Chapter 1391: Chapter 1391

“How can I nullify the effect of the altar beneath the clock tower in Nolan’s public square?”

The reason he didn't ask directly, “How can I prevent the Doomsday Illusion from merging with reality in a way that is within my power and has no repercussions?” was because the Doomsday Illusion was known to be directly connected to the Mysterious Realm, and the Church had already proven that the conch's power was affected by the Mysterious Realm.

Although the conch had told Jenkins directly last autumn that he had traveled to another world, that question had only involved a simple time and place. This time, however, he wanted to destroy an illusion, so Jenkins couldn't be sure if the conch would still be effective. He could only ask a less direct question.

After posing his query, he swiftly brought the conch to his ear. He immediately heard the sound of crashing waves and the cries of gulls flying overhead. Then, amidst the roar of the surf, a woman's voice gradually grew louder, answering in the same clear and slow common tongue:

“The altar is a spatial anchor, drawing two spaces to overlap. This process is irreversible. Even if you destroy the altar's physical form, you cannot stop the anchor from functioning. However, the anchor can be influenced by spatial powers, causing its pull to be diverted. Therefore, by influencing the anchor, you can prevent the overlapping effect it is currently producing.”

Though Magic Miss was nearby, only Jenkins, holding the conch, could hear these words. He relayed them to her, and only then did the two of them understand that the convergence of the Doomsday Illusion and Nolan was not a spontaneous event but a scheme by the old man of the clock tower.

“He had you collect materials from spatial creatures, and he wants to separate Nolan from the material world. I suspect he wants to control Nolan just as he controls the Doomsday Illusion. And since both spaces would be independent of the material world, ordinary people would be completely helpless. Even if someone discovered the truth in the end, they wouldn't be able to stop him,”

Magic Miss summarized.

“Control a real space independent of the material world? Isn't that like a god... That old man on the clock tower is being far too bold, isn't he?”

“Do you have a spatial interference ritual that we can use right away? If so, we can start setting it up now and solve this troublesome matter tonight. If not, I'll go find someone else to help.”

“Don’t be so hasty, Mr. Candle. Using any abilities or rituals related to space in the material world is extremely dangerous, let alone interfering with a spatial beacon. Do you understand the risks? One mistake could attract the terrifying entities that move through the cracks in space. If that happens, we won't need a doomsday to descend on Nolan; those horrifying creatures could destroy the city themselves.”

Despite her words, she was, after all, the most skilled person Jenkins knew in rituals and mysticism. After a brief silence, she came up with an idea, but it was one that would require Jenkins to make some sacrifices:

“This situation is now beyond what the two of us can handle. Even if we brought in Mr. White Cat and Mr. Hood, who can't be far, I’m afraid we still wouldn't have enough people. I'm confident that I'm the only person in this city who could come up with this solution, but to implement it, we'll need the power of the Church.”

“The Church? Which one do you mean?”

“Any of them will do. The key issue is that a ritual of this scale can't be completed by three or four people in a few hours. It requires the participation and assistance of many Enchanters, so it can only be done by an Orthodox Church. Our problem now is that we must get the information to the Church and convince them to believe it as quickly as possible. Under normal circumstances, the Church would never casually initiate a large-scale spatial ritual.”

After speaking, she looked at Jenkins. Though he felt a little exposed, he still spoke with a great deal of confidence:

“Why are you looking at me? I’m not a member of the Church.”

“Of course I know that, Mr. Candle. But I recall you mentioning multiple times that you have a friend in the Church of Knowledge and Books, a friend who is able to find out many secrets. I assume he holds a high-ranking position? Now it's his turn to be useful again.”

She took Jenkins to the villa she shared with Miss Silver Flute. After working in the study for a whole afternoon, she finally handed him a sheet of paper filled with writing. It described an ancient ritual called “Spatial Fracture,” which Magic Miss had learned from a stone tablet dating back to the 12th Epoch.

The original purpose of the ritual was to split a continuous space, but as the fabric of the material world had gradually reinforced itself and become more stable, the ritual no longer had any effect. Still, it was the most suitable spatial ritual she could find, and most importantly, the chance of it causing trouble, even if it failed, was extremely low.

“The rest is up to you, Mr. Candle. I’ll be waiting here for your good news.”

After an entire afternoon of intense focus, Magic Miss sounded a little weak when she spoke.

Jenkins asked her worriedly.

“What could be wrong with me? Go find help, quickly. The matter of the Doomsday Illusion cannot be delayed for a single moment.”

Her point was well-made, so even though it was almost dinnertime, Jenkins didn't return to Ruen. Instead, he remained in Nolan to continue his work.

Reporting this matter under his own identity as Jenkins would probably be inappropriate. He considered all the reasons and decided against it. Instead, he went straight to the home of his divination teacher, Audrey, and told her everything.

“You want me to report the matter of that strange doomsday world to the local Church?”

Audrey asked. She had just returned by carriage when Jenkins arrived, and the two spoke as they walked into the house.

“Yes. I’m currently in Ruen, so it’s best if I don’t appear to know too much about what’s happening in Nolan.”

“I can certainly report it... but why did you think of asking me?”

“The last time ghouls and other riffraff tried to invade through a Mysterious Realm, didn’t you have me perform a divination?”

Jenkins said with a nod, “That’s why I thought of you.” Newest update provıded by novel•fire.net

“I see... I can tell the Church the whole story and about the ritual. I think they will believe it. If the situation is really so critical, the Church will probably perform the ritual tomorrow or the day after. When the time comes, make sure you're there. I'm worried something unexpected might happen.”

“Please, don’t say things like that before the plan has even started. It will only greatly increase the probability of something unexpected happening.”

Jenkins said this as if joking, trying to lighten his own mood, but he also knew that resolving this matter without any surprises was next to impossible.