The Masquerade Ball's Final Funeral!

The dance of freedom is simple.

One only needs to sway with the heart's desire; a few simple steps and movements are all it takes.

The dance of freedom is difficult.

Even after sailing for decades and becoming a bloodthirsty monster, one might still be unable to take that first step.

William's face was ashen, and despair flooded his eyes.

The once-omnipotent power flowed out of his body, all of it returning to the Mary Cruise Ship.

His complexion, once deathly pale, gradually returned to normal, but it lost its luster. His skin became coarse and wrinkled.

His black hair turned white in an instant, then fell out along with his teeth and nails.

For William, time had been frozen for decades. But as his strength drained away, it began to move once more.

In the blink of an eye, he became an old man on the verge of decay.

Yet his gaze remained fixed on Mary, who danced on the floor. His eyes never moved, just as they always had.

The brand-new Mary, formerly Number Five, danced without turning her head.

"William, do you know why the previous rituals failed?"

Hearing her speak, a flicker of hope rose in William's eyes. He gave a bitter smile.

"My strength was too weak. Saving a dying life and retrieving a dissipating soul are two entirely different concepts."

If Mary had only been gravely injured or had fallen into a vegetative state, he would have awakened her long ago.

Unfortunately, she had died.

Death was the forbidden line. Once crossed, reversing it was harder than ascending to the heavens.

Upon hearing his answer, Mary laughed mockingly.

"You're still such a hypocrite. Did you want to awaken the former Mary's consciousness because you truly loved her?"

"No. You only love yourself."

"You wanted to awaken her just to prove you weren't wrong, to hear her admit it with her own lips. The one you've always wanted to convince was yourself, not Mary."

At this, Wu Wang, who was dancing with her, stopped.

His memory flashed back to the time before he went to the Hongmen Club.

When Wu Wang had entered the 【Back Kitchen】 again, the number of Mary's awakened consciousnesses had increased. His and Number Five's performance the day before had an effect; the other attendants had begun to think about their own existence.

It was then that Wu Wang learned the truth of the cruise ship.

He turned and smiled at William.

"Buddy, do you know what the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire used when creating this cruise ship? What made it so spiritual that you could gain power and maintain your youth on it?"

William silently shook his head, indicating he did not know.

But Wu Wang's taunt echoed clearly in his ears.

"No, you know. You just don't dare to admit it."

"The very foundation of the Mary Cruise Ship was Mary herself!"

"Her flesh and blood were merged into the ship, her soul shackled to this place!"

"And you used the power that shackled her to try and awaken her consciousness?"

"No wonder Mary calls you a self-deceiving, hypocritical liar."

All of this, of course, was what Mary had personally told Wu Wang in the 【Back Kitchen】.

That Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire was never some benevolent god. He was merely a devil who enjoyed playing with people's hearts and watching desire fester.

With that, the truth was out.

From the very beginning, William's relationship with Mary had been filled with his petty ambitions of climbing the social ladder. In the process, he had indeed developed a bit of genuine affection for her.

Unfortunately, that insignificant affection was no match for his desire for power and status.

He could not accept having his fame and position destroyed by a woman who was the subject of promiscuous rumors. His abandonment of her back then had been tainted with ulterior motives.

William was not nearly as innocent or exploited as he had claimed.

Perhaps the only genuine thing in the entire story was that he truly had not wanted to kill Mary.

That accidental slip-up was the only real part, and was that not a form of hypocritical irony in itself?

To create the perfect image of himself in his own mind, William had tried everything to make Mary wake up and tell him he was not at fault.

His heart had long ago succumbed to madness.

Deceiving Mary, deceiving the powerful, and even deceiving himself. He had long since sunk into the Sea of Desire.

Wu Wang shook his head with a sigh.

"The 【Back Kitchen】 holds the countless soul fragments of the imprisoned Mary. She lost her own consciousness and became a marionette serving the guests. You had a chance to free her. All you had to do was destroy the Mary Cruise Ship. But you blindly transferred the ritual's power to the ship itself, time and time again."

"You continuously strengthened the ship, which in turn made it even harder for her consciousness to awaken."

"That is why you could never enter the 【Back Kitchen】."

"How could she possibly let you in?"

【Side Quest 2: Understand the Truth of the Back Kitchen】

【Completed】

Following Wu Wang's crushing explanation, William looked with a pale face at Mary on the dance floor, hoping for a denial.

But Mary only spoke softly.

"The dead cannot be resurrected. Not even the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire can do that."

"I am merely a new consciousness, born from the combination of Number Five's free will and the soul fragments on this ship. The former Mary has already been liberated."

She possessed all of Mary's memories, but she was not Mary.

The original's consciousness had completely dissipated.

For Mary, this was a form of liberation.

"Now, you should fulfill your end of the bet."

Mary's cold words made William's entire body tremble.

Right. There was still the bet.

The terms were clear. When a guest chose their previous partner at the fifth night's ball, William would lose the wager.

And he would willingly face death.

"Hahaha... hahaha..."

William's bitter laughter grew louder, finally turning into a mad, frenzied roar.

"Hahahaha! I wasn't wrong! It's you who are wrong!"

"I am not afraid of death!"

"Because I was never wrong from beginning to end!"

He walked on trembling legs, a crazed laugh on his lips, toward the railing outside the door. He looked out at the sea. Despite the cruise ship being as bright as day, the water's surface was as black as ink.

The salty sea breeze blew away the last few strands of white hair on his head.

Like a joker in a comedy laughing wildly at the audience before his final exit, William turned to look at Mary, who was a fiery flame in her red dress.

A single, crystalline teardrop slid from the corner of his eye.

Was I... really not wrong?

His whole body tipped backward.

Splash...

In the ocean he had sailed for decades, William chose his own grave.

He did not commit an ugly suicide in front of everyone, but buried himself at the bottom of the sea, letting the dark water submerge everything.

The music on the dance floor came to an end.

Mary looked at the empty seat before the piano. It was as if the young pianist from all those years ago had left immediately after his first performance, leaving the seat empty, unknown, and unable to attract anyone's attention.

As humble as an attendant at a ball.

Mary took a deep breath, wiping away the tears that had not yet fallen. She lifted the hem of her dress and gave Wu Wang an elegant, aristocratic curtsy.

"Sir, where will you be going now?"

Wu Wang said jokingly, "Me? I'm just a passing Kamen Rider. My journey is to the sea of stars!"

He smiled.

"You should go wherever you want to go."

However, Mary maintained her own smile. She nodded.

"What I want to do now is simply follow you, Sir, to witness true freedom. May your will be spread far and wide."

【You have completed the Main Quest】

【You may remain in the current Instance for a maximum of 2 hours】

【Do you wish to leave the Instance now?】

Wu Wang smiled and chose "No."

He still had two hours. That was plenty of time to loot some easily sellable jewelry and stuff it into his backpack to take back to the real world.

Fuck, this cruise ship is worth a fortune!

Oh, wait. The cruise ship is mine now.

How can this be considered stealing? It's merely a rational transfer of assets.

However, before Wu Wang could take a single step to pry the gold and jewels off the doorframes, a system prompt sounded in his ear again.

【Congratulations, you have obtained the qualification for an "Audience"】

【The "Audience Ladder" is now opening】

【Countdown: 3... 2... 1...】

【We wish you a successful Audience】

"Huh? Hey, man! My money!"

As soon as he spoke, Wu Wang vanished from the ballroom.