Is this... a dream?
Yu Wan blinked. Not only had the High-Rank Devil not killed him, but it even wanted to contact the Witch Council Leader?
However, the piece of paper and the broken gun barrel in front of him told him that this was not an illusion.
He reached out to pick up the piece of paper—it was not wrapped in any cover, nor was it stamped with a wax seal. The contents were directly exposed. Although he knew he shouldn't look, he couldn't help but glance at it.
Bottomless Land?
God-Made Deity?
He didn't understand what it meant at all...
This made Yu Wan relieved instead.
Just from the words alone, probably no one would have thought that this "letter" actually came from the hand of a devil.
"Right, the others!" He suddenly realized that now was not the time to ponder the letter itself. He still had several teammates missing!
"Fuk! Kadia! Blanket—!"
Yu Wan stumbled into the forest while shouting. When he first saw the High-Rank Devil, he didn't feel anything, but when the crisis was resolved, he suddenly found his legs were terribly weak. He could only stand steady by grabbing the tree trunk.
After a while, a weak response came from the forest, "Captain—is that you, Captain?"
After searching, a total of four people were found from the departing team. The remaining two were nowhere to be found, as if they had disappeared.
The note was quickly handed over to a superior officer.
Just three days later, Yu Wan received an order to go to Glow City to meet His Majesty Roland.
And the one responsible for the transfer was actually the Seagull.
He vaguely felt that this matter was probably far more than just a letter.
……
"What was the result?" Roland asked Nightingale after finishing the questioning.
"They were all telling the truth. Your soldiers didn't lie." Nightingale shrugged.
"Is that so..." Honestly, Roland also thought it was unlikely that the story was fabricated by the frontline soldiers, but the situation was extremely special, so it was always right to be cautious. After all, in his opinion, this matter was also very strange and incredible. "Then I will enter the dream. I'll trouble you to take care of things."
"I would anyway, even if you didn't ask," Nightingale turned and closed the curtains, and the light in the study dimmed instantly. "Are you going to see that devil again?"
As a witch who often stayed by his side, it was difficult for any secrets to be hidden from Nightingale—she was also the only one who knew who the secret letter really came from. Even if he didn't mention it proactively, she would naturally understand after hearing more of his conversations with the Ancient Witch. Of course, Roland also had no intention of deliberately hiding it. The main reason he didn't reveal it to more people was to avoid unnecessary worries, especially Anna.
"Undoubtedly, the previous letter has expired, and Heekezord is back." He said in a low voice, "And another powerful High-Rank Devil has appeared on the battlefield—you've seen it too. If these two join forces, how much trouble will it cause for the First Army? I must find out their intentions before that, and on this point, neither Taqila witches nor Edith can provide much help."
Now could be said to be a "busy time". Neverwinter City was under attack, the crisis was far from resolved, and now such a matter had to be dealt with as a priority.
"Even so, the other party is still a devil. Don't easily believe its words." Nightingale urged, "And bring a few more God's Punishment Witches, especially Ling."
"You might not believe it, but I'm especially good at fighting in dreams." Roland glanced at the woman who seemed to be hidden in the darkness, and slowly lay down on the soft couch. "But don't worry, I'll bring a few more people."
"Come back soon."
"Yeah, see you later."
He closed his eyes, letting sleep engulf him—
Half an hour later, Roland met Valkyries, who had arrived as promised, at the Rose Café, and recounted the situation Yu Wan had encountered in full.
"...I see," The other party stirred the coffee and pondered for a long time before speaking. "They... are looking for me."
Perhaps it was just an illusion, but Roland felt that Valkyries' actions were becoming more and more like a human.
"They? Do you know the identity of the other person?"
Valkyries looked up at him. "Serocharsi—that is, the Disaster of Silence I mentioned before. However, it rarely takes off its heavy armor, so it's not surprising that you regarded it as another High-Rank Ascendant."
Roland was speechless for a moment. Of course he knew the name Disaster of Silence. As early as when the God-Made Deity entered the Impassable Mountains, Sylvie noticed this Archduke-class devil. He also confirmed the other party's identity to Valkyries through the multiple pieces of intelligence collected from the front lines—a rare "Shalita" in the devil race, a wild warrior with excellent talent, and also the former keeper of the Inheritance Fragment. Under the guidance of the fragment, he had even had close contact with the other party. That's right, the armored enemy sitting high on the Black Stone Throne was the Silent Archduke.
He simply hadn't expected that the true face hidden behind the armor would be like this.
"Are you sure they're looking for you?" Roland suppressed the surprise in his heart. "But this letter is to be handed over to the Witch Council Leader..."
The contents of the letter were very simple, almost the same as the one Nightmare handed out, except that the devil text had been replaced with human text. This was also what made it difficult for him to understand. Even if the "Witch Council Leader" knew about this, what significance would it have for them?
"It's normal that you don't understand, because you're not one of us." Valkyries put down the spoon and took a steady sip of coffee. "In fact, as long as you change your perspective, you can guess what they mean. First of all, I disappeared because I was looking for the reason for human ascension. If I'm still alive, then I must rely on someone's consciousness to survive. Otherwise, under the impact of the Sea of Consciousness, it would be impossible to maintain myself until now, let alone transmit messages to the outside world."
"And the most likely to come into contact with the world of consciousness is a witch?" Roland asked.
"Of course, there's also you." Valkyries said frankly, "But considering that I can still send out messages, the probability of a witch is higher—Heekezord speculates that I may have persuaded a witch and reached a consensus with her, which is why the first note appeared. If I had persuaded you, then I could have directly led humans to surrender. There was no need to go to such lengths."
"What you actually want to say... is control, right?"
"Don't worry about such details," Valkyries didn't refute. "In a sense, the relationship formed by persuasion is stronger than control, because the latter is a unilateral behavior, while the former is caused by a common idea between the two parties."
Roland suddenly remembered what Agatha had said: during the First Battle of Divine Will, some humans became followers of devils... He shook his head and brought his thoughts back on track. "But even so, they have no way of knowing which witch's consciousness you exist in."
"Indeed. However, it is not easy to send a piece of paper from Graycastle to Wolfheart, especially during wartime. Those who are capable of doing so must not be unknown people. She should have some influence in the human kingdom, or be very well-informed. Then handing the letter to the Witch Council Leader becomes the most clever choice—this matter will inevitably attract the attention of the higher-ups, and thus be learned by the sender."
Valkyries paused here. "Also, don't you think this letter is too simple? Precisely because it doesn't even have a cover, its contents will be seen by many people along the way. In this way, even if the Three Chiefs decide to hide the truth, the witch who was persuaded by me can learn what is written on the letter through other channels—and once she knows, I will soon know as well."
Roland suddenly understood. It turned out that the letter itself was not the point. The act of sending the letter was the signal released by Sky Dome and Silence. Compared to the contents of the letter, the fact that a High-Rank Devil sent a message to humans for the first time was difficult to completely hide. He believed that Yu Wan's experience must have already spread among the troops in the northern part of Dawn in the past few days.
"I admit that doing so requires a certain amount of luck, but it has to be said that this is already the best choice they can think of. Similarly, their luck is not too bad..." Valkyries stretched out her finger and pointed at Roland, then pointed at herself. "Look, don't I know now?"
"Now that you say that, I can understand." Roland leaned forward slightly and took a deep breath—he knew the next question was the main point. "What do you think their purpose is in looking for you now?"