NOVPUBHalf an hour later.
At midnight when the clock struck one, a bedroom in Lichtenstein Castle felt exceptionally warm.
The brown solid wood floor, vintage rugs, and luxurious textiles all exuded a comforting scent under the light. Simply by existing there, they provided a sense of invisible warmth to whoever was in the room atop this cold mountaintop during the late autumn.
Inside the room, the conversation between Lanci Hyperion and Goddess Officer Stisera was no longer enemy-like, like before; it now seemed like the relaxing chit-chat between classmates on a trip.
As long as you regarded Lanci as a friend, you would distinctly feel the comforting aura around him.
After chatting with Lanci, Stisera felt her future was bright.
It was as if she had truly been reborn.
Perhaps this was the fruition of the pledge she made to the Goddess of Destiny this afternoon out of sheer luck.
And Lanci was the angel sent by Lady Goddess to redeem her.
"It’s late today, we should stop here."
Lanci closed the notebook in his hand, clipped the pen on the book cover, picked up the book, looking like a teacher about to leave after class.
There were still several days left to slowly ask Stisera about the specifics of the Rebirth Church.
Hyperion was conscious of her duty as an assistant, ready to leave with Lanci at any moment.
She noticed a hint of reluctance on Stisera’s face when Lanci said their conversation was over for the day.
If one brainwashes others with sincerity and kindness, it appears to win people over with virtue, but if that virtue is purposeful, it might essentially be brainwashing.
He seemed like he was doing good deeds, yet seemed like he was committing crimes. But if he was accused of committing crimes, he hadn’t broken any laws.
Never mind, he could never change.
Hyperion has always been a quiet girl.
"By the way, Stisera, what is your authority and mission as a traitor of the Blood Clan in this Shadow World?"
Lanci stood up, pushed the chair back under the table and asked at the same time.
This was the last question he cared about.
"Please watch me."
Goddess Officer Stisera did not answer the question directly but began to change her appearance. Her body gradually grew taller and eventually morphed into the form of Princess Alexia.
Hyperion stared at Stisera in amazement, finding no differences between the appearance of the latter and Princess Alexia!
"The authority of my Blood Master, Count Seberna, [Blood Disguise], can completely disguise me as a target I have touched and it will be maintained until I actively dismantle it."
Stisera explained to the two, and even her voice had now completely changed to sound exactly like Princess Alexia’s.
Moreover, as she was already familiar with Princess Alexia, she even mimic the latter’s tones.
If they hadn’t personally witnessed Stisera using the Blood Clan’s authority to change, even Lanci would be unable to distinguish that the Alexia before their eyes was a fake.
"..."
Lanci remained silent for a while.
This authority, which seemed to offer no combative advantage, was actually the most powerful Blood Clan ability he has seen so far.
It had an unlimited potential in any situation other than direct confrontation.
The gradually reviving Blood Clan in the world could erode the Cerryti Empire at an unimaginable speed. Count Seberna was probably replacing the identities of the Empire’s top brass in the process.
Perhaps in the end, even the emperor of the empire was replaced by Count Seberna.
After understanding the Blood Clan’s authority on Stisera, Hyperion felt a chill.
Upon further thought, according to the normal flow in this shadow world scenario, or the actual historical course of events, if the holder of [Blood Fury] began the killing spree on the first night, then even the identities of the deceased could be replaced by [Blood Disguise] from the second day onwards. The difficulty of the challengers’ deduction would multiply as everything became shrouded in suspicion. It would turn into an increasingly brutal and intensely cerebral and psychological game!
Hyperion couldn’t help but feel relieved that Lanci and Frey, the sleeping dragon, and phoenix chick, ended the game in just half a day.
They fundamentally altered this shadow world.
"The first objective of the traitor is to discern the identity of the werewolf and witch. The second objective is to obtain fresh blood from the werewolf and witch within three hours and then go to the secret room under the castle’s wine cellar. The objective is to remove the seal on the ’long-lost Bloodline Viscount’ Viscount Augustin, subjugate him into an experimental subject, and use him to cleanse the mark of the Blood Clan member from oneself to escape the control of the blood master. Once this mission is completed, the use of the blood master’s authority will also be lost."
Stisera continued to explain everything in detail.
Meanwhile,
The task information panel that Lanci and Hyperion, the Challengers, could see began to update as well.
But, the Shadow World seemed to stutter a bit.
Because the Challengers’ [Mission Objective 2] should decrypt with the progression of the Shadow World, and not from persuading the Traitor to voluntarily explain everything at once.
Gradually, the mission panel began to show key changes.
[Mission Objective 2: Explore the secrets and dangers hidden within the ancient castle - Completed intelligence has been unlocked]
[Phase One: Please protect the Werewolf and Witch, challengers. Prevent the Traitor from lifting Viscount Augustin’s seal.]
[Phase Two: If Viscount Augustin’s seal is broken, resealing him will return to phase one.]
[Phase Three: If Viscount Augustin is under the Traitor’s control at the end of the Shadow World time limit, then the mission objective has failed.]
With that,
The Challengers finally could understand the true story behind of the entire Shadow World.
Many years before the Sanctuary Evil banquet began, Viscount Augustin was sealed here by a Witch and a Werewolf.
Years later, in this Autumn, Grand Priest Carigula, the master of the castle, summoned twelve Anti-blood Clan cultists to gather at this old castle located on a cliff.
However, among the twelve, there were two ambitious blood clan members. They had learnt elsewhere about the secrets under this castle, as well as the existence of the Witch and Werewolf in the Church.
They didn’t want to continue being subservient to the Blood Clan, nor did they want to be enemies with the Clan. They wanted to break Viscount Augustin’s seal and take control of him, to remove the mark of the Blood Master, and even delve deeper into the secrets of the Blood Clan.
The Rebirth Church, which originally had some form, suffered a devastating blow as a result.
"Ah, it seems the prototype of this Shadow World was actually a tragedy."
Lanci closed the translucent Shadow World information interface and sighed. In that era without Magic Cards, and even when human magic texts were not yet fully mature, the [Sacred Hall Villains Banquet] should have been a brutal forgotten historical episode. In the end, one could only guess how many survived and who won between the church members and the traitors. It certainly wouldn’t have been as easy as it had been for them.
"I didn’t expect that the biggest obstacle to the Anti-blood Clan in this era would actually be human beings themselves."
Hyperion also had a complex expression.
Unreasonable laws, bleak captive breeding, the power that even the Demon Race dares not to confront, it’s hard to imagine what price humans would have to pay if they wanted to resist this powerful immortal Blood Clan. Yet, the already dying path had even absurd internal strife.
"I don’t know how humans eventually won. The story will have to be left to the remaining two Shadow worlds of the Blood Moon Bad World era. As long as we can achieve an SSS score in this Shadow World, we can continue to enter the series of Shadow Worlds in the Blood Moon Bad World era."
However, Lanci didn’t dwell too much on it.
As an ecologist, not a historian, his job was to investigate and address the issues the Blood Clan might bring up on the spot.
He belonged to the practical camp.
He read through the Mission Objective 2 again.
Then, he asked Hyperion thoughtfully:
"As long as we don’t let the Traitor take control of Viscount Augustin, we would win this Shadow World, right?"
"…Yes."
Hyperion also read it again and confirmed.
She didn’t know what the meaning of Lanci’s question was,
But she had a growing sense of unease.
She felt that Lanci was not through for the night, that he was just getting started!
As a result,
Just as Hyperion’s heartbeat was beginning to speed up, she heard Lanci telling her-
"So, it’s okay if we, the challengers, take control of Viscount Augustin, right?"
Lanci straightened his suit, still looking as radiant, confident in his tight logic.
