Chapter 1583 Temptation <TOC> Chapter 1585 Labor Assignment
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Translator: SumTLMan
Sabel stood on the arena stage, watching as Sharu arced through the air in front of him, plummeting towards the edge of the platform.
Drawing from his decades of combat experience, Sabel was quite certain that Sharu had little chance of recovery. Sharu’s fighting style relied solely on brute force; once his body lost its center of gravity, regaining control would be difficult. Adding the force exerted by his rapier into the equation, Sabel was a hundred percent certain that Sharu would land outside the arena.
Thus, the victor was assuredly himself.
Unless… unless Sharu could fly.
Naturally, Sabel didn’t think Sharu could actually fly. If he could, he would have already seized aerial dominance.
Yet sometimes, the more improbable a situation seems, the more likely it is to leap out of the shadows, baring its fangs and claws, to proverbially slap you in the face. One moment, Sabel was confident that the outcome was decided unless Sharu could fly; the next, Sharu was suspended in mid-air.
Sharu lowered his head, making it impossible to read his expression. His shoulders were slack, devoid of tension; his legs dangled relaxedly as if he were asleep. But despite this, Sharu didn’t continue to plummet; instead, he remained stationary in the air.
What was going on?
Just as everyone was immersed in bewilderment, thick black mist began to emanate from Sharu. The fleeting, bizarre creature-like form that had appeared earlier resurfaced, now clearer than before. Its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, was wide open as if it were laughing.
After making this startling appearance, the mysterious entity dispersed into black particles and entered Sharu’s body.
Simultaneously, Sharu’s physique underwent another drastic transformation.
This change was even more substantial. His ears, which had transformed into butterfly-like wings earlier, now expanded by three to five times their size. Flapping his enlarged ears generated gusts of flowing wind. Additionally, his hands and feet started to deform, sprouting tentacle-like appendages akin to arthropod limbs.
The dark mist dispersed, the transformation complete.
A disturbing, eerie laugh emanated from below Sharu’s lowered head. This laugh carried with it an oppressive sense of terror, making one’s heart inexplicably tremble.
Just when this pressure reached its zenith, Sharu abruptly lifted his head.
This moment felt as if a clown, brimming with endless malevolence, finally turned to reveal his horrifying true face while the audience shivered in dread.
In Sharu’s eyes, which had ceased to be human, lay a thirst for blood and slaughter.
He began to move, slowly flying toward the closest figure, Sabel. His movements were erratic and undulating, reminiscent of a snake or worm, strangely beguiling, yet nobody could find it within themselves to laugh.
The expression on Knight Sabel’s face turned serious; he felt a profound threat emanating from the Sharu before him.
The old Sharu had obvious flaws — quick to anger, irritable, and unmethodical in combat. Even though he possessed power far beyond an ordinary person, he was like a baby wielding a knife; a bit of caution was all that Sabel needed to defeat him easily.
However, the current Sharu was like a different person altogether. Although his eyes still displayed a bloodthirsty zeal, he was eerily calm. It reminded Sabel of a wolf in the forest, lying in ambush for its prey, patiently waiting in the dark for the opportune moment to strike.
And he, Sabel, was now that very piece of meat the wolf had set its eyes on.
Sharu slowly walked toward Sabel. Yet, this quiet and deliberate movement brought a level of stress upon Sabel that was dozens of times more potent than before, when Sharu had merely darted around him.
Sabel’s hand quivered slightly as he swung his sword in a small arc, further tightening the “circle” around him.
Halfway through his flight, Sharu seemed to feel that the pressure he had exerted was sufficient. Accompanied by his unsettling laugh, he suddenly lunged at Sabel.
Sabel initially thought that Sharu would rely on speed for victory as he had in the past; if that were the case, Sabel felt confident in his ability to respond.
However, Sabel’s confidence lasted but a fleeting moment before he found himself inexplicably immobilized.
It was as if he had plummeted into a nightmarish dreamscape. Sabel was confronted with visions of his own past: oppressed by a decaying royal family, falsely accused by colleagues, and abandoned by the one he loved. A flurry of abominable images darted before his eyes, accompanied by a low whispering of mockery that seemed to come from all directions.
Sabel’s usually resolute heart suddenly felt as though it had cracked.
At that moment, a sinister laugh reverberated close to him. When Sabel lifted his head, the nightmarish illusions vanished, revealing Sharu’s twisted visage.
Sabel wanted to resist, but he still found himself paralyzed, unable to do anything but watch as Sharu swung a bone blade towards his neck.
Just as Sabel believed his end was near, a green rune began to circulate around him.
When the bone blade descended, the green rune emitted a faint glow, as if striking a metallic wall, sending sparks flying. The green rune remained unscathed, but cracks appeared on Sharu’s bone blade.
Sharu leapt back abruptly, eyes flashing with anger, then turned sharply to identify the source of the interference.
Following Sharu’s gaze, Sabel looked up.
In the arena, he saw a familiar figure slowly approaching: the younger brother of Leon, and the man whom Marilyn had proclaimed as the “Master of the New World”, it was none other than——Angel.
Angel looked different than when Sabel had last seen him. His right eye glowed faintly green, and as he moved, the green light trailed behind him, as if threads of luminescent silk were dancing in the air.
Upon closer examination, Sabel noticed that the green light contained intricate green patterns — runes that were identical to those now swirling protectively around him.
Evidently, it was Angel who had just saved Sabel.
Sabel opened his mouth; he actually didn’t wish for the duel between the two to be interrupted by a third party, even if that person had saved him. This was a matter of pride and honor for a knight during a duel.
Before Sabel could speak, Angel seemed to already understand his thoughts, saying dispassionately, “You’ve already won this contest when Sharu’s consciousness was replaced by a Sinful Monster.”
Sabel paused, “Are you saying… he is no longer Sharu?”
Angel nodded, slowly approaching and as he passed Sabel, stated, “Leave the rest to me.”
With that said, Angel took deliberate steps towards Sharu, who seemed to sense the looming threat. A flicker of malevolence crossed his dark eyes, yet he dared not lay a hand on Angel. Instead, he turned and sped away as if to flee.
Just as he ascended, an awe-inspiring aura imbued with a sense of ‘divine decree’ appeared in his mind.
Before Sharu could react, he fell from mid-air onto the ground, incapacitated. It was an ironic taste of his own medicine, as he had previously immobilized Sabel.
Fear flashed through Sharu’s eyes as he watched Angel walk steadily towards him.
Angel halted, looking down at the struggling Sharu.
“It’s futile; you can’t escape,” Angel said softly. He was using the Power Tree to control the Sinful Monster’s abilities within Sharu, rendering it immobile. Thus, fleeing would be pointless.
“Although Sharu failed to complete the experimental process correctly, he at least learned something,” Angel said, lowering his gaze as if peering through Sharu’s eyes into the trembling demon within. “Fear, fleeing, even temptation… it seems you possess intelligence? Or should I say, you’re utilizing his thought processes for your own self-interest?”
Previously, Angel had encountered Sinful Monsters in the dark mist, creatures that seemed to lack significant cognitive ability.
However, the situation within Sharu was distinctly different. Could it be that the Sinful Monster had entered a ‘growth phase’ and had developed cognitive faculties? Or was it that the Sinful Monster was gradually integrating with Sharu, and could now think using Sharu’s mental faculties?
Either way, none of this boded well for Angel.
Angel’s prior consideration had been to suppress the Sinful Monster within a human body. As long as one refrained from using power beyond a certain sealed limit, one could maintain their sanity.
The one key factor in this strategy had been: don’t overuse the power of the Sinful Monster.
However, now, following Sharu’s test, Angel discovered that Sinful Monsters could even tempt their hosts. Angel had been continuously monitoring the Sinful Monster within Sharu and had clearly heard Sharu’s conversation with it. The Sinful Monster had not only tempted Sharu but had also led him astray in his decision-making.
This implies that if, in the future, residents from the Dream Realm are chosen to bear the power of Sinful Monsters, another Factor to Consider must be added: they must possess strong mental resilience and resistance to temptation.
Otherwise, if they all end up like Sharu — succumbing to temptation in their first battle — then forget about protecting others; they will become the culprits bringing harm upon their own people.