The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1439 - 416: Mercy? You? Demon King? (Part 4)

He certainly didn't want to leave his dear apprentices with a panicked and embarrassed figure. The mask of Prince Colin was a dream he painstakingly wove for those young lads and girls.

Of course, that being said, Mr. Alberto's design was still quite perfect, far from the point of falling apart.

With some slight modifications, it should be promotable on the Gana Continent!

Not far away, the restless Taufu was curiously pressing her face against the porthole, excitedly gazing down at the continuous snow-capped mountains below.

This little fellow had clung tightly to the handrail when she first boarded the ship, stiff as a rock, but now she was completely relaxed.

As for Sarah, she stood as usual in the shadowy corner, eyes closed as if in a restful state, almost like she had entered "afk" mode.

Though she claimed to hate the glaring sunlight, Luo Yan always felt she might have a fear of heights.

Back in the Academic State, she didn't like staying near the windows.

Seeming to have had her fill of the scenery, Taufu suddenly withdrew her gaze and looked at Luo Yan, who was leisurely sipping tea, speaking in that consistently mischievous tone.

"Hey, you flew off without a sound, without even a farewell ceremony. Aren't you afraid of breaking the hearts of those who adore you, your little apprentices?"

Luo Yan looked at the endless sea of clouds outside the window, smiling as he replied, "Leaving without saying goodbye can sometimes be a kind of kindness."

He couldn't possibly let them know he had another home in the distant south.

And it's the Demon King's maze.

"Pfft, kindness? You? The Demon King?"

Taufu let out an odd laugh, speaking in a cheeky manner.

"I bet that blond girl named Ophelia doesn't think so. Right now, she's probably in her room, drawing circles to curse you while secretly wiping away tears."

Upon hearing this, an intriguing expression appeared on Luo Yan's face, and after a moment of pause, he said,

"If this makes her disappointed in the illusory mask of 'Prince Colin', allowing her to grow up faster... then that wouldn't be such a bad thing."

Taufu was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but retort, "Why does it feel like everything from your mouth turns into a good thing?"

Luo Yan smiled silently.

Congratulations, Taufu, you've finally discovered the secret to becoming a god.

Too bad it's too late.

"By the way, don't you feel any regret?"

Taufu said lazily.

"Regret for what? I ate heartily, enjoyed the show. You guys, the hairless monkeys, really know how to stir things up; such things would never happen in the Zeta Empire!"

Is that so?

Is it possible it's because you're merely a "Magic Apprentice" and a Preparatory Student at that, unable to even find the door to the Maze Trial?

Even if such a big event with such a detrimental influence occurred, only the three thousand apprentices of the Tower of Great Sage really went through this trial.

Apart from the Tower of Great Sage, the snow-covered plains are home to hundreds of Mage Towers, with twelve grand-style ones forming their own factions.

In the face of this massive base figure, such minor disturbances are negligible.

Luo Yan smiled faintly, not provoking Taufu, but said in a gentle tone,

"I'm not talking about life aspects, but the Void Realm. Do you remember the model of the airship we saw on the borders of the Academic State? The magicians of the Academic State seem to have gotten a hold of some Void Realm related to your homeland, but unfortunately, the ones I obtained aren't."

Taufu scratched her head.

"...Isn't that a good thing?"

Luo Yan chuckled.

"Seems like it is."

Missing the chance to mess with Taufu's homeland was a regret.

Always listening to the little rascal brag, he was quite curious what the legendary "Dragon God's" homeland was like.

At that moment, Taufu suddenly interjected.

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"If the Academic State's magicians… accelerated the world behind the Void Realm, does that mean the time difference between the two worlds has completely changed?"

Seemingly finding her expression a bit abstract, Taufu pondered and rephrased her question.

"I mean... if they keep pressing the fast-forward button, will there suddenly be a day when the Zeta Empire goes 'pop' and disappears?"

This gave her a deep sense of defeat, as if the efforts of her earlier life were utterly meaningless.

From the very beginning, they were wall paintings carved onto stone slabs. Their past and future were destined from the moment the universe was born.

As if all things yet to happen have already occurred.

Luo Yan pondered for a moment, gazing into those eyes filled with bewilderment, and replied,

"It sounds like two questions. First, the time when two worlds meet isn't infinite; we can't always see the ending on the other side of the Void Realm. We casually glimpse a side of you in another universe only when our Spiritual frequencies happen to align."

Taufu couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Spiritual frequency similar to you? You guys? Pfft, pfft..."

The laugh seemed a bit forced.

Luo Yan smiled gently, ignoring the noble superior civilization's ridicule and panic, continuing in a calm voice,

"For the second question, what we can manipulate is just the progress bar. The interference we can apply merely amplifies a part of the voice within your hearts, and cannot directly determine your future and past."

"If I were to speculate further, the time and space observed by the Academic State is probably a parallel universe A after you're gone. If you return, you'd naturally enter a 'with you present' universe B."

"As for the specific branch point in time, it depends on whether you really go back, and when you do. And this timeline is probably unobservable to us; discussions beyond the horizon have no meaning."

After a pause, he continued,

"Though, like this, do you even need to go back?"

Taufu was stunned.

She lowered her head in silence for a long time before finally muttering,

"I never said I wanted to go back... I was just asking."

Luo Yan nodded happily, no longer pursuing the topic that weighed heavily on the heart of a certain little dragoness.

Actually, there was a third question he heard implied but did not address.

The unspoken concern in Taufu's mind is the truth of this universe, or at least the truth of the universe beneath their feet—that time doesn't actually exist.

The Solipsi people infinitely close to the endpoint had already given him the answer.

However, even so, life remains real, and authentically belongs to oneself.

And the present feelings are equally so.

Since no longer divine, then just enjoy being a mortal, or perhaps a mortal dragon.

For the great majority of souls, living in the present is the most important and meaningful thing.

In the cabin, silence returned, leaving only the gentle breeze of the airship traveling through the clouds as it flew from the harsh north towards the warm south.

After a long while, Sarah, who had been silent, suddenly lifted her stiff neck and curiously asked,

"Are we flying directly to the Campbell Duchy like this?"

"Of course not."

Luo Yan smiled, gracefully setting down his teacup, and uttered words that caused both Taufu and Sarah's complexions to change dramatically,

"This is, after all, Mr. Alberto's first truly meaningful airship; technically, it's just an experimental piece."

"I hardly expected this contraption to carry us all the way to the Campbell Duchy."