Isolde followed his gaze. The central array runes were still spinning.
Three translucent halos of law indeed hovered around the Mooncrown Lock. Though the jade-like bone chain was right before her eyes, it was actually isolated within a set of precise and complex defensive seals.
She withdrew her gaze. “So, what are you trying to say?”
“Cooperation,” the black-clothed figure said succinctly. “We join forces to break this troublesome sealing array first. As for whose hands the item ultimately falls into, that will depend on our own abilities.”
Isolde let out a soft laugh. “I don't trust you.”
“Understandable.” The black-clothed figure didn't seem angry at all, merely shrugging. “I don't trust you either.”
“Then what is there to talk about?”
The black-clothed figure didn't retaliate, leisurely taking out a roll of old parchment that faintly glowed.
“This is my sincerity for our cooperation.”
Isolde stood her ground, making no move.
The black-clothed figure continued on their own, “I picked this up in the monastery. It's useless to me, but perfect for you.”
“How do you know it's suitable for me?”
“I saw it clearly when you killed those two knights earlier. You used pure Malice magic as well as light-attribute methods. Two completely opposing forces are clashing inside your body. You're barely suppressing them, aren't you?”
Isolde's gaze turned cold.
This damned stalker's observation skills were chillingly sharp, stopping just short of completely exposing her.
“This skill can help you forcibly ‘fold’ those conflicting forces within you. At least in this damn place filled with holy light, it will make you more comfortable. It's better than trying to break the array while enduring constant damage.”
The other party tossed the scroll toward her. Isolde caught it in the air with her silver threads. Only after confirming there were no immediate curses did she let it drop into her palm.
In an instant, a grey system prompt that only she could see popped up before her eyes.
【General Skill Book: Inverse Radiance Shadow-Folding (Advanced)】
【Skill Type: Magic / Defense / Stealth】
【Skill Description: Folds one's overflowing aura and harmonizes conflicting attributes into a balanced state. Duration is affected by Intelligence and soul stability.】
【Learning Conditions: Intelligence 100 or higher, mastery of at least two conflicting attribute spells.】
A good item, and one extremely suited for her.
Especially for someone like her, who needed to deeply hide her identity as a Boss.
The commotion outside was still ongoing, and the Holy Court's blockade could close in here at any moment.
She did indeed have the unicorn's last wishes in her hand, but with this Black Tower warlock present, it was hard to tell friend from foe, and she couldn't easily reveal her trump card.
As for Ur's words, she wasn't stupid enough to believe them a hundred percent. Who knew if that dishonest merchant had dug a pit for her in the details?
The current situation was like walking a tightrope either way.
Breaking the seal alone was a risk, and cooperating with the Black Tower was also a risk.
But of two evils, choose the lesser. Choosing the latter would at least share half the risk.
Having thought this far, Isolde pressed her fingertip onto the cover of the scroll.
【Learn skill: Inverse Radiance Shadow-Folding?】
“Learn.”
The parchment spontaneously combusted without fire, turning into a wisp of dark golden light that sank between her brows.
The forces within Isolde's body, which had been constantly clashing, were harmonized by an invisible power, reaching a miraculous state of balance.
【This skill has been influenced by the passive skill “Witch's Mask”, triggering an additional effect.】
【Additional Attribute: When targeted by any investigative spell, there is an extremely high probability of reflecting a misleading result, presenting a disguised identity that the investigator is most subjectively willing to believe.】
The effect was immediate. The needle-like stinging pain around her vanished, allowing Isolde's body to return to its optimal state.
Looking at the grey-robed monk before them, the Black Tower warlock frowned slightly.
This advanced skill scroll, which required “Intelligence 100 or higher,” was originally a means for them to test the depth of the person before them.
Even within the Black Tower, geniuses who could reach this level of Intelligence were few and far between.
Yet they never expected that this woman, upon receiving the scroll, would learn it on the spot without even blinking.
“It seems... you are indeed a clever person far beyond my expectations.” A bit of their previous playfulness finally faded from their tone, replaced by a heavy scrutiny. “So, can we start discussing our cooperation now?”
Isolde looked up, meeting their gaze coldly. “The cooperation lasts only until this sealing array is broken.”
“As it should be.”
“And one more thing.” She raised her right hand, the silver Soul Threads letting out a sharp, air-piercing hum. “If I catch you sticking your claws into my shadow again, I will immediately destroy the formation core. At worst, we both go down together.”
The black-clothed figure paused upon hearing this, seemingly surprised. “A treasure like this, and you'd be willing to part with it?”
Isolde looked at the radiant Mooncrown Lock in the center of the array, suddenly letting out a somewhat wicked chuckle:
“If I can't have it, no one else is going to walk away with it either.”
The black-clothed figure behind the mask was stunned for a moment, then also let out a low laugh:
“Honestly, I think your style and temperament are better suited for joining our Black Tower.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Isolde said coldly. “Personally, I don't have a sick hobby of hiding in other people's shadows.”
“...”
The black-clothed figure's expression collapsed. They had probably never encountered an opponent whose mind leaped so absurdly in their entire life. At such a critical, life-or-death moment, this woman actually had the leisure to look down on the taste of their stealth magic.
The black-clothed figure remained silent, merely walking to the other side of the array runes to put some distance between them.
Watching their deflated back, Isolde found it somewhat amusing.
What was this?
Seeing this fellow suffer in silence, why did she sense a trace of grievance from them?
The black-clothed figure raised their hand and pressed it against the first ring of the sealing array.
Shadows spread from beneath their palm, covering the surface of the array runes like tiny cracks.
“This sealing array cannot be broken by brute force.”
Isolde stood on the other side, lifting her gaze to look at the other party:
“How do we break it?”
“This is the Double-Anchor Illusion Array.” The black-clothed figure's heterochromatic eyes stared at the flowing array runes. “The true sealing core of the Mooncrown Lock is hidden inside a Mirror Illusion. The outer layer before us is nothing but a shell. If we break it by force, the lock inside will be instantly teleported away.”
Isolde frowned slightly. “You mean a living person must personally enter the illusion?”
“Yes.”
“How many people?”
“Two.”
Hearing this exact number, Isolde looked suspiciously back and forth between herself and the black-clothed figure.
“Two... Heh, can there really be such a coincidence in this world?”
Through the mask, the black-clothed figure's voice was cold. “It's not a coincidence. Before I met you, I originally planned to just grab any member of the clergy from above and throw them in. But since I found you sneaking around, I saved myself the trouble.”
Hearing their matter-of-fact tone, Isolde's fists clenched inside her sleeves. She sneered:
“Compared to my sneaking around, Your Excellency's habit of hiding in the shadows of my robes and creeping and crawling in the dark the whole way is hardly any better, is it?”
The black-clothed figure was silent for a long while before finally squeezing out an extremely stiff defense:
“...I was not crawling.”
Isolde: “...”
No, wait. Was this mysterious, dark big shot of the Black Tower seriously focusing on such an insignificant wording right now?
The black-clothed figure seemed to weigh their thoughts repeatedly, feeling that the explanation just now wasn't enough to clear their reputation. They shifted their steps and quickly added:
“I was merely moving through shadows. The spells of the Black Tower naturally require the caster to be extremely close to the edge of the laws of shadow. This is just the most basic spell logic; it doesn't mean I have some despicable peeping hobby.”
Isolde froze in place, looking at them in disbelief.
But the black-clothed figure's long-winded speech wasn't over. Their voice carried a stubborn, inexplicable insistence:
“Furthermore, I was very careful when I entered your shadow. I did not corrupt it.”
Isolde's head throbbed. Her feelings were a complete mess. “...You really didn't need to explain in such detail.”
“No,” the black-clothed figure stared at her, their stubbornness bordering on unreasonable. “I must make myself clear. The supreme movement secret art of the Black Tower is fundamentally different from the disgusting behavior of those low-level magical beasts creeping and crawling in the dark.”
“Fine, fine, my bad.”
Isolde was completely defeated by their young-master-like odd temper. She waved her hand weakly. “It wasn't crawling; it was noble shadow-borrowing displacement. Will that do?”
Rate on N.U.
