Stranger and Advisor

When the stranger finally escaped the Silver and Tin Palace, he subconsciously looked back.

The entire palace was engulfed in flames... The billowing flames distorted the surrounding air, and visible waves of heat, mixed with the Sulfur vapors, assaulted the senses. Thick black smoke nearly covered the sky, mingling with the dark clouds above.

Like a dark passage, it descended from the sky to the Silver and Tin Palace... bringing apocalypse and destruction.

Finally, it started to rain.

The ground was covered in Sulfur and flames, while the sky was filled with dark clouds and torrential rain.

Fortunately, people had already begun to evacuate, so there was no stampede that could have resulted in a horrific accident.

The end times are just around the corner.

The stranger couldn't help but become alert.

He had no idea whether his mentor, "Bruzwick," had escaped or not... nor did he know whether he had any confidence in controlling the Balrog.

And more importantly—

—Where are my teammates?! They've disappeared again!

Where are my mentor from my own timeline, now the real Mr. Bruzwick who accompanied me to the Promotion Ritual as an "advisor"... and my junior, Aurora, codenamed "Grape"?

The stranger felt a sense of confusion.

He had just been diligently investigating his identity and working hard to play this role. He had originally planned to rest for the night and start looking for companions the next day... but now, only a few hours later, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse and had completely fallen into uncontrollable and unknown territory.

"What exactly is that, Master Nobel?!"

A trembling voice came from beneath the stranger.

The young man was also bewildered and terrified by the terrifying Magic Creature: "After the Queen died, everything became so strange... Is this the Crown Prince's punishment for us?!"

"—Don't stop, run!"

Sensing the running knight slowing down and repeatedly turning back to look at the Silver and Tin Palace, the Stranger shouted a command to the knight carrying him as he fled, "That's a Balrog! Balrogs can continuously split themselves by devouring souls..."

"And most importantly, the Balrog will explode violently when it is defeated! Glass Island is about to be destroyed, we must leave here!"

Stranger is now very pessimistic about the outcome of this Promotion Ritual.

The Necessary Task of this ceremony required him to safely evacuate Princess Isabel Du Lac to the Eternal Theocracy.

And now, he can't even find where the Princess is.

He couldn't find his teammates, he couldn't find the Princess, and he had no idea how to get to the Theocracy —he had never been to Avalon before, let alone the Theocracy, and he didn't know the way at all.

Apart from the fact that Avalon's capital is called Glass Island, he didn't even know the names of the other cities, nor did he know the exact location of Glass Island in Avalon, let alone the relative location of the Theocracy in Avalon.

I feel very lost.

So the stranger decided that, at the very least, he should survive.

If Princess Isabel fails to reach the Theocracy safely within four days, the Promotion Ritual will fail. However, failure itself is not punishable; only death is—so simply surviving to the end is considered sufficient to achieve the goal.

If possible, it would be best to find the "grapes" as well. They should find a place together and try their best to survive.

Just then, the stranger suddenly heard a joyful shout, which made him shudder.

"Master Nobel! You've escaped?!"

Approaching them was a handsome male bishop dressed in a red robe.

The stranger, unsure whether he knew the other person or not, could only pat the knight beneath him with a heavy heart, signaling him to put him down.

Whether he was the priest called "Fox" or not... in any case, it was a good thing to travel with a bishop. At least if one got injured, the other could save one's life.

"...Yes, I escaped," the stranger said, forcing a sorrowful expression, "But the other knights and ministers all seem to..."

"What exactly happened in the palace?" the bishop asked, his brow furrowed. "Did the Stibnite Person directly attack the royal family?"

... It was clearly one of your own people who assassinated the Queen!

The stranger felt a little wronged and confused.

Because he genuinely didn't know why the Stibnite Person dared to do such a thing to Avalon.

—In the real world today, Star Antimony is in the midst of a war waged by the Avalon.

The Griffin Legion from Avalon has become a nightmare for many civilians on Star Antimony—when the griffins fly close to the ground, the sharp whistling sound they bring, along with the rolling thunder and howling hurricanes, foreshadows the destruction of a building or an area by a thunderstorm.

And they had absolutely no means of countermeasures. The Golem could only fire symbolically, but never managed to shoot down a single griffin. They were simply too fast, too fast to be locked onto.

In addition, the rebellious mages of Narcissus Territory also caused enormous losses.

The army had to sacrifice lives and exert all its strength just to barely stop the advance of the mage phalanx.

Furthermore, with the Theocracy taking sides, their decapitation strikes were ineffective. They were also unable to launch a counterattack on Avalon's homeland.

As a result, Xingti was dragged into the quagmire of war before it was even properly prepared.

"It's all Minister Drost's fault!!"

The stranger vehemently criticized Minister Drost, who dared to assassinate the Queen —his disgust was undoubtedly genuine.

—The reason why Avalon is attacking Star Antimony now seems to be because of the trouble caused by this fat pig named Drost!

However, the stranger now vaguely realizes that this worldline deduced by the Lord of Scales and Feathers is different from the worldline he is in.

Currently, there are three main differences—

Firstly, after Meg's death, no new Grand Arbitrator, "Ligeia," appeared. Ligeia was suspected by Star Antimony's intelligence department to be a silver dragon who had transformed into a human, and was suspected to be the child Meg had with a dragon when she was young.

More importantly, in this world, Iver did not become famous and become Minister of Everything, but instead became a bishop. Miss Aleister, whose true identity was said to be "Duchess Bayard" from the Imperial period, also did not appear.

Furthermore, Queen Sophia did not die in the winter of 1898, but lived until the autumn of 1899. Queen Isabel, with her more forceful methods, never ascended the throne.

It was precisely these three differences that led the world towards a completely different and unfamiliar possibility for him.

Star Antimony has actually declared war on Avalon! And it seems there's actually a chance...

At this time, the Theocracy hadn't had time to send guards, and Isabel had no help from Iver. Now, the Silver and Tin Palace had been destroyed, and chaos reigned in the rear...

Based on Mo Ke's understanding of Xingti, the next step will likely be a surprise attack by the front-line troops.

After listening to the stranger's detailed, heartfelt criticism, narration, and deductions, the unnamed bishop frowned deeply. "So that's how it is... Are you sure Her Highness the Princess is alright?"

"Anyway, I saw Ms. Shafiya escape with Her Highness the Princess."

The stranger answered bluntly, "I don't know what happened after that."

He didn't say how he saw it—but he definitely saw it.

However, simply stating that Isabel escaped doesn't seem to fully explain the whole story.

"But where can Her Princess go..."

The bishop fell into deep thought.

"I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it's right," the bishop suddenly said. "She might have gone to the Moriarty Manor."

Upon hearing this, the stranger's heart stirred.

"How do you know Princess Isabel is related to Iver? "Are you Fox?"

He asked tentatively.

"What?"

The Bishop seemed puzzled by this seemingly random statement, but he simply shook his head and explained, "I am not called the Fox. I am Samuel Mathers, and that young Bishop Moriarty is my student."

"He has a slight connection with Princess Isabel. If I had to say where the Princess would go, I think it would only be there."

... They did indeed "have some connection".

The stranger thought to himself.

He had never heard of Samuel Mathers.

But he knew that in another part of history, this "Queen Isabel" and "Miss Aleister" had a fierce and ruthless competition for a man—she directly drove Duchess Bayard out of Avalon and never returned.

"Come with me."

Bishop Mathers grabbed Nobel, then looked at the young knight. "You too, come with me—we need to gather our limited strength. First, let's get Princess Highness to safety."

"Whether the Silver and Tin Palace is destroyed, or the Glass Island falls, as long as the Princess is alive, there is still hope... With such a large fire, I estimate that Prince John has already perished. Then, once the Princess is gone, the Blood of Du Lac will be completely extinguished."

"What's your name, young man?"

At this point, Bishop Mathers asked the young man, "I haven't seen you in the Round Table Hall... You're not the arbitrator, are you?"

What? The stranger was taken aback.

He thought the other party was Fourth Level arbitrator, but it turns out they weren't at all.

No wonder the other party seemed so cowardly; even carrying me, who wasn't wearing armor, he couldn't run fast. And he didn't appear in the middle of the Silver and Tin Palace, perishing like the other knights, but instead stayed on the edge of the palace like me...that's why he was able to escape the first wave of attack...

"... That's right."

The young man nodded sadly. "My Arun Carter. I was invited by my father to attend his engagement party... but my father..."

He clenched his fists tightly as he said this, "After the incident, I hid nearby. I wanted to escape, but I couldn't find an opportunity..."

Upon hearing this, the stranger understood—it was clear that his father was one of the knights who had been killed.

He had no idea what was going to happen. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought his son to this dangerous, bloody banquet.

"Arun Carter ...I've heard of you, Arun."

Bishop Mathers patted him on the shoulder. "Come with us."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Sherlock slowly opened his eyes. A flash of deep blue fire appeared and disappeared in his pupils.

He was being held in Iver's arms when he woke up amidst the vibrations of their rapid running.

Through the gap in Iver's shoulder, he saw the towering flames in the distance and immediately knew what had happened.

Karl exploded.

That good-for-nothing Drost... he wasted so much of my time...

The word "advisor" was coldly uttered in his mind.

Wounds and torture meant little to him; for a seeker on the Path of Twilight, pain was merely an illusion. What truly infuriated him was being imprisoned there, unable to be released. He also had to convincingly play the role of Sherlock and Minister Drost, which cost him the initiative and a great deal of time.

If he hadn't been rescued by Iver, he would have been burned alive on the spot by the Balrog that sprang up after Karl's death.

... Hopefully, "the other self" can handle the mess left by Karl.

The reason the two of them always traveled together was because the advisor had a way to deal with the out-of-control fire demon.

However, he doesn't have time to deal with things there right now.

Today, the advisor's Necessary Task is also to "help Princess Isabel arrive safely in the Theocracy."

But the consultant has no intention of working with anyone else.

—Because his understanding is deeper than others...he knows the plot styles of each Pillar God.

This is the Promotion Ritual created by the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

The theme of the Lord of Scales and Feathers is adaptation and survival, so as long as you survive, you have a chance to advance.

In other words, who completes the Necessary Task is not crucial—unlike other rituals, the Necessary Task for the Lord of Scales and Feathers can even be skipped! [The ritual will immediately conclude when someone completes the Necessary Task or when the ritual time ends; the three with the lowest scores at the conclusion will be eliminated.]

This is the rule as described by Akropolis.

... Hopefully, those two idiots will realize this and stop letting it go in one ear and out the other. Ideally, they'll realize this Promotion Ritual is different from the past... otherwise, I'll definitely have to give them an extra 500 lines of essays and 300 lines of repentance when we get back.

The advisor thought to himself.

The advisor's goal this time is to help his two students pass the Promotion Ritual. Even if he successfully escorts the Princess to the Theocracy with the two children, it's possible that someone might have fewer points than those who didn't escort the Princess because they didn't complete enough tasks.

Conversely, those who choose to escort the Princess have the advantage of being able to decide when to end the Promotion Ritual. However, because they don't know the scores of others at that time, it still carries risks. Furthermore, even if they quickly send the Princess away, they may not have enough points to obtain excellent Path Trait due to insufficient mission completion.

Therefore, the consultants decided to take a different approach.

—To secretly kill Isabel.

With Isabel dead, everyone is destined to be unable to complete the Necessary Task. A forced settlement will only be possible when the ritual ends... and those unaware of Isabel's death will inevitably attempt to search for Isabel.

This matter has wasted time and distracted our energy, so the others will definitely have much less time to complete tasks and score points than the three of us.

If, based on this situation, at least three people can be eliminated... then it can be ensured that no one is eliminated and those three will occupy the top positions. Killing still has advantages; at least it won't result in a penalty for unintentionally helping others complete the task.

"You're awake, Sherlock?"

Iver's voice rang out.

The advisor paused, then asked in a weak voice, "Where am I... Moriarty?"

"On my way to my house."

Iver replied helplessly, "Ms. Shafiya's teleportation distance is a bit short... she fell out halfway through."

"Because I didn't have enough time to prepare! He was about to explode suddenly, and I couldn't pinpoint the exact location..."

Shafiya, standing behind Iver, said angrily, "It's not far anyway, just a few steps. Hurry back and check if Princess Isabel is safe... I'm a little worried that the man in black might attack the Princess. After all, he didn't show up when we were fighting."

—Was Isabel originally with Iver?

The advisor had a sudden inspiration.

"You should rest, Sherlock. Don't think about it."

Iver said in a low voice, "I'll treat you as soon as we get back."

The consultant nodded slightly and silently closed his eyes.

7,500 words, update complete! The cat's back!

Oh my god, I only slept for two hours the day before yesterday while catching my flight, and I couldn't sleep on the plane either. I felt like I was about to collapse. When I landed at the hotel, I took a shower, didn't even eat, and just collapsed onto the bed and passed out...

I slept on and off for eleven hours, waking up four times in between. Finally, I'm back to life...

Kitty, come back!