"As for leads... we do have some, actually."
When it came to taking revenge on Echidna, Puck was unprecedentedly motivated:
"Though I don't know how that witch managed it, she indeed formed a master-servant contract with me without my knowledge."
"Puck?" Emilia exclaimed in shock, clearly unaware of this matter.
Understanding his daughter's concern, Puck floated over and patted Emilia's head reassuringly:
"Don't worry, Lia. While I don't know how she did it, I'm certain there's no immediate danger to me."
Hearing Puck's words, Lacus instantly grasped his meaning and said with realisation:
"A master-servant contract? You want to use the contract's connection for counter-divination to locate Echidna's position?"
In occult studies, contracts represent an extremely important connection, even comparable to blood ties.
Using the contract as a medium would indeed provide a high chance of divining Echidna's existence without interference.
"That is indeed a viable method."
Just as Lacus acknowledged this approach, Luo Shu - whose expression had turned somewhat peculiar since hearing Puck's words - suddenly interjected:
"Is there a possibility that rather than the contract being formed without your knowledge, you simply forgot about it, Puck?"
At these words, both Puck and Emilia froze.
"Huh?" x2
When the implication sank in, Puck looked at Luo Shu with an odd expression:
"Buddy, that's... a rather terrifying suggestion for me."
The concept that he'd forgotten about making a contract with Echidna? That was a spine-chilling thought.
Who made him forget? Why? For what purpose?
Just imagining it made Puck break out in cold sweat.
Yet Luo Shu showed no mercy towards the feline, calmly stating:
"According to my intelligence, Echidna should be the creator of artificial spirits like you and Beatrice."
"So rather than Echidna forcibly establishing a master-servant contract with you - or perhaps the contract never existed - as Echidna's creation, you fundamentally cannot resist your creator's commands."
"This includes any command from Echidna to forget these memories."
Hearing this, Puck's expression darkened, his feline features scrunching up as he bared his teeth:
"Well then, this just became extremely complicated!"
Puck trusted Luo Shu's words considerably.
Regardless of Luo Shu's current circumstances, Puck knew his true nature as a deity.
Thus, his words were likely true.
If so, matters had become extremely troublesome.
As Echidna's creation, Puck probably couldn't act against her, potentially becoming a liability in Emilia's mission to disrupt her ascension.
Moreover, bound by his contract with Emilia, Puck couldn't stray too far from her.
Therefore, this liability was inevitable.
The mere thought of hindering Emilia filled Puck with suicidal despair.
After listening to their exchange, Lacus pondered thoughtfully:
"If that's the case, we'll need to find a way to block the contract's effects."
After speaking, Lacus turned to Emilia and asked:
"Miss Emilia, do you have any thoughts on this?"
"I... I don't really..."
Caught off guard by the question, Emilia appeared flustered, but then suddenly paused, adopting a listening expression as if hearing someone's whisper.
When she regained her composure, Emilia spoke with complex emotions:
"Satella says she can help me suppress Puck. For a short time at least, she should be able to block the contract."
"As expected, Miss Satella has a solution."
Lacus didn't seem surprised by this.
Since Satella could cooperate with Puck to suppress the Witch of Envy's personality, and now that the witch's power had weakened, it shouldn't be a problem for Satella to help Emilia suppress Puck.
"Satella?"
Luo Shu gave Emilia a surprised look upon hearing this name:
"Speaking of which, I'm rather curious about how this Satella personality appeared within you, Emilia."
"You didn't have dissociative identity disorder before, did you?"
Facing Luo Shu's question, Puck stood up with a sigh, looking thoroughly miserable:
"I should be the one to explain this, since Emilia was unconscious at the time and doesn't know the full story."
Here, Puck adopted an expression of deep frustration:
"The truth is, Emilia, Echidna, and I are visitors from another world. In this world, we'd be called Abyssal visitors."
"And similarly, Satella also comes from our world."
"Originally, Satella and Emilia were two separate individuals. The Witch of Envy personality was bound to Satella - she was the one with dissociative identity disorder."
As he reached this point, Puck spoke with lingering fear:
"For unknown reasons, three years ago, many people from our world crossed dimensions and arrived here."
"From my conversations with Miss Satella, during the dimensional crossing three years ago, when we were about to arrive in this world, she encountered some terrifying force."
"That power instantly grievously wounded her, almost as if trying to steal all her strength, seeking to consume her completely."
"Driven by survival instinct, the Witch of Envy forcibly dragged Satella's personality along, abandoning their original body and converting their power to possess Emilia's body, hoping to survive through this method."
"At that time, because I already had a contract with Lia, and with my full resistance combined with Miss Satella's help, Lia's body wasn't taken over by the Witch of Envy. But this resulted in the current situation of three personalities coexisting within Lia."
Puck smiled bitterly with lingering fear:
"Honestly, it was extremely dangerous back then. If the Witch of Envy's power hadn't been mysteriously suppressed and partially stolen, if Miss Satella hadn't helped with all her might, Lia might have become the Witch of Envy the moment she arrived in this world."
After hearing Puck's explanation, Luo Shu couldn't help but exchange glances with Lacus.
Three years ago, the Witch of Envy was suppressed. Combining these two clues with their existing knowledge, a rather delicate conclusion naturally emerged.
"A Demigod born by accident when the world forbade their existence?"
As Luo Shu said this, his expression carried a hint of pity:
"Put that way, the Witch of Envy was rather unlucky, wasn't she?"
The current world only began permitting Demigod ascensions in April of this year.
Yet the Witch of Envy appeared three years prior.
This timing difference meant she emerged during the worst possible era.
At that point in time, any Demigod's birth would likely have faced the same fate as the Witch of Envy.
As for the source that devoured her power and forced her to possess another body, one needn't think too hard. It was almost certainly something like the rules of the world.
"Her misfortune is her own business, but harming Lia is where she crossed the line."
Puck clearly harboured deep resentment about Emilia nearly being possessed. Of all people, the Witch of Envy had to target his precious daughter, leaving them now scrambling to clean up the mess she caused. It was utterly infuriating.
"Still, if Satella could suppress me, then Lia's chances of successfully ambushing Echidna have improved significantly."
"Of course, before that, we'll need to use my connection with Echidna to locate her first."
"After all, I can't guarantee whether Echidna possesses any Abyss Artefacts that could interfere."
"She does," Lacus interjected with a smile. "Echidna possesses an Abyss Artefact called the Tome of Wisdom, which can read the world's memories and also disrupt divinations targeting her."
"So relying solely on the creator-creation connection probably won't be enough to find her."
"How could this be..." Puck froze. "Doesn't that mean the plan fails from the very start?"
"No, I merely said that connection alone won't suffice."
Lacus' expression now carried a hint of amusement:
"But we hold more cards than just that contract!"