"It should be information related to the Noah Clan, right?"
The Black Earl snorted coldly again. Anyone sensible who had heard their previous conversation could definitely guess that the information he was withholding was related to the Noah Clan.
"The Noah Clan truly deserves to be called a great family, with a heritage stretching so far back in time." Angel remarked. "But it’s strange, isn’t it? Why would these believers of the Mirror Demon God carve information related to the Noah Clan on the table?"
Dox: "Maybe the dominator of the institution those believers mentioned is an ancestor of the Noah Clan?"
Angel was certain that Dox’s statement lacked any added inspiration. He didn’t even dare to respond because he knew that the ancestor of the Noah Clan was probably Augustine, who was definitely no dominator.
If he responded, he’d definitely be exposed under the contract light cover.
Angel remained silent, pretending to think.
In reality, he truly was contemplating.
He remembered that from the information obtained in Nightmare Abyss City, Augustine seemed to have a romantic interest in a lady named Margaret, who also showed some interest in Augustine.
And Margaret’s father, Franklin, was the warden of the Hanging Jail Stairway.
Hanging Jail Stairway... prison... warden...
The Hanging Jail Stairway should be considered an important institution in Naraku City, right? And Franklin, as the warden, could be a dominator?
Thinking of this, Angel had a bold guess in his heart.
Perhaps, the institution these Mirror Demon God believers sought to challenge was the Hanging Jail Stairway! Otherwise, why mysteriously mention the Noah Clan? At that time, the Noah Clan, and Augustine, were not the massive entity they are now.
And the most related to Augustine was the Hanging Jail Stairway where Margaret resided.
Regardless of whether this guess is correct or not, Angel temporarily kept it to himself. Once they found the entrance, the truth would be revealed. According to the Black Earl’s translation, the followers of the Mirror Demon God mentioned that the Underground Church was not far from that institution.
If it really is the Hanging Jail Stairway, then Angel is quite lucky. He’s unfamiliar with other parts of the Underground Labyrinth, but he knows the Hanging Jail Stairway very well; his guiding method practice was obtained there.
While Angel was pondering, the Black Earl spoke: "I’ve translated everything I should; now it’s your turn. This spot in the middle of the table, it should be magic patterns, right?"
The Black Earl could see some magic patterns, but it still felt somewhat off, as if the patterns were fragmented, like a series of interrupted lines. So, he used the uncertain tone of "should be magic patterns."
Everyone looked at Angel; they understood the characters, but the entrance hadn’t been mentioned. Perhaps there is some hint within this pattern.
"These are indeed magic patterns, but they’re not flat magic patterns; they’re a kind of solid magic pattern embedded inside the table." Angel pointed to what appeared to be a "fragmented" part of the pattern: "The entire magic pattern is engraved inside the table, so looking at the surface, it seems like only a piece."
Upon hearing that it was a solid magic pattern, everyone reacted. They too had heard of this method of patterning, which is relatively complex and hidden.
Dox: "I’ve heard solid magic patterns are not difficult for magic rune mages to discern if there’s a physical object, but the physical object is gone now. Can you figure it out?"
Angel instinctively wanted to say, "I don’t know, but I can try, I’ll do my best," a humble response, but as the words reached his lips, he sensed the contract power surging around him. His heart sank; contract power doesn’t care if you’re modest; it only listens to the truth or falsehood. So Angel quickly changed his tone: "I can figure it out; give me some time."
After a pause, Angel said: "This isn’t the best place to decode magic patterns; we should go back to the Underground Church. According to the characters, if nothing unexpected occurs, the entrance should be right there in the Underground Church."
The Black Earl agreed as well. If the entrance isn’t in the Underground Church, those demon god followers wouldn’t have bothered to set up here.
They decided to move immediately.
The Black Earl retracted the contract light cover and then headed down the corridor to the Underground Church.
At this time, the Underground Church was brightly lit, coinciding with meal preparation time; in every room, there was the scent of food and the fragrance of meat permeating the air, making the ambiance even more lively than before.
"Have these people completely ignored air circulation?" Vay seemed averse to the smell of burnt food, frowning as he spoke: "If they had considered it, they wouldn’t have missed that inscription card."
"How do you know they didn’t consider it? Sometimes, being a little muddled is good." Dox countered casually.
Although it was a retort, Angel thought Dox might be right. Don’t be fooled by the endless old man’s always cheerful demeanor; that’s just a facade. You should know other people showed terror in the face of transcendents, whereas the endless old man was calm, and his respectful manner is purely formal. You can tell from his eyes that he’s definitely a wise and steady man.
A wise man in charge wouldn’t disregard ventilation. Impossible.
He must know something, just pretending to be muddled.
Unlike Vay, Dox seemed to enjoy lively scenes and wasn’t bothered by the smell, walking up happily and getting a roasted meat leg from someone.
While eating, Dox mused aloud: "The traveling merchant organization is quite generous to these adventure groups; the meat is good, the vegetables aren’t scarce. If they had wine, it would be even better."
Dox’s musings were particularly loud, seemingly directed at others around.
Moments later, the endless old man came over, smiling: "Sir, there are a few bottles of elderberry wine in the supplies room; would you like to try some?"
Dox murmured: "Elderberry wine, isn’t that a girl’s drink... Whatever, as long as there’s wine; where’s the supplies room? Let’s go, let’s go!"
Ignoring the others entirely, Dox happily followed the endless old man.
Angel couldn’t be bothered with what Dox was up to, turning to the others: "If my guess is correct, since the tabletop magic patterns are solid, you might want to look for what looks like patterns, but are fragmented places. Here, it might hide a magical energy array composed of solid magic patterns."
The group thought it made sense; earlier when they were searching, they focused only on complete patterns, naturally finding nothing. But if it’s a solid magic pattern, with only a small segment exposed, there might indeed be something.
With that thought, the group each picked a direction and began searching.
As for Angel, after giving instructions to the others, he returned to the podium on the first floor hall.
Using illusion techniques, he created a replica of the lecture desk that once stood there.
He quietly observed the patterns on the desk, his mind already constructing a three-dimensional simulation...