645 Strange Circumstances (2/2)

”Why didn't you strike?”

There was a rolling of mist in the air as a blurry figure appeared. It was a young person wearing a green robe with smooth and white skin. It looked androgynous but there was a strange beauty about it. It was clearly human in form yet it did not feel human.

”He knew I was here.” Paganini, who was previously saint but now a dark minister, calmly said, ”He was on his guard against you. When the both of you began to speak, he was on high alert.”

Naberius frowned, ”He was able to discover your presence?”

”Impossible.” Paganini was extremely confident. ”The problem lies with you.”

Naberius stayed silent for a long time before laughing out of the blue. His laughter was full of self-deprecation.

”It was… probably just a guess?” He finally figured out what was the problem. Before the fall of Hyakume, he had struck an agreement with Ye Qingxuan that he would hand over all the research he has done on the music theory of Hyakume to the him, and in exchange, Ye Qingxuan would lend his Clothes of Original Sin to Naberius to study for a day. Yet when they were talking about the old times just now, Naberius did not seem too concerned about the Clothes of Original Sin nor too interested in the Changing Music Theory. Anyone with a hint of intelligence would know that this was impossible.

There was only one possible conclusion: He no longer needed the Clothes of Original Sin because he has already gotten his hands on Changing Music Theory. This body, which was created from the bloodlines of countless demons, was proof of that. Aside from the Clothes of Original Sin, the only way to obtain the secret of Changing Music Theory was from the hands of its creator, Paganini. Changing Music Theory was such a formidable weapon that even Masters might not be willing to pass it down to disciples. The fact that Naberius has managed to get his hands on Changing Music Theory could only mean that he was on very good terms with Paganini…

”He managed to guess so many things just from a moment of neglect.” Naberius covered his face, before revealing a strange expression on his face. ”The Chief Inquisitor has become more and more terrifying. Perhaps, we should have forced him to stay just now.”

”Don't worry.” Paganini was calm, ”One person cannot possible change what was happening around the world. I never thought it would be possible to strike off two names on the list in one go anyway.”

He paused and squinted his eyes in the direction of the core of the battle, ”He will be in the second sequence. There is still time. We will get our chance.”

The battle lasted for 10 minutes. The Wagon of Burke was the first casualty. Despite joining forces with another Scepter, they were still unable to go against the movement of Schubert. The outcome of the battle was decided the moment the melody of ”Unfinished Symphony” was played. But Schubert did not go after the kill. After defeating the two Scepters and gaining control of one-third of the stone plate, the Scepters remained frozen in mid-air.

Five minutes passed.

10 minutes passed.

Half an hour passed…

Everyone looked at each other. They had no clue what Schubert was thinking. Even Ye Qingxuan could not understand what was going on. But for some reason, he felt uneasy and he has been feeling this way since his encounter with Naberius just now. Even if he ignored the fact that Naberius somehow managed to find his way into the Ultimate, the battle between Scepters was something very rare for musicians and should be something that everyone should be paying undivided attention to.

But Ye Qingxuan noticed that Naberius has been looking at him from the very beginning. He did not seem to care about the battle taking place in the sky, as if he already knew what the outcome would be.

He did not look. Not even a single glance.

Although Ye Qingxuan might be overthinking, but against someone like Naberius, there was no harm thinking too much and being more prepared. Both of them were well aware that they stood for very different things so if an opportunity presented itself, they would have no qualms killing each other, even if they had been on very good terms. Besides, they were not on tremendously good terms anyway. Their relationship was best described as mutually beneficial.

From a distance, he hesitated for some time before deciding to move closer in the direction of Schubert. But just as he was doing so, he noticed that quite a number of musicians have already appeared. Everyone was keeping a safe distance from Schubert and continued to look from afar.

The first thing he saw was a corpse in horrendous state. Its innards have all been spilled.

It was Raymond.

After some time, Ye Qingxuan finally recognized the broken piece of corpse to belong to that old man. He never imagined Raymond to die in such a manner in the Ultimate, and to die… beside Schubert.

Ye Qingxuan looked away and saw the old nun chanting beside the corpse. The frail old nun was completely covered in the robe she wore and looked like an old granny who has been abiding by the rules for decades. Both her hands clasped onto her Rose Prayer Beads, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, as she hung her head and only looked at her fingertips.

Ye Qingxuan could vaguely see her lips moving, as if she was chanting something. In fact, some of the musicians that specialized in lip-reading had already figured out what she was chanting.

”Holy Bible.”