Chapter 2639 Fair Question and Answer <TOC> Chapter 2641 Cecia the Person
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel’s question was not without cause.
Ever since they entered the underground labyrinth, along the way, they encountered many emblems associated with the Laudsourcian: the serpent-entwined staff, the serpent-entwined cone, and so on. Furthermore, most of them were found in the ruins of laboratories.
From these tiny clues, it could be gleaned that ten thousand years ago, Nightfall City seemed to have some connections with the Laudsourcian.
However, at that time, Angel had not yet connected the Box of Cecia with the Laudsourcian.
Until Cecia tried to pull Angel into the “pitch-black space,” only to be obstructed by some force in his left earlobe. Coupled with Cecia’s curiosity about Angel’s left earlobe and her earlier mention of a “familiar fluctuation,” Angel began to suspect that Cecia had perhaps sensed… the Source Fire?
And Cecia’s recent response to Angel: “Unsatisfied,” confirmed Angel’s conjecture that the “familiar fluctuation” Cecia had mentioned earlier indeed referred to the Source Fire.
Ever since Odeklaes conferred upon him the Mark of Flame, very few individuals could directly perceive the existence of the Source Fire through the Mark of Flame. Even Rhine could only sense the Mark of Flame itself, unable to detect the Source Fire sealed within it. But Totoro, being a Laudsourcian, could vaguely discern a hint of it.
Cecia’s ability to sense the Source Fire, by itself, was enough for Angel to raise the question: “Are you a Laudsourcian?”
Moreover, Cecia’s name also strongly matched the naming conventions of the Laudsourcian.
Popoca, Sparrow Blossom, Totoro, Cecia… It seems that the Laudsourcian were quite fond of using adorable repeated syllables for names.
So, by the time Angel asked the question, in his mind he was already seventy to eighty percent certain.
On the other side, upon hearing Angel’s question, Cecia fell into a prolonged silence.
Previously, Cecia had displayed that “I’m tired, finish asking and get lost” attitude, yet now it seemed to have vanished. A stagnant tension filled the pitch-black space.
“…Why are you asking this question?”
Listening to the voice by his ear, calm as an ancient well, Angel thought to himself: This is how it should be. A thousand-year-old monster trapped in a dark box, still flamboyantly calling herself “old aunt” this and “old aunt” that, is clearly putting on an act. Now this cold, dark, gloomy, and merciless vibe seems much more normal.
While Angel was silently pondering the “reasonability of her tone,” it never occurred to him that Cecia’s deliberately affected voice might have been a friendly gesture.
“I originally planned to ask something else, but I suddenly thought of this question, so I asked. There’s no particular reason why.” Angel spoke very frankly, and in truth that was indeed the case. It simply came to his mind, so why not ask?
Cecia once again fell into a long silence.
But Angel could feel that in the surrounding black mist, there seemed to be a pair of icy eyes silently sizing him up.
The atmosphere gradually descended into frigidity; the stagnant feeling not only failed to subside but instead intensified.
In that atmosphere, Angel spoke: “Does your previous question count as one of the questions? If it does, I have already answered, so it’s your turn to answer my earlier question.”
“You are a Laudsourcian, right?” This time, Angel’s tone had shed any trace of doubt and became quite certain.
“Whether I am or not, does that matter to you? Or, do you think that if I were a Laudsourcian, I could be used by you the same way as the others of my kind who were slaughtered and exterminated?”
Cecia’s voice carried a note of fury, and her words revealed a faint thread of hatred.
Even if Cecia did not admit it, Angel, having picked up on these concealed emotions, was now basically certain that Cecia’s identity was that of a Laudsourcian beyond a doubt… or more precisely, at least she had once been a Laudsourcian.
“Ten thousand years ago, the Laudsourcian shouldn’t have been completely exterminated yet. If you’ve always been here, how do you know all this information?”
Cecia: “I have my ways.”
Angel feigned sudden realization: “Oh, I recall that the Laudsourcian share a common ancestral altar, one that exists in every Laudsourcian’s consciousness. When the altar’s fire is extinguished, any Laudsourcian should be able to see it and understand what it signifies.”
Angel: “So, is that how Cecia learned the news of the outside world?”
However, before Cecia could reply, Angel himself refuted that line of inquiry.
“Ah, I almost forgot that you can’t even sense your own soul anymore. Even as a Laudsourcian, you shouldn’t be able to sense the altar. So, there must be someone else who brought you information from the outside world. Could it be other intelligent beings living in these underground sewers?”
Truth be told, Angel wanted to ask outright whether the one who had told her was that Three-Eyed Blue Demon, the Sovereign of Wisdom. But he held back. After all, those details were not truly important.
Following the tactic of weakening before exalting, he had already heightened the animosity. If he continued to press, it would be too difficult to “exalt” afterward.
“How do you know about the ancestral altar? Who told you?” Cecia’s voice grew inexplicably calm, but through his heightened senses, Angel could tell that her calm was merely superficial, with a raging undercurrent hidden beneath——
Cecia was now harboring the intent to kill.
Perceiving that murderous intent, Angel knew he had to reveal something, or else it would truly be hard to “exalt.”
“How do I know this secret? Naturally, it was told to me personally by a Laudsourcian.”
Angel deliberately emphasized the phrase “personally.”
Cecia: “…There are still living Laudsourcian in the outside world?”
Cecia’s voice remained as calm as before, as though it were merely a casual question. But within Angel’s perception, Cecia’s true emotions were anything but.
Previously, there had been a surging undercurrent of murderous intent. Now, however, it was like raging waves of disbelief, faintly tinged with a glimmer of hope.
Angel: “So, does that mean our fair question and answer game is over?”
“To the Abyss with your fair question and answer game. I’m telling you right now, from this moment on, there is no fair question and answer game. You either answer my question, or get lost. I have no time to waste on you.”
Cecia raised her emotions once again, but beneath her excitement lay a hint of caution. Clearly, even though she had switched to a more impassioned manner, she was still putting on an act.
“Even if there’s no fair question and answer game anymore, I still hope that before I answer yours, you can answer mine first. Cecia, are you a Laudsourcian?” Angel repeated the question once more, but this time his expression was more solemn and serious than before.
In the darkness, Cecia gazed intently at Angel for a long moment before saying: “You’ve already guessed, so why do you insist that I give you a definitive answer?”
“Because if I cannot confirm that Cecia is a Laudsourcian, then there’s no need for me to linger here any longer.”
Angel did not explain why, and Cecia did not ask. After a brief silence, she finally gave a definite reply: “Yes, I was once a Laudsourcian. Now… I still am.”
Hearing those words from Cecia, Angel finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Having suppressed things for so long, if he didn’t soon “raise them up,” it wouldn’t be possible to do so at all. Luckily, Cecia had answered his question, and in a way that provided even more information than Angel had hoped.
“I was once a Laudsourcian.” That sentence carried no problem——Cecia acknowledged her identity.
“Now, I still am.” That latter portion was quite thought‑provoking. In a roundabout way, Cecia was implying that no matter how her form changed, whether she lived or died, regardless of how time passed or whether there were any surviving members of the Laudsourcian, she would always remain Laudsourcian.
This was a clear statement of her stance: no matter what state Cecia was currently in, if it involved the Laudsourcian, she would always side with them.
Initially, Angel had only intended to verify Cecia’s identity, then discreetly reveal a bit about Popoca or Sparrow Blossom in order to gain the favor of Cecia as a fellow Laudsourcian, thus facilitating better access to other information.
But now, with Cecia’s stance made clear, Angel felt more at ease. Perhaps he could disclose more information, and even mention Totoro’s situation.
Having the guidance of a more senior member of her people before Totoro successfully ignited the ancestral altar’s flame would not be a bad thing.
However, Angel still planned to observe further before deciding if he should bring it up now.
“I’ve answered you, now it’s your turn. Are there still any Laudsourcian in the outside world? From whose mouth did you learn about the existence of the ancestral altar?”
Angel: “So, does that mean the fair question and answer game is back now?”
Angel’s sudden comment caused Cecia’s anger to flare instantly: “You playing with old aunt…”
Yet Cecia stopped abruptly mid‑sentence.
Because a faint white flame had appeared at Angel’s fingertips.
Perceiving the familiar fluctuations within that flame, Cecia couldn’t help covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide as saucers.
This is… is this… the Source Fire?!
Gazing at that familiar, comforting flame, it was as though she beheld the scene from ten thousand years ago… when every Laudsourcian, upon closing their eyes, could see that ever-burning ancestral altar.
And what burned within that altar was the Source Fire.
This primordial fire symbolizes the earliest flame of civilization, embodying the spark of creation and continuance.
In Laudsourcian lore, as long as the Source Fire in the ancestral altar never went out, their lineage would never be severed. Yet Cecia was aware that aside from truth itself, nothing was everlasting, not even the World Will, much less that elusive Source Fire.
Moreover, multiple high priests had prophesied that the Source Fire would be extinguished, marking the inescapable doom of the Laudsourcian race.
However, “nothing is truly eternal,” but likewise, nothing is absolutely predetermined.
A single spark can start a prairie fire. The Source Fire is just such a spark. As long as they could obtain even a tiny ember of it, they could reignite the ancestral altar.
But the prerequisite was that there had to be living Laudsourcian who could acquire this primal flame.
Yet ten thousand years had passed, and Cecia had received no reports of a Laudsourcian reappearing. Each time, the news carried by that individual was always bad.
One by one, Laudsourcian were manipulated, exploited, and ultimately perished.
And then, a thousand years ago, that person brought word of the final Laudsourcian’s death.
The calamity that befell their race had, in the end, become their “destiny.”
From that point on, Cecia had constantly asked herself in the darkness: Was there still a companion? Was she the last “Laudsourcian”? And…
Was she a deserter?
In a split second, a myriad of thoughts flooded Cecia’s mind, all of which were sparked by this sudden intruder who had brought with him a single ray of hope.
…
While Cecia gazed intently at that white Source Fire in fascination, Angel was also looking at it.
Yet his thoughts were nowhere near as numerous as Cecia’s. In fact, the notions swirling in his mind had nothing to do with the Laudsourcian, but rather with a descendant of a Demon God.
This was also the main target behind the war in Rasudran that Monchi had launched earlier——Olucia.
At the conclusion of the Battle of La Sutherland, four Source Fires had appeared in total. Apart from the one possessed by Night Lord, the other three ended up in Angel’s possession.
The most intact and radiant one was an orange‑yellow Source Fire.
The other two were one purple and one white. These two Source Fires were originally given to Olucia, who planned to use them to open the path to some lost city. Since Angel had obtained Olucia’s body, entrusting these two Source Fires to Olucia was no problem. Unexpectedly, however, in the end Olucia had the young Fire Demon, Geaves, return the purple and white Source Fires to Angel.
Therefore, seeing this slightly dim white Source Fire now, Angel could not help recalling that proud yet distinctly unconventional descendant of a Demon God.
“Olucia’s objective was rumored to be a lost city named Asgard, which even that Demon God descendant yearned for. It must hold some tremendous secret… I wonder whether he has found it by now.”
“And as for that little brat Greaves, I wonder what he’s up to now…”
While Angel was off in his own mind, pondering such unrelated matters, his ears suddenly picked up a crisp sound like glass tapping against a smooth surface.
Angel lifted his head and saw, in the dark mist before him, a tall figure slowly emerging.
It was an exceedingly beautiful woman.
She was wearing a close‑fitting purple‑black silk dress, the long gown sculpted in a single piece that showcased her impressive figure. The sparkling glimmers adorning it evoked the image of a goddess of the night, draped in a starry veil, gracefully approaching.
Her long black curls cascaded casually over her smooth shoulders, lending a languid yet refined air.
It was difficult to imagine such a goddess‑like figure repeatedly referring to herself so coarsely.
Yes, this was indeed Cecia.
The moment Cecia saw the white Source Fire, she knew it was impossible to keep feigning indifference. Angel was quite knowledgeable about the Laudsourcian, and furthermore, he had obtained the Source Fire, which they had yearned for beyond measure.
Even, it was possible that from the very beginning, Angel had been waiting for this moment.
Every word he spoke had guided Cecia’s train of thought.
Brilliant, cunning, and extremely devious.
That was Cecia’s current impression of Angel, and it was not a positive one. However, since he had produced the Source Fire, even though Cecia now lacked even a soul, she had no choice but to step forward.
Not merely for herself, but for that faint spark that could still exist… for the Laudsourcian people.
Chapter 2639 Fair Question and Answer <TOC> Chapter 2641 Cecia the Person