632 Unexpected Encounter (1/2)
Rhine was amused by the situation. ”Maskelyne must've thought of something of paramount importance when he wrote to this part, to the extent that he ruined the chamber in his emotional turmoil. He didn't finish his speculation and simply left in a hurry, not bothering how it would upset the future readers.”
”I think so, too. Considering that no battle of legends happened here and nothing was intentionally damaged, it's not hard to tell that Mr. Maskelyne left voluntarily but hurriedly.” Lucien calmed down and restored the battle from the traces.
Rhine looked around and said, ”It means that what Maskelyne was eager to do was more important than finishing the clue. It's perhaps the key to destroying the monster.”
”However, how much time would it have taken him to finish the name with the help of magic?” Lucien answered his own question. ”No more than one second.”
Rhine examined the long ink mark left by Maskelyne so carefully that he almost brought out the magnifying glass. ”The mark is indicative enough of Maskelyne's shock. By logic, he couldn't have been too stunned to finish the name when he already finished the deduction, unless something happened outside, or a new clue suddenly occurred to him…”
Lucien thought of something. ”Perhaps, Mr. Maskelyne thought of an important detail that he neglected, which entirely disapproved his speculation. So, he left in a hurry to search for other clues to confirm it. He was so shocked towards the end because his new speculation was beyond his imagination. He didn't finish his previous speculation because it was wrong.”
”A very bold hypothesis and a very reasonable explanation.” Rhine complimented. ”However, I believe that the monster is related to Thanos in any case, because the guy was a monster himself, just like you.”
He acted as if he was Thanos' best friend.
”I suspect so, too. I found Thanos' incomplete journal in the underground palace of the Sun King. I speculated that the Sun King found a way to transform himself into the seven primeval devils and eliminated the negative influences of such transformation in the way that the fake gods gathered godhood. Such products should probably be able to transform into anybody according to memories or negative feelings other than being projected into someone's body.”
The more Lucien talked, the faster he became, as if Thanos were already the culprit. However, Lucien was chilled when he thought that someone close to a demigod a thousand years ago was the murderer.
Rhine asked in confusion. ”I know that he studied the primeval devils. I even provided some of the files for him. I know how godhood is gathered, too. But what do you mean by negative feelings?”
”It's about the other secret chamber that you didn't discover, Mr. Rhine…” Lucien explained the temple where the Sun Staff was discovered.
Rhine chuckled, ”He kept a lot of his discoveries to himself. Judging from Rudolf II's projection, he might've found ways to break the previous limit by transforming into the seven primeval ghosts. Well, do you think the monster matches the features of 'Thanos Demon'? If you know everything at present, you will completely grasp the past and the future…”
”…Theoretically speaking, I don't think 'Thanos Demon' can exist in reality. If it exists for real, the computation load and the energy required will be unimaginable.” Lucien answered Rhine's question from the perspective of arcana. In the meantime, he thought to himself, if it was 'Thanos Demon', I'll release 'Schrodinger's cat'!
Rhine clicked his tongue. ”Perhaps, it's only a simplified version. Alright, what are we going to do?”
”Mr. Maskelyne's journal was cut at the critical part, but the files about how the monster was created must be still in the laboratory left by Thanos that they mentioned, if they are not destroyed by the monster yet…” Thinking for a moment, Lucien was full of momentum again. ”The ancient sorcerers such as Mr. Maskelyne perhaps couldn't tell anything wrong from the experiment records, but we the modern arcanists certain can!”
Seeing Lucien's determined face, Rhine chuckled, ”You could've activated your blood power with your resolution even if you failed to become a sorcerer. Hehe. With everything coming to this point, we can only go to Thanos' laboratory now. The problem is, where can we find it?”
Lucien brought out the Mirror of Fate. ”It can tell the past accurately, at least much more accurately than the prediction of the monster's weakness.”
Since Maskelyne only got fuzzy hints, Lucien dropped the idea of predicting the monster with the Mirror of Fate.
Holding the magic crystal ball in his left hand, Lucien swiped the Mirror of Fate with his right hand and cast the intricate spell.
The grey Mirror of Fate rippled, and a pair of numbers appeared among the waves.
”We have the coordinates of Thanos' laboratory now.” Lucien smiled.
After a crack, the Mirror of Fate fell apart, but it disappeared into light instead of hitting the ground in pieces.
”We're going now?” Asked Rhine.
Lucien shook his head. ”Time here flows as fast as the outside world. We must seize the chance to recover the legendary items.”
While speaking, he picked up the torso of the puppet and stabbed the two arms and the leg back into it.
”I'll eliminate my weakness, too.” Rhine nodded, leaning against a bookshelf.
After a few hours, the gold crown on Lucien's right hand emitted vague black air.
”The Primordial Mummy's crown? What's the effect?” Rhine opened his silver eyes, which were already back to normal.
Lucien clicked his tongue. ”The Primordial Mummy did not leave any information. I can only tell that it can be transformed into gloves, armor or boots. It offers a physical defense that is close to the peak of legendary, as well as immunity to many negative legendary spells. However, one's head would be more or less slowed if they wear it.”
The habit to leave information inside the magic items began from the Magic Empire, so that it would be easier for the future generations to take over the items. For example, Lucien picked up the Mirror of Fate after examination more than easily. The Primordial Mummy and the Lich King, as undead creatures, obviously did not have such a habit.
”It's a nice match for the Sword of Truth. After all, a knight does not need to think in a battle. As a matter of fact, the standard barbarian legendary warrior is also very strong.” Rhine joked. ”Should we wait until the Shield of Truth is repaired?”
”That's unnecessary. Now that we have super gear for defense, there's no need to wait for the Shield of Truth to be repaired.” Lucien made up his mind. The Moon Timer and the Robe of Grand Arcanists wouldn't be restored in another half day. He couldn't afford waiting any longer.
While talking, he turned into a legendary knight and put on the crown as a pair of gloves.