Chapter 71: Her Power |
Dr. Schneider and his companion were heading toward Lake Schluch. By now, it was already 7:30 PM, and the lakeside was dotted with elegantly dressed young men and women, strolling about in formal suits and beautiful gowns.
The extraordinary sight of three round moons and the stars reflecting on the shimmering lake created a mesmerizing scene, as though the lake had merged with the night sky. Emerging from the shadowy path among the flowerbeds into the moonlit area, Shad found himself momentarily stunned.
In all his lives, he had never witnessed such a spectacle. Under the cool summer night breeze, the Outsider was moved by the scene.
Amid his hurried journey through civilization, this fleeting glance seemed to touch upon the profound power of nature. In this relatively idealistic world, such sensations signified a kind of power.
“Don’t you have something to say?”
Standing on a high ground away from the lakeside, Shad gazed at the tranquil lake reflecting the moons and stars, feeling the summer night breeze. In the distance, only faint silhouettes of the rolling mountains were visible. The view was breathtaking.
[Are you hoping for a small epiphany to gain power? No, not quite to that extent.]
“I’m curious—what element would this kind of inspiration from nature belong to?”
[That would be your Enlightenment.]
Every subtle sensation held meaning, even if it was an insignificant power.
[Active interaction with the Four Mystical Elements will refine your spirit and temper your body and soul.]
As he gazed at the lake, whispers sighed softly in his ear, as if a woman were leaning her head on his shoulder and murmuring.
“So, theoretically, even if I remain a One-Ring Warlock, frequent contact with the Four Elements would allow me to rely on physical strength to defeat a higher-ring Warlock?”
Shad asked, hearing a burst of laughter. The voice was melodious; in the past, he might have misinterpreted its tone, but this time, he was sure it was mocking:
[Outsider, you still don’t understand the strongest aspect of the Warlock system—the power of elemental runes. You have no idea.]
“What is it? How do you know about it?”
[My perspective differs from yours. I see what you cannot.]
“So, was this sudden inspiration just an extension of that lucky streak earlier?” Shad hadn’t forgotten the event.
[The result of the Dice of Fate will reveal itself clearly before you. All you need is patience.]
The woman chuckled lightly:
[I thought you had already noticed. Do you remember what I said when I asked you to roll the dice?]
Shad pondered and repeated while watching the lake with his hands behind his back:
“‘Through my perspective, I saw something interesting for you.’”
[Yes, at that moment, I saw someone attempting to kill you through the manipulation of fate.]
“Who? Oh, it must be the Mercury Blood. Is this what Rat Peter meant about retaliating with a Secret-Keeper-grade relic after failing? What did you do? Can you affect reality?”
He was startled.
[Of course, I cannot influence the world. But since you exist outside fate, I merely used your unique fate to counteract with the dice’s power. You can think of this as my exclusive ability, born from your power. For now, this is all I can do, derived from your uniqueness.]
“So, does this mean you can help me fend off all attacks stemming from fate?”
Shad furrowed his brow, curious if this entity had any other abilities. It wasn’t uncommon for a "second self" to possess special powers, but these were typically trivial and barely noticeable, passively acquired when the soul’s other side received the elements and spirit upon becoming a Warlock.
However, the power displayed by Shad’s “other self” was extraordinary.
[Your power is just power; it still needs tools, like the dice.]
Shad nodded slightly and exhaled deeply. Though still anxious about someone trying to kill him, his attention was briefly captured by a boat swaying gently on the distant lake. He couldn’t see the people aboard or tell what was happening, but he wasn’t in the mood to investigate.
“So tonight’s luck is because of this? It still feels unclear.”
[Then wait. Those who seek to kill you will appear before you. That is what the dice foretold.]
“How am I supposed to trust that you’re truly me?”
[But this power stems from you. Soon, you’ll understand that I am always with you.]
As Shad wandered along the lakeside mansion’s rear garden near the lake, he found no trace of Dr. Schneider. Giving up on the search, he decided to return to the mansion’s front courtyard. Luck seemed to continue favoring him, as he stumbled upon Father August in the hedge maze.
The priest was dressed in a white robe, with a pendant of the True God 【Mr. Dawn】 hanging on his chest—an unmistakable clergy uniform.
When Shad saw him, the elderly priest was conversing with an old gentleman leaning on a cane. The gentleman wore an outdated brown suit, his fingers adorned with a massive gold ring that caught Shad’s gaze for a few seconds.
Not wanting to be noticed as an acquaintance of Father August, Shad walked past the two casually, hoping the priest would recognize him first.
Ten minutes later, standing under the statue of a knight raising a sword on horseback, Shad successfully waited for the priest to approach.
“Mr. Hamilton, what brings you here?”
Father August, surprisingly agile for his age, strode over energetically.
“It’s a long story. To put it simply, it’s for Rhodes Cards… but that’s not important. I just saw Dr. Schneider.”
He got straight to the point.
“What? Bill is here too?”
The elderly priest stepped closer, allowing the circle of candles beneath the statue to illuminate both of them. The cool summer night breeze made the candle flames dance, while the garden’s grass rustled softly in the wind. It wasn’t yet midsummer, so the cicadas hadn’t started chirping. It seemed like a peaceful night.
“You didn’t know?”
Shad was even more surprised than Father August:
“I also saw two Ring Warlock teams from the True God Church earlier. One was unfamiliar, but the other belonged to the 【Church of War and Peace】.”
He briefly described the first team, and Father August immediately identified them as a Ring Warlock squad under the 【Church of Sun and Earth】, affiliated with the True God 【The Old Man with the Lantern】. This reminded Shad of the shopkeeper on Violet Iris Lane, who had mentioned the brunette’s identity.
“What’s going on? Is something happening at Lakeside Manor?”
The priest asked uneasily, looking with Shad toward the mansion. Nothing seemed to be happening yet.
“Probably something is brewing. I even saw Mr. Lawrence with his mistress, Madame Lasso.”
Shad added, suspecting that encountering so many familiar faces might be another facet of his inexplicable good luck tonight.
Sure enough, the mention of key “keywords” prompted new information from Father August, who suddenly understood:
“So that’s it. Now it makes sense. Mr. Hamilton, although I’m not a church Warlock, I can get wind of their activities. Yesterday at the study meeting, you mentioned Madame Lawrence’s plan. I heard about it from Dr. Schneider last night. Can you guess which Warlocks Madame Lawrence ended up finding for help?”
The priest asked. Shad thought for a moment and asked incredulously:
“She turned to the True God Church?”
“Exactly.”
Father August nodded:
“A noblewoman your former client met at a tea party had previously encountered a mystical event and thus knew of the church’s power. She introduced Madame Lawrence to the church. In her rashness, without verifying whether Madame Lasso really had connections to Warlocks, Madame Lawrence directly reported her to the church. It was practically a false alarm. Madame Lawrence simply wanted revenge… but the church investigated Madame Lasso thoroughly. Turns out, she is indeed a member of 【Mercury Blood】, and the church has been after her for a long time.”
“Madame Lasso is a man?”
Even though he had suspected it, Shad couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement.
