"They’re working with Evil Mist?" Black Eleven asked, shocked.
"Of course not," Anfey said, shaking his head. "A long time ago, Minos was just a reclusive supreme power."
"Like your teacher?"
Anfey nodded. "Yes."
"How did you know that?" the middle-aged man asked.
"You didn’t invent that language, did you?" Hui Wei asked. "Of course we can read it."
"What else do you know?" the middle-aged man asked, turning to Anfey.
"A lot," Anfey said. "I know that Minos was living near Violet City. He built a secret palace, but he released all of his servants before his death and forbade them from speaking about the palace. The descendants of the servants are scattered all over the world, but you still maintained communication. But because the servants wouldn’t speak of the location of the palace, you have lost that knowledge.
"That is why you have two communication stations, one in Violet City and one here, because there are very few rules in the Country of Mercenaries. Your presence will be harder to detect."
Ye and Black Eleven listened in shock. Not only they, but even the young men and women did not know much about the secrets of the Rangers.
Anfey glanced at Ye, who waved his hand and dismissed all the mercenaries in the room. "Minos had a special weapon, I heard. The Wheel of Fortune. With the Wheel of Fortune, he was able to find the wealth left by his predecessors, and that was why he became a supreme power. I didn’t believe in fate before, but I do now. If you hadn’t attacked Suzanna, I would have never noticed you. You know, that tavern has been around since the founding of White Mountain City. I’m impressed how well you were able to conceal your tracks."
The middle-aged man looked at Anfey but did not say anything.
"Minos was a very powerful and brilliant man," Anfey continued. "But he is also a lonely man. Perhaps because he was too lonely, or perhaps because he began practicing dark magic, he split into two personalities in his later years. Sometimes, he would be fighting himself."
"Himself?"
Anfey nodded. "He knew a lot of things we do not. One of his personalities became convinced that fate is at work. Everything is predetermined. The other personality believed the complete opposite. That personality believed that fate wasn’t real and he needed to fight against it. I believe his mind was quickly deteriorating then."
"You mean his mind power, sir?"
"No," Anfey said, flipping through the diary in his hands, "his mind. I believe he was going mad. This is the diary of one of his maids. There are some important things in here."
"What does it say?" Black Eleven asked.
"She said that before he dismissed all of them, he would often wake up during the night from nightmares. These nightmares were apparently so bad he would wake up screaming. He began sleeping with the Wheel of Fortune under his pillow. She would find him clutching the Wheel and shaking, as if he had seen some terrible things in it." Anfey paused and flipped a few pages. "She said he once asked her what made her happy. She told him that serving him made her happy and asked him the same question. He told her that ignorance was a blessing and he wished that he had that. Minos was very kind to his servants, which was why the maid dared to joke with him. She said that dogs knew nothing about that world: Were they happier than humans? Minos, donning a serious expression, told her that ignorant dogs were much happier than he and he wished he was a dog."
Hui Wei, Ye, and the middle-aged man nodded. Minos must have seen something horrible.
"Then the next chapter recorded Minos sending the servants away," Anfey said. "Alice believes that Minos must have made an important decision, and sending the servants away was only the first step. Maybe he was just trying to die in peace."
"Minos was a supreme power," Anfey said, shaking his head. "He was a supreme power! What do you think scared him so much that he would have continuous nightmares and wish he was a dog?"
"Maybe he saw gods," Hui Wei suggested. "He was a supreme power, which means he was closer to gods than any of us. Maybe he broke through the seal." He was only responsible for translating and analyzing the text and did not know what Alice had said about those texts.
"I think it was himself that he was scared of," Anfey said. "Think about it. Who taught Morgan, Desvidia, and Golman? Alice believes that Minos’ final decision, whatever it was, failed. After he died, he was somehow revived and became a necromancer."
"You’re saying that… the future that terrified Minos so much will come true because of Minos?"
"I don’t know," Anfey said, shaking his head. "I really hope not. But I know that Minos’ final attempt worked. Right now, Minos cannot remember where the Wheel of Fortune is."
"How did you know?"
"Edy and Honna were looking for it," Anfey said. He purposely withheld the information about the labyrinth Urter discovered under Violet City.
"What should we do?" Black Eleven asked. "Minos controls Greenwich Island. We can’t attack the island."
"What we need to do is talk with the rangers," Anfey said, turning to the middle-aged man. "Minos gave his most trusted servants an order. The order will come into effect should he ever return as a necromancer. He wants you to destroy him and he left a way to completely destroy his soul. But this spell isn’t written down anywhere. It’s passed down from generation to generation."
The middle-aged man was staring at the floor, and the young men and women were staring at him in shock.
"In the beginning, you enjoyed peaceful lives. Minos taught you special ways to practice your power. No matter what happened, you would have enough power to protect yourself," Anfey said. "But after the necromancer Minos the First appeared, you immediately began looking for him. You’ve been practicing and increasing your strength for thousands of years. You never gave up looking for him. This is why during every single War against the Dead there would be mysterious men and women appearing and fighting the necromancers. No one ever found out who these men and women were, but it was you, wasn’t it? They were rangers."
"What is your goal, my lord?" the middle-aged man asked.
"You should know," Anfey said. "I respect your resilience and determination, but you have to realize you are not alone in this fight. The entire world will band together against Minos the First and necromancers. Plus, this war must have done considerable damage to your strength and numbers. You can’t do this by yourself."
"I…I can’t make this decision," the middle-aged man said.
"Then find the ones who can," Anfey said. "I need to talk to them." He turned to Ye and said, "Release them."