Chapter 627: Each With Their Own Designs

"It seems you felt the weight of that threshold name."

Asda looked at Thales, who was gasping heavily, and seemed thoughtful.

"Especially when the one calling it is a Mystic, and so close at hand."

Thales wiped the sweat from his forehead and gritted his teeth.

What was that feeling just now?

Asda snorted lightly and returned to his usual elegance.

"Do not worry. He has been sealed and cannot respond with dignity."

Otherwise they would not be sitting here safely.

Thales exhaled and stared tightly out the window.

The moonlight was covered by dark clouds. Outside the castle was pitch-black, with only scattered bird cries and beast calls in the distance.

The atmosphere became somewhat cold and empty, and the youth's mood was pulled lower as well.

"What does it feel like?"

Thales' tone carried an emptiness even he did not sense.

"When you, as a Mystic, are sealed by a legendary anti-mystic armament?"

Asda fell silent.

But faint points of blue light appeared deep in his eyes, like stars in the night sky.

"It is best I do not tell you."

Thales frowned.

"Why?"

Asda paused for several seconds before speaking:

"Seven years ago, when I was sealed by that dagger, what did you see?"

Thales froze, forced to recall his not especially pleasant first meeting with the Air Mystic.

When Yodel sealed him.

What did I see...

"You turned into many beams of light whose colors could not be distinguished, scattering outward," Thales tried hard to recall, his tone uncertain. "Energy, a loud sound, impact, explosion... Then I do not remember."

"And Giza?"

Giza?

Thales' nerves tightened, and he remembered the Blood Mystic's final moment.

[Be careful of Asda.]

"She withered, hardened, blackened, became brittle, then cracked, shattered, and turned into ash that filled the sky," Thales said of the past, remembering the instant he sealed Giza with the Blade of Purification. For some reason, an indescribable sorrow rose in his heart. "Like embers left by a great fire, scattering with the wind."

The Mystic nodded and looked into the darkness outside the window.

"That is what you saw, but it already explains many problems."

Asda's tone suddenly tightened.

"Seven hundred years ago, Ban was the first target among Mystics, and he was sealed cleanly and swiftly. He disappeared without a trace. Even if we knocked and entered our true state, even if we used the crudest method to call his threshold name, we received not the slightest response or feedback, as if he had simply gone to sleep and would never awaken."

"There were many witnesses when Arek was surrounded and killed. His unwilling roar from within his true state startled almost every Mystic, so much that we always had the illusion that he still existed. But only a dead silence remained, ignorant, unconscious, thoughtless, and senseless. As time passed, we gradually realized he could not return."

"We do not know how many hunts Solovski encountered. But after one abrupt and stiff knock, his state became permanently abnormal. His responses to us were incoherent, chaotic, inverted, and self-contradictory, not forming information at all. What came through was only coldness, despair, stillness, and finally countless meaningless fragments."

Ban, Arek, Solovski...

These somewhat familiar names came from Asda's mouth, making Thales' expression change slightly.

"Lebla was hunted by three legendary anti-mystic armaments. Each time, he was restricted and weakened a little more, until he finally fell to the fourth. But after he was sealed, he did not immediately disappear. He lingered in our perception for three months before gradually weakening, falling silent, and returning to stillness. Thanks to him, we knew sealing was not death or destruction, but another incomprehensible state. We also learned that Black Orchid and Blood Spike had already become existences of another level, the 'supreme empresses of all magic.'"

"L's sealing was the strangest and most mysterious. As the most terrifying Mystic other than B, although we had no news of him, we all knew and felt that he still existed in the world. But at a certain moment, only when you looked back did you suddenly realize, with absolute certainty, that long, long ago, he had already disappeared. You had merely, inexplicably... forgotten."

"As for Jilai, a Mystic as powerful, iron-blooded, proud, and sharp as him, daring to fight one against two and directly face the Brothers of Truth, his final knock conveyed bottomless pain, anger, disgust, and even despair and sorrow."

"As for Giza, over seven hundred years, she encountered no fewer than two digits of Calamity Hunters and at least six legendary anti-mystic armaments, fighting back and forth against them. Although she inevitably suffered some embarrassment, she mostly escaped danger, until you placed the final straw on her and she turned into countless dead things and ash."

At this point, Asda's tone shifted.

"Finally, B."

Thales' expression tightened.

"When he was sealed, even from thousands of li away," Asda's tone drifted, "that shock and fluctuation that seemed to tear everything apart and destroy all things nearly made me believe the world would end from that moment."

"Therefore, the manifestations and effects of each Mystic's sealing are different. We suspect this is because each Mystic's..."

"Mystic energy?" Thales picked up the words.

The youth's expression was serious.

"So you cannot tell me because of the First Mystic Pact."

Asda thought for a while, then nodded.

"Every Mystic's mystic energy is unique. This may determine how they are sealed, as well as the state and feeling after sealing."

Thales was silent for a long while, his expression solemn.

"Then, as someone with experience, do you have any suggestions?"

The youth looked at his guide.

"When we face legendary anti-mystic armaments?"

The Air Mystic was also silent for a long time.

"None."

"Every legendary anti-mystic armament can weaken mystic energy or even render it completely ineffective. Even approaching them is difficult for us, let alone touching them."

"Even the same armament, in different eras, held by different people, facing different enemies, may have entirely different effects and functions. You cannot even prepare in advance."

This answer made the atmosphere heavy.

Thales frowned.

"Then why should I become a Mystic at all? At least right now, I can still touch them. But after taking that step, I will have gained one more fatal weakness. Any random legendary anti-mystic armament can kill me?"

"If you do not take that step, then everywhere is a fatal weakness," Asda shook his head, slightly disdainful. "There would be no need for legendary anti-mystic armaments. Any weapon, even a small nail, could kill you."

Thales choked.

"All right. Let us return to the main topic."

His Grace the duke waved a hand.

"So Per--Frelan's current situation is unclear? Which faction did she belong to? How did you people end up mixing together?"

Frelan.

This name made blue light flash deep in Asda's eyes, branching outward and seeping into his face.

But he did not answer. Instead, he looked coldly at Thales.

"Tonight, I have already told you many things."

"Your return?"

Return.

Thales paused, only then realizing what the other party meant.

"But you just said this was not a transaction!"

"Correct." Asda calmly straightened his clothes, which were in fact not messy at all. "So I call this mutual aid between teacher and student. Teaching and learning benefit each other."

Thales immediately choked.

Several seconds later, the youth gloomily raised a middle finger.

"Fuck you."

"What does that mean? The middle finger?"

"A new Northland street-cursing fashion."

"Then," Asda said calmly, "I can only tell the story of Frelan next time."

"Fine, fine!"

Thales had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender.

He stood up unhappily and pointed at the blue invitation on the floor.

"Then do not blink!"

In the next second, the invitation reappeared in Thales' hand.

The youth narrowed his eyes and coldly waved the invitation at the Mystic.

But Asda had no time to pay attention to Thales' expression.

"Truly beautiful." His guide looked at Thales' fingers, his words deep. "Enchanting, lovely, indescribable."

Hearing this string of adjectives, Thales felt somewhat embarrassed and coughed.

"All right. This ability, how should I put it, is somewhat awkward."

Asda's attention returned to Thales' words.

"Awkward?"

Thales sighed and stuffed the invitation into his pocket.

"Let me put it this way. If I were a street performer doing tricks, then every performance would be packed and filled with cheers."

"If I were a street thief, then business would be easy, and I would never come away empty-handed."

"Even if I were a mercenary licking blood from the blade, using this unexpectedly in battle would not be useless."

The youth's tone sank.

"But the problem is..."

"The problem is that you are a prince," Asda calmly picked up his words. "The noble Duke of Star Lake."

Thales' smile vanished instantly.

"Exactly." The youth was somewhat dejected.

"If I want to see trick performances, I can invite the best circus in the entire West Continent. Even without mystic energy, they perform better than me."

"If I want to take something from far away, why would I use mystic energy instead of ordering guards or servants to fetch it directly? It saves worry and effort."

Thales said sarcastically:

"And if I truly encounter enemies, rather than spending tremendous effort using mystic energy, I might as well wave my hand. The big men, fierce as wolves and tigers, will naturally swarm forward and beat people for me."

Asda silently listened to him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"Also, for an excellent street beggar, if you want to take something from someone else's pocket without gods or ghosts noticing," Thales snapped his fingers, and the invitation in his pocket magically appeared in his other hand, "you really do not need mystic energy."

"So at present, its greatest use is when I visit the Sunset Temple to consult and pray, and conveniently take a couple of forbidden books."

Thales sighed and ended his reflection.

"Fortunately."

"Fortunately, you are a prince," Asda looked at him faintly. "Your identity dictates that you cannot take these minor tricks out to disgrace yourself and invite trouble."

Thales raised his eyebrows.

"Good."

Asda nodded.

"Maintain it."

"Maintain a low profile. Maintain this habit," the Mystic said coldly. "Never use it lightly. Never actively expose it. Sometimes, it is better to go through a little more trouble and take a few more steps to fetch a cup than allow anyone to see even the smallest trace."

"Otherwise, calamity will come for you sooner or later."

Thinking of Watchman Zakriel in the dungeon, Thales said gloomily:

"Thank you for the reminder. I have deep experience."

At this moment, blue light turned in Asda's eyes.

"You are bleeding."

Thales was startled and wiped with his hand.

Bad.

"Oh, you know, the weather has been hot recently."

Thales naturally rubbed his nose, laughed, and put his left hand, full of nosebleed, behind his back. His right hand raised the invitation again.

"So, do you still want it?"

He skillfully drew out a handkerchief, sat back on the "chair," and showed an evil, tempting smile.

"Do you want more?"

Asda stared at him with interest, making Thales somewhat uneasy.

Several seconds later, the Mystic snorted lightly and returned to the topic Thales cared about most.

"Frelan did not participate in the Final War, so she was classified by the radicals as a moderate."

"But such a classification is not persuasive, because Frelan was distant from most of her peers."

At this point, the Air Mystic suddenly changed direction.

"However, even an omnipotent existence like B respected her greatly. Or perhaps, feared her."

A Mystic even B feared.

Thales pressed the handkerchief to his nose while silently recording all of this in his heart.

"She was very powerful?"

Asda shook his head.

"'Powerful' cannot be called an appropriate description. The word is too broad and pale. Its meaning is limited."

"Then another word. She was very special?"

"Every Mystic is special," strange light flashed in the Mystic's eyes. "But Frelan, according to one predecessor, saw things that were more wondrous."

The Perception Mystic. More wondrous.

Thales could not help remembering what he had seen and heard in the Prison of Bones, and Zakriel's trembling statement:

[In truth, the years she lived were longer than all of us Royal Guards combined...]

Asda continued speaking.

"The Final War. The rise of the Twin Empresses. The radicals suffered a crushing defeat, and the remaining Mystics were hunted down one by one by the Calamity Hunters."

Thales' gaze moved.

"Calamity Hunters?"

"The first owners of the legendary anti-mystic armaments," Asda explained softly, his tone carrying faint displeasure. "Unlike now, the warriors granted armaments back then were focused and pure. They had only one goal."

"But by comparison, Frelan received special treatment."

"What special treatment?"

Asda paused for one second, his eyes revealing caution and fear.

"Black Orchid and Blood Spike, the two Magic Empresses, personally took the field and went to hunt Frelan."

"What?" Thales was shocked and lowered the handkerchief.

The Twin Empresses personally went to hunt the Perception Mystic?

"Then Frelan, she survived the Twin Empresses?"

Asda nodded, his gaze deep.

"After that, for seven hundred years, I hid my traces. For a time, I thought Frelan's chances were grim."

The Mystic lifted his gaze and looked directly at Thales.

"Until she contacted us on her own."

"Or rather, she tried to contact quite a few people. But the only ones who truly answered her were Giza and me."

Thales' eyelids jumped.

"Contacted you? For what?"

Asda snorted lightly.

"She had a plan. A plan to resist the Twin Empresses."

Resist the Magic Twin Empresses.

Thales swallowed.

"What plan?"

Asda looked into the distance, his gaze sharp.

"Frelan believed that the oldest royal family in the world, even though most of them were greedy, short-sighted mortals, stupid as pigs, hid an important secret."

An important secret.

Thales remembered what mercenary Ricky had said in the Prison of Bones about "the greatest king," and silently clenched his fists.

"Thank you for your evaluation of my family," Thales said solemnly. "What secret?"

Asda smiled.

"Do you really want to know?"

Thales became alert.

"Wait. You are not going to say 'class dismissed,' are you?"

The Mystic smiled faintly.

"Frelan did not say. I do not know either."

Thales froze, then reacted.

"What? Were you not collaborators?"

Asda shook his head.

"That was only Frelan's plan. Giza and I each had our own designs. The three of us cooperated, but only to take what we needed."

Thales was silent for a while, somewhat helpless.

"So your little group of three neither communicated openly nor trusted each other, and each had their own schemes?"

Truly a model of teamwork.

But Asda did not care.

"This is the normal state of how Mystics get along, and you should be grateful for it."

"Why?"

"Because the last time more than two Mystics gathered together," Asda glanced at him, the teasing carrying a trace of warning, "the result was the Final War."

Thales pursed his lips and raised a hand.

Pretend I said nothing.

"But Frelan said that once she unraveled that secret," blue light flashed in Asda's eyes, "the Magic Empresses would no longer be worth fearing."

Unravel that secret.

The Twin Empresses no longer worth fearing.

Thales remembered something, and his breath lightly caught.

[A legendary anti-mystic armament without the slightest trace of the Twin Empresses, without the slightest restriction or taboo...]

[A secret weapon capable of completely sealing Blood Spike and Black Orchid...]

Thales tried hard to shake off Ricky's words and the image of that small red sword, then probed:

"So, just for Frelan's uncertain 'secret,' you acted against my grandfather and ultimately brought about the Bloody Year?"

Asda snorted coldly.

"First, that disaster was not brought by us."

"Second, I said we each took what we needed."

"And all court affairs, including the king, were handled entirely by Frelan. Giza and I had neither the authority nor the intention to interfere."

Thales narrowed his eyes.

"No intention to interfere... that does not sound like your style."

The Mystic shook his head.

"Eternal Star City is not an enjoyable place. As the political center of the Western Continent, more than one legendary anti-mystic armament is kept here. Not only can mystic energy not take effect around them..."

At this point, Asda paused.

"You have also seen what happened the last time I entered Eternal Star City."

Thales pursed his lips.

"Do not worry. Yodel is not here."

Asda glanced at him.

"I know. I tested it. Otherwise, I would not have appeared."

Thales glanced back at him with complicated feelings.

"Then, since Renaissance Palace is so dangerous and has legendary anti-mystic armaments, how did Frelan succeed?"

The Air Mystic was silent for a while, as if reminiscing about the past.

"Mortal methods."

Asda said faintly:

"She hid within the secular world. Over the years of several generations, she carefully, persistently observed, waited, and tested, searching for a method to infiltrate the court of Stars. And that was not easy."

Thales nodded, then was startled.

"Several generations? Wait. How long ago was this?"

Asda was silent for a while, then slowly said:

"When Frelan came to find us, the Red King John had just driven his own sister from the throne."

The Red King John.

"John the Second, and his sister, Queen Erica the Northern Conqueror." Thales' expression changed. "That was two hundred years ago?"

The Mystic snorted coldly.

"As I said, for us, there is no waiting that can be called long."

A two-hundred-year plan.

After his surprise passed, Thales sighed.

"So in the end, she still succeeded. Patient Frelan. Or rather, Queen Fiosa."

Speaking to this point, Thales could not help remembering the watchman's words:

[His Majesty... he has already been bewitched, restrained, controlled by the most evil existence in this world.]

"She could not defeat the legendary anti-mystic armaments," Thales said absently. "But she defeated those who had the authority to control them."

The study was quiet for a while.

"Frelan's threshold name is Perception," Asda seemed somewhat emotional as well. "In terms of bewitching hearts and deceiving heaven and sea, no peer could surpass her."

Thales did not speak. Zakriel's words still lingered in his mind:

[As early as a thousand years ago, in the years before the empire collapsed, she was already famous throughout the world for manipulating hearts and creating illusions.]

"Frelan infiltrated the court. What about you?"

Thales walked out of his memories and pressed on:

"You and Giza. What did you do?"

Asda's distant gaze moved, and blue light gathered again.

He was silent for several seconds before speaking.

"Frelan knew that she had not come to lie hidden, but to act."

"Whether the legendary anti-mystic armaments in the palace, the Calamity stories passed down through the great families generation after generation, the all-pervasive Secret Intelligence Department, or the unknown absolute secret methods of the Jadestar royal family, as the plan deepened and the target became clear, each step she took closer to the secrets of mystic energy exposed another flaw and aroused another suspicion. This was unavoidable."

"Yes." Thales deeply agreed.

For example, in the Prison of Bones, a former Guard watchman who liked taking a knife to princes.

"Worse still, after the Final War, the history of Mystics vanished from the world because of the Cleansing Plan. This left us with nowhere to hide. In the stagnant waters of the secular world, any abnormal movement became extremely conspicuous."

"According to experience, once rumors such as 'a suspected Mystic has appeared' spread in a certain place, the minions of Black Orchid and Blood Spike, or even the two themselves, would follow the sound and arrive, leaving nothing alive."

Asda's gaze sharpened.

"For this reason, she needed cover, a diversion of attention."

"And we could not rely only on the channel inside the palace."

Thales thought for a while, then spoke:

"The Blood Bottle Gang?"

The Mystic nodded.

"It was originally a smuggling group formed by several desperate brewery workers on the border of the kingdom."

"But as the Blood Bottle Gang expanded, legends that there were two Mystics behind it began spreading through the streets. Together with several appearances Giza made to stir trouble, this was enough to alert the kingdom and church leadership, and even attract the attention of the Magic Empresses hiding behind the curtain," Asda said flatly.

Thales thought for a while and reacted.

"You used yourselves as bait to draw attention away?"

He said in surprise, "That is a great risk."

Asda glanced at him.

"If the Blood Bottle Gang had been plotting rebellion or a coup, or revealing the truth of Calamities and raising the Second Final War, yes."

Then the Mystic changed direction:

"But what if the greatest goal of this so-called 'Mystic' gang was nothing more than controlling smuggled liquor in an underground black market?"

"Interested parties would suspect, test, and investigate. But all they could discover was this: this gang, born in the streets and alleys and composed of peddlers and foot soldiers, had as its greatest goals bullying the market, seizing territory, smuggling contraband, and fighting for fame and profit."

"As for the so-called story of Mystics behind the scenes, used to threaten and bewitch outsiders, it was absurd, riddled with mistakes, and had no connection to the world-destroying Calamities. Perhaps some worker transporting illicit wine had read it in an ancient book. Who knows?"

Asda said coldly:

"Thus, over more than one hundred years, through generations of agents, we continuously repeated boring little games between gangs and groups, childish as playing house, while spreading false and inaccurate tales of 'Mystics' throughout the lower classes, until it became a legendary street tale in every alley."

Hearing this, Thales understood somewhat and sighed.

"Then you succeeded. When I was little, I heard Rick, a beggar chief, say that when he became rich, he would hire two Mystics to guard his gate as bodyguards."

"Then," Asda's words carried rare teasing, "he would have to be very rich."

In the next second, the Mystic's tone became icy.

"In this way, although we could not speak the truth of Calamities to frustrate the Cleansing Plan and awaken people's fear and opposition toward the Twin Empresses..."

"Beginning from the kingdom's border, in the lower mire far from the powerful, we spread a layer of fog across the entire West Continent. When Mystics were mentioned again and again in joking or exaggerated tones, becoming ordinary, difficult to distinguish as truth or fiction, we hid within the ocean formed by countless lower-class people, successfully loosening possible vigilance and attention."

"Thus, when Frelan truly infiltrated the palace upper levels and even controlled the kingdom, questions such as 'Mystics are conspiring to steal the country' would be drowned in folk rumors like 'Mystics ambitiously unify Red Street,' 'The Blood Calamity displays might at Black Gold Casino,' and 'The World-Destroying Calamity dominates three commercial streets,' fading into insignificance."

Thales understood the process and frowned.

All right. He had to admit, the idea was rather interesting.

He could even imagine the following scene:

A spy reports to the Magic Empresses: According to reliable information, the terrifying Calamities that once tore the continent apart have returned and secretly formed an underground force, a private gang.

The Twin Empresses draw their weapons with killing intent, ready for battle: What are they doing?

Answer: Fighting street brawls.

Twin Empresses: ...

The youth wiped his nosebleed.

What kind of world-destroying villain would do something like that?

Mystics walking the streets, Calamities worse than dogs. Even if it were written in a novel, no one would believe it. The power system would collapse.

"So you spent over a hundred years just to create cover?"

Hearing this, Asda snorted coldly.

"You should say: we used only a little over one hundred years to prepare the cover."

Thales sighed.

"Then? Did Frelan and you get what you wanted?"

Asda shook his head.

"What happened?"

The Mystic was silent for a while, his gaze deep.

"I do not know."

"But I suspect we were still discovered."

Discovered.

Thales' gaze moved.

"Overnight, Giza was ambushed in Steel City by a legendary anti-mystic armament. She was on the verge of death and lost contact."

"The Kingdom of Stars, meanwhile, exceeded expectations. It escaped control. The royal family bled, and the crown fell."

The royal family bled, and the crown fell.

[Of course, in the Bloody Year, it was also the ferry bell by which the Jadestar royal family collectively went to Hell's River...]

Thales remembered the Guard prisoners in the Prison of Bones, and his feelings became complicated for a time.

"Frelan was forced to leave Eternal Star City, even the kingdom, before all the legendary anti-mystic armaments turned toward her."

Asda's gaze was sharp.

"And when I arrived at Renaissance Palace, I saw only corpses covering the ground."

Corpses covering the ground.

Both were silent for a while.

"That is all?"

The prince took a deep breath, remembered what he had learned in the Lower City several months ago, and cautiously pressed:

"Then why did Black Sword say that you once slaughtered people at the palace gate?"

Palace gate.

Slaughter.

Hearing this, the Mystic glanced at Thales thoughtfully.

That glance made the prince nervous for no reason.

[Eighteen years ago, in this city... the Air Mystic, that undying monster, before Renaissance Palace...]

[Killed Constance.]

The words once spoken by Morris of the Brotherhood flickered faintly beside Thales' ears.

"They regarded me as a hated enemy and acted against me brazenly," Asda said without caring. "Naturally, I repaid them with directness and returned the favor."

Thales took a deep breath.

Repaid them with directness.

All right.

Then...

"How were you exposed?"

Thales suppressed that sensitive question and asked another point of doubt.

"What exactly did Frelan do?"

"And what happened to the Jadestar royal family? Why did it escape your control?"

"Unclear."

Asda shook his head, appearing uninterested.

"I said before. Court affairs were handled entirely by Frelan."

"What we know is that the plan failed."

The Mystic looked faintly out the window.

"A hundred years of labor, and nothing gained."

"The Twin Empresses remain."

"Their power surpasses the past."

The Twin Empresses.

Thales chewed on these two words and felt somewhat oppressed.

But he soon lifted his head again.

"You said each member of the Three Calamities Alliance had their own designs. Then what about you and Giza? Why did you join?"

The youth sniffed and narrowed his eyes.

"It cannot have been to unify Red Street."

Asda chuckled softly.

"I do not know Giza's goal. But based on my understanding of her..."

The Mystic paused, blue light flowing in his eyes.

"What she wanted was absolutely far more than we, than Frelan and I, could imagine."

He said faintly:

"Far greedier, far crazier, far more terrifying."

"Far more unbelievable."

The study fell silent again.

"And you?"

Several seconds later, Thales spoke again, staring fixedly at his guide.

"Air Mystic, why did you cooperate with them and stretch your hand toward the Kingdom of Stars?"