Chương 108: The True Face of Silent Shadow

On the other hand, after parting ways with Luo Bingli at the park exit, Lin Che did not go home immediately.

The many questions in his mind and the things he had just experienced made him need a quiet corner to sort out and process them alone.

He found a quiet bench away from the main road, took out the transformation device from his pocket, and stared at it, looking thoughtful.

Although its appearance was still full of cracks and its light was dim, the color of the transformation device underwent some subtle changes after he absorbed the "Origin of Illusion" belonging to Mirror Lord and transformed into "Silent Shadow".

At this moment, it seemed to be split in two by an invisible force. One side remained unchanged, while the other side strangely displayed a jet-black color that was no different from the armor of the Shadowless One.

"What does this mean?" Lin Che's eyes were full of doubt.

Does this change indicate that the magic power possessed by Starfrost and the illusory energy possessed by Shadowless are two completely equal powers at the same level, which is why such a distinct "mark" was left on his transformation device?

Or is this merely a temporary imbalance of power caused by damage to "Tears of the Star," and the transformation device will return to its original pure form once his magic core is fully repaired?

He had no clue about it.

However, there was one thing he was absolutely certain of—the immense void energy contained within that "void source" was now completely under his control, and the mark belonging to Mirror Lord had been completely erased.

Manipulating them was as natural to him as breathing, and there was no essential difference between it and the use of his own magic.

In fact, long ago, when he discovered that he could absorb the energy cores of the Void Beasts, he had a bold guess in his mind.

Since there exist people in this world with extremely affinity for magic who can sign contracts with spirits and become magical girls; There are also people like Jingjue, who are extremely compatible with virtual energy and can become virtual apostles through unknown means.

Is it possible that there exists a special kind of being that can simultaneously be compatible with these two completely opposite energies?

His ability to transform into Starfrost already proves his extraordinary affinity for magic, and his ability to absorb the energy cores of those ethereal beasts allows him to use the ethereal energy that should conflict with and annihilate magic.

This, to some extent, confirms the latter part of his bold guess.

It was with this understanding of his special physique that he chose to absorb Jingjue's "Origin of Emptiness" directly after realizing that it would expose his location.

From the very beginning, he was perfectly clear that without Starfrost's power fully restored, let alone dealing with a Void Apostle lurking in the shadows, he would probably find it extremely difficult to even confront the Corrosion-level Void Beast that served as a "trap."

If he had chosen to transform into Xingshuang to fight back then, it would have been an absolute dead end. At best, he might have been able to sacrifice himself and fight with all his might to give Liuli a chance to escape.

Therefore, absorbing Jingjue's "virtual source" was, in his view at the time, undoubtedly a seemingly risky but actually well-considered "optimal solution".

This allows one to escape the threat of being constantly pursued by the enemy, and also provides a large amount of virtual energy replenishment in a short period of time, thus giving one the ability to contend with powerful adversaries.

While Jingjue's "Void Source" may indeed be of a higher rank than the energy cores of ordinary Void Beasts, its essence should be the same—high-purity Void Realm energy that he can utilize.

As for why he gained a transformation ability similar to that of a Void Apostle, he didn't know the specific reason, but he had a vague feeling about it before he did it.

The appearance of the heavily armored knight and the codename "Silent Shadow" naturally appeared in his mind the moment he absorbed the power, as if he "believed" that he should be like this. It was precisely because he possessed this unexpected yet seemingly "natural" new form and power that he was able to naturally impersonate Mirror Lord's "kindred spirit" in the subsequent confrontation.

Although the "Silent Shadow" form clearly possesses immense power, enough to rival the Mirror Lord who has appeared, he cannot be certain whether the Mirror Lord is the true original, or just a manufactured mirror image, or whether he has hidden trump cards.

After all, having learned his lesson once, he would never again underestimate the cunning of that enemy.

At the same time, his control over the power of "Silent Shadow" is not perfect, and the use of many abilities is still in the stage of instinct and exploration.

The most important reason was that Liuli was still fighting against the Void Beasts at the time, and he had to conserve enough power to support her and ensure her safety.

Although he had planned from the beginning not to confront the other party directly, he had also prepared for the worst. If he still had to face Jing Jue in the end, and judged that his own strength was not enough to defeat the other party, he would not hesitate to abandon all pretense and take Liu Li away from the battlefield.

Doing so would inevitably expose his identity as "Jiying is Lin Che," but honestly, compared to exposing the shame of being "Jiying," the dark and ferocious heavy armor knight of his own Xingshuang, at least visually—well, it's still quite "manly." Even if it's exposed, he feels he can accept it.

Of course, the final result was much better than he had expected. He not only successfully forced Jing Jue to retreat and protected Liu Li, but also retained the identity of "Silent Shadow," an apostle of the Void Realm.

In the future, this identity may play an unexpected and crucial role when he investigates those hidden secrets or obtains intelligence from Mirror Lord or other virtual forces.

Regardless of what deeper information might be obtained later, the information gleaned from the appearance of the Mirror Lord is already important and alarming enough.

Just as he had explained to Liuli before, swearing an oath to the existence one serves does indeed have a very strong binding force on the group of Void Realm Apostles, which is why Jingjue felt at ease leaving.

This means that in the mysterious and unpredictable Void Realm, there are even higher beings above the Void Realm Apostles, and those beings may be the fundamental reason why this group was able to become Void Realm Apostles from humans who are extremely compatible with Void Energy.

Furthermore, he was almost certain that Jingjue had an extraordinary interest in Liuli.

Initially, he only had this feeling based on Jingjue's two specific mentions of Liuli in the park.

However, when he, as "Silent Shadow," directly pointed this out and used it as leverage to demand that Mirror Lord also swear an oath of "non-interference," Mirror Lord's momentary hesitation and eventual compromise under pressure became the most powerful evidence.

But why? Why would a powerful and cruel apostle of the Void Realm like Mirror Lord be so fixated on a magical girl named Liuli who is currently only at the Stardust level and has relatively shallow strength?

Is this extraordinary attention directed solely at Ruri, or is it directed at magical girls of the "Stardust" level?

Recalling the previous disappearances of those Crescent Moon-level magical girls, which were also the work of Mirror Lord, and remembering that the other party made him, as Silent Shadow, swear that he would not interfere with the plan—a strong sense of foreboding welled up in Lin Che's heart.

What exactly is Jingjue's "plan"? Is this plan related to Liuli? Is it related to those missing predecessors?

Too many mysteries, too many unknowns, like an invisible giant net, entangled him more and more. Faced with these complex situations involving other worlds, extraordinary powers, and unknown conspiracies, he felt wave after wave of—utter confusion.

Lin Che shook his head in frustration, temporarily suppressing these chaotic thoughts. He knew that without more useful information, no amount of racking his brains would be of any use.

The most important thing right now is to improve our strength as soon as possible. Only with enough power can we be more confident in dealing with unknown enemies and hidden conspiracies.

Therefore, he decided to immediately begin familiarizing himself with the power of "Silent Shadow". With the power of Starfrost not yet fully returned, this power is his greatest reliance at present. He took a deep breath and pressed the button on the transformation device in his hand.

This time, the light emanating from the transformation device was no longer the pink-gold glow that belonged to Starfrost, but rather the glow that belonged to Shadowless.

It features a dark, metallic sheen.

Those streams of light, like living beings, quickly wrapped around and covered his entire body, and the transformation was completed in the next moment.

However, "Silent Shadow," who had just completed his transformation, suddenly froze on the spot when he looked at the bench next to him where he had just been sitting.

Isn't this height a bit off?!

She was absolutely certain that when she first transformed into "Silent Shadow," she clearly possessed a tall and imposing physique, over two meters high, exuding an aura of oppression.

But now—not only does she not feel any height increase, but she feels as if she has become a little shorter?

No, not just a little—it's a lot! Even shorter than when she was Lin Che!

A strong, familiar sense of foreboding gripped Ji Ying's heart. She stiffly and slowly lowered her head, looking at her lower body. A sharp, explosive sound, a mixture of shock, disbelief, and utter despair, suddenly erupted in the quiet, secluded corner:

"How could this be?!"

The voice was no longer the deep, husky, metallic male voice he had used when negotiating with Jingjue, nor was it the gentle and composed voice he had used when talking to Liuli.

Rather, it is.

A woman's voice as clear and melodious as when she was Starfrost, as sweet and melodious as a nightingale.