Chapter 795: Lanchi and Talia's Daily Review
Chapter 795: Lanchi and Talia's Daily Review
Deep within the underground core energy chamber of the Inferno Corridor Academy, Lanchi turned to face the deep purple-black mirror, its surface as dark as ink.
Ripples formed in the center of the mirror, and the swirling magic that had blossomed on its serene surface slowly faded away.
"Thank you, Taberius, for leaving behind this magical artifact."
Lanchi expressed his gratitude to the six-sided cubic mirror in the energy chamber.
"It's a shame we can't take this mirror back to the mortal world. By the time it existed there, the Taberius Mirror had long been buried and forgotten."
Talia guessed that even if the Taberius Mirror had been passed down, it would have been more severely damaged.
"Even if we could take it back, we wouldn't be able to use it," Lanchi and Talia thought to themselves.
Together, they could muster the power of a nine-seal demon, but not a ninth-order one.
Firstly, its activation required a ninth-order grand demon to expend their soul imprint, and even then, it was a gamble. Additionally, each destroyed soul imprint would inflict irreversible damage to the caster's soul, potentially weakening even a ninth-order grand demon permanently.
Unless they were in a dire situation, there was almost no chance of using the Taberius Mirror.
After all, the price of glimpsing the future was a gamble with fate, using one's soul as a stake.
"We have Kaliella to thank for this," Talia said with emotion.
Having spent a day with the mirror, which felt like a much longer companionship, she felt a sense of reluctance to leave it behind.
The only lingering mystery was what Kaliella had seen during her own use of the mirror.
"Kaliella saw the future ahead of time and knew what would happen if the Dark Sun used the Taberius Mirror... So, in her letter, she gave the choice to the Dark Sun, providing him with three chances to ensure that once he used the mirror, he would emerge victorious," Lanchi explained, having experienced the path of Lanceros three times and now fully understanding the cause and effect, as well as Kaliella's consistent intentions.
If he chose not to use it, he would be living in a gentle illusion, able to grow old and die in peace, a false but happy existence.
However, if he did use it, he would inevitably endure torture, shatter the false peace of Blood Moon, and then bear endless punishment—a cruel but true reality.
Kaliella had left the choice to Lanceros, and the price she paid for it was everything she had.
"You could say that Kaliella was the strongest ally Lanceros encountered in his life. Without her, he truly had no chance of winning," Lanchi and Talia reviewed.
"But..."
Talia spoke with a mix of regret and reluctance, "Kaliella gave her life force to both Lanceros and Tamisha, using all her soul imprints to aid Lanceros. In the end, what remained of her soul and magic became the grand demon trial, left for future demons to inherit. Even according to the legends of the Fate Goddess Church, she would not be able to reincarnate."
Though she had never met Kaliella in person, as the inheritor of Kaliella's abilities, Talia now felt a deep affinity for her. It was as if a part of Kaliella lived within her.
"I don't believe in reincarnation anyway," Lanchi said, gazing at the silver-white light and shadows on the surface of the Taberius Mirror, "but if it does exist, then Kaliella hasn't truly vanished. She lives on in a different form."
In a sense, Tamisha's life was sparked by Kaliella's life force, and after Lanceros merged with a part of Kaliella's fundamental life force, he became inseparably linked to her as well.
If Tamisha could reincarnate, then her rebirth would be a unique form of reincarnation for Kaliella.
Perhaps fate would bring together those whose lives were intertwined by destiny once more.
"Let's go. Stop being obsessed with the power of the Hanging King. Stop gambling and live a stable life instead," Talia advised, knowing her apprentice's gambler mentality, which aligned with the Hanging King's high-risk, high-reward treasures.
The Hanging King never favored the weak or timid; instead, he admired brave souls who dared to wager their lives, like Lanchi.
Though Lanchi had been remarkably stable so far, continued gambling would eventually lead to disaster.
Her suggestion was to quit while they were ahead.
She didn't want to end up as vagabonds, following Lanchi around.
"Well, when I reach the ninth order, I might be able to use Lanfu's soul imprint. Her life is fair game for gambling," Lanchi mused, as if he had just discovered something.
Indeed, Lanfu was the key to the Hanging King's realm.
"Have a heart, Lanchi. Lanfu's life is just as precious as anyone else's, and she holds a grudge," Talia said, suspecting that Lanchi's outburst as a poet in the Cat Boss restaurant, which had startled Talia and caused them both to lose control and shout upstairs, was due to something he had done on the Northern Continent that had earned Lanfu's deep-seated resentment.
"I only put her through the Hanging King's grand demon trial once, and it wasn't that painful. Oh, right, I also forced her to drink a few bottles of Snowfield Fiery Wine, and that must have burned like fire from her throat to her stomach—now that was painful!"
Lanchi counted and replied, bowing his head to take Tamisha's hand as they prepared to leave the central energy chamber.
It was indeed the Hanging King Taberius' trial.
"Stop it, Alan. You owe it to the fact that most of the time, my original summon is me; otherwise, you would have died a mysterious death sooner or later."
Talia lectured Lanchi in her mind.
She was truly a little afraid.
As a fellow demon, she knew all too well that Lanfu was no pushover.
"Rest assured, Lanfu doesn't mind."
Lanchi replied nonchalantly as he led Tamisha away from the central chamber, enveloped by the eternal night sky.
Silence enveloped the sleek passage leading to the Hanging Mirror Corridor, and Lanchi and Tamisha walked as if in an illusionary gallery.
The heavy mechanical roar mingled with the buzzing of magic lines, gradually fading away with the central chamber they left behind.
Lanchi and Talia continued their mental conversation as they walked.
After a long walk, they passed through the automatically opening black illusory gate and finally saw the light of the Hanging Mirror Corridor again.
The overwhelming prism refraction, the walls, the floor, and the ceiling inlaid with countless clear and sparkling prisms of various shapes and sizes, refracted a dazzling rainbow of light, and the ethereal, iridescent mist that filled the air made Lanchi feel as if he had stepped into a different dimension.
"Tamisha, from here on out, I'll need you to lead the way again."
Lanchi bowed his head and spoke to the small figure holding his hand.
Only Tamisha, the true authorized user, could pass through the Hanging Mirror Corridor.
In the future, if she attended the Inferno Corridor Academy, she might be able to access places that even the principal couldn't reach, making her the true heir of the academy.
"Follow me."
Tamisha tightened her grip on Lanchi's hand and took the lead, walking with determined steps.
"Tamisha, are you hungry?"
Lanchi had left three boxes of snacks for Tamisha.
But now, as they emerged from the Taberius Mirror, it was already around 9 pm.
"I'm fine."
Tamisha's eyes showed a hint of drowsiness,
"But if you're going to take me out to eat, I can definitely eat something."
She had been waiting for the illusion demon to take her to the promised Demon King's restaurant for dinner.
"Of course, I will take you there."
Lanchi added, confirming his earlier promise.
Tamisha remained silent, but her pace quickened slightly.
"Ah, I'm so tired and hungry; finally, it's the end of the day."
Hearing Lanchi mention the Demon King's restaurant, Talia felt both the fatigue and anticipation of the day wash over her.
"Then I guess I'll have to give Lanfu back to you sooner or later. It's a bit inconvenient for the two of us to live together like this all the time."
She continued the conversation she had been having with Lanchi.
At that moment, Lanchi, led by Tamisha, stepped into the grand transition corridor, with towering Hanging statues on either side and a forest of glass trees shimmering with cold, silver light.
The prisms, illuminated by the lights, refracted soft and ethereal light and shadows, reflecting a river of colors on the mirror-like stone floor, as if they were strolling through a vast galaxy.
Talia also witnessed this breathtaking sight through Lanchi's perspective.
She felt that now that they had left Icerite, she could temporarily merge with him during their travels abroad.
However, once they truly returned to the royal capital of Icerite, the two of them could no longer live together, reading each other's minds every day.
Just thinking about having to pretend to be a great poet of love for a week before their departure to the Bosen Kingdom made Talia's scalp tingle.
"That's true. On the bright side, during our stay in the capital of the Cryxis Empire, Briliarda, we won't have to put on any acts, and there won't be any acquaintances or friends from Icerite around."
Lanchi expressed his relief.
The birth of the Maniac Demon King had been a sheer accident.
Neither he nor Talia had expected Talia to become so powerful after merging with the Great Poet of Love, nor had they anticipated how difficult it would be to separate afterward.
"Alas, when we return to the Kingdom of Horton, your most beautiful and powerful destined card will be gone."
Talia sighed wistfully, without a hint of flattery.
"The Maniac Demon King is still the best. Once I reach the seventh stage, it can become my permanent ultimate move."
Lanchi did not deny this.
However, he couldn't rely on her power forever.
"Hmm, but if you encounter any troubles in the future, her power will still be available to you. After all, you are her excellent disciple."
Talia seemed pleased, having heard Lanchi's true thoughts, and lightly hummed in agreement.
"A Maniac Demon King capable of sustained combat is too powerful; it's like having a god on your side."
Lanchi praised.
With the power of a god, his fighting style had transformed.
Summoning another creature would be a sign of distrust in the god.
"Don't say that... You sound like a flatterer..."
Talia said shyly.
"This is the humility of a god."
Lanchi continued his praise.
"That's enough..."
Talia's voice grew softer, suppressing a smile.
"Soon, I will be able to wield the power of a god."
After a long journey of training, his spiritual power had undergone a metamorphosis.
Upon successfully clearing the eighth-tier Shadow World, advancement to the seventh-tier was all but assured.
After transcending to the seventh-tier, one's fundamental attributes could make a qualitative leap, and by then, he would be able to effortlessly carry the weighty Talia; this was the accumulation and depth of a god.
"..."
Upon hearing this, Talia's heart, which had yet to turn coy, turned as dark as a pot.
She caught the key phrase in Lanchi's thoughts but was too lazy to pursue the matter further.
"Hmph, since you're so confident, I'll just casually absorb your magic power from now on, and train you with high-intensity exercises around the clock. Don't you dare collapse before me—oh."
Talia let out a cold laugh.
If Lanchi thought it was heavy, then so be it. She would show him what magic power-burning training was all about.
"Hey, Master, why don't you spend your free time exercising to lose the weight you've gained instead of training me?" Lanchi asked bluntly.
"?"
"I, I don't have a problem with gaining weight! I was just too skinny from starving as a vagrant before! Now the weight I've gained has gone to all the right places!!" Talia shouted back, her voice shaking with emotion.
If she were to wear Lanfu's skirt and school uniform, it might give Lanchi a more obvious demonstration, but with their winter attire in the Cryxis Empire, he certainly couldn't tell.
"..."
Lanchi was left speechless by Talia's sudden outburst.
"You... just focus on breaking through to the seventh-tier first!" Talia changed the subject.
There was one more necessary prerequisite for Lanchi's advancement to the seventh-tier; he needed to obtain an ascension token with attributes close to his own.
"Master, I can only rely on you for that." Lanchi said immediately.
It was Talia who had taught him about the knowledge of engraving job tiers in the first place, and she would have to help him with the selection of materials as well.
Currently, in the present world within the Cryxis Empire, they might be able to obtain a pink Sacred-grade main token, but it was uncertain if it would be the most suitable seal for his attributes.
"Hmph, of course, I'll help you." Talia replied proudly.
Indeed, her little disciple was now dependent on her.
He would have to rely on her for any troublesome matters.
As they walked further, the light and shadows of the Hanging Mirror Corridor changed, sometimes focusing and sometimes dispersing, with a different scene at every step. Archways and alcoves appeared from time to time on both sides, and the prisms on the sides never repeated. The ground also became steeper.
With every subtle sense of ascent and descent, sections of steps embedded with magic crystals appeared. After climbing all the steps and traversing the winding passage, the outside noise completely disappeared, and a spacious area appeared before them.
A Seal of Prohibition door stood tall before them, over thirty-three feet high.
"We're here."
Tamisha pointed to the door and said.
The massive door was forged from ancient demon-sealing steel, its surface covered with ninth-tier array enchantments. Under normal circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible to break through by force.
"Thank you. Do you want to turn back into a little cat?"
Lanchi squatted down and asked Tamisha.
He was unsure if Tamisha wanted to reveal her true form.
He respected the preferences and ideas of every child.
"Do you think I should change?"
Tamisha hesitated for a moment before asking.
"It's up to you. In my eyes, you're always Tamisha, and nothing will change no matter what form you take."
Lanchi smiled and replied.
"......"
Tamisha pondered for a few seconds.
"Then I won't turn back into a cat."
She made her decision.
Tamisha, maintaining her original appearance, led Lanchi forward and took two more steps, stopping just before the door.
The light on the door suddenly became dazzling.
Countless gear-shaped patterns whirled in the air, eventually transforming into dazzling stardust that dissipated into the thick darkness.
Lanchi and Tamisha passed through the Hanging Mirror Corridor, a secret passage connecting the central energy chamber and the base of the Inferno Corridor, and returned to the familiar interior of the academy, where everything was no longer so dazzling.
"Wow, won't Huberian and the others see that you've brought back an extremely cute child?"
Talia said to Lanchi.
Tamisha, who had always appeared as a gray kitten, finally revealed her true form to Lanchi today, even though Huberian, who had accompanied them from Necallis, the Demon King's City, to Pasqual, the Inferno City, had never seen her true form.
"They should be able to tell that she's Tamisha soon enough."
Lanchi looked at the gray-haired little girl and responded through his thoughts.
"Not necessarily. Just like how your friends might not be able to recognize you if you suddenly turned into a cat, or a cat turned into a human. The difference is just too great."
Talia shared Lanchi's vision, or she wouldn't have guessed that this adorable little demon was the gray kitten.
"It's fine. This child looks like you, not me, so there won't be any misunderstandings."
Lanchi replied nonchalantly.
"No, it's not that... Your phrasing..."
Talia couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with Lanchi's words.
(End of Chapter)
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