Chapter 1237: Observation

Roland was certain. The Senior Demon he remembered had stood on a platform, teaching two upgraded demons fighting techniques, her white muslin swirling against the churning Red Mist below, the third eye on her forehead alight. He had filed that scene away precisely because it was the kind of thing you don’t unsee: a creature of war wrapped in classroom calm, the mist boiling beneath her feet, the eye gleaming above.

The patient had no third eye. But something in the architecture of her face, the particular arrangement of its stillness, pulled at him the same way.

He didn’t leave when his turn came to shake hands.

“Do you live in the modular apartment building?”

Everyone who had been moving toward the door stopped.

Valkries looked at him without expression. A pause. Then she shook her head.

She would have been older than Zero. Not one of Zero’s captures.

“Any chance you have a twin?” Roland pressed, touching his own forehead. “Or someone who looks like you — with an eye here, for instance?”

The room stirred. The Defender coughed. “Mr. Roland.”

“One moment.” Roland waved without looking away from her. “You remind me of someone.”

“No,” Valkries said, with the same flat indifference.

“Impossible, anyway,” someone muttered nearby. “Nobody on the Cargarde Peninsula has a third eye. Three fingers, yes, but —”

“Alright.” Roland paused — then, impulsively, let one word drop: “Charita.”

Valkries didn’t move. Not a flicker.

If she were a demon from the other world, the demon language would have reached her. Hero — she would have reacted to something.

It appeared she had nothing to do with the Senior Demon he knew.

He shrugged, extended his right hand, and said, “I hope you recover quickly and come fight the Erosion with us.”

She hesitated one breath — then slowly reached out.

The moment their hands met, Roland let out a short sound.

The Defender’s patience frayed. “Now what?”

“Her hand is very cold,” Roland said. “And wet.”

A ripple of laughter moved through the onlookers. He could hear the comments settling like sediment.

Frivolous.

Why did they send a boy like this as the traditional martialists’ representative?

“Let’s move along,” the doctor said, shaking his head. “The patient needs rest.”

Roland shrugged and cast one last look at Valkries before following the others out.

After the room emptied, Valkries held herself still and waited until the sound of footsteps died in the corridor.

Then she looked at her own hand.

Fifteen minutes. The most difficult fifteen minutes of her long life — longer even than the upgrade ceremony’s third hour, when the magic stone had resisted assimilation and nearly torn her apart. She had spent every fraction of her concentration keeping her face exactly neutral, her breathing even, her pulse a private catastrophe.

When the man approached her bedside, her blood had gone cold in a single instant. She knew him. She had seen him — in the Silent Disaster’s memories, standing on the other side of the legacy shard while the Silent Disaster was engulfed by tentacles. Valkries had not only watched that memory but lived inside it, absorbing some residue of the Silent Disaster’s shock. That residue had attached itself to the man’s face, lodged it in her recognition like a splinter.

The moment he walked into the room, she placed him.

Everything she had assumed about this world now required revision. Three possibilities had become three again, but the shape of the third one was no longer hypothetical. The quaver in the Realm of Mind when he touched her hand — that tremor of territory asserting itself — confirmed it.

This world belonged to Roland.

He was its creator.

In the real world, she would have killed him at once. No hesitation, no calculation. Whatever power he possessed, she would have spent herself entirely in the attempt. Upgraded demons did not survive centuries by being tentative.

But the Realm of Mind was different.

The king had told her that no one could kill a creator inside his own territory — that such a being was something close to omnipotent within those borders. The king was given to exaggeration, but Valkries wasn’t willing to test that particular claim. Worse, if Roland could probe her memories the way the king probed his subordinates’, she might be carrying a catastrophe in her own skull. Everything she knew about the clan. Every position, every strategy, every fissure in their lines.

Caution. Extreme caution.

And yet — she allowed herself the smallest measure of relief. Roland was also groping in the dark. She could feel it in him. He recognized something about her, but not the whole of it. His certainty had a quality of conjecture to it. He had met her — or her likeness — somewhere in the other world. That much was evident from the question about the third eye.

The third eye on her forehead was, in fact, the magic stone she had acquired in her third upgrade. An obvious marker to anyone who knew what it meant.

And charita. That word had nearly broken her. Hero in the ancient language. He had aimed it like a probe and was watching for the flinch.

She had not flinched.

Valkries examined the hand he had shaken and turned it slowly, studying it as though the answer were printed on her own palm. She recalled the moment he exclaimed and the collective amusement it provoked. He had succeeded in making her look harmless, which meant he had also succeeded in making himself look foolish. Whether that had been deliberate, she couldn’t say.

She had come here for a reason. Not simply to survive in an alien territory, but to understand it — to find the logic buried in words like Fallen Evils, Erosion, fight. The architecture of an enemy’s ambition is always visible if you know where to look.

The conference the doctor had mentioned. That was where she would look.

Valkries closed her hand into a fist.

Roland.

She fixed the name in memory the way she fixed a magic stone during upgrade — not by holding it loosely but by pressing it into the center of everything.

I have you now.

Chapter 1237 - Observation

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn Roland was positive that the Senior Demon he remembered was, at that time, standing on a platform and teaching two upgraded demons fighting techniques. Her white muslin clothes swirling behind her formed a glaring contrast with the churning Red Mist pond down below, and her third eye on the forehead was glistening. He would never forget such an incredible scene. Although the patient did not have that distinctive third eye, she, for some reason, resembled that Senior Demon. Roland was thus aroused by this demon martialist named “Valkries”. When it was his turn to shake hands, Roland did not leave immediately but stopped at her bedside. “Are you living the in the modular apartment?” Everyone, who was about to withdraw from the room, was all taken back as Roland spoke. Valkries remained expressionless. After a moment of reflection, she shook her head. Roland remembered that the female demon was actually a lot older than Zero, so she should not be one of Zero’s captures. “Do you have a twin sister by any chance, or someone who looks like you?” Roland pursued as he pointed at his own forehead. “For example, someone with an eye on her forehead?” The crowd was stirred. The Defender coughed in embarrassment and reminded promptly, “Mr. Roland.” “Just a minute,” Roland said as he waved his hand. “You just reminded me of someone I know.” Valkries spoke in the same indifferent manner, “No.” “How could that be possible? I’ve never seen anyone on the Cargarde Peninsula who has a third eye,” someone mumbled. “There are people who have three fingers though.” “Alright…” Roland conceded but suddenly burst out boldly, “Charita!” Valkries, however, did not respond at all as though still in a daze. If Valkries was a demon from the other world, she should have understood the demon language and had some reaction. It appeared that she really had nothing to do with that Senior Demon Roland knew. Roland shrugged, extended out his right hand and said, “I hope you feel better soon, return to the Association, and fight the Erosion together.” She hesitated for a second and slowly stretched out her hand. The moment the two hands touched each other, Roland could not help uttering a surprised exclamation. The Defender asked a little irritably, “What’s the matter?” “Her hand is so cold… and a little wet as well.” The onlookers gaffawed. Roland could hear them comment derisively under their breath. “Frivolous.” “Why did they pick such a brainless young man as the representative of the traditional martialists?” “There, there. The patient needs some rest. Let’s visit the next one,” the doctor said while shaking his head. “What a mess…” Roland shrugged. As the creator of the Dream World, he did not really care about what other people thought of him. Since he could not get anything out of Valkries, there was no point in continuing to stay here. He thus cast Valkries one last glance and left the room. … Valkries was still in a shock after everyone left. She had just experienced the most difficult 15 minutes in her life. She had never thought that one day, she would exercise all her effort just to keep her face straight. It had almost cost all her energy. When that man came up to her, Valkries felt all her blood within freeze. She would never forget that person. In the memory of the Silent Disaster, she had seen the exact same person stand on the other side of the legacy shard, watching the Silent Disaster being besieged by tentacles. She had not only been watching but also experiencing it herself. Therefore, she had also been somewhat affected by the Silent Disaster’s emotions. As Valkries had also been quite shocked and flustered at that time, she immediately associated Roland with the man in the Silent Disaster’s memory when she saw him. Her previous assumptions were all wrong, and she had to admit that there was a third possibility. The quaver of the Realm of Mind told her something. She had been on the right track, and this world was created by that man. In other words, Roland was the creator of this territory. Had she met Roland in the real world, she would have immediately killed him. Like most of the upgraded demons, Valkries also possessed extraordinary fighting capacity. No matter how powerful Roland was, she would make every effort to finish him. Nevertheless, things were a little different in the Realm of Mind. According to the king, nobody could kill him in his own territory. The king was an omnipotent and omnscient sort of existence that was almost like God to her. The king could be exaggerating, but Valkries did not dare take a chance. She knew very well that she could encounter something worse than death. If Roland also had the ability to probe into her memories, the information she knew may jeopardize her entire clan. Therefore, she must be extra cautious when dealing with such a tough enemy. Fortunately, eveything was still uncertain. Valkries could tell that Roland was also in the process of figuring out her true identity. He did not have terrifying perspicacity like the king. Valkries was dimly aware that Roland had seen her somewhere. Although she did not know how, his act of demeanor told her that he remembered her. Most likely he had met her in the other world. Otherwise, he would not have asked her whether she had seen anybody with a third eye. The third eye on her forehead was actually the magic stone she had obtained during her third upgrade. Also, the word “charita” meant “hero” in the ancient language. Valkries stretched out her hand and studied it up and down. She thought of the moment Roland had touched her hand. Her breath had almost stopped when Roland had uttered the exclamation. Luckily, she had successfully fooled him. Valkries still remembered the purpose of this trip. It was not only a challenge but also an opportunity. She had easily found the key person in the human race. As a male, he had inherited the legacy shard and also repelled the Silent Disaster with his mind. Beyond a doubt, this man possessed a lot of information that the clan did not know. She must get to the bare truth of it. Valkries was sure that this man created this world to achieve something, just as the king created the Presiding Holy See to better manage his subordinates. She sniffed conspiracies here from the words “Fallen Evils”, “fight” and “Erosion”. Therefore, she must figure out what kind of schemes this man was planning in the Realm of Mind. The conference that the doctor had mentioned might provide her a glimpse of what was going on. Valkries clenched her fist at this thought. Roland… right? Now, I remember you!