The two Short-Eared Elf had already made an agreement with the Grand Foundry Master; if Ed hadn't chosen to intervene, Balund himself would have been in complete control of the situation.
However, the appearance of Ed, the Son of God, clearly disrupted his planned handover process.
Hearing the offensive remarks made after being interrupted, Balund felt a mix of conflicting emotions and was clearly tempted.
Unlike other powerful beings in the World of Disorder, Balund, who came from a mining background, had an advantage that neither nobles nor naturally High Tier beings possessed: humility and caution.
He knows his limits, and he also knows that just because he can't do something doesn't mean others can't.
However, since the lives of millions in the Graycast Corridor were at stake, he had to handle the current chaos with caution.
How do you prove it?
Balund watched Ed emerge from the spatial rift, awaiting his response.
Even the old man in gray didn't realize that, compared to the embarrassment of seeing the other party unable to persuade him, he actually preferred to be persuaded.
Gray and Nora were both citizens of the Graycast Corridor. If they could, who would willingly send this junior, whom they had practically watched grow up, into that mechanical coffin?
He stared intently at Ed, the only sound in the silence the mechanical whirring of machinery.
In just a few breaths, Aiboke, the "true Grand Foundry Master " who had not reacted at all, had actually done a great deal.
What Liya saw—the flipped-over wall panels—was just one example. At this moment, if Balund gave the order, this underground space would be immediately sealed off, and a large number of elite members of the Corridor Guard would surround the area.
With such elaborate preparations, even ordinary High Tier would likely suffer greatly if they wanted to leave this place permanently.
The Mobile Library is the heart of the Great Labyrinth City; if Aiboke hadn't been waiting for Balund's decision, none of them would have survived this day safely.
After a brief silence, Ed did not directly answer Balund's question.
He reached out and lightly tapped his temple, as if drawing something sparkling with brilliance from his brain.
"Smack!"
A completely harmless ball of light was ejected into Balund's brain. As High Tier- level Psionic Energy, Balund effortlessly deciphered the information contained within it.
Those were fragments Ed had extracted from his own memories, and now these images were flashing before the old man in gray's eyes like a slideshow.
The next moment, his perspective was elevated infinitely, higher than the Great Library, higher than the Great Labyrinth City's spire, higher than the Graycast Corridor, and finally higher than this continent where countless races had shed blood and tears over thousands of years.
As everything in his field of vision rapidly shrank, Balund's perspective finally settled at an unimaginable height.
Indeed, the memories Ed temporarily shared with Balund were fragments from his own "God's-eye view" memories, and specifically the one with the largest zoom-in.
At this moment, Balund felt as if he were watching a slideshow, or as if his soul had been dragged into another world, where he could interact with his surroundings to some extent.
He was a Psionic Energy, so he could naturally sense that his current location was surrounded by pure Psionic Energy.
Despite his humble origins, Balund never stopped learning, including the "creation myth" that was once familiar to those in the upper class.
A hypothesis emerged in his mind and began to be reinforced by himself over time.
Who exactly am I facing?
Why are they able to make such confident promises?
All the problems suddenly became clear in front of Balund.
He opened his eyes again and found that whether it was Gray or Nora, Liya or Nuowa, the few Soul Returner, the one with half a body sticking out, or even the mechanical Aiboke beside him, everyone was waiting for his decision.
He knew he couldn't reveal what he had just seen; such a shocking secret, even if told, might not be believed by anyone.
After much deliberation, Balund quickly made a decision and looked at Ed seriously, saying:
"As the current Grand Foundry Master of the Graycast Corridor, I agree to give the Second Holy See's Son of God a chance... to save everyone."
Balund knew who he was facing, and he also knew how vast the difference in their social status was, in theory.
If there were no one else here, and if the other party revealed his identity—that he was not some Grand Foundry Master —his actions would certainly have been much more humble and polite than they are now.
However, since the other party appeared as Son of God, he had to pretend not to know and could only communicate with the Son of God as an equal to the Grand Foundry Master. Therefore, he also needed to restrain his words and actions.
He glanced in the direction of the newly constructed, empty metal coffin, stepped aside, and made an inviting gesture:
"We beseech the Son of God to display his great power."
"No problem."
Ed nodded in satisfaction but made no move. He looked at Balund and said:
"Have your brother lower the guard around the Great Library; a guest is coming."
"Good."
Balund quickly approached Aiboke and communicated with the enormous, audible machine.
Soon, a new order was sent to the head of the Great Library's guards via paper tape. The Level 1 security order, which had been in effect just minutes earlier, was not immediately lifted. The order only stated that the "guest" should be allowed to enter.
Just as the new orders were being relayed down the chain of command, a strangely dressed man emerged from one of the intersections on the main road leading to the Great Library and began strolling towards them.
"I still need to prepare a little more; the plan will continue once the 'guests' arrive."
As Ed spoke, he pulled his head back out of the spatial rift and shouted to the side:
" Müller-chan!"
"Father, I'm here!"
The loyal butler, Muller, who was waiting at the door of the study, opened the door as he always did when receiving orders.
"Splash!"
A large number of milky white spherical objects knocked him off balance, and a small amount of unknown matter even entered his mouth.
"What is this... Hmm, it tastes pretty good."
Muller took a couple of smacking bites of popcorn, then quickly remembered he wasn't there to eat, and looked up at his respected father.
The other party pointed in a direction from a distance and said:
"Go to the High-Quality Charcoal Processing Plant and bring Hall to me."
"Yes, Father!"
Muller turned and sprinted off, heading straight for the High-Quality Charcoal Processing Plant located on the outskirts of Valhalla.
The waiting time seemed long but was actually short; however, with Balund's keen observation skills, it was enough for him to see most of the details on the other side of the spatial rift.
Aside from those inexplicable milky-white spherical objects, the other side of the space looks like a study that isn't very large.