697 Madam Magicianâs Explanation
As Lumian gazed at the peculiar soil, he couldnât help but recall the scene of Hela retrieving the Samaritan Womenâs Spring.
After a moment of contemplation, he retrieved gold bars and coins from his Travelerâs Bag and ignited a blazing white fireball in his palm.
As the flames surged, the gold gradually melted under the control of his spirituality, forming a small golden box.
Lumian then used the flames as a blade to fashion a cover for the box.
Once the gold had cooled and solidified, he used the straight sword as a shovel to transfer the palm-sized clump of soil into the box before closing the lid.
After stowing away the golden box, Lumian noticed that the straight sword in his hand had become rusty and decayed.
Rather than being alarmed, Lumian was delighted. He muttered to himself, âThat soil is indeed magicalâŠâ
This was one of his gains from the Dream Festival.
Despite not obtaining the Beyonder characteristics of Reaza and Maslow, and the mysterious disappearance of the man and woman who served the Demon, Lumian had finally acquired something of value.
He continued searching the area but found no other traces. Left with no other option, he teleported back to the second floor of the Brieu Motel.
By then, much of the smoke and dust caused by the meteorite had dissipated. The crimson moonâs light cast an eerie glow over Tizamo.
Lumian noticed a folded letter on the master bedroomâs desk, with a thin brass-like metal sheet on top.
Madam Magicianâs response is swift tonight⊠Lumian picked up the brass plate and examined the mysterious patterns and words etched upon it, but he couldnât discern their meaning or purpose. He couldnât even sense the corresponding spirituality glow.
Shaking his head, Lumian temporarily set aside the brass sheet. With a gentle grab of his right hand, he conjured a floating incandescent white fireball.
Under its glow, he sat down and began reading Madam Magicianâs reply.
âThereâs no doubt about it. From what youâve described, the corpse in the dream tomb belongs to Naboredisley.
âAs for Naboredisley, thereâs a high likelihood that itâs an alias of Devil Monarch Farbauti or a real name that can be used under certain circumstances.
âDonât you find it strange that Naboredisley, as a Devil Monarch and one of the eight ancient gods who once ruled the world, can bestow superpowers from the Prisoner pathway?
âThis abnormality is quite normal for the ancient gods.
âThey didnât advance according to the paths of the divine, but were born directly for some unknown reason. Their characteristics were a mix of Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics from other pathways, or even more than one. Considering Demon Warlock Burmanâs situation, you can see how unhinged and violent the ancient gods were.
âThereâs a significant difference between ancient gods and subsequent true gods, but this doesnât mean that They are weak. They might even be stronger.
âAmong them, although Farbauti is the Devil Monarch, He blends in Sequence 1 Abomination from a neighboring pathway. Therefore, His state is one of the best among the eight ancient gods. He has also become the only ancient god alive in Their original form.
âIn fact, if Farbauti were to gather the ingredients of the Devil pathway as a Sequence 1 Abomination and complete the deity-ascension ritual to advance, He would be equivalent to a true god nowâa stronger true god. He wouldnât be an ancient god described by words like madness, cruelty, violence, and bloodlust.
âOf course, as the Devil Monarch, even if He had done so, He will inevitably exhibit the characteristics of I am the Abyss, the Abyss is Me, experiencing strong influence from this pathway. As for the state of a Devil, you should be well aware. Therefore, Farbauti is also one of the two or three most unhinged ancient gods. This doesnât contradict His better state.
âThatâs all for the ancient gods. Thatâs not my primary purpose in writing.
âIn short, the one in the dream tomb is indeed Naboredisley, the other Naboredisley in the form of an Abomination.â
Is that so⊠Ancient gods possess Beyonder characteristics of neighboring or non-neighboring pathways, and Naboredisley has already displayed the ability to separate different desires and emotions⊠Lumian no longer harbored any doubts about the cold corpseâs ability to bestow Wraith powers.
After some thought, he reread Madam Magicianâs letter.
âYou mentioned that Naboredisley took the initiative to lie back in the dream tomb and continue in a dead state. This is a very rational choice for Him.
âFurthermore, I must say itâs a good death. Continue in this dead state until after the apocalypse!
âYou donât need to know the exact reason. To put it simply, you can see that Naboredisley, or the Devil Monarch Farbauti, is in a terrible state. As an Abomination, His demise is more suitable than Him living. Itâs better for both Him and this world.
âOf course, this canât be a simple death. He chose a good place to die. This will allow His corpse to enjoy peace and tranquility, safe from the Mother Tree of Desireâs harassment.
âNow, you should understand. That entity had written a story and created a coincidence, allowing you to come into contact with Naboredisley in the Feynapotter Kingdom. Then, you went to Hanth Island and the New City of Silver. His goal was to send information to Naboredisley in the dream ancient tomb, allowing Him to continue sleeping and be a corpse instead of being resurrected. Simultaneously, this also prevents various factions from trying to obtain the Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic.
âTsk, as expected of a remnant from ancient times. Heâs the protagonist who personally ended the rule of the ancient gods. The secrets and various key matters He knows perhaps exceed all of us combined.
âApart from Him and the Evernight Goddess, who else would know about mysticism festivals like the Dream Festival, which you forget when you wake up? Who would have thought that the corpse was part of the Devil Monarch?
âThe substantial digestion of the Reaper potion, the acquisition of the golden mask, and the formation of the corroded soil should be the rewards He promised.
âRemember to give me that corroded soil. Itâs useless to you, but I can help you exchange it for something. It might also present an opportunity, but I canât discern what it is for now.
âAnd with that golden mask, you can boldly venture into the Underworld when the opportunity arises in the future. Otherwise, the living wonât be able to stay in the Underworld for even a second.
âThose golden masks come from the fallen Death, the ancestor of the Eggers family. They were originally created to assist Deathâs direct descendants in entering and exiting the Underworld and Deathâs kingdom.
âTheir purpose is twofold. Firstly, to protect the wearer from the corrosion of the aura of death. Secondly, to transform the wearer into an undead creature. Their bodies no longer have vital points, while their minds and consciousness can maintain their living state.
âDo you understand why Naboredisleyâs corpse wore the Death mask? If it didnât, it would have died completely in the dream tomb, with no possibility of revival.
âSimilarly, knowing the golden maskâs functions and the state of the corpse, you should understand why Hisoka put on the golden mask. It allows a corpse to mistake Hisoka for one of its kind without affecting him. It also protects Hisoka from the corrosion of the tombâs aura of death.
âThe first phantom that experienced an Ascension activated the corpseâs sleeping spirit under the golden maskâs protection, but without awakening His consciousness. In this state, Hisoka can use His resemblance to the corpse to make the corpse mistake Him for His spirit and accept His dominance. Isnât this style familiar? That Celestial Worthy is indeed the strongest god who seeks out errors and exploits loopholes.
âBy the time the second phantom that underwent Ascension entered the dream ancient tomb, the corpseâs consciousness would have been basically awakened. Even if Hisoka were still alive, he wouldnât be able to complete his grand plan.
âThatâs the gist of the matter. The Numinous Episcopateâs purpose is the ancient tomb itself, the golden mask that has endured the corresponding corrosion in the tomb for over a millennium. The Nois familyâs archduke, a collaborator of the Rose School of Thought, desires Naboredisleyâs corpse, while the temperance faction seeks to retrieve Miss Messengerâs heart. Their goals were actually different, yet they fought to the death. I have to say, itâs quite humorous and ironic.
âOf course, this is mainly because they canât trust each other, and thereâs indeed a possibility that itâs a situation where the winner takes all. Does Miss Messenger want to consume Naboredisleyâs Abomination body? Of course She does!â
Miss Messenger⊠The lady who used the lucky gold coin to buy the heart from Ludwig? Why is she called Miss Messenger? Itâs impossible for Her to be someoneâs messenger, right? Sheâs an Angel! Uh⊠Mr. Foolâs messenger? So thatâs why thereâs a lucky gold coin closely related to Mr. Fool⊠Lumian was sharp, and he quickly made a guess.
He continued reading the last part of the letter.
âI forgot to mention that wearing that golden mask also poses problems.
âAs you can imagine, once you transform into an undead creature and donât have any vital points on your body, the purification of sunlight and lightning will be fatal to you. Moreover, if a living person wears that golden mask for too long, they will truly become deceased. When that time comes, once the mask is removed, their mind and consciousness will be unprotected and they will die immediately.
âLet me see what else I havenât mentionedâŠ
âYes, you said that the Underworld Daoist and Naboredisleyâs corpse had looked at Iveljsta Eggers without doing anything to him. That gave me some ideas.
âItâs highly likely that the one who helped bury Naboredisleyâs Abomination corpse and construct the dream grave was the ancestor of the Eggers family, the deceased Death.
âAfter He went mad, perhaps He interacted with the Underworld Daoist, who guarded the river and the Blood Emperorâs afterimage. And for some reason, He agreed to Naboredisleyâs request for help, causing His Abomination corpse to slumber in a special dream.
âTherefore, be it the Underworld Daoist or Naboredisleyâs corpse, even if they only have their instincts left, they will still treat the Eggers familyâs bloodline specially.â