Chapter 2709 Countermeasure <TOC> Chapter 2711 Mirror Replay
Translator: SumTLMan
“What did you just say was too…what?“ Angel looked toward Daus in puzzlement.
Of course it’s far too wasteful! Did you really think I was praising your brilliance? Suppressing the continuous urge to complain, Daus adopted a gentler tone: “It’s nothing. I merely wished to say that a planar passage should be saved for the most critical moment; before then, we can certainly try other ways first.“
Angel stroked his chin: “You have a point, but…“
The moment Daus heard Angel’s qualifying “but,” he meant to interrupt, yet before he could speak, the Sovereign of Wisdom spoke first.
“You intend to bypass the trial with a planar passage. That is possible. However, my residence is defended by a specially constrained space magic formation. Even if I operate it myself, lifting the restraints will take some time.“
The Sovereign of Wisdom mentioned merely that “time would be required,” offering no specifics. Even if Angel asked, the Sovereign of Wisdom could name any figure he pleased; removing the restraints did take time, yet how swiftly or slowly was entirely for him to decide.
“I may be unable to unlock those limits while you undergo the trial, so for now that method will not work.“
By saying “may be unable” and “for now will not,” the Sovereign of Wisdom left the option deliberately vague.
After a brief pause he continued: “Moreover, even if I cleared the space restrictions right now and let you step directly into my residence, that would not end the trial; it would likely enrage Her and increase its severity.
“At the same time it would alert Her that I have ‘allied’ with you,“ the Sovereign of Wisdom added: “That serves you poorly, for inside my residence she could dismantle the magic formation faster than I. Once you stand in open opposition, she will also watch me, and my residence will no longer buy you any respite.“
He exaggerated, for even without this incident, he and the Goddess never trusted one another. Should Angel’s party come to blows with the Goddess, the true buffer would not be the Grand Hall or the formation but the Sovereign of Wisdom himself.
Still, his words were not false, he merely withheld the whole truth.
Angel understood: the Sovereign of Wisdom did not want them to “cheat” with a planar passage. His entire speech meant one thing, no matter what, you must endure the trial; skipping it brings only trouble.
Although Angel found the Sovereign of Wisdom’s words ambiguous, he concurred on one point: she plainly bristled at Noah’s descendants. Without knowing why, jumping over the trial would not end it; it would only provoke Her to intensify it.
After all: “trial” was the Sovereign of Wisdom’s term, for Her, it was interception, even slaughter.
Opening a passage into the Wise One’s Grand Hall now would only heighten Her vigilance. The wisest course was to break the impasse with skill so that she would not think them prescient, and only after learning everything from the Sovereign of Wisdom would they decide whether to advance step by step or feign weakness to respond.
That returned them to the original problem: breaking the impasse with skill still meant facing Younus directly, and doing so without harming Her.
The thought gave Angel a mild headache; he pinched his brow.
Seeing Angel’s troubled look, the Black Count comforted him through the mental connection: “Do not pressure yourself…If it is truly impossible, we can leave the ruin and investigate the ruin site later; haste is needless.“
His idea was simple: if Angel withdrew, their oath dissolved and he could summon his true body to handle the aftermath. Yet that was a last resort, not the best plan, antagonizing the Sovereign of Wisdom before learning the ruin’s truth served no one.
The Black Count knew this, but he spoke anyway, for to him Angel might outweigh even the ruin. Saving Angel and currying favor with Rhine was profit enough; Angel’s own value was greater still, and the key to the ruin site sat in Angel’s pocket.
“Pressure?“ Angel shook his head: “I feel none, I merely miss a certain snot monster…“
A “snot monster”? The crowd exchanged baffled looks.
Angel referred to Woof Woof, leader of the Void Travelers. With spatial teleportation barred and planar passages restricted, he thought of Woof Woof’s higher-dimensional void traversal: if Woof Woof were here, they might skip the Grand Hall entirely and slip straight into the ruin site, even being swallowed by Younus would not stop that traversal.
Angel was inwardly certain of it; such dimensional roaming surpassed all known teleportation, virtually unstoppable. Alas, Woof Woof was absent. Though Angel could contact him through Haralenne, doing so felt humiliating, so he could only sigh and envy that power.
His wistful expression raised even more question marks above the onlookers’ heads. While they pondered which “snot monster” he meant, Angel changed the subject: “Sovereign of Wisdom, will Little Treasure, Second Treasure, and Big Treasure take part in the trial?“
Sovereign of Wisdom: “I believe I made that clear; do you doubt it?“
Angel: “Not doubt, exactly, I simply hope One-Eyed Little Treasure, or either of the others, can join before we meet Younus.“
The crowd understood instantly. The Sovereign of Wisdom had hinted Angel should crack the trial with the magic formation. But Younus could move, though limited, inside the formation; once they faced Her, studying it might come too late. The best plan was a rehearsal: observe Younus’ movement and permissions within the formation, then locate runes that counter those permissions. If so, Angel was confident of escape.
Yet Younus served “Her,” not the Sovereign of Wisdom; she would never grant them a demonstration. Thus Angel thought of her three children.
The Black Count, hearing Angel’s proposal, breathed more easily, Angel had not lost heart, and the plan held merit if the Sovereign of Wisdom allowed the children to “test” them with a watered-down trial.
Everyone turned to the Sovereign of Wisdom. After a pause he said softly: “I never said they were not part of the trial.“
That all but confirmed his assent: Big Treasure, Second Treasure, or Little Treasure would likely appear soon. Angel relaxed: if their permissions in the formation could be countered, a skill-based solution would stand.
As for dismantling the formation, that was not Angel’s chief worry. Hard or easy mattered less than time; he feared delays breeding new complications. Since the Sovereign of Wisdom himself proposed the method, it likely would not consume much time.
Seeing Angel prepared, the Sovereign of Wisdom dropped the topic and returned to the contract clauses recorded in the True Word Book…
…
While the Sovereign of Wisdom explained those clauses, a faint light blossomed in the darkness of the ruin site. A mirror slowly emerged, square, rope-patterned bronze frame, hanging in mid-air.
At its center, a black vortex spun ceaselessly. Beneath it, the slumbering blonde woman’s eyes snapped open, she was “Her,” the female half of the Demon God of Mirrors’ twin emblem…Aedannis.
Aedannis stood, gazing at the vortex: “Why do you not show yourself? Did you fail?“
The vortex halted; then a ruby hand appeared on the mirror’s face, its little finger broken: “blood” trickling from the wound. Had Angel been present, he would have recognized the very hand he had seen in that dressing-mirror within the Hanging Prison Stairs. The gemstone hand again used its severed finger to scrawl blood-red words:
“I cannot be worthy of Your Highness’ kindness.“
Aedannis frowned: “You are not the original body? Speak aloud.“
The hand withdrew; the vortex returned. Re-emerging, the hand now bore a pink gemstone mouth. It opened, and a childish voice said: “Goddess, I am sorry.“
Such a grotesque distortion of an apology told Aedannis who it was: “Childlike Heart Younus?“
“Yes. I am Childlike Heart Younus.“
Aedannis: “Where is your main body? Did she send you to spy?“
“Maiden Heart Younus is helping the Sovereign clean experimental residue; Motherly Heart Younus is accompanying Little Treasure, so only I was free…“
Aedannis: “…Do you not usually watch Little Treasure?“
Childlike Heart: “Little Treasure did not want to play today; it came to tattle because Second Treasure ignored it…“
Aedannis rubbed Her temples: “So your main body handled trifles and sent you to reconnoiter?“
Childlike Heart dared not answer, yet silence was answer enough.
In Aedannis’ view, Younus’ “main body” meant Maiden Heart and Motherly Heart; their intellects at least allowed normal conversation, whereas Childlike Heart’s did not match even One-Eyed Little Treasure. In truth, Younus’ true body was the trio united; any one or two were only fragments.
Aedannis inhaled deeply and endured the pitiful Childlike Heart, knowing that Younus saw all three hearts as one self, memories merely from different stages. The fault was hers for not specifying which heart to send.
“Very well, report. How did you fail? I ordered you to find who destroyed the outpost and their status. Where did it go wrong?“
Childlike Heart thought and said: “I hid in a mirror to watch who ruined the outpost, but… I was discovered by accident.“
Aedannis: “Discovered? Explain.“
Childlike Heart lacked words; distinguishing human faces was not Her strength. After long silence, Aedannis sighed: “If you cannot say it, forget it, mirror replay.“
At “mirror replay,” Childlike Heart’s distress vanished: “My Highness loves me best!“
Obeying Her, blood-red words appeared: “Obey Your Highness’ rules！“
Aedannis could only watch. The words blurred like diluted dye; the mirror cleared, edged by a faint red haze. Images blossomed under Childlike Heart’s control, forming a figure.
Had Angel been present, he would have seen that the figure was precisely the guise he adopted after disguising himself.
Chapter 2709 Countermeasure <TOC> Chapter 2711 Mirror Replay