Chapter 245: Dorothy’s Tea Party with the Queen

A short while later, Dorothy watched Leon and his group depart, then returned to the woodland, where her attendants were already waiting for her.

“Prepare the passage, don't disturb me from here on.” Dorothy issued the order, then gave a whistle.

The Manticore, which had been standing by in the form of a dog, transformed back into its true form, though its body was much smaller than before, not much different in size from an actual lion. Dorothy mounted its back directly, and the Manticore carried her deeper into the woodland.

At the very center of the woodland lay a vast swamp. Back when this land still belonged to Ireland, there had originally been a temple here dedicated to Moylai, the Earth Mother Goddess.

When Princess Isis led her army in flight back then, priests throughout the land conducted rituals to expand the dungeonization of their temples, causing the terrain around the temples to change and thereby concealing their locations.

The temple on Allende Island was thus sealed inside the mountain, while this temple in the Oz Wilderness sank underground as monsters continuously excavated beneath it, and under the influence of groundwater, a swamp formed.

Now, this temple was completely hidden within the swamp, impossible to discover and difficult to excavate.

Dorothy stood at the edge of the swamp and raised her hand, causing a stitch line to split open as she dripped her blood into the swamp.

Several dozen seconds passed. Accompanied by a series of bubbling sounds, bubbles rose across the swamp's surface, after which a gigantic Sandworm emerged from the swamp and opened a blood-filled maw large enough to swallow a horse toward Dorothy.

This kind of giant monster could burrow and lurk within sand and soft mud, then attack prey inside dungeons. The priests back then had relied on monsters like these to excavate according to the terrain and sink the temple underground.

This Sandworm had been modified by Dorothy. Unlike the mouths of normal Sandworms, which were filled with countless sharp teeth and mucus, the interior of its mouth was lined with a layer of soft, dry skin and contained not a single tooth.

Dorothy climbed into the Sandworm's mouth and sat down. The Sandworm closed its mouth around her and sank beneath the swamp again. At the bottom of the swamp, it burrowed deep into the soft mud, excavated a tunnel to beneath the foundation of the sunken temple, skillfully found the passageway, then burrowed all the way into the temple.

The Sandworm poked its head out of the passage and carefully opened its mouth, allowing Dorothy to step out from inside.

The interior of the temple sunken beneath the swamp should have been pitch-black, but in reality, it was brightly illuminated. The floors and walls of the temple were covered with luminous plants, and their gentle fluorescent-white glow lit up the entire space.

Moylai's power allowed plants to flourish without nutrients or light and also provided this place with ample breathable air.

Dorothy passed through the temple's corridors and made her way to the stone chamber at its deepest point. Runes and magical formations were engraved across the enormous altar, while at its center was a vertical shaft leading deep underground, from which overflowing magical power had transformed into a glowing pillar of light that shot upward.

Dorothy sat on the altar facing its center, then took out a gray-black spherical gemstone.

As though sensing the magical power, the gemstone trembled, then suddenly split open along a seam. The seam widened, and the gray-black outer layer peeled itself apart, revealing an amber-colored eyeball within. The eye opened to reveal a square pupil, identical to Dorothy's eyes when she transformed into her demonkin form.

The peeled-back eyelid suddenly deformed into structures resembling insect legs. Carrying the eyeball, they crawled onto Dorothy's index finger and clasped around it, as though turning into a ring.

The Proof of Moylai's Proxy, also known as the Proof of the Great Witch, was a sacred relic that only High Priests of the Abyssal Church could possess.

As Dorothy put on the sacred relic, the magical power within the vertical shaft at the center of the altar began fluctuating as well, as though somewhere deep underground within the shaft, an enormous eye had faintly opened.

“Your Majesty.” she called softly.

Several seconds passed. Her call seemed to receive a response, and the fluctuations in magical power became even more pronounced.

Dorothy felt an invisible force begin pulling at her consciousness. She did not resist and allowed her consciousness to follow the force's guidance.

Her eyes gradually became unfocused, and a dream began unfolding before her.

She saw a dazzling mist that seemed to reflect the glow of sunset envelop her. By the time she came back to her senses, she was already inside a garden, seated beside that familiar round table, with a steaming teacup before her.

Directly across the table, the Queen of the witches, Alice the Eternal Maiden, still concealed her figure deep within the mist, making her appearance impossible to discern. Only a pair of golden eyes flickered faintly within the fog, radiating an intense sense of oppression.

This time, only Dorothy and Alice attended the entire tea party.

The Proof of Moylai's Proxy could allow its wearer, while inside an active dungeon, to activate Moylai's magical power and generate fluctuations, then transmit those fluctuations to other dungeons.

Queen Alice, meanwhile, could use those fluctuations to resonate with other witches who possessed the Proof of the Great Witch, calling their consciousnesses into this illusion. Queen Alice was precisely the master of this “Tea Party in the Dream”.

“I'm back, Your Majesty.” Dorothy lowered her head in greeting to Queen Alice.

“You met him?” Alice asked, still speaking in that clear, somewhat childish voice.

“Yes, just as we predicted before, he took the initiative to make contact with me.” Dorothy answered respectfully.

“And what was the result of that contact?” Alice asked.

“It has been confirmed. This man possesses Moylai's Blessing, which should have reached Tier Two. His demonkin form is a werewolf, and his Blessing is the same Blood of the Evil Curse as yours.” Dorothy reported.

She prioritized reporting the results of testing Leon because whether Leon possessed Moylai's Blessing was undoubtedly the highest-priority matter to them, far more important than the contents of the trade.

“A man, yet he truly can possess Moylai's Blessing……” Alice murmured, though her tone did not sound particularly surprised, as she had already been mentally prepared for the possibility.

“Not only that, Your Majesty, he also possesses the Supreme God's Blessing. Based on my observations, it should be Time Acceleration. He also seems capable of using both Blessings simultaneously.” Dorothy quickly added, then explained the scene she had observed.

“Such a thing is possible?” This time, Alice finally showed a trace of surprise, “Then did he make any sacrifice for it?”

“No, Your Majesty. At least from what I observed, his Life Form is intact. It appears he did not pay any price at all to possess these two Blessings.” Dorothy answered.

“……Why?” Alice fell silent for a moment before murmuring, sounding as though she were asking a question and talking to herself at the same time.

“I've already been secretly gathering intelligence about his past, but so far there haven't been any obvious clues. Then regarding the trading terms he proposed……”

Dorothy explained to Queen Alice the contents of Leon's proposed trade as well as the reasons he had given, but she could tell that the Queen was only listening absentmindedly.

Dorothy was not surprised by Alice's reaction.

In truth, the transaction volume that Leon cared so much about was comparatively unimportant to them.

The Count's annual transaction volume of roughly three hundred million pennies constituted a considerable amount of revenue for Moyland, but for an entire country, it was not so important that it was irreplaceable.

By comparison, the other value built upon this smuggling route was far more important.

Through this channel, Moyland infiltrated the Empire, obtained large amounts of key intelligence and technology, enabled magical potions to circulate extensively throughout the Empire, and through agents like the Count, established circles among the Empire's nobility and powerful figures who had developed varying degrees of dependence on magical potions, dungeons, or even Moylai's existence. This held irreplaceable significance in undermining faith in the Church of Noren and expanding faith in Moylai.

But now, Leon Set had revealed traits that drew even more of their attention——not only had he received Moylai's Blessing despite being a man, he simultaneously possessed the powers of Moylai and another of the Four Origin Gods, and had paid no price whatsoever for doing so, almost as though Moylai, who according to legend resented humanity, favored him alone.

Dorothy waited for a long while, while Alice remained seated there in silent thought.

At last, Dorothy could no longer hold back and asked: “Your Majesty, how do you intend to decide?”

“What do you think, Dorothy? What is your view on this?” Alice asked.

“To tell the truth, I want to try establishing trade with him according to his proposal.” Dorothy answered.

“Simply because he transferred the opportunity that belonged to Arachne into your hands?” Alice's tone sounded somewhat disinterested. She had little interest in the mutual struggles for power and profit among her subordinates, and that was not enough to become a reason for her decision.

“I admit I have a little selfish motive.” Dorothy smiled awkwardly, then immediately became serious, “But Your Majesty, I believe we should accept him because he possesses a certain ‘possibility’.”

“Possibility?” Alice indicated for her to explain in detail.

“It has already been more than three hundred years, Your Majesty. After these three centuries, we are still searching for a path that will lead you to the Divine Throne. Only then can we complete our revenge, our revival! But ever since that damned blasphemer Astarte sealed the Great Dungeon, our path has seemed sealed along with it. It has been far, far too long since we found any breakthrough.” Dorothy spoke persuasively.

“You think he could be that breakthrough?” Alice asked.

“In this era, a man has suddenly appeared who can simultaneously receive the Blessings of Moylai and the Supreme God without paying any price. There must be some secret within him worth pursuing, and perhaps that is precisely the breakthrough we need.” Dorothy said.

“Then could he become an obstacle to us like Astarte, or perhaps one day steal away the power we pursue?” Alice said.

“Your Majesty, what the future holds remains unknown. I believe we must still proceed cautiously. Some choices, once made, become established facts and cannot be undone. He may not even know the secret within himself. Even if we forcibly uncover that secret, if we cannot make use of it, it would likewise lose its value.

Therefore, I propose that we first approach him, observe him, and maintain our relationship with him. Only then will we have an opportunity. If he is the key we have been searching for all this time, then naturally we cannot destroy him lightly.” Dorothy said seriously.