Chapter 335

Chapter 335: Elise Tiffany, the History of Deception, the Mouse in the Cage

The capital city, Yves Saint Laurent.

Rose Street, one of the ancestral homes of the Oath Family, Tiffany.

Although it is called a street, it covers an area of one million square kilometers, which includes a highly profitable business district, the entertainment industry, the headquarters of the Empire’s Alchemy Guild, and expensive properties fiercely sought after by nobles. Additionally, there is an ancestral home with a history of over a thousand years.

At this moment, in an ancient manor where blooming flowers resemble a colorful brocade and the seasons feel like spring, a middle-aged man with graying hair and a strong build stands bare-chested, revealing clear muscle lines, surrounded by swirling white mist.

Auguste Tiffany, with hair that falls like a lion’s mane, this grand duke, who appeared elegant and cold to the outside world, looked like a rough blacksmith, his deep blue eyes gazing down at the giant red-hot blade in his hands, calmly using magic to cool it.

This process was very complex, yet very quick.

The man admired, in an instant, the alchemical patterns lighting up like circuits in every corner of the sword body, as the controlling spell followed along, seizing the moment after cooling to reperform the alchemical technique.

"Strong, unbreakable, sharp, light, diamond, thirsty for blood…"

Auguste repeated the enchanting techniques he had learned from his daughter until, at the seventh step, the giant blade in his hand let out a wailing, shattering sound, twisting to declare failure, canceling the energy collision in the magic, turning it into scrap metal.

"Lucy’s alchemy has indeed surpassed mine by far."

"Even a blade forged under those conditions is enough to create a work that rivals that of a master."

The man’s cold expression wavered for a moment as he softly whispered:

"Your birth must be the will of the emperor."

"My daughter, no matter the cost, I will make up for your flaws."

Alchemy, in a certain sense, was the science of the empire; it was a tool for humanity to compensate for the natural advantages of other races, and it was also a practical method for human understanding of the world.

Since the First Divine Age, alchemy had carried the original spark.

Lucy Tiffany was a true genius in alchemy. She could learn, remember, and master knowledge in just one year that would take others many years to understand fully. She was considered a master, even the best, in several subjects of alchemy.

This genius from the Tiffany family, who had waited a thousand years, was not only skilled in Magic Potions, runes, wonders, bionics, materials science, elemental transformation, and the Golden Sea rules, but had also broken down the alchemy of several emperors.

But perhaps because of her great wisdom, her magical talent was very weak, and she was born frail and sickly. Even the most basic material transformation spells were difficult for her, and she needed the help of other alchemical creations to succeed.

With such conditions, she had no way to inherit the Tiffany family’s alchemy.

Auguste, with his handsome and stern face, could not allow the chance to fulfill his family’s thousand-year wish to slip away from his grasp. He was willing to pay any price to achieve that goal.

"Have you made up your mind, Grand Duke Tiffany?"

A man with golden hair and blue eyes stepped out of the void. He wore an elegant patterned suit and had a mask that revealed a smiling face.

Compared to the strong-bodied, disheveled-haired Auguste, who had an ancient charm, this unexpected guest looked more like a nobleman.

The man radiated a light and cheerful atmosphere, as if he were gliding through a dazzling dance floor, casually extending an invitation:

"For the Oath Family, to escape the constraints of the Holy Sophon, they can only rely on the hands of outsiders. In theory, breaking an oath is impossible."

"But who says theory is just theory? Mr. Auguste, I have already shown you that I am the best partner for the Tiffany family."

"You see, aside from those who can trick history and the past, who else can distort and change the covenant witnessed by the emperor?"

Auguste frowned at the other person. A month ago, this mysterious man who called himself Thousand Faces had found him in a mysterious way, claiming he needed his help.

At first, he thought the other’s identity was someone not recorded by the Holy Sophon, who did not recognize the emperor’s might, acted as a priest of a god, and gained some power as a wild survivor, or perhaps someone with hidden motives and some special talents from another race.

But no matter which one it was, in theory, it shouldn’t have been possible to do that.

Auguste put on a shirt and draped a coat over it like a cloak. His tall and sturdy figure radiated an imposing presence. He glanced at the golden ring engraved with a lion on his hand and said indifferently,

"How did you do it? In my memory, the Tiffany family has never established any influence in Raysha, nor have they recruited slave-hunting teams or researched human enhancement in labs outside the emperor’s territory."

If it weren’t for the Vow Ring gifted by the emperor, connecting him to the Tree of Thought that represents the Holy Sophon, which can resist any mental manipulation and soul distortion, he would surely doubt whether his memory had been altered, rather than admit that Thousand Faces truly changed the past.

Because this was too absurd.

Even if magic was advanced to the great empire that surpassed all races, no time spell that could go back to the past had ever been created.

Alchemy and magic were products of the same origin. As a rare being that had entered the legendary realm, he knew more than ordinary people.

Time magic also had its own types and levels.

The most common was manipulating the sense of time, speeding up thoughts, and enhancing nerve reflexes. A step above that was local reversal/acceleration, where the time of things and oneself could be manipulated; those who could reach this level were extremely rare.

As for going a step further, it meant enlarging the former’s scale and being able to interfere with the time of other lives, even glimpsing the future and looking back at the past. Within the empire, the only one who could do this was the Tower Master of Chalkiness Tower.

Moreover, not every Tower Master could achieve this; perhaps only the initial Tower Master, known as the Sage, who established Chalkiness Tower under the guidance of the Emperor before the end of the Second Divine Age, could perfectly control the above time spells.

Auguste understood that once one reached the level of Chalkiness Tower Master, it was not talent that determined the limits of time magic, but rather the favor of the Golden Sea towards you.

If the world was seen as a game in Alchemy Crysta, then the Golden Sea was the administrator, even in the position of a creator. Time belonged to its authority, and to use the other’s power, one must naturally heed the other’s wishes.

Even if they counted all the history of the world, if time travel really existed, there must be only one person who could do it, and that was the Divine Emperor, loved by the Golden Sea… no, it should be said, respected.

In fact, after the empire was established, many great scholars studied the information about the Divine Emperor. After reading his incredibly magnificent achievements, they speculated that he was a time traveler from a very distant future, who had come back to save humanity.

This also explained why no one knew about the Emperor’s past, and… the ultimate mystery of where this great man had gone.

Therefore, many people believed that as long as the empire continued forever, the future would surely see the Divine Emperor, who ended the divine era and gave humanity the spark of life.

Thus, many citizens along the Ley Line naturally felt that the Emperor’s position should be vacant, and even the regulations about the crown prince raised many debates.

Thousand Faces seemed to understand what Auguste was thinking, and he replied with a smile,

"Didn’t I say? I changed a part of history. In that time, you went ahead and did what you always wanted to do."

"Speaking of which, Mr. Auguste, I must admire your ability to take action. Using human transformation to fix Miss Tiffany’s flaws is such a brilliant idea!"

The man sincerely clapped his hands in admiration.

"Do you want to change her magical talent this way, gain the approval of the Chalkiness Tower Master, and earn the position of the Crown Prince?"

"Also, with that person’s amazing achievements that have shocked the empire’s academic world multiple times, if they were not lacking as a Magician, they would probably have already been appointed as the next Tower Master."

Auguste’s expression did not change.

Tower Master? Crown Prince? What a boring thought.

Even if the sky fell and the earth cracked, there was only one Emperor in this world.

Indeed, could the sneaky mouse only think of such reasons?

A character of this level was not worthy of touching even a fraction of the Emperor’s brilliance, nor could they possibly wield the magic to reverse time.

Auguste had absolute confidence in this, just as he believed that with the protection of the Emperor, his mind could never be deceived or altered.

Therefore, the other party did not reverse time, but rather used a more clever, more precise, and more incredible trick.

But just that was enough to be startling.

Because he could not find any flaws beyond his memory for the time being, from this perspective, the other party indeed had the qualifications to cooperate with him.

"What is your purpose?"

Thousand Faces smiled.

"Very simple, to provide me with information, money, many slaves, and… the Vow Ring you hold."

…

…

Karembu Empire, Galtigus City.

Russell transformed into a writhing shadow, sneaking into the underground of the building, racing toward a manor built in the center of the city, which was one of Tiffany’s ancestral homes.

This was the reward he received after trading with Thousand Faces. He wanted to offer it to the Dragon Witch, who was deep in the manor, like Sleeping Beauty in a fairy tale, waiting for her prince to heal her.

But unfortunately, the first one to arrive was this complete villain.

"The gift of the Lord returns again; even if it is just a shadow in dreams, the chaos He offers is still so great."

The archbishop was lost in bliss as he felt the dark, deep power of affection writhing within him. He freely controlled the power of the Supreme Disaster Beast—Erebus—completely breaking free from the frustration of the past month.

Although he had gathered thirteen archbishops and used the power of the Calamity God to open the Tower of Babel, reaching the outer side of the Intracastral Sea and putting a foot into the Ideal State ahead of time.

Here, however, was the opponent’s home ground, and the people brought by the thirteen factions had no status and were preemptively marked with a hatred buff, cursed by the Golden Sea, unable to absorb the energy particles around them.

This meant that without disaster aura support and unable to draw on local energy, even consuming flesh and blood was extremely inefficient. They received no gifts from planets and couldn’t understand the common language of the continent, causing many followers to perish unnecessarily at first.

Fortunately,

Even though this Slit World only activated after Esther began to operate it, their early entry gave them an advantage of an extra month due to the time difference.

Until today, after cooperating with a few forces of the local evil gods, they finally used a gap in divine power to cross the protection of the Golden Sea and send a message to the Calamity God, leading to the current situation.

At this moment, the Calamity God in Historical Echoes, having successfully descended with some of its authority, granted the Church of the Gods more power than it had in reality.

It was only now that Russell realized the extent to which the Miracle Wall, which protected all beings, had suppressed the Supreme Lord.

It is important to know that the authority sent to the Fanol Continent from outside the world was less than one-millionth of the Calamity God at its peak, yet this was still much greater than the power the Calamity God granted its followers in reality.

In other words, even at its weakest stage, the Pure White’s ability to suppress the Calamity God did not allow them any chance to breathe.

But that was okay.

"When the light of the Pure White High Wall fades away, this humiliation will eventually be paid back with blood and fire, and now… success is just within reach."

Since he started to talk to the Supreme Lord, it had already declared the doom of that group of insects.

At this stage, an endless black tide was surging towards the nations, and the continent protected by the Golden Sea would perish in a few weeks; the training organized by the Counter-Magic Bureau had already declared bankruptcy.

But this was not enough. Since the roles of attacker and defender could change, the Church of the Gods naturally aimed to hunt witches to achieve a deeper plan!

Therefore, at the very moment the magical girls arrived, they must take advantage of their unawareness to find the reserve forces inside.

Russell was not foolish; he could guess that the Countermeasures Bureau would only throw a group of reserves into the Ideal State if they had provided everyone with a way to survive.

But…

What if their goal was not to kill the magical girls, but to plant special Disaster Debris that caused instant distortion?

Since its establishment, the Church of the Gods had been beaten down by magical girls, who knew better than anyone how terrifying a fully grown magical girl reaching "Fully Blooming" could be.

Such beings, who shouted about friendship, bonds, the future, and dreams, could suddenly explode with power, and come with immortality, truly made for an epic villain’s nightmare; not to mention that magical girls had all sorts of strange Patronus Magic, which was comparable to the powers granted by a Calamity God.

So, many years ago, various factions began to study methods specifically targeting magical girls.

The simplest and least complicated plan was to pick on magical girls who had just "lit up" and those who had just become "Fully Blooming."

At this stage, the magical girls had not yet mastered the deathly skill of "Blooming Flowers" and could easily be defeated by normal means.

But it was important to act quickly and not to shock the magical girls’ nerves too much, like kidnapping family members for torture; this would likely cause them to forcibly "Fully Bloom" and enter a rage mode.

Of course, this method could also be used to lure magical girls into becoming mindless monsters, but it required too many followers, and the benefits were not great enough.

Therefore, the final method left was to twist flesh and corrupt the soul.

This tactic was known to be a sure kill against magical girls below "Fully Bloom."

Russell, as the Archbishop, possessed three special Disaster Debris, made from countless disaster beasts, followers, and lives. They were also called — The Seed of Corruption.

In theory, if multiple Seeds of Corruption invaded the flesh, even if "Blooming Flowers" was activated and the body was repeatedly destroyed, it would turn into a horrifying form, losing reason and becoming more terrifying than a disaster beast.

And for a newly "lit" magical girl, regular Disaster Debris was already deadly enough.

This was the Church of the Gods’ hidden card, kept for the opportunity to catch everything in one sweep, taking advantage of the information gap.

"I can’t wait to see your expression then, my old friend, Esther."

The archbishop whispered softly, transforming into a deeper shadow. He seemed like pure darkness, slipping through barriers, avoiding the patrol of the Alchemical Puppet, and directly entering the deepest part of the ancestral home. Sniffing the tempting fragrance, he found the other person’s location.

The power of the Supreme Disaster Beast was clearly beyond what the designer of the defense line had expected.

The dark form of the archbishop drifted gracefully in the fragrant garden. He walked to a room not far from there, which was well-lit. A gentle breeze lifted the curtains, and soft, warm light fell on the clean white bed.

Russell smiled with anticipation.

The girl, delicate like a doll, was lying on the bed. She was very young, looking only 14 years old, and her cute face displayed the innocence of childhood.

Even though it was noon, her thick, long eyelashes rested on her eyelids, as if she was peacefully asleep. Only the scattered gray strands of hair, with a slight curl, swayed gently in the wind, bringing a touch of life.

—Elise Tiffany.

The second young lady of the Tiffany family.

Probably because of her health, in the identity given by Historical Echoes, she was someone who had narcolepsy, almost spending most of her life asleep and having little presence in the outside world.

Auguste’s attitude toward this daughter was quite unclear; if he didn’t care about her, then the guards around and the heavily fortified defenses would not make sense. However, if he did care, he should have brought her back to the safest Yves Saint Laurent.

Instead, Lucy Tiffany doted on this sister, even having a thousand battle puppets from Heavenly Hierarchy there, and using alchemy to create many maid-like figures to take care of her daily needs.

The archbishop chuckled mockingly, as if sneering at sending the Dragon Witch into the idealized Countermeasures Bureau. He slipped into the shadow dimension and instantly appeared beside Elise Tiffany, his palm now holding a piece of Disaster Debris shaped like a sharp spike.

Although he really wanted to take the Dragon Witch out to study the makeup and secrets of magical girls, the Countermeasures Bureau left behind in the Ideal State clearly wouldn’t give him such an opportunity.

Therefore, treating her directly as a sacrifice to supply the Disaster Debris, and later refining the essence of the witch from it, was the safest method.

But before Russell could make his next move,

The fear that made his entire body tremble with disaster aura came with a cold whisper that swept through his soul like a fire burning the sea.

"If I were you, I would stay away from her."

"Do you agree? The worthless rat."