and her expression changed dramatically.

She quickly stepped forward and examined his arm closely.

"Isaac, what happened to your arm? Was it injured by 'Deus' after the plan was exposed?" Ellen asked, her tone full of worry.

"I'm not sure. It could've been 'Deus', or it could've been the girl beside her."

"Then what do we do now? Your right hand is still disappearing—this can't continue."

"The only option is to analyze the principle behind this dissolution and then try to counteract it. If we can't figure it out, then we'll have to amputate the arm to stop the spread," Isaac said calmly, as if it weren't his own arm being sacrificed.

"Then there's no time to waste. Let's start right away."

Compared to Isaac's composure, Ellen was far more anxious. Without another word, she dragged him off to begin a series of tests.

More than half an hour passed. They conducted all kinds of technological and magical diagnostics, but none revealed the nature of the dissolution.

Meanwhile, most of Isaac's right arm had vanished—the process had already passed his elbow.

At this point, they had only one option left. If they waited any longer and the effect reached his torso, it would be too late.

Without hesitation, Ellen brought Isaac into the branch's surgical room and had the medical staff amputate his entire right arm.

However, after the operation, both Ellen and Isaac fell silent.

Although the amputation had successfully halted the mysterious force from spreading to Isaac's torso, his left fingertips had begun to dissolve into particles…

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