Knight and Wand

Chapter 85 Echo of Aphrodite

Standing at the foot of the smooth stone wall, Leon looked at the flag hanging from the battlement. The white flame pattern in the center ring looked more and more familiar.

Apart from the fact that the flame at the bottom of the mark was pointing upwards instead of expanding in all directions, he always felt that this mark was inexplicably similar to the Holy Sun Wheel of the church in the original owner's memory.

Suppressing the sense of déjà vu in his heart, Leon walked into the wide city gate holding the spirit lamp.

The two thick steel gates inside and outside were not closed. When leading a horse through the city wall, you could see debris scattered on the road, as if it was left behind by the crowd when they fled in a hurry.

In this realm of time and space confusion, Leon seemed to hear the noisy clamor of people hastily evacuating.

He picked up his sword and opened a dry cloth bag that broke at the touch of a roadside stick. Inside was grain that had long since lost all its moisture and was shriveled beyond recognition.

This is really old grain from who knows how many years ago, and the process of corruption seems to have only been halfway through before it was frozen in time and space.

Continuing forward, I didn't see any living creatures along the way, and there were no corpses or undead either. The town was empty.

Walking on this spacious road and looking around, you will see houses neatly lined up on the roadside.

Although this town castle is small and can accommodate a population of perhaps no more than a thousand, its internal planning is much more advanced than the messy medieval towns outside.

Not to mention the peculiarly shaped lamp posts that can be seen every few steps, and the sewer manhole covers evenly distributed on the roadside.

Just the aqueduct that spanned halfway down the mountain, suspended high on arches and connected to what was suspected to be a reservoir facility, made Leon feel a rational and exquisite architectural beauty.

The style seems to be similar to the ancient city buildings of Rolandar in the original owner's memory.

Walking past the fountain square with clear water in the pool, we arrived at the innermost area of ​​the town castle. In front of us was a long stone staircase leading up to a towering spire building.

At this moment, Leon no longer needed to look at the dazzling spiritual lamp. The direction that the soul of the Flame Sun Guard wanted to guide was undoubtedly the spire high up.

Without further ado, Leon tied the tired warhorse to the spot by the fountain in the square, letting the poor mount rest, and took Corvis up the stairs.

"Leon, I feel an amazing amount of magic power flowing continuously towards that tower. Is there really no danger here?" Corvis asked doubtfully behind his companion, panting and holding a heavy spear.

"."

Leon, who knew nothing about magic, naturally couldn't make any promises to him. Helplessly, he could only ask in his heart: "Miss Laura, you want to come and take a look so much, do you know where this place is?"

"It's a small fortress built around a wizard's residence."

Laura replied quietly, "I just saw a familiar mark and wanted to confirm whether this place belonged to someone from the past, and to confirm her safety."

"Safety? You mean, your friend might still be alive now?" Leon asked in surprise.

"If this spiritual field was caused by her, then being alive is not a good thing."

After Laura finished speaking, she became quiet, as if she didn't want to talk any more.

Leon wisely stopped asking further questions.

When I reached the end of the stairs, suddenly, the spirit lamp in my hand burst into a bright light.

It was as if the soul inside had reached the end of its long-sought destination.

Leon raised his hand and temporarily put the wayfinder, which was shaking so much that he couldn't open his eyes, on the ground, so that he could look up at the spire in front of him, which was about 40 meters high, without hindrance.

The building is somewhat similar to the Gothic style that Leon had seen in his previous life.

The main body of the tall tower is angular, and the windows between the carved eaves are decorated with complex and gorgeous colored glass, which is very exquisite and beautiful.

The tower is surrounded by a circle of neatly arranged flying buttresses on both sides, and the spires of the flying buttresses are even inlaid with transparent crystals of unknown material.

Leon instructed the young man behind him: "I'll go in and take a look. To be on the safe side, you wait for me outside."

"Do you really want to go in?" There was some worry in Corvis' eyes. It was not a wise choice to rashly step into this building that looked like a wizard's tower.

Leon nodded, after all, he was entrusted by Laura.

Besides, his curiosity has reached its peak, and he would feel uncomfortable as if he were scratched by a cat if he didn't go in and take a look.

He walked to the entrance of the tower, stretched out his hand but retracted it, and asked Laura with one last vigilance: "Is your friend going to set a magic trap on his door?"

I'm really scared of these wizards. I can't pick up Piriano's staff, and I can't wear the armor of the Sun Guards. It seems that everything related to magic is insured.

"The ritual at the entrance has not been activated. The surrounding magic power has been completely gathered into the tower by a kind of 'big magic'. Go in with peace of mind." Laura explained lightly.

Leon followed his instructions, pressed the heavy door in front of him, and pushed it open with force amid the creaking sound of the hinges.

The first thing that catches your eye is the smooth floor that looks as if it was polished from a single giant piece of marble.

I admired the luxurious materials used for the floor, and then looked up to see the high suspended gallery dome, which made the interior of the building appear particularly spacious.

The unknown crystals surrounding the columns cast brilliant light, illuminating the entire circular hall.

Leon's gaze fell towards the innermost part of the hall, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes involuntarily.

At the end of the field of vision, a semicircular stone staircase is built against the wall, and on the arched platform stands a seamless stone throne.

A beautiful lady in a purple robe decorated with gold and with cherry pink long hair draped over her shoulders, leaned against the majestic throne with her eyes closed, as if she was just sleeping peacefully.

Through Leon's eyes, Laura finally caught a glimpse of the expected figure.

She whispered the familiar name
".Aphrodite."

Hearing the sudden gloom in Miss Mage's mood, Leon sensed the sadness in it.

Is this really an acquaintance?

But is the person on the throne in front of me a living person or a dead person?
Listening to Laura's sad tone, Leon estimated that the other party was most likely the latter.

But if he was dead, why didn’t his body rot and shrivele like those zombies?
Seeing that Laura fell into silence and had no intention of warning of danger, Leon couldn’t help but walk into the circular hall in front of him.

The soles of my boots stepped on the mirror-like floor of the hall, and the echoing sound seemed lonely and empty.

Stopping in the center and not moving closer to the throne, Leon observed curiously from a distance.

"Is she the old friend you want to see?" Leon asked Laura in his heart.

The long pink hair of the purple-robed lady on the throne was really rare, and its natural texture did not look like the ones dyed in the hair salon in the previous life.

But Leon was sure that in the original owner's memory, he had never seen the Feru people have such a strange hair color.

If I have to say, looking back, only Pierino's red hair was indeed particularly bright red.

Is it the influence of magic?

"Aphrodite, it's mine." Laura's faint voice had not yet fallen.

Leon saw the pink-haired lady who seemed to be sleeping on the throne slowly open her eyes.

He immediately felt his heart skip a beat.

Could it be that Zongzi is pretending to be dead?
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he was attracted by the unique eyes of the man on the throne.

How to describe those eyes that sparkle like gemstones? The brilliant twinkling starlight has almost surpassed the boundaries of beauty and even reached the level of being "weird".

The devil's eyes, shining like the starry sky, crossed the river of time and leisurely looked into the doubtful eyes of the people below the stage, as if peeping into the soul within the body.

An ethereal and pleasant voice gently echoed in the hall:
"Finally, I get to see you again
Teacher Ilarial."

Although the pink-haired lady in purple robes did not make any move to speak, Leon knew that the voice was undoubtedly spoken by the other party.

But I still can't tell whether the other person is alive or not.

But who is she calling? Teacher Ilarial?

Did he see through that there was another soul inside him?
so.
It turns out that Laura’s last name is also “Ilarial”?
It seems that either the wizard herself or her parents believed in the Holy Sun Religion when she was alive.

It was not surprising to think that she might be from Serrian. After all, in the Holy City, if you threw a brick at a crowd, eight out of ten people would be hit by someone with the last name of Ilaril.

No wonder she always wanted to go back to the Great Temple of Rolandar for pilgrimage. She is really pious.

Leon threw away the thoughts jumping in his head and silently called out to the Miss Mage in his heart: "The lady is calling you, right? Do you want me to help you pass the message?"

"No need. There's no point in talking to a shadow of the past."

Laura’s straightforward answer surprised Leon.

"What you see are just the remnants of the past passed down by the dead.

It is not a real entity, we are just activating an illusion that has been here for a long time."

? Leon frowned, and probably understood what Miss Mage meant.

So what he saw was just a magical illusion similar to a video, right?

Leon raised his eyes and looked at the purple-robed female sorceress on the throne. There was no sign of illusion at all. He felt that every inch of her figure was so real.

"I'm sorry, I didn't follow your teachings. I finally came into contact with the power of the spiritual world and I failed. Of course, this is all my own fault." The voice that traveled through time still echoed in the hall.

"But no matter what the cost, it's all for the sake of seeing you again."

"fool."

Laura sighed helplessly. It was not that she could not understand, but hiding in such a corner and ending up in such a tragic situation. Wouldn't they still not be able to meet in the end?

Leon just watched the echo that transcended time and space in silence, feeling curious.

The purple-robed lady had already stood up from the throne. She slowly folded her hands over her chest and said in a sad and nostalgic voice: "This is your idea from the past, and it is also my last hope. I hope we can meet at the end of time."

".Aphrodite left something behind before she died. Stand still and don't move for a while." Laura's voice reminded.

"what?"

Leon was confused and didn't have time to react, so he stepped firmly on the ground.

The next moment, the sound echoing in the hall gradually disappeared.

The figure in front of the throne shone with a brilliant and dazzling halo.

A giant magic pattern as complex as a kaleidoscope suddenly bloomed from under the feet of the Shadow of Aphrodite.

A loud whistling sound of wind suddenly rang in Leon's ears——!
The huge magical power swirling in the air made even a layman like Leon feel the strong cyclone that suddenly blew through the hall.

His hair was blown wildly on his head and he could hardly stand. Leon lowered his body slightly to resist the turbulent magic from every inch of air around his body rushing towards the throne in front of him.

Brilliant colors like rainbow rays appeared in the air, flying around the illusion of the wizard lady.

Outside, the blond boy felt as if his soul was placed in the center of a tsunami. His legs became weak and he looked up at the suddenly restless chaotic sky.

Above the towering spire, in the dark storm that was turning silently, suddenly bursts of deep purple cracks like thunder exploded.
(Gulorelite)
"May the Most High Sun, Mothra Sol, bear witness.
In the name of my Lord, Dharma King Ilaril, the last guardian.
I, Aphrodite Neti
Will fulfill the immortal contract with the Dead Sea Dragon.

Connecting to the other side
Until forever"

The dazzling golden light that was impossible to see through forced Leon to close his eyes.

The shadow of Aphrodite turned into starlight and flew away, then condensed into shape again in mid-air.

Leon endured the discomfort of his blood boiling in the sudden surging wave of magic power.

Until the whistling sound in my ears finally stopped.

He was able to regain consciousness again.

Open your eyes.

Nothing around has changed.

It was as if the horrifying noise just now was just part of an illusion.

"How could you do this?" Laura's sad voice sounded: "Leon, go and collect her belongings."

Leon looked up in confusion: "Relics?"

Aphrodite was no longer in front of the stone wizard's throne.

Instead, there was a square object floating quietly in the air, emitting a hazy golden light.

Leon smoothed his hair that had just been blown into a mess, then quickly walked forward to the steps of the throne's rock foundation.

Before he could walk up and reach for the glowing rectangular sheet.

Then he saw the object floating down on its own, like a fallen leaf, flying into Leon's half-stretched hand.

Pinching that light object, I felt a cool touch on my fingertips.

This is a rectangular hard card surrounded by gold material on all four sides.

Subtle and intricate magic patterns are engraved on the gorgeous border, and the main body of the card has a translucent texture like crystal, with beautiful white light patterns constantly flowing through it like mist.

“Is this a card?”

Leon held the translucent gold-framed card in his hand, turned it around in confusion, and couldn't figure out what it was: "Lola, what kind of treasure did Ms. Neti leave behind?"

Leon felt that since these were things left behind by the mage's disciples, she, as their master, would definitely be able to figure it out.

"Its former prototype was a magic container, like a spell scroll, but Aphrodite would not pay such a price just to create a toy. Could it be that the idea she mentioned was... Leon, go to the upper level and find her research notes. Before this spiritual field begins to dissipate, I want to find out what she wants to do first."

Laura didn't want to waste the time she could still spend communicating.

"Ah? The spirit-like field dissipated?!"

Leon raised his eyebrows. He seemed to have heard some extraordinary information from the other party.

(End of this chapter)