Staring at the azure-covered book, Echidna's eyes widened in shock as she blurted out:
"How is this possible?"
"How could you possess the Tome of Wisdom?"
That was her original power, her privilege from her former world - the authority of the witch, condensed into the shadow of world memory.
It was a power that belonged solely to Echidna.
Yet now, Luo Shu was holding something nearly identical in his hands?
This...
Echidna felt her mind briefly go blank.
Had she read Journey to the West, she might have strongly empathised with the Silver Horned King who'd been tricked by the Monkey King.
"You don't believe me?" Luo Shu toyed with the azure book in his hands, smiling mischievously.
The blue-covered book he held wasn't actually the Tome of Wisdom, but rather the Demigod Rank artefact, the Mysticism Encyclopaedia, in its transformed form.
Yet it was precisely because of this that Echidna was stunned.
According to Raziel, which could investigate Apostle information undetected due to Nia's promotion to Demigod, Echidna's Tome of Wisdom had also fused with a fragment of the Knowledge Authority to strengthen itself into its current form.
And the Mysticism Encyclopaedia in Luo Shu's hands was a fragment of the Knowledge Authority stripped from Vassago's power.
Though the two might originate from different entities' Knowledge Authorities, they were fundamentally the same.
However, comparatively speaking, Echidna's Tome of Wisdom was better suited to reading world information and gathering intelligence, while Luo Shu's Mysticism Encyclopaedia was better at developing new knowledge and technology.
Despite this difference in functional bias, given Echidna's perspective, she truly couldn't discern the distinction between the two.
Upon realising Luo Shu possessed another Tome of Wisdom, Echidna—who had once created weakened copies of her own—seemed to understand something, her expression darkening as she glared at Luo Shu:
"So that's how it is! So that's it!"
Echidna now strongly suspected that the Tome of Wisdom in Luo Shu's hands was the original of her own.
Only this could explain why she couldn't find any information about Luo Shu's tome, while he could freely access hers.
This realisation filled Echidna with intense resentment and an even stronger greed.
As someone who relentlessly pursued knowledge, she longed to snatch Luo Shu's Tome of Wisdom immediately.
But reason told her it was impossible—even at her peak, she couldn't achieve such a feat.
The thought of endless knowledge lying before her, visible yet untouchable, made Echidna's gaze at Luo Shu brim with bitterness.
Under that resentful, almost scorned look, Luo Shu couldn't help but feel a chill:
"Staring at me won't help. Did you really think I'd hand this Tome of Wisdom over to you?"
Echidna knew he was right, but she couldn't resist negotiating:
"You must want my Tome of Wisdom to merge the two books back together, don't you?"
Hearing the words 'merge back,' Luo Shu immediately understood Echidna's misunderstanding, but he didn't correct her. Instead, he looked at her meaningfully:
"You should know you don't have a second option."
"Oh, but I do. For example... suicide!"
At this, Puck and Emilia tensed, ready to intervene at any moment to prevent Echidna from harming herself.
Yet Luo Shu, the man under Echidna's intense scrutiny, simply watched her manic gaze calmly before stating with composure:
"You won't kill yourself."
"As long as there's knowledge in this world you don't possess, you won't choose death. You'll cling to life, even without dignity."
Sighing, Luo Shu then murmured softly:
"Am I wrong, O spectre who calls herself Echidna?"
Hearing this, Echidna's smile grew even brighter—yet beneath that radiance lurked unspeakable cruelty:
"My, my... to think I've been found out!"
"What exactly is going on?" Puck looked over curiously and asked, "Why do you say Echidna is a spectre?"
At that moment, Luo Shu calmly replied:
"Because the real Echidna was killed by the Witch of Envy four hundred years ago."
"The Echidna we see now is merely the lingering obsession of the real Echidna—essentially, a spectre."
"Although I don't know how you managed to possess your own corpse and return to human form in this world, that kind of technique is clearly not something you could achieve alone."
"However, precisely because you were a revived spectre, you transformed so easily into a vengeful wraith during the Demigod ascension ritual."
"Unfortunately, you were just a little short in the end."
Faced with Luo Shu's explanation, Echidna didn't refute it, merely chuckling:
"Thanks to you, though I don't understand the principle, I should now count as perfectly revived—or at least, the closest to my original form."
As she spoke, Echidna didn't even glance at Emilia.
Even though the latter was the one who borrowed Luo Shu's power and caused her current state, Echidna simply couldn't be bothered with her.
After all, Emilia's face—identical to that of the Witch of Envy who had killed her in the first place—was enough to provoke her hatred.
Not to mention, the Witch of Envy's personality was currently sealed within Emilia's body.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu instantly grasped Echidna's meaning and said with sudden realisation:
"I see. Authority-level Calamity Absorption retrieved your original body as well?"
"In a way, you've turned misfortune into a blessing?"
Echidna didn't deny it, only smiling faintly:
"A blessing? You mean my current state as a cripple who can no longer use Class powers?"
Faced with Echidna's self-mockery, Luo Shu replied meaningfully:
"If I can erase your Class, I can also let you start over from scratch."
Hearing this, Echidna's eyes immediately brightened.
Though it wasn't a full restoration, merely regaining the ability to choose a Class, it was more than enough for Echidna.
Thus, under this temptation, Echidna didn't hesitate to ask:
"What are your conditions?"
To this, Luo Shu said plainly:
"Less conditions, more like... trials."
Echidna smiled coquettishly. "Then, what is my first trial?"
"Bring Betty back and have her pledge loyalty to me."
"Deal!"
Echidna agreed without hesitation.
As for whether this meant betraying her daughter?
Heh. Weren't daughters just meant to be betrayed?