Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 964 "Holy Scripture" and Anchor

Unlike the last time when he came to the "City of Dreams" through a relatively "formal" ceremony, Angel this time used his connection with Annie to step directly from the mirror world into the gap between the spiritual world and reality. Therefore, he did not enter the memorial hall dedicated to the "Night Emperor" Trunsoest, but appeared in mid-air, as if the mirror image became reality.

Under her feet, most of the forests, hills and wilderness that originally surrounded the floating island had disappeared. The fault had directly advanced to the edge of the urban area. Even the ranches and farms that were originally built around the city were crowded on the outskirts of the city. A little further away was the endless abyss.

The area has been reduced by more than half... No, based on the volume of the floating islands, two-thirds of the "Ghost Empire" has disappeared... Is it because of the sequelae of the last disaster, or is there a problem with the cooperation between Annie and Amon's clone?

Angel subconsciously performed a quick divination, but found that under the secrecy effect of the "Planeswalker" feature, divination was almost meaningless. He then felt that the floating island below was decreasing in size while its "density" was increasing. It became more solid and strong as a whole, and it had changed from an undefended city to a "war fortress" in a sense.

There should be someone who uses the power of the "Duke of Entropy" to distort reality, and there may also be the ability of the "Disaster" witch to fold some objects into the mirror world... Angel analyzed.

After realizing that this was most likely Anne's preparation for the upcoming "war", she was no longer anxious, but used her air advantage to look around, and soon discovered that most residents were still living and working normally, and were not affected by the reduction in the area of ​​the "Dream City".

Of course, from time to time, someone looked outside the city, their worries evident in their words.

More than a thousand years of peaceful life seemed to be disrupted in such a short period of time.

Angel, who had the same feeling, found the direction, landed on the street in front of the City Hall, stepped into the slightly busy City Hall, and was about to follow the induction of Anne's mark to find the new "Consul" directly, when he suddenly found a three-meter-high bronze statue in the center of the hall.

Although it is called a statue, it is actually made of brass. The polished bronze statue consists of two people, one tall and one short. They are both women, wearing long skirts and boots in the style of the late Quaternary period, with tasseled shawls draped over their right shoulders. One hand is holding each other, and the other hand is raised high as if holding up the sky. The limbs and clothes are full of details and lifelike.

But when she looked at the two women's faces, her expression froze for a moment.

Although the bronze statue could only produce deep details of the face and could not show the details of the skin color and eyes, Angel still easily recognized that the tall one was himself and the short one was "Consul" Anne Gustave!
I've only been away for less than a month, how come Annie has started a personality cult... She must have been deceived by Amon's clone and fallen!
Angel took a deep breath, avoiding the people around him and secretly looked at her, then glanced at the bronze statue for comparison, and quickly came to the Archon's office on the second floor. He pushed open the double doors made of black wood and brass-edged, and saw Gerdruf who was concentrating on writing something and Anne standing beside him.

As if she had sensed something, the black-haired, golden-eyed girl, who looked no different from before except for the badge on her chest, looked up and said with a smile:

"You came."

I'm here to call for justice... Angel muttered, blinked, calmed down, and asked:

"How come this city has shrunk by half?"

Before Anne could speak, Gerdruf, who was sitting behind his desk as if he were the "Consul", raised his head, used the hand holding the pen to adjust his monocle, which was always tilted to one side due to his fat face, and replied:

"In fact, the volume has been reduced by 71%, reducing the useless area outside the city and the supporting structure below. This will not affect the lives of the residents in the short term, but it will make it easier for Annie to control this floating island, and its defense and mobility will be greatly increased."

Why did they call Annie? When did they become so close? I wonder if Annie will take out her monocle and put it close to her face... Angel's eyes kept wandering between the two of them. After a moment, he dismissed the strange thoughts in his mind and asked:
"So, you have found a place to 'place' this city?"

"Yes, I've already made a field trip there," Annie answered this time. She walked to the wall and pointed at a map hanging on the wall. "It's located south of Dirinius Island in the Raging Sea, in a gap between storms away from safe shipping routes. It has fresh water and land for planting. Most importantly, its safe haven has a suitable terrain that can directly connect to the underground part of the floating city. With a little modification using supernatural powers, it can perfectly accommodate this 'Dream City'."

This was something they had discussed before - to find a real place to live for the 100,000 residents in the city, so that after taking away most of the extraordinary properties that maintained the floating city, there would not be a disaster with heavy casualties.

The place Annie chose was far away from the colonies of the northern continent and hidden deep in the raging sea, but not so far away from the civilized world that it was completely cut off. It was very suitable for these remnants of the Fourth Age to slowly integrate into the society of the Fifth Age.

Of course, the best way is to join a country and become their overseas territory, which can be protected by both national power and the church and solve most of the troubles.

Angel was inclined towards the Kingdom of Loen, but not Loen where George III was in power and was at war with Feysac. Therefore, he could only temporarily "be independent" and wait for the international situation to change.

It sounds like the future is even bleaker than the resistance forces in the Rorsted Archipelago... Fortunately, we have the protection of a real angel, so at least we don't have to worry about our safety... Angel muttered, and then asked:
"What about the bronze statue in the lobby on the first floor? It's fine if there's Anne, the 'Consul', but why am I made into a bronze statue too?"

As she spoke, she looked towards Geldruf, instinctively suspecting that this clone of Amon was playing a prank.

"This is Anne's request. She thinks you will soon need these residents as the most basic 'anchors'. The new laws give a specific description of you and the 'Golden Queen', which is equivalent to a holy book. The bronze statue in the city hall provides a specific image. Every time they obey the law from the bottom of their hearts, it will be equivalent to praying to you. Well, a not-so-pious prayer."

Geldruf replied with a chuckle.

It sounded like the angels and saints described in the scriptures of the major churches... Angel thought about it for a moment and immediately understood Anne's purpose.

Most of the contents of scriptures such as "Apocalypse of the Night" and "Book of Storms" are about elevating their own gods, boasting about history such as "deriving from the body of the original creator". The rest are basically detailed descriptions of angels and saints in the church, especially their honorable names and authority.

In the eyes of Angel, who had learned a lot about the spiritual world, this meant the "anchor" that stabilized the status of those angels and saints.

Of course, in addition to these descriptions, the Orthodox Church will also designate different patron angels and patron saints for different churches, essentially "dividing the territory" so that they will not be less stable because most of their "anchors" are covered by the belief in gods.

The purpose of the law and the bronze statue is to make Angel the patron saint of this "City of Hope", and in the future the patron angel!
"You are taking advantage of a loophole... It was Anne who quelled the disaster that day, and the law was made to mobilize the power of the 'Hand of Order'. What does it have to do with me?"

"Yes, it's taking advantage of a loophole, but most of the believers of the Orthodox Church have never seen their patron angels in their lives. It doesn't prevent quantity from satisfying quality and becoming their anchor, as long as there is a suitable reference and description. And the bronze statue is the key item that connects Annie and you." Gerdruf raised the corners of his mouth, and a gleam flashed in his eyes behind his monocle, as if thanking Angel for the compliment.

I almost forgot that this was the avatar of the Blasphemer who took pride in taking advantage of loopholes and committing fraud. Even after absorbing part of Geldruf's original personality, he was still like this... Angel exhaled, looked at Annie, and continued to ask:

"Can the 'disaster' feature be removed before Saturday?"

"We can't do that. We have to wait until next week at least. Otherwise, the floating islands that haven't landed on land will face the storm from the spirit world. It's just a tickle for us, but it's a disaster for ordinary people..."

Anne shook her head and replied, then her expression froze and she asked back:

"Saturday is the date George III has arranged?"

"The eldest prince, Covington, died on the front line. An official obituary will be published tomorrow. A national mourning ceremony will be held this Saturday. Most people will gather to listen to the king's speech. This is an obvious signal." Angel explained, "If you can't take out the Beyonder characteristics before then, you might as well stay in the 'City of Dreams'. This way, this floating city will allow you to retain the strongest combat power."

"Moreover, this witch's characteristic can also send all residents into the 'mirror world' during battle, without causing casualties."

She looked at Geldruf and added.

Afterwards, Angel told Anne about his and Klein's plan and asked her to convey it to Bernadette as soon as possible so that both parties could be prepared.

These conversations did not avoid Amon's clone, because Anne said that the new laws have placed the most stringent restrictions on him. Not to mention trying to escape the city or commit suicide to deliver information, even leaving the city hall has time and scope regulations. Of course, after work, he can still go home and rest.

"Go home? Him?"

Angel asked in surprise, the image of the angel of fantasy, Adam, with his chin covered by a golden beard, appeared in his mind.

As far as she knew, this was Amon's only living "relative".

"Gelderuf's home. Before he was 'replaced', he still had a mother."

Anne explained, with a rare hint of coldness in her eyes.

He actually pretended that nothing had happened, and returned to Geldruf's home every day for more than ten years, treating himself as the son of that poor mother... Angel felt a burning sensation in his chest, and his anger almost burst out.

But at this moment, she thought of how she had also "occupied" Cole Granger's life, pretending that she had a cousin; she thought of how Klein had also "resurrected" on the spot after his original body died, and became close friends with Benson and Melissa...

What reason do I have to blame Amon for his behavior?

The words that were on his mind were stuck in his throat. Angel was silent for a moment, then turned and left the city hall.

Behind her, Gerdruf took off the monocle from his right eye socket, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised, then tightly pursed.

----

On Saturday morning, the sky over Backlund was covered with dark clouds like most days, making people feel depressed and suffocated.

The door of No. 28 Cleewood Street, North District was pushed open, and a man and a woman walked out of the warm room one after another. They were hit by the somewhat cold air and subconsciously took a breath.

Walking in front was Melissa, who was wearing a black woolen coat covering her long skirt and a soft hat with black tulle hanging from her head. She walked down the steps to the door in a few steps and looked at the foggy sky through the black veil.

Benson, who was wearing a full black suit and a hat of the same color, locked the door and subconsciously looked at the door next door. Lily Granger, who had an appointment with them, just walked out of the room and closed the door.

She was also wearing a simple black dress, with a wide-brimmed hat covering her long, blond hair. Her purple eyes were like two gems in the gray streets and gray mist.

Benson took a deep breath, smiled and walked forward. He bent down like a gentleman, raised his hand, took the hand of the woman in front of him, and helped her down the not-so-high step.

Watching the intimate behavior of the two, Melissa showed a faint smile on her face hidden behind the gauze curtain. She felt that the recent haze of war and the faint sad atmosphere today were all dispelled by this scene.

"Let's go to the Town Square to attend His Majesty the King's speech."

She spoke softly, as if afraid of disturbing this brief beautiful atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)