novelhome Chapter 793 - 792: Approaching the Nightmare
Chapter 793 - 792: Approaching the Nightmare
Gawain was momentarily stunned—what Veronica said was completely unexpected.
"The aura of God..." After a few seconds, he rubbed his chin to break the silence and slowly said, "What kind of aura is it exactly? Is she a favored one of some god? Or does she carry a high-level sacred object? There are many interpretations of the aura of God."
"The aura is very faint and seems to be anomalous, not sure if it’s corruption or ’divine grace,’ but she’s probably not a divine favored one," Veronica said seriously. "First of all, there’s no intelligence indicating Matilda Augustus is a devout believer of any god—according to Typhon’s official public records, only Prince Hadrian of the Augustus clan received the War God’s baptism. Secondly, if she were a favored one of a god, there would be uncontrolled divine aura emanating from her, altering her entire temperament. Due to the gods’ status being far above humans, such changes cannot be concealed or reversed."
"Divine aura emanating..." Gawain abruptly thought of something else as he listened, and couldn’t help but glance at Veronica, "Like the divine aura on you?"
"...That’s correct," Veronica nodded, "the phenomenon of Holy Light affinity on me is precisely this manifestation of uncontrolled divine aura—in strict terms, I am indeed a favored one of the Holy Light."
Gawain looked at Veronica surrounded by a faint Holy Light, and recalled her true identity as a Defier, causing an unspeakable sense of absurdity: "...Essentially a person who defies gods, yet is genuinely a favored one of the Holy Light, one can only say that Gondor technology is the best in the world."
"Gods cannot directly intervene in the real world, and their mechanism for responding and feedback in the real world has its own patterns to follow," Veronica showed a gentle and tranquil smile. "As long as the patterns are accurately matched, the breaches can be found, I can become a favored one of any god—excluding the Goddess of Magic, who does not respond to any prayers beyond necessity and does not select any worldly spokespersons."
Gawain’s lips twitched.
Finding loopholes can make anyone a favored one of a god, without being struck down by that myriad of gods; it’s really like an inter-dimensional cross-jump race champion of the century? This rank is probably higher than Daniel...
But while Veronica spoke lightly of these things, Gawain knew that her operation of "finding loopholes to be a favored one" was not replicable. Matching the gods’ patterns and finding the breaches sounds easy, but in reality, it requires the operator to have complete control over their own mentality, conforming entirely to the standards of a fanatic from actions to consciousness, without gods detecting any abnormalities, while also maintaining the free mentality of a Defier, creating a "genuine manipulative personality" deep within, which is something no normal human could achieve.
Only Veronica/Ophelia, who has completed soul-form transformation and technically might no longer qualify as human, an ancient Defier, could achieve the high-difficulty operation of constantly making moves right under the Holy Light’s watchful eyes.
Gawain shook his head and withdrew his slightly scattered thoughts, furrowing his brow, "If it’s just divine aura, it doesn’t explain much. She might only be carrying a powerful sacred object—as a Typhon Princess, having such items around her isn’t surprising."
Veronica shook her head, "There are quite a few sacred objects under various religious sects, but most of them are relics left behind by mortal priests who performed miracles and sacrificed nobly in history. While these relics carry great power, they are essentially ’mortal objects.’ True sacred objects with divine aura are rare, primarily shards of the Eternal Stone Slate, which are irreplicable and unforgeable items that normally don’t leave the headquarters of each church and wouldn’t be given to someone who’s not even a devout believer—even if she is the empire’s princess."
Gawain curled his fingers, resting them against his chin, "Can you determine which god’s aura it is?"
"No. I can only judge from the unnamable aura with a tendency for knowledge corruption that it comes from a god, but I can’t determine who."
"Is there any harm?" Gawain asked again.
"It’s merely aura and doesn’t possess intrinsic power, it won’t cause corruption or spread," Veronica shook her head slightly, "but whether Matilda herself is ’harmful’... that’s something we can’t be certain of. After all, Typhon has church forces completely different from Anzu, and the Augustus clan is still very mysterious to us."
Gawain quietly pondered for a moment, then gently sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Think positively, she might just be a carrier.
"Since you can sense such aura, please keep an eye on this Typhon Princess over the next few days—but if she doesn’t show any anomalies, don’t take any action.
"Guests from afar must be treated well; we must properly entertain these guests."
Veronica slightly bowed her head, "I understand."
...
Before the official talks started, the messengers from Typhon first received ample rest and were invited to visit the Supreme Administration Office building located in the Administrative District and the Mage District adjacent to the Administration Office.
This city, praised as the "City of Magic," left a deep impression on the visiting guests.
Tidy, new, beautiful, and livable, it is a completely new type of city different from old feudal royal capitals. Matilda, visiting here for the first time, couldn’t help but compare it with the Typhon Imperial Capital Aldernon.
As the sun gradually set, the giant sun had half descended below the horizon, its brilliant rays slanting and enveloping the entire city. The distant Dark Mountain Range shimmered with golden light, jaggedly sprawling in the city’s backdrop, a scene almost describable as magnificent, pushing into the gigantic frame created by the floor-to-ceiling window. Matilda stood before this giant frame, silently observing the foreign city slowly being immersed in the sunset, wordlessly for a long while.
Earl Dule stood behind her, similarly watching the magnificent view, and couldn’t help but express his sentiment, "I once thought Aldernon was the only city that could be described as magnificent... but now it seems there are more than one stunning scenic spot in the world."
"In terms of planning, Aldernon’s layout from two hundred years ago is already outdated for this era. The requirements of the magical industry for transportation and drainage are urging us to renovate the imperial capital," Matilda broke the silence, speaking softly. "Whether we want to admit it or not, Cecil Castle’s planning methods will serve as significant reference for us—here, after all, is the origin of Mage technology."
Earl Dule’s tone carried a hint of helplessness: "...Aldernon was once the most advanced in city planning."
"Nothing stays advanced forever. Our ancestors two hundred years ago couldn’t have imagined that a factory would need so many raw materials two hundred years later, or that so many vehicles would need to travel on a single road," Matilda’s tone remained calm. "In the past, we looked at Anzu like a decaying giant, but now we must avoid becoming that decaying giant ourselves."
Just half a day of touring had already caused a significant impact on the delegation.
The Typhon people are proud, and this pride stems from their martial spirit, as well as their nation’s strongest power among the human nations. But pride does not equate to blindness, and those chosen as envoys are hardly foolish. Ever since leaving the national border, every person Matilda led had their eyes wide open, and now they saw something that left everyone vaguely uneasy.
At least on the surface, the prosperity and advancement of this Cecil Imperial Capital surpassed Aldernon.
"Andresha’s judgment and concerns are correct. This country is rising rapidly," Matilda’s gaze passed through the floor-to-ceiling window, falling upon the bustling urban area opposite the Autumn Palace. The eyes of a Transcendent allowed her to see many details on the street — she could see the satisfied residents and the new signboards and prosperous commercial streets. "Also, Earl Dule, did you notice one thing..."
"What do you mean?"
"This city seems to have no slums."
"Indeed... At least from the districts we’ve passed through and the information we’ve gathered, this city seems to lack any true slum area," Earl Dule thought for a moment, nodding as he spoke. "It’s baffling... Where do those in poverty live? Could they be living outside the city? That might explain why the city maintains such cleanliness, and why all the people we’ve seen along the way are relatively affluent and vibrant citizens."
Matilda glanced at Earl Dule, slightly shook her head, but ultimately said nothing.
After a few more seconds of silence, she seemingly casually spoke: "Tomorrow, before the first meeting begins, we’ll have the opportunity to visit their Imperial Academy, which is very important and one of the primary purposes of our coming here.
"It’s said that their academy has broken conventions more thoroughly than ours, with commoners and aristocrats attending the same academy and even living in the same residential area. We need to confirm this with our own eyes and understand how they plan and manage their academy.
"Besides that, let’s fulfill our duties as ’guests’ properly."
Earl Dule slightly nodded, then left the room with the large floor-to-ceiling windows.
With the gradually sinking sun, Matilda turned away from the window, heading to the bar on one side of the room. She prepared a glass of light wine for herself, then picked up the translucent crystal glass, bringing it before her eyes. Through the swirling liquid, she watched the near-solidified glow of dusk spilling into the room from the window.
The next second, that glow of dusk truly solidified near the window, swiftly covering everything in her view like some kind of gradually spreading pigment.
Under the embrace of the dusk light, it was as if things underwent hundreds of years of time’s baptism. The bright tapestries lost their color, the exquisite wooden furniture swiftly cracked and weathered, and one by one, the room’s furnishings disappeared and decayed. Even the room’s layout rapidly transformed into a different appearance!
Before Matilda’s eyes, this once bright and new room quickly turned into the corridor of an ancient, silent palace, while countless suspicious and malicious whispers came from all directions, as if countless unseen guests had gathered within this "palace," approaching Matilda with ill intentions, step by step.
On the nearest wall, an unexpected, deeply colored black door appeared. Behind the door came a steady knocking sound, and unspeakable, hoarse murmurs sounded behind the door, interspersed with chilling chewing and swallowing sounds, as if a man-eating beast lay in wait outside, yet pretending to be human, patiently knocking on the doorboard.
Matilda calmly watched the already distorted scene before her, reaching into her bosom to pull out a delicate metal vial. She twisted the lid off and poured the potion inside down her throat.
As the spicy, bitter potion flowed down her esophagus, the whispers closing in from all directions gradually diminished. The distorted scene before her quickly returned to normal. Matilda still stood in the room of the Autumn Palace, though her face was slightly paler than before.
She extended her hand to take up the wine glass she had just set down from the nearby bar. Her hand trembled slightly, but she lifted the glass and drank the contents in one go.
A virtual taste of blood filled her mouth, but the bloody scent quickly faded. Matilda slightly closed her eyes, and after several deep breaths, she opened them again, her eyes once more tranquil and deep as water.
Accompanying the growth of madness, they spent their lives fighting against it, eventually sliding into the inevitable nightmare faced by members of their family; sooner or later, they are consumed by it.
This is the fate of every Augustus.
Matilda’s lips curled slightly, as if with self-mockery, but she quickly restrained this emotion that shouldn’t surface, turning to the nearby desk.
On the desk lay an open book, but it wasn’t some mysterious magic tome or critical state document. Instead, it was a book casually bought during a tour of the Mage District, a reading material free to every citizen of the Cecil Empire:
Higher Mathematics
The content on it was curious, seemingly incomprehensible at first, but supposedly, the students of Cecil were all engrossed in it, carrying a copy even while eating and walking. It must mean that what this book records is very important.
After successfully resisting the erosion of nightmares and madness, Matilda felt the need to look at something else to adjust her mood a bit...