CHAPTER 1530: CHAPTER 316: EVERYTHING IS GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN

"So you believe, this is actually Danacus’s plan?" Denia, of course, would not find Pannis’s suggestion of coincidence surprising. From previous discussions, the deities had already linked the two together; it was now merely mutual confirmation of speculations with Pannis. It must be acknowledged that for many years, deities had not thought to combine these issues in such a way, and indeed, even if thoughtfully combined, it would be difficult to delve so deeply. Therefore, following Pannis’s reminder, when everyone related the issues to each other, they were so shocked that they asked Pannis through Denia, "Do you think that Danacus deliberately engineered the current situation?"

"That particular situation just now." Pannis corrected Denia’s slip of the tongue, squinting and smiling coldly as he said, "If you think he didn’t do it on purpose, don’t you find it too much of a coincidence? One similarity may be a coincidence, two may be luck, but to insist it’s mere coincidence when numerous similarities are found, that is simply inexcusable. That’s why I didn’t release the Hunting Arrow, because I believe we must not advance to the enemy’s rhythm—the more the enemy hopes for me to do something, the more I should not comply."

"So, are you saying that Danacus hoped you would release the Hunting Arrow?" Although she had already guessed the answer, Denia needed a definite response for such a significant matter.

"Obviously, that’s what I think," Pannis did not disappoint Denia, providing a confident answer: "I believe that everything is part of Danacus’s plan, where he not only schemed against Nellie, against me, against his followers, against everyone in the Yarran World, but even the deities were within his schemes. When he awoke over a hundred years ago, he decided not to waste tens of thousands of years waiting for the rules of death to reshape his divine body but to possess one like Morbis did, and then pursue his long-term goals. For this, Danacus devised a complete plan, from opening Death’s Gate to release the bloodthirsty Undead, compelling the mortal champions to venture into the Realm of the Dead, thus smoothly taking a body as his starting point. Every step, which seems coincidental, is within his plan. Clearly, during the Return of the Dead battle, through the help of external believers, he thoroughly understood Nellie and me, seeing through our strengths and weaknesses to set specific traps for us."

"You’re saying everything was planned by him?" As one who had participated in that decisive battle, Flare found Pannis’s words unbelievable, incredulously saying, "From the beginning, his chosen target was Nellie, not you?"

"I guess so, but of course, we can’t verify that," Pannis nodded, adding, "His chosen host was Nellie originally, but fearing I might interfere, he constantly berated me with words and actions, creating pressure in order to exploit my weakness and cause chaos. Thus, he succeeded and successfully took over Nellie’s body, but that was just the first step, with many more actions to follow."

"For instance, he needed you alive," Flare seemed to have accepted Pannis’s reasoning and continued his line of thought, "Only with you alive could events progress smoothly to their current state. If someone else had been in your place, Nellie might not have willingly let that person kill her, and that person might not have perceived Nellie’s intent, introducing too many variables. So, you had to be kept alive."

"Yes, hence the Death Curse," Pannis said with a cold laugh, "Nellie told me that, at that moment, all she could think of was to save me at all costs, and then she suddenly knew how to reverse the Death Curse, regaining brief control of her body. Initially, I thought this was due to her overwhelming will to save me, momentarily superseding Danacus’s will, accidentally activating the divinity that had entered her body, allowing her not only to regain control but also to learn from Danacus’s memories how to reverse the curse. But on further reflection, perhaps this is the illusion Danacus wanted us to have, while in reality, he intentionally relinquished control of the body, simultaneously instilling the method to reverse the curse in Nellie’s mind."

"But that seems too dangerous for him," Flare said worriedly, frowning, "It could easily go wrong."

"Indeed dangerous, but such a move effectively diverts our attention, even making Nellie herself and everyone else believe it was her own choice, and even take joy in that belief. Everyone would think that achieving such a result relied on our own efforts, that we were the ultimate victors, without considering that he is like a spider, sitting at the heart of the web, watching everyone struggle," Pannis sighed, then added, "But as I said before, the more complex the plan, the more liable it is to problems, and thus he encountered a big issue."

"Yes, Nellie dealt herself a fatal blow," Flare said with a wry smile, "Even though we had prepared ourselves for it, seeing her act so resolutely still gave me quite a shock."

"Not just you, I reckon even Danacus didn’t expect it, and by the time he realized Nellie’s intent, it was too late to stop her," Pannis said, shaking his head, "However, for Danacus, this was just a minor setback; indeed it caused him trouble, requiring him longer to repair the body, but it wasn’t a significant problem. He only needed several decades to correct this minor issue, and then, the timing was ripe for executing his plan. So, decades ago, Nellie finally awoke from the madness caused by severe loneliness and began following Danacus’s blueprint step by step."

"You’re saying that Nellie was being manipulated by Danacus?" Flare asked, puzzled, "No, wait, you just said that he made us make our own decisions."

"Of course, Danacus didn’t directly control Nellie; otherwise, she would’ve noticed something amiss," Pannis shook his head, explaining, "He simply guided us imperceptibly, like a carrot on a stick—ha, he made it seem like Nellie had countless choices, as if she could make her own decisions, but in truth, she had no real alternative."

"But I don’t believe all of Nellie’s actions were his inducement," Flare objected, "Transforming this world, making the Undead milder, trying to make the living and the Undead live together peacefully, these don’t align with Danacus’s plans, he couldn’t have induced Nellie to do this."