Chapter 228: Search, Back-up Plan

"Wang Yu must have taken Captain Shugin’s place, using the Star-Reflection relic to unleash the entity beneath the abyss, right? According to the Smoke Demon, it was Wang Yu who warned him to find Shugin while they were holding the edge of the abyss together. That means, at that moment, he was certainly still there."

Charles frowned, analyzing Wang Yu’s situation and searching for the exact moment they lost contact with him.

"He was still there when the Divine Corpse beneath the abyss was released. I saw with my own eyes as he arrived at the surface of the Royal City along with those floating stones."

Avia’s voice resonated in Charles’s mind through the prayer network, providing a more precise timeline.

"In other words, the period when Wang Yu lost contact with us completely, leaving no trace behind to this day, must have been during the battle between the God of Fear and the entity beneath the abyss."

"Damn it, the God of Fear didn't care about the surroundings when fighting that thing from the abyss. Could it be..."

Charles’s expression darkened. Though he was loath to believe that a man as reliable as Wang Yu would lose his life during a mission, the lack of communication and the cataclysmic scale of the God of Fear’s battle made this possibility increasingly likely.

"No, I am certain he is not dead."

The girl’s tone was firm, uttering the word "dead" that Charles had been reluctant to voice. Avia could confirm that Wang Yu’s current state was absolutely not death.

The girl’s mental space had always been protected by a layer of spiritual shielding Wang Yu had installed back at the Mine Manor, back when he was researching whether he possessed a soul.

This barrier, wrapped around the outer layer of her mind, shielded her soul and rendered soul-targeted attacks ineffective. It was the reason Avia had not fallen into a coma like the other students during the academy incident.

Later, Wang Yu and Avia had studied this protection together, but due to a lack of data, they could never fully decipher what it was.

What was certain, however, was that this barrier was linked to Wang Yu. As long as he lived, it would persist—as if a projection of his spirit resided within her mind.

At this moment, Avia could clearly feel that outer layer of protection; Wang Yu was definitely alive.

"Is that so..."

Although Charles did not know the basis for her judgment, knowing that Wang Yu was alive was, at the very least, good news.

"Can we not ask the Lady of the Night to help find him? Wang Yu is supposed to be an Archbishop of the Church of Night."

A thought struck Charles, and his eyes lit up. Since the prayer network was functional again, seeking the Lady of the Night’s power to locate Wang Yu should not be difficult.

"...Because of some previous events, Wang Yu can no longer use the power of Night Divine Arts, and the Lady of the Night cannot find his location."

Avia fell silent for a moment, denying Charles’s suggestion. Had the key not been destroyed, the Lady of the Night could have easily found him, but since its destruction, she could no longer track Wang Yu through the connection of faith.

"Regardless, I ask you all to join me in the investigation. Knowing Wang Yu as I do, no matter what he encountered, he would fight to the very last moment. If he is trapped, he will certainly have left us a message."

The girl made her request with great solemnity, her tone carrying a gravity that felt at odds with the image of the gentle, smiling mage they all knew.

"Of course. I won't let what happened to the Captain repeat itself. Wang Yu is indeed the type who would leave a trail if he’s still alive. As it stands, he disappeared near the site of the battle between the God of Fear and the abyss entity. We head there."

Charles nodded.

"Count me in. I owe Wang Yu and Miss Avia a significant debt. As a friend, I cannot stand idly by."

Zieg raised his hand, signaling his participation.

"Mr. Wang Yu is, in a sense, a benefactor to the entire Night’s Edge. Reason and sentiment dictate that we repay this kindness. Furthermore, we cannot watch any member of the Night’s Edge fall into trouble without taking action."

The squad leaders of the Night’s Edge exchanged glances, with Gilbert—who had the closest relationship with Wang Yu—speaking on their behalf.

Few knew that Wang Yu had created the prayer network, but those who did understood its unique significance: it had freed the Night’s Edge from the constraints of the Mark of the Dark Sky and prevented countless sacrifices caused by mental corruption.

"Thank you all. There is no time to lose; let us depart."

The girl expressed her gratitude through the prayer network and prepared to leave immediately.

No one hesitated. The longer they waited, the more likely the traces Wang Yu left behind would fade due to various factors. Speed was the consensus.

"Miss Avia, you are at the Royal City Shadow, aren't you? Let me take you."

Zieg asked. With his strength as a Great Knight, it wouldn't take long to travel to the Shadow and bring her back.

"No need. The Lady of the Night gave me a spatial beacon for your location. I will be there shortly."

Avia declined Zieg’s offer. As she spoke, a spatial rift slowly opened before them, expanding into a small door. Avia, her face slightly pale, stepped through.

"Let’s go."

With flickering fire in her eyes, the girl pulled a mana-replenishing potion from her pocket and downed it in one gulp.

This was her first time using a Phase Gate over such a distance in the material world. The massive drain on her mana left her in a poor state, but the fire burning in her heart allowed for no hesitation.

"Let’s go!"

Charles glanced at the spatial gate. As a fellow mage, he understood the level of mastery required for such targeted, long-distance spatial magic. He pulled out the Wheel of Fortune tarot card; this card, capable of reconstructing past scenes, was now their most effective tool.

...

"Did you notice anything unusual while searching for survivors? Hmm, let me think."

"Oh, I remember. When we were pushing toward the center of the Royal City, an explosion suddenly occurred nearby. By the time we approached, there was nothing left but ruins. We don't know what happened."

Zieg, holding the magitech communication device, spoke with the members of the Night’s Edge who were investigating the city center. The information they provided made the eyes of everyone present light up.

"You were right. Wang Yu is no pushover. If he can use a Reality Stabilization Spear as a bomb, how could he not leave behind a massive spectacle?"

Charles said excitedly to Avia. The method the girl had suggested—questioning the investigators—had pointed them in a highly promising direction.

Without a word, Avia followed the direction provided by the communication device toward the site of the anomaly.

When they arrived, they were shocked to find the situation far worse than they had imagined.

A massive explosion had bloomed from the center of the street, the shockwave obliterating all surrounding structures. Walls had crumbled into fine, heat-melted fragments, and the ground looked as if it had been plowed, leaving no flat surface behind. It was a scene of utter devastation.

Charles, holding the Wheel of Fortune, looked grim. After several failed attempts to trigger the card’s power, he put it away.

"The destruction here is too severe. The Wheel of Fortune cannot reconstruct the past."

Clearly, Wang Yu’s disappearance was linked to this explosion. The abruptness of the blast was practically screaming that it had been used to cover his tracks.

"..."

Avia closed her eyes slightly. When she opened them again, a bronze ring had appeared around her pupils, with a steel cross in the center.

Mana lenses, Seeker’s Eyes, sorcery and spells layered together, allowing the girl to perceive the traces of mana and the mixed fluctuations of void energy in the environment.

"The explosion was definitely a rushed act. If there had been time to eliminate traces properly, he wouldn't have used an explosion—which, while effective, is too conspicuous. This sudden blast practically highlights that something happened here."

"Wang Yu would definitely seize this opportunity..."

Avia had unconditional trust in Wang Yu. It wasn't that she believed he was omnipotent, but that he would exhaust every effort, and that effort would surely yield results.

The remnants of mana and void energy had dissipated relatively cleanly after the blast, but with her extreme affinity for the void and her knowledge of spatial arts, she discovered a clue.

In one spot, there had previously been an independent space constructed of void energy. It was strange; this space should have collapsed entirely, yet she could still sense traces of it...

"Here..."

The girl’s fingers, coated in a trace of high-concentration void energy, traced patterns in the air, guided by the explanations in the book *Phase Gate*. She was searching for that independent space which, despite having been on the verge of total collapse, somehow persisted.

Spatial fluctuations emerged. After her fingers crossed several invisible nodes, the space—teetering on the brink of destruction—was successfully opened. This was the "Cycle of Despair," the space created by the wizard who had fought Wang Yu.

Normally, this would have collapsed upon the wizard’s death, ejecting Wang Yu, but Wang Yu had jammed an indestructible object into the space, forcing it to remain open.

As the girl opened the space, the "Cycle of Despair" discarded the indestructible object.

Relic: Endless Page.

[(Dear readers, I cannot provide an extra chapter today. I have been half-dead since last night with a cold and fever. I don't know what's going on; my muscles ache as if I've been beaten all over. How to describe it? It truly gives me the illusion that I am dying. When I had COVID, I felt nothing, but this is truly agonizing. From 1:00 AM until now, 8:22 PM, I have been sleeping, with less than two hours of wakefulness. I feel slightly better now, but my whole body still aches and my head is spinning. I will try my best to write for you all, and I will definitely make up for the missed chapters later. Please allow me to finish this chapter and get some sleep.)]