623 - 630

Chapter 623: The Realm of Gates

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Around 'Saint Ivan', 'Aleksy', 'Uriel', 'Felix' and the 'angel of light' appeared one after another. They had arrived earlier than Douglas, Fernando and the other legendary sorcerers, but they never entered it.

Belkovsky, what are we going to do?" Aleksey addressed 'Saint Ivan' with the name of Belkovsky, the current pontiff in the north. He talked as if he were equal to the guy.

The gold eyebrow of 'Saint Ivan' was furrowed, and his blue eyes that carried certain yellowness observed the grey pathway behind the Furnace of Souls carefully. He said, "I suspect that the monster is still inside. Also, without the pattern of coordinate changes left by Maskelyne and Viken, there is no telling where to go and where to find them at all. We can only try our luck."

He was somewhat scared, as if he had encountered certain things when he explored the entrance earlier. He dare not take the risk even though he could perform God's Grace.

"Then, should we relocate the Room of the Holy Spirit first?" The eyes of 'Felix' were also focused on the grey pathway. He did not look at the entrance that was enshrouded in the illusionary ripples at all, as if he were not interested in what was inside.

After a brief silence, 'Saint Ivan' said, "However, I suspect that the Congress of Magic dared to explore the Temple of Spirits because they found Maskelyne's or Viken's last belongings. After all, Viken's nest was on the border of Holm, and Hathaway was there when the Grand Cross lock was broken. If they find the items of those legendary sorcerers and learn how to enter the 'Chamber of Immortality', the dream of all the saints in history will never be fulfilled."

As he talked, he glanced at the pathway that was enshrouded by the illusionary ripples.

Before 'Uriel' and the rest of them talked, 'Ivan' continued, "So, Mikhail and I will go in, and you will relocate the Room of the Holy Spirit. He's a projection based on Geno's item of godhood. It won't be a problem even if he dies inside. As for me, I'm strong enough to return safely."

Mikhail was the 'angel of light.'

"Alright, Belkovsky, don't be careless. We don't know exactly what Maskelyne and Viken encountered yet and why they never came out." 'Uriel' said in a low voice.

He wasn't so sure that Maskelyne was already dead. After all, the further one pressed into the Temple of Spirits, the weirder the flow of time would be. One day at the edge equaled five days outside, and one day around the Furnace of Souls equaled to approximately a week. It should be terrible inside. Although those legendary sorcerers had been missing for a thousand years in the world outside, they probably had only lived a hundred years inside the 'Realm of Gates'.

Ivan smiled. "What happened to them must be beyond our imagination. We cannot determine their status even though we prayed and performed prophecy with their personal items. However, the people of the Congress of Magic are leading the way for me. I'll be able to exit in time should there be any danger."

After a brief discussion, 'Ivan' and the 'angel of light' passed the Furnace of Souls and entered the grey pathways, and the saints including 'Aleksey' returned to the Room of the Holy Spirit, in case the reinforcements of the Congress of Magic traced back to them.

The Furnace of Souls resumed the previous silence. At this moment, the Lich King, with the weird gems spinning around his head, appeared from the wall and stared at the entrance that Lucien and the rest of them entered.

After a while, a transparent ghost flew in. He was wearing a black robe that had glamorous, red patterns on it. "You're not going in?"

Judging from his attitude and his tone, it was not hard to tell that he was equal to the Lich King. He was exactly the Wraith Lord, another dominator at the peripheral area of the Temple of Spirits.

"I will never make it out if I go in." Said the Lich King in a hoarse voice. His previous fury after Lucien broke in had died down.

The Wraith Lord said with an unpredictable voice. "Are you not scared that the Lord will punish us after he wakes up?"

By the lord, he was clearly referring to the mysterious existence of the World of Souls.

"Hermes and Crosos are tracing them. We need to stay on alert in case more enemies break into the temple." The needle-like redness was flashing coldly in the Lich King's eyes.

The Wraith Lord floated. "Yes. Now that Chilaps has been killed by the enemy, the defense at the periphery will be too weak if we also go in."

The two legendary specters looked at each other and hid around, waiting for the 'survivors' to come out from inside and taking precautions against other experts who might break in.

…

The dome was grey, the floor was grey, the wall was grey, the torches were grey, and the fire on them was also grey. Lucien could not see any other colors except from himself, as if he had come to an unreal world.

Having no time to examine why the fire kept on burning, Lucien flew forward in a hurry. After a few seconds, he saw a closed black gate, which was particularly eye-catching in the world of greyness.

Compared to the magnificence of other parts of the Temple of Spirits, the black gate which was only 2.5 meters tall made Lucien feel very close, as if he were back to Holm.

After examining the gate in a hurry and detecting no traps, Lucien opened it with a spell.

As the black gate was slowly opened, the grey hall inside entered Lucien's eyes. Except for three black gates in the three corners, there was absolutely nothing. It was dim and gloomy.

Having no time to consider, Lucien passed quite a few similar halls in a row. He only slowed down when he sensed the change of time and space.

"Those grey halls are too weird. They are all empty, and they all have four black gates in the four corners. If it weren't for the different decorations and pillars, I would've thought that I had been in the same hall all the time." While casting Magic Order, Spell Trigger and other enhancements on himself, Lucien observed the surroundings. He believed that other people would've thought that the grey halls were false and the black gates were the only things that were 'real'.

Recalling the environmental parameters he collected just now, Lucien discovered, to his surprise, that the pattern left by Mr. Maskelyne also worked in this place, which meant that he could always find his back back.

"But the buildings here are changing too frequently, aren't they? They will change almost every time after I open two gates." Calculating, Lucien thought and felt it rather strange. Although his safety could be better ensured in such a way, because the Lord of Hell or the legendary spectres might enter wrong halls when they opened the gates again behind him, he might also run into unexpected dangers, because the hall behind the gate could be the one that the enemy was in.

In this place, the prophecy and reconnaissance spells were greatly suppressed.

"I have to be more vigilant." Lucien cast another bunch of spells to improve his intuitions. In the previous battle, the three times of 'Advanced Time Stop' in his Moon Timer had been used up, and there was only one 'Gravity Collapse' left. The 'Elemental Protection' from the Robe of Grand Arcanists and the 'Undead Rampart' from the Congus Ring had also been used up. In other words, other than transforming into a legendary knight to pick up the Shield of Truth, the legendary defense he could use was only the Space Staff. "I need to find a place to crack the crown of the Primordial Mummy. The more legendary items I have, the safer I will be."

The hall was only five 'gates' away from the entrance. Lucien was not very relieved. So, he picked a random black gate and opened it after careful examination.

In the vague greyness, Lucien suddenly captured a flashing silver light. Alarmed, he immediately spread out his spiritual power.

The grey hall was still quiet, but there was the residue on the floor after a magic circle was used.

The materials of the magic circle were already gone, and the only things left were silver, complicated traces. They were both sacred and scary, as if they were the foulest things in the world. The feeling was very similar to how the pathway impressed him.

"A magic circle that Mr. Maskelyne used? One that I've never seen before." Lucien recorded the residue in his spirit library and searched, only to find no relevant information. It seemed that he would have to crack it from scratch if he wanted to know what it was about. Also, since only part of the traces were left behind, reverse analysis could be highly difficult. Lucien did not know when he could complete it.

After recording the residue, Lucien observed it in general and suddenly discovered that the magic circle constituted the corner of a hexagram.

The hexagram was the most fundamental magic pattern that originated from reproductive worship. Then, it was greatly improved by the ancient sorcerers based on the patterns of the magic creatures. It showed the integration of the body and the soul, as well as the interference of spiritual power on the material world.

"Are there six similar magic circles? But what are they for?" Lucien did not want to stay in this room that was exceptionally creepy. Since the residue had been recorded, he flew to a black gate in a different direction.

Right then, Lucien discovered broken pieces below a grey pillar, so he picked it up carefully with Mage's Hand.

"A fragment of a parchment? A special parchment that has been processed by magic?" Lucien recognized what the broken piece was. Only the parchment processed by magic could've survived years in such an environment without rotting.

There was only one bold word on the grey fragment: "Devil!"

"Devil?" Lucien repeated the word that was written in the language of the ancient Sylvanas Magic Empire. Normally speaking, the word denoted two meanings. Firstly, it referred to the creatures in hell; secondly, it referred to all the dangerous and terrible things in general. "Which does it mean?"

While he considered, Lucien searched the hall carefully again but found nothing else. Therefore, he flew to the black gate as he previously planned and examined it carefully.

The black gate blocked the two halls. Until he opened it, Lucien's spells and magic could not reach the other side of the gate. Therefore, he had to be very prudent. Lucien also made up his mind that he would definitely bring a black gate back for studies when he left, as any arcanists would've done.

After his spell, the black gate moved backwards slowly, and a shadow was suddenly reflected in Lucien's pupils!

Black shirt, red coat, silver long hair and eyes, and a cluster of dark red stain of blood before his chest. He was filled with a weird sense of beauty.

"Mr. Rhine?" Lucien blurted out, slowing down the spells that were ready to be launched.

Rhine, who was leaning against a grey pillar lazily, put on a smile: "Hi, Lucien, we have met again."

Chapter 624: Sealed Time

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

At the beginning of July of 825, it was as scorching as fire.

On the thirty-first floor of the Allyn magic tower, Onore, who had passed the exam and was admitted by the Holt Magic College, observed the Sky Radio Station in the first district with his classmates with great interest. He said rather regretfully, "What a shame. The radio station only broadcasts at night, but the school will be closed after six. Otherwise, we would be able to ask for the autographs of Ms. Lark and Ms. Nightingale. They must be as beautiful as their sound."

The remaining districts of the thirty-first floor of the Allyn were reserved as the teaching areas of the Holt Magic College because the advanced laboratories in the magic tower could be directly used. There would be no need to establish new laboratories. The dormitories of the students were in other places.

"You can apply for the magic experiments at night." Clark, another student, said jokingly.

Onore was rather upset. "It's only been two months since the semester began. I'm still picking up the basics of arcana and magic, and I'm far from qualified to apply for the night magic experiments."

The Holt Magic College began in May. Students were allowed to select courses on their own and expected to graduate in two to five years. They had a new year holiday but not a summer holiday.

"Exactly. Mr. Evans' matrix mechanics still confuses me. I have grasped the matrix, and I know how to calculate it, but I don't understand how and why it works at all. It's like a pure mathematical work. If I don't learn the arcana significance behind it, the whole theory is often dizzying for me." Said Clark bitterly. The matrix mechanics was truly frigidly unapproachable.

Onore shook his head and tried to ease the atmosphere with a joke. "It's like what Mr. Evans said before. You know every word and every equation, but you don't know anything at all when they are connected."

"More or less. The special theory of relativity is the same. I can understand the premises and the deduction, but the space-time relationship that it entails, as well as its application to analyze magic, is too overwhelming for me." Clark sighed. As for the general theory of relativity, there was only a basic introduction but no specific courses. It was said that there were no more than ten people in the entire Congress of Magic who had basically grasped the general theory of relativity. None of the teachers in the college was capable of teaching that.

Onore opened his hands and was about to talk, when he discovered that a teacher had been standing like a statue, with an issue of 'Arcana' in his hand, after he walked out of the lift.

"Mr. Ernesto?" Finding it odd, Onore greeted the teacher.

Pa. The journal in Ernesto's hand hits the ground. He looked at the students, with panic and fear lingering in his eyes. "You don't have classes?"

"No. The courses we selected for this week are over. Mr. Ernesto, is this the latest issue of 'Arcana'?" Asked Onore curiously.

The Holt Magic College had stipulated that the students had to read Arcana, Magic and Nature to learn the cutting edge of arcana and magic studies whether or not they could understand them. Those three journals were ordered by the college and distributed for free.

Ernesto looked at the journal on the ground as if it were a devil and hesitated. "It is, but don't you believe anything on it just yet until you confirm it with your own experiments."

"Disruptive theories and experiments?" Onore also stared at the journal, his eyes widened. The head explosions when the light quantum theory was proposed left quite a deep impression on him.

"'An Electron Diffraction Experiment With Monocrystals'…" Clark read the title of the page on the journal that was opened, confused. "Electron? Diffraction? How can they be associated?"

Because he needed to prepare for the exploration in the World of Souls, Lucien's electron diffraction experiment was postponed for two months and not submitted to the Arcana Review Board until he was about to leave.

Uncontrollably, Onore picked up the journal and murmured. "Clark, do you remember the earlier issue of Arcana, where the Highest Council discussed Mr. Dieppe's paper?"

"Mr. Dieppe's paper…" Clark's face was twisted as if he were reminded of the most terrible monster.

Onore read the paper greedily and anxiously. He saw the experiment preparations, he saw the experiment process, and the las the final result of the experiment, the familiar and classic pattern of diffraction!

"It's… It's true that electrons can behave as waves…" Onore's eyes lost focus as he spoke what he thought subconsciously.

Thanks to Lucien's speech and example earlier, he had accepted that the electron was something unknown that was not entirely figured out yet. What he thought was that electrons behaved as waves, not that electrons were waves. That was why he mind was not disrupted yet.

Clark shook his head quickly. "It has to be confirmed with experiments! It has to be!"

Ernesto also nodded hard. He led the students to his laboratory and prepared for the experiment materials according to Mr. Evans' introduction.

After a long time, when the dreamy image was unveiled before their eyes, Ernesto collapsed on his chair and rubbed his head hard in pain.

It was a major shock for Onore, who suspected that Mr. Ernesto's head would explode all of a sudden spreading the brains everywhere.

Thankfully, Ernesto was gradually back to normal. He looked around in confusion, "It behaves as both particles and waves. What about the real world? I think I can't understand any of the things I know."

Fearing that he wouldn't let it go, Onore hurried to change the subject. "There's a paper on 'Arcana' written by Mr. Evans and his students. They reprocessed the matrix mechanics with the classic mathematical tools. They seem much more clear and concise."

"However clear and concise they are, if we cannot figure out the arcana significance behind the math, they will be just like the 'matrix maze' we are in right now." Clark frowned as he read the journal.

The room immediately fell quiet. Onore couldn't help but recall the uncanny qualities of the electron, which both undeniably behaved as particles and showed the familiar pattern of diffraction. According to Dieppe, protons and neutrons were the same. Then, would the elements, matter and even the world have dual qualities, too?

Looking at the platform, the chair, the floor and the lamp before him, Onore also shook his head. "I don't know the real world anymore, either."

Clark finally observed, "The textbooks have to be changed again."

Onore was amused and recalled what he saw when he took the College Entrance Exam of Advanced Magic. The textbook on the new alchemy that was determined in the morning had to be revised by the time the exam was over in the afternoon. Now, after only two months, the textbook had to be rectified yet again.

"This is truly a crazy and wonderful age…"

Inside his own laboratory, Dieppe looked at the diffraction pattern in disbelief and remarked in amazement.

After he finished the experiment, he felt the feedback of the real world, which improved his cognitive world. However, he murmured in confusion, "Why is it much less than I anticipated? Did Mr. Evans take most of it because he completed the diffraction experiment?"

It could only be explained in such a way!

What he didn't know was that Lucien did the experiment in a hurry to stop the changes in his cognitive world and didn't finish the theoretical deduction at all. That was why he still received part of the feedback.

...

In the grey environment, Rhine's red coat was particularly eye-catching. However, Lucien did not ease his wariness. The Temple of Spirits was full of dangers, and Mr. Rhine had always been acting mysteriously.

"I almost attacked just now if I didn't sense my Origin of Blood in your body." Rhine said so casually that he was more like attending a concern than having an adventure in the World of Souls.

Lucien also confirmed Rhine's identity with his scent and the reaction of the Origin of Blood. He asked in confusion, "Mr. Rhine, why are you here? Are you trapped again?"

Rhine shook his head. "When Sard died in the battle against Benedict II, a mysterious piece from his body escaped into the World of Souls. I traced it and reached this place."

As he spoke, he pointed at the blood on his chest. "However, I lost clues and encountered a transparent monster. I was heavily wounded and only beat it back with the strength of the Primordial Ancestor."

"It was not destroyed? What's the level of the monster?" Asked Lucien in surprise. Rhine was at the peak of legendary when he borrowed the power of the Silver Moon, and yet the monster was not killed.

Rhine retained his easy smile. "I found it quite odd, too. After being caged in the World of Souls, I have reached level three of legendary. When I fought the monster, it only showed the strength close to the peak. It could wound me but not kill me, but after I borrowed the strength of the Primordial Ancestor, it suddenly became stronger and reached the real peak of legendary. So, it was only temporarily beaten back."

"It intentionally lured you to use the strength of Alterna?" Lucien analyzed. Rhine's skill was like Ivan's God's Grace. It would take a long time before he could use it again.

Rhine smiled. "Probably, but it isn't so easy to kill a prince of vampires. Why are you here?"

Lucien introduced what happened earlier and described the residue of the magic circle and the grey piece with the word 'devil' on it.

Pondering for a moment, Rhine said, "I met a similar residue before… Let's check it again. We may find something else."

Therefore, he reopened the black gate that Lucien came from, but the grey hall behind it had changed. Appearing before the two of them was a grey secret chamber.

Time seemed to be sealed in the chamber. Everything was fresh and real. However, after the gate was opened, time began to flow, and the paper, the desk and the utensils decayed quickly.

Different from the grey hall, this secret chamber only had two black gates.

"An alchemical circle? Is this the remains of a magic laboratory?" Lucien was slightly behind Rhine. He was grasped by curiosity and the desire of exploration.

Two items were still intact in the mud. One of them was a broken notebook that had been processed by magic, and the other was the arm of a puppet with weird patterns.

Rhine picked up the arm of the puppet and examined it carefully. Lucien also opened the notebook with magic, turning the grey, broken pages making crisp sounds.

The beginning of the notebook was the conclusions of some alchemical experiments. They were perhaps very precious for the ancient sorcerers, but for the arcanists of the Congress today, those things had been simplified and modified far too many times and were not worth mentioning at all. However, Lucien was intrigued by a solution to craft 'stand-in puppet' on the notebook. He recorded it inside his spirit library.

He was about to finish reading the notebook. There were no clues about the current environment. Suddenly, two lines of deep grey words were reflected in his eyes before Lucien had the time to react: "A ghost, an unimaginable ghost, wanders this place!"

"Quite a few partners have gone missing. Perhaps I will be next."

Chapter 625: A Weird Monster

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"…An unimaginable ghost…"

Compared to the previous notes, the two lines were written very heavily and hastily. The fear and panic between the lines could be easily felt.

"What monster could've possibly terrified a legendary sorcerer to such an extent? Also, why didn't he leave when he still had time? They should've already grasped the pattern of coordinate changes in this place…" Lucien showed no expression on his face, but he analyzed the anomalies in his heart.

Since the guy's notebook hadn't decayed at all after so many years without being looked after by anyone, and since the guy established a unique chamber inside the grey hall as his laboratory, Lucien was pretty sure that the writer was a legendary sorcerer. Those people wouldn't have been terrified even if they had run into a demigod. They might be devastated and defeated, but they shouldn't have been as scared as a little kid.

What kind of ghost was that?

Somehow, Lucien felt that the creepy feeling caused by the note was familiar, but he didn't find a corresponding experience in his memories.

With the arm of the puppet in his hands, Rhine observed, as if he were appraising jewelry. "This puppet was made in a unique way. As far as I know, McLeod was the only person capable of that. This should be his last belonging."

He stressed 'last belonging'.

"McLeod, the King of Alchemy in the ancient Magic Empire, a level-three legendary sorcerer?" Lucien confirmed with him.

According to Viken and Adol's files, McLeod was one of the ten or so legendary sorcerers who explored the World of Souls with Maskelyne. It seemed that they indeed 'went missing' in this place.

Lucien did not know the specific number of the teammates because Viken did not record any of them and Adol only knew the famous ones among them. He could only infer the rest of them. Obviously, the legendary sorcerers who 'went missing' in the ancient Magic Empire did not all disappear in the World of Souls.

"Based on the files I know, it's probably him." Rhine rubbed the bright green arm of the puppet that was painted with weird patterns.

Lucien smiled, "You are the Observer. Your conclusion is definitely more accurate than mine."

Rhine smiled and tapped the puppet as if he were playing the piano. "This puppet is a rarely-seen one-time legendary item, and it seems that it was not destroyed but dismantled by McLeod purposefully into multiple parts. If we find the parts, we may be able to reassemble it."

"Dismantled purposefully? Perhaps, we can get the important information that McLeod left behind after it is restored." Said Lucien, deep in thought. It was a way in the school of astrology to avoid prophecies.

"There's no telling how many gates and grey halls there are in this place. Since we do not know the specific coordinates of the locations where McLeod stored the parts of his puppet, we may not be able to collect all of them in thousands of years." Rhine passed the puppet over. "This is not of much use to me. You can keep it to yourself."

Lucien had been very interested in the way to craft the puppet in the first place. Also, it was now an incomplete and unusable item. Therefore, he took it over straightforwardly.

He placed his right hand on the puppet and exerted his strength, but it did not move at all. Rhine was obviously clutching the puppet.

Lucien raised his head and looked at Rhine. Didn't he say that he would give it to him?

Looking at Rhine's confusion, Rhine smiled and said humorously, "Are you going to take it without a thank you?"

In the meantime, Lucien saw that his silver, bright eyes became blurry, like the cold dreamy moon in a deep night that could captivate everybody's soul.

Lucien suddenly felt such a strong fatigue that he only wanted to go to sleep.

Not good!

The vampire's talented enchantment!

Why did Mr. Rhine suddenly attack him?

The sound of the Mental Barrier being broken echoed inside Lucien's soul and slightly refreshed him, but Rhine's eyes were like a night sky where a silver moon was shining. He couldn't shift his attention at all.

The vague light of 'Short-Distance Teleportation' illuminated, and 'Spell Trigger' was automatically activated since his soul was under attack.

Right then, Rhine moved his right hand, spreading bright black waves toward Lucien's hand through the puppet, which offset the magic waves and stopped Lucien from blinking away.

'Magic Order' and 'Spell Sequencer' were activated one after the other, but they were both negated by Rhine in weird ways. He extended his sharp teeth and bit Lucien as graceful as a gentleman: "It's very impolite to not say thank you."

Suddenly, Lucien's eyes became clear. As the moonlight bloomed, Rhine's teeth bit the illusionary ripples, which slightly stunned him. In the meantime, he felt that the puppet was now lighter, as Lucien had dropped his right hand.

Lucien felt vague coolness from the Congus Ring on his left hand, which significantly diminished the illusion. Also, the effects such as Spell Trigger bought Lucien enough time!

"You are not Mr. Rhine!" Holding the Shield of Truth in his left hand, Lucien drew the silver longsword with his right hand.

Until this moment, even though Lucien had suspected that Rhine would attack him for a certain reason, he never suspected that Rhine was fake. The guy's scent, reaction to the Origin of Blood, and magic check all indicated that he was the Silver-eyed Count, the Observer. However, Lucien sensed something was wrong when Rhine nullified the spells such as Spell Trigger and Magic Order through weird approaches.

'Rhine' suddenly stopped and leapt away, dodging the attack of Lucien's Sword of Truth. He chuckled, "We have the same memories, the same appearance, the same blood and the same body. Why can't I be Rhine? Isn't that everything that matters for an intelligent creature?"

"You are the unimaginable ghost and devil." Lucien raised his Shield of Truth and blocked the attack of 'Rhine' who blinked before him and scratched the shield with the fingernails that were even colder than metal longswords.

Creak. In the blood-freezing sound of scratching, Lucien cut the enemy's waist. The overwhelming aura from the sword left a gash on the wall of the chamber.

'Rhine' did not react at all, but when the sword hit him, a shadow broke apart. Then, he blinked from the ceiling and swooped like an eagle, with his bat wings unfolding and blocking the dome.

"He is almost as fast as the projection of the Lord of Hell. Vampires are indeed a species best known for their agility and speed. However, his attack is not good enough. It seems to be only level two of legendary at best. That's far from enough to break the Shield of Truth." Lucien analyzed the situation calmly. After 'Rhine' accelerated, his shadows were everywhere, which made it impossible for Lucien to tell which of them was his real self. He could only resist the enemy with the Shield of Truth but was unable to counterattack with the Sword of Truth.

Clang, clang, clang. The silver auras of the sword cut the grey wall, making pleasant sounds and creating deep cracks one after another.

Looking at those cracks, Lucien was suddenly inspired. "This room is not spacious, but it is very solid…"

"Hellish Ball!" Lucien cast the spell. Then, a ball of light as bright as the sun flew out of the Robe of Grand Arcanists towards 'Rhine'. As he expected, the ball missed the target and hit the wall!

BOOM!

The soundwaves swept across the entire chamber like an instrument. The greenish acid even corrupted the air. The silver lightning turned the chamber into a forest. Scorching flames burnt everything, making the place look like a real inferno.

No corner in the entire chamber could avoid the massive damage, not even Lucien himself. However, since he was behind the Shield of Truth, he seemed to be in a different world.

Inside the inferno, the illusionary shadows were broken, and the real self of 'Rhine' surfaced in the black air.

"Now is the time!" After locking onto his real self, Lucien slashed his long-prepared Sword of Truth.

The silver aura of the sword, in the shape of a crescent moon, broke apart the fire, the lightning and hit 'Rhine' who did not have the time to dodge. The black air around him, as well as his body, was immediately cut open.

The gap in the void destroyed every piece of the body, but 'Rhine' put on a weird smile. Then, he pressed his chest with his right hand and slightly bowed, as graceful as a musician who was answering the curtain call.

Without a sound, the body of 'Rhine' collapsed and disappeared, and the arm of the puppet fell to the ground.

After the terrifying view caused by 'Hellish Ball' died down, everything became peaceful and quiet, and 'Rhine' never showed up again.

Without being careless at all, Lucien picked up the arm of the puppet cautiously with the Shield of Truth in his hand, but he did not find any information left by McLeod on it. In the meantime, he was greatly puzzled. "This ghost can turn into somebody else that can trick those who are most familiar with them. It is very easy for him to commit assassinations. However, he is only level two of legendary and slightly stronger than me. Why on earth could he have terrified McLeod? How did he make the legendary sorcerers such as Maskelyne go missing?"

"However, there is something wrong with him, too. He was not completely killed after he was hit by the Sword of Truth…"

Shaking his head, Lucien felt that the whole thing was full of enigmas that were too much for him to explore right now.

"The time here flows more slowly than outside. The hunters must've already entered this place, and the effect of 'God's Grace' should be over now. I can try to return." Lucien did not want to take more risks. Calculating the current coordinates and the coordinates of the entrance according to the pattern, he looked for a way to go back.

At this moment, another black gate creaked and was opened.

Lucien looked over warily, holding the Shield of Truth in his hand. He was confident that it could resist the first attack of all the experts who were not a demigod.

The gate was wide open, and a familiar person entered Lucien's vision. The silver soft long hair, the red coat, the black shirt, the dim red stains of blood on the chest, and the lips that were paler than usual – it was Rhine again!

"Hi, Lucien, we meet again." He smiled. Then his face changed greatly: "Hey, don't greet me with the Sword of Truth!"

Chapter 626: Two Puppet Parts

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

As the silver longsword shook slightly, Rhine suddenly blinked to the behind of the gate that hadn't been closed, leaving a slowly disappearing shadow behind. He said in both amusement and anger, "You met the monster that could pretend to be someone else, too?"

He sounded more or less relieved, as if he had confirmed that Lucien was authentic.

Lucien looked at him warily. After enhancing himself with Mechanized Mind and Mental Barrier again, he was rational enough to not directly attack Rhine. "Mr. Rhine, how can I confirm that you are authentic?"

You should at least give me an undeniable fact, or it will be better for the both of us if we go separate ways.

Rhine pulled the gate and prevented it from being closed. He said with a smile, "I understand that you cannot tell if I am impersonated by the monster by scent, blood, body or memories. I was injured because of that just now. However, I believe there's something that the monster absolutely cannot simulate unless he is the God of Truth."

"What is it?" Lucien vaguely guessed Rhine's answer.

A pair of enormous bat wings appeared behind Rhine's red coat, and the vague moonlight glowed, announcing the arrival of the majestic, domineering air of a demigod. A silver moon seemed to be rising in the grey hall. He said, "This is the air of the Primordial Ancestor. That monster cannot fabricate a demigod. The air on your left hand will let me know that you are not fake."

Sensing the familiar air of Alterna, Lucien was finally relieved. He showed the air of the Silver Moon and the mysterious existence of the World of Souls in his left hand without reserve. "Alright, I'm convinced that you are Mr. Rhine. If the monster can simulate the air of a demigod, I wouldn't be able to escape even if I was not deceived."

Rhine coughed, with blood spreading out on his lips. Although internal bleeding was a serious wound for vampires, he simply smiled as if it were nothing important. "It's a reasonable choice to be cautious. I was hit because I was too reckless."

"The monster I encountered pretended to be you. What about yours?" Lucien retreated the Sword of Truth and kept the Shield of Truth, retaining his wariness.

Rhine coughed again. "He pretended to be another prince among the vampires who's very close to me."

"Oh, so to speak, the monster can simulate both the lives that entered the 'grey maze' and the experts outside of this place?" Asked Lucien in confusion. What was the mechanism behind that?

The 'grey maze' was the name that Lucien came up with for the grey halls and the black gates.

"Grey maze? Hehe, this place is called 'Realm of Gates'. At least, the legendary sorcerers who went missing in this place called it that way." Rhine corrected him. "I suspect that there's something wrong with this 'Realm of Gates'. Perhaps, our memories are open in this place. So, the monster pretended to be the prince according to my memories."

The memories are open? What about the secrets from Earth? What about the spirit library? Lucien considered the problem seriously. Would he see Gundam, Super Saiyans or Starships that are simulated by the monster?

What a spectacular world it would be…

"The Realm of Gates? Mr. Rhine, did you find the things that Viken left behind?" Since he couldn't discuss the spiritual library with Rhine, Lucien asked another important question.

Rhine shook his head. "I came to this place when I followed the mysterious piece inside Sard's body. I only found a few fragments before I was attacked. There's some information on them."

Instead of keeping it a secret, he tossed a few pieces of grey paper to Lucien.

Picking them up with 'Mage's Hand' carefully, Lucien browsed through them.

"…There are countless black gates in this place. A surprise, and of course, a danger, may be hiding behind every gate. We have named this place 'Realm of Gates'…"

"…We accidentally found certain weird creatures behind the gates. They are somewhat similar to the research that we conducted before. If we hadn't already achieved some results, we probably would never have discovered them…"

"…Maybe, we can find a way to get in there by studying those creatures…"

"…Somebody seemed to be here before…"

Lucien recognized the handwriting on two pieces of paper. One of them belonged to McLeod that he learnt just now, and the other was Maskelyne's.

"Weird creatures? Are there plenty of such creatures?" Lucien said, feeling that his blood was freezing, while he considered the information on the last piece of paper. Somebody was here before Maskelyne and the explorers came?

Rhine closed the black gate and wiped the blood on his lips with a white handkerchief, before he shook his head and said, "That's impossible. If there were plenty of such monsters, Maskelyne and his lot wouldn't have discovered them or written those notes in relief at all."

He meant that Maskelyne and the team should've been wiped out soon after they entered. After all, they were not as strong as him, who could summon the Silver Moon. Also, since the team was rather huge, there would've been plenty of opportunities for the monsters who were adept at disguise.

"It makes sense. Even you were heavily wounded from the ambush, Mr. Rhine." Lucien nodded. "Right, Mr. Rhine, how strong was the monster you encountered?"

Rhine folded the handkerchief and put it in his pocket. "He was undoubtedly the peak of legendary. I only beat it back after summoning the power of the Primordial Ancestor. However, if I hadn't been as carefully, I could've escaped even if I could not defeat it."

After pausing for a moment, he smiled and said, "I am now a level-three legendary vampire."

"Why was the monster I encountered only level two of legendary?" Lucien was rather puzzled about that. "Did we meet different monsters?"

"If they were different monsters, why did they happen to be one level above ourselves?" Rhine captured the problem keenly. "Apart from the ability to summon the Primordial Ancestor, I am level three of legendary. Without the improvement of your equipment, you should only be level one of legendary, right?"

Being in this place, he didn't know how much time had passed in the outside world, so he wasn't so sure whether or not Lucien, who had been advancing crazily, had already advanced into level two of legendary.

Lucien had the weird familiar feeling again, as if he had encountered the situation before, but he couldn't find the experience that matched. So, he could only ponder for a moment and reply, "Yes, I'm level one of level-one legendary. Perhaps, due to certain special restraints, the monsters can only carry out the strength one level higher than that of the target?"

"That's a possibility." Wearing his usual smile, Rhine encouraged Lucien to go on.

An idea suddenly occurred to Lucien. He looked at Mr. Rhine with a smile, "Mr. Rhine, if my speculation is true, do you think we will run into one monster or two monsters if we move together? Will they be level two of legendary or the peak of legendary?"

"It should be one monster at the peak of legendary." Pondering for a moment, Rhine answered.

Lucien turned away his head 'coldly'. "Then, I think we should go separately."

"Forgive me, but I happen to be going the same way as you all the time." Rhine replied humorously. "Also, an experienced, well-informed Observer can be very useful in this place. Besides, everything we said was just a speculation."

Lucien smiled. "I was also worried that I might encounter a top legendary monster when I act alone, so it will be better if Mr. Rhine deals with them with me. I don't think we will encounter a monster in the level of demigod, right? About that, Mr. Rhine, I'm planning to abort the exploration and return. This place is not too far away from the entrance. There are only a dozen gates in between at most. Are you coming with me?"

"Due to my heavy wound, it's obviously unsuitable for me to stay any longer." Rhine took out a bright green arm of a puppet. "I'm quite lucky to meet you who knows the pattern of coordinate changes. It would've taken me forever if I tried to find a way out on my own. This is my advance payment. It's a part of the puppet created by McLeod in his unique ways. You will benefit a lot by analyzing it."

Observation and summarization were the strong suits of sorcerers, and arcanists among sorcerers were even better at them. Rhine knew what he was and wasn't capable of very well.

Lucien's face immediately became awful. Alarmed, he said warily, "Mr. Rhine, put the arm of the puppet on the ground."

"Why? Were you tricked by the arm of the puppet as a gift just now?" Amused, Rhine threw the arm of the puppet to the ground and watched Lucien pick it up with 'Mage's Hand'.

After he picked it up, Lucien recognized that it was the other arm of the puppet, and they made a set perfectly.

Slightly relieved, Lucien opened the black gate behind him. Appearing before his eyes was a familiar grey hall, with the silver residue of magic patterns on the ground.

"No, this isn't the previous one." Lucien soon recognized that the complicated magic patterns constituted a different part of the hexagram.

"Huh, a paper fragment?" Rhine discovered a shallow grey piece and showed it to Lucien:

"NO!"

It was similar to the fragment that had 'devil' on it. Hysterical craziness and fear could be sensed from it. While memorizing the complicated magic patterns, Lucien found the right leg of the puppet.

Having collected three parts of the puppet, Lucien was not delighted. Instead, he said solemnly in confusion, "Why are the fragments and parts of the puppet waiting to be discovered by us?"

"There are too many halls in the Realm of Gates. The monster might be unable to find all of them." Rhine speculated.

Lucien shook his head. "Then, why can the monster find us accurately?"

...

Inside the grey hall, Douglas and Fernando, surrounded by countless alarm spells, walked steadily.

"There's nothing but halls and gates in this place?" Fernando looked around. There weren't any dangers or monsters? That only called for more wariness. This was the deepest part of the World of Souls where many legendary sorcerers had gone missing!

Douglas observed the surroundings and said, "The coordinates are changing fast, but they match the pattern left by Maskelyne. However, as a result, it will be barely possible for us to encounter Lucien. We can only leave marks to tell him to go out on his own and leave the same marks for us."

"He must be planning to hide for a while before he returns to the entrance. We will return after the time is probably enough." After discovering that the coordinates of the halls were changing fast, Fernando vaguely guessed what his student had in mind.

As he spoke, he opened a black gate with magic.

...

"Life sensation?" Rhine speculated again.

Hardly had he concluded his sentence when both of them raised their heads and looked at a black gate warily, which was being opened slowly.

Chapter 627: Lucien's Question

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

As the black gate was slowly opened, Lucien held the Shield of Truth even more tightly. If it was the monster that was coming, he would probably be at the peak of legendary according to Rhine and his speculation.

The red eyes, the short height, the long magic robe that reached the ground, and the handsome but old face… The familiar look made Lucien blurt out. "Master."

Then, he saw the tall old man behind Fernando. It was exactly the gentle but intimidating Douglas. He said, "Mr. President."

Fernando did not give a reply immediately. He remained silent for almost ten seconds, as if he were confirming Lucien's identity in secret. In the end, he seemed relieved. "You didn't encounter any danger, did you?"

…

Fernando opened the black gate with magic and suddenly sensed two people inside. So, he was even more wary, and the Robe of Dominance, the Eye of Storm and Abrupt Magic Reverse were all ready.

Then, he heard Lucien's voice. "Master, Mr. President."

His worries were greatly eased, but he was careful enough to confirm Lucien's identity with multiple magic approaches. Douglas also checked the uniqueness of the Secretive with his astrology.

…

Although the features such as the air and the spiritual power all told Lucien that it was his teacher and the president standing before his eyes, his previous experience made him full of wariness. Still holding the Shield of Truth as before, he said, "Mr. President, master, there's a monster in this place who can transform into anyone with the victim's every feature. I just encountered him when he pretended to be Mr. Rhine. He even simulated the reaction of the Origin of Blood."

Fernando glared at him. "Are you implying that we are impersonated by the monster? Can he fabricate the projection of my demiplane, too?"

A dark thunderstorm blew around him, and the Thunder Hell had arrived.

Hearing the familiar roars and storms, Lucien felt that his heart was hot, somewhat believing that it was his master.

Douglas, on the other hand, considered for a moment and asked, "Lucien, since the Silver-eyed Count is with you, it means that you have other ways to confirm each other's identity. Do we need to do anything to cooperate with you?"

"We confirmed each other's identity with the air of the Primordial Ancestor. I don't think it's possible for you." Rhine smiled and answered on behalf of Lucien. "However, the solution is very simple. This place is not far from the entrance. We do not need to go with you. Since both of you are at the peak of legendary, I don't think anything can stop you from returning. Everything will be clear once we're out."

In the dangerous 'Realm of Gates' where there was a monster that could pretend to be everybody, people tended to be suspicious of each other. Lucien was not entirely reassured about Rhine even to this moment. Therefore, he totally agreed with his proposal.

Fernando roared. "Nonsense! If the monster is so terrifying, will he watch you two leave without doing anything? You can't confirm my identity?"

Despite his roars, he remained calm and cleared the way without underestimating the monster.

"In that case, you will go to the entrance first, and we will follow you in case the monster chases after you." Douglas nodded his head and agreed with Rhine's proposal.

Therefore, the two top legendary sorcerers stood at the corners of the grey hall and cleared the black gate. Lucien and Rhine, on the other hand, moved to the gate that was on the entrance's side carefully, each watching over one side. They were finally more or less relaxed when they were about to enter the gate.

Then, Douglas and Fernando moved and followed them.

Their action was absolutely fine, but Lucien was rather anxious. His transformation was about to be over. In order to perform it again, he would need a few seconds to pacify his blood power. Those few seconds would be highly dangerous. He could not make any mistakes in such an environment.

Should he ask his teacher to follow them one hall away? But in such a case, wouldn't he lose the greatest help if he encountered a top legendary monster?

I have to find a way to confirm their identity… Lucien thought quickly.

Rhine was about to open the black gate up ahead. Fearing that they might encounter a top legendary monster, Fernando and Douglas were closer and closer to them.

Then, they suddenly heard Lucien speak, "Mr. President, master, wait a moment."

"What is it?" Fernando seemed angry about not being trusted.

Rhine, on the other hand, looked at Lucien curiously, wondering what he was going to ask.

Lucien asked rather solemnly, "Mr. President, master, how can the atom model with two electrons be resolved with matrix mechanics?"

"Huh…" Fernando and Douglas were both stunned.

…

"The air, the spiritual power and the blood power are identical…"

"His location is deviated from this place according to my prophecy, but that might not be 'the Secretive', because many other ways could create a similar effect…"

In the telepathic bond, Fernando and Douglas exchanged their information. They had to be careful. Their past adventures made them respect all the dangerous places instead of blindly trusting their magic, not to mention that this was the deepest part of the World of Souls where many legendary sorcerers had gone missing!

"He should be Lucien, but we can't be careless even if he is the real Lucien. There are too many sorcerers who were corrupted and lost, weren't there?" Fernando was not hasty and impatient at all. He had been nearly killed many times because of his personality in the past adventures, and he had learnt to control himself.

Lucien, holding the Shield of Truth, said delightedly, "Mr. President, master, there's a terrible monster in this place that is at the peak of legendary. If I hadn't encountered Mr. Rhine and received his help after he summoned Silver Moon Alterna, I probably would've been killed by the monster."

"Let's get out of this place!"

"Where is the Silver-eyed Count?" Douglas looked around in confusion.

Fernando, on the other hand, frowned and asked, "Only one top legendary monster?"

The word 'only' fully demonstrated his confidence and dominance.

"I don't know. We were separated after the battle. Also, this is the Realm of Gates. There's no way to locate him at all without knowing his coordinates." Lucien said in frustration. "Also, the monster may be even more terrible than what we saw. I found some of the last belongings and notebooks left by Mr. Maskelyne's team. They were full of desperation and hysteria."

"Notebooks? Last belongings? Let me take a look." Said Douglas solemnly.

Lucien took out the grey notebook and the greenish item. Canceling the Shield of Truth, he was about to hand it over to Fernando.

"Wait a moment." Douglas suddenly stopped him. "Deliver it with magic. Don't come close."

"What's the meaning of this, Mr. President?" Lucien appeared confused.

Douglas said gently, "This is the deepest part of the World of Souls where any accident may happen. So, we can't be more careful. Well, this place is not far away from the entrance. Let's read them outside. You will go first. We'll follow you."

Lucien nodded. "That is absolutely correct."

…

After a brief daze, Douglas said in amusement, "Aren't there no answers or inspirations to the question yet?"

"That's why I would like to hear your opinion. This is a pure regular arcana communication about the new frontier." Lucien smiled.

Memories could be obtained via special methods, and the blood power and the spiritual power could be fabricated as if they were real. However, Lucien believed that the ability to comprehensively make use of the knowledge in the memories and the mindset that was a sublimation of memories were the most special parts in everybody. It was barely possible for the monster to mimic them. When it came to a new frontier of arcana where no answers had been raised yet, the two idiosyncrasies would be best revealed.

If it were on Earth, Lucien wouldn't be so sure, but this world had souls. Mindset was the closest thing to the soul and was one of the most essential nature of a person. If the monster could simulate that perfectly, Lucien would find it hard to imagine what constituted a person.

"Discussing an arcana problem at such a moment? Are you out of your mind?" Fernando burst into fury.

Lucien said, without giving in, "The monster can only obtain memories, but he cannot comprehensively utilize the knowledge in them to resolve new arcana problems. This is the best way of identification."

Fernando suddenly smiled. "You are such a nuisance. Wouldn't it be much better if you could just be deceived by me and die? Why do you have to make me attack you?"

His voice was still echoing, when he fell apart like a shadow and melted into Douglas's body, with a weird smile popping up on his face:

"Advanced Time Stop!"

The grey was frozen, and the vague paleness surfaced. Everything around stopped functioning. Even the alternate space behind the Shield of Truth seemed to be affected and became rather slow, making it impossible for Lucien to wield the Sword of Truth. Besides, the Moon Timer's weakening of the power of time and space was not as good as he expected. Lucien could only watch 'Douglas' in a strange way although his head was still normal.

Was it 'Advanced Time Stop' performed by the top legend?

He had been so greatly affected even though he had the Moon Timer and the Shield of Truth!

"Eternal Blaze!"

After the time was stopped, 'Douglas' pressed his hands and cast the spell.

If he were to be killed by 'Advanced Time Stop' plus 'Eternal Blaze', he would definitely die full of regrets!

At this moment, Lucien wondered whether he would be resurrected after he was killed inside this mysterious 'Realm of Gates', or would he be forever locked here like a ghost.

…

Lucien nodded. "That is absolutely correct."

As he talked, he stepped forward, ready to walk past Douglas and Fernando.

Right then, the smile on his face became mysterious. He pointed with his right hand and declared, "Light of Judgment!"

A magnificent and intimidating beam of light seemed to have descended directly from Mountain Paradise, with the power that could destroy everything.

"Abrupt Magic Reverse!" Fernando's long-prepared spell was performed.

A mirror full of beautiful, enigmatic patterns appeared, as if it were connected to a different world.

After the Light of Judgment hit the mirror, it was reflected abruptly and hit 'Lucien', but it merely broke an illusion.

The 'Abrupt Magic Reverse', which could reflect five spells that targeted individuals, seemed to have reached the limits of its capacity. It was completely broken after being used only once.

In midair, a shadow slowly appeared. He had a headful of white hair, a sacred crown, and a platinum staff in his hand.

"Benedict III!" Douglas couldn't have been more grave.

Chapter 628: Psalm of Night

Inside the grey effect of Time Stop, a sliver light suddenly glowed as a vintage hourglass that was engraved with the patterns of a full moon, half moon and a crescent moon flew out of Rhine's pocket!

As the silver sand flowed inside, the effect of Time Stop was gone, but the sand was also reduced into powder.

It was indeed as expected of the Observer who had a copious collection.

However, 'Douglas' had already performed 'Eternal Blaze'. Lucien, having only just recovered from the attack, could only focus the will and blood power transformed from his spiritual power on the Shield of Truth, keeping it before himself and Rhine.

Boom!

The most terrifying temperature vaporized the grey bricks and the illusionary ripples created by the Shield of Truth. The energy storm that seemed able to destroy the world blew both the shield and Lucien backwards.

After only several seconds, the amazing feeling that they were in a different world was gone. The ripples around them cracked and fell apart. The surface of the neat and sacred 'Shield of Truth' was also brimming with the miserable traces of a raging storm, as if it would be completely damaged before long.

Lucien's 'Robe of Grand Arcanists', sensing the temperature and the energy that were infiltrating, automatically triggered 'Elemental Skin' and 'Magic Absorber', crazily swallowing and offsetting the damage.

Suddenly, Rhine's red coat emitted vague blackness that appeared like the deepest night, calling for subconscious reference and compliment.

The black light spread out and slightly twisted the direction of the high temperature, the energy storm and the neutron storm that leaked in. In the meantime, his body became fuzzy like a mist, which enveloped Lucien and brought him into a 'dream'.

In the unimaginable light and heat at the center of the explosion of 'Eternal Blaze', the Shield of Truth, Lucien and Rhine were soon obliterated, but it seemed to be waking them from a dream.

'Real Dream'! 'Night Travel'! The vampires' two talents!

The surging explosion destroyed the whole hall and tore apart the grey wall and the black gate. Bloody liquid dripped from the ceiling and the door, only to be vaporized immediately.

After the explosion died down, the grey wall wriggled as if it were alive, repairing everything on its own. Very soon, the place became exactly the same as before, except that the silver pattern of magic on the floor had been erased.

...

Inside another grey hall…

Rhine and Lucien suddenly appeared from the void in midair. Unable to control themselves, they fell and hit the ground with a loud noise. Their whole bodies were in pain.

"I'm not dead yet? I weathered through a hydrogen bomb!" The sense of pain made Lucien really feel that he was still alive. In his delight, he did not call it 'Eternal Blaze' but used 'hydrogen bomb', his most familiar name, in his heart.

"Cough." Rhine's hair was a bit of a mess, but he tried to cover his mouth with a white handkerchief. It was not until a long time later that he stopped the intense coughing and regained the ability of talking. "The 'Eternal Blaze' you invented is truly a spell that suppresses the undead creatures. Despite the blockage of the Shield of Truth and 'Psalm of Night', I have been unusually weakened. I probably wouldn't be able to wield much strength in the next hour or so."

That was only because the princes of vampires had strong recovery abilities. If it were any other vampires, their skin would've been burnt and festered, and it wouldn't be healed until a long time later.

"Psalm of Night?" Lucien glanced at Rhine's red coat, on which the dark and peaceful darkness was still flowing. It seemed to be the legendary armor among the vampires which had uncannily fallen from a level-four, perfect legendary item into a level-three, senior-rank one. Had it not been for its defense, Rhine and he would have suffered much more severe damage.

Thinking about that, Lucien looked at the Shield of Truth in his hands. The delicate, well-decorated surface of the shield was full of bumps and dents. Holes caused by vaporization could be found in many places, too. It was obvious that the shield was no longer usable for now.

Lucien was more or less relieved. The shield did not seem to be completely damaged yet, or he would feel a great heartache. Such a high-level legendary item with special defense like 'Shield of Truth' couldn't be replaced at all!

"As expected of the Shield of Truth. If it were any other level-three legendary item, it would have been completely vaporized." Rhine observed the black gates warily. According to their previous experiences, the monster would not show up in the grey hall out of nowhere but would encounter the target after the gate was opened. Of course, that might just be the monster's hobby.

Touching the uneven surface of the Shield of Truth, Lucien said, "It only survived because the mechanism of its defense is different from that of other objects."

He also added in his heart, "That's why we survived."

'Eternal Blaze' was an area attack. Spell Trigger or other spells might not be able to bring him to the edge.

While talking, Lucien brought a small but complicated alchemical cottage from his storage bag and tossed it in front of himself.

The dark gold cottage grew quickly into a magic laboratory that had a full alchemical platform.

"A portable alchemical platform?" Regaining his ability of action, Rhine observed the magic laboratory with great interest.

Lucien nodded his head. "We have been prepared for everything that might happen in the adventure in the World of Souls, including what we should do after our equipment is damaged…"

This time, Lucien did not need to spend tremendous time searching for materials to repair his magic items like when he was forced into the alternate dimension last time. Instead, he had prepared all the materials he needed according to his gear.

"But we can't stop here. The monster may come to us at any moment." Rhine was not as weak as a moment ago. At least, the big wings on his back could be opened now.

Lucien found the necessary materials to repair the Shield of Truth and threw them into the portable magic laboratory with a smile. Then, he put the damaged 'Shield of Truth' on the alchemical platform and sent the repair procedures and requirements into the laboratory through telepathic bond. In the end, he said, "Please work on it, Pittsburgh."

"Not a problem. Master, it will be repaired in half a day." The 'magic laboratory' said delightfully.

Rhine's lips twitched. "So, an alchemical life that can help with maintenance."

"Pittsburgh is the brother of Pinocchio, my tower guard, and an alchemical life that Mr. Klaus and I developed together. Unless he is too severely damaged, he can even repair legendary items, which will save sorcerers a lot of time, particularly during an adventure." Lucien introduced Pittsburgh. He felt rather gloomy when he mentioned Klaus.

Rhine put his handkerchief into his pocket and asked in confusion, "Pittsburgh is Pinocchio's brother because they begin with the same letter?"

"Hehe." Naturally, Lucien wouldn't say that he named the alchemical life in such a way purely because of his bad humor.

After reducing the magic Lab he put it back into his storage bag, Lucien raised his head and looked at the everlasting grey hall, starting to calculate his current coordinates by collecting the environmental parameters. In the meantime, since the Shield of Truth was no longer usable, he naturally did not transform into a legendary knight again, but put back the Sword of Truth and prepared to deal with the dangers with magic.

Suddenly, Lucien changed his face. "This place is very close to the final spot that Mr. Maskelyne recorded. We pressed so deep into the Realm of Gates?"

"That's a sad coincidence? I was unable to control the direction of Night Travel in that situation. I hoped to fly to somewhere near the Furnace of Souls, but as it turned out…" Rhine opened his hands gracefully and expressed his apology.

"Do you listen to 'Arcana Voice', too?" Lucien sensed the style of 'Arcana Voice' from Rhine's rhetoric.

While he talked, he examined a black gate with magic and was prepared to open it.

Rhine combed his silver long hair and chuckled, "It's a very interesting program. Lucien, are you going to where Maskelyne left his final coordinates?"

Lucien had shared the formula to calculate coordinates with him.

"Yes. To reach the entrance from here, we have to pass almost fifty grey halls. It's hard for us to avoid the monster over such a long journey. Considering our status right now, we may be unable to escape from it." Lucien stared at the black gate before him. "In such a case, we might as well go to the spot that Mr. Maskelyne left behind. Chances are that we will find records or items that will unravel the secrets of the monster and give us hope to win!"

The more difficult, dangerous and devastating the situation was, the more determined and unwavering Lucien would be. Even if he was to be killed, he would die on the way looking for an opportunity instead of surrendering to fate!

"I am going to take the monster by his throat!" Lucien cheered himself up in a low voice and opened the gate with Mage's Hand.

A space of greyness was presented before Lucien's eyes. Behind the gate was not a grey hall but a grey wilderness where monuments of the same color were standing!

The wilderness was so quiet and boundless that it was like a real world of death.

"Pleasant surprises may be behind the gates…" Rhine repeated what the paper fragments said. As a man with the title of 'Observer', he was full of interest in the unusual things. "It seems that behind the black gate is not just the grey hall. There are also worlds like alternate dimensions, in which there are probably precious items and unimaginable dangers."

Lucien felt a strong toothache. "What a weird world. However, this wilderness full of tombstones is somewhat similar to the 'Resting Place', Vicente's demiplane."

"Perhaps, the worlds behind the gate are all kinds of places of death. Chances are that we will see duplicates of the nine floors of hell." Rhine speculated.

Lucien was about to step forward, when he suddenly remembered something else. He asked in confusion, "If the monster could easily find us, why is he still not here?"

"When I was hunted by the monster, I did not have the time to catch my breath at all, and I had to summon the power of the Primordial Ancestor. Hehe. Perhaps, he is too busy dealing with other people to come after us… There's perhaps only one monster." Rhine recalled.

"Then, let's find Mr. Maskelyne's last possessions as soon as possible." Enhancing himself with a space defense with the Space Staff, Lucien flew into the world of tombstones.

...

Inside the grey hall, Douglas and Fernando blinked out. They looked rather hasty, but they were still normal.

"Showing no anomalies or loopholes as both Lucien and Benedict III, it seems that a very uncanny monster is hiding in this place." Fernando was as aggressive as before, not frustrated because they had to flee in a hurry.

Douglas said, deep in thought, "But the strength he displayed was only slightly higher than that of 'Ivan' in God's Grace. It hadn't reached Benedict III's level, or we wouldn't have escaped in one piece."

Although he never fought Benedict III before, he had challenged Benedict II once. Without God's Arrival, the two popes should be on par with each other.

"We were a bit panicked just now. We didn't have to escape so aimlessly. We could've fought the monster and found a chance to retreat towards the entrance." Fernando evaluated their previous performance and was not satisfied with himself.

Douglas calculated the coordinates and opened a gate with magic. "There's still time to return right now. You will leave marks for Lucien."

Although he thought that Lucien could barely survive the attack of a monster who was close to a demigod, he would still try to save him.

After the gate was opened, it was a warm spring behind the gate. However, there was not the slightest sense of life. Seven headless dwarfs were walking towards a forest with a grey coffin on their shoulders.

Chapter 629 Life Traceback

"An alternate dimension?" Douglas had thought that this place was made of grey halls that were connected by black gates, and that there would be no other changes. Therefore, he was rather stunned to see this world of exuberant trees.

Fernando flew in first. "It seems that there are many worlds similar to alternate dimensions in the 'Realm of Gates' apart from the grey halls. I wonder if intelligent life can be found here."

"I prefer to think that they are spectres of different kinds, like what we are seeing right now." Douglas observed the environment and speculated roughly.

At this moment, the seven headless dwarfs, holding the grey coffin that was much longer than their height, reached Fernando and Douglas. They spoke in a dull voice from their stomach, "Are you princes?"

"Huh?" Douglas reviewed his defense and looked at them, interested.

"The princes with heads are bad princes. The princess will blame us." The headless dwarf in the lead said, his belly fluctuating.

Amused, Douglas said, "Good princes don't have heads?"

"If you don't have your head, you will never be upset, you will never be sorrow, and you will never worry about your look…" A coarse female voice suddenly emerged from the grey coffin. The lifelessness around flowed into the coffin through the gaps and congregated into black air that improved the power of death inside to the level of legendary very soon.

Crack. The cover of the grey coffin was moved away, and a headless woman in a pure white court dress stood up, with a weird necklace made of a series of red apples on her chest.

The necklace seemed hilarious, but if one were to observe carefully, they would discover a human face on each of the apples. They were the faces of seven dwarfs and the round face of a girl. It was quite blood-freezing.

ere

"Give me your head! Give me your head!" The headless woman wailed, and the intense air of death began to spread. The soundwaves that could destroy the soul swept out.

Looking at everything without any expression, Fernando suddenly said, "Boring."

Pa!

As the bolts of lightning hit the ground, the dozens of kilometers around were covered in the forest of thunderstorms. Both the headless prince and the trees were burnt into ashes!

"Headless? I seemed to have seen this custom before." Douglas recalled the uncanny sense of familiarity. "When we developed the Solar Islands, I encountered the natives of a few clans. They believed that the head of a human was the symbol of life, and that disasters would happen if their head remained after their death. Therefore, the head of the deceased would be cut off and burnt up before they were buried. It's similar to what we experienced just now."

Fernando was not involved in the development of the Solar Islands that time. While listening to Douglas' interpretation, he frowned and asked, "Are we in a dream or an illusion, where the things we are familiar with have been transformed into the weirdest stuff?"

"I am a top legend of the school of astrology. If even I cannot tell whether or not we are in a dream, the enemy can only be someone in the level of the God of Truth. If the 'gods' of such a level do exist, do they have to attack us so indirectly?" Said Douglas calmly but confidently. "We are in the World of Souls. The death-related phenomena may be what is unique about it. We need to study the mechanism and the pattern behind it."

A gloomy wind passed by, and a coarse, miserable female voice screamed behind them again:

"Give me your head! Give me your head!"

The tone of the voice changed, and the ashes on the ground gathered in swirls, refocused into a headless figure!

However, it was not someone in a white dress this time, but a person wearing a white robe and holding a platinum staff!

"This monster…" Fernando bellowed in fury.

Half solemnly and half amused, Douglas said, "Benedict III seems much more handsome without his head."

…..

In the grey wilderness that was full of tombstones…

While carrying Rhine to walk forward quickly, Lucien analyzed the crown of the Primordial Mummy. This legendary item seemed to have been specially processed by the Lich King and was not readily crackable like the common items. Lucien estimated that it would take him at least two to three hours.

"Wait a moment." Rhine suddenly said.

Lucien stopped and let go of Rhine's arm. "Mr. Rhine, did you notice anything?"

Rhine warmed his arms and legs. Part of his weakness seemed to be already gone. The vampire prince's ability of self-recovery was truly astonishing. "Have you noticed the patterns on the tombstones?"

"Aren't they the patterns of the ancient Meshkate Empire?" The Meshkate Empire was one of the three major magic empires. It occupied the area south to where the Gusta Empire was currently located. The magic patterns of the empire were undoubtedly the basics of arcana and were needed in many spells in the school of necromancy. Therefore, Lucien did not feel very strange about that.

Rhine bent down and touched the vintage mysterious patterns on the grey tombstones with his narrow, long fingers. "They are the patterns in the early years of the Meshkate Empire. Because they are similar to the patterns later, and their effect is also more or less the same, only an Observer like me who is a fan of history can tell the difference."

"Is there anything special about them?" Lucien was rather eager to reach the spot marked by Maskelyne, but since Rhine was willing to waste their precious time in this place, he must have a very good reason. So, Lucien asked in the telepathic bond.

Rhine smiled casually, "We are searching for what Meshkate left behind in order to crack the secrets of the 'Realm of Gates' and the monsters. Now that we already find a clue, we cannot let it go easily. Let's not reverse our purpose and our approach. Those patterns are not too special per se, but they indicate that this group of tombstones belong to the Meshkate in the early years."

"However, the 'early years', associated with the tombstones everywhere, reminded me of a most famous custom at the beginning of the Meshkate Empire. It was the ritual of 'Life Traceback'."

"Life Traceback'?" Lucien recalled the famous ritual in the history of necromancy.

Rhine wiped his fingers with a handkerchief gracefully. "Yes, the ritual of 'Life Traceback'. The people of the Meshkate Empire generally believed that there was a most powerful intelligent creature at the original point. He was perfect and boasted the vastest light of spirituality. He created the species like humans, elves and dragons with his blood power, which made him disappear in the river of time. If anybody sought after great power, they could reverse the process and melt the intelligent lives of different races to approach the 'Origin'."

"That was the principle of funerals for the early Meshkate people. They made giants with wood and buried them at the certain of the graveyard. Then, only the clothes of the deceased would be buried in their tomb, and their body would be filled into the wood giant, hoping that they would be melted after their death. Although the custom was gradually gone, many spells of the school of necromancy obvious came from it, such as the stitched body."

Recalling the spells of the school of necromancy he knew, Lucien nodded his head, "That's true. Does 'somebody was here' on the paper fragment indicate a certain legendary sorcerer of the Meshkate Empire?"

"Possibility, but it's hard to imagine that a legendary sorcerer would establish such a huge graveyard. Did he have nothing better to do after entering this place through a dangerous adventure? Lucien, you should know that the World of Souls corresponded with the main material world except that the locations are disordered. If we extrapolate the law to the Realm of Gates, can we assume that the Realm of Gates is a mapping for the different customs of death?" Rhine tossed his handkerchief and smashed the cover of a coffin. There was only a black jacket inside, as he expected.

Lucien thought for a moment and said, "That's a very reasonable deduction, but what does the monster represent? It can't be the fear of death in every intelligent life's heart, right? I prefer to think that it's the mysterious existence of the World of Souls."

When he said 'heart', Lucien suddenly shivered and felt that he remembered something. But still, something was missing for him to see through the mist. He frowned hard. Perhaps, the difference on the surface had disguised the appearance of his memories, which made it impossible for him to find a similar experience.

"The bottom line is, we have clues about the monster." Rhine smiled and said, "We can only expect the items that Maskelyne left can give us more clues."

Lucien sighed, "Even if we figure out what the monster is and how it was born, the biggest enigma for me will still be why it can exist in such a way, and the arcana mechanism behind

it."

"You are showing more and more characteristics of a grand arcanist." Rhine was amused.

Suddenly, the earth shook violently, as if some monster was crawling out of the underground world. The tombstones collapsed one after another.

Rhine chuckled, "It seems that the 'Origin' in this place has already 'evolved into a powerful spectre. Lucien, he's all yours. If you can't, I'll lend you a few legendary items."

Dangerous air spread throughout the place. After a loud noise, the tombstones were scattered, and mud splashed out. An enormous blue-and-black arm extended from below the earth.

Right then, a blue-and-black giant dozens of meters tall stood up abruptly. Intact intelligent lives could be seen on its arms, abdomen and head. Some of them were humans, some dwarfs, some dragons, some elves, and some were murlocs. Together, they constituted the body of the giant.

The giant's eyes were suddenly opened. Dark red flames bouncing in them, there was no sign of life within its horizons anymore.

Lucien brought Rhine far away from the giant with an 'Accurate Teleportation'. He was terrified by the lifeless greyness where they stood earlier. That was the deepest fear in every intelligent creature's heart.

"It's only a level-one legendary. You can certainly defeat such a slow and unwise creature, Lucien, can't you? Huh, its heart is made of Fountain of Youth. No wonder Maskelyne said that there were many pleasant surprises in this place." Rhine's weakness was not entirely gone yet, but his eyes were still as keen as before.

"Fountain of Youth?" Lucien repeated in the telepathic bond solemnly. That was a material to hold the legendary ritual extend the longevity!

"Atomic Fission!"

BOOM!

A gigantic fireball exploded by the head of the giant, covering it quickly and destroying everything around. A mushroom cloud rolled and soared to the sky.

"Simple and straightforward…" Rhine remarked.

Holding the Space Staff in his hands, Lucien was prepared to control it subsequently. Then, he suddenly recalled something else. "Mr. Rhine, I saw similar tombstones and patterns in the 'Resting Place' of the Lord of the Undead. Does it indicate that one of his hidden spells is associated with the 'Precursor'"

Pondering for a moment, Rhine replied, "Perhaps, he has already built his body into the 'Original Body'. In that case, he will be much stronger than he appears."

Chapter 630: Mirror of Fate

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The mushroom, mixed with fire, rose to the sky. The dark air dispersed the smoke, revealing the blue-and-black giant whose head was gone and whose body was more than ragged.

Right then, the intelligent lives of different species that made up the body of the giant were suddenly enlivened. They surged toward the head like a tide in haste, and after only a few seconds, a new head had been created.

"It's truly tough. As expected of a masterpiece of the school of necromancy." Lucien pointed the brilliant Space Staff in his hands at the corpses of humans, elves and dragons, which were immediately slowed down like puppets. The speed of the giant's recovery was lowered.

Then, cold moonlight appeared in Lucien's dark pupils. He turned into a legendary knight and drew the silver longsword. Flying into the sky, he descended and slashed the giant like a shooting star.

It was not because Lucien did not want to finish it with magic, but because the monster might catch up with them any moment and he could not waste his time. Naturally, the best solution was to directly crush the enemy with the Sword of Truth!

After a flash of the silver sword, an illusionary gap appeared on the giant without a sound, cutting the defense, the dark air and the physical body all at once, before it was divided into countless branches and spread to all the body parts of the giant.

Crack, crack, crack. The dead bodies of the intelligent creatures turned into tiny, broken, rotten meat and fell like an abrupt storm.

In the storm of blood, flesh and mucus, Lucien was surrounded by silver moonlight that vaporized the 'rainwater' that fell upon him, while he picked up the broken heart of the giant.

The black heart gradually stopped beating. Then, the flesh on the surface took off one layer after another, revealing the pool of bright green fluids the size of a thumb inside. Intense air of life could be sensed.

Lucien took out a silver teapot that was full of magic patterns and poured the Fountain of Youth into it, before he resealed the container.

"Let's move on. We are not far away from the spot marked by Maskelyne." Rhine, more or less recovered, walked over on his own and urged Lucien. For him, the 'Fountain of Youth' was of no use at all and even highly poisonous.

Lucien put the magic teapot back and was about to cancel his transformation, when he suddenly heard sobbing that lowered the temperature by dozens of degrees.

Wu, wu, wu. In the blood-freezing cries, tombstones fell, and coffins were opened. The black, grey and white clothes trembled and stood up as if they were alive, before they wobbled to the center.

Their movements seemed abnormal, but they were extremely fast. It didn't take long before they were integrated into a gigantic doll that was wearing a colorful coat and an uncanny smile, which made Lucien, whose instincts became much keener after he became a legendary knight, sensed a hint of danger.

"What is this?" Asked Lucien subconsciously.

Rhine shook his head. "I don't know, either. Of all the mysterious customs, I only know one third at most."

Emitting the air close to level three of legendary, the doll took shape while it chuckled and cried.

"Let's go!"

Lucien had no intention to fight. Although there would be a chance for him to defeat the creepy doll if he were to carry out all his strength and his items together with Rhine's abundant collections, it would significantly delay them, and it would be a disaster if the real monster caught them. Also, after they killed the doll, other spectres might appear, and the battle might be prolonged indefinitely.

Having no time to cancel the transformation, Lucien grabbed Rhine by his arm and flew forward into the moonlight, illuminating the grey wilderness.

Very soon, a black gate appeared among the tombstones.

"Wu! Wu! Wu!"

The creepy cries and laughter suddenly echoed next to Lucien's ears, dissolving the 'Wall of Space' around him that he created with the Space Staff. He was also blown out of moonlight.

Lucien trembled hard, feeling that cold wind was pouring into his clothes and that the physical body of the legendary knight was melting. It seemed that only the clothes like the Robe of Grand Arcanists was not affected. But of course, they couldn't provide any help, either.

Faced with the 'doll' that could not be inferred with common sense, Lucien did not turn back but kept on flying at the black gate. In the meantime, he slashed backwards with the Sword of Truth without aiming at the target.

"Wu!"

The silver sword flashed, and the cries countless times more miserable than just now burst out. The freezing wind blowing at his neck came to an abrupt halt.

Having no time to confirm the result or to check the black gate, Lucien simply bumped in.

"Wu! Wu! Wu!"

After he jumped into the grey hall, the cries and laughter came to Lucien's ears even more loudly. He hurried to summon the moonlight and close the black gate.

Dum! Dum! Dum

The noise of somebody bashing the gate rumbled. The black gate was bent forward, as if it would be knocked open at any moment.

His blood freezing, Lucien calculated the coordinates and traveled among different black gates.

After several grey halls, Lucien and Rhine finally got rid of the mysterious doll.

"The location that Maskelyne left behind is right next to us…" After his calculation, Lucien's pupils constricted violently. His heart was racing beyond his control despite the pacification of magic.

What would he see there?

Could he find the secrets of the monster?

Would it be something unimaginable, or the omen of horror and desperation?

Rhine, on the other hand, was rather calm. He cleaned his black shirt and his red coat, before he pointed at one of the black gates with a smile. "I believe it's behind that gate, right?"

"Yes." Lucien walked over and checked it with magic first. After ensuring that there was no danger, he pushed the gate open slowly.

As the gate moved backwards without a sound, everything behind the gate was revealed before Lucien and Rhine.

"Why?" Lucien tried to control himself to prevent his rationality from being drowned by disappointment.

Behind the black gate was the same grey hall that was exactly like any other halls. There was not even any residue of the silver magic pattern.

"Check it carefully." Rhine stopped smiling and walked into the grey hall, searching for any traces.

After confirming that the coordinates were correct, Lucien followed him into the hall. Suddenly, he sensed that the Sun's Corona on his chest rippled, as if it were interacting with a certain object inside the hall.

Following the interaction, Lucien stopped in front of a grey pillar. He examined it with multiple spells.

After a long time, Lucien sighed, "As expected of a level-three prophet. This gate is the best example of hideouts. Without the instruction of the Sun's Corona, I'm afraid that only the top legends can possibly discover it, and even they will miss it if they are slightly careless."

As he talked, Lucien activated the secret door and stuck the Sun's Corona to it. Although Lucien had plenty of ways to crack it, it was the simplest and most time-preserving way to use the Sun's Corona.

The brilliance of the sun that did not belong to this place glowed inside the grey hall, and a secret door was slowly opened, revealing a messy grey chamber where broken magic tubes, alchemical potions, pots and utensils were everywhere.

It seemed that the master of this place was not in a good mood, or he had left in a hurry, because if a battle of legends had happened in this place, Lucien was very certain that none of them could've survived.

The chamber was arranged in the typical look of an ancient magic laboratory. It didn't take Lucien long before he found a hidden desk, on which there were three items: the torso of a puppet, a magic notebook, and a grey mirror where countless mysterious magic patterns were floating.

"'Mirror of Fate'. This is truly Maskelyne's laboratory." Rhine recognized the mirror after the first look. He explained to Lucien casually, "Maskelyne once worked together with McLeod, hoping to create a legendary item that could reflect the river of fate. However, even a demigod wouldn't have been capable of that. They only managed to craft an item that could only be used limited times. However, it proved very effective in the first two usages. The first time, it predicted the whereabouts of the Thanos belongings very accurately, and the second time, it predicted that he would be trapped.

"So, a legendary item of the school of prophecy." Lucien realized that Rhine knew more than he thought he did. He examined the Mirror of Fate casually.

"'Mirror of Fate', a level-three perfect legendary item, can tell what happened in the past rather accurately and predict a future scene less accurately. It is a reflection of the river of fate and shouldn't exist in this world. It will be broken after five usages."

"Times used: Four."

"Everyone's fate is preordained, but the eyes of mortals cannot see through the heavy fog."

"By Waldo K Maskelyne."

"There's only one time left. It seems that Mr. Maskelyne used it after he was trapped here." Holding the Mirror of Fate, Lucien said with a heavy mood.

Rhine smiled, "If it were me, I would've predicted the secrets of the monster with the Mirror of Fate, too. I wonder if he found anything."

Not in a hurry to open the notebook, Lucien picked up the greenish torso of the puppet. "Why would a part of McLeod's puppet appear in Mr. Maskelyne's laboratory?"

"Perhaps, Maskelyne found it as a clue after McLeod 'went missing'."Rhine looked around and suddenly smiled. "This place has been processed by Maskelyne. The time flow is as fast as the outside world. Even if the monster will arrive soon, we will have enough time for our recovery."

Lucien still did not open the magic notebook. Solemnly, he said, "I have two questions."

"What are they?" Rhine asked.

"The first question is what I had before. Why did the monster not destroy those remnants? I don't think they could've escaped the monster's attention, right?" Lucien clenched his right fist and tapped his jaw. "Let's think reversely. Why did Mr. Maskelyne and his teammates leave scraps, notes and items in the end as their final attempt? Were they certain that the monster wouldn't destroy them?"

Rhine did not say anything but listened to Lucien's analysis quietly.

"The second question. There are so many grey halls, and yet we found the paper fragments, the puppet parts and the residue of magic so easily. Wasn't it too much of a coincidence?"

"You think that the monster was misleading us on purpose?" Rhine pursed his lips.

"That's possible, but what's the point? Because it can't defeat us?" Lucien suspected that the monster was deepening the illusion or the dream through hints, but he could still open his spirit library.

Taking a breath, Lucien said in a low voice, "There may be clues in the notebook."

Opening the magic notebook, Maskelyne's familiar handwriting appeared:

"…Through the Mirror of Fate, we found one of Mr. Thanos' secret laboratories. The experiment he did there were truly incredible. It was a major inspiration for us…"