Chapter 2119: Research Data
While Karina was overseeing the preparations of the motorcade, my Valkyrie floated out from the basement. As soon as Karina saw me, she said, “Saintess, why haven’t you changed your clothes yet? We’re about to depart.”
“Change clothes? What’s there to change into? Even if I did, this armor wouldn’t be able to hide it,” I said helplessly, seeing that Via, Cherise, and Giselle had also changed into the clothes of junior researchers.
The problem was, those three were all little girls. Wearing white lab coats that were larger than their bodies, with hemlines reaching their knees, it still felt very out of place.
“You still need to disguise yourself. Didn’t I tell you we need to disguise our identities this time? You’re too conspicuous,” Karina said with a slight headache.
“Don’t worry, I’ll disguise myself with the Disguise Technique later. You don’t need to worry about me. That… you! Yes, you and you, come here a moment.” I immediately noticed the researchers who had previously inquired about Despair Double Sound.
“Ah? Master, is there something you need?” The researchers were very surprised, and Karina also asked doubtfully, “Saintess, we’re about to depart, why do you still need to find them?”
“I need to ask a few questions, it will be quick. Do you still have any Research Data on Despair Double Sound? Bring it to me.” I said it directly in front of Karina, who was quite confused because she hadn’t returned last time I asked.
“Ah? Yes, but it’s not complete. Only the Headquarters and major Branches have the complete version. We only have a main part,” the researcher quickly replied.
“Then bring it to me first. And don’t rush to leave, I still have something to ask you,” I said. The researchers had no choice but to run back to get the data.
Soon, a thick stack of papers was handed to me. The researchers stood beside me, watching me flip through the Despair Double Sound data, while simultaneously recalling related content, preparing to answer questions.
As expected of a notorious Cursed Object, the data was quite thick. It began with a detailed description of the Music Box’s characteristics, accompanied by an exquisite illustration that depicted the two little girls with remarkable realism. It was marked with a rating: High Risk.
The artist must have seen Despair Double Sound firsthand. Even if it was through hearsay, they couldn’t have drawn it so vividly. Perhaps they saw it through some special method, such as divination or extracting memories from victims. But even seeing it indirectly would have involved great danger, which was rare.
Next was a long section describing the dangers of Despair Double Sound and its abilities. The most distinctive was its music, which could plunge people into dreams and suck out their souls. The data stated that it was actually a lullaby.
According to a survivor’s account, after hearing this music, people would fall into a beautiful dream, as if seeing the things they most longed for and desired, and then involuntarily pursue them, unknowingly departing from their souls.
This process could not be blocked by Magic Apparatus unless one did not hear the music. The music itself was not an attack; what attracted people was the dream, not an illusion. People’s souls, desiring their heart’s desires, would depart from their bodies. This was why Despair Double Sound was so difficult to guard against.
If one had mental protection Magic Apparatus or a sufficiently strong soul, they could resist to a certain extent. If one had the ability of a Dream Master or dream-related Magic Apparatus, they could wake up more easily. This was why the data classified their music as essentially a lullaby and a dream-inducing melody.
This was the first time I learned that the essence of the Music Box was hypnosis and dream induction. When I first heard the music at the Lord of the City’s mansion, even Older Brother Jayad was frozen, but his soul was not sucked out, likely because his soul was strong enough. As for me, I was woken up in time by the Maggots, who don’t dream.
Also, as long as one couldn’t hear the music, they wouldn’t fall into a dream. So, did Older Brother Jayad’s Obsidian cover protect them from having their souls sucked out?
Most valuable of all, this data was obtained by interviewing survivors and making inferences. Much of the content was written or spoken by the survivors themselves, making it highly valuable for reference.
What surprised me was that there were so many survivors of Despair Double Sound. I had personally experienced its power; it was truly capable of killing gods and buddhas. The fact that anyone could survive was astonishing in itself.
Moreover, the survivors were not all powerful individuals; there were soldiers, Commoners, girls, and even beings from Otherworldly beings. Their identities varied, with no commonality.
This data was not entirely from the Research Society. Some was bought from other organizations, some was borrowed, and some was even stolen by Spies. It was compiled together, with some researchers wanting to analyze why they were able to escape.
However, they had no common traits, whether it was race, bloodline, the equipment they carried at the time, or their behavior; everything was completely different. The researchers recorded that they had no idea why these people survived.
The final conclusion was that Despair Double Sound had a limited capacity. At that time, they had just eaten their fill or didn’t want to eat anymore, and these people consequently survived.
Seeing this conclusion, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and disbelief. Despair Double Sound had explicitly recorded instances of wiping out entire armies; one piece of music had killed thousands of soldiers, yet here it was stated to have limited capacity?
It seemed that the skill levels of different researchers varied. It was fine to read this data, but the conclusions should be viewed critically.
After reviewing several victim reports, I suddenly found one that might be relevant. Due to privacy concerns, many people were unwilling to write down what they saw in their dreams, or they made up unverifiable stories to appease the researchers.
However, one person wrote that while dreaming, he saw his critically ill daughter recover. Overjoyed, he rushed to hug his daughter and poured out his heart for a long time. Upon waking, he realized it was just a dream, and everyone around him was dead.
Perhaps the words spoken in his dream, and his sincere emotions, touched the memories of Despair Double Sound, allowing him to be lucky enough to be spared. I believe Fuldamantha might have escaped for a similar reason.
However, because the survivors’ records were varied, messy, and lacked common points, and some were even fabricated, the researchers did not notice this particular entry and merely recorded it perfunctorily.
As I read the subsequent records, I could better understand why these researchers had overlooked the memories and statements of these people.
The following pages were about how to guard against Despair Double Sound, how to Seal it, and analyses of its various abilities.
For example, someone proposed that if a completely soundproof vacuum space were created, with Despair Double Sound placed in the center and irradiated with Holy Light, it should be able to Seal it.
There were also suggestions like attacking the Music Box’s main body with a Sniper Rifle, interfering with the music using noise, and using low-ranking personnel as bait.
The hypotheses and analyses were written in a rigorous and cold manner, treating Despair Double Sound entirely as an object to be dealt with, rather than as two individuals.
