Chapter 1615 Sebastian <TOC> Chapter 1617 Corridor
Previous page password is bold portion: TOqIve?Ros9$
Translator: SumTLMan
When the dark fog dispersed from the arena, as Queenie had stated, Trom had unquestionably gained the upper hand.
In the absence of demonic assistance, it was already a herculean task for Azaz to defeat Trom. To make matters worse, Trom had even unleashed his bloodline power——his half-beast form.
After a series of tussles, Azaz eventually conceded defeat.
The semi-finals concluded, leaving Trom and Onassis as the finalists.
The championship will be held in three days, during which the ranking of the remaining competitors, apart from the winner and runner-up, will be determined.
After the match concluded, Angel noticed that Gloria had placed a Mark on Azaz, who remained oblivious to it.
Gloria: “I’m going to take care of Azaz first. If you’re headed to the Bliss Pavilion, tell Sunisha and the others I’ll join them later.”
Angel: “I don’t have any plans right now. Mind if I accompany you?”
Gloria nodded nonchalantly: “If you want to come, then come.”
With that, Gloria’s figure abruptly vanished. Following the trail of Gloria’s aura, Angel quickly caught up.
In a plaza outside Infinite Battle Tower, Gloria reappeared. Shortly after, Angel materialized beside her.
“He’s still inside the Infinite Battle Tower, hasn’t come out yet. Let’s wait a bit,” said Gloria, settling herself on a bench near a fountain.
As she sat down, Gloria plunged into deep contemplation, repeatedly replaying in her mind the day’s match between Azaz and Trom.
During Gloria’s reverie, Angel’s words reached her ears.
“I feel that his performance in today’s match wasn’t staged,” Angel’s voice had a unique timbre, which not only managed to cut through the ambient sound of the water cascading in the nearby fountain but seemed all the clearer for it.
Gloria didn’t respond, but she silently agreed with Angel’s sentiment. The match indeed didn’t feel orchestrated.
Angel continued, “Since Azaz has made an offering to the demon, and has already fallen from grace, he could act with complete impunity in the Southern Region, where no one understands the implications of making such a sacrifice. With the added power from the demon — especially given that he’s likely offered to a Rune Fire Demon — how could he possibly lose?”
“I watched the match with Trom and, comparing him with Carvelyn, I think Carvelyn would win. But Azaz beat Carvelyn and lost to Trom, which doesn’t add up, does it?”
Gloria gave Angel a piercing look: “So you’re saying you think Azaz hasn’t truly fallen?”
Angel elaborated, “All I’m saying is that Azaz and the demon to whom he made the offering may not have reached full ideological alignment. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have exhausted his demonic powers in the latter part of the match.”
If Azaz could have maintained his demonic power, defeating Trom wouldn’t have been a difficult feat.
After a moment of contemplation, Gloria nodded, “You have a point. Toward the end of the match, Azaz’s body was fully capable of sustaining the demonic powers, yet he didn’t receive any further aid from it. Something’s certainly amiss.”
“However,” Gloria paused for emphasis, “there could be other unknown factors at play here. We can ask him about it once we capture him.” Gloria added, “Regardless, since the demon that Azaz has made an offering to can turn living beings into ingredients, it’s evident that Azaz and the demon have reached an agreement on some level.”
Based on Gloria’s line of thought, the plan was still to deal with Azaz. However, she had shifted from a ‘kill on sight’ approach to being prepared to capture him first.
Angel was moved by Azaz’s pure and unblemished gaze when he spoke to Trom earlier. However, how to deal with Azaz is Gloria’s matter, and Angel knew better than to intervene.
“What are your plans regarding what Queenie mentioned earlier? When do you plan to go to the Frost Moon Alliance?” Gloria shifted the focus of the conversation away from Azaz to ask.
“For now, I won’t go; there’s much left undone,” Angel replied without hesitation. It’s not that he didn’t trust Queenie; he was aware that even if he went to the Frost Moon Alliance, Mengke probably wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him. However, Angel still harbored some reservations.
He still held onto a physical form that Mengke desperately coveted, one belonging to a being named Orlusia. More importantly, even a fragment of the Demon God itself resided within it.
Until he has dealt with these two corporeal entities, he dared not set foot in the territory of the Frost Moon Alliance casually.
“The Blossom of Frost houses various rare and valuable treasures from the Frost Moon Alliance’s campaigns in other worlds. It may even contain Mysterious Objects whose glory has been hidden. Aren’t you tempted?” Gloria asked. “The Chapter of the Moon is a treasury of knowledge inherited by the Frost Moon. It contains a vast convergence of information, including even lost recipes… Can you resist such temptation?”
“I’m not tempted, nor do I have interest in recipes,” Angel responded.
“If you could obtain some of these lost recipes for me, any food listed in them, I could prepare for you free of charge in the future,” Gloria suggested.
Angel pondered for a moment; this offer was actually more tempting than the “Blossom of Frost and Chapter of the Moon.” The efficacy of Gloria’s gourmet creations sometimes surpassed that of potions and rarely had side effects. To get to enjoy them for free would indeed be a good deal.
“That’s worth considering, but as I said, I have many pressing matters at hand. I’ll visit the Frost Moon Alliance when time permits,” he concluded.
Gloria was initially going to press Angel into helping her obtain some lost recipes, but just then, she sensed that Azaz had exited Infinite War Tower.
“He’s out,” said Gloria, her expression instantly becoming more serious. “It’s time to go and meet him.”
Ten minutes later, on Champagne Road.
Azaz was not part of any formal wizard organization and could be best described as a nomadic apprentice. Consequently, he didn’t have an established residence within Sky Mechanical City’s designated wizard areas. Instead, he had temporarily taken up lodging at an inn on Champagne Road.
Champagne Road was teeming with taverns and inns, making it a bustling hub where many apprentices congregated.
From dawn till dusk, the street was in a perpetual state of wakefulness and revelry. The current moment was no exception; the atmosphere was as lively as ever.
Particularly noteworthy was the Woodrow Bar not far away, which seemed to be the epicenter of all the commotion.
As Azaz walked past Woodrow Bar, he could glimpse through the doorway the lively atmosphere within and hear various discussions emanating from the establishment.
Under normal circumstances, Azaz might have gone in for a drink, but he was not in the mood at this moment.
Firstly, his hands were still recovering from frostbite. Despite having received treatment, they remained numb.
Secondly, he was disheartened due to his defeat in the competition. His aspiration to impose restrictions on Sebastian had been thwarted, leaving him in a state of melancholy.
“Why so glum? Do you really want to constrain me that much? I’d be quite heartbroken, you know. We’ve even exchanged surnames. I hear that in some human societies, the bride takes the groom’s last name after marriage. So, in that sense, wouldn’t our relationship be even more intimate?” Sebastian’s ethereal voice entered Azaz’s mind.
“First of all, human gender is divided into male and female. Secondly, in some countries, the woman doesn’t change her surname upon marriage but merely adds a prefix.” Azaz paused before adding, “Furthermore, you now also possess my surname.”
Sebastian: “Doesn’t that mean, in terms of surnames, we’re mutually constraining each other?”
Of course, what Sebastian didn’t tell Azaz was that he had nearly twenty surnames, symbolic of the rich lineage of the Rune Fire Demon.
Azaz had no desire to engage with Sebastian, but Sebastian persisted, “If you’re genuinely feeling down, why not step into this bar for a drink? While there’s a lot of gossip about other people inside, there’s no shortage of flattering talk about you. Perhaps you’ll cheer up upon hearing it?”
“I don’t want to listen.”
“Just a simple drink then?”
“No,” Azaz remained resistant, but with a trace of suspicion, he added, “Why are you suddenly suggesting that I go to the Woodrow Bar? Is there a catch? Do you have associates inside?”
Sebastian: “Certainly not. It’s just that there’s a particularly delectable ingredient in there.”
“Ingredient? What kind of ingredient?”
Sebastian did not respond verbally, but in his mind, he softly uttered, “Living ingredient.”