NOVPUBNaka Island.
In the Demon King’s Castle at noon, the blazing sun hung high, spreading intense light over every corner of this wilderness.
Away from the royal palace and the bay on the outskirts, the air formed layers of distorted heat waves above the ground—this was a military stronghold far from the bustling commercial district of the Demon King’s Castle—the Gen’ya Witchcraft Institute.
Lanci walked alone through the wilderness until he reached the entrance of the underground research facility, where he was greeted and escorted inside by the saluting members of the Demon King’s Army.
Hyperion didn’t want to come back to Naka Island where the royal palace was located, so Lanci had her take a good rest on the shores of Lisi Island, playing with Siegler.
At McCarthy’s restaurant nearby, Lord Raeming Gareth and his cousin Tia were dining; the area was very safe.
While contemplating this, Lanci passed through several layers of barriers and protective doors forged with anti-magic steel, entering the depths of the institute.
Different from the sweltering outside world, the relatively cool interior shifted the light from the harsh daylight to a soft indoor hue.
Inside the institute, many Demon Race researchers were still busy at this lunch hour; their chatter, the roar of heavy machinery, and the humming of magical circuits composed the only sounds within the lab.
Lanci slowly walked past the many laboratories on either side of the corridor, his gaze filled with expectations for the Demon Race researchers.
Until he came to the innermost command and control room of core prohibitions.
"Good afternoon," Lanci said as he removed his round-topped cap with a small brim.
Today’s streamlined top hat, paired with a loose overcoat outside his suit vest, added to his scholarly serenity and restraint.
The figures inside the central storage room quickly turned to look at him.
"You’re here, we’ve been working on your requests for a day now," said True Night Sir from the deepest part of the office, whose table was piled with magical engineering devices, as he looked up at Lanci.
They had finally captured the fourth Ancestor, Eduado.
The Fallen Lord Calila’s idea was to send Eduado to Purgatory City Pasquale for sealing immediately.
But Lord Unknown McCarthy felt that the value of Ninth-order Blood Clan member Eduado shouldn’t be buried like this.
Therefore, under the instructions of Lord Unknown, they launched an emergency project that lasted all day, and the Great Love Poet, Lord Unknown’s personal summon, began a comprehensive transformation of Eduado.
"But we need to break through his psychological defenses to make him submit, even if just for a moment, to willingly accept our demands," said Esmod, the True Night Sir still cloaked in black and shadow, revealing only his blue eyes.
"We’ve used every torture method, but we’ve been unable to make Eduado yield. I see no hope of making the fourth Ancestor submit."
Esmod shook his head and sighed, as if to persuade Lanci to give up further tormenting the fourth Ancestor Eduado.
Because of Lan Fu’s brutal methods, even the True Night Sir began to feel fear.
If Eduado was not sealed to death, she felt she would not sleep well.
"..."
Lanci fell momentarily silent.
Simply looking into those blue eyes, for a moment, Lanci wondered if it could be the Great Love Poet playing a prank on him, disguised as the True Night Sir.
Not until he saw the appearance of the Great Love Poet did Lanci confirm that the Demon Race individual swaddled tightly in a black cloak was indeed the real True Night Sir.
Now True Night Sir Esmod had become the leader of the experimental team. Being one of the Great Demon Clan in the Demon King’s Castle with the highest talent in Magic Engineering, she could understand almost immediately the principles of the Forbidden Curse Seals taught to her by the Great Love Poet.
Unlike True Night Sir, who rose from poverty through her own efforts to become a talented lady of the Great Demon Clan, Lord Unknown Orion was born a noble of the Demon King Castle Necaris.
"When are we going to eat? I’m so tired and hungry," complained Lord Unknown Orion, with his raven hair and cold golden eyes, as he dangled his blood-stained metal gauntlet with visible disdain.
Without his, an Eighth-order great demon military general, it was indeed not easy to sever a Ninth-order Blood Clan body.
As a noble of the aristocracy of the Demon World, he rarely did such dirty work himself.
Especially that female Demon named Lan Fu, who ordered him to use harsh tortures unfamiliar even to their Seventh Army Group in the Demon World.
But to express his gratitude to Lanci, who had saved them, he had promised to do anything Lanci asked of him.
So, he joined the experimental team as well, assisting the Great Love Poet Lan Fu and True Night Sir Esmod.
Lanci looked at Lord Unknown Orion, and for some reason, he felt a bit like laughing.
"Lord Unknown, why are you looking at me and laughing?" Lord Unknown Orion noticed Lanci’s expression and asked, puzzled.
"I’m not laughing," Lanci waved his hand.
"You definitely laughed, tell me why," Lord Unknown Orion leaned in closer, pressing Lanci for an answer.
"... Maybe because seeing you makes me very happy?" Lanci paused to think, then said with a chuckle, his tone uncertainly asking him.
Perhaps it was because Orion had some resemblance to a person from his past, especially those golden eyes; Lanci had almost been fooled by that initial cold impression.
"I don’t like men. I only see you as a brother, no, you’re clearly interested in princesses, don’t make such jokes," Orion hurriedly backed away, then realized he might have been played by Lanci.
Although he had only recently become acquainted with this Lord Unknown, he didn’t dislike spending time with him. After all, Lord Unknown was full of talent, elegance, and graciousness—traits he highly admired. Nonetheless, he found him hard to read.
"By the way, what kind of woman do you like?"
Lanci changed the subject and asked.
In the distance, True Night Sir Esmod, who had been concentrating on her work, suddenly paused; even without looking this way, she seemed to have attuned her hearing slightly towards their conversation.
"What kind of question is that?"
Mist Sir Orion was taken aback by Lanci’s question.
True Night Sir Esmod resumed her work silently, acting as though nothing had happened and not showing any signs of disappointment at Mist Sir’s response, as if she had had no expectations from the start.
"For instance, a bit more specifically, the woman to whom you’ll eventually give a ring, do you wish her to have a gentle demeanor or a fiery temper? Skilled and creative or clumsy and absent-minded? Someone who has been by your side for a long time and understands you, or someone who suddenly descends from the sky, arranged for you by someone else?"
Lanci gave off a professional vibe of psychological diagnosis, changing his questioning approach and slowing his speech a little.
"Of course, it would be a woman with a gentle temperament, skilled and creative, who has been with me for a long time," Mist Sir Orion replied subconsciously.
Upon reflection, he noticed that Lanci’s choice of words was quite subtle, as if guiding his response, and instinctively, he didn’t want to choose the latter.
"If you truly find a wife whom you love immensely, will you still love her for eternity even when she is no longer young and beautiful?"
Lanci continued to ask.
"I will."
This time, Mist Sir Orion responded more firmly and decisively than to any previous question.
"I’ve been doing some research on psychological tests recently, and just now I bothered you to try one out, thank you for your help, Orion," Lanci explained with a smile.
"So, what did you find out?"
Mist Sir Orion asked, puzzled.
"I guess, it won’t be long before you find that woman who is destined for you," Lanci nodded with certainty.
"I see, you should have said so earlier. Next time you need help, I’m at your disposal," Mist Sir Orion quickly brightened up with a smile.
He found conversing with Lord Unknown very interesting, and since Lord Unknown was an expert in this field, he could even swiftly extricate himself from the Fallen Wonderland. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
"By the way, the Fallen Queen wants you to go over; she said she’s ready on her part," Mist Sir added.
"Thank you, go and rest. Of course, you can also go to my restaurant; I’ve instructed the chef to prepare your lunch as quickly as possible," Lanci nodded, patting his shoulder in appreciation.
"That’s great."
Mist Sir Orion chatted briefly with Lanci, then quickly bid farewell.
After seeing Mist Sir Orion off,
Lanci cast a glance at True Night Sir Esmod, who remained distantly lost in thought for a long time, smiled slightly as if to say, "I can only help you so much; the next step is up to you to take."
He turned and walked alone to the only passage leading to the central prohibited storage room and the test area.
Passing through the automatically opening black Waterfall Illusion Gate, he saw the streamlined hallways and Phantasmagoria corridors, which felt like a long journey; when the light appeared again, he was standing in a circular, sealed space.
Present were not only the fourth Ancestor Eduado, who hardly looked human, but also the Fallen Lord Calila, who was controlling the Duke of the Blood Clan.
"I feel that even if we torture him for a few more days and nights, we won’t make him submit, so we might only be able to seal him in the Ancestral Land. Since you are going to Purgatory City Pasquale, and I plan to visit the human kingdoms, let’s escort him there together," suggested Fallen Lord Calila, glancing at Lanci and spreading her hands.
Eduado, already tormented by the Great Love Poet to the point of semi-consciousness, still had a steel will within him that could not be shattered, an indomitable spirit immune to any form of destruction or conquest.
"Do as I told you, take control of his dreams," Lanci communicated his consciousness to Fallen Lord Calila.
Inside the Barrier of the Fallen Wonderland, as long as Lanci relaxed his mind and willingly plunged into the illusion, Calila could read his consciousness.
After a while, Fallen Lord Calila opened her eyes, and at the same time, Lanci awoke from the illusion.
"I have understood your request, but the Illusion you’ve woven is a bit... Eduado might soon doubt which one is real," Calila said, her face filled with disdain.
She wasn’t trying to belittle him.
Honestly, this dream was far from idyllic and could even be described as quite plain; she didn’t believe it could cause an enemy to fall into it.
"It’s fine; he has already fallen into the Fallen Wonderland," Fallen Lord Calila nonetheless wove the gentle dream that Lanci asked her to cast, prioritizing efficiency as she was not the type of Female Demon to idle talk.
"Don’t worry, leave it to me," Lanci said confidently, closing his eyes and entering Eduado’s dreams.
"..."
Calila raised an eyebrow in confusion,
"It’s my Innate Magic, so why does it feel like it has become yours?"
She muttered with some frustration, then began to observe Eduado’s new dreamscape,
wanting to see how this Lord Unknown would use her Innate Magic.
