**664th Formal Attire**
Inside the Palace of the Goddess, in the performance hall, on the stage adorned with a seven-petal lotus, Sanderlina’s performance continued. She wore a rather daring outfit, dancing in a highly suggestive and seductive manner, captivating almost everyone in the audience. Every spectator in the hall had their eyes glued to Sanderlina, even when she suddenly threw her staff aside, shattering it.
‘This… is the desire that precisely pre-read and controlled one of my actions! Can the ability of the Path of Desire at the White Chalk level be used this way? Haha… Adele, as expected of someone who has made the Wolf bl**d Association stumble several times in Tivyán. As a senior… her use of abilities is much more proficient than mine.’
After her staff was controlled and shattered, Sanderlina thought to herself. Despite losing her staff, she did not stop her dance. She immediately pulled back some of her scattered power used to control others, applying it to suppress her own desires to avoid being controlled by Adele again. It seemed her abilities were unaffected by the loss of her staff.
‘Not bad tactics, but even so, it’s just making me lose a toy. That thing was merely bait…’
Continuing to think, Sanderlina began to exert her strength on stage, using her gradually enhancing power of desire control to influence the surrounding audience. Losing her staff did not diminish her ability from the Path of Desire; this was completely different from what Adele had anticipated.
“What… that staff… isn’t an extraordinary item! That woman’s ability has not been interrupted; her power does not come from that staff!” Seeing the scene before her, Adele couldn’t help but think in surprise, while Doro, who was also observing, responded solemnly.
“It seems that staff was just a tool to evoke thoughts of her teacher, triggering m*rder intent. Her abilities must come from either another extraordinary item hidden on her or directly from herself…”
“Directly from herself? So, the Amniotic Sac has mastered the Path of Desire?” Hearing Doro’s words, Adele said somewhat angrily, while Doro pondered in response.
“Your teacher was captured and tortured by the Wolf bl**d Association for a long time, during which she confessed a wealth of information about the Path of Desire. Coupled with the information obtained from the deep dissection of her, and Amniotic Sac’s long-term research on the Path of Desire, along with some flesh-and-bl**d black tech that Amniotic Sac possesses, they may have already completed a certain degree of replication of the Path of Desire’s inheritance.
“And this may also be why Amniotic Sac could easily grant extraordinary items made from your teacher’s brain to members of the White Chalk tier; because by then, they had already mastered the ability to recreate the Path of Desire’s inheritance, and your teacher was no longer of much use to them.”
“Teacher…” Listening to Doro’s response, Adele couldn’t help but silently clench her teeth. Although Dalena had passed on part of her spirit and inheritance to her, that memory did not include the torture and research records post-capture, mainly because that part of her memory was far too brutal and painful, causing unparalleled mental trauma. Directly giving it to Adele would be harmful, so she remained unaware of Dalena’s later experiences in the hands of Amniotic Sac.
“Those guys… have finally begun to truly desecrate the Path of Desire… to breach the protection laid by the Flower Mistress over the path?” Adele muttered incredulously in her heart. Doro, hearing her words, curiously asked.
“The Flower Mistress’s protection over the path… does that deity of love and dance still have lingering influence over the Path of Desire?”
“This matter… cannot be clarified quickly. The urgent priority now is to deal with that woman on stage. Regardless of whether she has truly inherited the Path of Desire or not, she must d*e!”
With this in mind, Adele once again leveraged Doro’s computational power to begin calculating Sanderlina’s movements on stage, hoping to control a certain action to make her trip and halt her dance. Sanderlina had already taken precautions against this, having allocated strength to suppress her desires. While this would slow her dance speed, it effectively hindered Adele’s ability, preventing her from acting swiftly, giving Sanderlina time to react. Once Sanderlina sensed that her desire to execute a certain action was being strengthened, all she needed was to adapt her movements accordingly.
As a result, Adele’s attempts to interfere with Sanderlina’s desires were temporarily thwarted. Unable to influence Sanderlina any further, Adele quickly discovered that she could barely contain her. If Adele could not suppress Sanderlina and allow her abilities to take full effect, then Sanderlina would completely control the m*rder intent in Adele and among those within the Bourbon remnants who harbor hatred towards Sander, leading to complete chaos.
“No! That woman’s power is continually growing! I’m about to be unable to suppress her! That stage… it has the ability to enhance the Desire Dancer’s powers. As long as she remains dancing on that stage, I cannot win against her!”
With a grave expression, Adele thought this to Doro, who had been observing the scene. Doro quickly responded.
“So that’s the function of this stage? Now I understand; hold on a little longer, Adele. I already have a plan. Just a bit more time, and I’ll bring something to turn the situation around.”
“Is that so? Then please hurry, little detective…” Adele, gripping the railing, beads of sweat on her forehead, said. She could only place her hope on Doro now.
……
As the invisible struggle continued on stage, on the main guest platform, Sander began to detect something unusual. Originally watching the dance below, he furrowed his brows when he saw Sanderlina unexpectedly throw her staff aside.
In the instant she made that throwing motion, Sanderlina failed to control her strength, causing her staff to smash violently against the pillar, damaging it severely. Not only did the glass orb at the end of the staff shatter, but the entire staff also bent dramatically due to the violent impact. A normal person could not cause such extensive damage to an object like the staff, indicating that Sanderlina possessed extraordinary strength.
There’s a problem with the dancer on that stage!
Realizing this, confusion began to take root in Sander. Based on his abilities, unless it was a powerful “Shadow” extraordinary being, it was impossible to hide from him. The likelihood that this dancer possessed the “Cup” extraordinary powers was higher, enabling her to shield herself from detection. Could she have some powerful “Shadow” item?
Regardless, Sander had already recognized the peculiarities in the situation, and he could no longer simply sit there enjoying the show. He needed to stop the performance and take the dancer down for a thorough investigation.
Just as Sander prepared to issue orders to the subordinate waiting beside him, intent on halting the show, he suddenly felt a pang of regret that such action might be a waste. Although this dancer presented an issue, she performed quite well. Perhaps he could wait until she finished dancing before checking her.
This thought startled Sander; he frowned, pressing his temples, realizing he was being subtly influenced by some extraordinary power. He attempted to divert his gaze from the stage but found that Sanderlina’s every movement had penetrated deep into his psyche, awakening his instincts as a male being, making him reluctant to look away.
‘This is bad…’
Realizing the situation, Sander’s heart surged with unease. Although he understood that this dance was harmful to him, it was difficult to escape its grip. It felt akin to being severely addicted to a powerful substance—knowledge of its danger could not diminish the need to indulge further.
‘No… I must find a way to…’
Struggling to detach from the allure of the dance and unable to issue the order to stop the performance, Sander considered using indirect methods to escape his current predicament. He steeled himself and activated his powers, softly whispering.
“In the name of the Fourth Councilor of the Faraluo Republic, I… Legoff Sander… by the authority granted by Article 12 of the Constitution, according to the precedent set by the 1247 Art Ban, hereby issue a temporary regulation: in the Palace of the Goddess… all artistic actions are prohibited… execute immediately!”
Stumbling over his words, Sander summoned all his mental strength to formulate the decree. During this time, he continuously assured himself that he was not stopping Sanderlina’s dance but rather banning art, attempting to alleviate the influence of desire through this self-deceptive reasoning.
Exhausting himself, Sander finally managed to issue his decree, but to his shock, after enacting the temporary regulation, there was no response. Sanderlina continued to dance freely on stage, seemingly unaffected. Sander couldn’t help but widen his eyes, his expression filled with astonishment.
‘This is…’
……
While the scene in the Palace of the Goddess continued in an atmosphere of “song and dance,” outside, amidst a dense thicket of trees, a figure shrouded in a black cloak stood, observing the distant Palace of the Goddess through the foliage. From beneath the cloak, deep, rumbling whispers emerged.
“In the name of the Second Councilor of the Faraluo Republic, I, Bastian Shevali, invoke the power granted by Article 15 of the Faraluo Constitution to initiate a solitary impeachment against the Fourth Councilor, Legoff Sander. During the impeachment period… temporarily suspend the powers of both councilors…”
Murmuring, the cloaked councilor summoned most of his strength to launch a powerful suppression against the other councilor in the Palace of the Goddess, nearly nullifying all his powers, making him merely a common struggling vessel adrift in the torrent of desire surging within the Palace.
……
Inside the performance hall of the Palace of the Goddess, Sanderlina continued dancing atop the seven-petal lotus stage. With the influence of the stage, her powers grew as time passed along with her dance. Her enticing movements and smile captivated almost everyone present, tightly controlling the desires within their hearts. Sanderlina gripped these desires, ready to mold them as she pleased.
Including Sander, the people in the performance hall had become fully entranced by Sanderlina’s dance, unable to move an inch. Sanderlina controlled the deep-seated m*rder intent harbored by the Bourbon remnants against Sander, causing it to grow increasingly frenzied, prompting them to directly k*ll Sander. Had it not been for Adele’s suppression, they would have lost control long ago.
However… Adele’s suppression could no longer hold out. With Sanderlina’s powers continuously increasing, Adele found it increasingly difficult to repress not only her own desires but those of the other Bourbon remnants. If it weren’t for the previous action that controlled Sanderlina and made her allocate more power to defense, suppressing her desires and slowing down her dance speed, Adele would have been unable to contain the Bourbon remnants’ cravings already.
‘Not yet… is it?’
Sweat dripped down her forehead in large beads, Adele thought to herself. Just as she found it increasingly hard to persevere, Doro’s voice rang in her ear again.
“It’s ready now. Adele, quickly go to the right hall of the performance hall. After putting on what I prepared for you, head to the ceremonial square. Leave the suppression work here to me for the time being…”
“Whew… understood…”
Listening to Doro’s words, Adele let out a long breath, then stepped back two paces, lifted her dress, and ran briskly away from the scene. Upon seeing this, Sanderlina thought inwardly.
‘Running away? Huh… do you think you can escape? Once Sander is dead and Shevali completely regains his councilor abilities, there’ll be no way for you to flee… this is the territory of Faraluo…’
Thinking like this, Sanderlina began to quicken her dance tempo, amplifying her control over the desires of the remaining Bourbon members present. Logically, after Adele left, those under the influence of desire should have attacked Sander directly. However, that was not what happened.
At that moment, the Bourbon remnants displayed signs of trembling, dispersed throughout the area, they were staring fixedly at the main guest platform, wanting to do something but unable to move. Their bodies were controlled by a powerful will that did not belong to them, rendering them immovable.
This… was Doro’s intervention. Knowing that the mastermind would attempt to assassinate Sander and frame the Bourbon remnants at the Palace, she surely made elaborate preparations regarding these remnants. As Sander entered, Doro’s Zombie Puppets had already used the powerful approach offered by the Path of Desire to interact with the Bourbon remnants, leaving behind Puppet Marks on them through various methods.
Now, the Bourbon remnants were connected through Doro’s Spiritual Threads. Doro countered Sanderlina’s control over their desires with her own power, locking them in place for the time being.
Doro did not choose to directly attack Sanderlina with her Zombie Puppets because doing so could provoke the suppressed m*rder intent within all of those affected, which would be triggered by a stimulated sense of hostility toward an attacker, making it easy for Sanderlina to take control.
Neither did Doro directly incapacitate the Bourbon remnants, which could lead Sanderlina to risk abandoning the original plan, controlling unrelated guests instead, attempting to stimulate their murderous intent to transfer it to Sander. Moreover, Doro had not placed Spiritual Threads on most of the other guests. Given the proximity to the capital of Faraluo, she could not use the Red Tier skill of materializing Spiritual Threads to rapidly puppet humans in bulk. Thus, the best strategy for her was to entice Sanderlina to compete with her for control over the remnants, drawing out her time, which Sanderlina indeed chose to pursue.
‘That Adele… does she have accomplices on-site? Or is someone competing with me for control over these remnants… Seems she came prepared as well…
‘However… as long as this temple’s stage exists, my powers are unstoppable. No matter what control exists, I will prevail…’
Sanderlina thought to herself. She could sense that the power competing for control of the Bourbon remnants, while strong, was not insurmountable. Just wait a little longer, and as her strength further increased, she could amplify those remnants’ desires to the point of breaking through any restraints. Immense desires could grant these individuals an impulse beyond mere mortals.
Yet what Sanderlina did not know was that this feeling of hope she experienced, that she could ultimately overpower the challenger, was purposefully conveyed to her by Doro during their power struggle, to prevent Sanderlina from panicking and using her influence on the other guests. As a Red Tier extraordinary being, Doro’s Spiritual Thread control could not be easily defeated by Sanderlina’s reliance solely on a stage’s advantages.
……
While the invisible tug-of-war continued in the performance hall, outside in the ceremonial square, countless lesser nobles who were not important enough to enter the hall gathered. They chatted openly outdoors or peered through the open doors to observe the happenings inside, mostly unaware of the tense atmosphere unfolding within the performance hall.
Just then, while the secondary banquet in the ceremonial square was proceeding as usual, a sudden exclamation rang out among the guests. The crowd turned toward the source of the shout and found people gathering, restlessly murmuring. A curious attendee raised their cup and made their way through the crowd. After squeezing past several people, they finally saw what the fuss was about.
In the center of the gathering was a lavishly dressed woman striding forward. The cloud-patterned satin draped on her shimmered with golden threads. The high-waisted gown was adorned with countless gems and pearls, accentuating her proud figure. Underneath delicate white stockings that encased her long legs were crystal high heels. Various extravagant accessories decorated her neck and arms.
A golden half-mask covered part of her beautiful face, while her flowing golden hair was adorned with numerous gem-studded hairpieces and bright flowers on her head, making her appearance exceptionally splendid and beautiful.
Such opulent attire was easily recognized by many present. It was a significant exhibit showcased in the Palace of the Goddess, the performance costume worn by King Charles during his banquets! The costume he donned while portraying the Forest Dancer!
The image of the Forest Dancer typically appears in traditional literature and art with a simple and elegant facade, but under Charles’ creation, it was entirely different. He imbued the Forest Dancer with a glamorous and extravagant character—one of the utmost nobility, completely contrary to tradition. This outfit was a product of his interpretation of the Forest Dancer’s image.
Why had a relic from the Palace of the Goddess been worn out here? And so fittingly? Surely it was a new performance for this year’s audience!
Such questions arose in the hearts of many around, while the lavishly dressed figure paid no mind to the enamored gazes of those around her, striding directly ahead, effortlessly parting the crowd blocking her way.
Ultimately, the lavishly dressed woman stopped before the large, grand fountain in the Decorative Dome Hall. She lifted her head to gaze at the exquisite statues and the beautiful fountain before her, pausing to stand.
Suddenly at that moment, the fountain began to move, and the spouts of the jets began to shift direction. In a meticulously planned transition, the previously upward-spraying water streams gradually transformed into parallel, intertwining patterns. As the fountain morphed, these water columns began to intersect and overlap, presenting a different form of artistry.
From above, the shooting water columns became strokes, gradually layered in parallel and intertwining, creating petals. These petals, formed by the fountain’s water, rotated inward, slowly molding a massive lotus blossom consisting of seven petals—a magnificent depiction of a seven-petal lotus blooming.
At the moment the seven-petal lotus blossomed atop the Dawn Fountain, the fountain itself underwent a transformation. With a rumbling sound, the sculptures relocated to the surroundings, revealing a large circular platform that gradually rose, exposing the water surface and presenting it to the crowd, as if waiting for someone to ascend.
“This is… the second stage hidden within the palace of King Charles? Simply beautiful…”
Gazing at the water lotus stage ahead, the lavishly dressed Adele couldn’t help but exclaim. In that moment, she felt grateful to have such an ancestor; at least she cherished this aesthetic and romantic sentiment.
