Night, Royal Capital, Canal
With the crisp sound of the mechanism resetting, the young man resting on a bench outside the dock of the inner canal opened his eyes, gazing intently at the giant Compass he held in his arms.
Unlike other compasses used for surveying directions, this dark blue peculiar Compass had six movable rings. Including the magnetic needle suspended by a thread under the central glass cover, it was divided into seven layers from inside to outside.
As the click sound of the mechanism resetting just occurred, all the rings on this dark blue compass were locked. The central magnetic needle, which used to remain motionless, began to deflect with the locking of the outer six rings, eventually pointing in the direction of the royal palace.
The six "elements" have all been achieved...
Observing the state of the dark blue Compass and squinting in the direction of the palace following the magnetic needle, a satisfied smile appeared on the face of the young man dressed in a blue robe.
Timing, conditions, people;
Target, ability, myself.
To push the central needle of the Prayer Wheel towards the target, it requires locking three inner and three outer rings, a total of six rings.
He had worked for nearly a century for this, finally seizing the opportunity of the Clean-up Bureau’s vacancy, achieving the necessary conditions to complete the goal, and arranging the unavoidable "key person," thus locking the three "external" rings of the Prayer Wheel.
For the remaining "internal" three rings, whether it’s the goal worth sacrificing everything for, the ability required to achieve this goal, or the willingness to burn everything to reach the end, he never lacked them.
Thus, all six elements needed to activate the Prayer Wheel have now been gathered, which also means that what he intends to do will ultimately succeed, and no one will be able to stop him!
As if resonating with his surging emotions at the moment, a turbulent wave suddenly arose in the canal before the young man. Despite the absence of wind, it caused the ships in the river to sway left and right.
Due to the fact that the inner channel of the canal in the Royal Capital is always calm, almost never experiencing any wind or waves, and coupled with the fact that it is night, the sailors were already lacking vigilance. The rocking ships immediately prompted waves of exclamations.
Amidst these exclamations, strands of chaotic and bizarre auras simultaneously converged out of thin air, quietly concentrating under the night sky before landing quietly on the bench beside the Aquarius Director.
"Surely this world is the best!"
Gazing at the sailors desperately trying to stabilize their ships on the canal, the man in a black robe wearing a Raven Mask closed his eyes in full intoxication, took a deep breath of the chaotic and intense air, then turned to thank the Aquarius Director beside him:
"I truly owe you this time. If it weren’t for your skills, I don’t know how much longer I would have had to wait to physically descend into this world again."
"No need to be so polite."
Glancing at the lit up [Condition] ring on the wheel, the Aquarius Director smiled and gently replied: This content belongs to novèlfire.net
"I’ve researched the Watcher’s Palace for decades. Although I’ve never been able to climb up to observe it up close, I have gained some insights. Tearing a few small holes temporarily wasn’t too hard."
"Hey~ You see, there you go being modest again, huh?"
Dongya Masked Man, while full of killing intent, seemed unexpectedly to have a "friendly acquaintance" type of personality. In response to the Aquarius Director’s modesty, he laughed and said:
"You’ve only been studying the Watcher’s Palace for a few decades. I’ve been blocked outside by this for over a thousand years. Over these thousand years, let alone a hole, I haven’t even found a crack. Every time I tried to come in, I nearly got skinned alive. We’re far inferior to you!"
"You flatter me too much. I’m only benefiting from my status, being able to access the internal records of the Clean-up Bureau, plus mastering the Creation Mystique that created the Watcher’s Palace. Otherwise, I’d be equally helpless against it."
After exchanging a round of insincere commercial flattery with the Raven Masked Man, the Aquarius Director released his grip on the Prayer Wheel, sending this peculiar wheel back into the void, then inviting:
"So next, please act according to our agreement."
Without hesitation, the Raven Masked Man responded and then got up and started walking towards the direction of the palace. However, halfway there, he seemed to remember something and suddenly turned back with a smile, casually making a slight lift of his hand towards the chaos at the docks.
With the action of the Raven Masked Man, a rough, ear-piercing sound of steel cracking immediately echoed from the dock’s structure.
It was hard to tell what had happened, as the seemingly sturdy shipping dock suddenly appeared to have weathered decades of wind and frost, deteriorating beyond recognition. The buildings atop swayed, seemingly on the verge of toppling over.
In the direction where the docks were about to fall, a group of sailors desperately turning the winch widened their eyes in terror, watching in despair as a massive shadow appeared ready to crash down on them...
"How about not doing that?"
Amidst gentle persuasion, a small golden knife silently swiped through, causing the Raven Masked Man’s right hand, which was emitting a strange black vapor, to "retreat" backwards to its position before raising.
Simultaneously, the swaying scaffolding on the dock, despite breaking nearly half of its guardrails due to its weight, managed to halt just before complete collapse, not truly crashing down.
Looking at the hand that had been slashed, as the pocket watch on the hand began rotating, the Raven Masked Man’s face slightly tightened, and with some dark expression, he questioned:
"What do you mean by this?"
"Nothing much, just don’t want unnecessary trouble."
Not seeming to sense the hostility expressed by the Raven Masked Man, the Aquarius Director calmly explained:
"After all, this is the Virgin Branch’s jurisdiction. Causing such a big commotion suddenly could attract..."
"What are you afraid of?"
The Raven Masked Man clicked his tongue upon hearing this, then puffed his chest slightly, saying:
"The Authority of Disaster I wield won’t leave traces. Even if the Clean-up Bureau investigates later, they’ll only think it was a disaster caused by the dock’s age and disrepair.
Moreover, the Scarlet Hair Lady has already left, and the remaining people in the Virgin Branch haven’t crossed the difference between man and god, making them completely negligible. If it weren’t for the timing not being quite right, I alone could wipe them all out."
Nodding in response, the Aquarius Director smiled and said:
"I don’t deny that. Wielding both the Authorities of Chaos and Disaster, you stand strong even among the True God, capable of destroying the Virgin Branch. But haven’t you forgotten someone?"