030 The Statue

As Roland flipped through the book, his mentor and the baron happened to be discussing the Abyssal Lord. Catherine seemed to have cast a barrier around them, ensuring her words could only be heard by those in her immediate vicinity.

Since Roland was inside his mentor’s purse, he overheard the conversation.

Catherine: "Hall, you may speak now. This artifact of mine originates from the Abyss; given the current state of weakness of the Abyssal demons, He cannot eavesdrop on us without my knowledge."

Baron Hall said: "Catherine, the situation looks dire. I just inspected the magical arrays we saw on the road; they started malfunctioning a month ago. The lingering will of the Abyssal Lord may have already escaped its seal."

Catherine said: "I anticipated this. Hall, there is bad news. The ruins are too vast. If He has possessed something, we will never find Him."

The Baron asked: "Is there any good news?"

Catherine replied: "Yes. His state is extremely weak, and He cannot resist the repulsion of the World Will, so He can only operate in areas that overlap with the Abyssal plane. In other words, He is confined to these ruins. He is not a being of this world, and the World Will rejects Him. Unless He obtains this world’s 'ID card,' He cannot leave the ruins."

The Baron asked: "Catherine, I don’t follow. Are you saying that if I, a lord, were to issue Him an ID card, He could walk out of these ruins and wreak havoc everywhere?"

Catherine sighed: "Hall, is your brain filled with nothing but muscle? Fine, you can put it that way. In any case, He needs the 'credentials' of this world to move about freely."

Baron Hall asked: "How would He obtain these 'credentials'?"

Catherine said: "Recognition, Hall. As long as those who know of His existence treat Him as a native of this world, He will gain his freedom. Right now, in the entire world, only the eight of us know of Him. If we eight treat Him as our companion, He will possess an identity in this world."

Catherine then provided an analogy: "For instance, if we believe He is 'Roland,' then a 'Roland' will manifest in this world, and even the past history of 'Roland' will appear in this world!"

The Baron asked: "Wait! Are you saying Roland is the lingering will of the evil god?!"

Catherine snapped: "Idiot! I’m just giving an example! I mean that if He gains our trust and makes us believe He is a person of this world, He will become a person of this world. After that, He will no longer be rejected by this world and can follow us out of here."

The Baron asked: "Catherine... this is just too absurd."

Catherine said: "Hall, I am a wizard, and you are a hero. A hero should believe the words of a wizard!"

The Baron said: "Of course I believe you, Catherine... It’s just that if it were this simple, it feels wrong—I would never, ever consider that thing to be my friend!"

Catherine asked: "Are you really sure, Hall? What if I told you right now that I am that thing?"

The Baron said: "Stop joking, Catherine. We’ve known each other for so many years—even if you were an impostor, surely the Alexandra family couldn't be fake?"

Catherine sneered: "Heh heh heh, Hall, let me tell you, nothing is impossible. Once an outsider is recognized by this world, they transform from a person who never existed into someone who has always existed! Such an existence spans time and dimensions! This means His past, present, and future will all appear in this world simultaneously! He will have his own life trajectory, relatives, family, and friends... So, I am telling you now, from the moment we entered the Tawny Fern Forest, everyone you have seen is a suspect!"

The Baron swallowed hard and said: "Catherine... if, and I mean if, He is in our group, who do you think it is most likely to be?"

Catherine said: "Me, Roland, or you."

The Baron: "..."

Roland: "..."

Catherine was a true wizard; she pointed out with cold logic that she, Roland, and the Baron were the most suspicious individuals in terms of identity. The Baron found it difficult to accept her words.

Roland frowned, organizing his logic, and thought to himself: 'I am not the lingering will of the evil god from the ruins.'

Baron Hall: "Catherine, I have a headache. If you or Roland are demons, I truly don't know what to do."

Catherine said: "Hall, you need not be confused. Because if any one of the three of us is the evil god’s lingering will, then everything is over! Therefore, we must assume we are not, and we must trust one another."

Baron Hall was the strongest member of the team. If he were the 'werewolf,' the mission would be an immediate failure. Catherine was the most resourceful, the leader whom the wizards, Nall, and Anna obeyed. If she were the 'werewolf,' the mission would be an immediate failure. Roland was the eyes of the team, the only Seer capable of identifying the 'werewolf.' If he were the 'werewolf,' the mission would inevitably fail, and the entire team would be wiped out.

Therefore, if any of the three were compromised, the mission would fail.

Baron Hall said: "I understand, Catherine. Since the mission would surely fail if any of the three of us were that thing, let us assume that thing is someone else outside our trio."

Roland thought to himself: 'The mentor and I are of the same mind. If we want to defeat that thing, there must be absolute trust between the three of us... The mentor has managed it.'

Catherine said: "Stop eavesdropping, my dear studious student. It’s time to get to work—open the door, Hall. Let us go to that sealed land called the 'Garden of Suffering' and see who that thing truly is!"

The game of Werewolf had begun.

Roland the Seer was quickly released from the purse by Catherine. Roland looked around and found himself in a passage, the walls covered in moss. He then handed his mentor a note. It read: Where are the twelve knights?

Mentor Catherine’s pupils constricted slightly after reading it. She suddenly realized that she and Roland had not come alone! They had arrived accompanied by twelve knights!

Catherine thought to herself: 'At first, I wasn't sure about those things... Now, this matter is basically confirmed.'

She gave Roland a look, signaling him to pay attention to the statues on the walls of the passage.

'What does the mentor mean? Do the statues on the wall have something to do with the victims?'

Roland carefully observed the moss on the wall and discovered subtle protrusions beneath it. From the shapes of the protrusions, it was clear that the moss covered statues of angels. These angel statues seemed to be wearing Valerian armor... they looked somewhat familiar. He did not know who had sculpted them, but there were exactly twelve angel statues in the passage.

'Twelve angels wearing Valerian knight armor?' Roland frowned. He couldn't help but recall the twelve knights who had accompanied him and Catherine into the forest.

He suddenly realized: 'So, this passage records the images of the victims.'

At this moment, Instructor Renard walked over and said respectfully to Catherine: "Lady Catherine, may we study the academic value of these statues?"

Catherine and her group had traveled very smoothly, and since the mentor had not disclosed the nature of the ruins to everyone, the wizard apprentices felt no sense of crisis and maintained a strong curiosity about everything.

Catherine looked at the apprentices eager to try and smiled, agreeing: "Renard, this is a trial for the academy's new students, and also a test for us instructors. Regardless of the trial, academic research is a necessary part of it. So, take your time and collect information. I hope we can all write a decent paper upon our return."

The group was overjoyed upon hearing this. Papers... these meant academic credits! In the academy, credits were more precious than magic stones! If they could earn a large amount of credits upon returning, it would be worth it even if they came back empty-handed.

Everyone used magic to clear the moss from the passage and busied themselves studying the statues. As everyone studied, Roland vaguely felt that something was wrong.

Because Renard and the others were not studying the twelve angel statues.

They were studying the air.