Chapter 358: Negligence |
Madam Magician chuckled.
"Why do you care? You can't use it. You can only use it to forget all your memories and original feelings and become a new person.
"Right, in the Corpse Collector, Sleepless, and Warrior pathways, the Samaritan Women's Spring has different uses depending on usage, ritual, and compatibility. It includes, but isn't limited to temporarily clearing memories, healing essential damage to the spirit, improving one's spiritual perception, becoming an ingredient for important rituals, and unlocking various abilities, among other things."
Corresponding to the three neighboring, exchangeable pathways, Corpse Collector, Sleepless, and Warrior? Lumian extracted crucial information.
At that very moment, Madam Magician glanced at him, her smile restrained yet knowing.
"Are there any more questions?"
Lumian took a moment to contemplate before responding, "Not for now."
Madam Magician nodded. "Then it's my turn to ask."
"Ask what?" Lumian was puzzled.
Madam Magician tapped her finger against the empty air in front of her.
"Why didn't you inform me that Miss Justice sent you to the Samaritan Women's Spring?"
Lumian was taken aback.
"I thought she would have informed you herself. Moreover, since she's also a Major Arcana card holder in the Tarot Club, I didn't see any need to confirm it with you."
Madam Magician wore a thoughtful expression.
"Normally, there would be no issue, but this world is filled with anomalies."
Lumian, now feeling bewildered, asked, "Is something wrong with Miss Justice?"
Madam Magician shook her head. "No, that's not it. The problem lies in the fact that shortly after you accepted the journey to the Samaritan Women's Spring, the Earth Blood ore went missing. I had no knowledge of your impending trip to the fourth level of the catacombs, and Miss Justice wasn't aware that the Earth Blood ore had fallen into someone else's hands. It's not a matter of whether you wanted to take it with you or not."
"If we had communicated beforehand, I could have delayed the mission to ascertain the whereabouts of the Earth Blood ore or made suitable arrangements."
Lumian reflected on her words, realizing the truth in them.
Having foreseen that the Earth Blood ore would bring about certain encounters underground, she couldn't ignore the hidden connection between the loss of the Earth Blood ore and the journey to the Samaritan Women's Spring.
Lumian's negligence, or rather, his assumption of a reasonable course of action had led to the subsequent encounters that later awaited him.
Madam Magician fixed her gaze on Lumian for a few seconds before responding, "You can't entirely be faulted for how you handled the situation. I'm merely reminding you to exercise more caution in the future."
She paused, her words heavy with meaning.
"This will become even more crucial when you seek the entrance to the Fourth Epoch Trier in the days to come."
"Yes, Madam Magician." Lumian accepted her guidance wholeheartedly.
After Magician disappeared with the bottle of Samaritan Women's Spring water, Lumian swiftly tidied up the altar and settled back down.
He contemplated his errors during the operation.
Firstly, Madam Magician is right. I should have informed her about Madam Justice's commission. Even if they had already communicated privately and there were no issues, I should still mention it. After all, my Major Arcana card holder isn't Justice but Magician. Helping other Major Arcana card holders requires my own Major Arcana card holder's permission.
Secondly, before entering the Samaritan Women's Spring, I should check my condition and items for a final confirmation. Unless there's a battle or an emergency, this should be a necessary process.
If I had remembered and completed this matter, I could have avoided many problems in advance. I wouldn't have brought the Earth Blood ore into the Samaritan Women's Spring area undetected. Monette, no, Amon, appeared several times and deliberately frightened me to disrupt my thoughts and keep my attention on Him instead of my own state, causing me to neglect the Earth Blood ore's "return."
Thirdly, I didn't notice Termiboros's abnormality. He remained silent in the face of Monette's appearance, unlike His vigilance and anxiety from before. Heh, although He is sealed, He can sense His surroundings through me. As an angel, how could He not notice Amon stuffing the Earth Blood ore back into my pocket?
Furthermore, His fate is intertwined with mine. When I entered the Samaritan Women's Spring with the Earth Blood ore, my fate must have changed. How could He not have noticed? Why didn't He warn me?
Does He also want to use the special environment of the Samaritan Women's Spring and the abnormality caused by the Earth Blood ore to find a way to escape the seal? Yes, He was the one who warned me that the Earth Blood ore was special and said it would bring me a fortuitous encounter!
The strange power ultimately prevented Him from achieving His goal. Who could it be?
It's true that an evil god's angel can't be trusted completely. Termiboros has been acting so reliably recently. He reminds me from time to time not only to avoid dangers that can affect Him but also to lull me. He's waiting for an opportunity to stab me in the back.
Heh heh, you're a Hunter too?
After entering the Samaritan Women's Spring, there was no problem with my choices. The adverse effects erupted, and with all kinds of mental corruption stacked on top of each other, it was already very difficult for me to react. Regardless of right or wrong… If the corruption hadn't conflicted and hindered each other, I might have gone crazy on the spot.
Lumian reviewed the entire matter and suddenly chuckled.
"Termiboros, how did you not notice Monette stuffing the Earth Blood ore back to me?"
But Termiboros remained silent, withholding any response.
Lumian roughly ascertained the role this Inevitability angel had played in the recent events. He examined the items on his body, fearing that they would also lead him to "death."
Thankfully, the inanimate objects were relatively unaffected and suffered no substantial damage. As for the "rust" that the Flog boxing glove encountered, it wasn't a true attack. Apart from leaving some traces, it didn't affect its usage.
As for the gazes and dangerous creatures that wearing the boxing gloves would bring, Lumian didn't have any thoughts. He believed that the special environment of the Samaritan Women's Spring limited the corresponding negative effects.
After doing this, Lumian surveyed the surroundings. He felt an indescribable fear and disgust for the safe house that Amon had once entered. He felt as if there were eyes hidden in the surrounding air.
Of course, this was mainly psychological. After all, Madam Magician had already visited.
After dismantling the hidden traps in the safe house, Lumian opened the door and left with all his belongings. He planned to never return, preferring to waste the rent.
…
In Trier, in a verdant park.
Magician, adorned in a brownish-yellow dress, observed a golden retriever leisurely strolling on the grassy path. She turned to the woman standing beside the dog, who wore a simple white dress with delicate green patterns. Her long blond hair flowed casually down her back, tied loosely. Her eyes resembled sparkling emeralds, mirroring the nearby trees in their clear depths.
"The Samaritan Women's Spring has been retrieved."
The woman smiled and said, "Did something happen? You should have gotten a messenger to bring it over."
Magician nodded and summarized the key information. Finally, she said, "Coincidentally, we haven't met in the past few days and haven't communicated.
"This led me to know that he had lost the Earth Blood ore, suspected of being stolen by Amon, but I didn't know that he was going to retrieve the Samaritan Women's Spring. You, on the other hand, knew that he was going to retrieve the Samaritan Women's Spring, but you didn't know that the Earth Blood ore had been stolen."
Justice listened in silence for a few seconds before sighing.
"It's very similar to that person's style…"
"Is it really that person?" Magician frowned slightly. When did He cast His gaze over? Did we fail to hide from Him since the beginning?
Justice pondered for a moment and said, "That's not surprising. The most important thing now is what arrangements He has in mind."
"I don't know," Magician replied with a self-deprecating smile. "But since the Samaritan Women's Spring incident has already occurred, I can foresee…"
As she stepped into the void, surrounded by starlight, she sighed and said, "It won't be long before Fourth Epoch Trier's door truly opens."
…
Outside an abandoned castle.
Justice materialized at the door, clutching the golden canister containing the Samaritan Women's Spring.
In front of her, a dark illusory sea materialized. She stepped into it and arrived in a special dream.
In the dream, not only was a portion of the inverted black mausoleum missing, but it had also split in half. Deep cracks covered its surface, and pale-yellow feathers stained with oil and various symbols of death were scattered everywhere.
Justice floated in midair, tipping the golden canister in her hand.
Under her guidance, a portion of the Samaritan Women's Spring's water transformed into dark rain that gently sprinkled onto the ground.
All the damage healed further, and the two halves of the mausoleum gradually closed in.
Amidst this transformation, Justice stowed away the golden canister and gazed at the remaining Samaritan Women's Spring. She muttered to herself, "Two more rounds should suffice."
…
On the second floor of Salle de Bal Brise, Lumian's bedroom.
After taking a nap, he raised his right palm and realized that the bright red scar had faded significantly. It looked more like the marks left by compression.
Lumian heaved a sigh of relief. That won't attract too much attention.
His original plan was to wrap his right palm in a white bandage to prevent the Boss and the others from spotting anything amiss.
As for now, Lumian thought for a moment and wrapped the bandage around his left palm, which appeared normal.
After completing this task, he eagerly awaited the compensation Madam Justice had mentioned. He wondered when it would arrive.
He believed it wouldn't take more than a few days.
Suddenly, Lumian turned his head and looked at the window in the alley behind him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
There were knocks on the glass.
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