Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Not just Ogre, every expert on the spot who was capable of astrology or who had similar prophecy powers began to predict the life status of Natravos, the Lord of Abyss.
They trusted their own judgment on such important matters, particularly when they were faced with “partners” that they couldn’t really trust.
Lucien was no exception. The crystal ball in his hands soon lost the colors and became dark, with stars emerging in uncanny trajectories.
Since nobody was interfering with or covering Natravos’ life condition, Lucien reached a result soon. The legendary sorcerer with the title of “Lord of Abyss” had indeed completely perished.
“Natravos is really dead…” After a dozen seconds, Ogre spoke of the result with his coarse, rusty voice, somewhat at a loss.
Following him, the other legendary sorcerers reached similar conclusions. The atmosphere was even more frigid, and a storm seemed to be brewing.
All of a sudden, Danisos, the Dragon of Time and Luminosity, said in his indifferent but intimidating tone, “I examined the traces of time but failed to find the cause of Natravos’ death or the murderer. Perhaps an expert intentionally destroyed the traces, or perhaps all the traces were destroyed in the destructive storm that caused Natravos’ death.”
Danisos could not travel back in time. However, every matter would leave traces in the river of time more or less. Only the experts who had grasped the mysteries of time could examine them.
The longer it was delayed, the more such traces would be worn out. Even Danisos would not examine the landscape that was too distant unless it left too deep a mark on the river of time. Of course, purposefully or inadvertently, there were always cases where things could not be examined clearly even though they had just happened.
The Demogorgon of Eyes, Sonite, Dubenal, Cervantes who was the legendary knight known as “Six-Armed Inquisitor”, Sterling, Sate, the King of Nightmare and the other experts were not entirely convinced by Danisos’ words. They looked at Ogre, the Elder Mind, and Lucien. After all, it was very possible that Danisos and Dracula were behind it.
Lucien put his crystal ball back and nodded at the King of Nightmare and Sate, the vampire prince, solemnly, hinting that his result with the Moon Timer, the crystal ball, and the Mirror of Fate was the same. In the meantime, Ogre, the Umbral King, had also confirmed Danisos’ words through other prophecy spells.
The Elder Mind stiffened, his body so empty that the soul seemed gone. The two eyes on his octopus head, however, turned dirty and old but showed no senility. Every expert who looked at him in the eyes felt that their mind had been slowed.
“The ‘Mastermind’ has completely taken over the body…” Lucien nodded his head slightly. How the “Mastermind” could control the Elder Mind over such a long distance in the Dark Mountain Range that was brimming with space gaps was certainly something worth studying.
The Elder Mind’s voice became extremely coarse. “I only ‘saw’ that Natravos’ mind was full of pain and delight before his death…”
Pain and delight? The former was easier to understand. Most of the ways of death were usually very painful, but what was the delight about?
All the legendary experts on the spot subconsciously asked the question, but they soon realized that Natravos was a masochist. The more pain he was in, the more delighted he would be. It was exactly like when normal human beings had a taste of wonderful food or wine or met certain satisfactory things.
“Did Natravos go a bit too far when he ‘played’ with himself? But blowing up his phylactery was still too much… Or maybe the pain that did not cause his real death was not enough to bring him any pleasure?” The same idea that everybody was thinking of popped up in Lucien’s head. For some people, they would never be gratified without the pressure of death. “It seems that Natravos had severe psychological conditions. It’s a pity that he did not go through any therapy in time.”
However, it was only the judgment of the “Mastermind”, and it was not backed by any proof. Also, even if the conclusion was true, the possibility that Natravos was killed could not be ruled out. It was possible that he was both in pain and delight when somebody brutalized him.
When all kinds of thoughts were popping up in Lucien’s heart, Ogre, Cervantes, and the rest of them already began their mental communications.
“Whether or not Natravos was really murdered, we have to seize the opportunity and postpone the meeting!” Ogre said in a hurry. He seemed strongly opposed to Danisos and Dracula’s reorganization plan.
Sterling said solemnly, “Yes, we have to figure out the cause of Natravos’ death first. Otherwise, we will not end well even if we agree with Danisos and Dracula’s demand. It’s possible that we will die a mysterious death exactly like Natravos in the future!”
He also objected to the reorganization and wouldn’t let go of the opportunity.
“However, if we agree with the reorganization, as legendary experts, we are too influential for Danisos and Dracula to ignore us. Why would they kill us?” Cervantes, the Six-Armed Inquisitor, asked confusedly. He was rather neutral about the reorganization.
“Hehe. What if their real purpose is not reorganization? We do not know why so many legendary experts perished in the past few years yet…” Sonite, another werewolf prince, detested vampires from the bottom of his heart.
Seeing that everybody fell silent, Dubenal held his head high and controlled his tone in the mental communication. “This thing happened quite unexpectedly. Although somebody leaked the message in advance, little time was left for us, and many ways cannot be put into use.”
The Demogorgon of Eyes, the Elder Mind, and the other experts were all shocked at his eloquence. Since when had Dubenal become such a philosophical thinker?
“I haven’t come up with any good solution on my way here. I believe you are the same, right?” Dubenal looked at the other experts, looking for acknowledgment.
So, it’s the same old Dubenal!
However, Dubenal seemed to have inspired Ogre, who sneered and said, “Therefore, Natravos’ death gave us an opportunity to postpone it. With enough time, it is possible to disrupt Danisos and Dracula’s scheme.”
“That’s right. The Silver-Eyed Count is not present. Things would’ve been different if he objected on behalf of some of the vampires. After all, he is not scared of fighting Dracula since he can summon the Silver Moon,” the Demogorgon of Eyes and Cervantes said at the same time.
The Elder Mind pondered and said, “The dragons are not absolutely united either. Milereas and Danisos have been rivals in love for ages. Their relationship hasn’t gone better at all even though Aflora perished. As long as we can convince him, it will be possible to divide the dragons.
“Also, Danisos and Dracula are both very arrogant. Even if they are working together for now, I don’t think that they really respect each other. If we have reached a consensus, we can pretend to agree first and instigate them to fight against each other for the leadership of the new organization. Then, the new Dark Congress will be the same as the one right now.
“Even if it is not destroyed, we will win enough benefits and positions in the new Dark Congress.”
Most of the legendary experts were wise and sophisticated. The situation was only one-sided because it came too unexpectedly, and Danisos and Dracula were more tough and arrogant than they expected. Now that they had an opportunity and plenty of time, they were naturally able to come up with a sabotage plan with high odds of success.
Dubenal nodded in satisfaction at their discussion. Just as he expected, everybody’s wisdom couldn’t be activated without him.
The mental communication moved fast, and they finished the discussion very quickly. Before Danisos and Dracula spoke, Ogre stood up and said, “Dragon of Time and Luminosity, Prince Dracula, Natravos has abruptly died, and the murderer is unknown. A great scheme might be looming over the Dark Mountain Range. We have to put down our prejudices and leave other problems alone in order to focus our attention on the cause of Natravos’ death and the potential dangers. I believe that this is also a great opportunity for you to demonstrate that the new Dark Congress is better than the one right now.”
“That’s right. How can we join the new Dark Congress relaxedly if we do not figure out the reason behind Natravos’ death?” The Elder Mind agreed with Ogre.
Natravos’ sudden death was a major shock for dragons and vampires too. Even the hardcore supporters of Danisos and Dracula couldn’t help but agree. After all, it concerned their own safety.
At this moment, the King of Nightmare suddenly said to Lucien in a low voice, “If the Lord of Abyss was really killed by someone, I can’t think of a murderer who could’ve done it in the victim’s own demiplane and magic tower. Even a demigod couldn’t have done it so quickly and secretively.”
“Perhaps he took advantage of the Lord of Abyss’ hobby of auto-sadism, and perhaps he was not in his demiplane when he died. The destructive effect was actually caused by the connection between the soul and the phylactery through weird spells. About that, Viken is an ancient sorcerer who possesses many unusual spells. He can transform into the status of primeval devils, and he is much stronger than the Lord of Abyss. So, he is the greatest suspect.” Lucien guessed the intention of the King of Nightmare and purposefully pointed the matter at Viken.
As he expected, all the legendary experts on the spot changed their faces. Was it really Viken who had come to sabotage it when he heard that the Dark Congress was to be reorganized? Was he still around?
“For our own safety, we have to investigate Natravos’ death,” the rigid middle-aged man who looked like a necromancer said in a low voice. He was Maier, the primordial red dragon.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible for Danisos and Dracula to insist. So, Danisos said, “Then, we will go to Natravos’ magic tower for investigation together, in case anyone suspects that Dracula and I destroy the clues and fake the conclusion.”
“Alright,” Ogre agreed. “Evans, Stanis, I invite you as witnesses of the investigation on behalf of the Dark Congress.”
“That’s not a problem,” Stanis replied with a smile.
There had to be undestroyed magic files and notes in Natravos’ magic tower. As a great collector of the ancient bloodlines, his stuff would be very valuable. Ogre had proposed the invitation exactly because he wanted to exchange the knowledge for their witness service. Therefore, Lucien also nodded his head with a half-smile.
