Free Web NovelChapter 611: Chapter 610 Hint_1
"Assimilation?" Qiqimora and Lamia asked simultaneously.
"The ruler of ’Desire’ has the ability to synchronize a person’s thought patterns, goals, and memories with their own, turning the other into an existence akin to their own avatar," Aiden explained, "Haven’t I mentioned this before?"
He rolled two sixes in a row, his luck with the dice was quite good today, and he ordered two pieces to leave the base.
"As far as I remember, you never explained in detail," Lamia said, "Damn, why didn’t you tell us such an important thing earlier?"
"And it seems Abigail isn’t surprised at all, don’t tell me you two have already shared this information amongst yourselves?" Qiqimora noticed Abigail’s reaction.
"In any case, whether it’s Mr. Bloody Garment or the Goddess of Conspiracy, they both wield the power of the ’Spirit’ throne, be it in terms of destructive force or versatility, these powers might not rank very high, but if we’re talking about being repulsive, they are second to none," Aiden said, "They all wield the power to manipulate hearts, or use the spirit to warp reality."
"In other words, insufficiently qualified collaborators may end up being manipulated by the other party," Abigail analyzed calmly, "Therefore, neither Vila nor Habanis are suitable to be directly involved in this plan, but they can deal with some logistical issues instead."
"To be honest, I’m starting to consider dropping out of the team, too," Lamia said, "Upon reflection, you all are saints, dammit!"
"Don’t sell yourself short, among those present, you probably have the highest spirit resistance," Abigail persuaded.
"Use ’Chaos’ to turn myself into a madman as a way to avoid mind control?" Lamia said with disdain, "That feels like burning myself to a crisp with a fire spell to prevent the Necromancer from raising my corpse as a pet... Oh wait, I just had an idea."
"You use ’Chaos’ to disrupt the spirit, and I can restore it," Aiden also had an idea, "It’s a good approach."
Facing a ruler-level spirit manipulation, "Revert" might not take immediate effect.
However, if one deliberately turns the spirit into a state of chaos beforehand, even the Goddess of Conspiracy would have to expend significant effort to restore and then manipulate that spirit, whereas a higher level of "Order" could easily correct the disturbed state of chaos, serving as an emergency measure to evade mind control.
"What if the one being mind-controlled is you?" Lamia suddenly asked.
"If I were gone, then the game would be over," Aiden spread his hands.
If compared to chess, Aiden was the king piece; whether consumed by Mr. Bloody Garment or ultimately becoming a plaything in the hands of the Goddess of Conspiracy, their faction would lose.
However, the chess pieces from the witch coven, like those present, bore no loyalty whatsoever to him, their king—it would be a miracle if they didn’t suddenly betray him.
"To be honest, I’m a bit suspicious," Lamia questioned again, "Are you sure you haven’t already been controlled or assimilated and are just putting on a show for us?"
"What would be the purpose? If it were to lure you into a trap through acting, you should have been ensnared when we met before," Aiden responded, "And I shouldn’t have revealed the matter of assimilation to you, leaving room for this doubt."
"That’s true indeed," Qiqimora said.
"Could it be that some sort of suggestion has been planted in you?" Abigail asked casually while rolling her dice, "Like... a trap that triggers once a condition is met."
Aiden picked up on the implication in her words—he and Abigail had both read about Melindale’s post-resurrection moves in the diary of the nameless witch.
"To be honest, I’m not sure either, but after being promoted to a ruler, I shouldn’t be so easily corrupted," Aiden said, picking up his own dice.
As a ruler, the Necromancer is an example; Melindale lost her own life in the process of eroding his.
This brings us back to that question: why would the goddess of conspiracy push and encourage him to seize power, and then implant a portion of sealed memory in his brain, set to unlock once he obtained authority?
In fact, once he obtained authority, he would possess Melissa’s power; no matter what, Melissa’s best solution to control him was to deal with him before his promotion.
Qiqimora failed to perceive the other layer of meaning that was clear only to the two individuals themselves, merely echoing, "There’s also the possibility that this suggestion is merely to alter a certain perception, misleading you until you obtain the authority."
Aiden’s hand holding the dice suddenly stopped.
"But after being promoted to ruler, such a suggestion could also be broken, right?" Lamia raised a counterargument, "There’s no point in that, is there, kid?"
Aiden didn’t reply, lost in thought, and the several questions the Great Witches had posed earlier flashed in his mind again, along with issues he had contemplated in the past. They were like stars that flickered in and out of visibility in the night sky, waiting for an imagined line to connect them and form a complete constellation.
"Warden, it’s your move," Qiqimora reminded him when he didn’t stir.
"Oh." Aiden came back to reality and casually threw the dice, inadvertently using a bit too much force. The dice rolled across the table, past the Great Witch’s token, and disappeared directly from the projection space.
"Warden Your Excellency?" Abigail spoke up. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
The Great Witches all wore expressions of slight confusion at Aiden’s reaction.
"It’s nothing, I was just thinking," Aiden said nonchalantly, stretching out his arm to grope around on the table to retrieve the dice, "Anyway, for now, the main directive is to prioritize assisting my promotion, that shouldn’t be an issue, right?"
"For the time being, that’s fine," Abigail replied.
"There’s no other suitable course of action anyway," Lamia agreed following suit.
"So our primary target is now Mr. Blood Cloak. Mr. Blood Cloak is currently in the autonomous city of Sancheng, gathering followers to rebuild the Blood Moon Cult." Aiden said, "’Sacrifice’ is our biggest obstacle to taking him down."
"Then we have to kill off all potential followers of the Blood Moon Cult," Lamia said with a sinister smile, "Starting with the vampires lingering in Sancheng?"
"Such large-scale slaughter is bound to harm innocents, and it’s easy for some to slip through the net," Aiden said, "Killing off all the followers isn’t realistic, but the power of ’sacrifice’ must be actively released to take effect. We could figure out a way to deal with him when he hasn’t used his power, or while his strength is still cooling down."
"This will require advance planning," Abigail said, "We need to understand his movements."
"So you mean find him first and then leave the surveillance to me," Qiqimora said. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Another battle of information? A bit dull," Lamia remarked, rolling the dice and moving her piece.
"Hold on, why do I feel like you’re all deliberately keeping your pieces behind mine?" Aiden noticed Lamia’s piece closing in and suddenly realized that all the witches present seemed to be targeting him.
"It must be your imagination," Abigail said with an unchanged expression.
