Suleiman's eyes went wide instantly, staring at Kelvin. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
"That accident," Kelvin's voice was steady, as if narrating someone else's affair. "I know you were the source. You collected samples polluted by faint Abyssal power from somewhere in the desert and combined them with the cores of new-type autonomous machines, wanting to prove their uncontrollable danger.
"The result was that they displayed destructive power and utter madness far beyond estimation. They slaughtered the entire research institute, over a dozen people. I almost died there too."
Suleiman's face turned pale, his fingers unconsciously gripping the hem of his clothes tightly. "I... I just wanted everyone, including the Scarlet King, to see the nature of that power clearly back then... But I outsmarted myself, and the situation spiraled completely out of control, causing casualties that should never have happened."
His voice dropped lower, filled with pain. "It is precisely because of this that I want to tell you even more: the Abyss is..."
"'Anything, before it is truly understood, can be regarded as harmful.'" Kelvin interrupted him again. "We do not understand the Abyss now, but the Abyss itself does not stop us from understanding it. However, the Heavenly Principles high above will not tolerate our understanding of it, nor even allow us to look directly at it..."
Suleiman opened his mouth but could not speak a word of rebuttal for a moment. His face was a tapestry of guilt, pain, and a certain deep-seated fear.
Behind the sofa, Coppelia grew somewhat impatient listening to this. She hadn't come here to hear a philosophical debate. She shot a glance at Suleiman, signaling him to ask about the main point.
Suleiman saw her look. He took a deep breath, trying hard to make his voice sound steady. "Kelvin, as a friend... I need to know the intelligence regarding that Khaenri'ah experimental base."
Upon reaching this point, he choked up, unable to continue. He lowered his head in extreme shame, as if using the word "friend" to extract intelligence was an act of supreme despicability.
Coppelia watched anxiously and couldn't help but want to step forward. Just then, Kelvin spoke.
"You saved my life," Kelvin said, his gaze falling on the water cup in his hand. "You also did your best later to take care of the families of those who died. I don't blame you."
He paused for a moment. "As for how you escape in the rainforest or how you suffer internally, that is your own business."
He looked up at Suleiman, his expression complex. "I really do consider you a friend. Since you want to destroy that experiment... I can reveal some intelligence to you."
Suleiman raised his head abruptly, staring at him in a daze.
"The experimental base is deep underground. The permanent personnel include several members of the royal family, dozens of court swordsmen, dozens of alchemists and mechanics, and hundreds of autonomous machines of various models..." Kelvin spoke at a steady pace.
"They used the power of the Crimson Moon to lock her abilities... The scale of the formation marshalling the power of the Three Moons is immense..."
"That's too general," Coppelia couldn't help but interject, stepping out from behind the sofa. "Can you be more specific? For example, what is the average combat power of those swordsmen and machines? Where might the key nodes of the formation be?"
However, Kelvin leaned back into the sofa and closed his eyes. "I will only say this much."
Coppelia stared at him. For a split second, she really wanted to pin him to the ground and break his fingers one by one to force more details out of him.
"That's enough." Suleiman stood up, his voice somewhat weary. "Let us rest for the night first. I also need to request a few days of leave from the Akademiya."
He helped Kelvin into a bedroom to settle down. After coming out, he said to Coppelia, "Tomorrow morning, we go to the desert."
Coppelia was somewhat astonished. "You want to find the Scarlet King? I'm worried that he is definitely contacting Abyssal power too. What if he and the Khaenri'ahns..."
"There are no organized armed forces available for deployment here in the rainforest," Suleiman explained. "In the desert, I can still rely on some past connections to secretly mobilize a small cluster of autonomous machines. It won't alert the Scarlet King."
"Won't alert him...?" Coppelia was skeptical, but there was no better option at the moment. "Fine, it counts as having helpers."
Suleiman nodded and walked to the other side, preparing to tidy up a guest room for Coppelia.
When he reached the door of the room, his footsteps suddenly stopped. He lowered his head, muttering to himself in an extremely soft voice, as if weighing the pros and cons.
"Since the Eternal Moon's Essence is no longer in Khaenri'ah's hands... their experiment is actually difficult to proceed with. If the Moon Essence is handed directly to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata for safekeeping and isolation, perhaps... that would be the most secure way to stop the disaster..."
Although his voice was small, Coppelia's keen hearing caught it clearly.
"You don't want to help me rescue Columbina?!" She shot a look at him, her voice rising.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized the other party owed her nothing. Her momentum instantly weakened. Forcing down her anxiety, she changed her tone and asked, "What... are you worried about?"
Suleiman knew she had heard him. A trace of awkwardness and hesitation flashed across his face as he turned around.
"I can conceal the specific details of the Three Moons experiment from the Scarlet King and not directly implicate Miss Columbina with him. But the autonomous machines I mobilize will inevitably report their underground findings to their superior nodes after executing the mission...
"This is very likely to make the Scarlet King notice Khaenri'ah's movements sooner, or even... contact and acquire Abyssal power through another method, bringing it to the surface on a large scale. The disaster triggered by that might be faster and more uncontrollable..."
"Are you worried that the Scarlet King you once worshipped will be destroyed by the Abyss?" Coppelia stared at him. "Or are you worried that the rainforest sheltering you now will be polluted by the Abyss?"
"Both." Suleiman's voice was very low.
Coppelia fell silent for a few seconds. Then, she took a step closer and voiced the information she had originally not intended to reveal at this moment.
"Then I will tell you: in the destined future, the Goddess of Flowers will use her own death to help the Scarlet King open a passage to the outside of the world.
"The Scarlet King will fully contact the Abyssal power known as 'Forbidden Knowledge.' In the end, the mess will be so massive that it will require Greater Lord Rukkhadevata to sacrifice a part of herself to clean up after him."
Suleiman looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He took a violent step back, his back slamming into the doorframe with a dull thud. He stared at Coppelia with wide eyes, all color draining from his face. His lips trembled, but he could not say a single word.
Fearing he wouldn't believe her, Coppelia quickly explained, "You know the Three Moons govern the Authorities of Life, Death, Time, and Space respectively. The Eternal Moon's Essence corresponds to 'Time.' Through it, I saw some fragments of the future."
She knew from her own memories that the Eternal Moon's Essence could indeed allow one to glimpse images of the past, so she guessed it was related to the Authority of "Time." However, since the Moon Essence had entered her body, she had not successfully activated any related abilities, so she naturally had no way to verify this. But at this moment, convincing the other party was the key.
Suleiman's body swayed. His legs went soft, and he could barely stand.
Coppelia hurriedly stepped forward to support him, helping him to the sofa to sit down.
Suleiman leaned back into the sofa, his chest heaving violently. It took a good while for his rapid breathing to gradually calm. He slowly recovered from the immense shock, his eyes refocusing.
"Thinking about it carefully..." He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse. "Handing the Eternal Moon's Essence to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata for safekeeping is not the optimal solution. The Spatial Authority that Miss Columbina herself possesses might have the potential to break through the world barrier.
"Letting her safely leave that experiment and break free from Khaenri'ah's control is... the best choice."
He raised his head and looked at Coppelia.
"I will help you," he said, "rescue Miss Columbina."
____
👻🔥Here: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Group chat of the Dead
✅ Gain early access to 40 chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive content and special announcements.
We have set new community milestones:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for all readers
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters for all series!
👻 P - Walnut-chan