The black sun hangs high

Chapter 264 Wishing Fan En Good Luck

The breakthrough did not bring Vilin any sense of accomplishment.

She only felt panicked.

A strong, unprecedented sense of panic.

Even in the oppressive world beneath Ernst Manor, when faced with the terrifying horde of rats, she had never felt this way.

After the intense panic and fear subsided, what followed was a heavy and cold calm, along with a faint trace of sorrow.

"I will convey your message, thank you."

She pressed her hand against the surface of the container, pouring her innermost thoughts into it. In the next instant, the crystalline humanoid figure that was constantly absorbing the alchemical liquid in the container flickered violently twice. The originally dense patterns flickered gently twice, and then changed once again.

Clearly, the soul and will that had completely transformed into crystallized form still had much to say to the person outside the container.

Weilin immediately turned and left, and reported her discovery.

Soon, an emergency meeting was held inside the committee's headquarters. The meeting was held in the laboratory. Without exception, all the attendees were elite mages from the council and the law committee, including two senior professors from Merlinle who had just arrived at the scene.

However, after Vera presented her findings and results to everyone, she was directly "asked" to leave the laboratory.

Clearly, the content of the meeting to be discussed next has no direct relevance to Weilin, and the committee does not need a scholar of lake level to offer any "valuable advice".

Of course, Vera also disliked the atmosphere of the meeting and the faces of some of the officials present, so she simply returned to the temporary cabin assigned to her and closed her eyes to rest.

She didn't know how much time had passed, maybe only half an hour to an hour, but a slight tremor in her magical perception pulled Vera Lin out of her light sleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Butler Finn standing silently in front of the table, seemingly brewing some kind of tea.

A refreshing scent filled the air, emanating from some kind of magical tea.

"I didn't expect your magical perception to be so sharp. Won't you rest a little longer?"

Finn spoke very naturally, as if he regarded himself as an ordinary and competent butler, which surprised Vera.

Seeing that Veraine remained silent, Finn continued, "Miss Veraine, you have found an important breakthrough for us. Those discoveries are really... really important. Without them, the emergency committee would not even be able to make a reasonable judgment, let alone make any subsequent decisions."

As he spoke, he poured the tea into a cup and gently placed it in front of Vivian.

At this moment, Vilin noticed that the elven mage in front of her, who was always mindful of his appearance and always appeared extremely confident, seemed somewhat dejected and lost. His sleeves were wet, obviously from accidentally getting water on them while making tea.

Such a thing should never happen to a seasoned royal butler and magic master.

"Have some, it will greatly help your energy. It's a precious tea imported from the East, a gift specially given to you by Princess Sofia."

Vera nodded, picked up her teacup but didn't drink it. Instead, she asked, "So... Mr. Finn, am I qualified to know what decisions the Emergency Committee made based on our discovery?"

"Snapped."

Finn gently put down the teapot in his hand.

He took two steps back, found a chair, and slowly sat down.

The elven mage, who was over a hundred years old, stared intently at the young and earnest female mage before him. Finally, he spoke, "Just now, the committee successfully translated more messages and words from the survivors. Combined with all the logs we received before, this has allowed us to learn about some of what happened in the underground fissures."

"...There was no major earthquake at all. What happened before was just a small harbinger of a catastrophic disaster. The reason our second team ended up like this is because they accidentally saw the source of the disaster while leaving the crevice."

"source?"

Hearing these words, Vilin felt her throat go dry, and her hand holding the cup trembled slightly. Then she pressed on, "What exactly is the source you're talking about? Some kind of lost evil magic or a remnant ritual? A plague? What could possibly turn our soldiers and mages into this state?"

"It is magic itself."

Finn slowly said, "Deep within this rift, there exists something... something beyond everyone's comprehension. It exudes an extremely intense magical power, beyond imagination. And the closer you get to it, the richer and larger the veins of crystal ore become."

"However, these veins are completely connected to what they call 'existence,' like blood vessels connected to the heart... Anyone who gets close to the veins will be affected; a large amount of magic will directly interfere with their will and senses, while constantly 'remodeling' their bodies."

"You mean... those crystals that grow on their bodies are actually..."

"Yes, magic crystal ore."

Finn reached into his pocket and pulled out a fragment of crystalline ore contained in a tiny alchemical container. Under the light, the fragment shone brilliantly, like an alchemical bomb ready to explode with magical energy at any moment.

"They are the ores we use every day, but now, just like the magic in Vaan, they are in an extremely bad state of mutation."

Finn gently shook the container in his hand: "And this is the root source of the 'magic tremors' we detected earlier." Virin stared at the crystalline fragments emitting an eerie, bright light, and asked in a trembling voice, "So, can they explain exactly what's underneath?"

"It's hard."

Finn shook his head: "Although they successfully returned to the camp, their thinking, memories, and even senses were likely severely distorted and damaged during the descent. You should have seen it before; after reaching the fifth cryptic node, all the messages they sent were repetitive... but they didn't realize this at all and continued to descend! In fact, we had already notified them to return immediately, but who knows what those messages looked like in their eyes!"

At this point, even Finn, with his resilient and powerful mind, couldn't help but let out a sigh.

He said, "To find out what it's like down there, we'll probably have to wait for the third team to send back the news, and... this might be our last chance to learn the details down there."

Veraine's eyes widened in disbelief: "There's a third batch?"

Finn nodded: "Yes, the third batch, they have already set off... It's Merlinler and the people he found. They left their wills, and their families and relatives will be taken away by the Legal Committee and will enjoy better treatment than the families of the Ymir Legion, hehe."

Seeing that Verine hadn't drunk any of the tea in her cup, Finn felt a little helpless. He picked up another cup, poured himself a full cup, took a slow sip, and then said regretfully, "It's a pity. I heard a long time ago that this kind of tea from the Eastern Empire needs to be brewed with special teaware, and it is said that the mages there also practice an art related to it. Hehe, I wonder if I will ever have the chance to see it in the future."

So Violet took a sip of hot tea, and an invigorating magic immediately flowed into her body through the warm tea, replenishing her magic depletion of the past few days and easing her tense mind a little.

"Just now, the temporary ceasefire agreement has been passed, and soon Delan, Walter, and Hein will issue the corresponding notices... Of course, the excuse is 'the end of winter'. Time is too urgent, and we cannot make most people accept the disaster that may break out at any time."

"Saint Steele didn't pass?"

"of course not."

Finn shook his head: "The royal family of the North has gone completely mad. They are blocking news throughout the country, arresting residents who spread the Firebearer and so-called subversive statements about the authority of the royal family. There have even been massacres in some towns. News of their frontline troops has been completely cut off. I'm afraid that in a couple of days, Saint Steel will withdraw from the Highland Alliance, and all the steam train lines in our country will be shut down."

"So, the Black Sun Society no longer needs to hide, right?"

Vera pursed her lips: "Is the moment they've been longing for finally about to arrive?"

"Yes, there are already people openly promoting the Black Sun Society and their lost gods in cities around the world. Of course, these people will not have a good ending... At least our royal family has issued a temporary decree that anyone promoting such content will be dealt with on the spot."

Finn spoke at length, clearly under immense pressure, but his conversation with Verine improved his condition considerably.

After finishing her tea, the elf looked up and asked, "Miss Verine, do you have any other questions?"

Vera finished her tea and then cautiously asked, "So, what else do I need to do? And... in this situation, how exactly does the Emergency Committee intend to handle the city of Seren?"

“City of Seren…”

Finn's expression shifted: "We will make a final effort for Seren City in the next few days... The Emergency Committee will set up a temporary checkpoint near it to screen all survivors who have left the city. However, if any accidents or uncontrollable situations occur during this process, the Committee will immediately re-lock down Seren City and implement the necessary final measures."

Veraine did not ask what the so-called "final measure" meant. As a scholar who had read through Merlinler's records and many magical accidents, she was well aware of its cruelty.

Finn is clearly not representing the Walter royal family now; he is representing a top magical advisor involved in the emergency committee. Since he can say such things, it means that the order has been recognized by the vast majority of the participating countries.

Under the current circumstances, although they will not choose to abandon or ignore Seren City again, if the situation changes, they will naturally take the most thorough measures to eliminate the hidden dangers.

"As for you, Miss Vera..."

Finn's dejected and disappointed expression faded considerably, and he regained his composure: "A major reason why I have never formally joined the Council and the Legal Committee is because I think many of the decisions they make are undignified, and occasionally even reveal a bit of ugliness and filth... Ha, according to some people's ideas, you should at least be under house arrest now, or have your memories processed by Merlinle and his mages, but I don't think that's a good option."

“The mages of Merlinler and his party do not want you to continue to be involved in the subsequent related matters, but they also refuse to let you leave at will, so I used my personal authority to temporarily adjust your work location... which can be considered as fulfilling Mr. Zeke Ernst's request.”

With that, Finn took out his magic book, pulled out the documents and certificates tucked inside, and placed them on the table: "The southern checkpoint of Seren will be very busy in the next few days. I think you should be able to help, Miss Verin?"

Weilin was stunned for a moment, then, as if she had seen a toy cat, she suddenly reached out and grabbed the document on the table.

Finn was somewhat exasperated by this action. He shook his head and said, "Alright, alright, young people are always like this... Oh, and when you leave, don't forget to hang the badge I gave you earlier on the outside of your clothes. That will save you a lot of trouble, you know?"

Vera nodded seriously, but then asked with some confusion, "I don't quite understand why you would treat me like this?"

"Salary? Not really."

Finn rolled up his wet sleeves and said, "Do you remember what I said when you first came to the camp? I said that Miss Verin had the potential to become a national magic advisor, and your performance these past two days has proven that my judgment was correct. Therefore, I will naturally treat you with the same attitude now."

"If, in a few days, a catastrophe truly occurs on the land of Vanne that is enough to destroy the current order, and Miss Virin and those you care about and are concerned about are fortunate enough to survive, then please do not forget to show some goodwill to the Kingdom of Walter and our royal family at this critical moment."

Finn checked the time: "That's all I have to say. Get some rest, Miss Verin. Someone will take you to the southern checkpoint of Seren City tomorrow morning. Good luck, and good luck to Finn as well."

(End of this chapter)