An hour later.
Same location, same table and chairs.
But at this moment, only Morpheus and Lin Gui remained by the table.
Lin Gui held an irregular chunk of ice condensed using Freezing in his hand.
He was pressing it, bit by bit, against his swollen cheek, which had yet to subside.
This small flesh wound could have been restored instantly with a single healing spell from Eve.
However, the two "culprits" had slipped away without a trace long before he woke up.
Clearly, they didn't dare face him, the "victim."
Seeing Lin Gui's depressed and helpless expression, Morpheus didn't know whether to find it funny or envy the young man's "troubles."
He gave a light cough and decided to get straight to the point.
Before discussing official business, there was one doubt he had to clear up.
"You..." Morpheus's blood-red eyes stared directly at Lin Gui. "Are you really just a High Rank mage?"
Lin Gui lifted his eyelids and glanced at him upon hearing this.
Without saying much, he placed the ice he was using on the table.
Then, he extended his right hand, palm upward.
With a slight thought.
A clear, stable, and perfectly pure mana fluctuation slowly rose from his palm.
It was pure, gentle, and its intensity was pegged exactly within the range of a High Rank mage.
This most basic mana release was extremely difficult to fake.
Morpheus sensed it carefully for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly.
It was indeed at the High Rank level, genuine and true.
This made it even stranger.
He continued asking.
"Then what about that Holy Light Barrier just now, which requires at least a Transcendent Rank to cast?"
Lin Gui was taken aback.
"Holy Light Barrier?"
Immediately after, he remembered the scene of Eve unfolding her wings of light that he had seen before losing consciousness last night.
Lin Gui was indeed aware that Eve could do this.
Back when they were fighting the rebels in the mines of the Carter Royal Capital.
Eve had roughly revealed the spells she mastered, which included the Holy Light Barrier.
After arriving in Avalon.
Lin Gui had specifically instructed her to try not to use Light Magic with such obvious characteristics.
After all, the Holy Church of Light was the most staunch enemy of the Demon Race and half-demons; her identity was too sensitive.
Thinking about it, while he was unconscious, Eve must have been forced to expose it in order to trap him.
Lin Gui understood everything in his heart, but a fitting expression of confusion appeared on his face, followed by a look of "realization" and "helplessness."
"Ah... that."
He sighed and rubbed his aching temples.
"It’s possible my silly companion used up the magic scroll I had carefully kept."
His tone carried a hint of heartache and wordlessness; his acting was natural and vivid.
"That was a life-saving item I spent a lot of money on, scavenged from a fallen noble."
"What was solidified on it was a one-time-use Holy Light Barrier."
Doubts still lingered in Morpheus's eyes.
But Lin Gui's explanation was logically sound.
Magic scrolls could indeed allow for casting beyond one's rank, but they were expensive to produce and extremely rare.
Furthermore, thinking back on the characteristics of the three of them—
Theia was a half-demon ranger, Eve was a Dark Priest, and Lin Gui was a mage with pure mana but a rank that wasn't high.
No matter how one looked at it, they didn't seem like people who could independently cast a Transcendent Rank Light Magic spell.
Most importantly, Lin Gui's mana level could not be faked.
This caused a certain string that had been pulled tight in Morpheus's heart to finally loosen.
Since there was no hidden Epic powerhouse, then crossing the Wailing Corridor could only be credited to the power of that "Umbral Robe" divine artifact.
Morpheus pondered for a moment, and a heavy look of worry deliberately floated onto his face.
He let out a heavy sigh, his voice low and raspy:
"Sigh..."
"Little mage, truth be told."
"Avalon... is likely facing an imminent disaster now."
Lin Gui's action of applying ice paused slightly.
He looked up at Morpheus.
Shock and unease flowed appropriately into his gray eyes.
"An imminent disaster?"
"How can that be... Isn't this place protected by Lord Gusion and the Demon King Pillar?"
His reaction was spot on, like an ordinary traveler who had just learned that their sanctuary was about to collapse.
Seeing that he had taken the bait, Morpheus's heart settled, and the distressed look on his face deepened.
He extended a finger and pointed at the towering, pitch-black pillar outside the window.
"Look at that pillar... Its light has been flickering in and out lately, and its fluctuations are chaotic."
"This omen... means that something big has likely happened on Lord Gusion's side, perhaps even... that he is in life-threatening danger."
His voice grew heavier as he painted a terrifying picture:
"If Lord Gusion falls, the Demon King Pillar will lose its source of power."
"When that time comes, the Veil of Concealment shrouding Avalon will completely dissipate."
"Those Epic Rank spectral demons outside will swarm in like sharks smelling blood."
"This city, everyone here..."
He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, leaving behind an endless, bleak imagination.
"Will be completely swallowed... by an endless demon tide."
All of this was, in fact, a lie.
Even if Gusion truly died and the Demon King Pillar completely lost its effect.
Avalon would absolutely not be destroyed because of it.
How could a city exist in the center of a deadland for so many years if it were possible?
How could it gamble its entire survival on a single pillar and a single person?
Naturally, there were all sorts of backup plans prepared.
And these were exactly what Lin Gui had gained from his nightly peerings and eavesdropping over the past week.
He had not only heard secret details about guardian demons like "Blood-Thorn" and the movements of Avalon's potential enemies.
He also knew about the recent abnormalities of the Demon King Pillar, and...
Those trump cards sufficient to temporarily maintain the city-state's safety after something happened to Gusion.
Since he knew that Avalon was in no immediate danger of collapsing and had sufficient backup plans.
Lin Gui could have, and should have, taken those twenty-some letters and set off on his return journey.
But he didn't.
Aside from wanting to spend more time with Theia—despite almost being taken by force by her—
He also had a selfish motive.
If he could take this opportunity to perform some merit for Avalon.
Perhaps it would make Theia's status here more stable and gain her more acceptance.
At the same time, this was also a test.
A test of whether he had the "qualification" and ability to intervene in even deeper whirlpools.
At this moment, seeing the appropriate "panic" on Lin Gui's face.
Morpheus thought he had already fallen into the snare and continued in a deep voice:
"Therefore, in order to prevent Avalon's destruction."
"We must go rescue Lord Gusion."
"But we... cannot get out."
"And currently, the only one possible of crossing the Wailing Corridor..."
He paused deliberately, his gaze falling on Lin Gui.
"Is only you, and your companions."
He cautiously avoided the sensitive term "divine artifact."
"We do not know what method you used."
"But we implore you to help us."
"Escort our person through the corridor."
"We have... something extremely important that must be delivered into Lord Gusion's hands."
He did not explicitly say what it was.
But Lin Gui knew.
It referred to the one with the same origin as the Demon King Pillar, which only Gusion could fully drive.
The Demon King's exclusive divine artifact.
The Eleventh Demon King Pillar—Veil of No Doubts.
Lin Gui fell silent.
He did not respond for a long time.
Morpheus thought he was struggling, weighing the risk of exposing the "divine artifact" against the responsibility of saving Avalon.
In reality, Lin Gui was waiting.
Quietly waiting for that familiar prompt to sound in his mind.
Waiting for the system to judge this as a triggerable "escort quest."
An opportunity that would allow him to intervene in this matter legitimately.
However.
After a long silence, what sounded was the system's almost wordless, flat voice:
[Host, stop thinking about it.]
[Triggering quests must be based on your strength and capability range.]
[You are currently just a High Rank mage.]
Lin Gui let out a soft sigh in his heart.
In the end... it was because he was too 'weak.'
But this was fine too.
No matter what kind of dangerous games were being played between Gusion, Jesse, and the Demon Hunters.
After confirming that Avalon had backup measures to protect itself and that Theia could live safely here.
All of this had nothing to do with him anymore.
In that case...
It was also time to set off.
He lifted his eyes and looked at Morpheus, who was waiting for an answer.
In his black eyes, the panic gradually faded, replaced by his usual calm.
"Coincidentally, I also plan to leave Avalon to deliver letters; you can send someone to go out with me."
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Gui added.
"Once I've said goodbye to my companions."
Rate on N.U.
