Plan and Speculation

The embassy's protective ritual also extended underground, so Ebner, in his bear form, spent a long time tunneling beneath the area with Earth Submersion until he discovered an abandoned dungeon that lay outside its reach.

It was abandoned because the exit had been entirely sealed, cutting it off from the embassy and leaving it technically no longer a part of the grounds.

Apparently, this estate belonged to a count before Intis purchased it for their embassy, and this private dungeon was likely used to hold… 'guests' the count wished to keep hidden.

The count must not have wanted his personal dungeon discovered and probably had it sealed off just before the sale…

And the Intis people? Either they never found it, or they didn't care… Either way, it's been left neglected, which works out perfectly for me—I was planning to dig out my own hideaway using earth spells.

Ebner resumed human form and dressed. As he speculated on the dungeon's origins, he began carefully unpacking materials from his bag to assemble a ritual altar—one covered in symbols, mystical markings, complex patterns, and twisted numbers that exuded a distinct aura.

After a night of intense "analysis," Ebner had mapped out the Guardian Ritual of the embassy, identifying three altars within, each anchored by a Level-2 Sealed Artifact or an equally potent item as its power core.

Thus, this "ritual" granted the embassy three primary defensive capabilities:

Detection and interdiction: It could passively sense the presence of unshielded entities associated with evil, chaos, or madness, issuing a timely alert. Upon activation, the ritual would escalate, forbidding such chaotic powers entirely.

Psychology Invisibility detection: As Ebner had predicted, the ritual specifically scrutinized psychological concealment, detecting any discordance in mental states and immediately alerting the ritual presider.

The ritual's detection power did have its limits, though Ebner wasn't certain how strong a psychology concealment it could penetrate—his own simulated version would clearly not pass.

Barrier creation: Upon activation, the ritual generated barriers to trap intruders and protect ordinary people. These barriers were extremely sturdy, hard to break by anyone below High Sequence, and equally resistant to various types of attacks.

"The detection and interdiction abilities are probably derived from a Judgement-related item.

"The psychological detection function seems like the work of a Scholar of Yore who specialized in vulnerability analysis of invisibility effects… Maybe one was involved in designing the ritual, or a Mystic Magister's targeted technique was utilized by the ritual's creator.

"And the barriers? Definitely an application of the Guardian pathway's core powers…

"A ritual anchored by three mid-sequence artifacts—this is a grand investment indeed."

In the original storyline, it's likely that Mr. A knew about this Guardian Ritual in advance, which is why he managed to sneak in using a "vessel," manipulate the ambassador's commands with the powers of a Corrupt Baron, and execute the assassination one-on-one.

While pondering, Ebner completed a new altar. He placed a jet-black chainmail glove on it, the "Hand of Wisdom," the only extraordinary item he'd obtained from Baron Conva's tomb.

"When your enemy loses their senses in arrogance, you become wisdom." Recalling the analysis report of the Hand of Wisdom, Ebner's mouth curled into a slight smile.

Essentially, his plan to modify the embassy's ritual involved adding a fourth "core" altar that would neutralize and, if successful, even take control of the ritual's existing functions.

To accomplish this, he needed to be a master of ritual magic, to have thoroughly analyzed the ritual's layout in the embassy… and, most critically, to link his new "core" altar to the other three cores.

The first two requirements were manageable for Ebner, thanks to his Pure White Eye. Given enough time, he'd finish analyzing the ritual. But connecting his altar to the existing ones was a different story—it couldn't be rushed and was easy for the ritual's presider to detect.

Naturally, Ebner knew the presider wouldn't always be present at the core altar, and given the extended period of peace, they might have become complacent… Still, he couldn't gamble on that. What if the presider happened to check the altar while he was tampering with it?

It's best to wait until tomorrow morning when I have Xio's dossier. I'll pick a time when I know for sure they're absent to complete the final step.

With this plan in mind, Ebner checked his pocket watch, noting that it was getting late. He packed up his clothes, resumed his bear form, and submerged underground, making his way to the underground safe house his teacher had excavated.

In the process, he carefully avoided Williams Street, not wanting to risk a "face-to-face" encounter with a certain malicious spirit trio.

...

Meanwhile, in the ancient hall above the gray fog, Klein was holding an eerie black ear and writing a divination statement:

"The origin of this item."

Last time I was unlucky because I divined on divine blood, which drew the attention of the Eternal Blazing Sun. This time, though, it's only an item left behind by a Listener, so it shouldn't be as dangerous…

With confidence in his own reasoning, Klein took a deep breath, leaned back, and silently recited the divination statement.

After seven repetitions, his eyes darkened as he slipped into a trance.

Suddenly, with a bang, his blood vessels burst, veins erupted from his body and snaked out as slimy tendrils covered in sinister markings. The gray fog trembled slightly, and the giant-palace-like hall showed faint signs of erosion.

Unlike his experience with the Eternal Blazing Sun, Klein retained his sanity this time and didn't thrash about uncontrollably. Instead, he clutched the armrest, enduring the ordeal.

After a few seconds, the quivering gray fog settled, and the sinister voice echoing in his mind faded completely.

The tendrils fell away from his body, and his wounds began to heal rapidly.

This time, I encountered the True Creator… and they seemed stronger than the Eternal Blazing Sun…

In the midst of this weakened state, Klein noticed the black ear in his hand suddenly disintegrate into tiny specks of faintly black light, which then coalesced into a pitch-black talisman.

After a quick and admittedly risky divination of this talisman's function, Klein shook his head to rid himself of the residual screaming echoing in his ears and murmured:

"I'll call this… 'Words of Blesphemy.'"

...

On Tuesday morning, after catching a few hours of rest, Ebner strolled into his dining room, leisurely reading the newspaper as he enjoyed the hearty breakfast Mrs. Scudder had prepared.

As he turned the pages of The Daily Observer, his eye fell on a story on the second page:

"This morning, a fierce shootout erupted in White Lamb Street Park in the Bridge District. Police report it may have been a conflict between two gangs, one of which is the infamous Zmanger Gang."

Isn't this the MI9 encounter with Intis intelligence agents from the original story? The task Xio mentioned yesterday must have been related to this.

Musing to himself, Ebner placed a piece of bacon in his mouth.

Just then, there was a knock at the dining room door, and Mrs. Scudder led Xio inside, holding a small bag.

Ebner had expected her visit and prepared a portion of breakfast for her. Xio didn't hold back—she was likely genuinely hungry—and after devouring three flaky croissants and downing a cup of coffee, she finally wiped her mouth and said, "I've compiled the information you requested."

"Thank you." Ebner smiled and nodded. Judging by her exhausted demeanor, it was clear she hadn't slept all night.

Xio didn't mind. She was used to late nights from her days as an Arbiter in the East End. Besides, Ebner had helped her with so many issues, and she felt deeply satisfied to be able to support him in return.

Next, Xio recounted her mission from the previous night, particularly the ambiguous comments made by Lady Vera, before finally asking, "What do you think Her Highness meant by all that?"

Ebner thought for a moment, piecing together what he knew of the Intis ambassador's "schemes" from the original novel, and came to a likely conclusion:

"I think Princess Vera's intention is to entrap all of Intis's intelligence agents in one swoop."

(End of Chapter)