Fantasy Writers 1860

Chapter 110 "Don Quixote" (A long chapter of 5000 words, I'm taking a 3-day break, and I'll be back on June 1st)

The battle between the Cavendish family and the Blue Blood gang leaders had reached a fever pitch, with dust filling the air.

"This place might collapse." Roderick activated the Book of Styx's Shield again, creating a barrier that deflected many of the falling rocks from above.

"Useless! You can't even handle this little problem!" A sharp, angry shout rang out from behind.

A black-haired girl wearing a dark cloak and an exquisite Lolita dress slowly walked out. Her long legs, covered in black stockings, suddenly rose and kicked the veiled man who had just been beaten and was kneeling on the ground, knocking him over.

The girl glanced down at the veiled man lying on the ground, her eyes full of disdain.

"Master!" Although the veiled man had just been kicked over, he wasn't angry at all. Instead, he even had a hint of flattery, as if he had been waiting for his savior.

"You're scared like this by just a few lackeys from the Academy of Literature and Art? What use are you to the Order?" The girl was short, but her tone was arrogant.

"No, not only that, that woman is also a demi-human, a werewolf!" the veiled man shouted at the gothic girl.

Upon hearing this, the girl sized Lily up and down, her gaze lingering on Lily's golden eyes for a moment before a mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips. "That's it? That's it? A werewolf? The Academy of Literature and Strategy is really desperate these days—well, it's been a long time since I've torn apart such a beast."

Another terrifying roar came from not far away, and most of the magic crystal lamps overhead finally went out, leaving only a few still flickering on.

The supporting structure of the entire underground space is collapsing. What fell just now were only scattered fragments of stone, but now large slabs of stone are falling, crashing onto the ground with dull thuds.

At that moment, everyone realized that the place was about to collapse.

"Retreat, to the ground!" Lily made a decisive move, ignoring the opponent's provocation, and turned to rush towards the nearest breach.

Polina and Roderick followed almost without hesitation, one pulling Dorian up while the other maintained the barrier to stop the falling rocks.

The Cavendish family's book collectors fought and retreated, while the Blue Blood Gang and other bigwigs also used their unique abilities to escape in a race against time.

When they finally broke through the ground amidst billowing dust and returned to the surface of Lentinion, a deafening roar followed, and the ground beneath their feet began to collapse in large areas, creating a bottomless crater.

Before Lily, the first to climb out of the hole, could even catch her breath, the ground behind her collapsed completely. Dorian and Roderick tumbled out almost simultaneously, and Polina was the last to leap up. The moment she landed, the hole and passage behind her collapsed and disintegrated amidst a cloud of dust.

Moonlight filtered through the smoke and dust, falling on the old factory buildings that had been reduced to ruins. The evening breeze, carrying a slight chill, also carried the smell of burning.

The gothic girl, whom the veiled man had just referred to as the cult leader, slowly walked out from the other side of the ruins and stood at the edge of the collapsed area, her dark cloak fluttering in the evening wind.

She brushed the dust off her shoulders, looking relaxed and carefree, as if she had just finished an ordinary outing.

"Not bad, they all managed to escape. They seem to be a bit stronger than I thought." Her face clearly held a smile, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

"You're the leader of the Immaculate Dawn Order? What exactly do you want?" Roderick tried to extract more information through conversation while slowing down the pace of the battle.

The gothic girl neither admitted nor denied it, but simply ignored it and lunged straight at Roderick, who had asked the question.

Then he tripped over the rubble on the ground in a spectacular fashion.

Gothic girl: ?

What happened? Why did I suddenly trip over?

This is naturally the power of the "warm winter" in the fantasy manuscript "Police and Hymns".

Malicious motives directed at the holder will be deflected as harmless jokes or misunderstandings, while motives for healing, defense, or good will be suppressed or prohibited.

From the moment he possessed this illusory manuscript when facing the scarred man on the street, Dorian never ended his possession state.

Furthermore, through this period of practical experience, he gradually mastered some previously unknowable tricks for controlling the illusory book. Now he can extend the concept of "holder" to several people around him.

If it's not closed, it's open!

"A phantom book?" The gothic girl narrowed her eyes and tentatively flicked her finger, sending three dark blue magic missiles flying towards Polina.

However, when the missile was not far from Polina's body, it suddenly transformed into three fireworks that exploded in the air, blooming and dissipating lightly.

"Huh?" She was taken aback at first, then released a wide-range energy shock.

Still ineffective; all attacks were transformed into comical and harmless forms.

"Interesting, what kind of magical book is this? I have absolutely no recollection of it?"

"Want to know? I can tell you. Just tell me, what exactly are you doing here as the leader of the Immaculate Dawn Order?" Polina said.

"I feel sorry for your foolishness." The gothic girl first mocked with disdain, "We have never hidden our purpose, which is to purify all the filth in the world and lead all living beings to heaven."

Lily lunged directly at the gothic girl, her claws tearing through the air with a fierce attack. "I guess the 'all living beings' you're talking about don't include demi-humans."

"To be precise, it excludes everyone outside of the Immaculate Dawn Order." The gothic girl revealed a dangerous smile, making no attempt to hide it.

She easily evaded Lily's claws and Polina's binding spells. Her long, black gothic dress billowed in the night, and moonlight occasionally shone on the gemstones adorning the hem, refracting a strange brilliance, making her look like a beautiful raven.

She moved erratically among the factory ruins, launching several tentative attacks along the way. But just like at the beginning, no matter what form the attack took, it would always be deflected by some twist of fate, or turn into fireworks and ribbons—things full of festive romance.

"As expected, your so-called divine magic is just a packaging of the power of the illusion books! You've used those smuggled illusion books to perform divine magic, haven't you!" After another round of futile offense and defense, Lily shouted at the gothic girl who was standing on a half-collapsed cooling tower.

Contrary to Lily's expectations, the other party did not break down, but instead said mysteriously, "Don't you know this very well? Mayfair Theater, have you detected any signs of the power of the Illusionary Book? Have you detected any signs of magic?"

"If this isn't divine magic, what else could it be? Are you saying you've discovered a completely new power that constitutes the world? My dear sister, your imagination is truly boundless—" The girl's black cloak fluttered in the evening breeze, appearing to those on the ground like a waving flag. "Alright, I've answered one of your questions, now you have to answer one of mine—"

The gothic girl standing on the cooling tower leaped down, using the momentum of her fall to plummet towards Lily's location at an extremely fast speed.

She brushed Lily's cheek and whispered in her ear, "The Book of Werewolves is useless to you. You are a werewolf, aren't you?"

Lily's pupils suddenly dilated.

Although using the Book of Werewolves makes no difference to her, as the saying goes, if you're going to put on an act, you have to go all the way. Some people can sense the traces left by the Book of Werewolves. If she shows her werewolf form without using the Book of Werewolves, she might be discovered.

Using the "Werewolf Book" to reveal one's werewolf form would be interpreted by everyone as an effect of the "Werewolf Book." No one would expect a werewolf to do something as pointless as using the "Werewolf Book."

"It seems you're not too willing to answer my question, sister—it's okay, your expression has already told me the answer, kukuku—" The gothic girl brushed past Lily's ear without making any further aggressive moves, instead jumping away and letting out that strange laugh.

"Damn it! Sister, is that something you can call me? Only I can call you that!" Polina's fighting spirit was inexplicably reignited, and she directly unleashed several binding spells at the gothic girl. The fine magical ropes, carrying the silver light of the incantation, wrapped around the girl's ankles.

The gothic girl had barely steadied herself when she was tightly bound by ropes. But before anyone could approach, she scoffed, unleashing her magic to break free. With a twirl of her skirt, she retreated towards the collapsed pit. "I already know the secret of the Phantom Book you rely on. Let me guess, can it nullify attacks intended to kill?" She fixed her gaze on Dorian. "Don't you think so, sir, author of the Phantom Book?"

Now it was Dorian's turn to be shocked.

So, I've been placed under close surveillance by the cult?

She licked her lips, a greedy smile spreading across her face. "Have you ever considered joining us? It's a bit late now, but there's still a new world out there—ah!"

She strode toward Dorian, but after only two steps, she suddenly twisted her ankle and stumbled half a meter away, crashing hard into a half-collapsed concrete block.

The gothic girl rubbed her reddened forehead. "Fine, fine, I'll break your annoying illusion book ability first!"

She stood up, and a book with a leather-bound cover began to appear between her hands. The cover bore a name Dorian recognized: "Don Quixote!"

The gothic girl opened the book in her hands and began to read aloud: "—As he spoke, he rode off on his mount. Sancho shouted: 'Those are windmills, not giants!'"

He ignored it completely, convinced it was a giant. He neither heard Sancho's shouts nor could he see what it was as he ran closer. He just kept charging forward, yelling, "You cowardly bastards! Don't run! The one who's coming to fight you is just a lone knight!"

"At that moment, a slight breeze arose, causing those enormous wings to turn. Don Quixote, seeing this, said: 'Even if you have more arms to wave than the giant Briario, I will still fight you to the death!'"

As she read aloud, a solemn aura emanated from the book, transforming into a tangible wind that surrounded her, gradually forming a layer of white, transparent armor and a spear. Her eyes also became increasingly hazy, as if she were seeing illusory windmills and giants.

She raised the transparent spear in her hand and charged towards Dorian.

This is the possession synchronization ability of the fantasy book "Don Quixote" [The Last Knight].

It can transform the holder into a knight and grant them the power of a knight through possession, especially providing a targeted special attack effect on the fantasy book that is an enhancement of knight novels.

After the birth of Don Quixote, the chivalric romance novel, which had been popular for hundreds of years, almost disappeared, and the entire genre vanished into the long river of history.

This is Don Quixote, the last knight, the knightly novel that brings an end to all chivalric romances.

However, it distorts the user's subjective perception, causing them to see everything in front of them as "windmills to be challenged or inhuman monsters, obstacles that must be overcome on the path to knightly honor." As the possession time increases, they lose their rationality to some extent and fall into a fanatical knightly fantasy.

Normally, this would be the price to pay. But in the current situation, her choice to use this illusionary book cleverly transformed it into the key to breaking the deadlock.

Because the ability of "Police and Hymns" is based on the "malicious motives" of the holder, but with the blessing of "Don Quixote", her motive becomes "noble knightly trial" instead of "malice", which just bypasses the judgment mechanism of "Police and Hymns".

The spear came hurtling towards him like a meteor, but Dorian, relying on the agility and reflexes granted by the "Secret Long Poem," quickly grabbed a steel pipe to block it in front of him.

Sparks flew everywhere, and he was jolted back a few steps, his arms going numb.

The protective force on his body suddenly disappeared.

At this point, Dorian still didn't know what the mechanism of the illusionary book "Don Quixote" was; he only knew that the three-dimensional defense provided by his "Police and Hymns" had become ineffective in the face of it.

Indeed, there is no such thing as an invincible ability in the world. No matter how outrageous the mechanism seems, there is always a way to counter it.

"Judgment Day is approaching. If you join us now, you'll still have a chance to enter the new world together." A girl wearing a transparent armor over her gothic dress pointed a transparent spear at Dorian. "The phantom book you created will be very useful for the Order's governance after it rules the world."

World domination? Governance?

It seems that the Order of the Immaculate Dawn never mentioned such a claim in any of its previous propaganda.

"How do you plan to rule the world?" Dorian also intended to try his verbal tactics.

"Once you join us, the High Priest will personally explain it to you and demonstrate that wondrous divine magic—" the gothic girl said with a smile.

"What if I refuse?"

"Then it's a pity you can't come with us to the New World, and—" Before the gothic girl could finish speaking, Polina's figure flashed, and an ice blade wrapped in cold air stabbed straight at her back. Roderick also manifested the newly created magic book "The Million Pound Stamp" in an attempt to win by surprise. The two of them blocked all her space to dodge.

Unfortunately, the ice blade failed to pierce the gothic girl's outer layer of transparent armor constructed from Don Quixote. She used her spear to push off the ground, using the recoil to leap into the air, twisting her body in mid-air, and shouted at Dorian: "—And you and your friends will all be buried here today, and all the phantom books you have written will become my spoils."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lily pounced from the side, her claws aimed straight for her waist, which was not covered by armor. However, she turned around and stabbed her hard in the shoulder with the barrel of her gun, knocking her several steps away.

As for Roderick, perhaps because his understanding of this illusionary book was not deep enough, the effect he achieved was barely noticeable.

The gothic girl sensed the faint influence and laughed even more disdainfully. "Trash, really trash. Can't even use a magic book properly. Has the Academy of Literature fallen so low that it even needs this kind of trash?"

"Looks like we're going to exceed expectations for today's mission. Not only have we dealt with a lot of overconfident people who wanted to investigate the cult, but we've also acquired some brand-new fantasy books. Kukuku—" The gothic girl laughed.

At this moment, Lily pondered for a moment, then turned her gaze to Dorian: "Give me the Necklace!"

Necklace?

This illusionary manuscript's ability is the "Night Ball Necklace," which summons a diamond necklace through the recitation of a mantra. When someone is attracted to the necklace and wears it, the wearer will receive a significant boost to all aspects of their abilities, including strength, speed, and magic.

However, when the "ball time" ends, the necklace will instantly turn into dust, at which point the illusion will draw on the wearer's life force to repay that "debt".

This "ball time" was tested by Dorian in the underground training ground before, and it lasted for about 1 minute and 30 seconds. The extent to which the "life force of the wearer is extracted" basically depends on how much of the buff power brought by the "necklace" is used during this 1 minute and 30 seconds of "ball time".

For example, if you use your enhanced power intensively during this period, the draw phase after the "Balcony Time" will also be intensive. Conversely, if you just sit and do nothing during that time, almost nothing will happen in the final draw phase.

Overall, it's actually a skill that's not worth the effort.

The attribute boost it provides only lasts for about 1 minute and 30 seconds, after which it drains your life force. If you don't want to sacrifice your life to keep the buff active, you have to carefully control your damage output. But in the end, the actual effect probably won't seem to be much of a boost.

Originally, Dorian had planned to give the "necklace" to the enemy as soon as he arrived, but if he did that, the enemy would have a buff period of about 1 minute and 30 seconds. If he couldn't withstand it, wouldn't he be giving the enemy a buff and killing himself?

If you can withstand the enhanced enemy for 1 minute and 30 seconds, it means the enemy isn't that strong. If they can't beat you even after being enhanced, wouldn't they be even weaker before being enhanced? Why not just fight them directly instead of going through all this trouble?

In short, it was a bit awkward.

But why would Lily suggest using this somewhat awkwardly positioned draft at this time?

Through the dust kicked up by the battle, Dorian saw Lily's golden eyes. Combining this with some information revealed by the gothic girl, he suddenly seemed to understand Lily's intention in a glance.

"—Suddenly she found a very beautiful diamond necklace in a black satin box; an overwhelming desire made her heart pound." Dorian began reciting the passage from the manuscript, "Her hands trembled as she took it. She put it around her neck, outside her clothes, and gazed at herself in the mirror, mesmerized. Then, with great anxiety and hesitation, she asked:"

"Could you lend me this? I only need to borrow this one thing—"

A diamond necklace formed from light and shadow appeared in Dorian's hand.