Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2873: Chapter 2874: The Ancient City and the Giant Beasts

If Angel were to name them, starting from the bottommost mural, they would be: "Above the Throne," "Ascend the Throne," "The Road of Glory," "The Tightrope Walker"... "Swaddling Clothes."

Angel’s naming logic is primarily based on the content of the picture, with imagined stories as a supplement.

But now Angel finds that the story he imagined is fundamentally wrong.

He always believed that the painting "Above the Throne" in the bottommost hall was the conclusion of the story "The Newly Born will Eventually Become King."

But "The Tightrope Walker" painting slapped Angel in the face.

According to Angel’s imagined story, the painting presented after "The Tightrope Walker" should be "The Road of Glory."

But in "The Tightrope Walker," the protagonist has already shed the cumbersome armor and discarded the spear; yet why is he still in armor with a weapon in "The Road of Glory"?

Isn’t this logically contradictory?

Or rather, this logic is fundamentally inverted.

The real sequence should be "The Road of Glory" first, "The Tightrope Walker" later.

In other words, "Above the Throne" is not the last painting but the beginning of this story, the first painting!

Contrarily, the one they thought was "Swaddling Clothes," the painting engraved at the top of the tree, is the actual conclusion of this story!

Nevertheless, Angel and Lady Laplace still felt puzzled.

It’s normal to think that the newly born, after countless years, eventually becomes king. But why is it reversed, with the king returning to swaddling clothes in the end?

Does this have any hidden meaning? Or is their current analysis still wrong? Is "The Tightrope Walker" summoning armor and weapons from the Abyssal Depth rather than discarding them? Although Angel himself does not believe this speculation, he truly cannot comprehend what "the king returns to swaddling clothes" is trying to convey?

Both Angel and Lady Laplace at this time were mired in the swamp of thought.

After a moment of silence, Angel spoke first: "Perhaps it’s too early to interpret now, how about we look at all the murals first?"

Lady Laplace nodded, signaling for Angel to follow her.

Soon, they arrived at the fifth hall, and here, the mural would be the last one they’d see.

Upon entering the hall, Lady Laplace hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "Luigi has already come out of the Tooth Fairy Castle, and there’s some investigation result from Glaipnir’s side. Do you want to listen now?"

Angel thought for a while, then shook his head: "No rush, let’s solve this mural first."

Anyway, the investigation results from Lady Laplace’s Temporal Body cannot escape, and as time passes, her investigation samples will only increase, and the results will be more reliable.

So, there’s no rush.

First, see what the mural in this last hall is about, and what connection it has with the final "Swaddling Clothes."

Whether "Swaddling Clothes" is the beginning or the end of the story might depend on this fifth mural.

Angel silently analyzed the mural. As the light and shadow changed and elongated, the mural gradually revealed its half-concealed truth from its initial abstraction.

Minutes later, Angel let out a long breath.

The last mural was finally unveiled.

— A pitch-black Abyss, indescribable gigantic creatures, and a small "person" advancing towards the gigantic creature, and... an ancient city vaguely appearing behind the gigantic creature.

This is merely the overall scene of the mural; if you go into details, you’ll find that the gigantic creature is extraordinarily large, like a vast mountain stretching before you.

Moreover, these gigantic creatures, which can’t be fully described, are more than just one. It’s just that the one at the forefront occupies the main position. But if you look from the side, you can see behind the ancient city suspended in the Abyssal Depth, there are similarly outlined gigantic creatures.

Exactly how many there are cannot be determined, but certainly more than one.

Besides the gigantic creature, the small "person" moving towards it also has noteworthy details.

This "person" is completely identical to the humanoid creature in "The Tightrope Walker," and he’s not wearing armor or holding weapons.

This indicates that Angel’s previous speculation was indeed incorrect; it should be "The Road of Glory" first, followed by "The Tightrope Walker."

Another piece of evidence is the details of the ancient city.

What’s inside the ancient city is not quite clear; the only visible thing is a black ghostly shadow outline above the ancient city. This outline is exactly the same as the one in the final painting "Swaddling Clothes."

It can be said that this painting was a prelude to the final "Swaddling Clothes."

This once again proves that the "Swaddling Clothes" at the treetop is indeed the last painting of the story, and "Above the Throne" is the first painting.

Here, although Angel still does not know the story’s gist, he has confirmed that the story’s implication is not "The Newly Born will Eventually Become King," and his interpretations of the first few paintings were incorrect.

From the current perspective, the first painting might be better named simply "The Throne."

The second painting, which Angel previously thought depicted the new king ascending the throne, actually shows the king shedding the throne, so naming it "The King’s Departure" might be more apt.

The third painting does not depict the cheering for the new king’s enthronement, but rather the people’s confusion over the king’s departure and their lamentation and farewell to the king. Therefore, it would be better named "The Road of Farewell."

The fourth painting does not need a name change, still "The Tightrope Walker."

The fifth painting, that is, the current one, can be called "The Ancient City and the Giant Beasts."

The sixth painting, the one at the tree’s top, can straightforwardly be called "Swaddling Clothes."

However, the best naming would be to encapsulate the hidden meaning, but now Angel also doesn’t know what "Swaddling Clothes" is about.

Why would a king, forsaking all the past, only pursue swaddling clothes?

...

In contemplation, Angel and Lady Laplace returned to the treetop.

Through illusions, Angel presented the six murals in mid-air.

The mysteries of the murals were finally solved. From the logical line of the murals, it’s roughly a story of "a king shedding armor to return to infancy."

But the entire story is filled with an absurd sense.

Especially when viewing these six murals together, they are filled with a sense of drama.

Lady Laplace’s eyes were filled with confusion: "What is the meaning of swaddling clothes, why pursue swaddling clothes?"

Angel hesitated for a moment: "Swaddling clothes can be interpreted as a baby’s sleeping place, the king from the throne transforming into a baby in swaddling clothes, isn’t this implying... rebirth? Renewal?"

After a pause, Angel said in a low voice: "Or perhaps, Samsara?"

"Rebirth, renewal, Samsara." Lady Laplace repeated these words, seemingly pondering upon something, her expression slowly growing solemn.

On the other side, Angel sighed softly: "However, it’s still just speculation. The Abyss hides endless secrets. Where is this ancient city? What are those beasts? Why do kings lay down their armor to return to swaddling clothes... These are mysteries that cannot be answered."

Laplace: "No, they can be answered."

Angel looked at Laplace in confusion. Laplace did not speak; instead, she reached out her finger and gently tapped on the illusion released by Angel.

Angel could feel a new force being injected into the illusions of these six murals.

This power was unfamiliar but harbored no malice, entering the illusion node with a coolness as gentle as water.

Although this power felt gentle, what it did was not gentle at all, as it was seizing Angel’s control over the illusion technique.

Angel glanced at Laplace but said nothing, silently relinquishing control of the illusion node.

As Angel let go, Laplace smoothly took control of the illusion, and the illusion quickly began to change.

The six murals themselves did not change, but beside the murals, rows of text appeared.

These were all written in the Abyssal Demon Script, and a variant version at that.

Angel had seen these texts beside the murals before, but as he did not recognize them, he hadn’t paid them any attention.

Now, Laplace had laid out all these texts, and Angel scrutinized them... still unrecognizable.

Laplace: "As long as these texts can be translated, the content of the murals will surely provide answers."

Angel: Isn’t that obvious?

"...But who can decipher these texts?" Angel looked at Laplace.

And coincidentally, Laplace turned to look at Angel, their eyes meeting.

In Laplace’s eyes, Angel saw a hint of expectation. Angel was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, then pointed at himself: "You mean... me?"

Laplace nodded: "If you can decipher the murals, you can surely solve the mystery of the texts."

Angel felt his head filled with question marks.

What kind of logic is this? Just because I deciphered the transformation, I can solve the mystery of the texts?

That’s like saying if you can kill an ant, you must be able to kill an elephant with the same logic, which doesn’t make sense at all!

"I originally didn’t want to come this time, but Glaipnir suggested I come, and it turns out, her intuition was right."

Angel: ...And then? He doesn’t recognize these texts; how can he force an understanding?

"Just before this, I revealed the situation of the murals to Glaipnir; coincidentally, Glaipnir received a piece of intelligence and was looking for me at that time." Laplace paused at this point: "And that itself is a kind of omen."

By this point, Angel already understood Laplace’s logic.

She’s at it again with the "overinterpretation" thing.

Angel didn’t mean to say that overinterpretation is wrong; indeed, when deciphering inspiration, some reasonable or excessive interpretation is needed.

However, this time the interpretation is too much of an assumption.

He doesn’t know these Abyssal Demon Scripts, so how is he supposed to interpret these texts?

Seeing Laplace still looking at him expectantly, Angel sighed inwardly, speaking his mind.

Laplace pondered for a moment: "What if this isn’t demon text, but rather a puzzle similar to the murals?"

Angel: "...If it’s a puzzle, the Wise Sovereign would have already solved it, it wouldn’t come to me."

The Wise Sovereign perhaps might keep some thoughts to himself, but if Laplace really asked, Angel believed the Wise Sovereign would still tell Laplace the truth.

The Wise Sovereign might have solved the puzzle of the murals, but when it comes to the texts, Angel still believes the Wise Sovereign might also be stumped.

Laplace seemed to have more to say, but Angel sighed in his heart and said, "I mentioned before that I know quite a few friends in the Abyss. Perhaps I can find help to decipher these texts, but for now, I cannot uncover the mystery of these texts."

Angel paused for a moment, then continued: "Let’s put the matter of the murals aside for now. Lady Laplace mentioned that Glaipnir received some intelligence. I wonder what it was?"

Although Angel was also curious about the murals, he was more concerned with matters related to himself than these incomprehensible murals.

Although Laplace still had the demon texts in mind, she also understood that what Angel said was indeed true. Perhaps, as Angel said, only when he finds friends in the Abyss can he get the real answer.

"The intelligence Glaipnir received was from Charles Palace."

Angel: "Charles Palace?"

Laplace nodded and briefly introduced Charles Palace.

Charles Palace is a special mirror space, unique in that it has a real-world support.

The real-world mirror corresponding to Charles Palace is a strategic alchemy tool called the "Moss Stone Mirror." Laplace didn’t know the specific function of this alchemy tool, but she made an analogy, saying it’s probably like the Mirror World created by the Mirror Lady—once there is real-world support, its stability becomes extremely high. As long as no actions are taken, the mirror space will not shatter.

However, because it has real-world support, the aggregation energy within Charles Palace is extremely thin, and generally, mirror creatures aren’t willing to live in such a place.

Just like the Mirror World of the Barbarian Cave, it’s called a Mirror World, but it has completely attached itself to the Law of the Wizards’ Realm, with no aggregation energy inside, so it can no longer be considered a territory of the Mirror Domain.

Charles Palace barely counts as within the Mirror Domain, but it’s just in the cracks between.

The reason there are still mirror creatures living in Charles Palace is simple—they are worshiped by the descendants in reality.

"Descendants in reality? Like the Cyclops Family?" Angel wondered.

Laplace shook her head: "No, the inhabitants of Charles Palace are a group of former humans. After death, they became Mirror Grudges, and through some special transmutation, have now become the Guardian Spirits of Charles Palace."

"They are posthumous transformed mirror creatures."

"As a result, their mastery of aggregation energy isn’t as strong as other native mirror creatures, and their dependency is relatively low."

"These are side issues, let’s return to the main topic. Charles Palace is inhabited by Charles I, Charles II, and Charles XIII. In fact, some descendants of Charles attempted to enter the Mirror Domain but ultimately failed in transmutation, leaving only these three still surviving."

"Among them, Charles I and Charles II have been in the Mirror Domain longer than I have, and Charles XIII is about the same as me."

Because the people residing in Charles Palace are all ancient entities of the Mirror Domain, even though they have stayed in Charles Palace for years, with limited prowess, they still live long lives and have much broader knowledge.

This is why Glaipnir visited Charles Palace.

In Charles Palace, Glaipnir learned an interesting piece of intelligence from the mouths of these three special "Mirror Grudges."

They all stopped dreaming almost at the same time.

Before this, their frequency of dreaming was very high.