Chapter 873 The Dragon and the Witch
How did he get in... straight away? Was it some kind of expedited travel method for the "audience" pathway?
Angel's gaze lingered on Hvin Rambis, and he cleared his mind under his calm gaze, lest the subtle changes in his expression and movements be noticed by this "manipulator".
It's not that she didn't have a plan. When she encountered this audience demigod without Mr. Fool's protection, she still maintained basic composure and made initial responses, but she still lacked further consideration of what to do next.
At this moment, she caught a glimpse of Audrey next to Herwin from the corner of her eye. The latter was stunned at first when she saw the old man in the carriage, and then seemed to wake up from a long dream, regaining her lost memories, and showing a kind smile after seeing an acquaintance.
"Mr. Rambis, what brings you here?"
Because they were in a narrow carriage, Audrey did not stand up to salute, but her tone and expression still fully expressed her respect for a respected elder.
By the way, Audrey was hypnotized under the protection of the angel's blessing, and only retained her deeper self, so she is now in a state of complete control, and I should be the same... Angel immediately imitated the other's movements and tone and made the same greeting to Herwin.
The elderly gentleman, dressed as if he had just left a ball, nodded slightly and smiled in response to the two beautiful women:
"Audrey, Christine, we left the dance together. Maybe you were too engrossed in your conversation and forgot about me."
Is that so... It seems to be true. Mr. Rambis got on the carriage with us and said he wanted to take a ride... Angel's mind involuntarily emerged the scene of the three people getting on the carriage one after another. It was as vague and distant as browsing the memories of last year, but he had a certain impression.
Of course, this was the result of her deliberate indulgence. Otherwise, it would be difficult for a Sequence 4 to hint at this "ageless" witch and deceive her memory with just words.
Audrey, who was sitting opposite, obviously didn't have this awareness. She nodded heavily and said to Herwin apologetically:
"I really ignored your presence, I'm really sorry..."
"It's okay," Hewin said with a half-smile, his mouth twitching. "You were away for a while during the ball. What happened then?"
"After separating from Christine, I took a short break in an empty lounge, but..."
As Audrey calmly recounted what happened to her tonight, Angel understood why Hvin Rambis had asked this question:
That "Dream Walker" Raven Dion does have some connection with the "Psychological Alchemy Society" and is even one of their members!
Unexpectedly, he was a triple agent. Publicly working for MI9, responsible for protecting important nobles in the kingdom, he secretly gathered intelligence for the military and the royal family. He was also a member of the "Psychological Alchemist Society" planted within the military...
Like Audrey, he might have been hypnotized and suggested by Hvin Rambis himself, causing him to forget everything and only think of himself as an extraordinary person from MI9. Only when Hvin came to him would his sealed memories awaken and he would become a spy of the "Psychological Alchemist Society" again.
Perhaps after Audrey and I left, Duke Negan and Duchess Georgina interrogated Raven Dion to some extent, triggering some kind of restriction deep within his mind, causing Hvin Rambis to learn that his men had been captured. This led him to rush here and find us... He seems to have some knowledge of what happened at the ball. Perhaps he had already stopped a few departing guests and conducted some research...
Fortunately, just like when they faced the "Lawmage" Georgina, the two did not use any extraordinary abilities beyond normal in the battle, nor did they talk about any information about the Tarot Club or the Fool. The straightforward battle process also lacked passion. Herwin just listened and nodded, occasionally asking some key details.
Angel guessed that the sinister Hwin had already sneaked into Audrey's consciousness, verifying whether she was hiding anything or lying, but she herself did not feel that her consciousness was being spied on or modified. However, she also cooperated with the inquiry very well, adding details about the magic mirror's spiritual communication and Georgina's opinions on how to deal with Raven Dion.
"Demotion or transfer... I understand." After listening to everything, Herwin nodded and said in a gentle tone, "Don't pay attention to this matter anymore. Let MI9 handle it themselves. If they ask whether compensation or heavier punishment is required, just say that everything will take its course... These are all reflections of your subconscious mind, natural reactions."
"OK."
Audrey responded with emotionless words, like a maid obeying her master's orders.
"And now for you..." Hwin turned to Angel, his smile growing wider. "I heard you attended the ball with Georgina Augustus tonight. You did well. Keep up the good work, but remember, don't keep in touch with multiple nobles at the same time. This could easily anger the possessive Duchess."
"I know. I had a similar experience in Trier."
Angel also replied in the same tone as Audrey, acting like an experienced "pleasure" witch.
Hwin nodded, glanced out the window, and finally added:
"Once I'm out of your sight, you will forget I ever came or gave you 'instructions'. You will treat all of this as your own thoughts and ignore any anomalies. Only when you see me again will you remember everything."
At the same time, Angel felt a slight spiritual throbbing, and a conflict arose between "this is all my thoughts" and "someone is guiding my thoughts."
Deep in her invisible consciousness, beside her own island of consciousness, Hvin Rambis appeared, also wearing a black jacket and trousers, and a red bow tie. He stepped onto the island casually as if he had returned to his home, his expression indifferent and his steps brisk.
The "manipulator" waved his arms and modified the boulders and trees on the island to represent various subconscious thoughts.
Under his command, the corresponding rocks sank into the ground, the branches and leaves of the trees stretched out and became more lush, and the subconscious they represented also changed accordingly.
Seeing that everything was completed, Herwin nodded with satisfaction. He was about to leave the Sea of Consciousness and say goodbye to the two obedient and beautiful ladies in a gentlemanly manner when he suddenly turned back in surprise.
The rocks and trees he had just transformed quietly returned to their original appearance and positions, just like...
It was like the changes he had made only affected some kind of illusion, without affecting the entity at all.
Personality? Marionette? Stand?
It should be a mirror stand-in!
Combining Christine Theresa's potion method, Herwin quickly determined that what he encountered was a "mirror substitute" that only witches possess after entering the demigod realm. It can completely replace their own bodies, and even their consciousness can be disguised to a certain extent.
Whether she concealed her strength and was the Witch of Despair herself, or a certain witch demigod created a corresponding substitute for her to provide her with protection, this meant that she had inadvertently stepped into a trap.
With a thought, Hvin Rambis in his subconscious vanished into the ocean of consciousness. Inside the carriage, Hvin, with a smile on his face, froze. He looked up in astonishment and quickly glanced at Audrey, who was still somewhat confused, and Christine, who looked at him with a look of enlightenment.
Without the slightest hesitation, he bent his back slightly on the seat, his body visibly swelled, his eyes changed from intelligent blue to cold golden, his pupils erected, and his face, palms, and the skin covered by his clothes grew patches of gray-white dragon scales, which stretched out his clothes and pants, making sharp crackling sounds.
He wanted to transform on the spot into the symbol of the "audience" path, also known as the "dragon" path, his own incomplete mythical creature form, a dragon with wings and thick limbs!
Of course, Audrey and Christine in the carriage would undoubtedly be severely injured, and the former might even lose control and die. However, Hvin Rambis no longer cared about that. From the moment he knew he had fallen into the trap, his only goal was to escape from here and save his life. Everything else could be put on hold.
Besides, these two women who deceived him and made him fall into the trap because of his arrogance, let them die!
A flash of madness flashed across Hewin's golden eyes, but he quickly calmed it down by himself. His body gradually expanded and was about to fill the narrow carriage.
At this moment, Angel, who was sitting opposite him, rushed forward without hesitation and held down Hwin, who was transforming into a dragon, with a strength far beyond his frail body.
Then, the figures of the man and the dragon disappeared without a trace in front of Audrey, as if the scene just now was just some kind of illusion, some kind of "reflection".
Audrey also woke up at this moment. Hvin Rambis disappeared from her sight, triggering the previous "instruction". This made her forget everything Hvin said, and all the scenes from his appearance beside her to his disappearance after being held down by his companions.
"Strange...where's Christine? I remember she left the dance with me and said she would take me home. How come she disappeared without a trace?"
She looked around and found that she was the only one in the carriage, and the familiar and reassuring figure was gone.
"Maybe she left in a hurry..."
Audrey found a reasonable reason for the other person's disappearance, and then collapsed on the sofa, as if she had just exhausted all her strength because of something.
Wait, where are my maids… They were driven by Christine to her own carriage in the back… But if that’s the case, why didn’t the maids come back when she left?
A sense of disharmony made her hesitate. It was possible that Miss Queen had forgotten about it, or that she wanted to be alone for a while and did not let the maid get in the car, but this kind of self-examination made Audrey's expression even more solemn.
This is very much like the manifestation of one's inner resistance to discovering the truth after being hypnotized or suggested!
This was a situation she had been wary of since she learned of the existence of the "manipulator" Hvin Rambis.
Could it be that Hwin came here, made some hints, and then eliminated all traces... Or maybe Miss "Queen" had already discovered something was wrong, entered into a battle with him, and left here to prevent it from affecting me?
Thoughts kept running through her mind, but they eventually settled on one idea.
"A fool who does not belong to this era..." Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately lowered her head and closed her eyes, clasping her hands together beside her mouth, chanting the god's name in ancient Hermetic language. "Hvin Rambis may have had contact with Miss 'Queen', but I don't remember what happened..."
She described her guess concisely, and before she finished speaking, she felt a deep red light appear before her eyes.
————
"Bang——"
The carriage was torn into pieces, and a slender figure jumped out of it. She was pulled by invisible spider silk and drew an arc in the air.
Behind her, another figure that was completely inhuman slowly grew larger, covering all the fragments of the carriage. The two gray wings on its back flapped, causing a strong wind. Its thick limbs supported its body, and its back and belly were covered with gray-white scales. Countless mysterious symbols surged above it, exuding a crazy aura.
This is the incomplete mythical creature form of Hvin Rambis, a form that only the "audience" can maintain for a long time by soothing their own emotions without losing control or mutating!
"roar--"
Herwin, whose neck still retained his human form with gray hair, but the rest of his body had become a monster, roared, and the mysterious symbols around his body rolled and danced as if boiling, pushing out countless negative thoughts such as violence, depression, obsession, inferiority, etc. from his body, letting them sweep across the earth like a storm.
This is the "mind deprivation" of the "manipulator", a large-scale attack that can easily cause mental confusion in all surrounding creatures!
As a storm that could severely damage the soul erupted in all directions, Hvin Rambis also waved his sturdy front claws, and with the propulsion of the wings behind him, he quickly approached Angel who had just fallen back to the ground from the air like a steam train, and slapped him with a claw with the dragon's strength far beyond that of humans.
Regardless of whether or not the other party was injured by "mind deprivation", he was ready to beat the witch into a pulp first, or at least consume her "mirror double"...
With a loud bang, Herwin felt a sharp pain in his palm... no, his front paw. The claw covered with gray-white scales and containing endless power seemed to be blocked by something.
His vertical pupils shrank slightly, and his gaze was fixed on the front.
His front claws were slowly pushed away and lifted by the hard object below, revealing the cracked ground below. There stood a figure with a slender waist and arms raised forward. She easily withstood the falling dragon claw and even had enough strength to push it away, revealing a face shining with a steely metallic luster.
That's the "steeled" Angel.
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