Chapter 277
Briana smiled. “In that case, what''s there left for us to discuss?”
In response, Jonathan asked, “I''m curious about one thing. Who are you, exactly? Are you Orcus?
Does the god of the underworld really exist? Also, isn''t Orcus a figure from western mythology? I''m
pretty sure he isn''t well known on our side of the world.”
“You''re free to believe whatever you want.” Briana shook her head.
“It''s not like I can escape from you all, and I''m getting a little bored. So why not tell me before I die?”
A faint smile appeared on Briana''s face. “I suppose it''s unsurprising that Otto was defeated by you,
considering howposed you still are in this situation.”
To that, Jonathan asked, “Speaking of Otto, I''m even more intrigued now. You lot imed you came
from Eara. But why do people from Eara need Otto to swindle money from mortals?”
Briana exined, “Do you think we prefer the fake money that''s used as an offering to the dead over
real money? It''s not like we can use those fake money as legal tender just because you burned them.”
Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
With a wave of his hand, Jonathan replied, “I didn''t think so. I''m aware the world venerates many
mysterious things we don''t know exist, but I doubt the underworld or Six Paths of Reincarnation are
real. The cycle of life and death is a part of the Heavenly Law. Any animal or nt won''t question their
death, yet humans believe they won''t die and cane back to life through the Six Paths of
Reincarnation. Why is that? Do they think that humans perform the most altruistic deeds?”
“Humans are the smartest species in the world that''s also capable of evil. The pollution of the,
the destruction of life, and the annihtion of the ecologies were all done by human hands, are they
not?”
“A single intelligent human may be able to do good things, but thousands or even tens of thousands of
smart people would naturally cause unimaginable harm. It''s predictable. I also kill people, and I also eat
chickens. What about you? Do you dare im that you''re a good person?”
Briana stared at Jonathan in shock. He may be young, but he''s very wise and has a sharp tongue!
Then, she uttered, “Don''t you think it''s a little childish to talk about morality?”
“Let''s not talk about it, then. Who are you?”
“I''m afraid I can''t tell you that,” came Briana''s response.
“Actually, we can make an exchange. While I''ve killed Otto and ruined your n, I''m far more capable
than Otto in terms of making money. You should be able to tell that I have this ability.”
“Yes, you are indeed more capable than Otto. Sadly, I know what kind of person you are, and you''ll
never be of use to me. If I let you go, you''ll report what happened to Richard.”
“You''re afraid of Master Richard?” Instead of waiting for Briana to answer, Jonathan smiled and
continued, “I suppose that makes sense. If you had such a hard time dealing with me, then there''s no
way you can defeat Master Richard. Is this all Eara is capable of?”
Rage shed past Briana''s eyes. “What do you know? The way we do things is naturally different from
the overworld.”
“So you''re saying the underworld exists? Where is it?”
“You don''t need to try to bait me to talk. If there''s an overworld, then there''s an underworld; if there''s a
man, then there''s a woman. It''s just the natural state of the Heavenly Law.”
“Then why do you lot want Otto to swindle money? Your organization should have plenty of envoys and
has umted a huge fortune. Am I right?” Jonathan confronted, “What are you all nning to do?”
In response, Briana red coldly at him. “You ask too many questions. The more you know, the quicker
you''ll die.” She paused before adding, “I think you should just continue to enjoy your time loop.”
A glint flittered across Jonathan''s eyes as he smirked. “What if I kill you?”
“You''ll only kill Briana and not me.”
Jonathan''s heart sunk because he knew it was true.
Just then, Tate and Lyle brought the wet, injured Dante inside.
When the first two saw Jonathan, they were slightly surprised and asked, “Ms. Yarbrough, this man is
—”
Briana responded frigidly, “I don''t know him!”
A look of surprise shed past Tate and Lyle''s eyes, but they kept quiet. They thought Jonathan and
Briana were lovers. When their assumption was proven wrong, they felt awkward.
Following that, Tate and Lyle helped bandaged Dante while Jonathan watched coldly from the side.
Concurrently, the weather was starting to change.
The storm had arrived again.
Jonathan stepped toward the deck and jumped into the ocean without care.
If this is a dream, I don''t know what I need to do to wake up. However, there''s no way I''ll walk down the
same path again.
As he drowned in the ocean, he stopped resisting.
An unbearable sensation arose in his chest. Suffocation feels awful! As he sucked in plenty of
seawater, he gradually lost consciousness.
A whileter, Jonathan woke up and saw bright sunlight.
“You''ve finally woken up, Mr. Lawson,” Dante remarked.
Upon opening his eyes, Jonathan saw Dante, Tate, and Lyle.
Sitting up, he realized he was on the Liberty''s deck.
“Why am I here?” he questioned.
A sigh of relief escaped Dante''s mouth. “Yesterday, a small storm appeared and destroyed our ship. It
was a terrible day. My ne was wrecked, and the ship was decimated afterward. We thought you
were dead, but after the storm passed, we saw you floating in the ocean. We checked your breathing
and realized you were still alive. So, we ced you on the ruined ship until we found this bigger ship
and relocated you here.”
Jonathan felt his head throbbing as a wave of helplessness washed over him. It seems like I really
can''t escape this time loop at all!
The first thing he did after he got up was to find the gun in the restroom.
However, there was no gun there because his clone had already taken it.
What was about to happen was that his clone would kill Tate and the others before dying by drowning
in the sea.
It''s still the same time loop!
Jonathan spaced out for a moment in the restroom before running toward the guardrail on the other
side of the deck.
Then, he stared at the vast, deep ocean.
The sea shimmered as sunlightnded on its surface.
The view from the ship was fantastic, but Jonathan wasn''t in the mood to enjoy its beauty.
He no longer wanted to end his life by jumping into the ocean anymore because he didn''t want to go
through the horrendous experience of suffocation again.
In just a single day, he had died twice already.
It wasn''t a true death, of course, but it felt worse than death.
What do you want me to do?
Jonathan couldn''t help but yell in his mind.
Of course, no one was going to reply to him.
It was then he heard a shriek.
Jonathan didn''t need to look to know that Tate, Lyle, and Dante were being attacked by his clone.
Without dy, Jonathan rushed toward the back of the deck and saw the mountain of bodies from
before.
His clone threw Tate''s and Lyle''s corpses to the ground before smiling at Jonathan and jumping into the
ocean to die.
Everything happened exactly as Jonathan remembered.
Therefore, he knew the same group of people was about to board the ship and repeat the same set of
events.
Knowing what would happen again, he didn''t want to interact with them a second time and speedily
searched for the lifeboat. Then, Jonathan boarded the lifeboat and sailed out to the sea.
At least I don''t need to think about those messy things for now. I could certainly use some peace and
quiet. Hey on the vessel as the boat drifted into the ocean.
Lifting his head, he saw a blue sky and white clouds. The weather was sunny.
Then, Jonathan thought about the story of a man who wondered if he was inside a dream of a butterfly.
He couldn''t help but rte to the absurdity of the story as he pondered his surreal, dream-like reality.
Where am I? What am I experiencing? Am I already dead? Am I just a ghost drifting in the sea? I hope
someone can answer me, but I doubt that wish of mine wille true.
When Jonathan''s train of thought ended, he closed his eyes and slept instead of thinking.
Not long after, he really did fall asleep.
He dreamed of himself arriving on the shores of Horington before stepping ontond and riding inside a
taxi to find Yasmin and Jessica. The dream also included him meeting Jennifer again.
It showed him that he had escaped the horrible time loop, and it made him feel very happy.
Sadly, Jonathan still woke up after a certain amount of time had passed.
The moment he awoke, he felt as though he was encased in ice because he was still on the lifeboat
and stuck in the time loop.
His current location made him feel as though he was cut off from the rest of the world and that no one
woulde to his rescue.
Sitting up again, he saw the Liberty. The vessel was sailing in his direction like a ghost ship.
Jonathan hadn''t drunk any water for a long time. Thus, his lips were cracking. With a resigned smile,
hey down and ignored the Liberty.
Time was still, yet he was suffering in that stillness because his thoughts were able to roam free.
Even if he continued to struggle, Orcus wasn''t going to suffer.
In their eyes, his attempt was meaningless.
The only one in pain was him.
Taking in a deep breath, Jonathan decided he wanted to converse with Orcus again.
Thus, he ultimately sneaked back into the Liberty.
The only way he could reset the loop was by killing Tate, Lyle, Dante, and himself.
Otherwise, he would only be rescued if he tried offing himself by drowning in the sea.
Of course, one could suggest that he try other methods to kill himself instead of jumping into the sea.
For example, chopping his own head off.
However, no one would have the bravery to do that.
Scenes like that would only ur in movies or television shows.
Upon boarding Liberty, Jonathan started hunting down his targets.
The first to die was Lyle.
After he found the gun, he shot Tate and Dante before dragging their corpses to the deck.
It was then he saw his clone sprinting toward him.
History was repeating itself.