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Derrick's eyes widened. He was a little surprised, but not enough to panic.
The outward manifestations of a Secrets Suppliant's Flesh Magic had always been frightening, but in the City of Silver, anything that could preserve lives and increase strength was useful. Having fought in plenty of battles himself, Derrick wasn't frightened by the flesh. Instead, he was surprised by what those words meant-
I mean no harm?
Who is this? This doesn't seem to be Elder Lovia's thought. Could someone be using Elder Lovia to pass a message to the Chief?
How unusual. Is this method unique to the Secrets Suppliant pathway?
Just this one sentence is really strange. If it were someone in the City of Silver, there would be no need for this extra step. They could simply report to the Six-Member Council. Since this person hasn't done that, it proves he can't communicate with the Chief face-to-face for now. In other words...
Derrick's mind reeled.
This might be a message from someone outside the City of Silver!
If his guess was right, this was the first time in thousands of years that the City of Silver had encountered an outsider!
Were there other surviving cities in the Forsaken Land of the Gods?
All these conjectures set his blood racing. He looked away from the writhing flesh and up at Elder Lovia opposite him, only to find her staring unblinkingly at him as well.
Derrick's first impulse was to lower his head, but then inspiration struck, and he sensed something subtle about the current situation.
-I have no reason to feel guilty! Sun encouraged himself inwardly. *Mr. Fool isn't the Lord's enemy. The Chief and Elder Lovia might not know yet that the Lord is gradually trying to escape madness, but I've already received confirmation from