Chapter 865: Past "Gifts"
After a more detailed explanation from the "Man in the Mirror", Angel finally understood the relationship between "praying to oneself" and "granting strength".
Simply put, ever since Bansi learned how to draw the first spell and gained power by praying to herself to create the "Disaster" spell, her source of power has always been the gift of the "City of Disaster". The power bestowed by this "source" varies slightly depending on the drawing method, but they all manifest the power of the higher status of "witch" and "hunter".
During the production process, she felt that her spiritual energy was rapidly depleted, simply because of the consumption of communicating with the "source".
"So, I thought I was praying to 'myself' for strength, but I was actually praying to you in the mirror?"
Angel suddenly realized and looked at the "person in the mirror" with half surprise and half caution.
The latter still maintained that girlish smile, quickly dispelling Angel's hostility and replied in the same voice as hers:
"Yes, I said before that when you were promoted to 'Witch', a corresponding mirror figure should have appeared in the mirror world, but because of my existence, she was strangled in the initial stage...
"Since then, I've existed in the special mirror world of 'City of Disaster,' waiting for you to advance to Sequence 3 so I can truly meet you. Until then, I can leverage a ray of power here to provide you with some assistance. For example, I can respond to your prayers, imbuing the talismans with higher-level powers. Or, when you die, I can use the 'person in the mirror' to replace your fate, granting you 'immortality.'"
No wonder I was able to "resurrect" after dying at Sequence 7, leaving a mirror fragment in my coffin. I died again in the heavy fog at Sequence 6, entered the "City of Disaster", and saw the "Witch" and "Red Priest" cards. It turns out that she used the ability of "Man in the Mirror" to cause all of this...
Angel pondered, and suddenly remembered the "Angel Granger" he saw on the street when he first entered here. His face was covered with black lines and he seemed to be out of control. He immediately asked:
"Last December, I lost control and died due to the heavy smog and the forced promotion to 'pain'. I met another Angel here... Is that you?"
Although she didn't want to associate the "Angel" with the beast-like red eyes with the "Man in the Mirror" in front of her whose smile could melt the ice, but what if...
"Of course not. That was merely the 'Mirror Person' who replaced your fate. She was created by a higher power. After bearing your fate, she returned here and had a brief encounter with you before you returned to the real world... Originally, you should have slept longer, reappearing after everyone believed you dead. That way, you could have performed a certain degree of 'pre-acting'. However, in order to allow you to read the 'Blasphemy Card' and learn the subsequent potion formula, I accelerated the process."
The man in the mirror twitched his eyebrows and answered softly. Seeing Angel's expression change, he added:
"She doesn't possess true sanity. She's essentially the same as your 'mirror double'. You don't need to worry about her thoughts or attitude."
No wonder the two "deaths" had different processes. Apparently, during the "True Creator" descent in Tingen, it was my mirror self who was carried into the cemetery in a coffin, while after waking up, Ms. Arianna led me out of the coffin and back to the Quiet Church in Wintershire. During the smog, reading the "Blasphemy Card" consumed too much spiritual energy, causing me to awaken prematurely, thus avoiding a second burial... Hmm, if I had woken up a few days later, perhaps Klein would have taken me to Disi Bay...
Thinking of the time when he woke up and pretended to be asleep and heard Klein's confession, Angel couldn't help but smile faintly.
But in a flash, she thought of another question:
"During the great smog, in order to prevent the spread of the disease-laden smog, I chose to consume the Beyonder characteristic of 'Pain' and advanced to Sequence 5 without the aid of rituals or auxiliary materials... But why, after dying and resurrecting, did I transform back into a Sequence 6 'Pleasure' witch, and even expel my uncontaminated Beyonder characteristic?"
This "death" reminded Angel of Cole Granger's situation at the moment she "traveled through time". The latter also died due to loss of control, expelling the Beyonder characteristics of the "witch", and returned to Sequence 9, which gave Angel the opportunity to be promoted again.
The only difference is that the "witch" characteristic has been contaminated.
"In the extraordinary world, there are methods that can allow people to eliminate Beyonder traits and lower their own rank, such as giving birth to offspring with superfluous traits, or using the purification ability of the 'Darkless One' to gradually eliminate Beyonder traits from high to low... But your situation doesn't fall into this category, because you didn't truly become a 'Pain' Witch at the time."
"The man in the mirror," Angel replied in a light, almost teasing tone.
But these words sounded like thunder in Angel's ears, almost stopping her thoughts. After a moment, she took a deep breath and asked:
"You mean, I only 'accommodated' that Sequence 5 characteristic and gained the corresponding abilities, but didn't truly ascend to the Witch of Pain?"
"Yes, you're still wearing that sapphire ring from Triss Chick. It's a magical item created by the 'Original Witch' before she fell into slumber at the end of the Fourth Epoch. There are five of them, and they qualify the wearer to become a 'Vessel of God's Descent'...
"Of course, you weren't the chosen sacrifice by the 'Origin,' and the goddess's blessing prevented her from discovering your presence. However, the sapphire ring still enhanced your abilities after embracing the 'pain' attribute, allowing you to eliminate the deadly disease that had spread across half the city, saving countless lives."
No wonder I still had the energy to "promote" when I was on the verge of losing control. It turned out that was just an illusion. I simply gained the ability of "disease" temporarily, and then replaced the pathogens in the smog through the amplification of the sapphire ring... And that mysterious woman was indeed the goddess who descended into the body of the "Mother of Heaven". But if it was Her, why didn't she directly solve the smog like the "secret" Lady of Despair Panatia did, but waited for me to contain the Beyonder characteristics and solve the problem with a method with a low success rate?
Thinking of this, the doubts that had existed in Angel's mind for a long time gradually surfaced and fermented into a hint of dissatisfaction with the goddess, but she soon realized the existence of this dark mentality and quickly drove it out of her mind.
According to the agreement between the three major churches, earthly angels cannot enter Backlund at will. The Goddess responded so quickly, so she must have already sent the "Mother of Heaven" to the city, ready for divine descent at any time. This violation of the agreement can only be done secretly. If the smog is directly "hidden", it will be accused by the storm and steam. The fact that "He" can deal with Panatia and bring me the sapphire ring and the "disease" property is enough...
Angel found a reasonable explanation for the goddess's actions in his mind, sighed softly, and stopped thinking about this dangerous question. Instead, he continued to ask:
"If the City of Disaster can grant higher powers in response to prayers, why did you only craft a 'Disease' talisman for Sherman? She has already advanced to Sequence 6 and has enough spiritual power to use higher-level talismans like 'Disaster'."
"Of course it's because of the talisman's material. Unless you craft it yourself, using a sheet of iron soaked in your own blood as the base material, ordinary materials won't be able to withstand such high-level power... When you crafted advanced talismans for others to use, didn't you also utilize the Time Worm's own status?"
"So, Amon's clone is our inexhaustible treasure trove of materials?"
Angel, who was calculating how many "Time Worms" he had left, didn't know what to say for a moment. He felt that the originally hateful and annoying "Blasphemer" suddenly became of some value.
"I suggest you stop provoking the Time Angel. He must have noticed Backlund's problems and may soon send another clone to explore. Although his true form won't enter the city due to the intimidation of other gods, his clones can still condense the strength of a Sequence 1. You and everyone you know combined are probably no match for him."
The "man in the mirror" expression turned serious, and he warned, then changed the subject and continued:
"Of course, to craft high-level talismans for others to use, or to inherit the power of the 'Disaster' witch at Sequence 3, you don't need to seek out the base materials from the 'Thieves' or 'Fortune Tellers'. You can fully utilize your own abilities... After ascending to demigod status, have you ever tried to enter the incomplete form of a mythical creature?"
Angel shook his head.
She had only briefly entered the form of a mythical creature whose hair turned into snakes and automatically spread disaster and death to the surroundings when she and Klein entered the tomb of the god of death, Salinger, in order to fight the resurrected god of death. Apart from that, she had no similar experience.
Of course, after advancing to Sequence 3, she was able to actively thicken and lengthen some of her normal hair, forming tentacles with eyeballs on the tips, and petrifying them as if her own eyes were fixed on a target, but she had never actually tried it.
Because the incomplete form of mythical creatures means huge disasters to the surrounding environment and innocent people.
"Let's try it here. It's just you and me in the 'City of Disaster', and no innocent people will be harmed."
As if aware of her concerns, the "man in the mirror" looked around the deserted and broken city and smiled encouragingly.
call--
Angel exhaled, stood up straight, and closed his eyes slightly.
Behind her, strands of light golden hair broke free from their restraints and rose up one by one, intertwining and merging with each other, becoming as thick as fingers. The surface was pitch black but without snake scales, instead it was slippery and evil. At the end, triangular snake heads grew out, spitting out red letters, or formed black and white eyeballs, gazing in different directions.
As she unfolded her mythical creature form, the surrounding streets were also affected to a certain extent. The ground turned gray, as if it had accelerated into a hundred years later, forming mottled stones. The clouds in the sky surrounding the broken moon also tended to gather, with thick smoke billowing inside, as if a burning object was about to fall from the sky.
In the "City of Disaster", her "immortal" status alone is enough to unleash the power of a natural disaster!
At this moment, the corners of the "man in the mirror"'s mouth curled up slightly, and he approached Angel and whispered:
"Be careful, this is going to hurt a little."
Before he finished speaking, the sharp blades formed by invisible spider silk, enhanced by "precision", accurately cut towards a venomous snake that was spitting out its tongue and shaking its head!
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