Retia was a quiet, taciturn person who made The Hermit feel like there was something strange about her as a warlock, though she had never explicitly said so, and Cattleya believed She had already become an Angel.

And in the intelligence Cattleya had obtained in advance, the current high-level members of the Moses Ascetic Order guarding Avalon were only Torriope and two other Pillars who had been doing research there for years, so Retia should have already left.

Unexpectedly, She appeared again.

She was on the dark side of Avalon.

Except for when there were real matters that needed to be handled, every time She said She was leaving Avalon, She was actually just taking a detour and entering the dark side? Was She guarding against something, or doing some secret thing? Queen of Stars Cattleya was surprised but not panicked.

Retia being at the Moses Ascetic Order's headquarters was a good thing, so she wouldn't have to go looking for Her everywhere to eliminate Her!

At this time, Retia in a loose robe with wavy wine-red hair stood on top of a broken giant stone pillar, looking towards the traitor foretold in the prophecy, Her voice echoing in the current area, "I see you turning into a swan…"

As she spoke, Retia's body rapidly expanded, the loose black robe quickly tearing apart, transforming into a mass of cloth fragments that drifted down below the stone pillar.

In the blink of an eye, this Vice Chairman of the Moses Ascetic Order had Her neck elongated, covered in magenta scales, Her entire body the same.

She was now five or six meters tall, her tailbone extending and becoming very long, filled with joints and barbs.

Retia had actually transformed into a giant dragon, powerful and exuding an evil beauty, Her head still human-like in the magenta color.

Her amber vertical pupils immediately locked onto The Hermit Cattleya.

The Sequence 2 of the Mystery Pryer pathway was called Sage, with the core ability being the mastery and utilization of information, including but not limited to the informatization of one's own self.

In such a situation, if one had enough self-understanding, without disrupting the overall information balance, one could add appropriate, non-conflicting, and already fully grasped mysticism knowledge in the form of information into the corresponding information flow, and delete the unnecessary parts, thereby completing the transformation of one's own body and the fixation and acceleration of certain spells.

Retia chose to gradually transform Herself into a giant dragon at the information level, in order to gain a huge boost in physical strength and vitality.

For this, She spent hundreds of years researching the remains of various dragons, and was also known as a "Dragon Scholar" within the Moses Ascetic Order.

Queen of Stars Cattleya originally thought this title meant Retia's research on the dragons was very in-depth, making Her a true expert in the field, until Queen Mystic also became a Sage did they guess there was another layer of meaning: A scholar like a dragon!

Immediately, countless cold, eyelashless eyes opened in the cracks between Retia's magenta scales.

The Mythical Creature form of the Mystery Pryer pathway!

At the same time, countless fragments flashed in The Hermit Cattleya's mind.

There was the warning from Queen Mystic when she chose the "Mystery Pryer pathway on the Dawn; the constant pursuit of knowledge and the repeated indoctrination of the Hidden Sage; the painful episodes of almost losing control several times; the protection provided by Mr. Fool; the ostracism and suspicion she had suffered since becoming one of the Pillars; and all the scenes of evil and corruption she had seen along the way into the dark side…

All of this is finally about to come to an end… With a sigh, Cattleya's back arched slightly, and pure white illusory feathers sprouted.

Fairytale magic, Ugly Duckling!

Even an ugly duckling could transform into a swan!

A Sequence 3 could also manifest an incomplete Mythical Creature form, supporting it for a short time under the impact of an Angel!

As these swan feathers grew out, cracks also appeared on Cattleya's surface, with blood and flesh congealing in each crack to form stark black and white eyeballs.

These eyeballs swept around, meeting the countless eyes on the magenta dragon's body.

Ma'am Hermit and the draconized Retia both became somewhat ethereal, one seeming to have become an abstract black shadow, the other's body dimming, no longer exuding an evil beauty.

…

Although Lumian had Teleportation, considering the many dangers lurking in the dark side of Avalon, he didn't dare make a direct advance like Madam Magician, but Blinked in stages instead.

After three or four jumps, he arrived at what seemed like a palace rooftop.

It was paved with large slabs of water-black stone, surrounded by walls and towers, the night sky above dark and deep, with clusters of dazzling stars dotting it, blinking on and off as if countless unknown existences were watching this area, those stars being their eyes.

A tall, thin man dressed as a warlock stood at the top of the nearest tower, carefully cradling a long-necked silver flask.

The surface of the flask was covered in dense bumps, each with a deep crack, within which countless black and white eyes slowly rotated.

This was an unnumbered Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, because it was not from the orthodox churches, and sometimes it was an Angel, sometimes a Sealed Artifact, its form unable to be fixed.

It originated from a founding member of the Moses Ascetic Order, that angel's bizarre and uncontrolled death leaving behind this sealed artifact, and in the long years that followed, three of the Order's saints had successively used this artifact to become angels, but ultimately all went mad and died or became monsters within three hundred years, bringing great disaster to the Moses Ascetic Order.

In the last thousand years, no one had dared to use this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact to advance, and thus it has earned a name: "Destined Madness"!

As a long-standing secret organization, the Moses Ascetic Order was at its peak, possessing six Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts besides Angels. Later, some were lost in internal strife, some were offered to the Hidden Sage, and some became the foundation of Angels. Now, only three remained, and Destined Madness was one of them.

The warlock holding this cursed flask was Seids, one of the Pillars, who had been stationed in Avalon for years, researching mysticism knowledge.

As a Sequence 3 Clairvoyant of the Mystery Pryer pathway, he chose Destined Madness over the other two Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts because, for him, the current negative effects were still bearable, and he could endure for some time.

The countless eyes on the slender silver flask brought with them a flood of illusions.

They were diverse fragments of knowledge, some turning into human shapes, eyes bursting, clutching their chests, or heads exploding; some resembling writhing masses of snakes, slick and repulsive; some grotesque and indescribable, all racing madly toward Lumian.

Knowledge was in pursuit!

A swath of gray-white surged before Lumian, rolling forward like waves toward the embodied knowledge.

Wherever the gray-white wave passed, the stone slabs grew denser, and even the air thickened.

When the petrifying force met the knowledge entities, those apparitions donned a gray-white veil.

However, in the next second, knowledge of "stone," "rigidity," "slowness," and "lifelessness" seeped into the apparitions, becoming part of them.

The knowledge pursuing Lumian didn't stop; they merely transformed into heavy yet swift knowledge statues.

…

On the azure sea thick with gray fog.

Because the area was so disorienting, Franca couldn't use conventional methods to contact Ma'am Hermit. She had to resort to praying to Mr. Fool to inform that Major Arcana card holder that they could start their operation.

After she finished, Mr. Hanged Man began advising Professor, Periodic Table, and Prototype,

"Next, you may experience some hallucinations, see some illusions, but under no circumstances should you believe them, or the harm will extend beyond you to your companions as well.

"Even if you see me turn into a monster, or see a nearby companion attack you, you must neither evade nor retaliate—trust that it's all false.

"Of course, it might not even be that intense."

Professor and the others exchanged glances, eventually choosing to trust the experienced, powerful captain. Besides, Hidden Blade was there too.

Then, the Blue Avenger continued deeper into the sea along the murky course.

After a moment, Professor sensed an unnatural silence around her.

Though it was a ghost ship with few people on board, it had never been so silent that not a single sound, save for the waves, could be heard.

Professor looked slowly toward the captain, Hidden Blade, and the distant sailors, only to see them moving in jerky slow motion, as if controlled by strings.

Professor was startled and instinctively looked at Periodic Table and Prototype.

Both members of the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society were smirking, identical chilling grins on their faces.

Their smiles matched in every detail.

Shuddering, Professor remembered the captain's warning and quickly shut her eyes, repeating silently,

It's not real, it's all fake…

At that moment, it seemed as though tentacles were reaching out from the water, the slick sensation drawing closer and closer, while Professor's thoughts grew sluggish and even a bit muddled.

It's not real, it's all fake… she muttered to herself, braving her terror.

It was unclear how much time passed before all abnormalities abruptly vanished as though they had never been there.

Professor opened her eyes and saw that the captain was back to normal. Both Hidden Blade and the others—Periodic Table and Prototype—wore expressions tinged with confusion and fear.

Professor and the others were about to ask questions when they all furrowed their brows simultaneously.

They felt knowledge pursuing them, surging from the dense gray-white fog!

Of course, it wasn't as extreme as the Hidden Sage's indoctrination, more like a manageable pressure.

Mr. Hanged Man saw this and quickly said to Franca, "We've reached the target area."

Franca nodded, pulling out several pieces of yellow paper etched with intricate patterns from the Traveler's Bag.