Chapter 41

This was an ancient inscription known as the Eye of Omniscience. As its name suggested, it could see and hear things unseen by others. During the Golden Age of Arcane, the Eye of Omniscience was often used for surveillance and warning. It was no coincidence that this natural temple, affiliated with the Temple of the Stars, possessed an inscription that had now been lost.

In fact, nearly every ancient temple had once been equipped with such an inscription. It was not only for guarding against attacks, but more importantly because the Eye of Omniscience was one of the few inscriptions with a clearly documented origin. It came from a place people revered and longed to explore—the Divine Ruins. In the heyday of Arcane, people believed it could see things mortals could never know. After all, its name was the "Eye of Omniscience."

The image projected by the Eye of Omniscience grew clearer. Odovish watched Terrence calmly enjoying tea in the temple's side hall, and his gaze turned cold for an instant.

The head of the Inquisition would probably never have imagined that the most wanted target at the top of the Holy See's heretic list was only a few walls away, watching them, listening to them...

"Archbishop, there is still no news of that mage. Should we send more people?" A divine caster in white robes bearing a silver cross asked Terrence respectfully.

Terrence waved a hand. "Forget it. He cannot have gone far. Our priority now is the location of the Council. We have always known that those mages formed an organization called the Council, but over the years, we have never found any trace of it. This time, we extracted a clue from the black mage's soul memories. We absolutely cannot let the operation fail again."

"Yes." The white-robed man with the cross answered and withdrew from the room.

After he left, a Paladin stepped forward two paces. Golden runes were etched into his silver-white armor. They were no ordinary decorations, but protective enchantments. Ever since the Holy See's anti-magic campaign, armor like this had become precious and scarce. Being able to wear it meant that this Paladin possessed at least eighth-rank strength and held an important post.

"Archbishop, this batch of Corrupted Crystals has been completed, but there are only two finished products. All the rest failed. Bivvis said that with only one sample and without alchemy's support, it is difficult to create a perfect finished product."

"Alchemy." Terrence repeated the word, then gave a mocking smile. "How could I forget? Those mages all enjoy studying alchemy. It truly is an interesting craft. Unfortunately, it became too entangled with mages and could only end up like this. Look at that so-called Alchemy City, Pandor. What a miserable ending."

At those words, Odovish's expression darkened completely. One day, he would make Pandor's Sky City float once more and force the Pope himself to kneel beneath its steps in repentance.

After Terrence finished speaking, the Paladin presented him with a sealed silver-white case. The case was covered in subtle patterns. There was no doubt that, judging by those patterns, it was a mithril box—made of pure mithril, at that. Its defensive properties were exceptional.

As everyone knew, mithril was an extremely expensive material with excellent resistance to magic. It was a premium material used by the Holy See to make weapons and other tools for dealing with Arcane casters. So what sort of item required a box with such extraordinary defenses?

Odovish had a faint suspicion, and Terrence's next action—opening the box to inspect it—confirmed it.

There was not much inside the box, only two items, and they were identical. Both rested on a lining of gold velvet. They were two tiny black crystals, each no larger than a child's palm. Within the Eye of Omniscience's vision, they exuded a dim, grayish aura of death.

Terrence quickly closed the box. "Only two is far too few. If we truly find the Council's location this time, these two Corrupted Crystals will not be enough to deal with that long list of ninth-rank mages."

"The Council... really has that many ninth-rank mages?" the Paladin asked hesitantly.

"Of course." Terrence said, "They are like rats. No one is better at hiding than they are. But that list is from decades ago. How many of them are still alive now remains unknown. Perhaps you will not see even one of them."

Not see even one? The curve of Odovish's lips was dangerous and cold. That would truly disappoint Terrence. Nearly all the Council's surviving ninth-rank mages were in the central Mage Tower. As for the few who had strayed far from the Council, they had all sent letters this year saying they would come to attend the Council. Therefore, this year's Circle Gathering would assemble the most complete "heretic list."

For some time afterward, Terrence spoke with the Paladin about the recent curse and the Temple of the Stars. Odovish recognized that they were discussing the time he and Elufiel had impersonated members of the Sanctuary. Terrence was clearly extremely concerned about it. In the Holy See's eyes, the Temple of the Stars had always been a ticking bomb, an utterly unstable factor.

Having heard enough, Odovish did not continue listening. He Blinked out of the temple. Terrence had better pay more attention to the Temple of the Stars. Odovish would be more than happy to see the Sanctuary and the Holy See tear all pretenses apart one day.

As for what to do next... he already had a plan.

Leaving the wind elemental behind to keep watch and report Terrence's movements, Odovish ignored the wind elemental's deliberately feigned expression of anger and returned alone to Golden Apple Town.

At the inn where they were staying, Odovish swept his gaze over the bustling lobby but did not see the elf. He went upstairs and knocked on the elf's door, only for Eugene to answer it.

Odovish stared at Eugene expressionlessly.

Elufiel's voice came from behind Eugene. "Did you come to bring us dessert?"

Upon hearing Elufiel's voice, Odovish entered the room with a cold expression and saw the uncleared plates on the table. "I thought I could make it for lunch."

"Yes, my dear sir, before I finished waiting for you, I thought so too." Elufiel met the mage's gaze. "Until the innkeeper came to tell me that today's lamb chops were about to sell out, and I happened not to want anything else."