Chapter 1392 Patience is Key <TOC> Chapter 1394 Emergence of the Twilight Queen
Translator: SumTLMan
To Angel’s surprise, he initially believed that “just waiting” might be too passive. However, contrary to his expectations, emissaries from Black Castle came knocking the very next day.
No sooner had Angel stepped out from his quiet chamber than he heard a lingering, eerie laughter echoing throughout the halls.
Following the sound to its source, Angel found himself locking eyes with a malevolent gaze.
Standing there was a young girl who appeared to be merely twelve or thirteen. She wore a voluminous black skirt, a half-veil of the same shade, had long, straight ebony hair, pale skin, and delicately chiseled cheeks.
While there wasn’t an aura of extraordinariness surrounding her, she floated in the air, suspended as if by unseen threads. Her beautiful face was a stark contrast to her eyes, which radiated both an icy, sanguine detachment and a malevolence reminiscent of a gruesome battlefield.
Angel’s usually calm demeanor darkened a few shades upon seeing her.
This wasn’t their first meeting. She was the one who had once pushed him to the brink of death at Silent Hill, the current ruler of Black Castle: “The Dusk Queen,” Isabella!
And Isabella wasn’t alone in the hall. Both Kimberly and Sanders were present.
With measured steps, Angel walked towards the center, feeling the weight of Isabella’s gaze with every step he took. Even though she remained silent, that sharp and eerie laughter continued to reverberate through the hall.
Maintaining his impassive facade, Angel stopped beside Sanders.
“Sit,” Sanders gestured.
Angel had intended to stand in the back, but when Sanders invited him to sit, and with no objections from Kimberly or Isabella, he obliged and took a seat.
“We meet again,” came the haunting voice from Isabella’s lips. As she spoke, the eerie laughter lingered, as if two voices coexisted simultaneously.
Angel merely nodded, his face expressionless.
Isabella’s face flashed with irritation at Angel’s indifferent response. However, with Sanders present, she restrained herself, though her gaze at Angel grew colder.
Kimberly, seated opposite, noticed Isabella’s expression and a playful smirk graced her lips. She observed Angel with a look full of intrigue, wondering about the underlying dynamics.
At this, Sanders shifted his gaze to the other side. “Since Gloria hasn’t appeared, might I ask the purpose of your visit?”
Kimberly, holding a warm cup of tea, took a delicate sip and then magically levitated the cup beside her. Steam curled up from it, plucked by a flower sprite concealed within her cascading hair.
“I came primarily to continue the dialogue with Angel from yesterday. As for Isabella, she probably has other matters to attend to?” Kimberly replied with a light chuckle.
Sanders turned his attention timely to Isabella.
Isabella shot a cold glance at Kimberly and slowly remarked, “Given the arrival of Lord Phantom Master at Black Castle, how could I not meet you? But beyond our rendezvous, I do have a small request.”
“Now that we have met, feel free to voice your request,” Sanders replied evenly. He was well-aware that Isabella’s visit bore more than mere pleasantries and had other motives, perhaps related to a certain incident at Black Castle.
“I’ve heard from Natasha,” Isabella began, “that you possess an alchemical weapon capable of eradicating ghosts?”
Sanders glanced subtly at Angel, but the latter remained unfazed.
“So, what next?” Sanders shifted in his seat, hands interlaced, embodying the anticipation of the words to follow.
“May I briefly make use of it? Would that be permissible?”
“It’s owned by my disciple. I’m not at liberty to make that decision,” Sanders replied forthrightly. “If you wish to use the Prelude of Reincarnation, you’ll have to discuss it with Angel.”
Isabella’s face clouded momentarily, yet she patiently turned her gaze to the reticent Angel, inquiring, “What are your thoughts on this, Angel?”
A prolonged silence from Angel set the room’s atmosphere on a slow drift towards icy tension.
Witnessing this tableau, Kimberly’s interest was palpably heightened. She could’ve said something to defuse the tension but chose instead to recline on the couch, adopting the mien of a spectator at a theatre.
“So, you’re reluctant?” Isabella’s voice remained unchanged, but a mocking laughter echoed deeper and colder, projecting an intangible oppression towards Angel.
Isabella anticipated Sanders intervening as she exerted this pressure on Angel, affording her an opportunity to intensify her actions and widen her manipulative scope. Yet, to her astonishment, Sanders remained detached, behaving as if he were a bystander.
This left Isabella somewhat perplexed, but she didn’t halt her coercion.
Under the suffocating weight of a formal wizard’s dominance, most apprentices would have buckled by now. Yet, to Isabella and Kimberly’s astonishment, Angel appeared unaffected, exuding an aura of undisturbed calm.
This serenity wasn’t a mere façade of resilience. They could distinctly perceive Angel’s consistent heartbeat and circulation, devoid of any stress response typical of someone under duress.
This only exacerbated Isabella’s irritation, prompting her to amplify her oppressive force twofold.
Beneath such immense pressure, an ordinary wizard would undoubtedly falter, yet Angel remained as unperturbed as ever.
Isabella was never known for her gentle temperament, and she was notoriously petty. When Angel first encountered Isabella, even before Angel and she were familiar, she bellowed about wanting to end Angel’s life.
The root of this animosity was simple: At that time, Isabella was ardently pursuing Bogula, hoping to use his influence to maintain the prestige of Black Castle.
Bogula had an eccentric taste; he wasn’t charmed by conventional beauty. What captivated him was a singular trait: creatures born with golden hair and blue eyes. Even an unattractive male mermaid, if possessing this golden and blue combination, would send Bogula into raptures.
Angel, with his golden locks and blue eyes, immediately set Isabella on edge, even though Angel hadn’t even met Bogula by then. Yet, Isabella was already shouting for his demise.
This incident only highlights Isabella’s narrow-mindedness and her ruthless, cold-hearted nature. To her, life seems worth less than the dust beneath her feet.
The only reason Isabella has shown restraint these days is due to Sanders’ presence. But now, with Angel displaying disdain despite his apprentice status, it was enough to make the flames of rage in Isabella’s heart surge.
Her normally dark eyes were replaced by a blood-red hue as the full oppressive power of a second level wizard was unleashed, directed solely at Angel.
Under such fierce pressure, Angel finally responded.
Lifting his head with a pointed look, he remarked, “How reminiscent of our first encounter… So, threats are your only strategy?”
Angel raised his head, giving Isabella an icy sidelong glance.
Isabella paused, momentarily caught off guard. Just a second ago, she seemed to spot a mysterious, luminescent green light in Angel’s eyes. That beam pierced straight into her heart, instilling an inexplicable sense of dread.
Brushing off her unease, Isabella coldly retorted to Angel, “You think some tricks and tactics will shield you from my pressure and put you on equal footing with me?”
“I bear no intention to oppose you,” Angel nonchalantly remarked, “I merely wish to jog your memory of past events.”
At Angel’s words, Isabella showed no reaction, whereas Kimberly’s face was painted with a brush of curiosity.
“For some inexplicable reason, you sought my life on Silent Hill, and I was powerless to retaliate,” Angel continued, “Do you still hold that memory dear?”
“Are you implying that you intend to resist now?” That day, when she learned of Isabelle’s return, she remembered every detail of the events that had transpired.
“I might not resist, but surely, I have the right to refuse now, don’t I?” Angel remained unruffled, displaying no trepidation even in the face of Isabella’s looming threat.
“As for the weapons I’ve forged, I hold the right to decide their fate. Your Request is if I’d lend it to you, isn’t it? My answer is——”
“Refusal.”
Truth be told, had Isabella not broached the subject, upon Angel’s departure, he might have purged all those ghosts. After all, the barrel in the ‘Prelude of Reincarnation’ had been vacant for quite some time, in dire need of replenishment.
Yet, with Isabella’s sudden mention, stubborn resolve took root in Angel’s heart.
“What’s the basis for your refusal?” Isabella, with a shadowed visage, gazed piercingly at Angel. Had Sanders not been present, she would have spoken far fewer words and simply seized what she desired by force: “All due to past transgressions?”
“Isn’t that reason enough?” Angel quizzically raised an eyebrow, “On that note, did Lady Isabella personally seek me out because this issue is tied to the upheavals in Black Castle?”
Isabella chose not to respond to Angel’s query. Instead, Kimberly interjected, “Indeed, it pertains to some internal matters of Black Castle. Are you curious about this affair?”
“Not particularly,” Angel replied, “but I have to wonder, why are there so many ghosts outside? Have you not taken a tally?”
When Angel spoke thus, Sanders suddenly cleared his throat.
Regardless of what Angel had said before, his subsequent words were evidently touching upon the dark shadows that had loomed over Black Castle for a millennium.
——Bathed in blood.
Indeed, Black Castle had been criticized for this. However, mentioning it in front of its residents, especially in the presence of the current ruler, Isabella, was akin to delivering a direct slap to their face.
With Isabella’s temperament, it might even be a precursor to war.
Such an outcome, becoming adversaries with Black Castle, was certainly not what Sanders desired.
Though Sanders intervened promptly, Isabella clearly grasped the essence of Angel’s insinuation——
“The issues with the ghosts are entirely of your own making.”
Isabella’s demeanor darkened considerably, while Kimberly seemed relatively unfazed, albeit slightly uncomfortable. Initially, Kimberly left Black Castle partly to follow in Isabelle’s footsteps, and partly due to her disdain for Isabella’s transformation.
Had Isabella merely sought beauty and youth, Kimberly would have been indifferent. However, the fact that Isabella maintained her youth by spilling the blood of innocent young girls was something Kimberly deeply abhorred.
This was the very reason Kimberly had departed Black Castle six hundred years prior.
While Kimberly did hold contempt for Isabella’s actions, she believed it wasn’t the place of outsiders to comment on such matters. This left her feeling slightly uneasy as well.
Chapter 1392 Patience is Key <TOC> Chapter 1394 Emergence of the Twilight Queen