Not until Lanqi finished explaining the prison's structure and their plan of action did he set aside his pen, giving Hyperion some time to process everything.
Hyperion looked down at the blueprints on the table, thought it through, and gave Lanqi a firm nod, indicating that she had memorized it all.
"Teacher Ice Snow Witch's original plan was to sneak a great demon out of the prison and back to the Kingdom of Asethelan during the bishop election a week from now, when everyone's attention would be diverted. But now, it looks like we can move the timeline up a bit," Hyperion remarked.
The moment she initiated the operation and entered the prison, the Ice Snow Witch would sense it through divine magic.
Such a sudden deviation might startle the Ice Snow Witch, but she would surely understand that Hyperion had seized a far better opportunity and acted ahead of schedule.
Infiltrating the prison to rescue the designated great demon was meant to be the final step of Hyperion's clerical assessment, arranged by the Ice Snow Witch within the Church of the Goddess of Fate. Once underway, the Ice Snow Witch would perceive it through Hyperion's clerical token, the Proof of Fate.
To elevate the Proof of Fate to the nearly irremovable Pink Sacred tier and become a truly indisputable core cleric, one's clerical faith assessment had to resonate with several beings of High Priest caliber.
They would serve as both witnesses and overseers to verify the trial's authenticity and validity.
Though unable to intervene or communicate, even the High Priest and Grand Paladin far away on the Southern Continent, or the Chief Inquisitor campaigning deep within the Calamitous Wasteland in the far north, possessed the authority to perceive this ceremony across dimensions via divine magic.
This was also why the upper echelons of the Church of the Goddess of Fate rarely suffered defection or internal discord.
At this level of clerical recognition, no opportunistic deceit could slip past the eyes of the church's decision-makers.
Hyperion felt thoroughly conflicted.
Under Lanqi's plan, when the day came, direct retainers of the Domination branch would disguise themselves as students to assist her, and none of the arbiters in the Church of the Goddess of Fate would be able to tell.
Even so, she felt like she was committing a heinous transgression. Her trial was actually going to be completed with the aid of the Resurrection Church. Practically speaking, she seemed no different from a sleeper agent whom the Resurrection Church was doing everything in its power to plant among the higher-ups of the Church of the Goddess of Fate.
"Intelligence regarding these three great demons was sealed long ago by Imperial Grand Sage Isis. Great demons are taboo in the Protos Empire, so even I haven't been able to dig up anything on them yet. Did the Church of the Goddess of Fate mention their names to you?"
Lanqi had finished sharing his side of the information; it was time to hear what Hyperion knew.
He had heard Hyperion mention that she was acting on the Ice Snow Witch's commission.
The Ice Snow Witch ought to know these three great demons.
"Antanas of Protection."
"Sinora the Spellbreaker."
"Pranay of Truth."
"Those three," Hyperion replied.
The Ice Snow Witch had also told her a bit about their personalities and traits.
"What do they look like? Can you describe them?" Lanqi asked.
"..."
Hyperion rested her chin on her hand, her brow deeply furrowed as she pondered for a long time. Recalling the paintings the Ice Snow Witch had shown her, she felt like her head was about to split open.
Those abstract pieces the Ice Snow Witch had produced were so bizarre that she had no idea how to even begin describing their features.
"Take your time. No rush. Gloria, please bring me some drawing paper and a pencil," Lanqi said, turning to the direct retainer rather than pressing Hyperion.
Hearing the request, Gloria immediately went to the study and brought back what Lanqi needed. She even carried over a low stool and placed it beside him so he could sit on the other side of the coffee table to sketch, then neatly arranged the spare supplies on the cabinet, ready to hand them to Lanqi the moment he required them.
Watching Gloria's diligent, meticulous manner, Boss Cat couldn't shake the feeling that she was trying desperately to prove she wasn't dead weight to her adoptive mother.
Sigrid merely glanced at the little black cat and said nothing.
Soon, the tip of Lanqi's pencil began to wander casually across the paper, the soft friction of graphite on parchment echoing through the quiet parlor.
He had reviewed a few design drafts titled 'Mysterious Demon,' meant to appear in an ultra-high-difficulty dungeon, though he hadn't known whether they were great demons.
From what he remembered, that dungeon bore a resemblance to the Imperial Capital's Herrom Prison.
The first half of the dungeon was a mechanics raid with a recommended level of 67, while the latter half was a hidden dungeon with a recommended level of 82. Neither had been implemented yet.
Lost in thought with his head lowered, Lanqi didn't focus intensely on the drawing. He simply let the pencil strokes follow his memory, gradually outlining rough silhouettes. Despite his casual approach, his strokes were clean and brisk, and before long, the figures seemed to spring to life on the page.
Sigrid watched Lanqi to pass the time. He drew with his usual absentminded nonchalance—far too casual, as though he couldn't be bothered to put in any real effort.
The man was clearly capable of drawing well; he just disliked doing it.
If he dared to be this perfunctory when drawing her portrait as he had promised, she certainly wouldn't let the Holy Son off lightly.
After ten minutes or so, Lanqi finished three sketches.
"Are these the three?"
Lanqi picked up the three sheets and laid them out before Hyperion one by one.
Among the three demons on the paper, one was a short-haired beauty exuding an androgynous grace, appearing the gentlest of the three.
Another was a serene lady with tightly closed eyes, yet radiating a terrifying sense of oppression.
The third was handsome, poised, and courteous, his narrow, cool eyes veiled in mist, wearing a smile that sent chills down one's spine.
What all three shared were demonic horns, pointed ears, demonic pupils, and a chilling indifference that came from the depths of their souls.
"...They seem to share some subtle likeness with Teacher's drawings, but they also feel like completely different demons..."
Hyperion stared at the three sketches in utter confusion.
"Uh... I think yours are probably the accurate ones."
After puzzling over them for a long while and mentally rearranging them, Hyperion finally managed to match the three portraits to the names of the great demons.
Watching Hyperion's agonizing struggle from the side, Sigrid became convinced that the Holy Son was simply terrible at drawing.
After all, it couldn't possibly be that the Ice Snow Witch didn't know how to draw.
"Did the Ice Snow Witch mention their combat strength?" Lanqi pressed.
"Uh, if we classify them by the five tiers—Standard Eighth Tier, Strong Eighth Tier, Quasi-Bishop Eighth Tier, Bishop-level Eighth Tier, and Super-Bishop Eighth Tier—Antanas of Protection is roughly around Standard to Strong Eighth Tier. Sinora the Spellbreaker is at the level of a Strong Eighth Tier. Pranay of Truth is slightly stronger than Sinora, but he possesses a wide variety of utility abilities and isn't the direct combat type."
Hyperion used the Southern Continent's Ikerite Academy grading system to roughly convey what the Ice Snow Witch had told her about their strength.
Sigrid was thoroughly bewildered. She wondered how on earth the Eighth Tier had so many subcategories; even she didn't know what 'Bishop-level' strength was supposed to mean.
"So the one the Ice Snow Witch intends to rescue is Antanas of Protection? Why is she so confident Antanas will cooperate with the Church of the Goddess of Fate?"
Lanqi pondered for a moment. Based on the characteristics Hyperion described, Sinora the Spellbreaker and Pranay of Truth—both loyal retainers of the demon race—had clear desires and demands. Only Antanas of Protection seemed most like a normal person, hardly resembling a demon at all, which ironically made it harder to reach an agreement with her.
"Teacher told me that Antanas shares some history with my mother's side. As long as I can meet her, I'll be able to persuade her to help us," Hyperion answered.
Hyperion had no intention of revealing to the Domination branch that she was the last princess of the demon race. If she did, these people might turn around and report her to the Protos Empire, leaving her unable to escape.
Even though Hyperion herself had never met the legendary Aunt Talia, based on the stories the Ice Snow Witch had told her, she was quite certain that this great demon named Antanas had been very close to her aunt. If the two could reunite, both would surely be overjoyed.
Therefore, once this matter was resolved, Hyperion and the Ice Snow Witch would do everything in their power to help Antanas find Talia, fulfilling the promise the Church of the Goddess of Fate had offered to the great demon.
Lately, Hyperion had also grown rather curious about what kind of demon her aunt really was.
According to the Ice Snow Witch's description, Princess Talia was extremely aloof, separated from other demons by an impenetrable wall, and only ever permitted those she recognized to approach her.
Yet for some reason, Hyperion felt a strange warmth toward the Talia of the Ice Snow Witch's stories. She sounded like Hyperion's ideal mother, perfectly matching her longing for one... If only she could meet Aunt Talia someday, and if only Aunt Talia would treat her with that same warmth...
Chapter 386