Chapter 622

"Could some of the devil legends in this notebook be real?" Lu Mian took the notebook with the yellowed cover and old, worn paper, and flipped through a few pages.

Franca gave a hum and said:

"In a world with supernatural powers, in a world with real 'demons' and 'devils,' many of the related legends must be true, or derived from real prototypes. Tell me, could that Napo, uh, the one who previously claimed to be an ancient devil, be the protagonist of one of these legends? And is the devil on Hant Island its mortal enemy, living in the real world disguised as a human? Did it lie and claim the other party is a devil descendant, tricking us into taking risks to achieve some goal?"

"Perhaps." Lu Mian laughed. "Let's not guess blindly about things involving high-level entities. Let's just write a letter to Madam Magician and report it to her."

Franca glanced at Lu Mian and chuckled:

"You really are proficient at managing upwards.

"However, it does make sense. We know very little about real 'devils,' and guessing out of thin air is a waste of time."

She then pointed to the notebook and said:

"The handwriting on it is not quite the same as the note that wrote the 'love spell.' It's not the same author."

Lu Mian had already sat down at the desk, spread out the paper, and was writing a letter to Madam Magician. As he weighed his words, he responded to Franca's remarks:

"Does the word representing the 'love spell' appear in the notebook?"

"I flipped through it quickly; it doesn't." Franca gave a definitive answer.

Lu Mian pondered and said:

"There are two possibilities. One is that the devil, with the help of someone it controlled, slipped the 'love spell' into this notebook recording demon and devil legends, hoping it could spread secretly and influence more people. The second is that someone who once read this notebook was unknowingly influenced by that devil, received a so-called 'revelation,' and wrote down this 'love spell' and made a note of it."

"Occultism is really dangerous..." Franca sighed sincerely upon hearing this.

Lu Mian quickly finished the letter and sent the ancient notebook and the note with the "love spell" to Madam Magician.

While waiting for a reply, Franca and Lu Mian briefly discussed the devil legends of Hant Island in the Berserk Sea:

Thirty years after Emperor Roselle found the safe route to the Southern Continent, Hant Island, which had become a colony, saw multiple mysterious deaths of colonists and natives. Witnesses claimed to have seen valleys burning with sulfurous flames in the island's forests, and at night, black devils with goat horns were suspected to be circling and flying there.

Later, after official handling, the mysterious deaths never appeared again. The owner of the notebook recording this legend even went into the forest several times to search, but failed to find the so-called valleys burning with sulfurous flames.

During the idle chat, time passed second by second. The "Doll" messenger brought Madam Magician's reply and the returned ancient notebook and "love spell" note.

Lu Mian read it directly by the light of the lit gas wall lamp. Franca didn't avoid it at all and leaned her head over:

"It cannot be judged that this is its true name just by relying on the name 'Naporedesli' to drive that guy away.

"This is because it admitted that it was its true name in a short period of time. Even if it was lying, sometimes, in some scenarios, once admitted as true, it is true and possesses the corresponding occult connection. This is one of the authorities of Mr. Fool, and the former Amon could also do it.

"Because you prayed directly to Mr. Fool and used his power to drive away 'Naporedesli,' whether this is its true name is no longer important; it will not affect the final result.

"Understand? Termiboros's warning was correct; one must be cautious even with false promises.

"If it really is a devil and its true name is indeed 'Naporedesli,' the problem is actually more complicated. Since the Fifth Era, 'devils' active in the human world are either in the form of sealed artifacts or have one of the three surnames: Andre-Lard, Beliar, or North. 'Devils' whose true names do not contain surnames are often very ancient, or come from the Abyss where demons and devils live. And what the state of the Abyss is now, Emperor Roselle's diary has mentioned some things."

Seeing this, Lu Mian turned his head and looked at Franca.

He often saw others trading Emperor Roselle's diary at the "Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society." When the "April Fool's" members were still active, they would even recite the ones with comedic effects in public. But after all, he had only joined that organization of transmigrators in the last few months and couldn't access the ones translated before, so he had no way of knowing what exactly the Emperor had recorded about the Abyss.

Franca said with a solemn expression:

"Emperor Roselle found the entrance to the Abyss and conducted very deep exploration."

"As expected of Emperor Roselle." Lu Mian praised him instinctively and sincerely.

There were not many people he admired, and one could even say very few. Emperor Roselle was one of them.

After knowing that this Emperor was a transmigrator like his sister, he felt an added sense of closeness.

Franca continued:

"In that part of the Abyss that Emperor Roselle explored, the demons and devils had long since died, not a single one left.

"What he saw before his eyes was either corpses or silence.

"This state made even him feel fear, and he left in a hurry without completing the exploration."

"All dead?" Lu Mian frowned slightly. "Either that guy with the 'love spell' is not a devil, or it's an ancient devil from the core area of the Abyss?"

He paused and added:

"If it really is an ancient devil, then it likely knows why the Abyss had such a mutation."

Franca nodded solemnly.

The two of them simultaneously turned their gazes to the latter part of Madam Magician's reply:

"I believe you already know the situation of the Abyss from 'Cup of St. Grail II,' so I won't say much more. In short, Naporedesli is either a powerful devil that escaped the mutation of the Abyss, or an ancient devil that stayed on the land for some reason before the three great demon families of North, Beliar, and Andre-Lard were active in the Northern Continent, and did not follow one of the ancient gods, that demon monarch, back to the Abyss. Regardless of which possibility it is, it is not something you can deal with now, let alone think about trading with it.

"You can investigate the devil legends of Hant Island on the way, but be careful enough.

"Remember, the corruption of the Abyss is very severe and can make people fall unknowingly. You must pay special attention to the changes in your own thoughts, concepts, emotions, and desires during this recent period. If you feel there is any problem, you can seek confirmation from a 'Psychiatrist.' If you are really affected by the Abyss aura attached to Naporedesli, write to me or 'Judgment.' There will be professional personnel who are good at purifying such influences to provide help. Don't always trouble Mr. Fool.

"Also, it's fine to think about the name 'Naporedesli,' but don't write it, and don't read it."

After reading the letter, Lu Mian whispered to himself:

"Madam Magician seems more inclined to believe that it is a devil, not some other hidden entity."

"Yeah." Franca echoed doubtfully. "If you say that guy is a devil, it had no sense of danger and actually let us complete the preparatory work for the 'Exorcism Technique.' If you say it isn't, it can create fluctuations and detonate our desires and emotions. I was just guessing that it was some hidden entity holding a 'Grade 1' sealed artifact of the 'Devil' pathway."

Lu Mian thought for a few seconds and said:

"Perhaps Madam Magician saw more.

"That guy had no sense of danger probably because its main body is not here, and it only descended with a bit of aura and power. Or, or the danger came from Mr. Fool, so it couldn't be sensed!"

"Makes sense." Franca first expressed agreement, then said with a strange expression, "Don't you feel that after we became Minor Arcana cards, we have come into contact with the deep layers of the occult world more and more? The Demoness Sect, the Mirror World, the 'War of the Four Emperors,' the 'Great Mother,' and this Abyss devil... When I read Emperor Roselle's diary before, I often had the feeling of 'the world is actually like this,' and now, the contents of his diary have truly come to our side."

Speaking of this, without waiting for Lu Mian to speak, Franca added with self-deprecating spirit:

"For example, the taste of a Demoness is really good."

Lu Mian laughed and said:

"Think carefully, did you encounter these things after becoming a Minor Arcana card, or after meeting me?"

"Uh..." Franca's mouth twitched and she said, "You really have self-awareness."

…………

Two days later, Lu Mian took Ludwig and Lugano onto an ocean-going ship that would pass by Hant Island, with the destination being West Balam in the Southern Continent.

He wanted to investigate the legend of that devil and seek an opportunity to thoroughly digest the "Conspirator" potion.

After deceiving Naporedesli and driving it away with the "Exorcism Technique," Lu Mian found that his potion digestion progress had advanced by a large margin.

With one more good act of acting, he would be able to digest the potion in advance, no longer needing the final advancement ritual to help, and could plan subsequent matters more calmly.

Captain Pedro, with his eldest daughter Sarah and several "God-Favored" and "God-Blessed," sincerely thanked Lu Mian and watched him take his godson and servant up the gangway.

When the ship named "Berry" set sail, one of the "God-Blessed" seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said:

"He finally left Koliya Port..."

Without waiting for Sarah to ask why the other party had such a feeling, this "God-Blessed" wearing a brown priest's robe turned his body and said to her and Pedro:

"The situation at the scene of Flores's death indicates that this matter involves a real, high-level devil. Miss Sarah, you had better go to the monastery to live for a year to avoid any possible sequelae."

Sarah had long known from her father that she was able to wake up thanks to the help provided by the great adventurer Louis Berry, but because she hadn't seen it with her own eyes and had no personal experience, she lacked substantial experience. Only then did she ask back in horror:

"A year?

"A real devil... what kind of devil is that?"

The "God-Blessed" wearing the brown priest's robe answered with a solemn expression:

"It is the devil in those legends you have heard, even more powerful."

"This..." Sarah turned her head to look at her father, her face full of fear, confusion, and disbelief.

You saved me from such a devil?

Pedro was equally surprised.

He hadn't thought that his daughter's matter would involve such a terrifying existence.

And Louis Berry only charged 20,000 gold pounds!

No, he actually succeeded!

Pedro had seen the giant waves created by the great adventurer Louis Berry and could roughly guess the other party's strength level, but this was far less profound than the actual example and comparison.

…………

On the "Berry," in a first-class suite.

Lu Mian handed the ancient notebook and the note with the "love spell" to Ludwig and asked with a smile:

"Can you eat this?"

(End of chapter)