"It's too despicable, brother."

Yaga shook her head in disappointment. "You've always been like this, always."

She took out her Magic Drug Pot and picked up Koshchey's spoon, pouring out a drop and tipping it into his mouth. But this time, the usual dose could no longer bring about its miraculous effects, and Koshchey continued to suffer.

She froze for a moment, somewhat panicked, and kept pouring the Magic Potion into Koshchey's throat until, after half the pot, Koshchey barely started to breathe again.

However, no sooner had his complexion relaxed for an instant than it turned ashen once more.

As if enduring some agony, numerous cyan-purple veins emerged beneath his slack skin, crawling over his body like vines. He stared wide-eyed in astonishment, clutching his chest, gasping violently.

"I feel... not so…"

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of pitch-black blood, struggling to say, "Not so good..."

CRACK!

A sound of something breaking seemed to come from within his husk. He stiffened for a moment, then, as if realizing something, his expression abruptly turned from astonishment to shock, and finally, into an indefinable grimace. He looked at the stunned Baba Yaga.

"...What did you make me drink!"

"My Magic Potion... No, my Magic Potion shouldn't..."

Yaga looked down at the bottle in her hand, her face pale, but then she couldn't help screaming.

Koshchey had already risen from the wheelchair, his withered arm suddenly lashing out, clutching her throat, angrily lifting her off the deck.

"Whore! What have you! Made me! Drink!"

"I swear! I didn't know!" Yaga cried in terror, screaming, "I don't know anything! Really!"

In that instant, Koshchey's face completed its transformation into that of a beast. It was so ferocious.

「. . .」

In the engine room of the lower deck, hidden in a dark corner, Yin Yan seemed to hear the distant sounds of chaos. He couldn't help but sneer, looking down at his jacket pocket.

The bottle that could once extend the life of the living and resurrect the dead now lay hidden in his pocket, contained within another inconspicuous bottle. The Magic Potion that once filled Baba Yaga's silver pot had been replaced by him with the terrifying weapon brought on board by Red Hat – the Waters of the Styx. This was why everyone else was at the Third Stage while he was the only one at the Second Stage, and it was also the key to his secret plan to kill Koshchey. No, if used properly, coupled with Red Hat's invisibility Ability, it could even kill anyone on board! Since boarding, he had been biding his time, seeking any opportunity to kill Koshchey. Yet, he discovered that beneath the facade of that old, seemingly senile man was a wariness towards everything, leaving no opportunity whatsoever to strike. Aside from Baba Yaga, who maintained his life, Koshchey trusted no one on this ship. And beneath the exterior of a man seemingly at the end of his life lurked a fear-inspiring dark nature. Koshchey cruelly exploited the Souls locked within his body, drawing Power from them all to extend his life, as if imprisoning millions of Souls. If this Power were to be unleashed, who knew what kind of disaster it would cause. But now, that no longer had anything to do with him. Once the Waters of the Styx were ingested, Koshchey was doomed to die. It wasn't an incurable poison, but a miraculous creation drawn from the depths of the Sea of Silver. If Apocalypse is the essence of life dissipating at death, then the Waters of the Styx are the remnants left by the decay and disintegration of a Soul. It represents the decline and destruction of the Soul itself; anyone who drinks a drop will age their Soul by one year. And the dose he poured into Baba Yaga's pot was enough to instantly cause a Fourth Stage Sublimator to wither away and die, let alone Koshchey, who was already on borrowed time. The immortal Demon King will meet his end today. But the one to overcome him would be no hero, but his own fated end. And he had excellently completed his task; all he needed now was to hide away, waiting for everyone on this ship to be reduced to ash in Koshchey's death throes. In the end, he would reach the new world and emerge as the sole survivor.

He suppressed an excited smile and looked up. Then, he saw the towering figure that had appeared before him, though he didn't know when.

No, rather than towering, it was more accurate to say massive, like a giant.

Yin Yan stood rooted to the spot.

"Sorry, I forgot to ask before entering."

From beneath the hood, a raspy and mocking voice rang out, "May I come in?"

Yin Yan looked up at him blankly, trying to retreat, but suddenly, from beneath the figure's cloak, a tentacle-like limb shot out, winding around his foot.

"Considering we were once teammates, I don't want to be too rough. After all, we're all compelled by circumstances," the figure said, slowly twisting his neck. He removed his hood, revealing a familiar, heavily scarred face, and smiled at Yin Yan. "Can you give me the Magic Potion you're carrying?"

In that instant, Yin Yan looked as though he had seen a ghost, his features constricting.

"How... is it you..."

Then, darkness closed in.

「. . .」

The serene and peaceful banquet came to an abrupt end amid hoarse screams.

The music stopped. Everyone froze, turning to stare at the figure on the balcony undergoing a violent transformation.

It was as if it had suddenly inflated.

From within the old man's withered husk, bulging lumps of flesh burst forth, one after another. They roamed under his lax skin like living creatures, rapidly changing Koshchey's shell. His form shifted, at times appearing human, at times beastly. Eventually, countless tumors and deformities uncontrollably emerged from his hunched body.

In a blink, he became a monstrosity resembling a pile of sludge, barely retaining his original outline, twitching and struggling incessantly.

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