Chapter 314 - 146: Setting Sail
After the incident in the Caster City State, Wei’en came to a profound understanding: to survive in this world, he needed enough power to protect himself.
He knew very well that his ability to kill those Vasquez People and defeat Ales was only due to the aberrant augmentation caused by Tina’s Calamity Origin.
If he had relied solely on his own strength, forget defeating Ales—the spears of the Vasquez People alone could have run him through.
Although his awakened innate abilities played a part in the end, his own base attributes first had to reach a certain level.
These past few days, as Wei’en recalled the events of that night, his feelings were somewhat complicated.
’There was relief, lingering fear, and a touch of sorrow from parting. At the same time, he also felt a bit lost and helpless about the path ahead. But the one thing he didn’t feel was regret.’
’Even if he had to choose again, he would still kill those Vasquez People, still choose to move against Ales, still choose to sacrifice the Dawn Saint to resurrect Tina...’
And so, the choice to join the Eternal Life Association was a decision Wei’en had made after careful consideration.
But before that, there were some things he had to clarify—for example, the letter this Menor had sent to Ales, their relationship, and the Eternal Life Association’s attitude toward him.
"Menor, what’s his position in your Eternal Life Association? You seem very concerned about him."
Wei’en and Clelia crossed the main stage in the center of the theater, arriving backstage on the other side.
This was the private space Wei’en had partitioned off for a few people. It was mainly for him, Tina, and Clelia Sharapova—a continuation, of sorts, for the regular occupants of 44 Golden Street.
"Menor, hmm... He’s one of the twelve Elders of our Eternal Life Association. He has a certain degree of command over the other members."
Clelia led him to the door of the private space and reminded him, "Besides, he’s one of the more reasonable people in the Eternal Life Association. You don’t need to worry too much."
"Mm." Wei’en didn’t care what kind of personality Menor had. He had met some unique individuals during this time, and plenty who were difficult to deal with.
’No matter how difficult Menor is, could he be worse than Mr. Leonard?’
"However, our Eternal Life Association doesn’t have many members. Compared to the Abyssal Sect and the Despair Sect, with their numerous believers, there’s a significant gap. As of now, we’ve just reached two thousand members. You should be member number two thousand and one."
’Not many members?’
Wei’en gave her a thoughtful look but didn’t ask any questions.
He still remembered the contents of the Era Relics he had translated when he first joined the Secret Investigation Department—in the Third Era, the Dawn Church had captured three thousand members of the Eternal Life Association and sacrificed them using a Resurrection Coffin to revive an Archbishop.
’Three thousand members, killed just like that. That’s not a loss an ordinary organization could bear.’
’But maybe the Eternal Life Association was stronger back in the Third Era?’
’Hmm, I need to confirm this.’
Clelia continued explaining as they walked, "Most of us are scattered across the various continents. Our connections aren’t that close, and we don’t gather together most of the time."
"Unless an Elder issues a mission and summons some members to participate, we’re all busy with our own affairs the rest of the time."
Wei’en nodded. "Oh."
’A relatively loose organization, no mandatory missions for its members, and no necessary hurdles set up...’
"Then how do you gather all these people together?"
"I’ll tell you after you’ve officially joined." Clelia smiled without answering and pushed him directly into the room.
"Hm?"
Before he could ask anything else, he saw Clelia close the door from the outside.
"..."
Wei’en pursed his lips, thinking he’d settle the score with her later.
He scanned the room and saw that, just like the one on Golden Street, Clelia had decorated it in a girlish pink. Almost all the daily necessities and ornaments were pink.
"She really likes pink... It doesn’t match the style she showed before at all..."
"Oh? You think so too?"
Just then, a hoarse voice came from the side.
Wei’en turned to look, but no one was there. Only after covering the area with his Spirit perception did he find something. He walked straight to the dressing table and looked at the half-man-high mirror in front of him.
"Lord Menor?"
"It is I. You can also call me by my codename in the Eternal Life Association—Black Snake."
’Black Snake?’
’Sounds like a codename a Wizard would use.’
"Oh, Lord Black Snake."
Wei’en calmly looked at the figure in the mirror. His entire body was shrouded in a red robe, revealing no physical features aside from his face.
The face concealed beneath the red hood was indistinct, giving off a strangely disconnected feeling—as if they were not in the same dimension, separated by layers upon layers of space.
"Thousand Faces has already reported your situation to me. But even without her report, I am already aware of you and what you did in the Caster City State a few days ago."
Menor’s voice was unhurried and devoid of any emotion. It was utterly flat, yet it didn’t feel cold, as if he was completely indifferent to Wei’en joining.
Wei’en didn’t speak, quietly waiting for him to continue.
"After all, not just anyone can make that friend of mine flee in such a sorry state..."
At this point, a hint of emotion finally colored Menor’s voice, as if he were gloating.
’He’s admitting his friendship with Ales so directly and frankly?’ Wei’en, however, was a little surprised.
"Surprised?"
"A little."
"I personally don’t have much of an opinion on what Ales did. If he had succeeded, I would have been very happy to have a new, truly legendary-tier ally. Unfortunately, he failed... and from what I know of him, he won’t give up just like that."