390 Hidden Danger
Hela glanced at Lumian and fell silent for two seconds before saying, “Alright, I’ll get ready now.
Ten minutes, combined with the discussion they just had, was enough time for Loki to revive and alert his accomplices.
Lumian’s expression remained unchanged as he nodded gently. “We have to give it a try.”
“That’s right. Capture as many as we can. With an incisive point, it’ll be much easier to find the others,” Franca agreed with Lumian.
She suspected that Loki and his crew were responsible for the deaths of some members of the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society.
Without wasting any more time, the surroundings around Hela suddenly darkened, resisting the light of the three flames.
Her figure vanished without a trace.
This marked the beginning of preparations for the emergency gathering.
Lumian’s eyes flickered as he gazed at the decaying flesh teeming with dead maggots, lost in his own thoughts.
Franca carefully examined her body and realized that there were no substantial or obvious injuries. The pain she had previously endured was a result of the impact on her mind. As her Spirit Body was soothed and treated, only faint cracks remained.
Franca let out a long sigh of relief and said, “Loki is truly cunning and powerful. Fortunately, you thought to seek Madam Hela’s help. Otherwise, we might have become his marionettes by now.”
Lumian wholeheartedly agreed.
If he hadn’t considered borrowing Hela’s power and guessed that Loki could detect a certain trait in him, leading to the decision to bait him out tonight, perhaps the outcome wouldn’t have been in their favor.
When they were unprepared, Loki had approached them and attacked with full force. Neither he nor Franca could retaliate.
He could still use the Blood Emperor’s aura, which was relatively easy to activate and didn’t require complicated procedures, to attract all official Beyonders. Then, he could exploit the time difference to escape using “teleportation.” However, it would condemn Franca to be controlled.
Of course, without the baiting operation, Lumian might have chosen to leave with Franca by traversing the spirit world and slipping out of Loki’s sight before returning stealthily.
“You don’t have to worry about becoming a marionette. Loki wants to groom you into a Sequence 4 Demoness,” Lumian casually reassured Franca.
Franca was taken aback.
“He told me he’s been yearning for a Demoness marionette for a long time…”
Lumian calmly pointed out that Franca had been deceived. “He lied to you. He even said that the four-line honorific name meant to accelerate the progress was, in fact, a trap for me that could isolate most of the struggling commotions.”
Franca muttered to herself, “The honorific name he recited must be real. Him being able to use the traits we share and the power of that Celestial Worthy to directly locate me should be real too. As for the exact range, given the style he displayed, there’s a high chance that it’s nonsense. It can’t be believed.
Franca suddenly turned to look at Lumian.
“Loki should have recognized that you were fake during the gathering! You don’t have the aura or mark of the Celestial Worthy on you!”
“Yes.” Lumian’s mood sank.
“I’ll have to share this detail with Madam Hela later and see if anyone can come up with a way to eliminate the Celestial Worthy aura on them. Otherwise, they’ll be hunted down by Loki and the others in the future,” Franca said as she looked at the Wraith that had a dark-green light seeping out and merging with a certain part of the corpse. “What should we do with this Beyonder characteristic?”
This was a Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristic!
She had her own thoughts about this spoil of war, but she didn’t know Lumian’s attitude.
“Madam Hela killed Loki herself, so the spoils of war must belong to her,” Lumian said nonchalantly.
He then pointed at the corpse of the other marionette.
“Why hasn’t he manifested any Beyonder characteristics?”
“That’s right. He can’t be resurrected too, can he?” Franca muttered. “Could it be that he’s a bestowed who doesn’t have Beyonder characteristics?”
Her plan was to give Madame Hela the Wraith Beyonder characteristic.
Lumian nodded slowly.
“In the evening, I thought he was a marionette of the Sun pathway. Later, when I was under his control, every word he spoke sounded like crazy ravings. It could affect my mind and Spirit Body, which was different from the Sun pathway’s style. Yes, he should be a bestowed of an evil god, made into a marionette by Loki.”
“I’ll ask Madam Hela later.” Just as Franca finished speaking, Hela’s figure in a black widow-like dress outlined itself in the empty mine.
She said to Lumian and Franca, “In five minutes, we’ll recite the incantation and enter the Nation of the Evernight’s palace.”
“Alright.” Lumian took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Franca immediately informed Hela about the possible common trait among the members of the Research Society. Finally, she asked, “Is there a way to confirm and eliminate it? A Marionettist like Loki lurks in the shadows and can find us at any moment. It’s truly terrifying.”
Hela pondered for a moment and replied, “Firstly, advance to Sequence 4 and become a demigod. Only then can you barely suppress the aura left behind by Celestial Worthy. Secondly, search for mystical items with hidden and secret-keeping effects.
“I can only think of these two solutions at the moment. I’ll see if anyone else has a better idea at the next gathering.”
At that moment, Lumian looked at Hela and asked anxiously, “Madame, did you find out anything from Loki?”
Hela took out a flask and downed another third.
Her pale-white face flushed as she said coldly, “When I asked Loki why he wanted to harm the other members, he said it was for fun and to create pranks to satisfy his emotions and mind. However, when I asked him why he wanted to harm Muggle, his answer was Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings…”
Selling the Soul Summoning Spell to Aurore and guiding her to use it on herself seemed to be the will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.
“Why does He want this done… Aurore is only a Sequence 7. She’s just a nobody…” Lumian lowered his head and muttered in pain.
Hela replied coldly, “Probably because the original body of Muggle and her family are problematic.”
Lumian fell silent for a moment before saying, “Could Loki be lying? A person full of lies like him might not be telling the truth.”
“In the dreamscape I created, he can’t lie unless he gains the ability to maintain lucidity in advance, but that’s impossible.” Hela denied Lumian’s guess.
Dreamscape… Franca glanced at Hela and felt that this didn’t match her impression of her Sequence pathway.
Lumian fell silent once again.
Aurore’s transmigration was suspected to have been brought about by the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. After her resurrection, she had been targeted by the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings because Roche Louise Sanson and her family were believers in Inevitability. This made Aurore’s subsequent encounter seem like a predetermined tragedy.
Seeing this, Franca changed the subject and pointed at the two marionettes’ corpses.
“Madame Hela, that Beyonder characteristic is the spoil of war you deserve. What we want to know is why this marionette didn’t produce any Beyonder characteristics?”
Hela didn’t refuse. As she watched the Wraith Beyonder characteristic emerge, she inquired about Franca and Lumian’s feelings when they were controlled.
After a brief exchange, she pondered and said, “This should be a bestowed who believes in an evil god. The corresponding Sequence 7 is an Orator, and Sequence 6 is a Singer. These two Sequences can transmit different mystical powers with their voices, matching your descriptions.
“In addition, Beyonders of this pathway often perform secret deed rituals at Sequence 9 and obtain mysteries and knowledge through a formless door. Different people hear and experience different things, and the subsequent abilities they obtain will be different. Being able to use singing to create a sun’s blinding effect should be one of these manifestations.”
“Which evil god?” Franca blurted out.
Hela shook her head.
“I don’t know the exact honorific name either. It’s dangerous for us to know anyway.
“I’ve encountered His believers. They sometimes refer to this evil god as the First Philosophy or Arcane Controller.”
Without waiting for Franca to ask further, Hela nodded slightly and said, “We should head to the gathering.”
Lumian and Franca recited the incantation simultaneously.
“A Beyonder from ancient times, Ruler of the Nation of the Evernight, noble Mother of the Sky, I beseech your permission to enter your kingdom.”
As the surrounding darkness and slumber dissipated, Lumian and Franca arrived at the ancient and dilapidated palace again.
There was no one here yet. It was empty and silent.
Franca felt that something was amiss. After thinking for more than ten seconds, she realized something.
“We haven’t disguised ourselves!”
Just as she finished speaking, she saw Lumian shrouded in a hazy dream-like fog, obscuring his exact form and appearance.
Lumian then used the Niese Face to transform himself into a hooded Muggle clad in a Warlock’s black robe.
With Madame Hela’s help, Franca breathed a sigh of relief and waited patiently for the April Fool’s team to arrive.
As time ticked by, two figures suddenly outlined inside the silent palace.
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