Asura in Arknights

"I think we need more trust between us."

Chapter Ninety-Five

Silently taking Adele's outstretched hand, Viviana realized that she had indeed been a bit too hasty.

Viviana couldn't give Adele complete trust and kept many things from her, so judging from her own experience, she also had no right to reveal all her secrets.

“…I’m sorry, I was too hasty,” Viviana said, bowing her head in apology.

"It's okay, we have plenty of time to discuss this."

After a nearly ten-year hiatus, the stage play "Viviana Droste" has finally begun a new chapter, and is currently in a calm prelude.

There's no need to worry about the Scarlet Troupe making any big moves until there are significant changes in Viviana's life.

The most perplexing aspect of playwrights is that victims are almost never aware that their lives are being manipulated by others, and once they become aware of the playwright's presence, there are actually many ways to break their arrangements and mess up the script.

When a previously unchanging life is suddenly disrupted by some kind of change, it is a sign that playwrights are about to begin a new round of performances.

Viviana nodded and said nothing more.

Although she still couldn't forget what happened back then, her experiences over the years had taught Viviana that there were many things that couldn't be rushed, especially when she was facing an opponent far beyond her wildest imagination—

The twin queens, and all of Letania under their control.

"Viviana, how are you feeling? Should we go to the hospital for a check-up?"

Seeing Viviana's still pale face, Adele couldn't help but ask with concern.

“It’s no use, this isn’t an ordinary illness.” Viviana shook her head. “It’s a spell the Twin Queens use to protect the Queen’s voice. Ordinary hospitals can’t detect anything abnormal.”

"What you're saying makes sense..."

Adele couldn't help but sigh.

Although Viviana used the Mark of Dionysus as a spell to control her subordinates through the Voice of the Queen, it was essentially the same, since neither could be resolved through ordinary means.

"That......"

Let's find a safer place and talk about it slowly.

Seeing Viviana's cautious demeanor, Adele dared not be careless in the slightest.

Although this factory, which has been shut down, is usually deserted due to various disputes, it is not absolutely safe.

Just as Adele was about to say that, she saw Viviana's expression suddenly change.

"Someone's coming."

Viviana could sense that something had bypassed the several lines of defense she had set up and was rapidly approaching the unfinished factory.

That was fast... It's almost too late to leave now...

"Get out of here! I'll cover your retreat."

A trickle of sweat dampened her long, flowing golden hair, causing it to cling softly to her forehead. Viviana gripped the three candlesticks tightly in her hand.

She understood... wherever earthly sounds could be heard, the Queen's voice would surely be found.

Even though this is the capital of the Great Knight Territories of Kavaleria and Kazimierz, it absolutely cannot stop the current voice of the Empress... They have been turned into monsters by the Twin Empresses.

Although she was mentally prepared for this, Viviana still secretly felt a chill when a target resembling the Queen's Voice appeared nearby.

"Uh, but..."

Adele was still dazed and confused; before she could even process what was happening, Viviana shoved her away.

"Hurry up, I'll come to your company later."

It wasn't that Viviana was willing to sacrifice herself for others, but rather that in her current state, she couldn't run very far. Even if Adele were willing to take her along, she would only be a burden that slowed down their escape.

However, Viviana is not without a chance of survival. The Queen's Voice usually focuses its attention on the vessel of the Earthly Voice. If she can buy herself a few more minutes here, not only will Adele have a chance to escape, but she also has a considerable chance of surviving.

One option is that both of them die, while the other is that both of them have a good chance of surviving. The choice is already very clear.

Viviana had been investigating the name Clerbrason for many years, but all she had gotten were fragmented pieces of information, the veracity of which was uncertain.

Now that someone claims to have been to that place, Viviana is willing to take a certain degree of risk for it.

"...Hmm, oh."

Perhaps influenced by the tense atmosphere emanating from Viviana, Adele momentarily lost her composure and, following Viviana's instructions, ran towards the back gate of the factory.

In this artificial darkness, Viviana lit a candle and guided Adele in the direction she was fleeing. Only after watching Adele's figure disappear did Viviana turn her attention back to what was in front of her.

Viviana's muscles were tense, and she was in such a state that she could hardly mount any decent counterattack. She could only place all her hopes on the magical medium she had found in the family treasury.

Darkness is the bane of those monsters.

Ironically, contrary to the logic of typical stories, the twisted monsters transformed from the Queen's voice are not afraid of the blazing sun's rays at all. In fact, they become even more energetic under the sunlight, while the boundless darkness actually affects their actions.

As Originium energy flowed continuously into the three candlesticks, the flames burning on them grew weaker and weaker until they finally went out with a soft "poof," plunging everything into complete darkness.

The almost tangible darkness seemed to swallow up all the surrounding sounds. Viviana's heartbeat and breathing became increasingly faint, and even the friction sound of the armor plates colliding disappeared. She had become one with this darkness.

Almost at the same time that Viviana finished making these preparations, the intruder she had sensed also entered the area.

"Huh? Why is it so dark?"

The intruder said this, and the sound of his voice was somewhat familiar.

However, Viviana didn't have time to think about it carefully. The Originium Arts on the three candlesticks had already reached their limit, and they broke away from the casting medium on their own without Viviana's control.

A tiny flame, no bigger than a fingertip, lit up the darkness, leaving a dim trail in the air and illuminating Viviana's somewhat panicked expression.

Meanwhile, Li Ang, who had just entered the factory, was wondering why it was so dark when he noticed a powerful surge of Originium energy emanating from Viviana's hand.

Li Ang instinctively leaned back, and the line of fire, which was less than the thickness of his little finger, flew past his forehead.

Because Viviana was still sitting against the wall, the line of fire grazed Li Ang's forehead and continued its trajectory all the way to the factory roof.

A fire broke out silently, and the refractory bricks on the roof, which were strong enough to withstand temperatures of over a thousand degrees, were evaporated in the blink of an eye.

The flames ignited by Originium Arts were like rootless duckweed, coming quickly and going just as quickly, burning for only a dozen seconds before they could not continue. Of course, the price was that most of the ceiling had disappeared.

Some dazzling sunlight streamed through the openings in the ceiling, dispelling the near-total darkness inside the factory. Viviana's magic couldn't be maintained in such an open environment, which is why she specifically chose a temporarily closed factory as the meeting place.

Under the scorching sun, the two people, less than five meters apart, stared at each other.

Li Ang: "......"

Viviana: "......"

Upon seeing her boss appear, even if Viviana was slow to realize, the Queen's voice hadn't actually come to her; it was all just her own self-inflicted fear under extreme tension.

Her childhood trauma left her with severe psychological scars, which show little sign of healing to this day, because Viviana knows that the Queen's Voice still exists, carrying out the Gemini Queens' terrible and blasphemous commands.

After a few seconds of silence, Li Ang sighed and said helplessly, "Fine... I won't ask what happened just now. Where is Adele?"

Viviana silently pointed to the back door of the factory.

Using his senses to scan that direction, Li Ang indeed spotted Adele hesitating in an open space not far from the back door.

Adele's mind didn't quite register what was happening, and she instinctively followed Viviana's instructions. Only after she had run a short distance did she realize that something seemed amiss.

Plot Zero was practically her base of operations; there was absolutely no need for her to run away from here...

Immediately afterwards, Adele saw flames shooting into the sky from the factory.

This time, Adele didn't make the same mistake again and ran back the way she came without hesitation.

However, when she returned to the factory, she found Viviana lying unconscious on the ground.

"What just happened? How did Viviana become like this?"

From the time she ran out to the time she ran back, it seemed like only a minute had passed, right? What could have happened in such a short time to cause things to turn out like this?

"I still want to ask you what exactly happened..."

Scratching his head, Li Ang was also a little confused. "He was fine just now... but he just pointed me in the right direction and didn't even finish saying a word before he suddenly collapsed."

Since Li Ang arrived here, everything that has happened has been inexplicable.

Not long ago, he reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with Ferdinand, but how to cooperate and in which aspects to start still need to be discussed in detail later.

After finding a doctor to bandage his wounds in Fafrardinan and reinforcing the security measures on the two prisoners, Leon rushed to Adele's side without stopping.

As soon as she entered, she was given a warm welcome by Viviana. Before she could even finish a complete sentence, she fainted right under Li Ang's gaze.

"He's alright, just passed out. Overuse of Originium Arts? What were you two doing just now...?"

After observing Viviana's physical condition with his senses, Li Ang couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Viviana appeared to be fine on the surface, but her capillaries all over her body showed signs of rupture. This was a typical aftereffect of overusing Originium Arts. Although it would heal on its own if left untreated, Viviana would have to spend a long time in bed.

"The matter is... very complicated. I'll explain it to you in detail later."

Adele gestured with her hands, then realized she didn't know where to begin, and could only say somewhat dejectedly, "Anyway, it's some kind of plan that the Twin Queens came up with..."

Nodding, Li Ang pointed to Viviana on the ground and asked, "What should we do with her? Should we take her to the hospital first? Or should we call her parents to come and pick her up?"

"Forget it, let's just do them at the same time."

Li Ang was too lazy to think about it, so he simply chose the simplest approach.

While sending her to the hospital for treatment, he also reported the incident to her adoptive mother, Ioleta.

However, just as Leon was about to do so, Adele stopped him.

“Wait, I have some questions for her, and... Viviana’s condition isn’t suitable for taking her to the hospital.”

Adele then briefly described the mark of Dionysus and the Queen's voice that made Viviana so wary.

After listening to Adele's description, Li Ang roughly understood what had happened here.

Due to the special nature of his/her body, he/she could not be sent to the hospital...

"Okay, let's send it to the dean's office first, and have Shining come over to help with the treatment when she has time."

Leon made this decision, and Adele didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

So the two of them did just that. Using materials piled up in the factory, they made a makeshift stretcher and carried the unconscious Viviana onto it.

Avoiding the chaos in the hospital where doctors and patients were still arguing over the press conference, the two went directly back to the director's office through the backup emergency medical passage.

The door to the Dean's office had been violently damaged by Sona, and Leon's approach was quite direct: he used Originium Arts to weld the entire door back on without leaving a single gap.

Entering was also simple. Li Ang waved his hand, and the rainbow light of the Evil Light Slash flashed across his hand, neatly splitting the entire gate in two.

As they carried the unconscious Viviana into the director's office, Adele immediately spotted the two people imprisoned there.

Adele glanced at the woman in the film, who was completely encased in a thick metal shell, with only her head sticking out and staring fiercely at the two of them, and hesitated to speak.

"Li Ang, what... what are you doing...?"

Chapter Ninety-Six: Clues to the Past

"Of course, it's to prevent this guy from escaping."

Li Ang looked at Adele with some surprise, not understanding why she would ask such an obvious question.

"There's no need to go to such lengths..." Adele covered her face, looking as if she couldn't bear to look at her.

It wasn't that Adele felt sorry for the blue-haired Felin, it's just that her current appearance... was a bit too strange.

It was truly... The moment she entered the dean's office, she saw a woman wrapped up like a dumpling with some kind of unidentified film stuffed in her mouth... Can anyone imagine the shock this scene brought to Adele's young mind?

"You must not underestimate her."

Ignoring Monique's furious gaze, Li Ang walked behind her and picked up the weapon that Shining had captured.

At first, Li Ang didn't notice, but after seeing Ferdinand off, he took the time to look at the prisoner captured by Shining and discovered the abnormality about her.

"If I'm not mistaken, this guy is very likely another Azure Gold Grandmaster from the Unarmored Alliance."

As he spoke, Li Ang raised the composite bow in his hand, which had no markings and looked quite valuable.

In the Great Knight Territory, only a very small number of people have the ability to obtain such prohibited weapons, and coincidentally, Li Ang has seen similar weapons more than once.

Putting everything else aside, Hinterlea has a composite bow of similar specifications, which is almost becoming standard equipment for the Unarmored Alliance. It's about time for an assassin organization to be this arrogant.

The woman captured by Shining was clearly not as strong as Xuan Tie, but she was still a minor expert. Shining only managed to subdue her after drawing his sword.

Clearly, she is the other Blue Gold position holder who narrowly escaped the Securities and Futures Commission's crackdown, and unexpectedly, she has now offered herself up.

Looking at the female film's hair color, and then thinking about the other lapis lazuli's appearance, Li Ang's feelings were slightly complicated. The fact that the two had exactly the same hair color was clearly not a coincidence, but rather intentional...

What is this? To become a Lapis Lazuli, you have to dye all your fur blue? What kind of strange logic is this?