Chapter 841: The Hidden Taboo

Other anomalies? Albus's first thought was that Lumian was imitating him, trying to trick him into looking at something he shouldn't.

His gaze cautiously swept over the wasteland beneath the corpse mountain, seeing only fallen undead soldiers and nearly extinguished colorless residual flames.

During this, Albus also listened for sounds around him, but received no information other than the increasingly violent trembling and shaking of "0—01."

"You're trying to stall for time this way?" Albus smiled back at Lumian. "I think it benefits me more."

His iron-black eyes reflected the image of this rival, his mind rapidly calculating the probability of a successful ambush.

He needed to extinguish the last threat before he lost his close-combat capability.

Lumian gave Albus no such opportunity; though his arms could now lift only light objects and his legs were too weak to do more than shuffle, the accumulated spiritual energy he had released remained abundant enough to support many "transmissions."

His figure vanished from Albus's sight, then reappeared on the side of the corpse mountain.

Before Albus could locate him, Lumian smiled and said:

"It's understandable you didn't notice other anomalies here—after all, you don't seem like someone who enjoys learning, and your ancestor, the 'Red Angel,' though deeply familiar with '0—01,' now faces a '0—01' that is no longer what it once was."

"From the sealed object records, I know that after your ancestor was killed by the 'Blood Emperor,' '0—01' passed to two other masters: one was Aristar Tudo, the other a 'Death God' from the Southern Continent, thus acquiring contamination from another equally high-rank source."

Seeing Albus's gaze turn toward him, as if listening and judging the truth of his words, and showing no sign of launching an ambush, Lumian stayed put and continued:

"Of course, your ancestor once visited Trill of the Fourth Era and understood the details of the corresponding seal; Morola was modeled after Trill's seal, so you certainly wouldn't lack knowledge of this place—but the two seals are only mostly similar; many details still hold critical differences."

"The book 'Principles of Sealing' tells me this is because '0—01' and its contamination are purer and less complex than those of Fourth Era Trill, forming fewer balances and restraints, making many hallmark issues more pronounced."

"If your ancestor had come in person, walked through the underground mausoleum—even just glanced a few times—he would have immediately understood what I mean by these anomalies. But unfortunately, he cannot manifest in Morola, nor can he pierce the seal to directly see or hear through your eyes and ears; he can only grant you power, help bear your injuries, and periodically receive your reports."

"Under these circumstances, hehe, it's perfectly understandable that you didn't notice other anomalies here."

Albus Medici gazed down at Lumian, smiling as he listened, while internally pondering where the problem lay:

"He's rambling on and on—definitely seems like he's stalling."

"But stalling benefits me more… the resonance between '0—01' and my ancestor is growing stronger; in two or three minutes, I'll be close enough to drip Medici blood…"

"His condition will deteriorate faster than mine—the longer we wait, the weaker he becomes…"

"Is he waiting for reinforcements? Unless the Grand Archbishop of the Church of Knowledge intervenes personally, no one in Morola can join this struggle—and no one from outside Morola can enter… The Church of Knowledge has so far remained neutral at best, with only subtle covert leanings; they won't directly intervene… hehe, stay alert—scholars are more treacherous than we 'Hunters'; the more knowledge they have, the more treacherous they become…"

"Too bad this trash can is extremely cautious—he'll 'transmit' away at the slightest sign of trouble, and I need to get close to unleash 'War Fog'… No wonder my ancestor said that before Aristar Tudo became a god, he found Bertil Abraham far more annoying…"

"Keep feigning attacks to force him into continuous 'transmissions,' draining his spiritual energy? That's one approach—if I follow his rhythm, by the time his spiritual energy can't sustain 'transmission,' I'll barely be able to fight, maybe even unable to stand, forced to rely on fire crows and scatter shots like a blind man hunting birds…"

"But if the feints are to be convincing, they'll consume massive spiritual energy; if they're not convincing, they won't deceive him…"

"Why does this damn pathogen target the body first, then the spirit? If spiritual energy drained as fast as muscle strength faded, the problem would be simple—I wouldn't need to last long, just outlast this trash can."

As Albus's thoughts raced, Lumian smiled:

"Need a hint?"

"I don't know if you've read the sealing records of '0—01,' but you must be very familiar with all the taboos here—haven't you noticed that two of these taboos, or rather, two specific prohibitions, conceal problems?"

Two taboos conceal problems? Albus suddenly felt a dangerous intuition—he began to believe some of Lumian's words might be true.

Lumian laughed mockingly:

"Still can't recall? See? This is the consequence of not learning—I didn't notice it either, but after reading countless related books and documents in Morola, I gradually grew suspicious."

"Let me remind you: the first problematic taboo is that experimental personnel must cover their eyes and carry a lantern; if the lantern goes out, the personnel vanish instantly, and everyone who knew them simultaneously believes they've been dead all along."

"What's wrong with that? I've already verified the truth of this taboo—hehe, there are plenty of light sources here, or else we'd all be dead by now." Albus quickly considered details he might have overlooked.

At that moment, Lumian's figure vanished abruptly.

He used "transmission" to relocate, appearing near the summit of the corpse mountain, beside the "Sword of Courage."

While he still had the strength to lift the "Traveler's Satchel," he crouched down, slipped the bag he'd already gripped over the "Sword of Courage," and returned it to its companions.

At this moment, Albus, unprepared for Lumian to appear so close to the corpse mountain's summit, was still scanning the wasteland with his eyes.

By the time he reacted and summoned a blue fireball to blast downward, Lumian had already activated the black mark on his right shoulder and truly "transmitted" to some location in the wasteland.

He risked retrieving the "Sword of Courage" because he now realized he himself would likely become the target of its indiscriminate attacks.

As the booming explosions subsided, Lumian's voice rose again:

"Still haven't figured it out?"

"When I first arrived at the real corpse mountain, I doubted my hypothesis and nearly abandoned it—but later results confirmed it, and helped me clarify even more questions."

Lumian spoke to Albus Medici in a teacher's tone, across the distance:

"The answer is: why must experimental personnel enter carrying a lit lantern? Why not install burning wall lamps at intervals throughout the underground mausoleum, replacing the oil regularly? This would consume more resources, but be more convenient and safer—and the Church of Knowledge's wealth could easily support such arrangements."

"Is it to make the seal seem mysterious and terrifying? Obviously not—there must be a deeper reason."

Albus Medici's gaze flickered slightly—he had a faint suspicion.

He turned his eyes toward the residual flames scattered across the corpse mountain.

Lumian's figure vanished again, reappearing among the scattered remains of Sylveste.

He immediately inverted the "Traveler's Satchel" over the black, tear-shaped forehead ornament and sealed it away.

This time, Albus tracked Lumian's movement in time—but he did not attack, nor did he transform into a flame spear to hurl at him.

First, because Lumian could "transmit" away at any moment; second, because what Lumian was doing now also benefited him.

Albus was nearly certain the ornament was the "fount" of the current mystical pathogen; placing it in another dimension would gradually reduce the pathogen's concentration here, slowing the rapid deterioration of both their conditions and allowing them to endure longer.

After stowing the ornament, Lumian immediately "transmitted" to another stretch of wasteland beside the corpse mountain and smiled at Albus:

"The second problematic taboo is: 'High-rank adepts above Sequence 5 must not approach. Warning: High-rank adepts above Sequence 5 must not approach.'"

Albus instantly grasped Lumian's line of thought and asked grimly:

"You mean there's no need to single out Sequence 5 and above adepts?"

"Indeed, in reality, unless they're already contaminated experimental personnel or people like us with special conditions, no one—whether above or below Sequence 5—should approach '0—01.'"

Lumian had wanted to applaud, but even putting the "Traveler's Satchel" back in place had left him exhausted.

He laughed in a tone of "still teachable":

"Exactly—then why single out Sequence 5 and above adepts?"

"It's likely because their approach to '0—01' doesn't just endanger themselves—it triggers additional, far more terrifying anomalies, so a special warning is required!"

"Just now, the appearance of the severed hand provoked '0—01's' attack, leaving residual flames scattered across this wasteland and corpse mountain—but from my observations, these flames will extinguish themselves."

"What does that indicate? It means that before we entered, this place was dark—no light at all."

"Combined with the first problematic taboo I mentioned, and the 'Self-Balance and Self-Sealing' principle from 'Principles of Sealing,' the hidden danger becomes clear."

Albus's expression changed slightly—he had realized what the anomaly might be.

Lumian used "transmission" to shift position again, continuing:

"The hidden danger is another taboo:"

"The underground mausoleum requires eternal, dead silence and darkness. Occasional light is permitted, but no light must remain continuously in one place. High-rank adepts above Sequence 5, who possess divinity, when approaching, cause '0—01' to instinctively burn this area, producing residual flames that last for a period."

Here, Lumian's smile grew even brighter:

"Now, the residual flames have been burning for a while, and you're still continuously generating light."

"I'm curious—what will happen next?"

What will happen? Albus Medici's gaze froze instantly, his back tensing sharply.

He knew where the problem lay!

The trembling and shaking of "0—01" were far more violent and rapid than he had anticipated!

At that moment, the entire sky suddenly turned the color of fire.

(End of Chapter)