Chapter 2579 Reading Memory <TOC> Chapter 2581 The Demon God of Mirrors
Translator: SumTLMan
As Angel displays the illusion of the podium top, it immediately captures everyone’s attention.
The first thing noticed, naturally, is the place in the center of the podium top where the scriptures are kept, but here the “patterns” were quickly glanced over by everyone. These patterns, clearly runes, were recognized instantly in the presence of a master enchantment alchemist, leaving everyone simply waiting for Angel’s explanation.
Aside from the patterns, the focus is on the characters.
Angel focuses on the Black Count and Daus, as they are probably the most knowledgeable about the writing system present, perhaps able to identify the origins of these characters.
However, what surprises Angel is that the first to speak is neither Daus nor the Black Count, but Vai, who has always been treated like a mere tool for carrying the stone slab.
“These characters, I think I’ve seen them before… was it in the family library? Let me think…”
After declaring his recognition, Vai falls into thought. But, his contemplation lasts less than two seconds before the stone slab falls from the sky, hitting him squarely on the head.
Vai winces in pain, wanting to curse from the injustice, but he dares not. The stone slab that hit him is the very one holding the nose of the Black Count.
“The family library, really?” Black Count’s chilling voice enters the mind’s tie: “I’ll give you one more chance, misspeak again and I’ll chop off your head.”
“Chop… chop off my head? Can I still live if my head is chopped off?” Vai is still somewhat dazed.
“What do you think?” Black Count snorts coldly.
“I would probably… die, right?” Vai shivers, daring not to say more, straining his memory, because he knows very well that the ancestor of his family never goes back on his word. If he says he will chop off his head, they will certainly do so.
Vai tries very hard, especially under the scrutiny of the Black Count, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.
From his panicked expression, it seems Vai still hasn’t found a gap in his memory.
Indeed, the more nervous and frightened Vai becomes, the more jumbled his memories. Now he regrets speaking out in the first place, and feels despair about the imminent outcome.
At that moment, Vai suddenly hears a whisper in the mental connection: “Is it really necessary to be this severe? It’s just forgetting where you’ve seen something; it doesn’t need to go as far as chopping off heads, does it?”
Vai hears this; it’s the voice of his friend Daus.
Daus speaks now, perhaps attempting to plead with the ancestor on his behalf?
Although Vai is somewhat touched, he knows it’s futile. His ancestor would not alter his decision for any external force. Call it autocratic or despotic, this is the style of the Noah family’s leader.
As Vai mourned the impending loss of his head in silence, Daus’ voice rang out again: “The situation has reached a point of beheading unless it’s something Vai must know but has forgotten. Could this be something passed down through generations in your Noah family?”
Daus seemed to be speaking to himself, but as his voice faded, the Black Count suddenly “looked” over. Even without eyes, merely ominous nostrils, Daus felt a chilling scrutiny.
Simultaneously, Vai instinctively repeated Daus’ words: “Noah family… passed down through generations…”
Suddenly, Vai’s eyes brightened: “I remember now! It’s the family… the family genealogy! I’ve seen this writing in the genealogy!”
Vai excitedly announced his realization, but the Black Count completely ignored him, continuing to scrutinize Daus.
This deep scrutiny made Daus feel uncomfortable.
After a long while, the Black Count finally spoke softly: “It’s almost complete.”
Daus didn’t understand the remark, but Angel did. The Black Count was indicating that Daus’ spiritual perception was nearing its final stage, and once mastered, it would become an immensely powerful innate talent.
Indeed, Vai, a member of the Noah family, couldn’t even think of the answer. On the contrary, with just a casual remark, Daus hit the bullseye.
At this moment, Angel couldn’t help but admire Daus’ frightening intuition.
Thinking of this, Angel suddenly recalled a theory once mentioned by the Enforcer about Reynolds’ luck talent, wondering if it could also apply to Daus.
If Daus were to die now, would some organ, bone, or an object near him transform into a Mysterious Object?
While Angel pondered this, on the other side, Daus shivered coldly; he always felt as if a murderous intent had brushed past him…
Both Angel and the Black Count watched Daus intently. Meanwhile, in the vortex of the beheading matter——Vai seemed momentarily forgotten.
After a while, the Black Count finally turned the stone slab toward Vai and said indifferently: “You passed this time because someone reminded you, but make no similar mistake again, or I will give you no more chances.”
Vai nodded hurriedly, grateful for Daus’ hint, without which he would have been doomed. Learning from this experience, he vowed never to speak out of turn again, even beginning to miss the times when the Black Count had imposed silence upon him…
Once that was settled, Angel looked at Daus and said: “Don’t tell me you guessed.”
With an innocent expression, Daus replied: “I really guessed, well, not entirely. I did reason it out, didn’t you hear?”
Angel indeed had heard Daus’ so-called “reasoning process,” but how he suddenly jumped to “something traditionally passed down by the Noah family” was still a puzzle.
Perhaps there was a slight connection, but it could also have been other scenarios, like the Black Count once teaching the language, Vai forgetting it, and thus the Black Count’s fierce anger… and so on.
So, Angel did not believe that it was entirely through reasoning; it must also have been guided by spiritual perception.
“Don’t look at me, I don’t know the secrets of your Noah family. I’m just guessing… cough, I reasoned it out,” Daus said after a denial, forcibly changing the subject: “Whether it’s guessing or reasoning, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what these characters actually say?”
Although Daus was shifting the topic, it indeed was the most urgent matter at hand, so everyone’s gaze turned toward the Black Count.
Vai had seen it before but probably did not recognize it.
But the Black Count was different, as the characters were from his family’s genealogy, he certainly knew them.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the Black Count slowly said: “I do recognize this writing system; it’s called the Uisus language.”
“It’s very unique. According to records, the Uisus language was unlike any other writing system known at the time; it was a completely foreign language system, so unique that even the wildest imagination couldn’t conceive of it.”
“The exact origin is unknown, but it seems to be related to our Noah family.”
“Related to the Noah family?” Angel questioned.
The Black Count nodded: “This isn’t speculation, as there are some fragmented records that, in the Southern Region Wizarding World of that time, the Uisus language was most used by the Noah family.”
“Why isn’t it used now then?” Daus wondered.
Angel replied: “You’re putting the cart before the horse. You should first ask, why did the Noah family initially choose to use the Uisus language, what made this language system so special?”
The Black Count glanced at Angel and said faintly: “Because back then, the Uisus language was an extraordinary language.”
The so-called extraordinary language are similar to runes or inscriptions in their expression; they can invoke extraordinary powers.
Today, many extraordinary languages still exist, but humans can hardly use them directly; most are used indirectly. So, when everyone suddenly heard that the Uisus language was an extraordinary language that humans could use, they all showed astonishment.
“Don’t be so surprised. I’m just saying that it was once considered an extraordinary language at the time, and the extraordinary power it could invoke was not insignificant. Later, for some reason, the Uisus language could no longer invoke extraordinary power and became an ordinary language… Saying it’s ordinary is also not right; the learning threshold for the Uisus language is extremely high, and it’s difficult, needing a complete overturning of your existing knowledge of language systems. Precisely because it’s so challenging, even if people outside the Noah family know it, it’s basically impossible to pass it on.”
“Now, probably apart from the Noah family, others who recognized the Uisus language have vanished in the sands of time.”
The Black Count’s sentimental mood affected most people, but Daus was an exception.
After hearing the Black Count’s words, Daus only had one question: “Does that mean, these characters on the podium top, belong only to your Noah family, no, only to you, Lord Black Count, to unravel this mystery?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
Daus shook his head: “Something’s off, something’s off. Why is it that during this ruin exploration, we encounter a puzzle that only the Noah family can solve? And indeed, there’s a member of the Noah family in our team.”
“It can’t possibly be a coincidence.”
After saying this, Daus looked at Angel, then at the Black Count, feeling a grand scheme swirling around him, as if he had fallen into a trap. And the mastermind of this trap was either Angel or the Black Count.
Angel could guess a bit; perhaps it was Augustine’s arrangement? But since this involved the Nightmare Plane, he couldn’t share his speculation. Therefore, when Daus started to doubt, Angel also showed a thoughtful expression: “You’re right, it really doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”
Angel didn’t defend himself, as the more he would, the more it would raise Suspicion. It was better to let Daus imagine.
And Angel’s guess was right; Daus was indeed imagining.
When Angel first arrived at the Sandworm Market, they had been together, and he knew why Angel came to the Sandworm Market and his subsequent actions.
It was the first time Angel had seen the alchemy blueprint; even Lord Aesop had not truly seen it before.
Because Angel recognized the location corresponding to the alchemy blueprint, that led to this exploration of the ruins.
Daus could be sure that Angel’s decision to explore the ruins this time was spontaneous.
Upon organizing these thoughts, Angel’s course of actions was entirely consistent.
So, was this a trap set by the Black Count?
Daus turned to the Black Count: “Earlier, lord, you said you wanted Vai to come out and gain some experience, but that can’t be the real reason, right? Lord, you must have known about this ruin, correct?”
The Black Count shook his head: “This time, your spiritual perception is mistaken. I didn’t know about this ruin here.”
Daus responded: “Then the lord means to say, all of this is a coincidence?”
The Black Count fell silent this time.
Daus: “I can’t believe this is a coincidence. I hope the lord can clarify the inside story; otherwise, I can’t face the unknown fears ahead. Rather than exploring with a leader who holds secrets, I’d prefer to part ways here.”
Angel then softly added: “There are more than one entrance.”
Although it was just a short sentence, it was a statement of position; he stood on Daus’ side.
The podium top might have recorded a lot of information, possibly about the entrances, but unless it was made clear, he and Daus could go look for other entrances alone.
If it were just Daus’ suspicions, the Black Count wouldn’t want to respond, but as the team leader, Angel expressed his stance, and the Black Count, after thinking, decided to clarify things.
The Black Count took a light breath, and immediately, everyone was enveloped in a light barrier.
Characters of various kinds continuously floated on the barrier.
These characters are familiar to everyone as they are characters of a contract. Even the power within the barrier is a power of the contract.
“Under the contract, telling a lie here will lead to a backlash from the contract itself.”
The Black Count first assured everyone of his truthfulness before he slowly continued:
“I have said before that I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety, which is a promise, so you do not have to worry about me harboring any ill intentions towards you.”
By stating his promise at the beginning, the Black Count then added: “As for why characters that only I can recognize appear here, I honestly do not know. If I had known about this underground structure and this podium, why wouldn’t I have taken it away earlier?”
“Encountering the characters on the podium top was indeed a coincidence.”
At this point, the Black Count paused deliberately, signaling everyone to observe the surrounding contract.
Since the power of the contract did not manifest, it meant that everything the Black Count had said up to that point was true. This encounter with the characters was indeed a coincidence.
The Black Count knew that just mentioning a coincidence under the contract would not clear all doubts, so he continued:
“However, having Vai accompany you to explore the ruins was not a coincidence.”
“At that time, I had Vai use the Death Scent on you. Vai smelled your fate but did not respond to you, instead suggesting that I should use the Death Scent. You remember that, don’t you?”
Daus nodded, recalling how strange it was that Vai had smelled his fate but said nothing, instead letting the Black Count smell it.
“Because, when Vai smelled your fate, my intuition was stirred.”
“At that time, I had a strong premonition that I should come and see this exploration.”
“As for why I should come, what to see, and what I might encounter, I had no idea.”
The Black Count spoke up to this point, and since there was no backlash from the contract, it indicated that he had not lied. However, Daus was still confused: “Just a premonition to come and see? At that time, lord, you had no idea that you would encounter characters related to the Noah family?”
Black Count: “Yes. If I had known, it wouldn’t just be Vai coming, and it wouldn’t just be my nose involved.”
With the witness of the contract’s light barrier, Daus had to believe it.
Yet, he still harbored many doubts… and Angel, too, should have some understanding of this ruin.
Angel noticed the way Daus was looking at him, and he quickly said: “Don’t take advantage of the contract’s light barrier to pry into my secrets. I won’t reveal my secrets, so you better stop your sinister thoughts right there.”
Angel gave a preemptive warning, making Daus truly embarrassed to ask any further.
Moreover, it was only because Angel had stood by his side before that the Black Count had spoken the truth. Now, if he were to backstab him, it would indeed be quite unprincipled.
Furthermore, Daus was planning to cling to Angel’s powerful support.
With this in mind, Daus said: “Don’t slander me; I’m not as sinister as you think. I haven’t planned anything. We are friends, after all, and friends don’t betray each other.”
The moment Daus finished speaking, the previously silent contract barrier suddenly flashed with intense brilliance.
Realizing something, Daus quickly covered his mouth.
But it was too late now, the words were out, and the truth and lies were bound by the contract.
The words that Daus had just said to Angel definitely contained lies.
And where the lies were, the others could probably guess… Daus had brought this upon himself.
The backlash from the contract was not easy to bear.
With numerous lights enveloping him, Daus became like a human-shaped, light-attracting lamp. Then, these lights began to drill out of Daus’ body…
In the air, only heart-wrenching screams remained.
Chapter 2579 Reading Memory <TOC> Chapter 2581 The Demon God of Mirrors