The black sun hangs high

Chapter 235 Just a Game
To ensure his judgment was correct, Hugh even temporarily left the Law Committee's headquarters and observed the surrounding environment without any magical rituals interfering with it, but the results he obtained were always the same.

At least for now, the flow of magic in the vast region where Seren City is located has changed significantly.

According to the most basic laws of magic and common sense, this invisible force should exist widely and universally throughout Vaan. The residents of Vaan may be able to use magical rituals to influence the magic in specific enclosed areas, but they absolutely cannot directly change the frequency and flow of magic throughout Vaan.

In other words, this phenomenon today is not caused by ordinary forces.

This also seems to be a major reason for the serious unrest among the Dark Abyss offspring in Seren City. As pure magical creatures and creations of the Dark Abyss, they clearly sensed the changes in the environment and were thus affected, becoming more active.

What puzzled and unsettled Hughes even more was that he detected a familiar aura within this ever-flowing magic.

That was the aura of the Dark Abyss.

"What exactly happened? Why has the magic in the entire environment changed like this? What is the source of this effect?"

Standing under the night sky, Hugh felt a chill creeping over him for no apparent reason.

He was certain that this change was not caused by the Dark Abyss offspring within Seren City. Even if all the Dark Abyss offspring gathered together and acted under the same will, they could not possibly cause such an exaggerated change.

At that moment, Hugh suddenly remembered the logbook he had obtained from Valery.

"A massive earthquake, an anomaly in magical energy... a great rift... a tremor in magical energy?"

Hugh silently recalled everything related to it in his mind, and at the end of these words and concepts, he added the terrifying term "Dark Abyss Court," which was known to only a few people in the entire Vaan.

As the magic in the air subtly shifted, the Dark Abyss offspring in Seren City became active. Standing on the deserted street, Hugh could almost hear the sounds of the amorphous slime writhing and crawling among the nearby ruins.

Communication among the Dark Abyss Children does not require language, but Hugh could hear many strange, sporadic conversations at this moment. These were manifestations of the Dark Abyss Children digesting memories and knowledge, and today, these sounds were noticeably more frequent.

This means that their growth and evolution rates are also increasing as the magical changes in the environment increase.

Suddenly, Hugh recalled a conversation he had with Theseus long ago in the Dream Sanctuary. In that conversation, he had asked Theseus many questions, including those concerning the nature of the "Black Sun" and the "Dark Abyss Court".

Hughes' body suddenly trembled as he recalled the content of that conversation.

He remembered that when Theseus spoke about the essence of the "Black Sun," he mentioned that the enormous black celestial body was actually a passage connecting Vaan to the "abode of the ancient gods." In other words, the power and aura within the Dark Abyss Palace entered Vaan through that so-called Black Sun, thereby influencing everything within Vaan.

Hughes raised his head, his eyes, filled with the mist of the Dark Abyss, sweeping across the night sky.

Now, he could clearly see the faint "threads" hidden behind the magic, fluttering in the cold night wind, which were the faint traces left by the power of the Dark Abyss Palace.

"So, does this mean... that moment is just around the corner?"

……

That night, Hugh did not return to the Tricolor Brotherhood's headquarters.

He stayed at the Legal Committee branch and told Genet, Justine, and others about the terrible changes he had noticed and the crisis hidden behind them in a rather tactful way.

Hughes didn't mention the black sun to the group. After all, for these mages who had grown up under the Merlinle and magic system, the impact of such a thing was simply too strong. He hoped that everyone could increase their speed and vigilance, but he didn't want them to lose their fighting spirit or even have their worldview shattered because of it.

In this situation, Hugh brought out the defective embryos of the Dark Abyss offspring that he had been working on these past few days, and Justina's eyes lit up as soon as she saw them.

Justina's fanaticism in the face of such things seemed a bit excessive, which made Hugh slightly uncomfortable. Justina didn't seem to have much of a sense of the impending crisis. All her energy and attention seemed to be focused on the research related to the Dark Abyss Spawn. Hugh even felt that she had forgotten the terrible fact that she had lost an arm because of such a horrible creature.

This behavior is really... a bit excessive.

However, Hugh couldn't point out Justina's problems now, because her research topic was too important at the moment. Even though Hugh was very familiar with the Dark Abyss Offspring, he had to respect the research conclusions reached by Justina and the others when it came to the choices the survivors in Seren City needed to make.

This is the first time since Hugh came into this world that he has shouldered the fate and life and death of so many people in his own name.

He truly realized that this was not something that could be decided by his own efforts and simple personal subjective judgment. If he could not do everything perfectly and could not find the right one among many options, then the city of Seren would truly become the "sacrifice pit" in the prophecy.

All those who narrowly escaped the previous disaster and struggled to survive here will be crushed into dust in the subsequent changes.

This is something he absolutely does not want to see.

After careful consideration, Hugh sought out the Hermit Gent, who held considerable authority among the spellcasters, and repeatedly emphasized to him the importance of Justina and the others' research progress on the Dark Abyss Offspring. At the same time, Hugh also implied that the Hermit Gent needed to be extremely vigilant in this regard, and that anyone who might interfere with, threaten, or sabotage the research itself, no matter who they were, must be completely eliminated immediately.

As someone specially trained by Mellinger and the Legal Committee to be a key target for "cleaning up" targets, Gent was most sensitive to this kind of talk. He almost instantly grasped the key point in Hugh's words, so he asked in a deep voice: "When you say 'anyone,' does that include Justine?"

Yes, including.

Hugh answered Genet's question expressionlessly: "Gent the Hermit, I know that Mage Justina has always been a companion you value and trust, but the situation we face now is different from any time in the past, so please be on your guard."

Genet's stone-like expression twitched slightly, and the scars on his face seemed to come alive. But ultimately, the "giant" nodded solemnly and touched the weapon he carried on his back. "I understand. Is there anything else Mr. Ernst can help us with?"

Hughes nodded: "...There should be an empty room here, right? I need to rest, which may last until tomorrow daytime or even noon. Please try not to disturb me or enter the room during this time."

"I understand, come with me."

Due to the severe reduction in personnel, there were naturally many empty rooms in the headquarters of the Legal Committee. Although there was a saying throughout Vann that "living in the room of the dead may bring misfortune," this saying had no deterrent effect on the spellcasters.

There's even less of that for Hughes.

Thus, through Genet's arrangement, he was placed in the room of a member of the Legal Committee who had died in battle long ago.

The room's furnishings remained as they were when its original owner left. It was clear that others had entered and taken some essential magical supplies, but apart from that, nothing else had been touched. Hugh even saw several books carelessly tossed about on the somewhat messy bed, including a "Collection of Wonderful Novels" once published by the Peace Newspaper.

Hugh moved the clutter off the bed aside and casually flipped through the novel collection whose edges were badly curled from being read so many times.

Then, somewhat helplessly, he discovered that among the works that the deceased monk loved to read most were his own "masterpieces".

"..."

Hughes didn't find it funny or amusing. He neatly stacked the books together and then took out two rare and dangerous magical materials that he had "stolen" from the Tricolor Brotherhood's warehouse.

Hugh hadn't entered the Dream Sanctuary for a long time.

Ever since Theseus warned him not to gain more power through sacrificial offerings until his magical reserves made new progress and breakthroughs, Hugh had been intentionally avoiding contact with this dream world.

The reason is quite simple.

As a direct user and beneficiary of the power of the Dream Sanctuary, Hugh was all too aware of the allure it could bring. He was indeed somewhat worried that he might develop a strong dependence on this strange world that was intricately connected with the ancient gods.

But now, faced with those new changes that he can hardly control, Hughes believes he needs to at least prepare some "backup plans".

With a somewhat complicated feeling, he lay down on the bed with the magical container containing the fluids of the Corrupted Dragon and the metal box filled with the eyeballs of many spiders. Then, the magic began to slowly operate, and under Hugh's deliberate manipulation, a drowsy feeling quickly overwhelmed him, taking him back to that familiar dream world once again.

……

Although he hadn't returned here for a long time, all the details of this scene were already etched in Hugh's mind, so he didn't feel much of a sense of unfamiliarity.

Hugh maintained his previous habit. Although the two items used for the "sacrifice" were at hand, Hugh did not rush to the next step. He got up from his chair, relied on his memory to cross the corridor, and came to the other side of the "office area". There, he saw the computer in operation and the dark figure sitting in front of the computer, concentrating on operating the mouse and keyboard.

"Hey, you're here?"

Hugh's arrival could not be kept secret from Theseus, so he greeted him without turning his head and casually pointed to the empty chair next to him.

His attitude and tone were very familiar, almost like he was inviting a close friend who lived under the same roof to come and watch him play games.

So Hughes went over, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

He instinctively looked up at the computer screen in front of Theseus, and then he discovered that Theseus had returned to the war strategy game he had played long ago. Just like last time, what was displayed on the huge war map was the familiar Lovi Plateau and Goddess Plain. Looking north, he could also glimpse the white snowfields representing the Kingdom of Saint Steel and many northern duchies.

On those battle lines appeared numerous military tokens belonging to the various countries of the plains and plateaus. Hugh recognized several at a glance, one of which belonged to the Fifth Hunter Regiment. Judging from its position on the map, the Fifth Hunter Regiment had been rotated to the rear near Brown Hill Town. Above this token, a dynamic symbol that seemed to represent a rest was floating.

Theseus didn't move the map; he calmly waited for about ten seconds before asking, "Well? Finished looking at it?"

"Well, it's over."

Hughes nodded, then looked seriously at the faceless figure holding the mouse: "Do these game screenshots... count?"

Upon hearing this question, Theseus let out a strange, unintelligible laugh. Then he raised his hand and pressed the pause button on the game: "You know this is just a game scene. Since it's a game, it's inappropriate to apply it to reality. Do you think the real Fifth Javelin Regiment would disappear if I deleted the unit badges of the Fifth Javelin Regiment right in front of you and disbanded them on the spot? Do you think that's possible?"

Hugh stared at Theseus, momentarily at a loss for words.

If someone else had said such a thing, the answer would have been clear and direct. But since the question came from Theseus, Hughes had to seriously consider its veracity.

The silence lasted for a few seconds, then Theseus helplessly spread his hands, his face, composed of black chaos, once again displaying that wicked "sweating bean" expression: "Alright, alright, look how scared you are... Don't worry, I wouldn't do something so pointless. It's just a game, just a game..."

...

I apologize, the updates have been very inconsistent these past few days.

I've been having some physical and mental problems lately. I'm experiencing severe insomnia, or extreme sleepiness and fatigue, which leads to a vicious cycle of irritability, laziness, and various extreme emotions...

I'm currently taking medication to adjust. ORZ
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(End of this chapter)