42. Angels, the Deep Sea, and Devils

Jinrong Prefecture, the cathedral.

Two robust figures, reminiscent of eagles, stood atop the circular dome. Their pristine white wings were folded tightly, and their handsome, exquisite faces wore expressions that were impossible to decipher.

"Marn has been discharged from the hospital," the female angel stated. "The Saint is going to see him again. Should we…"

"Have you forgotten the fates of Elsa and Ruhl?" the male angel shook his head. "If we reveal our presence too casually, we will easily provide an opening for the demons. The murderer who killed them has yet to be found, after all."

"But what if he shakes the Saint’s resolve again?" the female angel asked, her voice tinged with anxiety. "The Saint is kind and righteous; only her attitude toward this younger brother defies the dogma."

The male angel replied:

"Regardless, the affairs of mortals should be left to mortals. This is a necessary trial for the Saint, and we must trust her."

The female angel said:

"I trust the Saint, but what if this is not the right time for a trial? What if there is a viper hidden within this trial? What if this Marn is actually an avatar of a demon?"

"If the Saint’s holy heart is truly tarnished because of him..." He was well aware of how much his companion cared for Chen Yun. "...then mortals will deal with him in their own way."

***

Atlantis, the Royal District.

Ellie shoved the ancient tome back onto the shelf.

The Observer, her father, the prophecies, and the surface…

The princess walked out of her residence. Above the city, seawater channels created by magic crisscrossed the sky, and warriors riding sharks and dolphins swam constantly toward the city gates—they were conducting military exercises.

War was imminent; the Three Wise Kings had all passed the resolution.

Ellie was no pacifist. She had participated in the two-year war against the Sea Folk as a combat mage, and she had seen the nests of those bloodthirsty creatures. She knew they had their own languages and offspring; they were not merely mindless monsters.

Therefore, she was well aware that not every problem could have a happy ending.

The reason Ellie wanted to stop the war was quite simple.

In other cities, she was a princess of noble standing. But in the Royal City, rumors had followed Ellie since the day she was born. No one had ever seen her mother, and her father had once traveled to the surface. Tales of Ellie being a half-breed were everywhere; she herself had heard at least a dozen different versions.

Only the stories from her father held any semblance of truth.

However, it was not until her father left to seek an audience with the Wise Kings that Ellie fully realized the significance of her identity. Her father had opposed the Wise Kings' invasion of the surface, not only because he had lived among the surface dwellers and knew they were no different from their own kind, but also because her mother had been born there.

If she could prove that attacking the surface was not a wise choice, perhaps she could persuade the Three Wise Kings to change their minds and let her father out of his sunless dungeon.

Ellie had originally wanted to uncover the reason behind the Sea Folk’s uprising—though she held little hope for that—but after meeting Marn, she gained another idea: she could also prove that an invasion of the surface would not be a victory.

Thirty years ago, the Wise Kings had sent thousands of spies to the surface, including Ellie’s father. They had managed to gauge the technological level of the surface and discovered that the land almost no longer utilized magical technology, with only faint traces of mages remaining.

Their comprehensive technological level was far below that of Atlantis. They hadn't even noticed the presence of those thousands of spies, and several had even infiltrated official surface government organizations, gathering vital intelligence.

Ultimately, the Three Wise Kings decided to launch a probing attack.

They planned to use the power of an artifact in two years’ time to submerge several coastal cities. Then, Atlantis would appear before the surface dwellers, claiming the disaster was caused by the Sea Folk, and in exchange for helping them repel these "monsters," they would demand the flooded cities.

But in Ellie’s view, that powerful individual who could freely detach his soul from the Atlantean Royal City might even be a match for one of the Wise Kings. Even the strongest shaman of the Sea Folk could not touch the central Royal City, which was protected by the temple.

The information brought back by the spies was likely inaccurate; perhaps the surface was far more dangerous than they imagined.

Regardless, she had to take the opportunity to gather intelligence on the surface and find evidence to prove that war should not be waged. Then, she might be able to make the Wise Kings change their minds and reconsider their approach to the surface.

The princess walked resolutely toward the library.

***

Southern East Federation.

Xiang Yudi swallowed hard.

If what he had just seen was not a hallucination, then he truly had a chance to escape his current life. No, that wouldn't do; he couldn't let his head be clouded by ecstasy so easily.

What he saw might even be an avatar of Ranudaste. The demon was famous for his love of jokes; perhaps this was a lie, a trap intended to cause his complete corruption.

But…

Xiang Yudi lowered his head to look at his arm. A dense network of scars formed a magic circle that no ordinary person could comprehend, but he only needed one glance to understand its meaning—this was his "gift."

When he was seventeen, he had attempted suicide, and he had nearly succeeded.

His heart had stopped beating, his chest had ceased its rise and fall, and modern medicine had no solution for him. But the Cult Leader had found him—the man who had carried him out of the orphanage as an infant could do anything.

He had dragged his adopted son’s soul back—at the cost of the blood of two innocent people.

Furthermore, he had left a special magic circle on Xiang Yudi’s body. Now, even if he successfully committed suicide, his corpse would transform into a circle used for summoning demons.

He tossed his knife and fork onto the table and rose to walk toward the exit of the dining hall.

*Creak.*

Two cultists stood behind the door. One of them asked tentatively:

"My Lord, have you completed the Holy Communion?"

"I have," he replied, his face expressionless. "Take me to the basement. I have made up my mind; I want to learn magic, and I want to learn the knowledge of our Master and his enemies."

Both cultists looked pleasantly surprised:

"The Cult Leader will surely be gratified to hear this."

"And if we can have your help, our summoning ritual in East New Province may be completed sooner."

To break free from their control, he had to gather enough intelligence, and he had to confirm that the Observer was not a demon. But this also meant he was forced to come into contact with forbidden knowledge—some texts truly possessed the power to corrupt the human heart.

Xiang Yudi still remembered one other thing Marn had said.

Within the cult of Ranudaste, there was a set of holy artifacts that contained terrifying power, enough to make even the Cult Leader fearful. If he could gain his adoptive father's trust, perhaps he would have the chance to come into contact with that abyssal artifact…