Chapter 2736 Space Disorientation <TOC> Chapter 2738 Shattered Lens
Translator: SumTLMan
After sensing an anomalous emotion on Gray Merchant, Angel had already begun gradually diminishing his use of emotional perception. After all, like super computing, emotional perception requires enormous computational power and is a tremendous drain on Angel’s mind.
Still, Angel could not be entirely certain that the abnormal emotion on Gray Merchant really came from「her」.
Therefore, taking precautions, he only lessened his perception of emotions from known sources, while staying highly alert toward unknown ones.
Because of this, when an anomalous feeling drifted through the void, he detected it immediately.
What is meant by「anomalous」? Simply「different from the rest.」
What is the dominant emotional pattern in the void? Malice, slaughter, bloodlust, cruelty.
Anything that contradicts the pattern, 「different from the rest」, is, naturally, goodwill.
This goodwill was even greater than the Sovereign of Wisdom’s goodwill toward him, approaching the level of benevolence the Black Count held for him.
Such goodwill was already extremely high. Remember, the Black Count’s goodwill to Angel was grounded in his old friend Rhine, and only rose gradually as he witnessed Angel’s talent along the way.
Yet now, within this demon-infested void, there appeared a stream-clear benevolence; Angel was deeply surprised.
At first he thought Miss Cecia had cast him a glance, but his authority clearly showed Cecia had never left the Wilderness of Dreams.
If not Cecia, then who?
Angel signaled Eremy to continue the mission, while he hid inside Eremy, undisturbed, and traced the goodwill back toward the void.
When he located its source, Angel’s face once again grew strange.
Earlier, sensing an anomalous emotion on Gray Merchant had struck him as odd; now he was actually detecting one on a void creature?
Moreover, Angel knew this void creature.
It was that whale-shaped monster with a horn!
Previously, although nearly all the emotions he sensed in the void were of extreme malice, there had been a few with weak or no malice.
This whale-shaped monster was the only one whose malice in the void had felt faint to Angel.
Though leaning toward neutrality, it had no wish to stand out, so it followed the crowd, roaring, howling, raging.
In truth, its eyelids sagged the whole time; it probably found this commotion less appealing than going home to nap.
Back then Angel had sighed inwardly that the monster must be highly intelligent, and quite the actor.
He had let the thought pass without further attention.
Yet in just a few minutes, the creature’s emotion had leapt from faint malice to goodwill?
Was it conquered by Eremy’s heroic bearing, becoming a little fan…… whale?
While Angel was guessing, he suddenly sensed another familiar emotion from that whale-shaped monster.
It carried languid decadence, neutral-to-evil, suffused with restrained fatigue yet outwardly expressed as fervent indignation.
Wasn’t that the monster’s original emotion?
After a brief daze, Angel realized he had misunderstood.
The creature’s own emotion had never changed! The goodwill he sensed, like that on Gray Merchant, was another emotion attached to it.
What, are sewer creatures all into possession nowadays?
Having confirmed the truth, Angel grew even more puzzled.
If the monster itself had produced goodwill, he could still explain it away as a「little fan whale.」But another emotion clinging to it, he could no longer talk himself around.
Why did the goodwill arise, where did it come from, on what basis?
These were his puzzles.
Another question: Is the benevolent emotion attached to the whale-shaped monster the「her」spoken of by the Sovereign of Wisdom; or is the malicious emotion attached to Gray Merchant the「her」?
If the latter is her, who then is the former? It can’t be a split personality, can it? And vice versa.
Angel truly could not fathom it.
After pondering a moment, he decided: since he couldn’t figure it out, he would face the other party head-on.
Earlier, confronting the abnormal malice on Gray Merchant, Angel had responded with extreme caution, lest he trigger an unknown「bomb」before reaching the ruin site.
But unlike Gray Merchant, this time the anomalous emotion was goodwill. Angel trusted his emotional perception would not err.
Since it was goodwill, why not meet the party directly? Perhaps he could hear an answer straight from their lips.
That said,「meeting directly」did not mean rushing over. He would first gauge the other’s attitude before moving on.
And how to judge that attitude, determine whether the other wished to communicate?
The method was simple.
Angel had Eremy pause, stand still, and slowly raise his head to the void.
To keep the party from flying into a rage out of embarrassment, Angel placed Eremy so that Eremy, the Sovereign of Wisdom, and the whale-shaped monster formed a straight line.
Thus, when Eremy looked up, it seemed he met the Sovereign of Wisdom’s gaze, yet in fact hinted to the possible「her」on the monster: I have noticed you.
This left the other some leeway and, if they refused to talk, let Angel claim「he was actually looking at the Sovereign of Wisdom」avoiding awkwardness.
Angel considered everything, yet overlooked what onlookers would think.
In Shrew’s party’s eyes, the people opposite were already colluding with the adjudicator, who was outrageously biased. Before they had disguised it; now they were brazenly exchanging looks on the platform?!
Originally Shrew’s party felt neutral toward Angel; now their emotions drifted toward disgust.
On Daus’ side, they too wondered.
With absolute advantage secured, why go chatting up the Sovereign of Wisdom again? Must he flaunt his shortcut so flamboyantly and max out the foes’ hatred?
Spectators were confused, and even the Sovereign of Wisdom himself, as the「concerned party」, was scarcely clearer.
Eremy’s act of producing a severed hand, the Sovereign of Wisdom could guess; but Eremy raising his head to look at him, he had no idea why.
Undeniably, Angel had now virtually locked in victory. Moreover, judging by the severed hand, Angel might have discovered Gray Merchant’s anomaly.
Otherwise, why send the severed hand to「search」Gray Merchant?
Under such circumstances Angel suddenly looked at him… The Sovereign of Wisdom pondered. Could Angel be asking for that individual’s exact position? Or had he found why Gray Merchant was abnormal and was asking whether to release the man’s memories?
The Sovereign of Wisdom, based on current information, could only deduce a handful of possibilities. Yet upon careful reflection, something still felt wrong, these questions could easily be left until after the duel to be asked. Asking them now, apart from attracting hostility, served no benefit the Sovereign of Wisdom could see.
The Sovereign of Wisdom also dared not use the mental connection to transmit thoughts to Angel.
For now, their silent exchange of glances could still be explained away. But if they were to communicate via the mental connection during the duel, and with the adjudicator no less, that would become irrefutable proof of their cheating.
Thus, the Sovereign of Wisdom could only meet Angel’s gaze, or rather, the wide-eyed stare of Eremy, with his mismatched red and sapphire-blue pupils, staring back at him.
Meanwhile, Angel, who fancied himself considering both「the other party’s」and「his own」way out, bypassed the Sovereign of Wisdom entirely, locking eyes with the whale-shaped creature looming in the void.
Though he sensed the emotional atmosphere nearby seemed a bit turbulent, he had no time to dwell on it now; besides, people’s hearts are ever-changing, joy and loathing are but the norm.
Angel stubbornly continued his staring contest with the whale-shaped monster.
At first, perhaps the other thought Angel was eyeing the Sovereign of Wisdom. But after a while, Angel distinctly sensed a current of goodwill stirring in the void.
The goodwill remained, but surprise was mingled in.
After the surprise faded, there was only a long silence…… The other did not leave, nor did they make any move to speak to Angel.
As time dragged on, Angel started to feel a little awkward.
Should he take the initiative and speak? Or perhaps it was better not to, after all, it was rare to encounter a goodwill-laden emotion, and if by pointing out the other’s presence he aroused aversion, it would hardly be worth it.
Perhaps…… just say a few words to the Sovereign of Wisdom, give himself an out, and then let the whole matter drop?
Angel thought this approach might suit him better, but then, what should he say to the Sovereign of Wisdom?
Just as Angel was pondering this, Eremy relayed a message to him.
Upon hearing the news, Angel’s eyes lit up.
He coughed gently twice, drawing everyone’s attention, then said:「Honored Adjudicator, I have a question: in this duel, is the victor allowed to take spoils from the defeated?」
The reactions to Angel’s question varied widely.
Shrew frowned, her face twisted in even greater disgust; Gray Merchant’s apprentices, on the other hand, were filled with outrage.
As for the Black Count’s side, their reaction was much calmer. Apart from Daus clicking his tongue in wonder and muttering「I lost」to himself, there was little response.
The Sovereign of Wisdom lowered his gaze to Angel, then glanced at Gray Merchant, who was still struggling against illusions, completely unaware that his body was crawling with severed hands.
He more or less knew what Angel wanted to take from Gray Merchant.
Whether or not to allow it, the Sovereign of Wisdom was genuinely undecided.
What Angel wanted was surely the「mirror shard」on Gray Merchant. That shard had originally been nothing special, but ever since the Goddess sealed Gray Merchant’s memories within it, a reflective space had begun to manifest inside the shard. When the Goddess appeared in that reflected space to observe Angel, it meant that it was no longer a separate space, but was connected to the world in which the Goddess wandered, as well as to the homeland of Younus.
If anyone else got the shard, it wouldn’t matter, without the proper method, they simply couldn’t enter.
But Angel was different; he had previously reached straight into the mirror and even pulled out an avatar of the Wood Spirit. He might really be able to enter the world within the mirror.
So the Sovereign of Wisdom hesitated: would giving the mirror shard to Angel be good or bad?
If Angel merely released Gray Merchant’s memories from the shard, that would be harmless. But if he intended to use the shard to go deeper into another world, that was a risk to weigh carefully.
It wasn’t that the Sovereign of Wisdom wanted to monopolize the entrance, but rather that the peculiar world within was so treacherously easy to get lost in, once lost, it would be hard to find the way back. Even the Sovereign of Wisdom himself would not enter recklessly.
The Sovereign of Wisdom worried Angel might not be able to restrain his curiosity and would step willingly into the Mirror World.
The Sovereign of Wisdom pondered a moment and replied:「Not within the bounds of the rules.」
With that, the Sovereign of Wisdom said no more.
Under normal interpretation, the Sovereign of Wisdom’s words meant: since it is not restricted by the rules, you may do it.
This was exactly how Shrew’s group understood the statement. In their eyes, the Sovereign of Wisdom and the other side were in cahoots and naturally favored them.
But for the Black Count and company, including Angel, who knew the Sovereign of Wisdom’s ways, in matters not touching on secrecy, the Sovereign of Wisdom would normally be direct: if it was allowed, he’d say so; if not, he’d say no. But here, he deliberately gave only half an answer.
Clearly, there was a deeper meaning.
Angel pondered a few seconds. Though he couldn’t quite grasp what the Sovereign of Wisdom meant to imply, he was sure of one thing: in his heart, the Sovereign of Wisdom did not support Angel taking something from the defeated.
It is a widely accepted rule in many places, including Sky Tower, that the victor has the right to claim spoils.
But why would the Sovereign of Wisdom hesitate over such a common rule?
Angel mused further: perhaps what troubled the Sovereign of Wisdom wasn’t the rule, but the specific item he meant to take from Gray Merchant?
Had the Sovereign of Wisdom already guessed what he sought? Was he trying to warn him off in this indirect way?
……
At first, Angel truly had no idea what Gray Merchant carried.
But he had sensed an「anomalous emotion」from Gray Merchant; with no other anomalies to compare, Angel had simply taken this anomalous emotion as the「her」the Sovereign of Wisdom had referred to.
And how could「she」hide within Gray Merchant and observe him so closely?
Angel hadn’t figured it out before, until she gradually withdrew and the anomalous emotion faded away into the distance, and then a sudden inspiration struck.
He thought of the mirror.
Perhaps, the other party was hiding on some object bearing a mirror surface. Just as with that painting in the Hanging Prison Stairs, watching the outside world through the mirror.
And so, that was why Eremy manufactured severed hands to search the other’s body.
At last, Eremy reported back to Angel: through a severed hand, he had indeed found something worn close to Gray Merchant’s person.
A shard of mirror, wrapped in a scrap of leather.
……
Hearing the Sovereign of Wisdom’s response, Angel had a general sense of the situation.
At first, Angel’s search for a「mirror」on Gray Merchant was simply to verify his own guess. Now, his chain of reasoning was complete.
In fact, Angel didn’t especially care whether or not to take the mirror shard.
The Sovereign of Wisdom’s intent to stop him indicated the shard was likely unsafe…… after all, 「she」might well act directly against Angel through it.
Thinking this, Angel nodded to the Sovereign of Wisdom:「I understand.」
He had already made his decision, his mention of「claiming spoils」was merely a ploy to unobtrusively shift attention elsewhere.
Now his purpose was achieved; giving up was fine.
Yet just as Angel averted his gaze, preparing to instruct Eremy to withdraw the severed hands and end the match, a strange voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
Chapter 2736 Space Disorientation <TOC> Chapter 2738 Shattered Lens