Chapter 2580: Chapter 2581: Mirror Demon God
At the moment when the contract backlash appeared, the Black Earl withdrew the contract light shield.
However, the power of the contract did not dissipate and continued to tightly surround Dox.
Itās like signing a contract on parchment, even if you tear that parchment, the contract will still take effect if you breach it.
Dox was the same, his screams lasted a full two minutes.
For Dox, these two minutes were probably the longest two minutes of his life. For others, it was also a reminder and a warning.
The horror of contract backlash power.
And the contract light shield is just the weakest form of contract backlash. If it were a formal contract signed under the witness of the World Will, the backlash power would be at least a hundred times, a thousand times stronger.
After two minutes, the contract backlash power finally dissipated completely. When the glow faded, everyone saw Dox again.
Dox looked unchanged on the outside, just lying on the ground, a tear sliding from the corner of his eye, with a look of utter despair.
"Is he... okay?" It was Vay, who had vowed not to speak recklessly a moment ago, who broke the silence.
As an old friend of Dox, Vay was seeing Dox like this for the first time. Clearly uninjured, but looking as if he were about to die.
"If you two little guys had encountered a contract backlash, youād probably be beyond saving by now. But Dox wonāt die." The Black Earl referred to the two little guys, Vay and Kaier.
Vay: "But he looks like..."
The Black Earl said indifferently: "His bloodline-side physique completely withstood the contract backlash power, not even his clothes are torn, which shows heās fine."
Vay still wanted to ask, then why was Dox lying on the ground?
However, before he could ask, the Black Earl, as if with foreknowledge, said: "As for why heās still lying on the ground, itās probably because... heās embarrassed."
The Black Earlās answer stunned everyone, including Angel, who thought Doxās Spirit Sea or Mind Space was injured, but the Black Earl seemed to imply he was actually fine?
"After all, the pain was real, he screamed for so long, even shed tears, heās probably lost all face. Itās a pity you didnāt use the Photostone to capture that moment." After a pause, the Black Earl turned to Angel: "Your illusion technique should be able to recreate the scene, right? How about you recreate it now, and Iāll have Vay prepare the Photostone."
Before Angel could respond, Dox jumped up from the ground and rushed in front of Angel: "No!"
"Iām fine, Iām fine. I just suddenly felt homesick and missed my dear old mother. I donāt know how she is now, but once this exploration of the ruins is over, Iāll go see her." Dox said to Angel with a sincere expression.
As for when he turned to Vay and Kaier, he said the same thing, but with a fierce look in his eyes, as if to say, "Believe it or not, you have to believe."
Vay and Kaier could only awkwardly respond with a nod.
The Black Earl actually wanted to mock him a bit: missing his mother? Youāre over eighty, if your mother were mortal, would she still be alive? But after thinking it over, itās possible Dox might have forcibly awakened her as a Talented One, so she could still be alive. So, in the end, he said nothing.
Angel watched Doxās performance and began to believe the Black Earlās judgment. This guy, the injuries from the contract backlash should exist but arenāt serious; the greater wound is to his pride.
Always the one watching from the sidelines, now heās the main act, how could he accept that?
"Angel, my dear good friend, please donāt listen to the slander of strangers. The power of illusion should be used against enemies, only then is it the right path. If you use it to bully your already pathetic friend, wonāt your heart ache?"
Dox was still worried Angel might actually follow the Black Earlās suggestion, so he clung to Angel tightly.
"Iāll give you two choices." Angel looked at Dox: "First, under the contract light shield, repeat the two sentences you just said. If you donāt invoke the contract power, Iāll believe you."
Dox: "..."
After a moment of silence, Dox asked: "Whatās the second choice?"
Angel looked down at his tightly gripped wrist: "Second, let go of my hand, and stay five meters away from me, and Iāll pretend nothing happened."
Dox immediately released his hand and quickly retreated to the corner.
"You easily let it go. He was planning on tricking you inside the contract light shield earlier." The Black Earl said calmly.
"Couldnāt succeed, I would only choose silence to any of his questions." Angel paused and added silently in his heart: Besides, his little gold isnāt in hand yet, Dox had better not be in trouble.
"Alright, back to the point. Since the Black Earl has already explained, the appearance of the Uysu language here is both coincidental and expected." Angel: "Dox and Kaier, you shouldnāt have any objections, right?"
Kaier was surprised Angel pointed him out specifically, because even if the Black Earl had ulterior motives, he had no right to object. Now that the Black Earl had proven it was a coincidence, albeit not entirely, he certainly had no objections. So he nodded without hesitation.
As for Dox, having just experienced the contract backlash, didnāt want to argue anymore, so he murmured an acknowledgment to pass the issue.
Once it was confirmed that a temporary consensus had been reached within the team, Angel turned to the Black Earl: "My lord, can you translate this Uysu language now?"
The Black Earl nodded and once again used the contract light shield.
This was also a gesture of sincerity; under the witness of the contract, his translation would have to be correct.
As soon as the contract light shield appeared, Dox shuddered and slowly retreated to the edge of the shield before slipping out entirely.
It seemed that Dox had been truly frightened by the contract light shield.
Vay followed him out, not out of friendship, but because he too feared saying something wrong and invoking the contract backlash.
But Kaier showed no concern for the contract light shield, which showed, just like Dox had described, that Kaier was indeed quite a pure person.
The Black Earl wasnāt bothered by Dox and Vayās departure, instead he looked at Angel: "Where should I start the translation?"
Angel: "My lord, why donāt you take a look first, and if you can piece together the overall idea, just tell us in general. This way, we wonāt need to translate it sentence by sentence."
The Black Earlās use of the contract light shield was a display of sincerity, and Angel reciprocated with trust in this way.
The Black Earl gave Angel a deep glance: "Now I think you are much more pleasing to the eye than your foolish mentor."
Angel said nothing, as long as the Black Earl didnāt use "nostrils" as his expression, heād take it as a compliment.
The Black Earl refocused on the table, studying the complex and chaotic characters on it.
Since he only had a nose, it was impossible to discern the Black Earlās expression, but Angel, as a master of emotion perception, could sense the emotional fluctuations in the Black Earl as he read different texts.
This was something the Black Earl probably did not anticipate.
Throughout the process, the Black Earlās emotions fluctuated wildly, indicating that there must be many secrets hidden within these characters.
After "reading" all the words, the Black Earl fell into deep thought, seemingly integrating the information he obtained.
After a long time, the Black Earl spoke: "You guessed correctly, this does count as a religious organization. However, the deity they worship is quite strange; even I have never heard of it. I donāt know where it came from or whether it is real."
After hesitating for a moment, the Black Earl mentioned the name of the deity: "Mirror Demon God."
A few seconds later, Black Earl: "I didnāt feel any probing."
When mentioning Demon Gods, the first thought that comes to mind must be the Abyssal Demon Gods, whose basic capability is to respond to "followers." Even across countless worlds, when you call on their name, the Demon God will vaguely sense it. If you are "lucky," the Demon God might turn its gaze to you.
Therefore, the Black Earl was hesitant and explained immediately that he wasnāt being probed.
Angel: "Sounds like an Abyssal Demon God?"
Black Earl: "I donāt know, that wasnāt mentioned in the text. All mentions of this deity are mere meaningless praises."
"By the way, thereās another thing. These characters seem to have been carved by different peopleāsome as preaching prompts, others purely as records. Like praising the deity, itās merely a record."
"The characters are quite fragmented, nearly impossible to find a single logical chain. Itās difficult to integrate, but if you donāt mind, I can use speculation to fill in some logical gaps, although I canāt guarantee accuracy."
Angel nodded: "I understand. Do go ahead, my lord."
The Black Earl pondered for a moment and began his narrative.
It was probably when Naraku City had not yet been abandoned that a group of followers faithful to the Mirror Demon God were guided by "someone" to Naraku City.
This "someone," whom the Black Earl also doesnāt know, is speculated to be related to the Mirror Demon God, perhaps an alleged divine servant or possibly the god himself.
After these followers arrived here, under "someoneās" guidance, they constructed an underground church close to "someplace."
As for why they came to Naraku City and built an underground church here, their supposed purpose is an object called the "Sacred Object."
"Their goal is the Sacred Object, as Iāve speculated, since the texts repeatedly mention this Sacred Object, saying it was stolen by a certain thief and offered to one of the cityās rulers at the time. As for what the Sacred Object is, there hasnāt been a detailed description."
After hearing this, Angel showed a peculiar expression: "Sacred Object? Thief?"
If this was not said by the Black Earl, he would think it was a fantasy novel written by ordinary people with whimsical ideas.
Because in the real transcendent world, a thief wanting to break into a sect to steal a Sacred Object is virtually impossible. Unless the thief is a legendary level shadow-type Wizard who can face an entire sect and withstand the wrath of the Demon God, otherwise, itās absolutely unfeasible.
"Yes, thatās how itās recorded." Black Earl: "Moreover, this sentence was said by āsomeone."
"Did āsomeoneā say it? Then the identity of this āsomeoneā should not be the deity itself." Angel speculated, otherwise, this Demon God would be ridiculously meddlesome, having to issue a divine edict personally for everything.
Black Earl thought for a moment and said: "The text does not specify who āsomeoneā is, but itās strange... I felt that when reading information about āsomeone,ā this āsomeoneā seemed different from the other followers, somewhat alienated."
Angel: "What do you mean?"
Black Earl: "I speculate that this āsomeoneā might have never met these followers."
Angel: "This information is truly worth pondering; Iāve noted it. Are there any other messages? Is the name of the ruler who possesses the Sacred Object mentioned?"
Black Earl shook his head: "No, but from scattered text, it appears that the ruler oversees some organization."
Angel sorted his thoughts and said: "In that case, the followers tried to infiltrate the organization presided over by the ruler. Earlier, my lord mentioned that the underground church is very close to āsomeplace,ā so this place should be where the organization is located, or at least not far from it."
Black Earl nodded: "You could say that."
Angel raised his eyes to the Black Earl: "My lord, how is āsomeplaceā referred to in the original text?"
Black Earl shook his head: "Itās not stated, only referred to as āthere,ā a geographical placeholder."
"Iāve integrated all the information I can," said Black Earl, "Do you have any more questions?"
Angel indeed had a question; when the Black Earl saw a segment of the text, he had a significant emotional fluctuation. Although the Black Earl tried to control it, Angel still noticed. He was considering whether to ask about the meaning of that text.
If asked... He could perceive the Black Earlās emotions, and it might be hard to hide.
But if he didnāt ask, he would feel unsatisfied.
Angel thought for a while: "My lord, aside from the information you mentioned, is there any other important information?"
Black Earl: "How do you define important information?"
Angel: "Itās not my definition but rather what my lord considers important information. Is there any?"
This time, the Black Earl remained silent.
"There must be something being withheld, otherwise why hesitate to answer? The contract shield is excellent, canāt escape now!" Indisputably, the only one who would dare jeer at the Black Earl in such a manner is Dox.
"You are healed and forgot the pain." Angel glanced at Dox: "Those standing outside should not speak. If you want to say something, come inside the shield."
Dox chuckled and genuinely listened to Angelās words, not speaking further.
Angel then looked at the Black Earl: "It seems there is indeed important information, according to your perspective, my lord."
With the contract shield in place, the Black Earl had to admit: "There is information I wish not to disclose, but it should be irrelevant to the ruins we are heading to."
"If you are certain this intelligence is unrelated to our upcoming exploration, then you donāt have to share it, my lord. But are you absolutely sure?"
Before this, the Black Earl used ambiguous terms like "should" and "perhaps" to respond, essentially taking advantage of loopholes in the contract shield.
Angelās inquiry demanded a definitive answer from the Black Earl.
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