Chapter 1334: 92. Something Suspicious

"Arman Guderian...... Are you certain that the famous Grand Mage Arman is really inside?"

The prison was dark and freezing. From time to time, droplets of water fell to the ground, producing echoes that seemed to make one's very soul tremble.

The languid-looking young woman nervously tightened her grip on the wand in her hand as she surveyed her surroundings. At the same time, she sensed the terrifying magical aura circulating through the depths of the prison. If not for the halo enveloping her from above and filtering out most of its influence, she probably would have chosen to flee immediately.

[Divine Sigh], a super-restriction jointly created by several top Truth-Rank Grand Mages, completely sealed this prison. Its effect was exactly as its name suggested: it sealed heaven and earth, completely locking down magic. Even if a god came here, all they could do was sigh.

Of course, that might merely be an exaggerated description, but it was enough to demonstrate just how tightly secured and terrifying this place was. Even with the halo granting immunity, the oppressive pressure produced by the restriction could still be clearly felt. Although the prison was extremely cold, the young woman was already drenched in sweat.

And all of this, all this tremendous effort......

Was solely for the sake of imprisoning the old man inside.

Nothing more.

"I still find it difficult to imagine that someone like him would actually collude with an Evil God."

Feier's delicate brows furrowed. She had always placed great importance on getting enough sleep, yet right now there were actually dark circles beneath her eyes. That alone showed how serious this matter was.

"Master Hoggu, are you certain there hasn't been some mistake?"

"I find it difficult to believe as well."

Beside her, the gray-haired old man held an ordinary candlestick. The flame atop it constantly swayed with his breathing, sometimes stretching the shadows of the two of them very long, and at other times illuminating a corner of the cold chamber located at the deepest part of the prison.

"But this is the truth."

Hoggu sighed. His aged face, illuminated by the candlelight, was filled with regret.

"We were even good friends when we were young. Although we eventually fell out over certain disagreements, I still know what kind of person he is. He may be rather stubborn, but I never imagined he would actually collude with an Evil God...... until I saw those things with my own eyes."

"Could it really not have been an illusion?...... No, that's impossible. You're the foremost illusion master in the Origin Tower. Who could possibly use an illusion to deceive you?"

Feier voiced her doubts, then immediately shook her head, finding even her own speculation ridiculous.

How could the eyes of the leader of the Illusion School possibly be deceived by an illusion?

The odds of that were practically as small as the odds of a blond villain in a story pursuing pure love.

"But this matter is extremely serious. We still need to confirm it before reaching a final conclusion."

"I know. That's why I asked you to come."

Hoggu smiled gently.

"Feier, you're both a student of the Origin Tower and a former Saintess candidate of the Church. In this respect, I don't think anyone in the entire Origin Tower is more authoritative than you."

"Master, you're flattering me. Feier was never a true Saintess. I'm still far from qualified in that regard."

"Don't belittle yourself. During the previous joint investigation with the Church, weren't you the one who personally uncovered several scum inside the Tower who had been corrupted by Evil Gods? Your abilities in this field are already no worse than those of the bishops."

"Master really thinks too highly of me. I'm nowhere near that impressive. But......"

Feier temporarily set her wand aside, her small face turning solemn.

"This is an extremely serious matter. Naturally, Feier wouldn't dare make assumptions about something like this."

"Thank you."

Hoggu seemed to remember something, and a trace of pain flashed through his eyes.

"I'm counting on you. You must completely sever the claws those Evil God bastards have extended into this place!"

"Mm!"

Feier nodded firmly.

She understood how Master Hoggu felt.

After all, the reason the Origin Tower and the Church had jointly investigated the Tower's interior last time was because the disciple he trusted most had been tempted by an Evil God, becoming a believer of the Love God and nearly ruining the Saint-Bathing Ceremony, almost causing a catastrophe.

Even now, the old man still felt pain and blamed himself over it.

"Don't worry. I'll do everything I can."

Feier offered him a gentle word of reassurance before walking up to the specially constructed cell.

Other than a small window, it didn't even have a door.

She closed her eyes and clasped her hands tightly together.

"Goddess...... please hear my prayer."

Suddenly, holy radiance lit up before her.

It was the Goddess's Holy Light.

Inside this freezing prison, the Holy Light wasn't particularly bright and didn't display any overwhelming power. Instead, under Feier's precise control......

It transformed into a butterfly.

The butterfly formed from Holy Light was extraordinarily beautiful. With a slight flutter of its wings, it began to dance through the air, following the bars of the small window and flying into the room.

Feier's vision entered the room along with the butterfly.

The first thing that entered her sight was still darkness.

As her eyes gradually adapted to it, Feier slowly began to make out a thin, emaciated human silhouette.

The figure was crawling along the ground. Sometimes it crawled forward, sometimes it sat up, and sometimes it twisted around on the floor. It was difficult to tell exactly what it was doing, and she couldn't even make out the details of its appearance.

The Holy Light butterfly flapped its wings, trying to move closer to the figure and obtain clearer information......

But just as it was about to approach, the figure suddenly raised its head.

What entered Feier's sight......

Was a pair of eyes.

A pair of......

Indescribably vicious eyes!

"Ugh!"

Outside the cell, Feier suddenly cried out and staggered backward, nearly falling over. Fortunately, a pair of gentle hands caught her.

She opened her beautiful eyes as well, panting heavily, her expression filled with horror.

"How was it?"

Hoggu hurriedly asked.

"I...... I saw it."

Feier struggled back to her feet and, still shaken, patted the pair of peaks on her chest that weren't much smaller than those of the current Saintess.

"That person...... He's terrifying now. Absolutely terrifying!"

"And the result?" Hoggu asked anxiously.

"The result......"

Feier swallowed and said:

"There is no doubt about it. There is an extremely distinct Evil God aura on him. He...... He's been Polluted by an Evil God!"

......

......

"Teacher Mela means...... there's something suspicious about my bargain-bin senior fellow disciple supposedly colluding with an Evil God?"

Muen's eyes widened in disbelief.

Although he still didn't know the full picture, from just those few words from Mela, he could already vaguely sense that there was an enormous trap hidden behind this matter!

A veteran Truth-Rank Grand Mage colluding with an Evil God...... or perhaps not actually colluding with one at all.

Either way, this was obviously going to be unbelievably troublesome!

"That's right."

Mela nodded and spoke with a trace of melancholy.

"Although that brat ultimately never became a true disciple of mine, I still know what kind of person he is."

"Oh? Senior Fellow Disciple...... Is he really that unusual?" Muen asked curiously. ℯ

"Very unusual...... At least in certain respects, he's even more unusual than you."

"......"

"He possesses extraordinary talent, an arrogant personality, and cares about nothing except studying magic. When it comes to magic, he's an absolute genius. Even over the course of my long life, he'd still rank among the very best."

"He's that impressive?"

Muen was startled.

This was the first time he'd ever heard Teacher Mela evaluate someone so highly.

"Unfortunately, his flaws are just as obvious. He has talent only for magic and absolutely no talent in any other area. Before becoming a Truth-Rank mage, his purely physical combat ability wasn't even as good as that of a stray cat on the street."

"That's ridiculously specialized."

Wait......

Muen suddenly jolted.

Why did that character setting sound so familiar?

"But it's precisely because of that...... Since he devoted himself entirely to magic, he has virtually no desire whatsoever for any other kind of power or anything else. That brat doesn't even touch women. He's over a hundred years old and still an old virgin......"

A strange expression appeared on Mela's face.

"So I genuinely find it difficult to believe that someone like him would be tempted by an Evil God and actually collude with one."