Chapter 2737 Goodwill in the Void <TOC> Chapter 2739 Confrontation and Concession
Translator: SumTLMan
「If you intend to pass through the mirror passage opened by Aedannis to reach the deeper world, without anchors, you will be forever lost.」
This was a voice Angel had never heard before, somewhat similar to the『Mediocre』Muse’s voice, both lazy young male tones. Yet compared to Muse, this voice was clearer and more…… serious?
Seriousness might merely be the solemn tone caused by the present circumstances. It cannot serve as a regular indicator, but no matter what, Angel was certain this was absolutely a strange voice.
Angel did not know who the speaker was, but judging by the source of the voice, he guessed it was the owner of the anomalous emotion attached to the whale-shaped demon creature.
It was a male voice. Thus, it should not be the「she」spoken of by the Sovereign of Wisdom.
Then, who was the Aedannis mentioned by this man?
Angel wanted to respond but could not find a「reply opening」left by the other side, unable to connect through mental power.
At that moment, the voice again entered Angel’s ears:「Actually, I didn’t expect you to find me. But now is not the time for us to meet. Wait a little longer, wait.」
「Remember my words, you may take that Shattered Lens, but do not enter any mirror passage opened by Aedannis, nor let Younus trap you inside the mirror.」
「These outsiders are not your greatest danger. Aedannis has released a powerful otherworldly Infant Spirit, which will ambush you in the ruin site……」
「Do not fight it head-on; find a way into the secret meeting chamber…… the place you call a ruin site. I will be waiting for you there.」
「Unless absolutely necessary, do not ask the Sovereign of Wisdom to help you against the Infant Spirit. He is not a villain, but what he demands, no one can afford.」
「Lastly, please make sure to come to the ruin site…… I have waited too long.」
The voice gradually weakened, then vanished completely.
With his voice fading, Angel clearly sensed the goodwill emotion on the whale-shaped creature in the void also disappear.
Previously only speculation, now almost certain: the speaker was that goodwill emotion.
What Angel did not know was who this suddenly appearing male voice truly was, what purpose he had, and whether his warning should be trusted.
From the words, it seemed he was also in the ruin site. Yet the Sovereign of Wisdom never mentioned anyone besides「her」in the ruin site, was there also a「him」?
However, since the Sovereign of Wisdom did not mention it, Angel and his group speculated because the Demon God of Mirror’s emblem was half female, half male.
Since「she」had already appeared, the male half of the emblem might also exist.
Could the man Angel just spoke with be the hat-wearing male of the emblem?
Without evidence, Angel could not confirm.
But the repeatedly mentioned Aedannis, judging by the context, might indeed be the「she」spoken of by the Sovereign of Wisdom.
Moreover, the tone implied Aedannis harbored hostility toward their group, even going so far as to release an…… Infant Spirit to obstruct them.
Angel knew what an Infant Spirit was. In his impression, Infant Spirits were just low-level ghosts, but the other’s words implied this Infant Spirit was very powerful.
Putting aside these difficulties, judging solely from Aedannis’s hostility, it aligned with the anomalous emotion on Gray Merchant.
In summary, the Demon God of Mirrors was divided into male and female, female carrying malice, male carrying goodwill. The female wished to prevent them from reaching the ruin site, while the male hoped they would go there.
Angel did not know if his conjecture was correct but could be sure there were at least two differing ideologies present in the ruin site.
Truly a split and contradictory state.
……
Angel’s contemplation was interrupted by a sudden surge of feedback from Eremy.
As consciousness returned, Angel found Eremy had sent him multiple messages consecutively, initially simple statements, later escalating to alarms.
All triggered by Gray Merchant discovering the「severed hand」on himself.
Though Gray Merchant was now only afflicted by Space Disorientation and not completely numb, he still sensed something as the severed hand shamelessly searched over his Gemstone Earth Dragon incarnation.
However, to Gray Merchant’s draconic form, the severed hand was minuscule, like an ant.
At first, Gray Merchant’s attention was caught by the external「Eremy」and he ignored abnormalities on himself. But after multiple failed attacks and growing self-doubt, he finally focused on his own body.
Then, one severed hand was found and destroyed by Gray Merchant.
Now, only two severed hands remained.
One touched the「mirror surface」, while the other attracted Gray Merchant’s attention to protect the first. Seeing Gray Merchant nearly finding it, Eremy continuously sent feedback.
In other words, Angel had to decide: abandon the lens or have the severed hands carry the lens away immediately.
Previously, Angel’s choice was to abandon the lens due to the Sovereign of Wisdom’s hint.
But now, hearing the explanation from the one in the void, Angel roughly guessed the Sovereign of Wisdom worried he might enter the Mirror World and become utterly lost.
If that was the only concern, Angel thought the Sovereign of Wisdom was overthinking.
Angel appeared reckless but was actually very cautious. All his recklessness was based on having trump cards, support, and retreat options. When aware that the path ahead was not yet lost, he became very prudent. Even if he had to enter the Mirror World, he would first probe carefully and repeatedly, only proceeding once assured of safety.
The Sovereign of Wisdom probably saw that Angel would gain nothing in the ruin site yet still insisted on「risking death」to go, deeming him an overly radical adventurer. Hence the hints to prevent Angel from taking the lens and charging ahead recklessly.
Understanding this, Angel made a new decision.
He still wanted to get that lens.
Since the one in the void said he could take the shattered lens but not enter the mirror passage built by Aedannis…… why not take it?
As long as he didn’t enter the Mirror World and used it only as an experimental research object, why not?
Besides, Angel had recently been studying mirror spaces. Relying solely on mirror wraiths for research was slow; maybe this shattered lens could bring him surprises.
With this in mind, Angel ordered Eremy to have the severed hand retrieve the lens!
After receiving the order, the severed hand that had been distracting Gray Merchant immediately stopped hiding, became aggressive, and directly provoked Gray Merchant.
Drawing most of Gray Merchant’s attention onto itself.
The other severed hand, clutching the shattered lens, leapt without hesitation from Gray Merchant’s body from its hiding place.
Gray Merchant also noticed the severed hand and, more urgently, realized that the hand was holding a crucial lens containing his memories. His heart raced as he immediately prepared to abandon the other severed hand’s provocation and deal first with the one holding the lens.
The ignored severed hand decisively proceeded to dismantle itself.
Its own energy composition was exactly the same as the gem power on Gray Merchant’s body. Its disintegration did not provoke any resistance from the surrounding gem power, which merely assumed another gem power was merging into Gray Merchant.
However, this gem power was not a 「confluence of all rivers」; its purpose was only to disrupt Gray Merchant’s judgment.
The method was simple: directly activating the gem power, a rainbow-like mist rose, instantly blocking Gray Merchant’s vision.
Without hesitation, Gray Merchant activated his energy vision.
But upon using mental power to activate this energy vision, he discovered that the severed hand carrying the important lens had already vanished!
It was only a moment’s concealment, why was it gone?!
He searched relentlessly, but no matter how hard he looked, there was no trace.
For the first time, Gray Merchant’s mood fluctuated violently; in his anger, he unleashed a furious barrage against the gem power obstructing his sight.
At this moment, the gem power formed by the severed hand had already lost control by Eremy and truly fused into Gray Merchant himself, meaning Gray Merchant was bombarding his own energy.
This was a form of futile rage.
Gray Merchant’s failure to find the severed hand was naturally due to Space Disorientation. While the severed hand was still on Gray Merchant’s body, Space Disorientation had no effect; but once the severed hand departed, Space Disorientation naturally obscured Gray Merchant’s vision.
At this point, a large-area attack might have shaken the severed hand loose.
However, Gray Merchant did not do so.
Angel was puzzled as well: why didn’t Gray Merchant simply unleash a wide-range area of effect attack? Angel had already approached Gray Merchant, ready at any moment to catch the severed hand to avoid it being hit by such an attack. Yet Gray Merchant never resorted to an area of effect attacks.
But this was fortunate, as Angel successfully retrieved the severed hand.
Although Gray Merchant could not see Angel’s movements, those outside and even the Sovereign of Wisdom witnessed Angel’s actions.
Daus and the others were completely unaware of what Angel was doing or what was contained within the leather bundle he held.
Yet from the expressions of Shrew and others, Daus and the group understood that Angel had taken something very important.
Previously, no matter how much Angel “provoked,” only the pink-haired girl opposite fumed; the others remained calm.
But this time, nearly everyone on the opposing side showed indignation. Especially Shrew, who even floated into midair, attempting to rush onto the arena.
However, she was stopped by the Sovereign of Wisdom.
Yet this did not mean Shrew gave up. The bandages trailing and lengthening behind her began to spread around, clearly signaling that the moment Angel stepped out, she would fight to the death.
Angel keenly sensed the fierce hatred in her eyes.
Or rather, the emotions of the Traveling Merchants and their companions collectively shifted, from neutrality to hostility. Angel naturally noticed this change immediately.
Angel was actually quite puzzled.
This broken lens should have been「hers」, that is, Aedannis’s gift to Gray Merchant, mainly intended…… perhaps to observe him during battle? He took the lens but didn’t touch anything else on Gray Merchant himself, so why had the hostility from Shrew and others changed so drastically?
Angel shook his head, not dwelling further, deciding to resolve the battle first before considering anything else.
Before Angel prepared to move against Gray Merchant, he glanced at the Sovereign of Wisdom.
Angel tried to read the Sovereign of Wisdom’s reaction to his taking the lens, but the Sovereign’s face was shrouded by a cloak, making it difficult to discern his thoughts.
Only a vague sense that the atmosphere around him had become more solemn than before.
Angel suppressed the urge to converse with the Sovereign of Wisdom now and refocused his gaze on Gray Merchant.
……
Since that presence had left, Angel felt that no matter what trump card he played now, it no longer mattered.……
However, facing Gray Merchant, there was truly no need to deploy other trump cards, especially since Gray Merchant was already under the Space Disorientation illusion.
Although Gray Merchant had begun to sense something amiss and attempted to break free from the illusion’s shackles, it was already too late.
In fact, Angel even exploited Gray Merchant’s「awareness」of the illusion to slightly loosen the bonds of Space Disorientation, making him believe he had uncovered the truth behind the swapped left-right space.
Ultimately, Gray Merchant walked off the arena by himself.
When the Sovereign of Wisdom announced Gray Merchant’s defeat in the duel, Gray Merchant thought he had penetrated the illusion and was approaching Angel. In reality, everything was planned by Angel, including Gray Merchant’s…… self-righteousness.
……
As the announcement of the match’s end was spoken by the Sovereign of Wisdom.
A figure swiftly rushed onto the arena.
Filled with dense blood aura and overflowing malice, rushing towards Angel.
Undoubtedly, the only one daring to attack Angel at this moment was Shrew.
However, before she could reach Angel, Daus also charged onto the arena, sword in hand, blocking her.
After being stopped, before Shrew could react, slender stone pillars abruptly rose from the ground. These pillars twisted and coiled like entwined serpents, enclosing Shrew within them. Eventually, the slender pillars transformed into a twisted black birdcage, floating in midair.
Shrew offered no resistance from start to finish. Not because she was unwilling, but because a tremendous oppressive force overwhelmed her, rendering her immobile.
This oppressive force did not come from the black robed adjudicator, but from the opposite side…… that floating stone slab.
Imprisoned within the birdcage, Shrew wilted and collapsed inside.
The only thing she could do now was glare at Angel with fierce eyes.
Those sinister eyes, glimpsed through strands of her flowing hair, resembled a venomous snake secretly watching you from within grass, cold and merciless. Anyone unexpectedly meeting that gaze would shiver down their spine.
Though Shrew spoke no words, her intense malice was expressed through her actions and gaze.
At this moment, the apprentices led by Mammoth also arrived on the arena. They dared not strike, only standing vigilantly beside Shrew, watching the opposing crowd.
Among the crowd, Pink Jasmine angrily looked at Angel:「Hand it over! Give back what you took!」
As Pink Jasmine shouted, Gray Merchant, who had just come to his senses from defeat, also awakened.
Turning back, Gray Merchant saw Shrew and all her apprentices rushing onto the arena.
The apprentices were temporarily unharmed, but Shrew was imprisoned inside a huge twisted birdcage.
Hearing Pink Jasmine’s words and who they targeted, Gray Merchant immediately understood the situation.
He sighed softly, and in a flash, appeared at the center of the confrontation.
Chapter 2737 Goodwill in the Void <TOC> Chapter 2739 Confrontation and Concession