Chapter 1056 An Indescribable Aura <TOC> Chapter 1058 The Time Has Come
Translator: SumTLMan
Having pledged to give the Young Fire Demon an experience of the Rhythm of the Ocean, Angel found himself caught in the web of his own promise. He was compelled to concoct a scheme that would not only satiate the Young Fire Demon’s curiosity but also ensure it remained unscathed.
As Angel pondered, it struck him that the Fire Demon had not truly experienced the Rhythm of the Ocean. He could, therefore, offer a substitute illusion, a perfect smokescreen to shield reality…
Once he had a rough roadmap, Angel embarked on creating an illusion that would pacify the Young Fire Demon.
With the passage of time, the chimes in the courtyard echoed more than once, their melody a testament to his rumination. Angel intermittently descended the stairs to inaugurate the Rhythm of the Ocean for his guests. However, it was peculiar that throughout the process, the Young Fire Demon was nowhere to be seen.
This invoked in Angel a sense of relief twined with curiosity. Considering the Young Fire Demon’s usual antics, such easy surrender seemed improbable. Could it have been coaxed into compliance by the Servant of Fire? If so, Angel would owe a debt of gratitude.
In merely half a day, Angel had catered to five batches of guests. Each group consisted of thirty individuals. This meant that the net income from this venture alone exceeded forty-five thousand demon gold coins.
The figure was astounding, unimaginable even. Even Canaan, who had roamed the Demon City for a decade, was witnessing such a hefty sum for the first time.
Among these five batches, there was one half-demon and two minor demons that induced Omen Signs. Consequently, the attention the Phantasmagoria received skyrocketed as its popularity soared.
Given the manifest income visible to all patrons, it was no surprise that they attracted many eyes. Although they had already drawn considerable attention, if they continued to operate at a rate of nine thousand demon gold coins per batch, it would go beyond mere observation. Envious demons might throw caution to the wind and prepare to strike.
And so, Angel made a decisive choice to close shop. After all, the riches he’d already acquired were plentiful, and hoarding demon gold that he couldn’t spend was wasteful. Adding to this, Angel was apprehensive of an unanticipated visit from the Young Flame Demon. An early closure would provide a convenient excuse should that occur.
Nonetheless, despite Angel’s closure of the shop, the ripples of ensuing chaos continued unabated.
…
The third layer of the Abyss, above the Inverted Waterfall Cluster, Sky Island.
The previously bustling Sky Island was now transformed into a rubble-strewn wasteland awash with flames. The charred remnants of buildings, smoky plumes rising high, and withered limbs all painted a tragic picture. In this scattered embers lay the bodies consigned to eternal oblivion.
A young child, missing an arm and with braided hair, kneeled on the ground, tears streaming silently down his cheeks.
Before him lay an apprentice’s corpse, short and plump. Even as life had irrevocably departed from it, the face bore the innocence of a kindly soul.
If Angel were here, he would instantly recognize this braided child and the stout apprentice as the pair who had previously accompanied Popoca and had provided him information about the Silver Torrent Shrimp and Toby.
The young child’s head slowly sank, resting on the stout apprentice’s round belly, tears flowing soundlessly.
In the Abyss, a plane of pervasive despair, it had been Dash and Popoca who supported him, cared for him, preventing him from succumbing to corruption. But now, all was lost.
Popoca mysteriously disappeared on the way to Watchtower Fortress. In the demon-infested Gloaming Mountains, Popoca’s chance of survival was next to none.
And now, Dash had been slain by the terrifying Evil God. For the first time, the braided child experienced a sense of despair and boundless loneliness.
Like him, there were many others, for in this unexplainable struggle, the death toll extended far beyond just one stout apprentice. Even full-fledged wizards had succumbed under the onslaught of the malevolent deity.
“What are you looking at?” The query came from an elderly man with white eyebrows and a triangular wizard’s hat — Canter of the Night, the current patriarch of the House of Lilith.
Sanders, averting his gaze from the braided hair child, shook his head, “Nothing in particular, just reflecting on the devastation of Sky Island. I lament arriving a step too late.”
Canter too, noticed the remnants amongst the ruins. He sighed deeply, “Alas, soul wizards have already begun collecting the departed souls. We’ll see if there’s a chance for them to trace his location and collect.”
“Who would have thought that even without the Harbinger of Doom entering Watchtower Fortress, we’d still be plotted.” Canter couldn’t help but curse, “All because of that glutton Bruen. If only he had a little more self-restraint, but no, he couldn’t resist and steamed the Olaf Tentacle Crab as soon as he returned to Sky Island.”
From Sanders, Canter had learned that the Olaf Tentacle Crab was highly likely contaminated by doom, and the moment Bruen consumed it, problems arose.
“It wasn’t just Bruen.” Sanders shook his head, “In this battle, more than one full-fledged wizard perished. There might be many others who consumed the Olaf Tentacle Crab… But who could have anticipated that Bruen, in secrecy, desired to resurrect a powerful evil god, and as a result, he became the source of calamity.”
Canter understood that everyone, including Bruen, had their innocence, but he was too livid to let it go.
It was bad enough that Bruen was the root of disaster, but this fellow actually managed to survive in the end. And moreover, no one knew what he had done, but he had slimmed down to a bamboo pole, not only shedding all his fat but also expelling the curse of doom from his body.
He, who was the cause of all troubles, now lived the most carefree life. This thought alone made Canter’s teeth itch with frustration, especially knowing the severe injuries he himself sustained in this Chaos of the Evil God.
Just as Canter contemplated voicing his grievances, a chilling breeze unexpectedly whistled through the heavens.
Accompanying this icy gust was a gentle snowfall, descending from the celestial dome.
These soft snowflakes danced in the wind, pirouetting and settling not only upon the war-torn ruins but also upon the melancholic apprentices amidst them.
The snow cleansed the blood-stains from the ground, snuffing out the smoke of yesterday’s battles, and, simultaneously, it healed all the injuries borne by the surviving apprentices.
Unmistakably, this was no ordinary snowfall.
At this moment, two distinct diamond-shaped snowflakes settled upon Sanders and Canter, melting into a traceless water. Simultaneously, they felt a message conveyed into their ears.
“Did you receive it, too? Lord Mengke has summoned us,” declared Canter.
Sanders nodded in affirmation. The unblemished snow enveloping the entirety of Sky Island, bearing both healing and cleansing powers, as well as serving as a message bearer, showcased an intricate manipulation only someone like Lord Mengke, known as the “Endless Frost,” could accomplish.
Whether attributed to good luck or bad, despite Sky Island suffering significant damage, the timely arrival of Sanders and Rhine Mute managed to stabilize the situation. However, the resurrected evil god was too formidable, and the sheer number of individuals cursed by doom made eradication an unfeasible task in such a short span of time.
At this point, the hitherto unresponsive Lord Mengke, for some unfathomable reason, returned to the Frost Moon’s headquarters — Sky Island.
With Lord Mengke’s return and his concerted efforts with Rhine Mute, they were finally able to suppress the evil god once more. Although this conflict claimed many lives, it at least did not reach a crippling degree of devastation.
“Let’s journey back. We’ll need to formulate the reconstruction plan for Sky Island.” Canter sighed. “The casualties among the apprentices were grievous this time. It seems we’ll need to roll up our sleeves and join the reconstruction ourselves.”
On the path to the central temple, a thought suddenly pierced Canter’s thoughts, “By the way, how did it come to pass that Lord Rhine also accompanied you to Sky Island?”
Exiting the Savage Grottoes isn’t like leaving the House of Lilith. Canter had the freedom to depart because there were only two members: him and Cherie. However, a large wizard organization like the Savage Grottoes presents many more considerations when a leader seeks to leave. For instance, the potential for invasion from hostile organizations, or internal power struggles and infighting.
Especially now, the Savage Grottoes are in the eye of the storm.
The planar fusion just came to a close, plunging everything into chaos. Besides that, the Eternal Night Kingdom disaster took place near the Savage Grottoes. Why would Rhine venture into the Abyss at such a time?
At Canter’s query, Sanders could only offer a helpless shake of his head. The course of events had exceeded his predictions. Originally, Rhine was just seeking a brief reprieve, hoping to hide away from his worries. If possible, he wanted to covertly observe his daughter’s wellbeing from a distance, and then return to the Savage Grottoes with Angel. Who would have expected Angel’s status to remain uncertain and for Sky Island to undergo sudden upheaval?
Rhine didn’t cause him worry, having the Fragment Ephemera at his disposal they could escape at any time.
However, Sanders was deeply concerned about Angel’s current situation.
His original plan was to search for Angel in Ice Valley once things settled down here. But the sudden changes on Sky Island held him captive for three days.
What’s worse, Sanders had been partially distracted by trying to sense the aura of his essence blood. Even though the essence blood’s aura in Angel’s possession was continuously affected by a formidable power making it hard to sense.
Not so long ago, Sanders for the first time perceived the presence of his essence blood.
Although unable to pinpoint the exact location, he could sense the essence blood was near, at least in terms of planar distance.
Such proximity suggested to Sanders that the essence blood may no longer reside in the first layer of the Abyss but had relocated to the third.
A wave of vexation washed over Sanders as he tried to understand the current state of affairs involving Angel. Did Angel genuinely possess his essence blood? If so, why had he returned to the third layer?
Or could it be that the powerful entity had once again escorted Angel back to Whispering Wind Valley? Plagued by these uncertainties, Sanders decided to seek counsel with Rhine Mute.
As for Canter’s proposal of the “Sky Island Reconstruction Project,” Sanders had no intention of participating.
Upon their arrival at the central hall of Sky Island, they discovered they were not alone. Every surviving wizard on Sky Island had converged here.
The once majestic central hall was now a shell of its former self, a dilapidated monument to past glory. Wizards huddled or stood alone, some on high ground, others in low-lying areas. Despite the apparent chaos, a melancholic silence held sway, a heavy atmosphere of sorrow that was the legacy of the previous evil god calamity.
Sanders and Canter found a niche and directed their gaze to the center of the hall.
There stood the stern-faced Mengke on the tattered red carpet, with an utterly bored Rhine Mute at his side.
Chapter 1056 An Indescribable Aura <TOC> Chapter 1058 The Time Has Come