Equipment Printing School Mage
Page 191
The woman spoke, and a mixed voice like thunder in the sky came out: "Craig, I really didn't expect you to contact me so soon."
Craig knelt firmly on the ground, with no intention of lifting his forehead from the rock. "It's not that I wanted to contact you, but the talent of Lunia's Emiya has greatly exceeded my expectations. His efficiency in completing orders directly affects his reputation, so after receiving the delivery, I rushed here without stopping."
However, in the face of Craig's submissive attitude, the woman was merciless and said bluntly: "Put away your hypocritical face. I know exactly what you are thinking."
"The Grand Duke's wisdom sees through everything," Craig replied. "May I ask what the final results of your investigation into Emya were?"
"I told you. Such a test is pointless," the woman said coldly. "Twenty sets of Iron Knight armor. Without any urging and without any manufacturing experience, he delivered them in just a few days. The quality is so good that it makes me want to kick Bayer's bunch of good-for-nothings into the River Styx! And in that short time, he also reverse-engineered the Sunlight Sword, creating a brand new one with a completely new mechanism. He's efficient and uses scientific research. What else can I complain about? Even if you take a hundred craftsmen from that idiotic Bayer's logistics department and combine their combined efficiency, they might not be half as efficient as this Emiya!"
The woman's voice immediately rose: "-- As long as we can snatch this wizard named Emilia to Hell, the former Grand Duke Mr. Bayer can immediately return to his role as the Pit Refiner and charge into bloody battles!
"There's only one conclusion—no matter what, no matter the cost, we must bring this young man named Aimya to Avernus. Furthermore, I want him as a person, not his soul! This talent is clearly tied to his brain and body, so it can't be interfered with by those stupid sadists and the Styx. I want him to arrive in Hell intact and willingly."
Craig didn't respond immediately, but his body, lying on the ground, relaxed slightly. "--Sir Zariel, if this is an order, I can do my best, but I'm not capable enough. And if I fail to land the first strike, I might not have another chance."
If anyone else was present, they would probably be shocked by the words that came out of Craig's mouth at this moment.
The vague human figure shaped by the flames was the former Servant of the Seraphim, now the Grand Duke of the Devil, Lord of Avernus, Zariel.
And the leader of Elturgard was just one of Zariel's servants.
"...That Mephistopheles guy, Eltoril sacrificed too much for his playboy. Who could have guessed that Raphael would fail at the last moment? His father's face has been disgraced by this idiot." Zariel was not surprised by this response, and instead complained about the failure of Baldur's Gate.
"My guess," Craig said, "is that Raphael failed because of Mr. Emiya of Lunya."
"...Lunya? Which Lunia?" Zariel asked warily when he heard a certain word. "The Silver Heaven on the first level of Mount Paradise is called Lunia."
"No. This person's identity is very mysterious," Craig replied. "There are countless villages in Faerun, and I don't know if there is a village with the same name as Lunya. But Mr. Emya is a wizard."
"That's probably a coincidence." Zariel shook his head. "Across Celestial Mountain, I'm afraid only the gods who live there understand the arcane. The other residents have neither the desire nor the ability to learn."
At this point, Zariel frowned. "Come to think of it, back when I was in Paradise, I actually heard a rather absurd rumor circulating in Celestial Mountain... but it couldn't be that coincidental, and that rumor had nothing to do with mortals."
After this little incident, Zariel thought for a moment and said, "Let me get straight to the point. You're leading this. How much support do you need? What's the reward?"
"This isn't a problem that can be solved with support and rewards." At this point, the ever-complacent Craig finally raised his head. "Sir Zariel, Bayer has arrived in Elturgard. He's already spotted Emya's potential and intends to kill him first."
"...Humph." To Craig's surprise, Zariel didn't get angry. Instead, he snorted coldly. "This former Grand Duke has quite a few side hustles. He was ordered to breed burrowworms to enrich his arsenal, but he ended up raising my Eltoril. He's got one trick after another. So, what are you trying to say? Are the Gods Not Gods and the Pit Fiends enough?"
"No. I don't think Bile is a topic that can be easily brushed aside." Craig shook his head firmly. "Don't you think that having Bile imprisoned by the people of the material plane is a shortcut to completely silencing him and leaving even Lord Asmodeus speechless?"
"...Oh?" Zariel frowned, "But why did Bile stay in the material plane?"
Craig replied, "You know what he's up to. The real target that lured him here and kept him here isn't Emya. He shouldn't have such a big connection to the fact that there's a powerful craftsman among the mortals. It's not worth his personal risk."
For the first time in this conversation, Zariel fell silent.
After a while, the scarlet flames suddenly grew stronger.
The blazing flames of hell suddenly filled the entire densely packed space, pouring into Craig's body. The Supreme Observer, who had just stood up, gritted his teeth and endured for a few seconds before finally screaming and falling to the ground.
The flames suddenly flared up, then died silently. Golden light shone into Craig's body, healing his burns one by one. But before his wounds could fully heal, the hellfire descended again, burning his newly formed flesh and blood.
This was repeated three times, and after confirming that Craig was only breathing his last breath, the flames finally stopped completely.
Zariel said hoarsely, "You are greedy, Craig."
"But it doesn't matter. I'll come. I'll personally crush all your unrealistic hopes right in front of you. Accept the reality. Your struggles are in vain."
"Eltoril is mine too, and so is Emya."
Sixty-Seven Fishing Lines (Part 2)
"There's no surveillance magic left behind." Silver's pupils shone faintly in the darkness. "It seems Zariel and the Supreme Observer are very confident in the concealment of this secret room."
"You're not very confident, are you?" Sig said unhappily. "I once walked right above this secret room and didn't realize there was a hollow communication room dug out in the mountain."
There is no entrance and no exit.
The only way to enter and exit is to use space-related spells.
If one hadn't known about the existence of this room beforehand, it would have been practically impossible for anyone to choose to teleport into the mountain. Such a reckless and maddening act would have resulted in being forcibly squeezed out of space and severely damaged by the magic. At worst, they would have become part of the mountain and died instantly.
Despite Yin's resolute promise, Emiya still teleported into the secret room with Yin to confirm its existence. Only then did he dare to bring the rest of his teammates here.
It was strange. This place clearly looked like a crucial communication location, but the reconstruction technique almost immediately played out the entire communication between Craig and Zariel - the arrest warrant for Emiya was actually the most important communication that had ever taken place here.
Unconvinced, Emiya cast the Reappearance spell several more times, but the image she got was just Craig personally reporting to Zariel on the development of Elturgard.
But no matter what, one thing is certain.
Elturgard's High Watcher, Craig, was a complete and utter devil worshiper, even a high-ranking one. Therefore, not only was he a devil worshiper, but he was also likely induced and corrupted by the Devil Duke Zariel himself. They could even speculate that Craig's rise to High Watcher was due to Zariel's help.
"Elturgard is the kingdom of demons..." Lulu couldn't accept this fact at all. She was now wandering around in this dark secret room like a headless fly. "How is this possible? I've only been here for a few days, and I've already seen nearly a hundred paladins! The Hell Knights may not be polite, but they can be said to be trustworthy! How could such a place be the kingdom of demons? This country's pursuit of justice and kindness has clearly increased compared to more than a hundred years ago! The news of their defeat in Hell didn't make them depressed, but instead made them more courageous. In such a country, even the Church of Lathander is not considered the most glorious one! The fire burning in their eyes and hearts cannot be faked!
She grew increasingly agitated, finally banging her head against the stone wall. "I always thought this place was simply infiltrated by the devil! But even the Supreme Leader surrendered long ago! And this guy has been in power for decades! This doesn't make sense!"
Yes, Elturgard is now such an extremely unreasonable place.
On the one hand, Craig is already a confirmed follower of the devil, and the devil probably infiltrated Eltoril early on because of this relationship.
But strangely, Zariel's subordinates seem to have no interest in corrupting Elturgard. And the devil who planted the nail in Elturgard is actually Zariel's political enemy.
There must be the same reason behind this bizarre phenomenon.
At this moment, Emiya, who was originally in deep thought, suddenly opened her eyes.
"...Lulu, have you ever been to the material plane before?"
The Holy Dumbo, which was still tumbling, suddenly froze: "...I, I've already said it, I got lost and ended up here near Eltoril by chance."
Her ears fluttered. "—Look, I didn't even know there was a Church of Lathander in Eltoril! If I had known this, would I still be hiding in the mountains? I would have come to Eltoril for refuge long ago!"
"You're avoiding the main point." Emilia took a few steps forward without hesitation. Even in the darkness of the secret room, he could hear the sharp increase in the sound of Lulu's wings.
"Need I remind you? Just a few minutes ago, I was quite certain you said, 'This nation's pursuit of justice and kindness has clearly increased, not decreased, compared to a hundred years ago!' Could a celestial being's understanding of a city on the Material Plane be so detailed as to know its development history over the past century?"
"I...I..." Lulu stammered, "Isn't it...that the Church of Lathander in Eltoril is quite prosperous..."
"You just said last time that you didn't know there was a Church of Lathander in Eltoril!"
"I!"
Lying was clearly not the celestial being's forte. She had just let something slip, and the rest of her lies were impossible to cover up. She could only tremble and repeat a few words: "I can't say... I can't say..."
"Good, you have a secret." Emilia frowned.
He now had a guess.
And this speculation may be closely related to Lulu.
At the same time, it is also closely related to their next actions.
"Okay, then I'll pretend I don't know your secret. Our team needs to discuss the next strategy." Emilia turned her head.
"By now, Zariel has spoken the greatest and darkest secret of Elturgard—Eltoril is hers. The words came across as the devil's usual boast. But Zariel meant it."
"I understand." The Paladin had the most solid knowledge in this area and guessed the truth very quickly.
The paladin abruptly stood up and began stalking the dark chamber. "The only explanation for this is that Zariel is stating the truth about the city—that all of Eltoril, and perhaps all who live long enough within it, fall into Zariel's hands after death."
"Then, in this case, there's really no need for the devil to infiltrate Eltoril. The devil's ultimate goal in tempting people to fall is to corrupt powerful and noble souls. But in reality, this process of corruption will greatly reduce their gains - after all, the devil can only exploit souls that have fallen into hell. But a noble soul cannot fall directly into hell. Therefore, in the process of tempting people to fall, the target's soul actually suffers from serious..."
The paladin hesitated for a moment before finding a less offensive word: "...loss. In other words, only by allowing a noble soul to fall directly into hell without realizing it can the devil gain the greatest benefit."
El Toril is a ranch.
Assume that everyone in Eltoril will, for some reason, unconditionally go to Hell after death.
Then, the devil should not tempt the residents to fall as he does in other places.
Instead, it should be just like now - like true Eltoril people, working hard for Eltoril, eliminating all difficulties in the daily lives of residents, making their lives comfortable and happy, elevating the status of the Church of the Three Pillars of Justice, vigorously promoting the Companion Day, and allowing all people who pursue kindness and justice to settle in Eltoril.
Let the ordinary residents here take kindness as their goal, even at the cost of their lives, and make flattening hell their life ideal.
In this way, the purest souls would gather in this area. In just one city, hundreds of holy warriors and countless priests of the Good God Church gathered.
Even in all the kingdoms south of Eltoril combined, the number of paladins might not be as great as in Elturgard!
The most terrifying thing is that these kind-hearted people may not have realized what they had done wrong during their lifetime. They even passed away peacefully surrounded by flowers, relatives, comrades, and fellow clansmen.
But in the kingdom of death, what greeted him was not the messenger of God, but the devil's brilliant and ferocious smile, and the stench of the Styx entered his nose.
——Only such a soul can allow the devil to reap unparalleled benefits.
Over the past few decades, how many kind-hearted people's souls has Zariel harvested through such conspiracies?
Just thinking about this possibility made Emiya shudder.
"If this speculation is true. Then, Mars, what else can we do?"
The top student from Candlekeep answered without hesitation: "For the devil's contract, there are only a few ways to invalidate it.
"Preventing its creation, preventing it from fully taking effect, and preventing it from harming the signatories. Both the former and the latter are incredibly difficult. Preventing its implementation can be addressed from several perspectives: the parties involved, the content of the contract, and the penalties for breach of contract. Preventing penalties for breach of contract is far too difficult and not something we are qualified to consider.
"As for the parties involved, since it involves the entirety of Elturgard, one party to the contract must be Zariel or Asmodeus. The other party is more interesting." Mars patted his gauntlets. "...I suspect the other party is most likely someone directly connected to Elturgard, perhaps even someone who controls or even holds a position within Elturgard, rather than just an individual. Otherwise, Craig wouldn't be qualified or capable of betraying the entirety of Elturgard. Starting from this point, we can attempt to strip away or destroy this identity."
Even if one wanted to betray Eltoril, not just anyone would be qualified to do so.
"To start with the content of the contract, we must know what the devil actually provided to Craig. If this contract doesn't provide a one-time gift but rather an ongoing service, we can try to destroy this service.
Elastrid sighed softly. "So, there are only a few things we need to do, or can do: kill Craig beforehand, or force him to completely give up his position as Supreme Observer. Or even, let the entire Eltoril fall apart."
Hearing these words, Sig broke out in a cold sweat. "Family, if these words get out, we'll definitely be put on a wanted list, with a five-digit reward."
At this moment, Emilia suddenly said, "Actually, it's not impossible for us to start with the penalty for breach of contract."
Mars was stunned for a moment: "What should I do?"
"It's simple. Find another party to help bear the cost." Emilia said coldly, "We try to find the devil's weakness and force him to terminate the contract. Then we can let him take the penalty for breach of contract."
"The devil isn't a fool!" Lulu couldn't help but shout, "Why would the devil agree to this condition?"
"That's right," Mars said. "The devil's favorite contract isn't one that plays with people's hearts, but one that forces the target into a corner and then offers them conditions they can't refuse."
"Then why don't we just do the same thing?" Aimiya said calmly, "We force Zariel into a corner and force her to choose between the two most painful options."
"You're talking mad!" Lulu yelled. "Zariel was once a Servant of the Seraph, and now he's the Archdemon. All you can say is that you have infinite hope, but you're not Zariel's match!"
"Then we'll have to find someone," Emiya said calmly. "From what we've seen so far, the devil is clearly collaborating with Cyre. So, I suspect the news of a devil archduke personally arriving in the material plane is enough to mobilize the entire Harper Order. The Harpers have suffered a crushing defeat before and desperately need revenge. Sealing, capturing, or even killing Zariel would clearly be a powerful form of revenge. Whether intentional or unintentional, I believe there's a chance."
Just do it.
Emya said seriously, "I'll contact Lord Elminster of Shadowdale. He's a very busy man, but the news of Devil Archduke Zariel's arrival in the Material Plane should be worth his while. As for whether Baldur's Gate is willing to help, we'll have to contact them on the spot to confirm. Meanwhile, the potential loss of the various churches in Elturgard might also attract interest from other churches of the same sect. I think we can all give it a try."
"You're just bragging!" Lulu yelled, pulling at her ears. "How could you possibly summon those powerful people?"
Of course, Emilia was not absolutely sure.
But the key point now is to scare Lulu.
Now, he could confirm that Lulu definitely knew a secret, and this secret was definitely not unrelated to them.
He pondered for a moment and glanced at Yin.
Yin was stunned for a moment, tilted his head, then curled his lips, and finally opened his palm casually.
hum-
In the palm of her hand, a few strands of silver threads slowly emerged from nothing, just like making cotton candy.
The silver thread was not large in size, but it easily attracted the surrounding magic power and set off a turbulent magic vortex.
After just a few breaths, these strands of silk absorbed the magic power in the air and grew rapidly. Finally, they materialized into a ball of shining silver flame in Yin's palm.
"Silver Fire--!" Lulu finally couldn't hold it anymore and fell headfirst from the sky.
The Silver Flame is the symbol of the chosen ones of the Goddess of Magic. No one who possesses the Silver Flame is insignificant.
Lulu no longer dared to doubt the power of Emiya and her group. She struggled to her feet, her eyes rolling. She clutched Emiya's leg tightly, as if grasping at a last straw. "...Answer me this last question, and I'll tell you everything."
"explain."
"...You learned the arcane arts in Lunia? Miss Forsaken is also from Lunia?"
This question was quite unexpected for Emilia. He recalled and shook his head: "She said she wasn't from Lunya. She moved to Lunya... What happened?"
"How many hours of sunshine does Lunya have in a day?"
"How many hours?" Emiya shook her head. "Lunya is in eternal night. My teacher's mage tower is by the sea. I still can't forget the sight of the scattered light of the stars and the moon swaying on the waves."
"...Okay then!" Hearing this, Lulu took a deep breath, "...I'm not a big shot. I only have one secret."
"I am the mount of the former Seraphim, Zariel. I am hiding in the Troll Mountains because I successfully brought her former sword back from Hell and buried it within the mountains."
"You may take the sword, but I want you to promise to kill Zariel only as a last resort. Also, this is a matter of great importance; you must take Miss Forsaken with you."
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