When Zariel turned her head, both Anbaixiu and Mister Misfortune felt a spine-chilling cold.
To be targeted by a lord of Hell was truly bad news.
At times like this, the advantage of being a lich showed through. Anbaixiu calmed down faster than Mister Misfortune and immediately took action.
"Leira, help! Zariel is alive!"
Without a doubt, this was the most effective countermeasure.
And the Lady of the Mists did not disappoint Anbaixiu. Zariel, who had just been glaring at the two of them, blurred and turned into a crude humanoid figure that looked as if it were sculpted from plaster.
The Lady of the Mists manifested before them and said to Anbaixiu, "That was too close. Zariel nearly descended into this dream."
One glance at the Lady of the Mists was enough for Mister Misfortune to understand that a true deity stood before him.
Did this bastard lich just call a goddess directly by her name? Was he not afraid of being punished for blasphemy?
Before Mister Misfortune could even figure out how to pay homage to the goddess, Anbaixiu spoke first. "Zariel's manifestation was far too realistic—it was as if someone had poured their heart and soul into sculpting a perfect idol, allowing Zariel to sense it."
A deity's descent had to follow strict rules. Just like when Lolth the Spider Queen had wanted to descend before, she had to choose her own idol rather than manifesting wherever she pleased.
Devout believers, divine statues, artifacts, and special summoning rituals—any of these could allow a deity to descend.
The Zariel conjured in the dream just now had been identical to the true deity. There was no "statue" more lifelike than that, so Zariel down in Hell had sensed it and could have descended using the phantom.
Anbaixiu had even heard of an even more ridiculous incident: some daring madman had written an unauthorized history of a deity. The writing had ended up being so vivid and widely circulated that the deity descended directly onto his book. Afterward, the author abruptly stopped updating his work. No one knew whether he had been taken to the deity's divine realm or cast down into Hell.
Mister Misfortune glanced at Anbaixiu. Was this kid actually reproaching a goddess?
Leira said somewhat self-consciously, "I slept for so long that I've forgotten many things. But it's fine. This is a dream, after all. Even if Zariel locked onto this place, we just need to switch to another dream. Make haste, though. Lingering too long will cause trouble."
With that, Leira vanished, and the dream resumed its motion.
Yet Mister Misfortune had no heart left to watch his old flame's dream. Instead, he asked Anbaixiu in astonishment, "The one just now... was a deity, wasn't she?"
"Yeah."
"Then how dare you be so disrespectful?"
Mister Misfortune felt as though the world had turned upside down. Even toward the weakest of deities, mortals ought to maintain reverence. Unless one's faith clashed—such as followers of the Lord of the Dawn shouting 'By the Holy Light!' as they charged at an evil deity—one was generally expected to show proper respect.
Blasphemy was a grave sin, worse than treason.
"I already told you, I know plenty of deities. I know how to deal with Them better than you do. You're hundreds of years old; don't make such a fuss over nothing. Watch the plot closely; the key information is coming up."
The phantom Zariel continued playing her role, seizing Domino Lawley by the neck and threatening, "Traitor, I can give you a chance to atone. Find the other traitors and deliver them to me. I will consider lightening your punishment."
Without a second thought, Domino Lawley agreed, "I will! I'll do anything!"
Clearly, Domino Lawley could no longer bear the torment of hellfire; betraying others meant absolutely nothing to her anymore.
"Very good. For an insect, you are reasonably clever, so your life has value. Go. Find those traitors, and I will temporarily halt your punishment. Remember, my mercy has limits. Do what you must!"
Zariel dissipated into flames, leaving Domino Lawley gasping for breath.
After another moment, the dream's scenery shifted from the fiery boudoir to a dark, gloomy basement.
Domino Lawley had donned heavy armor and was ruthlessly lashing a blood-soaked tiefling with a whip.
Domino Lawley demanded furiously, "Confess their names, and you'll suffer less pain!"
The dying tiefling gasped weakly, "Domino... do you think... you can escape?... Zariel will never... let any of us go..."
Her face contorting, Domino Lawley ignited the whip in roaring flames and lashed out viciously at the tiefling.
The tiefling wailed in the hellfire until he was reduced entirely to ashes.
Domino Lawley stared in silence at the ashes for a long time before whispering, "Go to Hell. It's what we deserve!"
Watching this scene, Mister Misfortune couldn't help saying, "She was forced into this. She didn't want to do it either."
Anbaixiu looked at him expressionlessly. The old fellow was quite the sentimental romantic.
However, the dream soon shifted once more. This time, Domino Lawley knelt before Zariel again, her skin charred black by hellfire.
Domino Lawley seemed to lack even the strength to move, managing only to plead with difficulty, "Please give me another chance... I beg you... I will send them to Hell... I beg you..."
But Zariel was no forgiving deity. With a single kick, she sent Domino flying over ten meters back, sneering, "What else could you possibly do? All the traitors know you sold them out. They will never trust you again."
With her remaining breath, Domino Lawley rasped, "I can... sacrifice the entire kingdom... to you..."
At that, Mister Misfortune's eyes went wide. He had assumed Domino Lawley had only collaborated with Hell under duress from Zariel; he never imagined she had volunteered to trade the entire kingdom away.
Zariel continued to sneer at Domino Lawley with disdain. "You are not qualified. That kingdom does not belong to you."
"I can... I can make them all sign a contract... I can..."
Mister Misfortune clenched his fists, wishing he could kill Domino Lawley right then and there. But knowing it would be utterly futile, he could only endure and watch on.
They were very close to the secret now.
Hearing this, Zariel sounded intrigued. "Oh? You can truly accomplish that?"
"I... can..."
Domino Lawley's voice had grown so faint it was barely audible.
"Fine. Then I shall grant you one final chance."
Flames flashed in Zariel's hand, conjuring a magical contract.
Mister Misfortune leaned in as close as he could, trying to read the text upon it, only to find the contents completely blurred.
"How could this happen? This is the most crucial part!" Mister Misfortune exclaimed in agitation.
Anbaixiu leaned in to inspect it as well, then said, "I'm afraid Domino Lawley herself didn't know what was written in the contract. She was on the verge of death back then and signed it without reading it clearly at all. The dream is a reproduction of her memories. Naturally, what she doesn't remember is blurred."
Mister Misfortune countered, "But she said she would have the others sign it too. Even if she didn't know then, surely she knew later?"
Anbaixiu shook his head. "Not necessarily. If Zariel placed an obscuring ward on the contract, only the signatories might be able to see the contents. Moreover... these terms are likely written in the language of devils. I doubt more than a few members of the Council of Iniquity could even read it."
The language and script of devils possessed potent magic, and it was precisely that magic which gave contracts their binding force. If a mortal attempted to study such a language, their soul could easily be corrupted by the power of Hell, causing them to fall into damnation without devils even having to lift a finger.
Anbaixiu was a lich, intrinsically belonging to the evil alignment, so he possessed strong resistance to hellish powers. That was the only reason he dared study them.
"If they couldn't read it, how could the others have signed?" Mister Misfortune asked, frowning.
Anbaixiu chuckled. "That's all too simple. Get them drunk, knock them out, charm them, or find blackmail on them... Keep in mind, this was hundreds of years ago. Domino Lawley had plenty of time to set all sorts of traps. They were only twelve tieflings; if she set her mind to duping them, it wouldn't have been that hard."
Mister Misfortune gritted his teeth. "Then doesn't that mean we have no way forward? All our efforts have been in vain!"
The future of the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn could not be divined; fate would not permit them to pry into this secret. Now, not even Domino Lawley knew what the contract contained. Where else could they find an answer? They couldn't exactly march down to Hell to interrogate Zariel.
Anbaixiu, however, said, "Don't be in such a hurry. There's still a turn of fortune. I've done some research on devil contracts. Those patterns... I can make an educated guess about some of them."
Mister Misfortune looked at him in surprise. "You can read the script of devils?"
"I had no choice. I had no noble background, so if I wanted to get ahead, I had to read a lot. Aren't you the same?" Anbaixiu asked.
Mister Misfortune sighed helplessly. "I've read plenty of books, but I really can't compare to you."
Tieflings carried devil blood. Once exposed to hellish power, they fell far more easily than other races. Thus, he had never dared touch the language of devils, terrified of accidentally falling into damnation.
Anbaixiu looked up beyond the dream and said, "All right, that's enough. What follows is likely just framing and coercion to force the other Unholy Ones to sign the contract. The dream can end now. We can't let Zariel actually track us down."
The dream shattered rapidly, and Domino Lawley vanished. The Lady of the Mists, Leira, reappeared before them.
Leira said to Anbaixiu, "Zariel is not easy to deal with. Do not be reckless. If you run into trouble, come back to me. I can protect you now."
Anbaixiu replied gratefully, "Thank you, but it's no big deal. It's just a lord of Hell. If She wants to make trouble for me, She'll have to wait in line."
Leira smiled. "I have never seen a mortal like you. Take care of yourself. I will always be waiting for you here."
Leira dissolved into starlight and vanished. Anbaixiu and Mister Misfortune awoke from the dream.
Mister Misfortune opened his mouth, at a loss for words. Should he first ask how to resolve the matter of the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn? Or ask about Anbaixiu's relationship with that goddess? Or perhaps ask what Anbaixiu had meant by saying a lord of Hell had to wait in line to give him trouble?
After centuries apart, what in the world had this bastard been through?
Anbaixiu didn't dwell on any of that, saying straight to Mister Misfortune, "Senior Brother, help me perform a divination."
Mister Misfortune looked at him in bewilderment. "Didn't you hear what I said? The future of this kingdom cannot be divined. Every detail concerning it is shrouded in fog. Forcing a divination will only cause fate to abandon us."
"That was because I wasn't there. Senior Brother, what in this world is worthy of two legendary divination wizards divining together? With our powers combined, even deities would be caught in the web of fate we weave."
Anbaixiu summoned his Golden Throne, and countless Dice of Fate materialized before him. He said to Mister Misfortune, "Didn't you say I was the Goddess of Fate's favorite? I'm sure the goddess will do me this favor."
"All right. Then I'll let this old pile of bones go crazy with you one more time."
Mister Misfortune chuckled, and countless threads of fate emerged before him.
Points and lines intertwined in the air, and bizarre visions began to surface before the two of them.
Chapter 315