Maria was so shocked that she couldn't close her mouth.

"You... are you saying it's a nuclear-grade bomb?"

"But how is that possible? It's too incredible..."

"You said it's hidden on Merka... Are you talking about externally or internally? How can such a powerful bomb be small? Wouldn't Oedipus, the Duke of Oedipus, notice it?"

Maria squinted her dark green eyes and looked at Paris with a meaningful gaze, as if she was a little anxious.

"I placed the bomb in the left leg joint of Merka... It is indeed astonishing for such a small-sized super bomb. But it is precisely because of its astonishing power that it can become our trump card."

"We and the McNewdeau family have achieved many results; the combination of technology and magic has tremendous power, and this is just one of the results."

"My plan is to wait until Merka arrives in Erisburg, detonate the bomb, and blame Oedipus for Merka's death."

"The hatred against Oedipus caused by Merka's death will make Turing stand on our side."

Maria stroked her fair chin, and her metallic arm became crystal clear in the morning light.

"Although this level of bomb may not necessarily kill Oedipus."

"But at least it will cause her a lot of trouble."

——————————————————————————

"I want..."

"To stab you with a javelin in your spine."

"No, no, Turing."

"Don't come closer! You monster."

"Mom, you..."

"Oedipus, sister, you will survive. I will save you..."

"I promise."

"Just a little bit more... just a little bit more..."

"No, I can't do it."

"Take my place to witness the truth, Turing."

"In this world, some people cannot bear even a tiny bit of happiness."

——————————————————————————

The fragrance of wormwood lingered around Turing's nose. Turing's brain felt as if it had just been lifted out of cold poisonous water, heavy, tingling, and achy.

A thick palm slapped Turing's narrow back, forcefully pushing Turing down from the clouds. The violent sense of weightlessness and the sudden pain of waking up from a deep dream exploded inside Turing's body like a bomb, almost causing Turing to stumble and fall to the ground.

"Go in, Altria." Ifrit said coldly from behind Turing.

Turing snapped out of it, but the persistent scent of wormwood seemed to spread like a chilling peppermint nightmare deep in her mind.

In front of Turing was a luxurious and noble sandalwood gate.

【Where... is this?】

【Right, right, this is Gehenna. One of the territories of the McNewdeau family.】

【This is not the main McNewdeau family, but a suburban branch of the McNewdeau. I am currently at the Tartarus Fortress, the residence of the eccentric head of the McNewdeau family.】

"The young lady and the lord are waiting for you inside."

[How did I get to this place... I don't remember anything about the road I walked on.]

Turing covered her head with one hand and tightly grasped the doorknob with the other in annoyance.

The soreness on her forehead made the veins on the back of her hand slightly prominent.

Turing felt like she could faintly hear the sound of arguing coming from inside the room.

[I don't care anymore... Let's go in and think about other things later.]

"Ouch, it hurts..."

A sharp pain spread from Turing's wrist, which was holding the doorknob. Turing, who had been protected by magic for a long time, hadn't experienced pain in a while.

Options: Don't open the door*

Know the truth*

Kill everything*

Turing looked down at her wrist and found three wounds with bloodstains, as if three options were carved into Turing's wrist without her knowing when.

"What... what does this mean?"

"When did I get these wounds? Is someone attacking me? Or... did I hurt myself somehow?"

Turing retracted her hand from the door and turned around, only to find that Ifrit was nowhere to be seen.

"When did she disappear...?"

A dream-like feeling of unreality slowly rose from Turing's spine, and drops of cold sweat gathered on Turing's back, wetting her shirt.

"Am I trapped in someone's memory again, like in the archives of Lachesis? Or am I dreaming?"

"No... it can't be that, this feels too real."

"Anyway... I can only open the door first."

Turing pushed open the wooden door with a heavy and fearful heart.

"Sob..." In the instant the door was pushed open, a strong choking sensation, not from the chest but deep in the spine, came rushing up.

Every cell emitted a signal of suffocation, but Turing was powerless to do anything, as if her consciousness was being gradually consumed like flowing sand in a broken hourglass.

Turing knelt on the ground, hands supporting her body, breathing heavily.

"What...?"

After recovering a bit, Turing regained some consciousness. She opened her eyes and looked at her arms supporting the ground.

"Where is the injury I just suffered?"

Turing suddenly noticed that the wounds on her hand with writing on it had disappeared, and the place she was supporting was not the ground, but a beautifully crafted small round wooden table.

A table adorned with many decorations of unknown use, emitting a fragrant scent.

"But... grandmother, this is really unfair to Turing! She clearly knows nothing. Even until now, she hasn't had a chance to choose her own path..." Raphael said with a heavy expression.

Turing cleared her slightly clearer mind, lifted her spirits, glanced at Raphael who was speaking behind her, and then looked at where Raphael was looking.

There sat a silent woman smoking a cigarette.

Not one to smile or speak.

Just sitting there, you could feel a power within her that was completely opposite to Oedipus — a power that was trustworthy, that scorned intrigues and plots, a power as silent as true gold.

People like this usually carry a weight of a thousand pounds when they speak.

The roughness of time seemed to have cut through her face, making her look like she was in her twenties or thirties despite being in her sixties or seventies.

She is the true master of this family now, Gabrielle.

"Rafael," Gabrielle spoke calmly.

"You make it sound like we have a choice."

"With so much suffering and death, which one is a choice of our own?"

"Servants controlling the hearts of masters..." Gabrielle took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Step aside, I'll talk to you later."

Turing shook his head a couple of times, his slightly uncoordinated body straightening up.

Watching Gabrielle rise from her elaborately crafted rocking chair, Turing's extremely uneasy heart sank further into his chest.

"While violence may not solve all the problems in this world perfectly, it can put an end to them the quickest."

"Altria, isn't this a phrase your family holds in the highest regard?"

"Let me explain the truth of the matter to you in the way you excel at."

"Give it a try, Nee-chan."

A pillar of fire, more vast than the sky itself, appeared out of thin air. It gradually solidified into a long spear in Gabrielle's hand.