Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Loss of Control Gaze was a spell that could cause even Angels to show obvious signs of losing control, with better effects the more unstable the target's mental state.

However, just as Torriope cast this spell, The Magician vanished from the entrance to the wilderness.

She didn't appear anywhere else in this area, seemingly having left entirely.

Torriope's gaze focused as He watched the horrifying figure created by Loss of Control Gaze gradually dissipate.

He didn't take this chance to escape.

It wasn't that He didn't want to, but it was too late. Only when Queen of Stars Cattleya entered the warlock's tower did He receive the revelation and make the corresponding prophecy, spending some time to interpret it.

He had no time left to escape.

He could only come to the depths of this wilderness and wait patiently.

Wait for an opportunity.

This approach wasn't just interpreted from His own prophecy, but also came from His understanding of this wilderness on the dark side of the warlock's tower, and His knowledge of the Moses Ascetic Order's past events.

In just a second or two, the Loss of Control Gaze spell completely ended.

At the same time, Torriope once again saw that young lady wearing the black robe embroidered with silver stars.

She had returned.

…

On the Blue Avenger, struggling to navigate through the fog and sea.

Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype were all at sea for the first time, and they all walked to the ship's rail to gaze into the distance where the light was quite dim and the waves seemed to roar.

"Westward… is this the depths of the Fog Sea?" Professor made her judgment based on Franca's earlier words and the surrounding environment.

"Yes." The person who answered wasn't Franca, but a middle-aged man who walked out from the cabin.

This man was of medium build with rough skin and messy deep blue hair, wearing a linen shirt, brownish jacket, and darker pantaloons. His bearing was rather dignified, giving the impression of someone long accustomed to authority.

"This is the captain," Franca said, not introducing him as The Hanged Man of the Tarot Club, only telling Periodic Table and the others that he was the owner of this three-masted sailing ship.

After a courtesy bow, Professor asked with some curiosity, "I've heard the western Fog Sea is extremely dangerous, often with fierce winds and huge waves. Even official exploration fleets can't continue deep into it, and can only advance one section of waterway at a time by establishing forward bases."

"Actually, the weather here isn't as changeable and intense as the Berserk Sea," Captain The Hanged Man said in a slightly low, magnetic voice. "What's dangerous here is the fog."

Most Beyonders of the Warlock pathway had strong curiosity. Prototype repeated the captain's words, "Fog?

"What's dangerous about fog… Does it make fleets lose their way, unable to find supplies or retreat?"

The Hanged Man smiled slightly. "Do you know why this ocean is called the Fog Sea? Why fog often rises in the archipelago waters too, completely different from the weather in the Sonia Sea?"

Recalling various meteorologists' explanations from newspapers and magazines, Periodic Table touched the chemical symbols on her face and suddenly realized. "It spreads from here?"

The Hanged Man nodded gently. "The fog in this area sometimes contracts, sometimes expands. When it expands, the fog spreads eastward, affecting the weather.

"The closer you get to here, the more foggy weather there is, and the slower the fog disperses. By the time you reach the archipelago waters, the fog here needs to expand very dramatically to affect that area."

"So it's actually due to mystical reasons…" Professor murmured to herself.

The Hanged Man continued, "Similarly, the deeper you go into this area, the further west you sail, the thicker the fog becomes and the harder it is to disperse. Eventually you can't see anything but gray-white, dense fog, making it impossible to determine your coordinates and the correct waterway based on any external conditions.

"Who knows how many explorers and adventurers have vanished forever here? Perhaps their ships will only return from history much later in the form of unmanned ghost ships."

Franca beside them listened with great interest.

So this is the true origin of the Fog Sea's name?

Did this fog come from the Celestial Worthy's seal on the Western Continent?

"What about us?" Professor asked with some concern.

We're also heading deep into these waters!

Unlike Prototype who only had to worry about feeding himself, she and Periodic Table had strong attachments, naturally making them more anxious and worried.

The Hanged Man looked around and said, "Don't worry, I've entered and left these waters many times and have some understanding of the waterways here. We won't lose our way before reaching our destination."

Of course, you're a top seafarer… Franca muttered internally.

The Hanged Man added, "This experience was bought with lives. I've lost my way here before, encountered dangers, and nearly disappeared with the entire ship several times.

"Fortunately, with divine protection, I prayed in time and received accurate positioning, which helped me successfully find my way back."

Seeing how the captain introduced his experiences exploring these waters without arrogance, boasting, fear, or trepidation, Professor and the others gradually settled their hearts.

This was indeed a safe waterway explored through countless hardships plus divine guidance, worthy of trust.

At this moment, they all felt the captain was very steady and reliable.

Periodic Table looked at the sailors who were clearly not enough to operate such a three-masted sailing ship, and asked with an investigative spirit, "Is this a ghost ship?"

"Yes." The Hanged Man didn't deny it.

Just then, the entire ship was thrown up by a wave, flying through the air.

With a splash, a giant sea fish twenty to thirty meters long emerged from beneath the surface.

Its body was covered in silver-white metal scales that flickered with dawn's light, and from the blowhole on its head spurted a water stream that seemed composed of early morning twilight.

This water stream was like a giant sword wielded by a deity, slashing fiercely toward the Blue Avenger.

This scene was visually stunning, leaving Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype, who were used to fighting in cities and small environments, momentarily unsure how to respond.

Silently, a gray-white color spread from the ship's rail, colliding with that deity-like dawn sword.

The dawn's light on the giant sword immediately dimmed, taking on a gray-white color.

It failed to create a Hurricane of Light, quickly turning into a stone sword that broke into sections falling toward the sea surface.

At the same time, The Hanged Man flew into the air, his deep blue hair spreading wildly like tentacles.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The Hanged Man clenched his fists, throwing out bolts of lightning.

These silver-white lightning bolts pierced through sky and sea, striking the sea fish covered in silver-white scales.

Boom! Only now did the thunder echo out.

Just as Professor and others watched dumbfounded as the captain brought down divine punishment like a deity to discipline the sea monster, the area where the Blue Avenger was about to fall began bubbling.

Countless rotting creatures emerged along with the rising and bursting bubbles, cramming densely together.

A horrifying, strange summoning from the realm of death's destination came from beneath the sea surface, pulling the Blue Avenger off course directly toward it.

The gray-white color fell before the ship, turning all the rotting, undead creatures instantly into stone sculptures, even the azure seawater became like a cement ground, uneven with highs and lows.

The gray-white continued to penetrate beneath the sea surface, and everything fell silent.

The Blue Avenger landed steadily on the water beside it, and The Professor and others saw large patches of gray-white stone being shattered by the incoming water flow, some sinking, some floating.

"A Sequence 5 sea monster, a Gatekeeper?" Franca muttered questioningly as she prepared to collect her spoils. "Isn't this display of ability a bit exaggerated?"

The first creature to attack the Blue Avenger should have been a whale that had consumed a Sequence 5 Guardian Beyonder characteristic of the Warrior pathway.

"Different species and environments can lead to different manifestations of abilities," The Hanged Man landed back on deck, ordering the sailors to quickly harvest the whale sea monster's Beyonder characteristic and valuable parts. "Besides, you forgot that Sequence 5 at sea qualifies one to compete for the title of admiral."

Listening to their exchange, Professor and others finally realized.

The captain was the other demigod Hidden Blade had mentioned.

The power of a demigod was mind-shaking!

As Franca used Demoness spider silk to drag up the Keeper sea monster hidden beneath the surface—it was a flat, human-sized, spiky deep black mutated sea urchin—she casually asked,

"The deeper we sail into these waters, the more monsters like this we'll encounter?"

"No." The Hanged Man shook his head. "The most dangerous things are the environment itself and our companions. Of course, as long as we stay on the pre-determined waterway, there won't be much risk. These sea monsters have only appeared in recent years, possibly related to that war back then."

Seeing Professor and others clearly confused, The Hanged Man briefly explained, "After the God of Combat's defeat, many Beyonder characteristics fell from the astral world onto the earth and into the oceans. His divine kingdom also experienced some collapse, with many items falling into reality."

I see… The Backstabbing Armor, no, the Pride Armor came from that? That whale sea monster just now should also be… Gatekeeper is Sequence 5 of the Death pathway, adjacent to the Warrior pathway, so it's normal for the God of Combat's divine kingdom to have some related items… As Franca came to this realization, she waited for the pale and black-mixed Beyonder characteristic to gradually precipitate out.

She and Lumian would need to gain more believers in the future, which required priests to spread their teachings, so they needed to prepare some Beyonder characteristics for their subordinates.

After collecting the spoils, the Blue Avenger continued forward.

As they sailed deeper, the gray-white fog around them grew increasingly dense, making it impossible to see clearly beyond several dozen meters.

During this process, Professor and others occasionally discovered things floating through the fog—there were faintly visible peaks, indistinct islands, and giant figures that seemed to hold up the sky…

The Hanged Man didn't explain, only telling them, "They seem close but are actually far away, unreachable."

After another half day, when the gray-white fog reached a certain density, The Hanged Man suddenly said to Franca,

"We're almost at our destination. Notify Ma'am Hermit that she can enter the Moses Ascetic Order's headquarters now."

…

In the dark side tunnel of the warlock's tower.

Ma'am Hermit continued to advance deeper. Her responsibility was to hold back the Moses Ascetic Order's upper echelons as much as possible until allied forces arrived.

Suddenly, she stopped in an area filled with many broken stone pillars.

She saw a familiar figure.

It was the Moses Ascetic Order's Vice Chairman, another Pillar who she couldn't get a read on—Retia Austin.