“It’s my turn to ask questions.” Igor carefully chose his words, “Miss Anfel, are you the one responsible for... um, cleansing the mental energy?”
Anfel cut straight to the point: “You’re wondering if I’m the container that stores the ‘impurities,’ right? Yes, I am.”
Igor gasped.
Ever since he heard that Belldate could harness the cognitive power of millions of people and absorb their mental energy, as a mental spellcaster, Igor had a massive question-wasn’t the Belldate patriarch afraid of being poisoned?
In the realm of mental arts, any thought other than ‘I’ is a chronic poison. Schizophrenics are the prime example. Their own clean and hygienic personalities can poison them, let alone someone else’s thoughts.
It’s one thing for a day or two, but if you’re immersed in other people’s thoughts for a long time, it will inevitably cause mental fatigue, skewed self-recognition, and bipolar disorder.
Actually, Belldate’s domination mechanism of “from the debtor, used for the debtor” isn’t an earth-shattering idea, nor is it patented exclusively by the Necromancy Angel. So why haven’t other domination spellcasters done this before? Why is Belldate the sole proprietor in all of Gospel?
Because mental energy, consciousness, and thoughts are an inseparable trinity.
Just like how hitting the jackpot makes you exhilarated, and being constipated makes you gloomy, human thoughts directly affect mental fluctuations. Mental energy is filled with all sorts of thoughts and ideas, like a fruit pulp orange juice. The mental energy Belldate absorbs is surely full of ‘thought impurities.’ Using this mental energy directly is no different from drinking poison to quench your thirst or eating shit to stave off hunger.
If there’s a wolf pack domination spellcaster who tries to mimic Belldate by absorbing the mental energy of a wolf pack to control the wolves, his only fate would be to turn into a wolf with human skin. He would be polluted and assimilated by countless wolf thoughts until he forgets his own identity.
Thus, domination spellcasters are undoubtedly single-way broadcasters; they would never absorb the mental energy of their subjects. Even Lala Fatty wouldn’t dare take it lightly.
Conversely, the fact that Belldate dares to absorb the mental energy of intelligent creatures means they have a mechanism to ‘purify impurities.’ Indeed, Igor’s biggest suspect was the statues. Storing mental energy is one thing, but if a piece of stone can filter out active thoughts, Igor might as well suggest adding healthcare functions to the statues—how could a mere stone creation possess such comprehensive capabilities?
It wasn’t until Igor noticed that Anfel had no regular work and spent her days wandering around the manor, touching this statue and that statue, that he felt as if the answer was presenting itself just like the solution to a fill-in-the-blank question.
The Con Artist asked, “So, your special ability as a container is that you can read anyone’s thoughts?”
Anfel shook her head. “I can’t read thoughts. If I could, Yvaren wouldn’t have been deceived by you... I can just become the version of myself that everyone likes.”
She slowly closed her eyes, her expression serene. “I can listen to countless thoughts, understand countless preferences, and perceive countless secrets... No matter who stands before me, I can pull a persona similar to them from my database; in fact, they might already be in my database.”
“Have you ever seen a Mimosa? When you touch it, it shyly closes its leaves. I’m like that Mimosa. I don’t do it on purpose, but whoever stands before me, I will unconsciously adapt to their most favored personality.”
Curious, Igor asked, “So what would you be like if you had to interact with both me and Ashe simultaneously?”
Anfel replied, “When chatting in a group, I find the overlapping areas and show the sides you both like; when conversing one-on-one, I switch to a specific personality.”
“And what about you?” Igor asked. “What does the real you think?”
“I can listen to countless thoughts,” Anfel answered, leaving it at that.
But she could never listen to her own thoughts.
Anfel was like a mirror, reflecting everyone’s most liked side but unable to show her own image.
However, Igor had to admit that conversing with Anfel was indeed very pleasant. He naturally enjoyed discussions that involved only key intelligence, leaving the conclusions to be inferred by himself. It gave his brain just the right amount of exercise.
Within the Funeral, Igor found the most comfortable communication with Annan, followed by Banjeet and Lise (the mature version). At the bottom were, unsurprisingly, those two artiodactyla members who could barely understand conclusions unless spelled out in the simplest terms.
“Now it’s my turn to ask,” Anfel said, pouring two cups of hot tea and handing one over. “Why did you deceive Belldate, Mr. Igor?”
“The Dominance Sect knowledge of Belldate,” said Igor, without hiding his criminal intentions. “Also, I needed Belldate to attract other people’s hatred so we could continue our escape.”
Even without the “Ranking of Schemes,” the “Family Ranking” alone was enough to make everyone in Funeral a despised group stirring up trouble.
Recently, Igor had been trying to figure out how to reduce the pressure on Funeral. But given Funeral’s rock-bottom reputation, the stress would only increase until the day they disbanded. So he changed his approach—if a financial storm is inevitable, why not distribute its impact to reduce personal loss?
This is why he found common ground with Yvaren. Yvaren wanted to dominate other family elite members, and Igor not only fully cooperated but also executed the plan to the end. Sure, Ashe might be Belldate’s dog, but so are all of you!
“Come on, if you want to beat the dog, you’ll have to step over its master’s body first!”
Even if Yvaren didn’t want to take the blame quietly, would she just stand there and get hit back when others retaliate?
This back-and-forth was enough to divert considerable fire away from Funeral.
“Is that all?”
First, it should have a highly active mind but lack personal will.
Second, it should have an abundant mental energy but be devoid of personal emotions.
And ideally, it should have vast personal wealth to allow the Angel of Necromancy to quickly regain his former power.
Anfel could listen to the thoughts of countless people but had lost her personal will, becoming Yvaren’s perfect tool—a mindless entity.
Yvaren could mobilize immense mental energy but had diluted her personal emotions, morphing into a cold, unfeeling rationalist—a heartless entity.
Putting these two together, a being without heart and mind, wouldn’t that be the perfect vessel for the Angel of Necromancy to possess?
“In other words, Harvey isn’t ungrateful...” Igor said. “When he claimed he wanted to give the Belldate Family eternal rest, he truly just wanted to free you from your fate... I’m done asking.”
Actually, Igor still had many questions: Why does the Belldate Family insist on inheriting the Dominance Sect? Why haven’t they tried to kill the Angel of Necromancy instead? Why are they bearing such a fate without fighting back? But considering that this fate was a scheme devised by the Angel of Necromancy for his resurrection and that the Belldate Family could split the burden among siblings, their ancestors truly had done their best...
“It’s my turn to ask the last question,” Anfel said.
But just at that moment, the bookmark in their Gospel Book glowed, indicating that the update for the Ranking of Schemes had finally been completed for the night-
“Igor Bukin receives the reward ‘Kingdom Coin.’”
“Kingdom Coin: While holding this coin, your personal will cannot be altered, twisted, or eroded in any way and remains pristine.”
Igor fiddled with the hot, new coin in his hand and asked, “What do you want to ask?”
“I was going to ask, Mr. Igor, given all your debts and the theoretical need to share 99.9% of your thoughts, how you plan to resist Yvaren’s domination,” Anfel shrugged. “But now I don’t need to.”
Just because Igor could borrow indefinitely didn’t mean he didn’t owe Belldate money. If Yvaren recovered and cut off his Bell-Pay, Igor would be powerless and at Yvaren’s mercy. However, with the Kingdom Coin from the Future Ranking rewards, Igor wasn’t worried about Yvaren messing with his mind.
After a moment of thought, Igor flicked the coin away with his thumb.
“Catch.”
Anfel clumsily caught the coin, surprised, as she watched the con artist walk to the window and gaze at the distant crowd.
“Mr. Igor?”
“It’s yours,” Igor said calmly. “There should still be a sliver of self-awareness deep within your soul; use this coin to reclaim it.”
“Why?”
“When I made this plan, I didn’t count on the reward from the Ranking of Schemes,” Igor smiled slightly. “Gifts of fate, I dare not accept lightly.”
“Then how will you resist Yvaren’s domination?”
“I’ve stolen knowledge from the Dominance Sect and already figured out how to resist your domination. My theoretical framework is complete; I just lack practical experience. If Yvaren is willing to spar with me, I would welcome it.”
“Besides, your domination has its limits. If I go far enough, for Yvaren to mess with my mind, she would have to reveal cards I haven’t yet uncovered. I just want to see who will break first: Yvaren or me mastering Belldate’s Dominance Sect techniques completely.”
Igor gazed into the distance where Ashe and the others were, the bright starlight illuminating his handsome face. There was no fear in his eyes, only anticipation for the future.
Anfel stared at him blankly for a moment, then suddenly said, “I have something to say, but I’m not sure if I should...”
“You shouldn’t.”
“But I’m going to say it! I just have to say it!”
Igor glanced at her. “The gold coin’s effect is this obvious?”
“Or maybe you just like this kind of girl?” Anfel smiled warmly. “I just wanted to say, Mr. Igor, people don’t actually shine or glitter.”
“Hmm?”
“So, the real sparkle is in the light within your eyes.”