https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-743-Lanchi-is-Being-Watched-by-His-Mother-in-Law/12585235/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-745-Iphyteria-Asks-About-Sybrian/12585237/
Chapter 744: The Sisterly Confrontation Between Ifateeria and Thalia
Chapter 744: The Sisterly Confrontation Between Ifateeria and Thalia
A full moon hung high above Port Hassel, its cold light bathing the serene river in a reddish hue. This was the moat port located southeast of the capital, Bliarda.
In the distance from Port Hassel lay the stronghold of the Bliarda Mafia, a registered company in name, but a den of ill repute.
"Boss."
A group of figures emerged from the shadows of the riverside buildings, making their way through the heavy guard of elite Mafia members. They reached the tallest, most imposing structure, its black silhouette stark against the night sky.
"For the next hour, ensure that no executives enter the second floor of the Hassel Building. Have them wait outside."
The leader of this group wore a deep black coat, its hood trembling slightly in the night breeze, casting most of his face in shadow. Only a pair of cold, gleaming eyes were visible.
"Yes, boss."
His footsteps were light and agile as he led the way, not allowing any hesitation from his followers. He weaved through the shadows cast by the building, his form almost impossible to capture.
As a shaft of moonlight illuminated him once more, his face was finally revealed—handsome and resolute, with a head of deep gray hair falling across his forehead.
Following close behind were Professor Landy and his two students, all wearing animal masks provided by Barton to conceal their identities from any prying eyes of the Mafia members.
After only a few steps inside the building, they found themselves alone; no other Mafia members were in sight.
Barton quickened his pace, the deep yellow floor lamps casting long shadows behind them.
"This is the Hassel Building, the main base of the Bliarda Mafia. Only the boss, executives, and members with special permission are allowed here." Barton led Landy upwards, floor by floor.
The interior of the Hassel Building exuded a classical ambiance, adorned with black and brown stone bricks, reminiscent of a century-old luxury hotel.
"I'll find a way to convince your boss." Landy understood that Barton was not only informing him about the secrecy of this place but also warning him of its dangers—should anything unexpected happen, no one would ever know.
This was a hidden zone where one could meet their end without a trace.
"The person you're about to meet... She's currently very agitated and will most likely not give you a chance to speak." Barton offered this insight as they walked, based on his understanding of his boss.
He had formed a neutral impression of this professor from St. Crenshaw Abbey, a man who was willing to venture alone into Mafia territory for his students. At the very least, he couldn't be all bad.
And most importantly, he possessed the will to stand against the Blood Clan.
"So, I'll mostly be blocking her first attack, right?" Lanchi deduced.
Meeting with a fight could be a way of exchanging greetings or even a test.
"That's right. Otherwise, she'd probably go straight for your throat and prevent you from speaking and interfering with her thoughts." Barton agreed.
"Ugh..." Lanchi couldn't shake the feeling that this method of covering someone's mouth before striking resembled someone he knew.
"What are you thinking about?" Thalia demanded, her invisible hand tightening around his neck.
"Could you please take your hand away first before you ask me that, Master?" Lanchi replied without a hint of doubt.
Soon, Barton led them to his office and stopped before a wall of bookshelves. With deft movements, he adjusted the positions of several books in an apparently meaningless sequence. Accompanied by soft metallic clicks, the seemingly ordinary bookshelf slowly swung open, revealing a deep passage hidden behind it.
"Ladies, this is where you stop." Barton turned to Elsa and Ursula.
Beyond this point was an area accessible only to him and Landy. It was best for the two students to remain in the safety of the boss's office.
He didn't mind them seeing this hidden door of the Mafia. After all, their fates were sealed from the moment they set foot here—they would either leave with Landy or stay with the Bliarda Mafia.
"Brother, please be careful." After some thought, Elsa returned the little black cat to her brother.
She wanted to ensure her brother's safety as much as possible.
The cat-boss hesitated, looking back and forth between them.
Lanchi was about to venture into danger, and it felt the need to protect both Elsa and Lanchi.
"No matter what happens next, I'll do my best to guarantee their safety." Barton assured Lanchi.
"Thank you, Mr. Barton." Lanchi nodded.
Thalia, through her ability, judged that Barton had spoken the truth, and she conveyed this to Lanchi.
"Meow, then let's go, meow." Sensing the situation, the cat-boss jumped into Lanchi's shadow as well.
With Elsa's safety assured, it had no more reservations. It felt safer piloting Lanchi's body.
"Go ahead and discuss your matters, Professor. I'll keep Elsa company and make sure she doesn't get bored." Ursula waved her hand dismissively at Professor Landy.
"Alright, then. See you later." Lanchi inclined his head.
Barton had already started walking towards the passage hidden within the bookshelf.
Without hesitation, Lanchi followed Barton into the tunnel. The Anti-Magic Steel door closed silently behind him, as if it had never been opened.
The passage beyond was dimly lit, with faint, flickering lights spaced every few meters, casting an eerie glow.
An indescribable chill hung in the air, as if they were approaching an icy cavern.
Barton guided Lanchi through this labyrinth of underground passages with confident, swift strides, evidently familiar with this secret route.
He navigated confusing turns and passed through several tightly shut anti-magic steel doors until they finally stopped before a silver-white elevator.
"Just how strong is your boss?" Lanchi inquired of the Mafia boss during their wait.
In Thalia's estimation, Barton Hall was already an exceptionally talented individual within the Empire.
Had he remained in the military, he would undoubtedly have attained the rank of general and posed a significant threat to the Allied Forces.
"It's only in her that I see a glimmer of hope against the Blood Clan, however slim it may be. It's not zero."
Barton replied calmly.
He placed his palm on the control panel, and the helicopter door opened with a creak as he stepped inside with Professor Landry. Without any further operation, the helicopter door silently closed and began to descend rapidly.
Every few meters the elevator descended, a faint white light flashed on the walls, illuminating Barton's cold and stern face in the elevator box.
"...'
Lanchi stood silently in the elevator, choosing not to pry further out of politeness.
Barton, usually quite talkative, did not divulge any information about his boss's strength, which spoke to his loyalty.
However, Lanchi had formed his own deductions.
To counterbalance the Blood Clan, one would need at least an eighth-rank core combatant. Without this level of strength, one would not pose any real threat to the Blood Clan.
Just like Barton, who was so powerful at the seventh rank that he rarely encountered opponents within the Empire, yet when faced with the Blood Clan's power, he was like an ant trying to shake a tree.
So, the boss who had earned Barton's loyalty was most likely an eighth-rank combatant.
But within the eighth rank, there were several levels of strength, and Lanchi wondered at which level Barton's boss resided.
As the helicopter descended, the creaking and groaning of the machinery filled the small space, and it felt as if they were sinking to the very core of the earth.
Gradually, all the noise from the ground above was completely cut off, leaving only a deathly silence and the confined space.
When the elevator finally came to a stop, a giant door made of pure white Anti-Magic Steel loomed before them, exuding a bone-chilling frost.
The door's surface was covered in intricate spatial barrier runes.
"You actually have a spatial barrier?"
As far as Lanchi knew, Blood Moon City was protected by a spatial barrier, making it physically impossible to reach through ordinary means.
The fact that the Mafia had a spatial barrier, though not on the same scale as Blood Moon City, indicated that they possessed capabilities far beyond that of ordinary people.
"It cost a pretty penny."
Barton seemed nonchalant about all of this. He took out a crescent-shaped secret key from his pocket and inserted it into a hidden slot on the door.
With a low mechanical hum, the thick Anti-Magic Steel door slowly opened, filling the space with blinding white light that caused Lanchi to squint.
When his eyes finally adjusted to the sudden brightness, he beheld a grand underground palace. A chill permeated the air, and a deathly silence enveloped the entire space, freezing even their breaths.
The pure white walls and floor reflected the icy blue light, creating an otherworldly atmosphere as if they were in a place disconnected from the rest of the world.
The vaulted ceiling shimmered like a galaxy far above, and one could almost imagine seeing the real starry sky through the distance.
"Boss, Professor Landry is here," Barton said, bowing slightly.
"Good, you may leave," came a voice from the center of the palace.
In the distance, a figure with a face veiled in illusory makeup stood. The light refracted off the sharp angles of her face, making it impossible to discern her true features. The longer one stared, the more dizzy they felt.
Around her neck were crimson fissures like tattooed marks, and lava-like magic veins flowed downward, scorching her skin.
"...'
Barton was about to say something, but a chill filled the air as a cold, oppressive magic emanated from the woman.
As she turned to look at them, Barton, who had been about to speak, fell silent under the intense pressure. He did not want to disturb his boss, who seemed to be in a foul mood today.
With a glance, Barton signaled Professor Landry to be careful, then quickly exited the underground palace. The Anti-Magic Steel door closed with a loud hum behind him.
In the underground space, the woman seemed to sense something amiss with their guest. She slowly turned her head, her reddish-brown eyes like two bottomless pools of deathly still water, exuding a heart-chilling aura.
In that moment of eye contact, even the cat boss hiding in Lanchi's shadow felt its soul being sucked into the reddish-brown abyss, unable to escape.
It felt its consciousness crumbling, overwhelmed by boundless fear, and it struggled to maintain its sanity.
The cat boss clenched its paws tightly, fighting to hold on to the last shred of clarity.
At the same time, Lanchi stood unfazed, his expression calm despite the intimidating atmosphere.
"Now it's just the two of us..."
The figure's lips curved slightly, revealing a chilling smile.
Even her magical voice carried a mental influence that made one feel drowsy.
"I..."
Lanchi began to speak.
In the next second, a deep red flame erupted from the woman's feet, like the claws of an ancient demon god, wildly dancing in the air.
A hellish hand shot out at an incredible speed, engulfing Lanchi's figure and gripping him tightly.
"Don't hit! Don't hit!"
Lanchi was surrounded by a wind barrier without any special effects. The fierce wind and the light completely shielded him from the flames, preventing any harm.
"Immune to magic fields?"
The silver-haired woman muttered in confusion.
She had suspected that Professor Landry might be hiding his true strength as a sixth-rank combatant, but she hadn't expected him to be able to trigger an eighth-rank level defensive spell, effectively masking his strength as a sixth-rank.
He was indeed a big fish.
And with that, she had also confirmed her opponent's caliber.
He appeared to be a sixth-rank combatant but had somehow achieved the strength of a seventh-rank and could occasionally unleash even more powerful moves.
The surge of magical power she had sensed earlier far exceeded that of a sixth-rank combatant.
However, she could tell that there were many restrictions on his magical output, and there was definitely a limit to his power!Suddenly, a frost mist rolled in, centered on the silver-haired woman, howling through the underground space.
In an instant, her figure transformed into a black shadow, rushing towards Lanchi at an incredible speed. The air whistled with the sound of slicing wind, and in the next moment, she was about to grab Lanchi by the neck.
Although the oppressive magical power radiating from her body was suffocating, she didn't seem to think that magic was necessary to deal with this opponent.
Even a contest of physical strength would be enough to behead her opponent and spray blood on the spot.
At this critical juncture, Lanchi remained unfazed.
A barrier woven from spiritual power formed in front of him, directly facing the silver-haired woman's attack.
The two forces collided violently in mid-air, sparking invisible sparks of magic.
To the silver-haired woman's surprise, Landy's spiritual barrier perfectly countered her attack and launched a counterattack, stalemating them in their tracks without either side yielding an inch.
"Your spiritual magic is too weak!" The silver-haired woman sneered. Using spiritual magic against her was like a novice challenging a master.
In an instant, she employed a similar reverse computational principle to dismantle the spiritual barrier layer by layer and counterattacked with spiritual magic.
"Me? Weak?" Thalia, within Lanchi's consciousness, exclaimed, a hint of surprise flashing across her eyes before it was replaced by annoyance.
This guy was like an infuriating bully, deliberately using his weakest skill to break through her strongest defense. Such arrogance fueled her anger.
Even facing a formidable opponent, Lanchi had advised her not to treat them as a mortal enemy but to find a way to calm them down. But this was a matter of pride, and Thalia wouldn't budge an inch.
"Wait, can we talk?" Lanchi felt like he was dealing with a lunatic.
This person wouldn't listen to reason at all.
She was just like an angry Thalia!
"I don't care who you are. It's better to turn you into my slave than anything else!" Before her words had faded, the silver-haired woman's body surged with a power that shook the ground, infusing the entire space with a dark black hue, and countless deep cracks spread like a spider web.
Immediately after, black cursed flames erupted from the depths, raging around Lanchi under the silver-haired woman's control, like evil spirits seeking their lives, intending to burn them to ashes.
...
At the same time, on the ground.
Even Elsa and Ursula, in the upper-floor office of the Hassel Building, stood up, feeling the hair on their bodies stand on end.
This terrifying surge of magical power was as if two Eighth-Ranks were fighting right beneath them! Even through countless layers of restrictions, the sense of danger could permeate up to their location.
The Black Hand Party members downstairs had also entered a state of alert.
"Boss, is it time to make a move?" They asked in astonishment, sensing the vibrations in the earth.
Beneath this river port building, hundreds of meters underground.
"Meow meow!" The cat boss held its head in its paws within the shadow.
It felt that Lanchi shouldn't have come here.
If the fight continued, it didn't think they stood a chance of winning.
This silver-haired woman was too terrifying; she was at least stronger than Perlman. In this state of possession, they had no means to fight back.
Thalia's entity quickly solidified in front of Lanchi, guarding him from the attack, and was about to unleash her ultimate move.
"Curse magic?" The silver-haired woman curled her lips in a cold smile, her enchanting voice dripping with disdain.
The two of them moved more and more in sync, and even their magic began to resonate and intertwine.
Orange light feathers fluttered in the silver-white palace, and a fairy-like maiden, akin to a flower spirit, had landed in mid-air.
Just as their magic reached its peak and was about to clash head-on.
"Huh?" Two voices exclaimed in unison.
The power, approaching the realm of gods, slowly stagnated as they gathered, eventually dissipating with a hint of hesitation.
The silver-haired woman seemed to be assessing whether this was an illusion.
If it were an illusion, the only one she could think of was the 【Fallen Land of Gentleness】.
However, within the Fallen Land of Gentleness, those trapped would not easily suspect that they were in the illusion, creating a logical contradiction.
That overwhelming power, the breathtaking beauty, and the dignified aura.
And that unique aura, unlike any other, possessing the intimidating pressure of a Demon King.
Without a doubt.
Her identity could only be one.
"Sis...sister...?" The silver-haired woman stared in disbelief, her eyes gradually filling with tears.
Her murderous gaze turned stagnant, and no one knew what she was thinking.
After what felt like an eternity, she opened her mouth slightly, unable to form a complete sentence.
From the moment Thalia's figure was reflected in her pupils, she couldn't tear her eyes away.
"I, I didn't mean to hurt you..." The silver-haired woman's earlier murderous intent had completely vanished, replaced by urgency and remorse.
The gray-haired, golden-eyed woman before her, even after a hundred years of separation and a fading memory, remained the most familiar figure in the world! Although she didn't understand why her proud sister had ended up in such a state, with her soul imprinted on a human, she undoubtedly believed that this was her sister.
The hostility she had felt towards Lanchi transformed into gratitude and closeness, as if she were looking at family.
Thalia was also at a loss for words. She tugged at Lanchi's clothes, as if asking him what was going on, but Lanchi just shrugged and smiled, leaving it to her to figure out.
He relaxed, deliberately detaching himself from the situation, perhaps conveying to Thalia: "I've completed the task you entrusted to me when you created Kaliella's shadow weave. It's up to you to figure out the rest."
"Ifateria?" Thalia couldn't see the silver-haired woman's face clearly, nor could she hear her true voice, but after her unreserved attack, the familiar magic and techniques, which were identical to her own, left no room for doubt.
She could only call out this name tentatively.
"It's me." The silver-haired woman no longer used magical sound, and the illusion on her face shattered like a prism, revealing her true self.
Her eyes were filled with tears of grievance.
"How did you end up here?" Thalia never expected that the mysterious boss hiding underground in the Black Hand Party would turn out to be her long-lost sister, Ifateria! Seeing the blood-red scars on her sister's body, Thalia's heart trembled.
She couldn't imagine what her beloved sister had endured to become like this.
As Thalia looked at Ifateria once more.
"Sister, I've missed you so much. You finally came to the Southern Continent to find me..." Ifateria rushed towards Thalia and hugged her tightly, burying her head in her chest and sobbing.
(End of Chapter)
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