Magician in Type-Moon

Page 579

However, that guy who arrived in the "underworld" within thirty years...

The information revealed in Charonna's flat words, like a stone thrown into stagnant water, stirred ripples in Matouchi's mind.

The survivor who set foot in this place within the last thirty years...

Hartres.

The name immediately came to mind for Matou Ike.

The only person who meets the criteria, has the ability and is highly likely to venture into the underworld, and dares to (or rather, needs to) act unconventionally is Hartles.

How did we get out of here?

This question quickly occupied Matouchi's thoughts.

Charon explicitly states that the man "did not pay the fare." What does this mean? It means that Hartres did not follow the most basic rule of passage through the underworld—paying a price for the ferry's protection.

If you don't take the ferry to the underworld...

Matouchi's gaze unconsciously swept over the dilapidated boat struggling to move forward in the murky River Styx, and the silent projection of the ferryman in front of him, who was the embodiment of the rules.

This ship appears to be the only known route for the living to cross the River Styx and arrive at or depart from the underworld. Charon's duty is to maintain this passage.

So the question is: how did Hartles manage to leave this desolate land that refused to accept life, when he refused to pay the fare?

.........

Another corner of the underworld.

In this desolate, empty space, where even time seems to stand still, there is a corner shrouded in a gray mist.

The two trapped here are Yvette, a girl with pink twin tails, dressed elegantly but now inevitably stained with the dust of the underworld, and Furi, a man with a dirty headscarf wrapped around his head and dressed somewhat casually.

An "exchange" is taking place that has become almost a daily occurrence.

"Tell me, is your third-rate astrology really useful? We've been walking for so long and still can't find the exit?"

Yvette stood with her hands on her hips, her pink twin tails swaying with her discontent, and bluntly directed her criticism at the very skill that made Furu famous.

Her voice sounded exceptionally clear in the deathly silence of the underworld, and it also carried a distinct hint of impatience.

After wandering aimlessly for a long time, with no exit in sight, she began to have serious doubts about her companion's navigation abilities.

"Well, you know it's astrology, right? There are no stars in the underworld."

Furu touched his nose somewhat guiltily, then casually scratched the headscarf on his head, which was covered in underworld dust and looked even more drab.

He tried to force a relaxed smile, but he couldn't hide the embarrassment on his face, and could only mutter an explanation for himself.

Furu casually scratched the dirty headscarf wrapped around his head and answered in a low voice with an embarrassed expression.

"Wow, you can actually say something like that? It's really amazing that you could come up with such a reason."

Yvette gasped, scrutinizing Furu with an almost supernatural gaze.

In her view, this reason for shirking responsibility was utterly absurd and laughable.

How can you attribute the failure of astrology to "the absence of stars"?

Yvette inwardly grumbled.

This is an insult to the ancient and profound discipline of astrology!

When did it become like a flashlight, completely stopping without the "star" as its "battery"?

While astrology is indeed much more powerful under the stars.

However, this does not mean that its divination ability will disappear when it cannot see the stars.

She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and tried to enlighten the other person with common sense:

"Hey, Furu! The foundation of astrology is interpreting the 'principles' contained in the stars and the trajectory of destiny, not that you have to look up and see the stars for it to work!"

Starlight is merely the most direct medium and a powerful amplifier. A true astrologer, even in a secluded room, can perform basic directional determination and trend perception through a profound understanding of the laws governing celestial movements and their own magical circuitry!

Your statement is simply treating us magicians as half-baked individuals who only rely on external aids!

Yvette's voice rose a few decibels, carrying a hint of disappointment, echoing in the empty underworld.

The suffocating darkness of the underworld seemed to swallow up sound, and the "vitality" between Fru and Yvette, born from their bickering, quickly subsided, replaced by a subtle, unspoken tension.

The aimless trek continued in the deathly silence, each step feeling like trekking through viscous air.

The two walked side by side, but the distance between them was subtly a few centimeters greater than before.

Yvette's pink twin tails no longer swung with emotion as before, but hung stiffly behind her shoulders. Her gaze seemed to casually sweep across the thick, impenetrable gray fog in front of her, but the corner of her eye always unconsciously drifted towards Furu beside her.

Furu kept her head down, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the edge of her dirty headscarf. The awkwardness had long since faded, leaving only a deliberate calm.

Yvette pondered in her heart:

"It's time to break up... If we continue like this, not only will we not find a way out, but I also won't be able to confirm 'that' thing..."

She followed Hartles into the necropolis of Albion, even risking falling into this horrific place herself, and it wasn't just to be the subject of her complaints.

She had something she needed to confirm on her own, another hidden purpose of her trip that she could not reveal to anyone—especially the enigmatic and suspicious man beside her.

Furu's thoughts were also churning:

"Tsk, being tied up with the young lady makes us too conspicuous... and that thing's aura is nearby, so we can't get close at all with her in tow."

His entry into Albion, the Tomb of the Dead, was by no means accidental. He had his own objective, an objective that required absolute secrecy to reach.

Yvette's presence was like a bright searchlight, making it impossible for him to move an inch.

But whoever brings up "separation" first? That would be tantamount to directly revealing their ulterior motives.

Silence spread like a gray fog.

Finally, as if tripped by a stone that didn't exist under her feet, Furu swayed slightly.

He stopped in his tracks, raised a hand to rub his temples, his brows furrowed slightly, and his voice carried just the right amount of weariness and confusion:

"Tsk... The 'etheric flow' here is ridiculously chaotic. The interference is so strong that even a basic sense of direction is like being veiled."

He didn't look at Yvette, as if he were just talking to himself, complaining about the terrible environment.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned his head and said to Yvette in a somewhat uncertain tone, as if discussing an academic problem:

“Miss Yvette, does your astrophysics department have any concept of ‘star position calibration’ for ‘abnormal spatial fields’… um… requiring ‘independent sensing nodes’?”

I mean, when the sources of interference are too complex and mutually influential, wouldn't it be better to establish separate, independent observation points, collect raw data, and then perform comprehensive comparisons to grasp the core issues, rather than allowing them to interfere with each other within the same 'field'?

It sounds exactly like an exploration of an efficient reconnaissance technique, packaging "splitting operations" as a "scientific method" to improve efficiency.

Yvette's heartstrings tightened instantly.

She remained expressionless, even nodding slightly, as if she were seriously considering this "academic proposal."

“Mr. Furu’s theoretical direction sounds very inspiring.”

Her tone was calm, with a hint of professional approval, but then she changed the subject, her jewel-encrusted eyes sharply looking at him.

"However, the premise of 'independent sensing nodes' is that the nodes themselves have sufficient 'anchoring' ability and 'anti-interference' resilience. Otherwise, in such a chaotic 'field,' the possibility of nodes losing connection or even being reverse-contaminated is extremely high."

She also used professional terminology to point out the risks of "going it alone"—if you (or I) act alone, we may not be able to withstand the dangers here, and we may get lost or even be corrupted.

"and,"

A faint, inquisitive smile curved her lips. "Mr. Furu seems to have quite a bit of knowledge about the principles of 'astrological alignment'? That doesn't seem like the kind of field a pure astrologer would be involved in."

Chapter 616 Thirty Years (4k)

Furu's mind was on high alert, but he immediately put on a show of concern and cooperation.

"Oh? You've made a discovery? That's wonderful! Miss Yvette, please focus on your analysis!"

He immediately expressed his support, and very "consciously" took two steps back to show that he would not disturb them, saying, "I will stand guard here and ensure absolute silence!"

He even made a shushing gesture, which made him seem incredibly reliable.

However, his retreat was not random. He had positioned himself at a "crossroads" where he could observe Yvette and another direction simultaneously.

He had his back to Yvette, seemingly intently watching the gray fog "over there," but his center of gravity was subtly shifted in the opposite direction from where Yvette had discovered the "anomaly."

His posture was less about protecting Yvette and more about waiting—waiting for the moment when Yvette would be "focused" on her "analysis" and have no time to look at anything else, or waiting for an excuse to appear in the direction he was "watching".

Yvette appeared to be crouching down, her fingertips shimmering with a faint light, as if she were truly beginning a precise operation.

However, her spiritual power was highly concentrated, like an invisible spider web, tightly covering the area around Furu.

She could clearly "sense" the shift in his center of gravity and his seemingly alert but actually tense posture, ready to sprint at any moment.

Between the two, only the gray mist flowed silently. One pretended to analyze the "anomaly vector," while the other pretended to be fully alert.

The air seemed to freeze, every second filled with silent probing and taut tension.

They both created opportunities for each other to be alone, but each used seemingly reasonable excuses to keep themselves in place, waiting for the other to lose their temper and reveal their true colors.

This war without gunpowder reached its most tense standoff in the deathly silence of the underworld, in the most subtle way.

The silent probing and tense standoff, like a fully drawn bowstring, made the surrounding gray fog feel even heavier.

The faint magical light at Yvette's fingertips froze, and Fru's seemingly wary posture became as stiff as a sculpture.

The air felt like solidified lead, each breath carrying an invisible weight.

They were both waiting for the other to make a mistake, or for an opportunity to break the deadlock.

Before either side could make their next choice.

At this critical juncture—

Buzz—! ! ! !

A deep, resonant hum, like the mournful cry of a massive ship sinking into the deep sea, rolled in from the depths of the earth and from all directions, making the "ground" beneath our feet seem to groan.

Ugh!

What followed was a long, mournful wail with penetrating power, like countless souls crying out in unison at the end of an abyss, carrying a chilling despair that pierced the soul, instantly tearing apart the stagnant silence.

Awooo!

Finally, there was a ferocious roar, like thunder exploding in one's ears, filled with a pure, destructive power, proclaiming the wrath of some ancient being!

Three different, enormous sounds came from all directions.