Translator: SumTLMan
Boom, boom, boom——
The noise in the corridor grew louder, with dust and parts falling everywhere, occasionally accompanied by a flip that turned the ceiling into a walkway.
At first glance, it seemed as if the laboratory was about to collapse.
Angel initially thought there was a problem outside the laboratory, and if the shaking continued, the interior of the laboratory wouldn’t hold for much longer before collapsing. However, he soon dismissed this notion, as he noticed a detail he had previously overlooked: despite the significant noise and some energy tubes shattering, the magic formation itself remained unaffected.
The main part, the mechanism that was still operating well. The mechanical corridor did not malfunction due to the internal vibrations.
Generally, such a disturbance would undoubtedly affect the magic formation. But now, with the formation functioning without issues, it only indicates one thing: the current disturbance is within the allowance of the magic formation.
Recalling that the Enforcer had pointed out not long ago that Number 01 was attempting something outside to kill Ziz’s offspring, Angel speculated that the current tremors might be related to Number 01’s actions.
But what exactly it was, Angel could not ascertain for the moment. Perhaps going to the main control node might reveal something about the magic formation, but now was clearly not the time for that.
Suppressing his speculations, Angel continued to rush toward the exit.
Judging by the time, he estimated that the Gomito possessed by the misty shadow should have awakened by now, but Angel did not notice it catching up again. Perhaps it had calmed down a bit, or maybe the laboratory’s disturbances made it give up the chase. Regardless, its absence was a good thing for Angel.
As he ran towards the exit, Angel also reflected on the events that had occurred.
Encountering the Enforcer, though somewhat unexpected, made sense with Firo’s groundwork. However, Angel wondered, what did the Enforcer’s presence here signify? Was he merely an observer, or would he become a participant? Even though the Enforcer was not supposed to interfere with the Southern Region’s affairs, the pursuit from the City of Phantasm shouldn’t fall under the Southern Region’s scope, right?
Not only were there doubts about the Enforcer, but also about the misty shadow as a third-class citizen. What role did it play in coming to the laboratory? Was the thing in the bottle a Ziz cub’s organ? And what about Reynolds’ fortune?
Unfortunately, the time for communication with the Enforcer was too short, and many questions in his mind remained unasked.
These questions would have to wait for the future to see if answers could be found.
…
Finally, Angel reached the exit before the corridor flipped for the umpteenth time.
He took a deep breath and stretched out his hand to touch the silver-white metal wall in front of him.
The flow of runes under his palm was still normal, further confirming Angel’s speculation. The external vibrations were within the control scope of the magic formation.
This was also good news for Angel, as he didn’t have to worry about rune backlash causing the exit to move.
Once again, he took out the external rune platform and easily suppressed the surrounding rune flow. After completing these actions, Angel directly opened the Gateway of Fantasy.
As the exit opened, Angel was not greeted by the flat earth, but rather a gray, misty sea of clouds.
Staring at the scene before him, Angel was utterly bewildered. Having only spent a short half-day in the laboratory, how had the outside world transformed so drastically?
While he was lost in thought, the laboratory shook once more, causing the exit to shift from directly in front of him to directly above.
Without hesitation, Angel flew out of the exit.
Just as he emerged, Angel saw a gigantic steel tendril sweep past him, carrying an incredible force that tore through the space, stirring up a cloud of gray mist and forcefully striking downwards.
Angel instinctively looked in the direction from which the steel tendril had come. At this moment, he was completely taken aback.
He had previously thought the gray mist and sea of clouds outside were merely a natural phenomenon due to heavy fog. But now, he realized he had been mistaken; the sea of clouds was truly a sea of clouds.
He was no longer on the patch of land beneath the sea but had arrived hundreds of meters in the sky.
The base laboratory was no longer buried underground; it… had flown into the mid-air!
The steel tendril he had seen was actually an external corridor of the base laboratory.
At this time, the laboratory had transformed into a fortress-like steel giant, continuously swinging its tendrils to attack a monster below.
It was a creature covered in purple crystals, and Angel was familiar with it.
It was the Ziz cub he had encountered earlier.
As Angel wondered what exactly had happened outside to cause such a drastic change, a voice suddenly reached his ears: “Who are you?”
Looking up, Angel saw a towering figure standing on a steel tendril, looking down at him.
Despite the backlight, Angel still caught the details of the newcomer.
It was a man wearing a half-face mask, appearing quite scholarly, his demeanor reminiscent of a theological college professor, calm, steady, solemn, and ascetic. However, the expression in his exposed eyes contrasted sharply with his demeanor, revealing restraint, despair, longing… and madness.
Due to the presence of the half-face mask, his exact features were unclear, but the unmasked half of his face bore a “0” marking.
From this “0” marking and the man’s crazed eyes, Angel had already guessed the man’s identity.
Without a doubt, he was Number 01.
The desperately mad Number 01, who was relentlessly pursued by the City of Phantasm with no escape.
Angel hadn’t expected to encounter him right after leaving the laboratory. It seemed his previous speculation was not wrong; the commotion in the laboratory must have been caused by Number 01, who seemed to want to use the laboratory to kill the Ziz cub.
As Angel considered whether to say something to Number 01, a shadow suddenly rose behind him.
Eremy had emerged from the shadows.
Eremy manipulated the shadows to form a dark shield, directly repelling an attack that shimmered with fierce brilliance.
Angel turned his head to find that, unbeknownst to him, a person had appeared behind him.
It was a very thin young man with pale skin and bright red lips, whose appearance seemed somewhat sickly and effeminate.
Yet, the sudden and unanticipated assault spoke volumes of the attacker’s formidable strength.
From the number on his face, Angel deduced his identity: Number 02.
A shadow wizard had stealthily approached him from behind, and had Eremy not detected it in advance, Angel would have likely suffered a severe blow.
Number 02, upon being exposed, displayed no fear. He licked his tongue and blended into the air, disappearing from sight.
Seconds later, a blurry shadow appeared beside Angel.
Number 02 raised a dagger forged from shadows high, aiming fiercely at Angel’s temple.
Before the dagger could pierce the skin, Eremy stepped in front of Angel, with a wave of his hand, flung Number 02 away.
However, in mid-air, Number 02 transformed into a shadow. When he reassembled, he held a black orb in his hand.
With a sinister smile, Number 02 threw the black orb towards Angel.
“Shadow Gap!”
As soon as the black orb was thrown, it turned into a spread of black shadows, frantically expanding in an attempt to ensnare Angel.
Shadows exist between reality and illusion, a crack in space. Should the shadows expand, Angel would inevitably be torn apart by the spatial rift.
Number 02’s lips curled up, as if he had already foreseen his victory.
However, before the Shadow Gap could completely surround Angel, it was enveloped by an even deeper and darker figure, as if the shadows were being torn into a seam and absorbed into itself.
It was still Eremy.
The powerful spell of Number 02, capable of tearing space itself, became merely a bite-sized morsel in front of Eremy.
Not only did Eremy withstand Number 02’s attack, but he also controlled a surge of shadows to encircle Number 02 at the center.
This was a matter of a fundamental overpowering.
Eremy possessed combat strength comparable to true knowledge, making the confrontation with Number 02 essentially a crushing defeat. Moreover, as a demon born from the shadows, Eremy’s control over shadows surpassed that of Number 02.
So, Number 02 found himself utterly powerless against Eremy.
At this moment, trapped in shadows, Number 02 regained his senses. He had thought that Eremy’s earlier interception was an accident, but he hadn’t anticipated Eremy’s formidable strength.
“This shadow is very strong; I feel it has some kind of restraint against me!” Number 02 tried to escape from Eremy’s encirclement while sending a message to Number 01, who was further away.
Number 01’s view of Angel suddenly shifted dramatically: “Who are you, and why are you here? Did the Lord of the City send you?”
Number 02 said, “He came from the laboratory; I saw it just now! No matter who he is, kill him first!”
Number 01 narrowed his eyes, not bothering to ask further. Enveloped in endless blood energy, he launched a direct attack on Angel.
However, the blood energy hit Angel without causing any splash. His figure, like a shattered fragment, faded away.
“Illusion?” Number 01, puzzled, felt a disturbance beside him, and Number 02 appeared.
“Where did that shadow go?” Number 01 was referring to Eremy.
“It suddenly disappeared.” Number 02 was also puzzled. When he was trapped by Eremy, he couldn’t move at all and thought he was doomed. Unexpectedly, Eremy vanished without warning.
Number 01 couldn’t understand why Eremy would stop attacking Number 02 and cautiously said, “The opponent is skilled in illusions, possibly hiding nearby. We should be careful.”
Number 02 nodded and became alert. He couldn’t gauge Angel’s strength, but the shadow’s power was formidable. He had only ever felt such an overwhelming sense of pressure from Number 01.
Facing such a powerful adversary, Number 02 had to be fully alert.
However, after half a minute passed.
They remained on guard for a long time but encountered no attacks. Number 02 hesitated, then released several shadows into the surroundings. Before long, the shadows returned.
Number 02 said, “He has already left. The shadow ripples reflected their departure traces.”
Number 01 frowned. Why would they suddenly leave? The opponent seemed strong, especially with that shadow. Yet, they didn’t engage in combat and simply used an illusion to escape.
“Should we pursue?”
Number 01 was silent for a moment, then shook his head: “Forget it, the target below is more important. If he has left, let’s leave him be for now.”
Number 02’s brow furrowed: “But, I saw with my own eyes that he left the laboratory. Could he be an intruder?”
Number 01 couldn’t answer this question but had some speculations. Rather than an intruder, he thought it more likely that the Scout was sent by the City of Phantasm.
These scouts were merely vanguards, generally refraining from direct combat involvement. Instead, their role was to gather intelligence, awaiting the arrival of the combat personnel from behind. Once joined, they could more efficiently resolve the conflict.
The basis for this speculation wasn’t unfounded. Firstly, Angel did not display his strength but chose to leave directly, aligning with the characteristics of reconnaissance. Secondly, Eremy appeared non-human, possibly a mythical creature possibly hailing from the City of Phantasm, classified as a citizen of a non-standard class. The pairing of scouts with non-standard citizens is a common strategy.
Even though Number 01 had roughly deduced the other party’s identity, he chose not to disclose it. Number 02 was unaware of being pursued by the City of Phantasm. Revealing this could possibly deprive him of even the chance to play his swan song.
Thus, in response to Number 02’s speculation, Number 01 simply stated, “Whether they are intruders, only Number 03 can inform us. Unfortunately, Number 03 is now missing.”
“Right, where did Number 03 go?” Number 02 found this curious.
“In that case, I will continue here to achieve our ultimate goal. You go find Number 03 and inquire about the situation. Numbers 04 to 10 should return to the lab to check if there has been an intrusion. If so, assess the damage to prevent data leaks,” Number 01 arranged.
Number 02 thought for a moment and felt this was a good plan, nodding in agreement, “Okay.”
Number 01 silently watched Number 02 leave until his figure completely vanished. Then, he sighed softly, his lament carrying a trace of regret and apology.
“Scouts have already arrived; do I still have a chance?” Number 01 murmured to himself, unable to find any opportunity. Suddenly, the image of Reynolds flashed through his mind. He had thought of leveraging Reynolds’ luck before but later realized it was futile. Reynolds was rumored to be lucky, but after obtaining Reynolds’ body, no sign of luck was evident.
If truly lucky, their confrontation with the Ziz cub today wouldn’t have been so challenging. Even the item containing dissipated law power was nearly exhausted, yet the Ziz cub was not completely eliminated.
Perhaps, Reynolds’ so-called luck was merely a rumor.
“No chance left… It seems, this is the only way,” Number 01 slowly regained his composure from his whispers, the last bits of hesitation in his eyes slowly fading, turning into resolve.
…
On the other hand, Angel was descending.
He was unaware of the current situation of Firo, along with Nisi and Canter, planning to return to the seabed to check.
Yet, before he could reach the seabed, a black droplet suddenly fell from the gloomy sky.
The black droplet landed near Angel, transforming into a crystal as tranquil as the night.
Angel felt a familiar fluctuation from this black crystal… It was a spell of Lord Like the Night.
Without hesitation, Angel took the black crystal and gently squeezed it.
Instantly, a wave of energy burst forth, turning into a line invisible to the naked eye, intertwining with Angel’s mental power.
This was a mental connection.
Angel did not reject the connection formed by the mental connection. Once the connection was successfully established, he heard a familiar voice in his mind.
“Angel, how are things on your end?”