After several sessions of treatment, Lanqi and the Fall Lord finally emerged from the circular enclosed chamber located in the deepest recess of the research institute.
Passing through a long, streamlined corridor and a hall of illusions, they stepped through the black phantom door and returned to the central containment chamber.
"I've handled things on the Fourth Progenitor's side. The Trinity Experiment can proceed," Lanqi said, waving to True Night Lord, who was bustling back and forth across the lab.
When leaving the Polant Empire, he had left behind a "Salem Plan."
The Trinity Experiment was the very core under the master header of the Salem Plan.
"Understood."
True Night Lord Esmod said nothing more. He simply nodded in greeting to Lanqi and the Fall Lord before diving back into his hectic work.
"By the way, why did you name this experiment 'Trinity'?" Fall Lord Caliera asked.
She knew this project drew together many principles of Demon Realm engineering, including the techniques from the Horning Empire's testing grounds for transforming humans into demons, as well as the Poet of Great Love's Forbidden Curse Seal. Now, having obtained the patient's consent, their modification of the Fourth Progenitor, Eduardo, was progressing smoothly.
And this Blood Clan modification experiment had been personally christened the "Trinity Experiment" by Lord Nameless.
"It has to do with a church in the human realms. Have you heard of the secret cult known as the Sacred Rites?" Lanqi paused, looking back at Caliera.
"I've heard of it. I remember the princess joined that esoteric cult back then, but it was never very large and was repeatedly nipped in the bud by the Blood Clan." The Fall Lord pondered for a moment and nodded.
"A while ago—recently, in fact—a succession of leadership took place within that church, and its doctrines were heavily revised. Part of the new Church of the Sacred Rites' doctrine is the Trinity, a core theological concept." Lanqi clasped his hands over his chest as he explained to the Fall Lord, "According to the doctrine of the Trinity, the God worshiped by the Church of the Sacred Rites is a single, unique being who exists simultaneously in three persons or aspects: the Heavenly Father, the Son of Man, and the Holy Spirit.
"These three persons unite into the wholeness of God."
The Heavenly Father represented God's aspect as creator, sustainer, and ruler.
The Son of Man represented God's incarnation as a human—namely, the church's current leader.
The Holy Spirit represented God's supreme divinity, His working and revelation in the world.
"The concept of the Trinity emphasizes that the three persons of God are of one substance and indivisible, yet manifested through different aspects and roles."
"..."
Caliera listened with slightly furrowed brows.
"God is not merely an abstract concept, but a being of profound depth beyond the full comprehension of living mortals," Lanqi said with a faint smile, patiently imparting enlightenment to Caliera. "This is the disparity between human finitude and divine infinitude.
"Perhaps the name 'Trinity' is a warning to us that mortal beings have obtained a tool capable of destroying the world, becoming Death itself," he said.
"After watching you convince Eduardo and now hearing you say this, I truly believe it—if you went to the human realms, you'd most likely end up as the kingpin of some brainwashing pyramid scheme cult," Caliera muttered to herself, shaking her head.
She felt that while Lord Nameless was profoundly knowledgeable, his erudition always seemed concentrated in exceedingly peculiar areas.
Caliera was in no hurry to leave the central containment chamber. Instead, she motioned for Lanqi to take a seat on the sofa; she had business to discuss with him.
The remaining work here could simply be left to True Night Lord and the Poet of Great Love, and the Fourth Progenitor, Eduardo, no longer required Fall Lord Caliera's personal restraint.
She finally had her hands free to talk serious matters with Lanqi.
"I heard you lived in the Polant Empire for some time?" Caliera asked, sitting down across from Lanqi.
Rumors regarding McCarthy were plentiful throughout the city of Naicalis, though most were three parts truth and seven parts fiction.
Fortunately, Thunder Lord and Lord Nameless were well acquainted, so Caliera had learned a few things about McCarthy from Thunder Lord.
"Indeed," Lanqi nodded once he was comfortably seated.
A dozen or so years really was just "some time" to the demon race.
So much so that even after living several hundred or a thousand years, demons might still consider themselves very young, blissfully oblivious that they might already be long past marriageable age.
"..."
Caliera's brows furrowed once more.
She couldn't shake the feeling that Lord Nameless was thinking something rather impolite.
Yet she couldn't put her finger on what it might be.
After a moment's thought, Caliera decided not to dwell on it.
"When our Demon Realm visits the Polant Empire next, we will require a demon of significant stature, and it would be best for me to serve as an escort," she said to Lanqi.
The Polant Empire had no Tier 9 humans and could not confront her head-on, so they would never permit a Tier 9 great demon to venture deep into their capital, Hersalem.
Admittedly, in the heart of the capital Hersalem, should Fall Lord Caliera truly make a move, the city's defensive barrier and ancient treasures could be mobilized against her. Combined with the Polant Empire's Tier 8 Martial God, she might not necessarily walk away unscathed.
However, if it were genuinely just for negotiations, the Polant Empire would at most allow her to remain in a border city, arranging meetings with important figures of the empire there.
The trouble with that arrangement was that she might not be able to see the people she actually needed to meet.
"If my clearance to move within the Polant Empire is restricted, I would only be able to wait for their representatives to come see me. Most likely, the one I'd meet would be the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Duke Moretti," Caliera continued.
Following the standard protocol of the Polant Empire, the first priority for communicating with the Demon Realm would be the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Duke Moretti, who would then relay matters to the Cabinet.
Whether Duke Moretti might play tricks while conveying the demons' intentions, however, was anyone's guess.
As the leader of the Conservative Party, Duke Moretti had his own calculations and vested interests.
"..."
Lanqi fell silent for a moment.
He roughly understood what the Fall Lord meant. If a Tier 9 great demon like her went to the Polant Empire under the guise of an escort rather than serving as the envoy herself, it would be far less likely to arouse the Polant Empire's suspicion and wariness.
"Do you intend to have Hyperion go to the Polant Empire in person?" Lanqi asked.
"Originally, yes. But now I think it would be more appropriate for you to go. After all, she is going to marry you, and sending the princess off to a foreign land to meet other men around the time of her wedding does not fit our demon traditions."
Caliera cracked her eyes open ever so slightly, observing Lanqi's expression as if judging his intentions.
Her eyes possessed a natural charm, so under normal circumstances she kept them closed to avoid affecting allies.
"..."
"Do you have any reservations?" Caliera inquired softly, not wishing to force him.
Judging by Lanqi's peculiar expression, she sensed that it might be inconvenient for him to serve as an envoy to the Polant Empire.
Chapter 596