The Tour in Progress

For Li Lin, getting in was no difficult task. He could simply cast an invisibility spell and walk straight through the entrance. Since the Magic-Banning Prison suppressed the magic of all low-level mages, presumably everyone would think no spell could work there. Authority could never be relied upon, but Li Lin did not want to sneak in like a thief. Besides, why should he?

"This way, Lord Lannis."

The templar bowed slightly and led the way with a respectful air. Behind him, a man in gleaming silver armor, with dazzling long golden hair, followed while holding a little girl's hand.

Li Lin's current identity was Akt Lannis, a newly appointed adjudicator who had come to take up his post. He had made it up based on the information he had obtained from the templar. A simple illusion and a mental charm, combined with Angela's powerful subconscious hypnosis, were almost unbeatable together. They shared the same traits: an adventurous spirit and considerable caution.

The templar had been assigned to guide Li Lin and show him around the prison. After all, an adjudicator was effectively a judge in a religious court. Generally speaking, they determined whether mages had broken their laws and fallen into evil. It was no simple matter, because a mistake could very well shake the already fragile alliance between the Temple and the Mages' Association. Thus, adjudicators were powerful, experienced templars who had personally hunted down countless wild mages. They were also the goal and hope in every knight's heart. As a result, the templars treated this supposed new adjudicator with great respect.

Having a guide was always much more comfortable than wandering around on his own.

Li Lin was not going to be foolish enough to resort to sneaking and stealing.

The reason he had chosen this disguise also came from information obtained by interrogating the templar's soul. Souls could not lie, so Arcane Mages generally disdained torturing captives for information. Killing them outright and taking their souls for leisurely study was much quicker and more convenient. At worst, they could send the soul back to the god it worshipped after finishing their questions. It was no great matter. As long as the believer they killed was not a divine messenger or the like, the gods did not much care about such minor details.

For a captive, encountering an Arcane Mage had only two possible outcomes: either readily tell them everything in exchange for a chance to live, or simply wait until death to have their soul interrogated. In fact, Arcane Mages preferred the latter. After all, no one knew how much falsehood was mixed into the truth a living person told. That was also why Li Lin had been certain no god was involved when Angela raised her question earlier.

As for Angela, he casually made up an excuse that was not very convincing, but was useful nonetheless.

"This young lady possesses the power to detect the evil of fallen mages."

Combined with Angela's pure, angelic face and the magic imbued in Li Lin's words, it easily fooled the templars.

Now, they were heading farther inside under the templar's guidance.

The Magic-Banning Prison as a whole had changed very little since the days of the Magic Empire. Li Lin examined it closely and found that, at most, the designs and writing on the walls had all been scraped away and replaced with images of the God of Justice and hymns of praise. After all, Wensains had originally been intended as a place of confinement. Although it had also been meant for training, those who broke the rules could hardly be allowed to leave at will. Evidently, the Temple had made no major changes after taking it over. Aside from a few extra locks and iron cages, everything remained as before. Mages were not good at physical attacks anyway.

The judgment hall, the tribunal, the torture chamber... The two walked slowly through them under the paladin's guidance. Like a dutiful traveler, Li Lin softly told Angela about the various deeds of the God of Justice depicted on the walls. Some were fabricated, while others were events he had personally experienced. Angela obediently followed at his side, putting on the appearance of a devout, well-behaved child. When the paladin guiding them heard that the new adjudicator knew so much about the god's deeds, some of which he himself did not know, his respect for Li Lin deepened.

"This is the penance cage, honored adjudicator."

Standing outside the iron cage, Li Lin looked down at the mages working hard below as he listened to the templar's explanation.

The so-called penance was actually labor—and unpaid labor at that. The mages looked nothing like mages now. Dressed in rags, they swung hammers with all their might, apparently carving something. The templar evidently noticed the question in Li Lin's eyes and promptly answered it.

"They are carving a statue of the God of Justice."

He explained with pride and a sense of honor.

"As long as we let them feel the god's equality and universal love, they will return to the right path. When that time comes, the god will still accept them."

"Let's hope so."

Li Lin offered no further comment. This was all these mages could do... but it seemed they were not content to be ordinary. He stared intently at the statue of the God of Justice being carved and fell silent for a moment.

"I'd like to go down and take a look."

Then he spoke.

Naturally, the request was not refused. It was no trouble for an adjudicator to enter the cage, but Angela was more of a problem. According to the templar, he did not want to let a little girl like her inside, because those mages were the embodiment of "evil" and "cunning." If Angela were touched by them, or even spoke to them, her purity might be sullied. Angela did not insist. As far as she was concerned, these useless humans deserved nothing better than to live in an iron cage like this. Watching them from outside was enough, just like animals in a zoo.

Led by the templar, Li Lin entered the work area below. It had originally been a place for honing magical skills, so it was spacious enough. It was somewhat unexpected that the Temple was now using it to carve statues. Did the Temple not think that having these evil mages carve statues of the God of Justice would harm their faith?

"No."

The templar answered unconcernedly, watching the surrounding mages warily with a hand on his sword hilt to intimidate them.

"Those evildoers who tried to desecrate the statues have all been executed."

The most reliable means of ensuring quality. The statues made here must fetch a good price.

Li Lin said nothing more and walked slowly forward. Noticing the two knights approaching, the mages working on the enormous stone stopped. They watched the pair with expressions of surprise, fear, or hatred. But none dared attack. After all, one wrong step here meant death.

"Very nice..."

Li Lin gazed at the statue of the God of Justice before him and murmured his praise. He was certainly not referring to the mages' craftsmanship. In fact, he had noticed a small problem with the statue.

A problem that was not much of a problem.

"Very well done. Not bad."

Li Lin carefully examined the statue's head, then spoke with a thoughtful, satisfied expression. At the same time, the expressions of several mages carrying stone in the distance changed slightly. Their panicked behavior caught Li Lin's attention, but he said nothing more. He stared at the spot for quite a while longer, then turned and left.

"Really well done."

He left them with those meaningful words before departing the carving area.

"Master, what did you discover?"

After a short rest, the group continued the tour. Taking advantage of the paladin ahead not paying attention, Angela asked softly.

"Something interesting."

Li Lin answered with a smile.

"I'll tell you after we get out."

Then he stopped. The templar ahead had turned around and was looking at him respectfully.

"Honored adjudicator, this is the sacred judgment chamber."

They had arrived.

He straightened his hair, then solemnly performed a Temple salute. The templar, too, departed from his usual manner and returned the salute solemnly. According to the Temple's teachings, this place possessed divine power used to purify evil, which was why it sealed away the mages' evil magic. Of course, although it was not known what that power was, since the Temple of the God of Justice publicized it that way, it naturally claimed the divine power belonged to him as well. The area outside the door was heavily guarded; clearly, this was not an easy place to enter or leave.

He really wondered what expressions those bishops would make if they learned that the source of what they called the "sacred power that suppressed evil" had been created by the "spokesman for evil" they had always denounced.

Walking through the door, Li Lin gazed silently at the faintly glowing room.

"Angela, I have something to investigate."

He said to Angela.

"Yes, Master."

Angela smiled faintly and nodded, then looked at the templar beside her. Soon, beneath the light of her scarlet eyes, the templar's gaze grew dull and lifeless, as though he had lost his senses.

"Kneel, human."

Angela gave the order with a soft chuckle, and the templar knelt blankly before her, awaiting her next command.

"My shoes are a little dirty..." As she spoke, Angela lifted her skirt slightly, revealing the little black leather boots beneath.

"Lick them clean for me."

"..."

The templar said nothing. Slowly, he reached out and respectfully lifted Angela's little foot, then opened his mouth and extended his tongue to deal with the mud remaining on her boot.

"Hehe... what a good boy..."

Looking at the puppet-like templar before her, Angela chuckled smugly under her breath.

Since Angela had found an amusing game, Li Lin paid her no further attention. He turned his attention back to the room. Unlike the other rooms, nothing here had been altered. Whether it was the Temple or the Mages' Association that had discovered this place, they had presumably thought that changing it recklessly would cause trouble. After all, any knowledgeable mage or priest could sense the powerful force here, and with the place's ability to suppress magic in mind, just about anyone could guess the reason. Of course, ordinary people could not enter this room. Had Li Lin's fabricated identity as an adjudicator not been convincing enough, he probably could not have entered either.

But for now, he had something more important to do.

Closely examining the magical restriction in the room, Li Lin looked at the magic runes with nostalgia, recalling the scene when the thirteen Arcane Mages had cast it together. Times had changed. The restriction remained, but only one of the thirteen Arcane Mages was left. The sorrow of it was truly difficult to put into words.

Li Lin shook his head hard, casting the sorrow aside, and continued to examine the magic rune array before him. It had been formed by combining and linking the most powerful and sophisticated forces of each of the thirteen Arcane Mages, suppressing low-level spells from every school. It was an ingenious magic rune array, not something just anyone could create. And what Li Lin was looking for was a clue left behind a thousand years ago.

"Found it."

Walking to the inner side of the room, Li Lin finally found what he was looking for in a corner of the wall. It was also a rune array. But unlike the array created by the thirteen Arcane Mages, this one served a destructive purpose. It should have released unparalleled energy to disrupt the operation of the entire room's magic rune array, then disappeared. But judging by the current situation, this magic rune array was clearly only half complete; it could even be said to have been abruptly interrupted. It seemed its creator had encountered some unexpected event and hurriedly stopped drawing it.

This was her handwriting.

Gazing at the graceful, gentle magic runes, Li Lin sighed softly. He immediately composed himself, silently recited an incantation, and sent his consciousness into the magic runes before him. Magic runes differed from ordinary letters: they required the caster to draw on their own magical power, and the source of that power would naturally contain traces of the caster, even some memories. Li Lin had once studied the subject in his spare time and subsequently invented this spell by accident. Of course, he would not use it to pry into the runes of other Arcane Mages. Even if he learned some gossip, it would serve no purpose except to undermine stability and unity. But when he encountered something he could not verify with the person concerned, it became a useful method.

Of course, this kind of mental probing technique had its limitations.

Li Lin's mind sank into the magic rune array. He observed it gently, following the familiar, beautiful pulsations with pleasure. Then scene after scene flashed into his memory. Li Lin quickly withdrew his hand, bringing the spell to an end. He stood there in silence for a moment, then walked back to Angela. Angela had also finished the cleaning by then and was making the templar imitate a frog's jumps. Seeing Li Lin return, she turned toward him and quickly noticed a change in his expression.

"I've got the information. Let's go."

In response to Angela's questioning gaze, Li Lin merely spoke those words calmly.