Chapter 592 Bluff
Kill him and channel his spirit?
Bard stared at Lumian Lee, masquerading as a Muggle, a chill running down his spine as his hair stood on end.
He sensed the unmistakable killing intent emanating from Lumian, causing fear to grip him.
However, a suspicion lingered in Bard's mind; he believed Lumian was trying to manipulate him, deliberately showcasing his anger and hatred to break his psychological defenses.
His suspicion arose because spirit channeling wasn't the optimal solution.
Celestial Worthy possessed a higher level than many evil gods, and the corruption of those evil gods could lead to a failed spirit channeling, what's more someone with the Celestial Worthy's bestowment.
Recognizing this, Bard's heart settled.
As a Swindler, he maintained a terrified expression, stepping back two paces as he looked at Lumian.
"I'll spill it all, no lies. You can verify it! Don't kill me!"
Lumian approached him step by step, brandishing a dagger.
Bard turned to Hela, Gandalf, and Franca, pleading in a "panicked" tone,
"He's lost his mind, and you're just going to let him be? Spirit channeling isn't all-powerful!"
Bard deliberately used "him" as a pronoun, signaling that he knew Lumian wasn't Muggle, as if urging them not to play along.
In two steps, Lumian arrived in front of Bard, casting his gaze at the April Fool's key member, who couldn't temporarily change his appearance back. He raised the dagger in his hand.
Bard sneered inwardly, growing more convinced that Lumian Lee wouldn't actually end his life for spirit channeling—at least not yet.
If his current actions weren't an act, Gandalf and Hela would have intervened no matter what. They wouldn't just stand by!
Bard strained his throat and shouted, as if terrorized, "I'll genuinely cooperate with you! I'll assist you in locating Loki and his ancient castle! See, I didn't even use my powers to resist in such a situation!"
As Bard shouted, he fixed his gaze on Lumian and the dagger's tip, attempting to convey evasion and pleading through his eyes. The former conveyed fear, and the latter was a plea for mercy.
Throughout this process, Bard's heart was filled with mockery, almost void of panic.
Trying to deceive a Swindler?
What a ludicrous notion!
I bet you'll stop after I count to five!
Five, four, three…
Pfft!
Bard's vision suddenly turned blood-red as the dagger thrust into his left eye, piercing through the gap in the eye socket and into his brain.
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Is he truly going to kill me?
Intense pain overwhelmed Bard's mind, prompting him to instinctively raise his right hand and press it against his face. He fought in the opposite direction, striving to put some distance between himself and the dagger, the source of the agonizing damage.
Lumian reached out with his left hand, pinning Bard in place and making his struggles futile.
Then, Lumian leaned forward slightly and whispered into the ear of the April Fool's key member.
Bard glimpsed Muggle's beautiful face, her rosy lips moving as she whispered—a whisper filled with satisfaction and mockery, "My godson has gnawed on half of Loki's arm and knows a lot about him. I believe that knowledge surpasses yours…"
Surpasses mine… If I had known earlier, I would have utilized my powers… Even in the midst of pain and struggle, Bard was momentarily stunned, feeling frustration, despair, and embarrassment.
Soon, these emotions dissipated. Lumian gripped the dagger embedded in Bard's eye socket and twisted it a few times, crushing the frontal lobe.
Observing Bard, who had now calmed down, Lumian nodded in satisfaction. He withdrew his dagger and earnestly assisted the other party in stemming the bleeding and bandaging the wound, though he skipped the disinfectant.
Only then did Franca approach and click her tongue.
"I thought you were just scaring him."
That's why she didn't intervene. She had watched as Lumian advanced toward Bard, dagger in hand, witnessing Bard's pleas for mercy.
She believed Hela and Gandalf had similar expectations.
When the dagger pierced Bard's eye socket, Franca was taken aback. It was only then that she realized Lumian was serious!
No, Lumian didn't truly intend to kill Bard. Instead, he planned to employ the April Fool's created prank to deal with him, recreating the original state of I Know Someone.
Without waiting for Lumian's response, Franca asked curiously, "When did you master lobotomy?"
Lumian wiped the blood off the dagger with a white strap and smirked mockingly.
"I learned it from watching the doctor perform surgery on I Know Someone.
"It's such a simple procedure. As a Beyonder skilled in action, if I can't memorize and imitate it after watching it once, it only proves that my brain has been corrupted by the potion."
Impersonating Muggle, Lumian deliberately spoke in his sister's voice, as if she were still alive.
Franca looked at Aurore's face under the hood and listened to her voice. She wasn't angered by the mockery. She only muttered, "The surgery isn't just about inserting and stirring a few times. There are still many key points before and after the procedure. Even during the surgery, if you insert it just a bit deeper, the outcome will be entirely different."
"So be it. If he really dies, we'll commence the spirit channeling." Lumian casually poured the remaining truth serum into the mouth of the stunned Bard, who offered no resistance.
After completing this task, he added, "Madam Hela mentioned that this place can minimize the influence of evil gods."
"It's only minimal, not zero. Besides, what if the problem lies in his spirit, and he self-destructs?" Franca instinctively retorted. This was why Hela hadn't directly pulled Bard into a dream to extract his true answers. After all, the dream might present scenes that shouldn't be seen. This was even more dangerous than simple verbal descriptions.
Only then did Gandalf, draped in a linen robe and a hood, sigh softly.
He couldn't bear to witness Bard's suffering, but he didn't discourage the actions taken. He wasn't the one who had been harmed by April Fool's. He wasn't in a position to criticize the victim's family for their extreme actions.
Before this operation, Hela had briefed Gandalf on Muggle's demise and Lumian Lee's role. The president of the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society sympathized with the siblings' plight, but he also blamed himself. He believed that the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society had been unrestrained. As president, he bore a heavy responsibility.
After a moment, Bard, who had undergone a "requiem" and gradually recovered from his pain, started addressing the queries of the people present.
The first to inquire was Gandalf. He peered down at the Dream Stealer and asked, "How did you come to believe in that Celestial Worthy?"
Gandalf and Hela had already gathered intel on Celestial Worthy from Franca and Lumian, and they deemed it crucial.
Bard responded calmly, "From the beginning. I used to be a cultural relic thief and acquired a batch of ancient items. While studying their history to ascertain their value, I deciphered the meaning of some inscriptions…"
Abruptly, Hela cut Bard's narration short and said coldly,
"You don't have to explain the full meaning. Just mention a few keywords."
Bard had no intention of arguing. He remained as docile as a sheep.
"Keywords include: Deception, Fooling, Door of All Doors, Lord of Mysteries…
As Bard finished speaking, the ancient palace they were in suddenly became misty and unclear.
Simultaneously, Lumian's left chest burned again.
In the next moment, the night sky outside the palace darkened even more, and all the mist vanished.
"Why did I feel like worms were growing in me just now?" Franca felt a lingering fear.
Merely a few names, incomplete honorific names, made her inexplicably uneasy. Every inch of her flesh seemed to come alive, about to transform into worms crawling out of her skin.
One of Bard's initial plans was to answer Lumian and company's questions dishonestly and without reservation. Then, he would take the initiative to reveal all the details regarding Celestial Worthy. He wanted to see if he could secretly corrupt his enemies and shake the Nation of the Evernight's concealments to create a "door" to escape.
"If I could really use this to corrupt Gandalf and Hela, why would they kill me when we're all Celestial Worthy believers? We would definitely work together to deal with Lumian Lee!"
Of course, Bard no longer harbored such thoughts. He had obtained an inevitable peace.
"Descriptions of high-level existences often indicate danger. In this world, ignorance might not be a bad thing." Gandalf sighed and assessed what had just happened.
He then inquired about the follow-up.
Bard's expression remained unchanged as he said, "After deciphering the words, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I had already transmigrated to this world.
11:40
"After adapting to my new body, I instinctively recalled my previous encounters and the words I had deciphered. Then, I saw a thin gray fog emanating from my surroundings and received a revelation from the Celestial Worthy.
"In other words, you believed in that Celestial Worthy as soon as you transmigrated, before the establishment of the Research Society?" Gandalf probed further.
"Yes." Bard's emotions lacked any fluctuations. "Back then, I thought that if I didn't choose to submit, believe in Him, or follow Him, I might die on the spot. When that happened, I might not have a chance to transmigrate and revive. Later, I gradually realized His greatness. He could even fool the Nation of the Evernight and prevent our problems from being discovered."
Gandalf pondered for a moment and asked, "How did Loki come to believe in that Celestial Worthy?"