Workshop (Twenty-One)
So it really was a little like Ninianni's hideout.
Ess's answer seemed strange, but Fu Qian didn't question it for a moment.
He had been thinking about the state of the Vacuum Flower, the target of this mission.
It was hard to imagine something nearly conceptual, something so difficult to observe and lock onto, being contained by physical means.
It seemed they had indeed used a conceptual method.
A passageway arranged in a special sequence could serve as a barrier.
Combined with special materials made using ancient knowledge, it had been possible to keep the entity firmly contained in that box and use it as the furnace for smelting "weapons."
It was truly a brilliant idea, one that brought to mind the many wonders once created by the Blind Eye Academy.
Such a similar approach, with such a familiar air—was it the work of a Sage?
The kindly face surfaced naturally in Fu Qian's mind, and he found himself in complete agreement.
The Old Man was clearly the organization's undisputed heart and brains. Ess and the others were, at most, benefactors who provided funds and supplies.
And now, without the brains to guide them, the surviving "her" had quickly made a mess of things—the very thing that was the source of the organization's power had escaped without a sound.
"Do you think it might have used flesh and blood as a means of escape?"
The other woman was being so straightforward that Fu Qian followed her lead.
"I didn't think so before, but now it seems like the only possibility."
Ess stared absently at Sophia, who was leaning there.
"It absolutely couldn't have escaped on its own, and I didn't do anything differently from before. The only problem..."
For the first time, she hesitated.
"Flesh and blood can