Murphy returned to the Maginot Line in the dead of night.
He crept around like a man sneaking home after doing something he shouldn't, careful not to let Triss find out what foolishness he'd gotten up to over the past few hours.
Fortunately, Triss was still busy at the Plane of Creation, tinkering with the Cloudmist Illusionary Realm. She didn't have time to pay attention to what Murphy was doing, which let the exhausted vampire lord breathe a sigh of relief. But as he changed clothes and left the command room, he came face-to-face with Adele, whose expression was complicated.
"I—"
"I know, Master."
Adele touched her left hand.
Murphy noticed a Shadow Spider tattoo on the back of her hand. Then Adele said:
"Lady Rose blessed me, allowing me to comprehend and learn the Shadow Elf inheritance without any hindrance. It's a rare gift, but... but when she bestowed the blessing, she deliberately showed me what happened in the Abyssal Divine Kingdom.
You've had a hard time.
I'll keep this secret for you.
I know this wasn't your fault. You couldn't resist a deity's rampage."
"Ah, there's no end to the tears when I think about it."
Faced with Adele's understanding and the concern in her eyes, Murphy nearly burst into tears.
He truly hadn't expected Lady Rose to be so shameless. Still, considering that Murphy had tempted her to abandon weaving the Web of Fate and stake her future on the realm of power he'd described, one could say they'd each gotten what they wanted.
"But what are you going to do about Vilanth?"
Adele walked alongside Murphy. In a soft voice, she said:
"Spider Lady has ignited her divine fire and ascended as an independent deity. She can no longer hide inside Vilanth's body as she did