Chapter 211: Chapter 211 Abigail’s Visit_1
Hearing Isabella’s response, Kael’s eyes widened in shock; he was seldom met with such defeat.
How could this be, with my innate charm and the formidable power of a vampire prince, to be met with indifference by a mere mortal!?
After a moment of thought, he turned around, attempting to use a simple blood magic to let blood seep from his fingertips, only to discover that nothing happened.
Magic power... it can’t flow.
He found the reason.
The magic was being suppressed. This prison seemed to have devices at the entrance, including the reception area, that could seal off magic power.
So that’s it... it’s not a problem with me, Kael thought, sighing in relief.
Isabella sat at the window, watching this jumpy vampire prince with a frown on her face.
What’s wrong with this guy?
Kael turned his face again, "Then, may I inquire about seeing your leader here?"
"Are you thinking... of asking the warden for a favor through the back door?"
Seeing that the other party wasn’t trying to hide anything, Isabella bluntly asked.
"Just to discuss something, really, I have very important matters to see Ophelia," said Kael with a smile plastered on his face.
"I can pass on the message for you, but I must remind you that even if you do see the warden, it’s very unlikely he will allow it. Moreover, he probably won’t be seeing visitors today, as he mentioned he has an important visitor coming this afternoon," Isabella calmly replied.
"Visitor?" Kael paused for a moment.
"Excuse me..." The blonde girl appeared behind Kael, peeping towards the window.
"Hello," Isabella shifted her gaze directly to the girl, waving her hand.
With his meeting request denied, Kael could only step aside helplessly to let the girl behind him come forward.
"I have an appointment with the warden, my name is Alice Liddell," said the young woman.
"Ah, Miss Liddell, right? The warden has already been notified. Please take this temporary pass, go down that corridor, and a prison guard will lead you in," directed Isabella, indicating the way to the visitor.
The visitor named Alice took the pass and entered the corridor watched over by prison guards.
...
Minutes later, "Alice Liddell" appeared in the warden’s office.
"Welcome, apex of witches..." After the prison guard closed the door, Aiden, who was seated behind the desk, warmly rose to greet, "How should I address you now? Abigail? Or... Miss Liddell?"
Alice Liddell—this was the pseudonym Abigail had previously agreed upon with Aiden to use during her visits. According to Abigail, this was her "mother’s" name, actually given to her by her "grandmother", the unnamed witch who founded the Order of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
When Aiden heard the full name, he wasn’t surprised. Alice Liddell was the real-life inspiration for the protagonist of the well-known fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland." It seemed that the traveler who came before simply passed this name onto his "daughter."
"Let’s stick with Abigail, I would find it more familiar," said Abigail as she sat in the guest chair, promptly taking a sip of the red tea prepared for her.
"To be honest, I’m already quite unused to seeing you like this," Aiden said as he settled back down and also lifted his teacup, "Is this appearance a disguise?"
Abigail’s current appearance was completely different from what Aiden saw in that space when she summoned him—height, body shape, even her voice didn’t match, not to mention the pair of devil-like horns that used to be on her head in the space.
"Yes, I have several ’templates’ I use for going out, encompassing all ages and genders," Abigail answered indifferently, "If necessary, I can also transform into an animal."
Aiden thought that since the magical confinement of the prison remained effective, this shape-shifting ability must also be a power of the "Life" domain. Lamia had mentioned that the domain of "Life" could easily alter the form of living beings, create chimeric beasts that ordinary alchemy struggled to sustain. Hence, altering one’s appearance or turning into an animal was certainly no difficult task.
In order to meet with Abigail, Aiden had specifically ordered the prison’s magic power seal enchantment to operate beyond its normal capacity for a brief period, ensuring that even the legendary Great Witch would not be able to use an ounce of magic power.
But Aiden was also aware that these precautions didn’t make his present situation any safer. After all, the enchantment could seal away dark magic but not divine incantations, and sitting across from him was someone close to the power of a "Saint."
"I was genuinely shocked when you said you wanted to visit me," Aiden said, sipping his tea with feigned composure, "I’ve always thought of you as someone who doesn’t leave her home... I heard from others that you only meet with Great Witches you approve of, and even then, through a credential system. You didn’t even leave during the siege of the Banquet Forest by the cult."
Being in the same room with someone as dangerous as Abigail, it was impossible to be calm.
But Aiden was very clear that he absolutely could not let this emotion show. When Abigail proposed the visit, he didn’t refuse because he quickly realized that he could neither stop nor avoid meeting her.
Now that Abigail had arrived, Aiden had not arranged for any guards to be present, because he knew that it would make no difference; appearing overly cautious would only reveal to Abigail that he had been bluffing all this time.
Despite the risk, it was a risk he had to take.
"I actually do go out and visit other Great Witches, just rarely," Abigail responded blandly, "My workshop is in Banquet Forest, where all my life’s research is stored, as well as the space for the witches’ assembly... I usually don’t leave easily. It seems the last time I went out... was about five years ago."
"Then should I feel honored that you’ve taken the trouble to visit me specifically?" Aiden smiled.
"It couldn’t be helped, after all, our transaction can only be completed in person," Abigail swiftly shifted the topic from small talk to the main issue at hand.
Aiden nodded, "May I ask if you’ve brought the item I requested with you?"
Abigail nodded, taking out a glass sphere from her pocket, "This is the automaton core crafted by Vila. Just smear your blood on it, feed it to the mercury amalgam automaton, and it will recognize you as its master. There’s a small hole in the core; simply insert a strand of hair, and you can command the automaton to track the target."
Having finished, Abigail tossed the glass sphere to Aiden, who caught it and immediately began the experiment. After smearing his blood on it, he threw the glass sphere to a mercury ball that had been motionless in the corner.
With the enchanted barrier in operation and "Order’s" divine words at his disposal, he wasn’t worried that the witches’ council would tamper with the device.
Upon swallowing the glass bead, the mercury ball moved as if boiling, rapidly pulsating before morphing into a humanoid shape—a man of similar build to Aiden.
