Now, only a few dozen of the Magic Monsters remained in the sky, having fled; taking care of them could wait.
After descending, Laplace didn’t immediately head to the safe zone but landed atop the Corpse Mountain, inspecting some relatively intact carcasses.
Seeing Laplace not return for a long time, and with seemingly no danger around, Angel went offline, then came back online at the Corpse Mountain, right near Laplace.
Angel initially thought Laplace was checking if any "treasures" were left on the Magic Monsters’ bodies, after all, though these Magic Monsters had died, their energy hadn’t immediately dissipated. The energy was quite abundant, enough for the Fungal Bloom to absorb.
Having energy means that they may contain transcendent organs that carry energy, or perhaps transcendent flesh. And these are actually considered "treasures."
But Laplace did not go looking for any treasures; instead, she was searching for relatively intact Magic Monster corpses, continuously using the scales on her body to reflect the heads of these Magic Monsters.
"What are you doing?" Angel asked with curiosity on his face, stepping over the corpses as he walked forward.
Laplace: "I’m searching for their memories..."
According to Laplace, the scales can act as a mirror, and everything reflected in the mirror has a chance to become a memory, flowing into the Sea of Void Mirror.
Her scales are somewhat more special, containing the power of Glaipnir, and by using the appropriate method, she can use Astrology without any other means to reflect the memories within creatures’ minds.
This is one of the applications of the Reflection of the Heart.
However, to reflect the inner memories of a creature, one must capture them from the memory center of the creature. Typically, the memory center is found in the brain.
This is why Laplace was directing her scales at the heads of the corpses.
She was attempting to read the past memories of these Magic Monsters.
"Have you had any success?" Angel asked, helping Laplace search for intact corpses.
Laplace shook her head: "Strangely, no Magic Monster has had any memory that has flowed out yet."
Angel: "Could it be because they’re already dead, so we can’t read the memories?"
Laplace glanced at Angel and said coolly: "I killed them with my own hands, so I naturally know they’re dead."
The conversation stopped there, because the rest of the words were unnecessary; Angel could understand.
It was a sarcastic remark towards him.
Since Laplace knew these Magic Monsters were dead and still came here to search for memories, it naturally meant that memories could be captured even after death; the question Angel asked was rather mindless.
Angel scratched his head and tried to make up for it: "What I meant was, some Magic Monsters around here might not be dead yet. They’ve fled to the edge of the Shadow of the Cage—what if we capture them alive and see if memories can be found?"
Laplace paused: "...That could be worth a try."
But Laplace didn’t immediately go to find those Magic Monsters; instead, she looked at Angel: "We can deal with the remaining Magic Monsters later; by the way, the crisis should be over now, right? According to our agreement, you should answer my question now."
Angel was just about to speak when suddenly, his expression changed, and his face turned pale.
Laplace watched Angel suspiciously as he suddenly sat down on the Corpse Mountain, closing his eyes.
Laplace frowned at Angel. She was extremely doubtful now that this guy was trying to renege on his promise—why else would he start acting just as she was about to ask her question about the "truth"?
Not only was Laplace frowning, but Angel was frowning too, and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
After a while, under Laplace’s skeptical gaze, Angel opened his eyes.
And the first words he spoke upon opening his eyes turned the atmosphere back to tense.
"...The Eliminators have come again."
...
Upon hearing Angel’s words, Laplace was stunned for a while before she snapped back to reality and asked: "You’re joking, right? You’re deliberately making up an excuse not to answer my question?"
Angel shook his head: "I promised to do it, and I will definitely keep my word. If I were to find an excuse, I wouldn’t need to do it over such a matter."
Seeing Angel’s serious expression, Laplace began to sense the importance of the situation: "Are you serious?"
"Yes."
Angel was indeed not lying.
This time, only small Eliminators came, which was clearly different from before. Angel was relieved but still felt something was off, so he never turned off his sense for the Void.
In fact, his intuition was correct.
Just after Laplace wiped out all the Magic Monsters, there was another energy fluctuation in the Void not far from the Crystal Origin of Dreams.
"Although I don’t know the situation behind the energy fluctuation yet, it’s certainly nothing good. The probability of it being Eliminators is over ninety percent."
After Angel explained the situation, Laplace frowned and said: "If it’s the same type of Eliminators as before, I think I can still handle it..."
Angel: "The fear is that the Eliminators visiting this time might not be the same Magic Monsters from before."
If they were super-large Dream Realm Magical Creatures, like the continent-sized monsters they had encountered before, they absolutely wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Even with an infinite supply of shed scales, there’s no way to handle such creatures.
Angel’s expression was somewhat gloomy; he had thought that after reaching the worst point, he could finally expand to new territories, only to have things change at the last moment.
Laplace could feel Angel’s oppressive mood. She was now also convinced that Angel wasn’t lying to her.
"What exactly are these Eliminators, showing up so frequently?"
Angel: "I can’t say for sure. But you’ve probably heard of the Extreme Sect, right?"
Laplace nodded.
Angel: "I suspect that the Eliminators and the Extreme Sect are of the same type, both raising the banner of the World Will, acting on its behalf."
It’s just that the Extreme Sect can have its own agenda, with different factions within it; if you have connections, there’s room for maneuver or even bribery. But the Eliminators are different, as they are united in their external stance and do not give you the chance to explain; they come for slaughter.
There is simply no possibility of a dialogue with the Eliminators; it’s only about who has the bigger fists.
A while ago, the army of Eliminators overwhelmed them; their fists were bigger, so they won.
But this time, the regenerated energy fluctuation in the Void means new Eliminators have appeared, making it unknown who will win this time.
Angel’s only hope now is that the newcomers will be the same as before, an army of Eliminators. If it really is an army of Eliminators, then even if the number doubles, Angel would accept it.
But if it’s an unstoppable colossal beast... then they will have to make a run for it.