Chapter 335: Chapter 335 A Snap Turns to Ash and Smoke_1
When night fell, Abigail’s summoning space.
"Hand of Annihilation?" Abigail looked at Aiden with some surprise, "Why has Your Excellency suddenly taken an interest in this?"
"Ha, isn’t that the treasure Qiqimora has always wanted? Are you thinking of competing with her for it?" Habanis teased from the side. "Or do you plan to use it as an engagement gift?"
"It seems you two are getting along quite well... I have plenty of good medicine here that can help with marital bliss, those in the know understand what I mean. Would you like to try some?" Lamia flicked her tongue while sitting nearby.
"Enough from you two, you’re the ones making wild guesses," Qiqimora sighed and then turned to Aiden, "Warden, you know I’ve been looking for such a thing. If there were any leads here, why would I be asking you?"
Abigail’s gatherings were an occasion where the Great Witches would share information related to their powers to some extent. To minimize competition, they generally pursued different powers. If the other Great Witches knew the whereabouts of the Hand of Annihilation, they would have told Qiqimora, or at least offered her the information in exchange for something.
"Of course I know, but what I want to ask isn’t about its whereabouts, but rather its abilities and effects," Aiden clarified his question.
After receiving information from the Smiling Scales that Mister Red Garment was inquiring about the whereabouts of the Hand of Annihilation, Aiden had decided to probe the witch assembly.
The plan to have Veronica replace him to forcibly extract information from Sophie’s mouth had proved to be viable, but judging by Sophie’s reaction, this method couldn’t be overused.
Aiden had decided to resort to this method of interrogation on Sophie only when necessary; after all, she was still in his prison, so he could afford to wait and observe for a while.
Before delving into the whereabouts of the Hand of Annihilation, Aiden felt it was better to understand what this object was all about first.
"Perhaps Your Excellency could first explain your reason for wanting to know?" Abigail asked coolly.
Looking back and forth between Qiqimora and Abigail, Aiden answered, "Information I’ve collected suggests that Mister Red Garment seems to be quite interested in the Hand of Annihilation. Two years ago, he sought information about it from an intelligence organization."
Upon hearing Aiden’s words, Qiqimora’s hand holding a cigarette froze: "What?"
"A competitor, huh? That’s some bad news for you," Lamia remarked, looking at Qiqimora.
"It’s distressing news. This opponent is the ’Resentment’ authority’s saint," Abigail added.
"He actually possesses the only authority of ’Resentment,’" Aiden added another blow.
"..." Qiqimora remained silent.
"If he got any leads two years ago, maybe he’s already got his hands on it by now?" Vila interjected with a reminder.
"Well, I guess he probably hasn’t gotten it," Aiden said with certainty.
"How would you know?" Habanis asked, "What’s your basis?"
"Well, I have one and, though not a hundred percent certain, it’s very likely," Aiden shrugged.
Information from the Smiling Scales wasn’t cheap, and seeking a unique authority wasn’t a minor matter; Aiden thought that unless necessary, Mister Red Garment probably wouldn’t bother inquiring about it for no reason.
He had probably wanted to use it to complete Melifilia’s trial, and if he had gotten hold of the Hand of Annihilation, he likely would’ve immediately come to kill "Aiden Galahad."
After a moment of silence, Qiqimora spoke up, "The Hand of Annihilation... As an object, it’s said to be an invisible glove that allows its wearer to become invisible at will and can even pass through walls. This glove is essentially intangible, and even without a hand, it can be worn - mere possession is enough."
"Is that all?" Aiden asked.
Such abilities obviously weren’t enough to kill someone who could be revived by a goddess.
"There’s one more thing. It’s said that the Hand can cause any object it touches to vanish. If the target is intangible, just snapping one’s fingers is required," continued Qiqimora.
"Just a snap of the fingers to make someone disappear into thin air? That sounds quite frightening," Aiden gestured a snapping motion. The description reminded him of a fictional character from a comic book and movie in his previous world, an amethyst being who could snap his fingers and erase half the world’s population.
"That’s not entirely accurate. The ’annihilation’ doesn’t disintegrate things, it makes them completely vanish, reduced to nothing, leaving no ashes or residue behind," Abigail corrected.
"Vanish forever?" Aiden’s expression immediately turned grave.
The ability to make any object disappear as if it was dropped into a recycle bin and emptied was quite an exaggeration for a unique authority.
"Logic suggests that direct use would result in temporary vanishing," Qiqimora replied, "To completely erase an object would require an equivalent sacrifice. To permanently erase a designated person..."
"The user might vanish themselves," Abigail finished the thought.
Aiden nodded; this aligned with the Wordless Code, where beings other than the ruler could not fully gain the recognition of a unique authority.
In other words, unless Mister Red Garment became the ruler of the "Void" authority, his own use of the Hand of Annihilation to eradicate Aiden might result in his own disappearance without a trace.
"If I may ask boldly, is that man seeking the Hand of Annihilation with the intent to use it against Your Excellency?" Abigail posed the unexpected question.
After considering for a moment, Aiden nodded. His adversarial relationship with Mister Red Garment was no secret to the witches’ assembly.
"This could be troublesome. The method of resurrection I’ve provided for Your Excellency won’t hold up against this. Using the Hand of Annihilation requires a sacrifice..." Abigail paused, "But given the holder is the ’Resentment’ authority’s saint, it might be a different story."
"The ’Sacrifice’ ability?" Aiden caught on immediately.
"Exactly," Abigail nodded. "Though we can’t be certain... it theoretically should be feasible."
The ’Sacrifice’ ability allowed the bearer of the authority to transfer negative effects they suffered to a willing sacrifice who offered themselves in their stead, or even to directly appropriate the body of the sacrifice for their own use.
If the cost of using the Hand of Annihilation could also be transferred by the ’Sacrifice’ ability... then the adversary would merely need to find a sacrifice and would no longer need to worry about consequences.
"That man, did he really succeed in tracing the whereabouts of the unique authority?" Qiqimora mused.
This was the question she was more concerned about. If Mister Red Garment hadn’t found it yet, there was nothing to worry about; but if he had, even if he hadn’t acquired it, it would indicate that the Hand of Annihilation was currently difficult to obtain.
"I think he probably did trace it," Aiden replied. "The intelligence organization he found is called ’Smiling Scales’. Have any of you had dealings with them?"
