147: Chapter 148 Unraveling the Mystery

Chapter 147: Unraveling the Mystery

Locke felt that this sleep was exceptionally restful and relaxing.

It wasn't until the plane landed and stopped outside Alexander's villa that he finally awoke from his dream.

"My Lord, we have arrived. However, while you were asleep, there was a massive disturbance in the direction we came from."

Seeing him open his eyes, Elfo hurriedly reported his earlier observations in a hushed, frightened tone.

"Hmm?" Locke was puzzled for a moment, then quickly pressed for details. "The direction of that isolated island we visited earlier?"

"Yes," Elfo nodded, his face pale with alarm, adding with lingering fear, "Just moments ago, seeing that scene over the sea, I almost thought the world was ending."

The end of the world?

That description was far from trivial.

The more Locke listened, the graver his expression became. In his mind, various questions began to surface, starting from when he received the cooperative mission from Time to the myriad doubts surrounding Alexander's death.

He couldn't help but feel there was an inexplicable, indistinct connection between these two events.

However, he wasn't certain yet, so he asked in a very serious tone, "Tell me exactly what you saw and heard just now. Leave out no detail, no matter how minor."

Seeing Locke's intense interest, Elfo swallowed hard and began to recount the scene he had witnessed from the plane earlier.

"Not long after you fell asleep, My Lord, a towering black pillar of light erupted from that island——"

"Go on," Locke said expressionlessly.

Elfo paused, his expression filled with panic. "That black pillar of light was enveloped by five enormous rings inscribed with mysterious runes. The oppressive aura emanating from them made me feel as if I were facing a deity."

Locke frowned slightly, pondering inwardly. A black pillar of light? Mysterious rings?

The more he heard, the more it sounded like some kind of mysterious ritual.

"And then?"

"Well——those five rings were immense, enveloping the entire small island. The waves they stirred up felt as if they would engulf the coastline."

Recalling various details, Elfo explained to Locke, "Not only that, My Lord. Do you know what the most terrifying thing was?"

"What was it?"

Infected by Elfo's tone, Locke focused his full attention on him, a sense of tension rising within him.

At this moment, Locke felt an illusion that he was on the verge of untangling the connections between all these events.

A look of dread on his face, Elfo swallowed several Times, took a few seconds to compose himself, and then said with grave seriousness, "The most terrifying thing is that after the black pillar of light vanished, that isolated island, covering nearly a thousand acres, disappeared along with it."

"It was as if it had never existed, vanishing from the sea surface without a trace."

As he spoke of this, his breathing noticeably became rough.

"Are you certain that island simply vanished?"

"My Lord, I can swear to the Goddess of the Night on this matter."

Elfo immediately raised his hand in oath.

"Alright, I understand. Keep this matter to yourselves. From now on, act as if you never saw it. Understood?"

"Yes, I will keep my mouth shut and not mention it to anyone."

"Me too."

Even the pilot turned around, a look of panic on his face, indicating he wouldn't speak of it either.

Seeing this, Locke nodded. His tightly furrowed brows relaxed, as he felt he might have unraveled all the lingering questions one by one.

Whether it was Alexander's death or the various actions previously taken by his teacher, Time.

He felt he had figured it all out.

Carrying the still-sleeping Selene, he disembarked from the plane and waved his hand dismissively at Elfo.

"Remember what I told you. Go back now."

Rumble, rumble.

Elfo promptly took off again with his helicopter.

After carefully placing the sleeping Serena and Little Seven into the back seat of the jaguar, Locke, with Little Seven whose head was still buried under its wings, quickly headed towards the villa.

Halfway there, he poked the still-playing-dead Little Seven and asked coldly, "Have you ever seen my teacher without his mask before?"

"Huh?" Poked by Locke, Little Seven dared not continue playing dead and stuck her head out again. However, faced with Locke's question, she seemed quite surprised.

"What do you mean 'huh'? I'm asking you a question. If you've seen it, say so. If not, say so."

Locke's tone held a hint of impatience, frightening Little Seven into both nodding and shaking her head simultaneously, as if her CPU had fried, unsure how to respond.

"What does that mean? Have you both seen it and not seen it?"

"Yes. No one knows what Time-sama truly looks like beneath his mask."

Locke looked at her with a displeased expression. "Then why were you nodding just now?"

"I meant that I've seen Time-sama remove his mask, but after he takes it off, his features are completely obscured by a thin black mist. It's impossible to see clearly."

Seeing this, Little Seven hurriedly flapped her wings to explain.

Seeing Little Seven's flustered expression, Locke felt she wasn't lying. So he changed his line of questioning. "Then do you know which Sequence on the Extraordinary Path my teacher currently occupies?"

"Ah! Master, you don't even know that?" Little Seven couldn't help but revert to her show-offy self, instinctively raising her head proudly.

By the Time she reacted and wanted to lower her head quickly, Locke's finger had already reached out, giving her forehead a light flick.

It wasn't very painful, but she instinctively covered her head with a pair of wings.

"Ouch!"

"Remember to speak to me properly," Locke said, looking at her expressionlessly.

Little Seven pouted and nodded hurriedly. "Little Seven remembers."

"Good. Then tell me, which Rank is my teacher currently at?"

The reason for asking this was mainly because Locke suspected the disturbance on the island earlier might have been caused by his teacher, Time, breaking through in his cultivation.

Whether it was the black pillar of light or the rings, they both seemed particularly like celestial phenomena caused by a high-Sequence powerhouse advancing.

"Well——"

This question made Little Seven's eyes dart around evasively. She began hemming and hawing.

"Well what? Can't you say?" Locke raised an eyebrow, turning to stare at her. "Have you forgotten? I am his student. Surely, as a student, I have the right to know my teacher's current Rank?"

"It's not that. It's just that if Time-sama hasn't told you, it means he doesn't want you to know."

Little Seven opened her mouth hesitantly. At this moment, she was no longer her previous mischievous, tsundere self but became unexpectedly cautious.

"Since Time-sama doesn't want you to know, then I cannot take it upon myself to tell you."

"Huh?" Locke pursed his lips. "If you don't tell me, I'll threaten to turn you into barbecue. Will you talk then?"

"No. Because if I say it, I will die immediately."

97

Although somewhat afraid, Little Seven answered the question with determined eyes.

Hearing this answer, Locke calmly nodded and didn't press further. Then, with a probing heart, he stepped into the villa where he had previously fought Marcus.

Sometimes, not having an answer was perhaps an answer in itself.

However, upon entering the villa, he discovered his guess was likely wrong.