Meanwhile, in the King’s private library.
The air twisted, and the Yellow-clothed Elder, who had once encountered Richard in a special Illusion, appeared.
The Elder stepped forward, his steps silent, as if he were floating. He moved to a row of statues in the corner and stared at them for a long while before he sighed and spoke, "Alright, speak up."
"Speak? Speak what?" The first statue spoke up, asking the elder, seemingly perplexed.
"Yes, speak what? I’m also very curious." The second statue chimed in, addressing the elder, "Maybe about how you embarrassed yourself in Manhattan?"
"In that case, I’d rather not speak, because... it really was embarrassing," the third statue also said.
"Exactly, knowing you’d fail, it would have been better if I had taken action..." the fourth statue spoke up.
"Please, if you had taken action, who knows what the result would have been," the fifth statue countered.
"Even so, it couldn’t have been worse than this. We were supposed to be testing them, and we almost got tested instead—hahaha! It’s hilarious!" the fourth statue argued.
"You do have a point..." the sixth statue interjected.
A whole row of about a dozen statues was now discussing fervently, relentlessly mocking and ridiculing, turning the Elder’s complexion darker.
"Enough!" Eventually, the Yellow-clothed Elder could not hold back any longer and shouted out, irritably, "All of you, shut up! Do you think I wanted this to happen? It was because we were unprepared.
After all, we never expected them to suddenly appear here. With such short preparation time, what I managed was already the limit. At first, the boy didn’t notice anything amiss, but who knew he would detect a flaw from some echo. Damn it, what’s with these echoes anyway."
"This so-called echo, from what he meant, should be what we define as ’Wind Element Sound Branch Magic, Stacked Third Type Time Delay Wave,’ simply known as ’Third Wave.’" The last statue spoke up seriously,
"For such details, creating an Illusion that takes them all into account is virtually impossible. The fact that he could spot a flaw from this angle and then unravel it was indeed unexpected. This person, hmm... not simple."
Hearing this, all the statues stopped joking and became serious. The first statue spoke, "Does that mean our opponent isn’t an ordinary individual?"
"Obviously," the second statue replied, "’Third Wave,’ do you think an ordinary person would know about it? Forget about now, even in our era, it wasn’t something just anyone knew, right?
After all, this knowledge, if you delve deeper, involves ’High-Level Wind Magic Principle Studies,’ ’Sound Branch Super Speed Study,’ ’Negative Spell Wave Comprehensive Study,’ and other difficult disciplines. Actually, I’m now starting to doubt whether some of us here really understand it fully."
"Enough, Charles," the third statue spoke out, "There’s no need to show off your knowledge. Just state the conclusion—that kid is extraordinary.
In my opinion, even without the ’Third Wave’ issue, the fact that he noticed something wrong, forcibly took control of the Illusion, and even managed a small counterattack against Manhattan is enough to show his uniqueness—his Spiritual Strength far exceeds the standard, much stronger than most Wizards of this era. I really don’t know how he did it."
"How he did it is none of my concern," the fourth statue buzzed, "I just want to know how we should handle this. The secret has leaked; we must do damage control. Otherwise, there’s no point in having this conversation."
"But before we take any action, we must clarify his identity. Whether he belongs to the enemy or someone else," the fifth statue said.
"I believe he isn’t an enemy," the sixth statue interjected again, "If he were, he would not have dealt with Manhattan so easily. That kid, after snatching control of the Illusion, only forced Manhattan out and then ended the Illusion. He didn’t follow through to find Manhattan’s actual location.
This way, it’s clear that the kid lacks certain understanding of the Illusion and of us; an enemy wouldn’t act like that."
"Don’t speak so conclusively, Bruce Wayne," the fourth statue said, rebutting the sixth statue’s words, "The enemy is cunning and devious. It’s possible that the kid was just pretending. For safety’s sake, we should find a way to eliminate him."
"You’re going to do it?" the sixth statue retorted unhappily.
"Humph, I won’t go. I just give advice; dirty, tiresome tasks are not my business," the fourth statue said.
"I think you’re just a coward," the sixth statue said unapologetically.
"I think so too," the fifth statue concurred.
"Bruce Wayne, Pete Parker, say that again. Don’t think that just because you two always stand together, I’m afraid of you!" the fourth statue said angrily, looking like an argument was about to start.
"Enough!" Just then, the final statue spoke up, silencing all others, "Let’s stop the quarreling, quiet down, and take care of the matter at hand first. Does anyone have... even the slightest constructive suggestion for dealing with this?"
"I will take care of it," the statue that had been silent until now suddenly said, the voice somewhat sharp.
"Are you sure, Jack..."
"Please call me by my title!"
"Ah, alright, Clown. Are you sure you want to handle this personally?" the last statue asked seriously.
"I’m sure. I’m a bit interested in that kid; I want to play a game with him. If he is worthy, he will receive a reward. If he is not, then, heh heh heh, I will make him understand why Holy Mountain is black."
"Well then, does anyone disagree?" the last statue asked.
"Very well, Clown will take over this matter," the last statue decided.
At that moment, with a "click," the library door opened, and Princess Rose, who had taken a short nap, stealthily peeked inside.
The library was quiet.
Princess Rose immediately strode in, believing her actions went unnoticed. Without any cover, she picked up the book she wanted and left.
The library door closed again, and after a long silence, the fifth statue spoke, its voice ethereal, "Is this what the Royal Family likes to do now? Or has the atmosphere become so open?"
"I think we should ask Clown about this kind of thing; after all, he’s the most twisted among us and would definitely be interested in such matters," the fourth statue said.
"Hmph, you’re only saying this because you know Clown isn’t here," the sixth statue said.
"I’d dare even if he were here," the fourth statue retorted irritably.
"Fine, let’s discuss this properly when he returns," the sixth statue said.
"Bothersome, I have things to do; I’m leaving," the fourth statue dropped this phrase and then fell silent.
"I knew it would be . But I also have matters to attend to; see you all," the sixth statue said without surprise, leaving the same remark and also falling silent.
"Alright, goodbye everyone. As per the rules, the librarian Manhattan will remain here; I will come to relieve him on the scheduled date. If there are any issues, send a signal." The final statue spoke up, "Understood?"
"Understood," a few statues said in unison, then the entire library fell into complete silence.