Chapter 37 Chapter 37 It is “the” ring. …
What the Assassins didn't know (or rather, the Templars thought the Assassins didn't know) was that the Templars often fought among themselves. And no matter how they fought, their basic consensus was: don't involve any Assassins.
Because it would only make matters worse. Assassins were known to be the cows among cats, the beagles among dogs, the bacteria in a petri dish, the random variables in an experiment... Even one Templar privately complained that he would rather face an IRS audit than find an Assassin in his city.
Although he was later caught by the IRS.
But that's not important. What's important is...
"We must not let the assassins know of its existence," Mitchell said.
Galahad paused. Golden light illuminated his blank face. The Templar seemed to be drained of his strength by the artifact's power, and remained silent for a moment. Mitchell said nothing, simply admiring the slowly rotating Artifact of Eden in the center of the laboratory with satisfaction.
"…It's a ring," Galahad murmured.
"It's 'the' ring," Mitchell corrected.
The Grand Master pressed a button. Within the display stand, flames erupted, engulfing the ring. But as the flames faded, the ring remained intact. On its inextinguishable gold, a splayed inscription gradually emerged.
Galahad looked at it, and a horrifying guess suddenly occurred to him. He shuddered, "This can't be..."
"It seems you have some knowledge of Western fantasy literature, Galahad," Mitchell said. "Yes, it is 'that' One Ring."
In theory, Galahad knew they were in a very safe underground laboratory, and shouldn't even hear any sound other than talking. But the moment Mitchell said that name, he vaguely heard the rumble of lightning.
"Supreme Ring, controls all rings. Supreme Ring, seeks all rings." Under the overwhelming golden light, Mitchell's originally weathered and bent figure gradually rose higher and higher, becoming incomparably larger. "Supreme Ring, guides all rings, imprisons all rings in darkness..."
·
"It's 'that' ring, you understand?" Willow emphasized, "The Piece of Eden in Mitchell's hand is the ring from The Lord of the Rings. I clearly saw the inscription emerging from it!"
Elio, who was washing dishes, suddenly realized, "Oh, so that's how it is."
"I was expecting you to be more surprised," Willow said gloomily, "but it's the Lord of the Rings, right?"
"I was surprised," Elio said, "but you know, these Artifacts of Eden have always been famous."
Or rather, "famous" isn't even enough to describe them. From the Apple Adam and Eve plucked upon escaping the Garden of Eden, to the sword Joan of Arc held aloft, to even the Shroud that can heal near-death wounds simply by draping it, the Artifacts of Eden are truly remarkable. They exist beyond imagination, and they exist in every way.
But when Elio mentioned them, Willow looked blank.
"Are they real?" she asked. "Wait, you said Joan of Arc had an Artifact of Eden?"
Elio, who was wiping the dishes, was stunned for a moment, then turned to meet his sister's eager eyes.
“…You’ve never played Assassin’s Creed, have you?” Elio said.
"What is Assassin's Creed?"
Elio was silent for a moment. Damn you Templars! You won't even let your children play games. Look at what kind of assassins you can teach them!
"We'll discuss this later," Elio said, putting the dishes back in the cupboard. "First, get on with the Lord of the Rings."
"Well," Willow pouted, "I've only seen it once at Mitchell's place, but I don't know where it's kept. Little Mitchell must have sensed its presence, but didn't know what it was. He's tried to probe me many times, but of course I didn't tell him. Are you kidding? I was hoping that thing would clear my mind."
Elio closed the cabinet door and glanced at her.
"After all, it's a super powerful magic ring, right?" Willow unconsciously pinched the hem of her short sleeves. "It will definitely help me regain my freedom, right?"
She looked eagerly at Elio for approval, and Elio wiped his hands and patted her head.
"Yes, it's a super powerful magic ring," he said. "It could be one of our backup options. Let's see how it can help."
Just then, his phone vibrated. Elio took it out, glanced at it, and then put it back in his pocket with a calm expression, as if the message he received was not urgent at all.
"Go to bed, Willow," Elio patted her back gently and pushed her towards the bedroom, "It's late."
·
"It's too late," Galahad said, suppressing his anger. "You have no idea what kind of weapon he has at his disposal..."
Those were the words Elio heard as he leaped from the window. The room was tense, and only Alvin noticed his arrival, giving him a reassuring look. With his back to the window, Galahad didn't even notice the assassin approaching from behind him. Elio had never seen him so excited.
"With that ring, he can do anything he wants." Galahad gestured incoherently, "He can destroy the world, create the world, and worse, he can play with the world at will and make it what the owner of the ring likes - it is the legendary One Ring!"
Elio, who had been about to speak out to acknowledge his presence, silently shut his mouth. He suddenly realized that Galahad's unusual agitation actually looked like... shock. Under this assumption, Alvin's actions became easy to understand.
He simply stared intently into Galahad's eyes and placed his hand on one of his shoulders. The Templar, who was about to continue speaking, suddenly paused, remained silent for a moment, and then regained his composure as if he had been given a shot of calmness.
"It spoke to me, Al," Galahad whispered. "I almost became its puppet."
"But you didn't," Alvin reassured him, "and you won't."
Elio coughed softly. Galahad and Alvin looked over at the same time, the latter releasing his hold first and turning towards him.
"The window is open," Elio pointed back nonchalantly. "I'll knock on it next time. So what's the matter with calling me over?"
"It's about the Piece of Eden," Alvin told him. Galahad, standing beside him, also turned around and crossed his arms with a normal expression.
"It is a magical ring of immense power," the Templar said. "After so many experiments, Mitchell finally found his way to master it."
Perhaps because the shadow of the assassins was too close, or perhaps for other reasons, Mitchell accelerated his research. He obtained safe potions and found that they could effectively transform his physical body - the operator of the Eden artifact must have a high concentration of Isu blood - while retaining his own personal will.
Putting aside the irony of the Templars, who prioritized order, still placing such a premium on their "individual will" even at the critical juncture, Mitchell, like Dr. Octavius in New York, clearly didn't want to transform himself into a beast different from his original self, even if it meant mastering supreme power. Of course, the final outcome would only be revealed on the day of his complete transformation.
"He has invited me to witness the scene," said Galahad. "I will try to trouble him, but you had better act quickly."
Alvin glanced at him, "'We' need a plan."
It was hard to tell whether Galahad counted himself among "us," but regardless, he readily provided the location and internal structure of the Ring's storage. It was an underground mine under development, at least, that was the surface. From what he observed, it was heavily guarded, but not a problem that the assassins could not solve.
"Considering you've already blown one up." Galahad raised an eyebrow at Elio.
"It wasn't actually me who blew it up." Elio tried to clarify, but the rumor had already spread like wildfire, and the Hydra who was truly so cruel as to plant explosives in the office had long since passed away and could no longer speak for him.
"Yeah, yeah," Alvin added fuel to the fire, "I told you it was a gas explosion."
Elio hesitated to speak, but the Templar quickly put an end to his own little incident.
"The real difficulty lies with the Ring itself," said Galahad. "If it is willing to go with you, I doubt not that it could even flatten the mines for you. But if it is unwilling, or if it tries to deceive you..."
He paused. The Templar frowned and subconsciously turned the ring on his finger, seeming a little anxious.
"You're right, Syl," Alvin said firmly, "so we still need a magician."
"A wizard? Seriously?" said Galahad. "According to the books—I mean, if Tolkien's ideas are anything to go by—what we need is a hobbit."
"To be precise," Alvin stroked his chin, "we need someone with an extremely strong will but without too many desires."
"Do you know such a man?" Galahad frowned.
Alvin didn't answer, but tilted his head to look at Elio, who was fiddling with his phone until he realized the room was silent, then looked up in confusion.
"I'm listening," he shook the phone screen, "I'm just asking about the magician."
Alvin and Galahad stared at him.
"Him?" Galahad said, looking at Elio. "Are you sure, Alvin?"
"Honestly, Syl," Alvin said, looking at Elio, "this kid might be the most determined person in this room."
"I'm not sure if you're 'really' talking to me," Elio said, putting down his phone and making a pause gesture. "But if I understand correctly, you want me to take on the role of 'Ring Bearer'?"
On the desktop, the screen of the mobile phone held upside down by the assassin flashed, showing a reply from the Red Hood.
[From Red Hood at 09:15 A.M.]: Magic? You've got the right person to ask.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: * is the text engraved on the ring. If you haven't read The Lord of the Rings, just know that it is a super powerful magic ring. After all, this article will be setting magic changes ()
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
