Shadow of the Beautiful World

As for whether Angela would respond to the invitation he left behind, Merlin was quite sure.

The wingless angel was trapped in the land she regarded as an enemy, and she had to endure the torture of the terrible truth about her life experience. Every time she met with the Queen of Heaven, she must be restless.

The conflict between the ideals cultivated since childhood and the cruel reality made her at a loss.

And from a hunter, a warrior is suddenly restrained into a prisoner, which will also stimulate her inner desire for freedom.

The most important thing is that she still has someone in her heart who she wants to see, who she wants to rely on, and who she wants to talk to in this fragile time.

She also has an obsession with finding the truth.

She will agree, she will serve Lord Raven, even if she does not need the force of vanity, she will eventually make that decision.

It's just a matter of time.

Merlin was waiting, and he was in no hurry.

Right now he has one more important thing to do.

nightmare!

To be precise, the nightmare faded away.

The nightmare tree carrying the will of the nightmare, it was only one step away from getting rid of the shackles and returning to the earth, but under the joint entrapment of Raven and Hela, it ran head-on The omnic army came out.

That is definitely its most hated opponent.

A group of beings that will not feel fearful due to changes in the external environment.

Omnic warriors are not programmed into the fear circuit, theoretically, no matter what the situation they encounter, they will not be afraid, they lack the ability to simulate that emotion.

For advanced omnics, relying on a relatively complete mechanical soul is enough to simulate the emotion of real fear.

But under the calculation of a powerful data loop, fear is only an option when faced with a critical situation.

Robots don't need fear to suppress their burst of instantaneous power.

Nor do they live in fear.

If they choose to retreat, it must be because they have reached a conclusion after data analysis, not because of fear of dominance.

In short, the Nightmare Remnant, who was stuck on the Rainbow Bridge, made the last effort and destroyed the bodies of many omnic fighters. However, after the advanced combat units joined the battle, the already weak and severely injured Nightmare Tree was finally torn to pieces.

Now, the remains of that tree are placed in Merlin's office, or the throne room.

After losing the blessing of the nightmare will, the body of the nightmare tree became shriveled, as if it had been dried, forming some kind of weird tree specimen.

The black limbs, paired with dark red runes, seemed to be burned by flames and shrouded in ashes.

It's like some kind of special root carving, and because of the long-term infiltration of the power of nightmare, the dry tree exudes a black halo, which looks quite corrupt and degenerate.

click

The sound of teeth clinching suddenly sounded in the throne room, and then the sound of chewing broke the quiet atmosphere here.

On the chair opposite the desk, Ganata, wearing a short white skirt and high-heeled slippers, is sitting there. She is lying in the chair, grabbing a black branch with one hand, like eating a chicken leg, and eating the nightmare The remnants of the tree are sent to the small mouth.

This purple-eyed girl really has a good appetite.

Anything can be eaten, and everything can be eaten with relish.

The book of Raven in Merlin's hand was spread out to the fourth page. He was using some magic materials to make precious starry sky ink, and it seemed that he planned to include another kind of seal.

Before his eyes, there was a black heart taken from the nightmare tree.

It is a wooden product in the shape of a heart. It is the container used by the nightmare tree to carry the will of the nightmare, and it is also the place where the power of the nightmare is concentrated.

Even though it is dead, the planed heart still emits a black gleam, beating like a real heart, giving it a weird and evil feeling.

That is the material of the new seal.

What does this tree smell like?

While grinding the ink, Merlin looked at Ganata, who was full of the happiness of eating, and asked softly:

Seeing how happy you are eating, I guess it's sweet?

right!

Ganata reached out and wiped the black ash left at the corner of her mouth. She waved the half-eaten tree trunk in her hand, and said to Merlin with joy:

It's like fermented fruit, but it's sweet and greasy before it rots. Although it doesn't look very good and looks withered, it actually tastes like slightly burnt chicken.

Well, it's like the snacks on the street stalls. You can tear off a large piece with just a light tear.

The purple-eyed girl described the smell of the Nightmare Tree to Merlin, like a top-notch gourmet immersed in the way of food.

she says:

But it shouldn't be the smell of the trees themselves. I think it should be the smell of the nightmares left in the wood... Merlin, is the smell of nightmares sweet?

how could I know?

Merlin rolled his eyes and said:

I haven't tasted the taste of dreams, but if I think about it, I think dreams should be sweeter, like cotton candy.

As for nightmares, they may be bitter. After all, they are full of fear and darkness, just like dark food.

But how to put it, these are meaningless to you. Anyway, whether it's a nightmare or a sweet dream, you can eat it with relish.

Lord Raven finished his ink.

He put the bottle in front of his eyes and shook it, and the starry sky ink that had been configured was shining with bright starlight, really like the reflection of the path of stars.

Only this kind of extremely inclusive and extensible liquid can accommodate the penetration of so much power without distinction.

Through the ink, Merlin saw Ganata's starry body, like a pure astral aggregation.

The sweet human appearance of these stellar creatures is just a disguise...

You're not angry now, are you?

Merlin put the ink aside, picked up the black tree heart, and after the power of vanity slowly wrapped the tree heart, the same chewing and devouring sounds resounded in the light.

Lord Raven looked at Ganata, who was eating deliciously, and said:

When I woke you up just now, you looked as angry as if you wanted to eat me.

Hey, I've said it all, I was awakened when I was sleeping, and I was very angry when I woke up.

The purple-eyed girl shrugged, she took another bite of the sweet and greasy branch, and said to Merlin inarticulately while chewing:

But I'm not angry anymore. If you woke me up to treat me to eat, how could I be angry... However, I seem to have something wrong with my health recently.

Ganata frowned, rubbing her flat stomach.

The girl shook her waist-length black hair, and she said to Merlin:

It seems that I can't bear the hunger more and more. The fuller I eat, the more I want to eat. The feeling of hunger is burning like wildfire. After eating the Steppenwolf, I have this feeling.

she says:

I thought it was just too much at once, but after eating Surtur, it just got stronger.

Can you understand, Merlin.

Ganata looked at Lord Raven, a trace of worry flashed in her purple eyes, and she said:

It's as if, the recent binge eating and drinking awakened my suppressed desire to eat.

It's like a chronically hungry person who is used to the feeling of an empty stomach, but after suddenly eating a full meal, the dormant hunger is awakened, and it growls for more food.

Looking at the fragrant branch in her hand, she said:

I can still control it now. After eating this thing, I have to go to sleep. If I let that hunger grow, maybe... Maybe I will lose control and eat everything in front of me.

Madam Taotie shuddered.

Merlin, who was sitting opposite her, also raised his eyebrows.

Ganata's situation doesn't seem to be going well.

This girl ate two of the Heavenly Father, and her satiety was less than 10%. Even if she ate the Nightmare Tree stored in Nightmare, this food, which still has the power of the Heavenly Father, would at most make Ganata less than one-tenth of the food. degree of fullness.

Such a big appetite, if you let it go, it is estimated that it can eat the entire solar system in a short time.

But even the solar system couldn't satisfy her terrifying appetite.

Maybe, you should go back and meet your father.

Merlin rubbed his fingers, and merged the ray of orange streamer mixed with black halo into the starry sky ink in his hand. While stirring with a crystal stick, he said to Ganata:

I mean, if you really can't control your appetite, maybe your father can help you.

No, not going back!

Ganata shook her head vigorously.

Like a girl who committed a crime, she pouted dissatisfiedly, and said to Merlin:

I won't be able to get out when I go back. Dad will definitely lock me up on his spaceship...He keeps saying that I still have a lot to learn.

Besides, your promise hasn't been fulfilled yet. I haven't eaten to 40% full yet. I won't leave no matter what.

Ganata jumped off the chair.

She stretched out her hand and held the remnant of the nightmare tree in her arms, like holding a lot of snacks.

As she walked towards the exit of the throne room, she said to Merlin without looking back:

Follow you to eat, don't try to drive me away...Okay, I'm going to sleep, don't disturb me this time. Maybe the hunger will disappear once I wake up.

Lord Raven watched Ganata disappear, with a trace of worry in his blue eyes.

He didn't think that Ganata's sleep would solve the problem. If the hunger was caused by eating too much, then maybe next time, he should find a chance to let Ganata activate.

There is no way to eat so much all the time.

Beautiful girls must exercise to keep fit.

But, let's wait until next time.

Merlin shook his head, pushing the thought out of his mind.

He took a deep breath to calm his mind, picked up the black quill, dipped it into the gleaming orange inkpot at hand, and wrote the first chapter on the fourth page of the Raven Book. a character.

Still a beautiful cursive.

After seeing Oneiroi's beautiful handwriting that was almost artistic, Merlin also planned to improve his own writing style.

He writes very slowly.

According to the construction method of the previous three seals, ink and materials were used as the medium to bind the power of nightmares and fears on the paper, but the more he wrote, the more dignified Merlin's expression became.

When he was about a third of the way through, he stopped writing.

Raven frowned.

I can't write any more.

It's not because of a broken train of thought, or sudden unexpected circumstances, but a sensitivity to power.

He turned his head to look at the starry sky ink that had begun to fade, and narrowed his eyes.

No, the original power is missing.

The energy left by the nightmare here is very thin. That guy took away the nightmare and the mantra of fear, and it is preventing me from writing its own secrets... That guy hasn't returned to Niflheim...

It's on Earth!

Merlin shook his head, and put down the quill with some regret.

In the absence of the essence of power, the imitation and strengthening of the Book of Ravens cannot be completed. That is to say, he must capture the consciousness of Nightmare to complete this incomplete seal of fear.

After only a short thought, Merlin understood the way of Nightmare's escape.

It should be when the omnics captured the nightmare tree, that guy escaped from the carrier with a conscious body and returned to the dream of all living beings.

It has been hiding in the dreams of those Asgardians, and then returned to the earth with the migrating Asgardian land. At this time, this guy should have hid in a dream of the earth.

It couldn't be more difficult to trace.

But the problem is not particularly serious.

Back then, when Zatanna was bound by Nightmare in Niflheim, Merlin saw God King Odin destroy the Nightmare Forest with a violent thunder. At that time, Nightmare, who had not yet reincarnated, was seriously injured. .

This time, being forced to leave the carrier and flee back to the dreams of all beings is equivalent to the nightmare giving up the body and the nightmare power accumulated in the body.

For it, which is already weak, it is definitely worse.

Although it is a conceptual level of power, as long as it is supplemented with enough nightmares and fears, it can ignore the bottleneck and break through the level of power all the way.

But with the Supreme Mage still alive, Nightmare definitely wouldn't dare to ingest fear with such a big fanfare.

It can only come secretly.

It is doomed that Nightmare's recovery speed will inevitably be very slow.

Thinking of this, the last hint of disappointment in Merlin's eyes disappeared. He floated to the edge of the throne room and looked into the distance from the French windows.

His dark intelligence suddenly realized a problem.

Perhaps it is not a bad thing to allow the nightmare to operate on the earth. That guy's power comes from the fear of all living beings, and Merlin's other friend, the godhead of the escaped serpent, doesn't it also come from fear?

And the Battle of the Kings of Hell...

Lords of Hell contend for the throne of Lord of Hell with measurable fear.

Then, in this way, there are two more uncertain factors in this battle for hegemony.

The corners of Raven Lord's mouth turned up slightly, this accident was great.

Leave the old guy a headache.

He said softly:

No one can sit on the throne of Satan until the big snake and the nightmare are defeated! I'm looking forward to your performance now, old guys, work harder, don't let me down...