Angel perceived anomalous emotions in the Gray Merchant, and actually, he had already begun to gradually reduce the use of Hyper Perception. After all, Hyper Perception, much like a Supercomputer, requires a considerable amount of computational power, which is a huge burden on Angel’s mental capacity.
However, Angel could not be entirely sure that the anomalous emotions on the Gray Merchant were coming from "her."
So, to be cautious, he only weakened his emotional perception of known sources, remaining highly vigilant about unknown sources.
Because of this, when anomalous emotions came from the void, he was able to detect it immediately.
The so-called "anomaly" actually means "different from the rest."
What’s the dominant emotional tone in the void? Malice, slaughter, bloodthirstiness, cruelty.
What contradicts the main theme, being "different from the rest," is naturally benevolence.
This benevolent emotion even surpassed the Wise Sovereign’s kind intentions towards him. It was somewhat akin to the level of benevolence the Black Earl showed him.
This degree of benevolence was already extremely high, considering that the Black Earl’s goodwill towards Angel was based on his old friendship with "Rhein," with Angel’s talents slowly elevating that goodwill along the way.
It was surprising to Angel that in the chaotic void filled with magical creatures, such a stream of benevolence could emerge.
At first, he thought it was the gaze of Miss Cicia, but the Authority of the "Gate of Dreams" clearly showed that Cicia had not left the Wilderness of Dreams.
So, if it’s not Cicia, then who could it be?
Angel signaled to Earl Mi to continue with his task, while he concealed himself within Earl Mi, unobtrusively looking towards the source of the benevolence in the void.
When he traced the source of the benevolence, Angel’s expression once again became peculiar.
Previously sensing the anomalous emotions on the Gray Merchant puzzled him greatly; now, he sensed anomalous emotions from a magical creature in the void?
Moreover, this void creature was not unfamiliar to Angel.
It was the whale-like magical creature with horns on its head!
Previously, in the void, Angel mostly sensed extremely malevolent emotions, yet there were still some weaker or even absent malevolent emotions.
This whale-shaped magical creature was the only one that Angel previously sensed to have dilute malevolent emotions in the void.
While it leaned more towards neutrality, it did not wish to be an outlier, so it followed the crowd, performing roars, howls, and anger.
But in reality, its eyelids drooped all the time, probably thinking that joining the commotion wasn’t as worthwhile as going back to nap.
Back then, Angel had mused that this whale-like magical creature must be highly intelligent and also a master of acting.
However, it was just a fleeting thought, without much concern.
Yet unexpectedly, in just a few minutes, this whale-like magical creature’s emotions transformed from slight malevolence to benevolence?
Could it have been charmed by Earl Mi’s heroic demeanor in battle and became a little fanatic... whale?
While Angel was speculating, he suddenly sensed another familiar emotion from the whale-like magical creature.
Bearing an indifferent resignation, leaning slightly towards malevolence, its emotions were filled with subdued exhaustion, yet externally expressed as agitation and indignation.
This... wasn’t this the original emotion of the whale-like magical creature?
After a second of astonishment, Angel was taken aback as he realized he had misunderstood before.
The whale-like magical creature’s emotion hadn’t changed at all! The benevolence he perceived was, just like with the Gray Merchant, another emotion attached to the whale-like magical creature.
Are the creatures in the Underground Aqueduct now trending towards possession?
After confirming the truth, Angel became even more confused.
If the whale-like magical creature had generated malevolence, it could be explained as "a little fanatic whale." But the other emotion attached to the whale-like magical creature, that couldn’t be self-explained.
What is the origin of the benevolence, where does it come from, and is there any basis?
These were the areas of Angel’s confusion.
Another point of confusion was... whether the benevolent emotion attached to the whale-like magical creature was the "her" that the Wise Sovereign referred to, or was the malevolent emotion attached to the Gray Merchant the "her" the Wise Sovereign referred to?
If it’s the latter, then who is the former? Couldn’t it be a split personality, right? The same applies vice versa.
Angel simply couldn’t figure it out.
He pondered for a moment and made a decision: since it was incomprehensible, it was better to face it directly.
Previously, when faced with the anomalous malevolence on the Gray Merchant, Angel cautiously engaged. To avoid triggering an unknown "bomb" before reaching the legacy site.
But unlike the Gray Merchant, this time the anomalous emotion was benevolent. Angel trusted his Hyper Perception wouldn’t fail him.
Given it’s benevolence, why not face it directly? Perhaps he could hear an answer directly from the entity?
Despite saying to face it directly, Angel wouldn’t just run straight up to the entity. First, he needed to determine the entity’s attitude before making further plans.
And how to determine the entity’s attitude? To ascertain if the entity desired communication?
The approach was simple—
Angel instructed Earl Mi to halt his actions temporarily, standing still, gradually lifting his head to gaze at the void.
Considering the possibility of provoking the entity due to the discovery, Angel had Earl Mi choose a position aligning Earl Mi, the Wise Sovereign, and the whale-like magical creature into a straight line.
This way, Earl Mi lifting his head would ostensibly appear to be meeting the Wise Sovereign’s gaze, but in reality, it was hinting at the possible presence of a "person" attached to the whale-like magical creature: I’ve found you.
By doing so, it would offer the entity a way to back down, and if the entity didn’t wish to communicate, Angel could deflect by claiming, "he was actually looking at the Wise Sovereign," thus avoiding an awkward situation.
Angel thought through this thoroughly but overlooked the thoughts of others.