On a high-backed chair with a black background and gold rim, Maroline sat bent over, her face as sinking as water. The guards who came to report did not even need to raise their heads to feel the queen's suppressed displeasure, and there was a hint of caution in their voices.
"Your Majesty, we found thirty-seven patients yesterday and... brought them all to the North Tower. The parents of the two children did not want to let go, so we took them with us." A young man from the city guard.
The person turned his shoulders and straightened his body slightly, "The captain has given them bedding and food rations. As for the rest, I will leave it to Lady Lin and Lady Yuffie."
Yuffie nodded in her mind.
The so-called North Tower of Glow City was actually the prison where she was sent to with Lin after her first visit to the Imperial Capital after she was defeated by Hughes. Now most of the prisoners there have been released.
There is really no better place to isolate patients - except for some cold and damp conditions.
"Winter is coming soon. Go to the church and buy a few solar furnaces, send them over, and say it was my request." The Queen said calmly, "The expenses will be counted in the treasury. Is that okay with you, Fran?"
The finance minister on the right side of the girl bowed slightly, "Of course, patients are also our people. But I think the church should make some efforts for this. Even if they don't give it away for free, a 30% discount isn't too much, right?"
Someone was faintly laughing at the bottom of the steps. Marolyn shook her head helplessly.
"If you have that time, how to bargain with Kenworth is your business." The Queen sternly said, "But I don't want to see the people being forced to leave their homes and have to freeze in the cold tower - I
Remember, you went there to stay."
"Yes, just last winter. Compared with that time, the current 'North Tower' is much better." Fran Martell shrugged, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will only complete the task based on
, and by the way, it will reduce some expenditures for the treasury. As for Kenworth, I can guarantee that he will be happy."
"That's good." Marolyn's expression softened a little, and she waved for Fran to sit down. "How many people on the street know about this epidemic?"
"I...I'm not sure, but I did hear some rumors. And...familiar neighbors came to ask me about it. I didn't dare to say too much, I just told them to go out less." The guard replied hesitantly.
, "In addition, there are some rumors, which should be... coming from people who believe in Edda."
"I'm afraid that's not a good thing to say."
"That's right, Your Majesty." Earl of Krent took over, earning a grateful glance from the guard, "As far as I know, those believers are claiming that this plague is a punishment from 'God' because Clovis...
And you have blasphemed the gods. They also claim that as long as you follow God devoutly and sincerely repent of your mistakes, you can avoid this disaster."
"Oh?" Maroline frowned, "Do you really mean that last sentence?"
"I don't know." The count shook his head and said, "From the information I got, those believers are not afraid of getting sick, and indeed no one is sick. I don't think it can be ruled out that... they have some way to prevent or cure this strange disease.
s method."
"Maybe they caused this disease." Duke Moore snorted coldly, "Then they came back to bite us."
"We have no evidence. In any case, the Edda believers are also subjects of the empire, not enemies." The Queen raised her hands and pressed downwards, "Put the rumors aside for now. Yuffie, what is your research?
progress?"
The girl stood up gently, faced the throne, and bowed slightly.
"Lin has cultivated and isolated the sources of the disease. We are working on potions that can eliminate them without causing harm to the human body. In addition, we are also using animals to further clarify its operating mechanism. If everything goes well, then
At least we can do a better job of preventing it from spreading."
Part of the skills and knowledge of the two people came from the teachings of the academy, and some came from the collection of the Federation. Six days ago, after seeing the family in the royal court, Yuffie quickly rushed to the tower on the border of the empire and tried his best to
They sought help from them - books, records, formulas, equipment, and three mid-level wizards who were good at biology and potions and were willing to serve as their assistants.
This is the reward for their last 'adventure'.
Wizards are not always willing to provide services for money, but not many can refuse to study as assistants to superior wizards. As a wizard organization that has existed for hundreds of years, the countless knowledge collected or dusted by the Federation is also available at this time.
All have been opened to them.
She had no doubt that it contained the answers they needed. The only question was how long it would take to find it—
And how long is left for them?
"Epidemics don't wait for anyone." Marolyn asked her concerns, "How long will it take you?"
Yuffie lowered her gaze and thought.
The research and development of potions has always valued chance. Excellent potions are often the perfect combination of knowledge, emotion and inspiration. Only after the finished product is obtained by chance, the wizard can extract the secret concept and transform it into a formula that can be made repeatedly.
.In fact, many potion masters have only published one or two new or improved medicines that are practical enough in their entire lives.
Of course Lin has enough ability. In the federation's assessment, it only took her just one hour to create the potion that 'brings happiness' - this is almost a miracle. The rest is just constant.
Hard work, and luck.
The golden dragon has always been regarded as a symbol of luck. If the legend is true, can it bring her good luck?
The mention of the golden dragon reminded Yuffie that today is the forty-seventh day of the Autumn Moon - according to their experiences, the graduation ceremony of Eagle College will be in the past few days. When the students return home, the college tower will be restored.
Returning to Jingjing, that powerful wizard who ranks among the top in history may be able to be a helping hand to the two of them again.
"Hughes." The girl turned her head, "Can I ask you to go find Dean Collens and tell him what happened here?"
The black-haired, dark-eyed Yit jumped off the chair, turned half a circle on one leg, and spread his hands with a sad expression.
"It's the same thing again." He shook his head and sighed, "It's the same thing again! Do you think that in your mind, I, the mighty Phantom, am just a poor person who is good at running errands and doing odd jobs?"
"Then you can stay and help us study together." Yuffie responded tit-for-tat. During this period of time, she had already learned how to get along with this Yit man. "We all know Master "Phantom"'s secretive strength."
Very approved."
The Yit rolled his eyes.
"Forget it," he said, "Let me stay in the laboratory all day, it would be better to kill me!" He turned his head left and right, and finally looked at the throne, "Your Majesty, how have you been lately?
Is there nothing you want me to do?"
"Listen to Yuffie." Marolyn said with a straight face but a slight smile on her lips, "That's enough."
"Ah - okay, okay." Hughes raised his head to the sky with a look of helplessness on his face, "I should really let Alaxia stay, so that I don't have to go all the way on my own every time! Okay, pink-haired little girl
Girl, what else do you want me to say to that 'madman'?"
"No need for anything." The girl smiled, "He knows what we need."
The Yit shrugged, made a face at Yuffie, and walked out of the side door of the hall. Only then did Yuffie look at the throne again and said the answer she had planned in her heart.
"Within a week, we should be able to find out its source and come up with ways to prevent its spread. As for the preparation of the medicine, I don't think it will take too long until Dean Collens comes here."
"I believe you, I'll leave this matter alone." Marolyn nodded slightly, "As long as we have more clues, we can disclose its existence earlier and avoid it getting out of hand."
It is better to say that only in that way can they reduce the impact of this plague - allowing the royal family and Glow City to retain enough strength to deal with the coming war and chaos.
Disease waits for no one, and neither does the enemy.
Most of the subsequent issues had nothing to do with the girl. So she resigned to the Queen, left the splendid palace, and then strolled along the gravel path on the edge of the Sycamore Garden towards their residence.
Autumn has passed halfway, and the poplar trees have begun to shed their leaves. The orange and yellow colors are a little desolate. The breeze blows by, rolling up a few yellow leaves and rolling forward, and by the way, the sparrows on the branches are frightened. The golden sunlight passes through the leaves, and a bunch of
The beam shone on her body, bringing comfortable and soft warmth.
This slightly dispelled the haze lingering in her heart. The sun has such magic power, just like the believers' expectations for the "Lord of Light". But this time, Yuffie understood that they could only rely on themselves.
The church of Saint Leonos is good at alleviating illnesses and has many cheap and effective treatments for common illnesses. However, when the illness goes beyond their familiar areas, even white-robed bishops like Kenworth find it difficult to treat them.
to anything.
If the believers of God Ada throw dirty water on the royal family, at least they can help stabilize people's hearts, Yuffie thought. It's just that the church has always claimed to be public, and they must find out the truth and evidence before they can let the church stand.
On the royal side.
The girl threw the last few yellow leaves behind her, climbed up the spiral staircase of the tower, and then pushed open the door of the laboratory.
There was a busy scene in the room. Light green steam passed through the pipes of the still, and dropped drop by drop into the collected flasks; the centrifuge rotated rapidly, making a soft and rhythmic sound. Thermostats were lined up on the long table.
, the temperature and humidity are displayed with numbers on the magic crystal; the scanner sequentially scans the sample with seven-color light cones, confirms each of its properties, and then projects the results into the sky above the instrument.
The three wizards from the Federation, wearing white robes for experiments, were busy arranging the utensils, looking through the literature, and the samples in the observation boxes, and quickly wrote down the results on the open scrolls. Lin was immersed in
In a microscope - unlike an ordinary magnifying glass, it can greatly enhance the user's magic perception, allowing them to use magic power to 'see' extremely small details.
The only pity is that only wizards can use this device. Everyone has a small amount of magic in their body, but getting ordinary people to learn to use it to replace vision is almost as difficult as teaching them to become wizards.
Yuffie took a loose white dress from the shelf at the door and replaced it with a dark red velvet jacket. Probably hearing the footsteps, the blond girl straightened up and took off the silver metal ring on her head.
"Thank you for your hard work." Lin waved her hand towards her, holding her cheek with her other hand and looking at her, "How was it?"
She tried to make her voice as relaxed as possible. "It's still the same. I asked Hughes to find the dean. I hope he can come over when he is free."
"Grandpa must be very reliable." Lin's eyes lit up, and she immediately shook her head from side to side, "But I still want to do something before he comes. Otherwise, wouldn't our words be in vain?"
"That's true." In other words, it seemed like the Lin she knew. Yuffie couldn't help but chuckle, "So, what about you?"
"Well... how should I put it, we are not very lucky?"
Even so, there was no trace of frustration on Lin's face. With her understanding of her friend, Yuffie immediately understood the meaning of her words.
"Is it something new?"
"Exactly." The blonde girl stood up, folded her hands and stretched, "I have read several books about diseases, and I can't even find similar examples in them. No matter the symptoms, the process, or the 'thing' itself
All.”
Lin rummaged through a pile of papers on the table and found a pattern drawn with ink. It was an uneven sphere with numerous long, narrow and winding tentacles piercing out from the whole body. They further split and extended from the ends.
, intertwined and intertwined, like the root system left by a thousand-year-old tree.
"Well - it probably looks like this. Of course it's actually much uglier."
That is not a good comment. It is difficult for ordinary people to apply their aesthetics to 'them', but Lin, who is a witch and is proficient in magical biology, is different. She remembers Lin once saying that the true appearance of mold is not surprising.
She was disgusted, but the tiny creatures used to make wine and bread were so cute that her heart fluttered.
So if her friend thinks 'it' is extremely ugly, it may mean that it has destructive power beyond common sense - and trouble beyond imagination.
"Is it a magical creature? Or a magical creation?"
Wizards divide the external causes of disease into four categories: dead things, such as arsenic or toxins such as black lotus juice, which ordinary people call "poisoning"; living things, from parasites to beings smaller than single cells.
Most common diseases fall into this category; magical creatures, living beings that rely on magic to survive, also tend to cause more severe symptoms, blindness, devil fever and devil cold are all caused by them; and are closer to creatures than creatures.
The twisted magic of the 'curse'. Rotting disease is the most typical one. Another example is the magic scar caused by long-term unprotected exposure to magic potions - Kratos Samhay, the guild receptionist of Winterfell
Because of the terminal illness I had suffered from.
Relatively speaking, diseases caused by magical creatures are relatively easy to deal with, at least most of them have magic potions to alleviate or treat them. And those strange magical diseases, in the history recorded by the Federation, often require great wizards to try to solve them personally, and they still need to be solved.
It may not be successful every time.
"I'm not sure. It looks like a living thing, but I always feel that it doesn't look like a normal 'life'. I can't explain why..." Lin curled her lips and imitated Yuffie's tone, "Anyway, my intuition tells me that this thing is not
Easy to deal with."
The girl couldn't help but smile, and immediately straightened her expression. "Maybe you are right. How long can it live?"
"This is good news. After leaving the host, if it is not soaked in nutrient solution, it will die within a few minutes. This thing seems to never be full - those patients are always hungry, maybe they are also affected by it.
Harmful."
It was the same as what she felt. Too strong vitality would inevitably mean a lot of consumption. "What about the method of communication?"
Lin turned around and walked to the row of cages on the other side of the room. Yuffie followed and saw various small animals kept inside. There was a wooden sign hanging outside each cage with detailed logs written on it: breed,
Source, date of exposure, method of exposure, and observations over several days.
The three 'apprentices' stopped what they were doing one after another and gathered around the two of them. Lin took a step back slightly and waited for everyone to arrive before speaking again.
"Wounds, ingestion, and inhalation can all lead to disease, and simple contact is not a problem. The pathogen can be extracted again six hours after exposure, and symptoms appear about two or three days later. In addition, whether it is a rabbit, a marmot, or a skylark,
These things are all treated equally - I even suspect that it can be transmitted to bugs." Lin walked over and squatted down to observe the creatures in the cage, "What do you think of them, compared to the one you brought the first time?
man?"
These words sounded a bit far-fetched, but she knew exactly what Lin wanted to ask. Yuffie knelt down and looked at a gray rabbit lying at the bottom of the cage - its coat was withered, its ears were drooped, and it was panting sickly.
Breathing heavily. It was infected six days ago, the same day she brought the man back, making it one of the first 'victims'.
So she closed her eyes, turned her magic power into countless soft threads, and slowly surrounded it from all sides.
The secret method gave her another line of sight. In its eyes, the creature was like a blazing firewood, burning itself from head to toe into ashes. She turned her sight, and 'looked' at the other creatures one after another, and then
Stand up slowly.
"Almost exactly the same." Yuffie said softly, "Speaking of which, I'm going to visit him later. I hope everything is fine with him."
After completing enough tests and sampling, she used magic to resurrect the man and let him return to her home to recuperate. This was not only out of the idea of "saving the person in front of me first", but also to confirm whether this disease would
It leaves long-term scars and whether people who recover can become infected again.
Of course, emotionally, she doesn't want either to happen.
"Simply perfect species adaptability... But since it is a magical disease, this is trivial." Lin clapped her hands, as if she had expected this, "Then there is only one thing left. What is it?
how come?"
This is also a question that Yuffie has been thinking about.
It was six days ago that I met the family of three. The guard who was scratched by the man showed symptoms three days ago, and Yuffie cured him on the same day; and yesterday, a teenage boy rushed into Renault Hall like a madman.
city, grabbing and biting more than a dozen pedestrians. The boy was quickly captured by guards patrolling nearby, and all the injured were taken to the north tower.
But other than these, they could not find any source of infection. The number of patients going to the church for medical treatment was increasing day by day, and the 'rooms' in the north tower were being filled one by one. According to the information obtained from the inquiry, the patients lived in different neighborhoods.
, visited different places, ate different foods, and interacted with almost completely unrelated people. Only a few people had been injured recently - but Yuffie didn't think that he accidentally hit his foot with a hammer or hit his head on the door rafter.
may cause illness.
Perhaps the only thing they have in common is that they have all gone out. But who can never go out at all——
"Is there someone deliberately spreading this disease?" the female apprentice named Sula interjected. She is a little fat, has big eyes, and round cheeks are quite cute, "That's why patients are everywhere, and we
Can’t find any connection at all?”
A guess similar to that of Duke Moore. The blonde girl pursed her lower lip, thought for a moment, and shook her head.
"It's hard to say. It's not that easy to do bad things under the eyes of the Thorn Guards and Griffin Knights." She shook her body slightly, "I had doubts about the food - but the guards collected it
Have you all seen the samples?"
"Everything is normal." Kasha replied sternly. He was the eldest and tallest among the three. He had neat short black hair and an angular and thin face. "It's just ordinary rice and beans, except for some parts that are a little moldy."
Other than that, there are no problems.”
"The same goes for water. Regardless of river water, well water or ale and wine, I can neither find traces of pollution nor make them sick." The brown curly-haired Famil pointed to the cage on the other side and nudged himself
gold-rimmed glasses, "Speaking of which, I found a great pub in the Tustin area yesterday. Do you want to try it together later?"
"I don't even know what you are investigating." Lin teased, then blinked, "Yuffie, do you think this disease... has something to do with Ada?"
"I have had such suspicions, but the key evidence is missing." Yuffie pondered for a moment and said calmly, "I don't think the "Lord of Heaven" will actively create this disease. As for other possibilities... I don't want to
First impression."
"But mentor, I've heard..." Famir's eyes flashed with inquiry, "Can't your intuition tell you the answer?"
Yuffie couldn't help but laugh.
In the last test a few days ago, she relied on her extremely fast spell-casting speed and her one-step-ahead intuition to counter every spell cast by Examiner Beryl in three minutes, until the other party angrily announced that she
She passed the exam. Then she heard from Kyle that, probably out of a desire to save face, Ms. Beryl released the footage of their battle and greatly praised her 'talent'.
"Even I was chased by them and asked endless questions. So was Vivian." At that time, Kyle shook his head and sighed, but with a smile on his face, "Seriously, how many secrets do you have?"
Of course there are many more, she answered half-jokingly. However, after returning from the 'future', she had a relatively clear understanding of her 'intuition', and she had already discussed its function with Lin - and
limitation.
"It can tell me about upcoming dangers and guide me to find hidden secrets. If my decisions will lead to disasters or accidents, it can sometimes give me warnings." Yuffie explained softly, "It cannot predict the distant future.
In the future, there is no way to tell me the correct answer before making a choice." She was silent for a moment, "Besides, if it is something related to gods, it will be difficult for my intuition to work."
"It's like a constant 'momentary prediction' spell." Lin explained to her with a smile, "I think Dean Collens or Chief Hazel can do this kind of thing very easily, right?"
"That's already very powerful." Sura twirled his fluffy hair with his fingers, with a hint of envy and admiration on his face, "So, if it weren't for the "Lord of Heaven" himself, then His followers would have been able to create
Such...'something'?"
"Maybe Cullen can do it." Lin puffed up her cheeks and snorted, "If he really did it, even if I ask the dean for help, I have to give him a good look - this is really too much!"
"But if it's really him...or, it's really man-made." Kasha held her chin and narrowed her eyes seriously, her pupils seemed to be shining, "Don't you think the number of people infected is too small?
?”
"Huh? What do you mean-"
"If the man named Cullen wanted to do us harm, he shouldn't have given us so much time." The black-haired apprentice said word by word, "It is much easier and more convenient to cause an outbreak in a group of people than to let it appear sporadically.
It's enough to cause a lot of trouble." He nodded, "I'm saying, in terms of cost-effectiveness, this is unreasonable."
"That's true." Lin wrinkled her face, "Even if they can do it, then if it is man-made, there is no need to go to such trouble; if not, it will just appear out of thin air -" She
He made a long sound with his nose, "Yuffie, tell me, did the guards miss anything?"
"It's hard for patients to remember everything that happened in the past few days." Yuffie nodded her lower lip in thought, "There are many possible sources of infectious diseases. The guards are not experts in this field and cannot ask the key points.
Maybe it’s normal.”
"Then... how about we find two patients and share their memories?" Lin rarely looked serious, "If it's the two of us together, there shouldn't be any danger."
Yuffie pondered for a moment and nodded slightly.
"It's worth a try." For the 'victim', reading the memory is a bit too much - but at some point, she must make this choice, "Kasha, Famil, Sura,
We'll be back soon."
"Please be assured." Famir pushed up his glasses again, "If you discover anything, how about we go have a drink to celebrate?"
"Even if I find nothing, I won't stop you from going to the tavern." Lin turned around and waved, then held the girl's hand, "Let's go."
So she and Lin walked through the west wall of the fortress and went all the way down to the ground of the north tower - which was also the entrance to the castle prison.
This was not the first time that Yuffie visited here. The first time was as a prisoner, and later she visited and examined patients. The sergeants on duty respectfully saluted them and reminded them to pay attention to their safety. Lin patted the guards on the shoulders to encourage them.
, she thanked the other party softly.
Compared with the damp straw that once smelled of mustiness, the cell is now covered with simple and thick bedding, and more magical lamps are placed. The fragrance of rice porridge is faintly wafting in the air, which must be the content of breakfast not long ago.
.It’s just that this place is underground and separated by a thick city wall, so it is still much colder than under the sun.
There were patients lying in every 'room' within sight. Most of them were occupied by one person, and a few had slightly more - lovers, couples, or families. Yuffie had told the cell guard that if there were any patients,
If he is unconscious, even if he is still breathing, they must immediately take him out of the cell for 'final treatment'.
That is, cremation.
This was the instruction she gave two days ago. The patient who fell into a coma will soon 'wake up', but as if he has lost all consciousness, he will start to use his teeth, nails and anything at hand to attack all the living things around him. That time she
He rushed to the scene urgently, and after confirming that the patient had lost his soul, he completely 'killed' him with magical flames.
She never resurrected anyone. As long as she was still in the imperial capital, she used divine magic to heal twenty patients every day. However, the number of remaining patients increased every day, and the number of the dead reached seven.
If an antidote cannot be developed or the source of the disease cannot be found, these numbers will only continue to rise. This is why she is willing to violate some principles and find out the truth as soon as possible.
"Good morning." The blond girl spoke ahead of her, "Everyone, listen to me, there is something I need your help with."
Lin briefly and clearly explained what they wanted to do, as well as the purpose and interests. However, no one responded. Most of the patients did not get up at all, and the few who looked at the two looked at them with fear and suspicion.
As expected, Yuffie thought. She took a few steps forward, lit a ball of Edda's magical flame from the palm of her hand, and spread its power throughout the corridor. This was far from enough to cure the patient, but it could provide some relief.
Their pain - incidentally attracts everyone's attention.
"The person who helps us, regardless of success or failure, I will give priority to treating him and his family." She said softly but firmly, "I am the daughter of Clovis Fran Oraire and the secret agent.
The great wizard of the Academic Federation. I promise you on the honor of the royal family that we will not reveal any of your secrets, nor will we cause any harm to your body."
There was a faint commotion in the cell. About half a minute later, a middle-aged man first agreed, provided he promised to cure his child. However, Yuffie glanced at him and shook her head with regret and rejected him.
"You are not sick. There may be nothing in your memory that we want to confirm." She was silent for a moment and then tried to suggest, "If your child is willing to help, I can also cure him."
The man and his wife looked at each other, as if they could not make up their minds for a moment. At this moment, the boy lying on the straw mat suddenly opened his eyes and answered in a slightly weak but very clear voice.
"I do. Dad, mom... I do. Let me do it."
The man sighed, and his wife covered her mouth. Lin looked at each other, walked forward quickly, and unlocked the cell door.
"Don't worry, leave it to us." She patted the father on the shoulder and solemnly made a promise, "I also promise you in the name of Lin Campbell, the next Viscount of Winterfell, that your child will recover.
healthy."
The man's shoulders relaxed a little, and his mood seemed calmer - not just because of their promise. Lin carried a volatile calming potion with her. The fragrance was soft and unnoticeable, but the effect never disappointed her.
The blonde girl knelt down, gave the boy a princess hug, and took him up the stairs back to the guard lounge on the first floor of the north tower.
"Sister..." I don't know if it was because he left his family or something, but the boy looked a little scared at this moment, "Will...will it hurt?"
"Of course not." Yuffie knelt down in front of the boy and stared into his eyes, "Why are you willing to help us?"
"Because... because my father and mother are very sad." The boy wrinkled his face, as if he was about to cry, and sniffed hard, "They are sad for me. I don't want to make them sad."
Lin smiled, as bright and warm as the sun. She hugged the boy from behind, her golden wings spread slightly, and held him in her, "Speaking of which, what's your name?"
"Ha...Huck."
"Well, good night, Huck."
The blonde girl's magic turned into a soft blanket. The boy slowly closed his eyelids, and his breathing became gentle and long. Lin raised her head, exhaled, and gave her a knowing smile.
"It's up to you now?"
"Do not worry."
Yuffie moved closer and pressed her forehead against the boy's, so that she could feel the boy's heartbeat and breathing even without relying on magic power. She was not going to use any spell to read the memory - the content of the surface memory and the direct
There is not much difference in asking, but searching for memories buried deep in the soul will inevitably cause damage to the subject's brain.
Except when reviewing memories, the brain and body are no longer obstacles. And the means to do this was something she just learned a few days ago——
A secret technique that freezes the body, liberates the soul, and travels to the star realm.
The full version of astral projection can theoretically send them to any outer world and reconstruct a soul-based body - but even for her now, that spell is still too difficult. Fortunately, she obtained it from the Federation's collection of books
A simplified version was found in the book: it could only allow her to go to the star realm and then return to the original world, but it just met her needs.
The magical silver cord tied her and the boy's wrists, taking them away from the solid and heavy material world. For a moment, the two of them seemed to be suspended in the silver starry sky, with streams of light passing by and running to the other side of the distance.
, until they melt at the end of the sight. Some hazy figures similar in appearance to them but different in size float in the air, as if wandering aimlessly or falling into a psychedelic dream.
In addition, countless particles of dust that cannot be seen by the naked eye and do not seem to belong to the star world itself are floating around them. Yuffie tries to extend her perception to the distance, or to confirm the position mapping of the surrounding and the material world, but they are so vague
An indescribable ripple of magic arose, turning her attempt in vain.
That is the power of the "Lord of Judgment" and the true face of the "Star Barrier", she thought.
It does not prohibit the souls of the dead from being drawn to the outer world, but it prevents all living beings from traveling through the astral world. In this way, no one can summon the angels from the abyss and destroy the divine messengers from the abyss like they did twenty years ago.
"Brigade" at its peak.
The Mirror Realm belongs to another story. Fregus once tried to pass through it to come to the world, and Lin and she also used it to go to the 'future'. After all, the magical network only belongs to the El Continent, Yuffie guessed, maybe even the guards
Even the angels of space cannot stop such a journey.
There was a slight sting in his spirit, which was because the boy was afraid, "Where...is...here?"
"This is the star realm. The place where our souls are." She gently held the boy's soul and let him see the world in front of him clearly. "I will show you some of my stories - stories about wizards, and
Adventure stories. In return, can you tell me your story from the week before you got sick to now?"
"Star realm... soul..." the boy murmured, "can we... still go back?"
"Of course. I am a witch, and this is my spell." Yuffie explained softly, "When we finish telling the story, we will go back together and cure your disease, okay?"
The boy seemed to think for a while, then nodded vigorously, "Yeah!"
The next thing is much simpler. In fact, thanks to Jide Xin, it is not the first time that she uses the soul to communicate. But it is still an interesting experience - she can completely use the third person's voice to communicate.
Look at all your experiences from a different perspective, filter out the fun and relaxing ones, and then 'share' them with the boy's soul.
This move was very effective. The boy was soon immersed in her memory and no longer had any fear. She 'narrated' half a class at Eagle College, the various monsters in Suzuran Village, and her visit to
The scenery of many towns she passed. Then, just like the time she met Cathy in the spiritual network, she guided the boy's soul to review the memories of the past few days calmly and clearly.
The boy's life is relatively simple, but it still has the fun of being a child. He gets up with the sun every morning, eats some bread and soup prepared by his parents, and walks alone for a quarter of an hour to the school established by St. Leon's Church, where he lives with his peers.
Children learn writing, reading and simple calculations together.
Lunch was provided for free by the church, and throughout the afternoon, he chased around the city with his familiar friends, or climbed some crooked poplar trees to catch some caterpillars and feed them to the young birds in their nests. When the sun set, he returned home.
, helping his mother with some effortless chores, waiting for his father to return from work at the Civil Affairs Bureau, having dinner together, and then going to bed——
In addition to these daily 'routine' tasks, the boy has also met all kinds of people and things. Five days ago, he guided a stranger, four days ago he chased two orange and white cats, and three days ago he helped a foreigner.
An old woman picked up the scattered potatoes after she had slipped. But no matter what happened, Yuffie did not think that it was the cause of the boy's illness.
"Sister..." the boy asked in a low voice, "Is it okay...?"
She hasn't found the answer yet. Even if she observes it with the cognition of a girl, none of the people involved in the boy's memory is suspicious. This is of course not the final conclusion. As a wizard, she can check her memory again and again until she understands every one.
The details are all memorized.
But that is something to consider later. They have been delayed here for a long time——
"Of course, thank you." Yuffie held the boy's soul and pressed it against his forehead again, "Shall we go back, Huck?"
"...Hmm! Well...if...it could...help you...?"
There was a soft pull on the silver cord on her wrist, the starry sky quickly dispersed, and the sensation of the body returned again. Yuffie stood up slowly, looked at the boy sleeping in Lin's arms, met the eyes of her friend, and nodded gently
He nodded, then shook his head.
"That's it." The blond girl looked expectant, "Do you want to continue?"
Yuffie thought for a moment and nodded gently again.
"Let's give it a try. If they have something in common in their memories, maybe it can be used as a clue... But wait for me, you have to finish what you promised, right?"
She held the boy's young hand, connected to Ada's magical network, and removed the 'foreign matter' spreading in his body. She was already quite skilled at doing this, but she could feel the power of the magical network more clearly.
It's declining every day.
That kind of thing shouldn't have happened——
The magical network covers the entire continent, and the magic it controls even exceeds the total power of mortals. The last time Ada's magical power disappeared, it was due to the fall of the divine envoy, and the network lost its owner and fell into sleep; but now Ada is still
Alive', even if someone - no matter who it is - abuses the power of the "Lord of Heaven", it will never dry up the network.
Maybe she should ask Ada. At least confirm if anything happened to 'him'.
That is also something Yuffie has never been willing to do... or dare not do. She has 'witnessed' the destruction of the El Continent, and she knows better that it is related to the battle between the gods. The "Lord of Heaven" has never made it clear.
True identity - So far, He has never been against her, but can she completely trust him?
"...Yuffie?"
"Ah, I'm sorry, I was thinking about some unnecessary things." The girl shook her head, took back the magical power of the magic, and sent it back to the network, "Let's go."
The two of them woke the boy up softly and watched him turn from sleepiness to surprise, jumping and running down the stairs. They also watched his parents hug each other and cry, and thanked them sincerely.
With such a precedent, more people were willing to help them. They chose a middle-aged man from the south district of the city, a couple from the east district, and those who lived near the couple. They came two days ago.
The girl in the cell, Yuffie, repeated everything she had done not long ago, while Lin acted as her guard as always, while using magic to put the patients' bodies into sleep.
The results were still unsatisfactory and not beyond her expectations. The patients had experienced many trivial things and met many familiar or unfamiliar people. However, the things they did lacked common ground, and the people they came into contact with
They rarely interacted with each other. The couple and the girl had visited the same market and the same grocery stall. The stall owner was a middle-aged woman, slightly fat, with a rosy complexion, and a kind face——
She conveyed this information to the guards and asked them to take the time to investigate the other party. But her intuition told her that the problem did not lie there.
The remaining possibilities are neither more nor less. Maybe the original infected person did not get sick; maybe the spreader of the disease has a means that does not require contact, but cannot create a large-scale infection; maybe there is more than one source of the disease, and it is hidden in a difficult place.
Where they found it; maybe... there was something wrong with their understanding of this matter from the beginning.
Maybe - in the world of secrets, there will always be things she has not learned yet.
After all, most ordinary plagues have a certain source and a straightforward transmission path; when magic is involved, things often become not that simple.
"I was thinking." Yuffie looked at the back of the last girl and seemed to be talking to herself, "Is this what it looked like before we discovered it? And what it looked like at that time... is different from what it is now.
What are the differences?"
"What a good idea." Lin's eyes lit up and she tapped the palm of her left hand with her right hand. "You mean, it might be similar to nightmare syndrome or rotting corpse syndrome?"
That's about it, Yuffie thought.
Patients with nightmare syndrome will continue to have some incomprehensible nightmares and feel mentally exhausted as a result. This is because the dream mirage, a kind of life form in the spiritual world, follows him day and night, drawing food from his emotional fluctuations. When he
If all this is told aloud, the listener who believes the story most will become 'sick', and the original patient's illness will be cured without medication.
Rotting disease is another situation. The guards of the royal tombs of the ancient Elna people themselves did not contract the disease; even if they ate their meat, they would only suffer from diarrhea for a few days at most. Only if they were directly touched by the 'living' guards
This extremely fatal disease will come out of nowhere only if you come into contact with someone. There is also no danger in coming into contact with someone who is unfortunate enough to be infected with the disease.
In wizarding academic circles, this disease was once classified as a curse. However, killing the guards could not cure it, which meant that it was different from ordinary curses. Until nearly a hundred years ago, the potion master Michel
He took the risk of contracting the rotting disease himself and finally confirmed the nature of the disease——
That's Mal's power.
According to current speculation, the Elnar people who were willing to serve as guards of the tomb prayed for the blessings of Edda and Mar at the same time. The former allowed them to obtain immortal bodies, and the latter made them enemies of the living. Whenever they touched the living
The magic power of life, which symbolizes 'death', penetrates the skin and integrates into the body, slowly but surely leading the other party to destruction.
Although that magic power can replicate itself and spread rapidly like a living thing - it is neither life, nor source, nor destination.
"That's going to be difficult." The blond girl sighed, "But even nightmare patients have auditory 'contact', so those people don't have anything?"
"Maybe they didn't notice it." Yuffie replied thoughtfully, "What's next, are you going back to the laboratory?"
"Well, let's go check out the results of the analyzer and see if Kasha and the others have finished their experiments. I just had an idea to try to get something out of it - where are you, Yuffie?"
"I'm going to visit those retired soldiers and teach them some of Edda's magical skills." This was the task given to her by that meeting. It has been carried out twice so far, and the results are not ideal. "We will do it tonight.
See?"
"Okay. We'll probably go to the pub that Lester found. You can just come over."
This is the convenience that the emblem of the Federation brings to them. As long as the distance is not too far - at least this city is more than enough - the 'family' of the Federation can sense each other's location and safety. If necessary, she can also
Pass simple messages or emotions to anyone within the 'perception range'.
She high-fived Lin goodbye and walked alone through the soldier's gate in the northeast corner of the fortress, heading to the residence where the old man who had prayed to her lived with his grandson, a retired soldier of the empire.
The soldier's name is Alvin, he is twenty-seven years old.
His father was a sailor in the Phil Federation and was killed in a storm more than 20 years ago. His mother remarried two years later, leaving a sum of money and then disappeared. Since then, he has been living with his grandfather.
, until Rogman expanded the recruitment of soldiers last winter, he signed up, and luckily... or unfortunately, he was successfully selected.
Yuffie read the letters home he wrote during his training. The old man carefully preserved each piece of letter paper, even though some had some kind of water stains. It described the young man's concern for his grandfather, his longing for the future, and
Trust in the "Lord of Heaven".
"——When I perform meritorious service on the battlefield and get the bounty, I will buy a better house, find a gentle wife, and have some lovely children. I will pick you up to live with you and learn how to make shoes from you.
We will hire a few apprentices to help you with your craftsmanship. You don’t have to work as hard as you do now. You only need to teach us every day and then have tea and rest.
I have seen the miracles brought down by the god Ada. It is a power I have never imagined. Don’t worry about me, Grandpa. We will definitely win.”
The residence of the grandfather and grandson is in the northeast corner of the city. The front half is used as a store, and the rest is a workshop and bedroom. Yuffie walked around behind, knocked on the dilapidated wooden door, gave her name, and then walked into the old-fashioned atmosphere.
, a slightly dark and crowded cabin.
Tanned leather, cut leather pieces, various shoe lasts and tools, and recently made shoes were piled everywhere in the room. There was a piece of deerskin fixed on the table, and an old man with white hair.
He leaned over his desk and carefully drew the outline with a pencil and ruler——
Another old man wore a thimble and sewed the leather covered with wooden lasts to the soles. Hearing the girl's voice, he hurriedly stood up and offered her his seat. At the same time, he patted the back of the person at the desk, earning a dissatisfied complaint.
.
"Hey." The man turned around, his voice a little vague, "I made your painting crooked at this moment. Didn't I ask you to call me with your mouth, Grandpa!"
"Here I go again, Alvin." Yuffie nodded to his grandfather, then sat across from him, "You look good today. How have you been these past few days?"
"I slept well and my appetite is better." The 'old man' put down the pen in his hand and scratched his hair, "I still don't quite understand the...exercises you asked me to do."
"It's okay, take your time." She comforted the other person softly, "Give me your hand, just like before."
The 'old man' carefully handed over her hand, and she held it with both hands. The knuckles of the hand were protruding, full of wrinkles, and the skin was dark, as if it had experienced countless winds and frosts and had worked hard for a whole life -
Just like Alvin herself, she thought.
Five deaths and resurrections drained the potential of the young man's body and took away nearly a hundred years of his life. Since the remaining functions could not meet the needs, all his organs and tissues declined rapidly until they became in line with his 'inner age'
appearance.
Yuffie could fully imagine the fear and despair that Alvin had endured for more than half a year after the war. Although he was no longer aging rapidly and had accepted the reality in front of him, from the girl's point of view, this was not what the other party should do.
A winning outcome.
"You have experienced Ada's magic before - although the usage at that time was not correct, you should be able to feel his breath." She picked out a trace of magic power from the network and passed it into Ivan's palm.
, "Breathe calmly, close your eyes, what can you feel?"
The white-haired Ivan tried to close his eyes. The hand she held trembled slightly. It seemed that he squeezed it hard and then relaxed. Then he sighed, shook his head, and looked at her with somewhat cloudy pupils.
.
"I can't feel it. I can't feel anything. Maybe Ada has abandoned me and he doesn't want to talk to me at all."
"He will not abandon you." Yuffie comforted softly, "It is better to say that he is just the guardian of the magical network, and the network itself will not-"
"Maybe." Ivan suddenly interrupted her, pursed his lips tightly, and slowly shook his head from side to side, "Maybe he didn't. Maybe it's just that I'm stupid. Yes... I am indeed stupid..."
"You are stupid enough to believe in such a promise, to believe that... pie can really fall from the sky."
No, you are not stupid - many people believed Cullen, and that was not their fault. The girl withdrew the magic power of guidance and did not continue to speak. She only gently held the 'old man's' hand.
"So this is what I deserve." Ivan murmured, "I shouldn't have fantasized, shouldn't believe those sweet words, and that dream-like future. If nothing had happened, if this was just a show
Nightmare...how wonderful it would be..."
The girl nodded, and she understood the reason. Aiwen no longer wanted to trust Ada from the bottom of her heart, so naturally she could not learn the other's magical skills. But from the standpoint of an 'old man', she had almost no qualifications to persuade her.
"It was Cullen who took advantage of your trust." Yuffie sorted out her thoughts and looked into his eyes again, "He deceived you with the power of Ada, but you have to understand that the power itself is not false -"
"Forget it." The 'old man' withdrew his hand forcefully and put it in front of his eyes, his fingertips trembling slightly, "Forget it." He sighed slowly, and the hand fell weakly on his lap, "Forget it.
What you said is true. Even what you said, I have learned... Can I go back to when I was young? Can I get married, have my own children, and live a good life? "
Yuffie shook her head slightly.
Resurrection spells cannot extend lifespan, and other simple divine spells are certainly not possible. If it had been just after the war, she might have had time to prevent the tragedy in front of her; but now that the aging of her body has been reflected in her soul, I am afraid that even a perfect resurrection spell cannot solve the problem.
——Not to mention she has no ability to use it.
"Sometimes I really envy you..." The old Ivan lowered his head, "You still have so much time and can still do so many things. And I... and no matter how hard I try, I can't do it.
Just try hard...try hard to wait for death..."
An extremely slight, almost imperceptible chill passed through the girl's back - it wasn't just Ivan's words that touched her. At that moment, the magic power in her body and her body as an 'undead creature' felt the influence of the outside world.
Invasion, instinctively giving her a warning——
And the source is the ‘old man’ in front of me.
"I can understand, Alvin. I can understand." The girl tried her best to suppress the turmoil in her heart, calmed her mind and voice, and tried to guide the other person's words, "When you see those young people, see how energetic they are,
You will think of your old self, right?"
The 'old man' nodded imperceptibly.
"I threw away...the most precious thing, and then I thought about it and regretted it. But no...there is no medicine to cure regret in this world, and there is no way to cure me." He closed his eyes, and two lines of tears streaked across his face.
The mottled face said, "Nothing...nothing...nothing."
It was the same feeling again. This time she suppressed her body's instinctive defense and put the power into her body. It seemed to melt into her blood and dissipated in an instant, leaving no trace behind.
But there was definitely no way to continue this class - she had to avoid using Edda magic to prevent damaging the hard-won 'samples'. Yuffie took a gentle breath, stood up, and gave Alvin a gentle
of hugs.
"This is normal. This is not your fault. You have nothing wrong." She comforted softly, "Let's go here first today. I will think about it again in the next two days. I hope I can give you some advice when I come next time.
Can you give me a better answer?"
The 'old man' covered the lower half of his face with one hand, nodded slowly, and spoke with a vague nasal voice. "I'm sorry, Yuffie... Sir. This is not your fault, I know. So... I...
Thanks."
Yuffie nodded comfortingly again, said goodbye to the two people in the room, and walked out of the hut.
The afternoon sun was still shining brightly, and there was no lack of crowds and noise in the surrounding markets. But the girl stood on one side of the street, staring at the people passing by, but she seemed to see the shadow extending from the houses behind her, covering them all——
Of course, that's just an illusion. It's still not too late, Yuffie thought, even if she found the worst possibility.
She then went to visit the first family. The woman enthusiastically poured water for her and told her husband that he was in good condition. During the conversation, her child pushed the door open and came in, with dust on his hands and face.
A pure and brilliant smile.
"Mom, look!" He jumped to the table, opened his hands, and there was a golden beetle inside. "There is also sister! How beautiful it is!"
"I need to call you, sir." The woman patted the boy on the head, "Why is it so dirty? Go to the door and wash it before you come back!"
Yuffie praised the boy's harvest, sat and chatted for a while, and then went to the tavern that she had agreed with Lin. The signature there was the home-brewed green plum wine, which was refreshing, slightly sour and sweet, and full of the aroma of plums.
The food is mainly grilled vegetables and meat skewers, sprinkled with coarse rock salt and ground pepper, and is still sizzling with oil when served——
Bell would like it if he were here. The news that Lilinono's "expedition team" successfully returned to the volcano castle had just arrived in the imperial capital from the north two days ago. The rumors contained many stories that were not true or false, but Yuffie just wanted to sit down again.
In that carriage, she listened to Lily and Bell's bickering, and Alphonse's voice that lacked emotion but always reassured her.
She kept her findings until after the meal, and did not tell the details of her speculations. She only said that there were some things she wanted to confirm. The five people returned to the buzzing laboratory again, and Yuffie took out a few drops of her own blood.
, smear it on the glass piece and put it into the scanner.
Lin had previously entered the characteristics of the disease source into the instrument to confirm whether the sample contained the same characteristics. It scanned Yuffie's blood with light cones, examining every detail. Everyone's eyes were focused on it.
body until it stops running, the result report is projected above, and the green indicator light directly in front lights up.
That means she guessed the answer correctly.
"Did you find it!?" Lin couldn't say she was surprised, or she just stared at her in disbelief, "Where...is it?"
"On someone I know." Yuffie said softly with regret, "He was a victim of the last war."
The girl briefly told the experience of that afternoon and the story of the soldier Ivan. Then she described her feelings at that time, the response she made, and the inferences she drew from it.
"He once withstood extremely high-intensity magical power. It not only exhausted the potential of his body, but may also have permanently changed it." Yuffie covered his chest with his hand, feeling his heartbeat, recalling just now
The period of waking up, "comes in unexpected and flawed ways."
"So." Kasha's face turned a little pale, but his expression remained unchanged, "What can he... do?"
"He can use Eda's network to instinctively perform magical arts that are not magical arts. In other words, his body is doing that." Yuffie looked away and looked at the empty white wall, "
When he regrets or regrets his current situation, the 'network' responds to his will... or it can be said to respond to the will of his 'body'——"
"It wants to live..." the blonde girl whispered.
Yuffie nodded.
"The instinct of life is to eat and reproduce, and the endless cycle that results from it. If all of this goes astray, it will become the 'source of disease' we see." She looked at her palm, and then slowly
Let go slowly, "Never-ending expansion, constantly looking for the next target, and then destroying them together."
That is Ada's power. She should have known it a long time ago, Yuffie thought. Duke Moore actually guessed half of it right - unfortunately, it was the rest that was difficult to deal with.
"That is to say, the patients didn't notice anything abnormal because they couldn't feel what happened at all." Sula frowned, "It doesn't actually need to sit face to face, nor does it need to talk to the 'victim'. That's it.
Bar?"
Yuffie nodded. There is no clear evidence, but as long as the 'source' remains unchanged, it is the most likely guess.
"But why... the war has been over for half a year, but it only appeared recently?" The female apprentice was puzzled, "Is it the same thing as Rogman who died just a while ago?"
"Absolutely." Lin replied vaguely, casting a glance at Yuffie. "Aging always requires a process, as does the development of diseases. Looking at the best, if this happened earlier, maybe it would have already happened.
There’s no way it can end.”
"In the end, Rogman died, leaving such a mess." Famir rolled his eyes. The Federation has always disliked Ada, and naturally they didn't like the former emperor who admired her. "That black-robed man who pretended to be a ghost."
It can’t be divorced from it.”
"But the dead cannot be held responsible. And the problem must be solved." Kasha narrowed his eyes, "Find a way to gather all the surviving soldiers and lock them up? Or... how about just find a way to kill them?"
"Killing them is absolutely not possible." Lin glared at the black-haired apprentice, "Even if we lock them up, it may not be of any use. Otherwise, it will have the opposite effect."
That's true. Yuffie didn't know whether that 'magic' relied on sight or distance, but depriving those people of their right to live a normal life would only further strengthen 'its' power. As for killing them - morally she didn't allow herself
Doing that. Even if they did, it would only make their enemies happy.
Rogman's invasion may have been a mistake, but the royal family must not blame the soldiers who passed by, otherwise no one would believe them.
Yuffie stood quietly for a while. Lin was discussing with the apprentices in a low voice, and she didn't care about the specific content. Lin didn't ask her for her opinion, which meant that she didn't need to care about that. And she didn't need to listen to what her friends thought.
I can understand it too.
She must report her findings to the Queen at the court meeting tomorrow morning. Marolyn is not an indecisive or sympathetic person. If she wants to influence the other party's decision, she can only come up with practical alternatives - at least.
There needs to be a prototype.
As for the key to solving the puzzle...since she 'accidentally' contracted the disease, let her make the most of it.
The girl walked to the door, put on her white robe again, took out a small crucible, poured water and ground brown powder, and placed it on the gently swaying magic flame. Coffee beans are a commonly used potion material.
, but sometimes she also likes its original taste, and it is better with some milk.
A slightly bitter aroma wafted in the room. Lin glanced at her. Yuffie raised her hand and tapped her chest.
"We have one more subject. We will be busy for a while tonight."