MIGHT AS WELL BE OP
Chapter 487 - 487: Mad scientist-2

As the discussion progressed, the Grand Marshal Phoenix spoke.

"I believe we have overlooked something"

He intoned carefully.

A sudden chill swept through the space at his words. Minds raced, grasping for what crucial detail might have slipped past their attention.

The soldiers had been rescued.

The members of the Logistics Department were accounted for.

The Supreme Monarch was engaged in a fierce battle against a Demon Monarch.

But, what vital element could they possibly be neglecting?

"What exactly are we overlooking?" one of the Warlords finally asked as his mind struggled to grasp the elusive detail.

The Grand Marshal Phoenix turned his gaze to Anthony, a calm smile playing on his lips as he responded..

"How did he manage to infiltrate the military's secret realm without knowing how to open its gate? Unless someone revealed the method to him, and to my knowledge, there is only a single entrance"

His words seemed to freeze the room in stunned silence.

Indeed, they had all been blinded by the relief of seeing the Logistics Department members alive and unharmed, overlooking such minor detail.

The knowledge of how to access the secret realm was confined strictly to the Supreme Monarch, the three Warlords, and the Seven Grand Marshals.

Yet somehow, Anthony had managed to breach its defenses.

All eyes now turned toward him, seeking answers.

Anthony exhaled a quiet, mental sigh beneath their piercing gazes.

'Perhaps I should start charging them for saving their lives, to spare myself from such tedious questions next time'

He mused inwardly, with a composed smile, he responded calmly.

"The Mirror Dimension exists beyond the outer layer of our reality, yet it can be superimposed upon it at my will. By overlapping these two planes, I am able to circumvent restrictions, barriers, hidden chambers, even secret realms"

None among them were fools; they grasped the full meaning of his words immediately.

"So you overlapped the Mirror Dimension with the secret realm, and by traversing the Mirror Dimension, you bypassed conventional space to enter the secret realm"

Kaelrix inquired, clearly intrigued by the concept.

"Precisely, sir"

Anthony replied with measured respect, mindful that he was still addressing a Warlord of higher rank.

"Is there any way you could leave me here for about a month so I can study it?"

Zhyravel asked, his mind already racing through possibilities.

"Why must you study every person and thing you encounter?"

Grand Marshal Alaric retorted sharply, turning his gaze toward Zhyravel.

"You don't understand, Grand Marshal Alaric"

Zhyravel responded calmly, resting a hand thoughtfully on his jaw as he contemplated various scenarios.

"If I can decipher this, I could develop a device or skill that grants us similar capabilities, bypassing countless barriers in ancient ruins and other restrictions. Even if it falls short of Lieutenant Anthony's Mirror Dimension, I'm sure you appreciate its immense value"

His words seemed to unlock thoughts deep within their minds, drawing each of them into contemplative silence.

'Truly cursed by knowledge'

They all thought simultaneously.

"Well, that aside, we have graver matters to address"

Therionis declared, his voice slicing through the reverie and grounding them back in the moment.

"The cause of the war, the genesis of it all"

Kaelrix added, his tone steady and deliberate.

"The Severed Crown of Echoes"

Therionis concluded with a note of finality.

At the mere mention of the name, expressions across the room shifted, some tightening with unease, others hardening with resolve.

All except Zhyravel, who remained unfazed, his mind seemingly absorbed by thoughts of his experiments.

They had all read about the Severed Crown of Echoes, well acquainted with its functions and the horrors it could wrought.

Therionis' gaze settled on the figure of Zhyravel, who appeared lost in contemplation.

Breaking the silence, he spoke with quiet intensity,

"Zhyravel, where is the Severed Crown of Echoes?"

Hearing his name, Zhyravel snapped out of his thoughts, his expression quickly shifting to one of genuine confusion.

"What do you mean, where is the Severed Crown of Echoes?"

He asked earnestly.

"We instructed the Grand Marshals to entrust the Crown to Colonel Vazeryth, with orders to deliver it to you, he was hiding within the secret realm"

Kaelrix explained in response to Zhyravel's query.

"I'm sorry, but I honestly have no idea what you're referring to. My favorite Dragon didn't give me anything. In fact, I haven't even seen him"

Zhyravel replied calmly, shaking his head.

A heavy silence settled over the room as all eyes fixed on the enigmatic figure of the mad scientist.

"Are you certain this isn't just another one of your fabrications, a ruse to secure time with the Severed Crown of Echoes?"

Zauren challenged, his bored gaze locking onto Zhyravel.

"I'm well aware that the mana contract I signed with the military forbids me from withholding information, or retaining the artifact"

Zhyravel replied with a nonchalant shrug.

His words struck a chord among them, recalling the unbreakable nature of the mana contract.

Any deception on Zhyravel's part would invite severe and unavoidable consequences.

"Then where is Colonel Vazeryth?"

Therionis demanded.

At his words, all heads instinctively turned toward where the colonels were assembled, yet Colonel Vazeryth was conspicuously absent.

A flood of troubling thoughts surged through their minds.

They were well aware that traitors lurked within the military ranks; after all, the portal that had manifested within the Aetherlock, and ignited the war, had not appeared without cause.

Could Colonel Vazeryth be one of those traitors?

Had they unwittingly entrusted the Severed Crown of Echoes to a betrayer?

As their minds swirled with suspicion and doubt, Anthony's voice cut through the tension.

"Colonel Vazeryth is dead"

A collective narrowing of eyes met his declaration.

"What do you mean, Lieutenant Anthony?" Kaelrix demanded.

Anthony sighed deeply and began his account from the beginning.

He recounted how the Colonel had been betrayed and slowly poisoned over the years by his own right-hand man, Corporal Daniel, a traitor colluding with the demons.

He explained how Corporal Daniel had seized the Severed Crown and that now it fell to Anthony to stop him, an event that had led him to a distant planet, where yet another Demon Monarch awaited.

Disbelief rippled through the group, Anthony had actually faced a Demon Monarch, and the Colonel's own right-hand man was a traitor.

The sheer fact that he still stood before them was astonishing; many would have perished merely by being in the presence of such a formidable foe.

"How did you escape? Through the Mirror Dimension?"

The Grand Marshal Dragon asked, swallowing hard at the thought of confronting a Demon Monarch.

"I did indeed escape using the Mirror Dimension, but my father arrived before I escaped"

Anthony replied calmly.

Their thoughts immediately turned to the Sword Saint. With the backing of a Supreme Monarch, survival, and victory, seemed far more attainable.

Suddenly, both Grand Marshal Dragon and Grand Marshal Titan felt a cold shiver run down their spines.

The Sword Saint had battled a Demon Monarch to save his son.

They shuddered at the thought of what might happen if Anthony were to tell the Sword Saint that he had been accused of betrayal.

In that moment, it felt as if their lifespans had been halved.

"What of the Crown?"

Zauren asked, his focus unbroken from the core issue.

"I destroyed it"

Anthony responded calmly.

"That was not your decision to make, Lieutenant Anthony"

Warlord Therionis interjected, the atmosphere suddenly thickening with tension.

"If I had not destroyed it, it would have fallen into the demon's hands at that moment"

Anthony replied firmly.

The Warlords fell silent, understanding the gravity of his reasoning and acknowledging that, given the circumstances, it had been the only viable choice.

But no one dared ask about the magnitude of the force required to annihilate such a potent artifact; everyone instinctively knew what Anthony's answer would be.

Anthony felt no remorse in concealing the truth about the Crown, why should he?

It was far safer in his possession than in anyone else's hands.

He was well aware that the military would undoubtedly exploit the Crown for their own agendas; after all, the military was far from a realm of purity and virtue.

Now, with neither the military nor the demons wielding it, a precarious balance was maintained, a perfect stalemate.

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