636 Threa (1/2)
Perhaps because Maskelyne covered for them, nobody disturbed Lucien and Rhine's recovery, which helped them survive the most difficult moment smoothly.
”Although the Mummy's Gloves are not usable, the Shield of Truth will do. Sometimes, the Shield of Truth provides even better defense.” Lucien took out the Shield of Truth from the alchemical cottage and inserted the Mummy's Gloves into it.
In terms of pure physical defense, the Mummy's Gloves were better, but the Shield of Truth's defense was based on time and space and was less likely to be breached. Also, it wouldn't slow down his mind as the Mummy's Gloves would, which was definitely not an enjoyable feeling for an arcanist who couldn't survive without his brain.
Rhine regained the look of a human. He cleaned his collar and his silver long hair, as if he were about to go to a dinner. ”I'm mostly recovered save the wounds caused by the monster at the beginning. Even if we run into Ivan, there's still a chance that we can flee in one piece.”
”Then, let's get out of here fast. It will probably be Arvin who returns later.” Lucien checked the Robe of Grand Arcanists, the Moon Timer and the Congus Ring again to confirm that they were in perfect condition.
Rhine nodded his head. ”Although I'm not scared of fighting Arvin right now, we may be attacked by the six seraphs together after we are stalled by one of them, considering that they have a deep understanding of the Realm of Gates. Also, with Mountain Paradise nearby, it is much easier for them to summon projections. Almost every one of them is half a level stronger here.”
”I didn't know that Mountain Paradise lies inside the Realm of Gates…” Lucien opened the black gate. Sensing the slowed time, he stepped out.
Rhine followed him. ”Essentially speaking, Mountain Paradise is a beautiful wish of most human beings about their afterlife. It's sort of a death custom, too. Hehe. From the deepest and heaviest death and darkness, the most sacred and exuberant life and brightness are born…”
”But the question remains whether Mountain Paradise came into being naturally or had to do with Thanos and Mr. Maskelyne's experiment…” Lucien spoke of his speculation. In the meantime, inside his cognitive world, the Host Star of Destiny began to spin, and the black swirl that seemed able to swallow all rays of light moved to the front, absorbing, deviating and disrupting all the traces.
Rhine seemed to have sensed something. He moved faster and walked next to Lucien. Turning his head to the side, he said, ”I feel that your track of destiny became fuzzy and disordered…”
”Mr. Maskelyne is one of the greatest prophets of the school of astrology, and he is now empowered by the 'God of Truth' and 'Mountain Paradise'. We have to be prudent, or we may see Arvin waiting for us in the hall behind this black gate after we open it.” Lucien smiled but did not explain the things about the Secretive.
Passing through the grey halls, Lucien and Rhine approached the place as hinted by the Mirror of Fate.
......
Successfully getting rid of the 'headless pope', Douglas and Fernando returned to the entrance according to the pattern of coordinate changes, leaving a lot of secret marks for Lucien on their way.
After they opened a black gate, Douglas suddenly looked around in confusion, ”I've sensed a familiar smell.”
”Not Lucien's…” Fernando identified it carefully, before he suddenly remarked, ”It's Mecantron, the Angel King!”
”Why was he here?” Douglas found it hard to believe. ”Was he fabricated by the monster?”
He examined the owner of the smell with his 'Lackluster Celestial Globe', adding the monster as a variable this time.
After a while, Douglas said in a self-mocking smile. ”There's an 80% chance that it was the Angel King, and a 20% chance that the monster fabricated him. Does astrology help at all? My conclusion would have been the same without it.”
He knew that his prophecy had been severely affected because the monster was too powerful. It was also partly because he hadn't prepared enough.
Looking at the black gate where the smell disappeared, Fernando proposed, ”Should we try to trace him?”
Having encountered the monster twice, he was now more confident in escaping from the danger. Also, he was still worried about Lucien.
”Are you not worried that you will see Mountain Paradise and meet the God of Truth in this place?” Douglas said jokingly. ”The Angel King must've only just crossed this hall. We can try to trace him, but we must not be delayed too long. If we don't find anything in ten minutes, we will return immediately. Perhaps, Lucien is waiting for us at the entrance.”
”Alright.” Fernando knew that he was only using tracing the Angel King as an excuse to continue the search for Lucien.
......
”It's not far away from Thanos' laboratory now, and we haven't met a single enemy on our way. I'm starting to think that we are not so unlucky after all.” Rhine was more and more skilled in calculating the changing coordinates. He made fun of himself and Lucien.
Remember how 'speak of the devil' worked, Lucien chuckled, ”Mr. Rhine, you must not make such a statement when we haven't arrived yet, or we may encounter an enemy after we open this black gate.”
Rhine's lips twitched. ”I can't be so unfortunate, can I?”
As he spoke, he opened the black gate.
Suddenly, his face changed, and his body collapsed into countless little bats that flew in the hall.