Translator: SumTLMan
Angel could feel the Enforcer’s resignation and… well wishes.
It seemed the Enforcer also felt that his end was predetermined.
Indeed, among all wizards, it’s universally acknowledged that being of a higher realm grants an overwhelming advantage; each level is like a chasm. For instance, setting aside external factors, a second level wizard could easily overpower a first level wizard, as the mental model of a second level wizard is incomparable to that of a first level one, and the magical powers they can harness are several times greater than those of a first level wizard.
This comparison is only between first and second level wizards.
Even a mere split consciousness avatar of Gruz De Weld, capable of demonstrating the power of a fifth level wizard.
Under such circumstances, Angel, a newly promoted junior wizard being targeted by an entity of at least the fifth wizard level, no one would expect a different outcome.
Even Angel himself felt uneasy… He had heard that Gruz De Weld held humans in contempt, valuing magical creatures more. Hence, he had even hidden Toby inside his bracelet. Yet, after all the twists and turns, Gruz De Weld hadn’t spared him; it wasn’t Toby he was interested in but Angel himself.
Angel found the turn of events absurd, but it seemed it would become a reality nonetheless.
To avoid becoming a captive bird in Gruz De Weld’s hands, his only hope now lay in “it.”
Thinking this, Angel glanced at the spotted puppy inside Woof Woof.
This little spotted puppy was still struggling unconsciously, with droopy ears, its eyes rolling back one moment and coming to the next, still caught in a cycle of ‘drowning’ and ‘waking up.’
It was truly… foolish.
Almost unbearable to witness.
Angel deeply doubted whether relying on this creature was feasible at all.
…
The spotted puppy, unsurprisingly, was the reinforcement called upon by Woof Woof. The reason Angel had changed his mind and actively come to the center of the Mist Zone was because of the spotted puppy’s presence.
Although Angel had met the spotted puppy only a few times before, each encounter had been key to his survival. For example, in Sleepless City, if not for the spotted puppy, they might have never escaped; and in the Land of Heart Sigh, had it not been for the spotted puppy’s protective power, he would have been exposed by other creatures of the Nightmare Plane long ago. It could be said that the spotted puppy was Angel’s greatest lifesaving… dog.
Perhaps the spotted puppy itself did not care, but Angel could not overlook this kindness, so he had come.
However, seeing the spotted puppy this time, Angel felt… as unreliable as ever.
Performing a drowning act inside Woof Woof’s belly, you really are silly enough.
Yes, Angel was very aware that the spotted puppy was “performing.” Although he hadn’t seen much of it, every time Angel encountered it, the dog was either about to perform or had already started its performance.
For instance, upon their first meeting, it pretended to be a lost puppy, winning Angel’s sympathy, only to suddenly open its huge gaping maw and swallow Angel whole.
Later, when Angel communicated with the spotted puppy through Woof Woof, it was clear that the spotted puppy could talk. However, whenever Angel tried to connect with the spotted puppy, it would start barking in the “Void Network”!
And this barking was purely chaotic; even wizards with a full level of beast language couldn’t understand what it was barking about.
In front of him, the spotted puppy pretended to be innocent, clueless, or just plain dumb, but in front of Woof Woof, it acted like a big brother.
It could be said to be quite the seasoned actor.
This time, it even started performing drowning. If you could really drown, the Minister of Arms would have thrown you into the furnace for a remake long ago!
Angel couldn’t care less about the spotted puppy, and for this out-of-tune comrade, he had already mentally prepared for the worst outcome.
If all else fails, then he might as well go to the City of Phantasm and become a tool person.
…
As Angel remained silently contemplative, the spatial rift began to stabilize gradually.
By the time it fully stabilized, both the Enforcer and Magnificus De Pawel, regardless of what they thought internally, showed a flicker of joy in their eyes. At least, they had secured their retreat.
Logically, they should leave through the spatial passage now.
But Gruz De Weld did not step aside; instead, he emerged from the spatial passage.
With the main character standing right there, it was not proper for the others to leave without permission.
After Gruz De Weld emerged, those slightly sinister orange-red fiery eyes glanced at Angel, then interestingly observed Woof Woof, which was larger than the other Void Travelers, before ignoring the Enforcer and focusing on Magnificus De Pawel.
“Shiuro Shiuro~ Lord, shall we leave this place now, or…” Magnificus De Pawel turned his head, looking towards the Mysterious Fruit that was still absorbing nourishment from Number 03 in the distance.
“With the current situation, it’s hard to obtain it directly, but we can try out its disorderly effects.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Gruz De Weld stretched out his palm and gently grasped, capturing the two mini wizards hanging around Magnificus De Pawel in his palm.
Ignoring the wails of the two wizards, Gruz De Weld extended his finger and tapped, creating two spherical air shields that enveloped the two wizards within.
These two air shields, at first glance, seemed quite ordinary, but only wizards nearby could understand their terror.
Like Angel, when Gruz De Weld extended his finger and the tip began to glow, Angel’s gaze was already enchanted, as if his consciousness had been sucked into that slight glow… It was thanks to the Enforcer waking him up, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Because, just that less than a second of direct gaze caused Angel’s eyes to start bleeding.
This is the punishment for audacious prying.
From this, it is sufficient to illustrate how terrifying the two air shield spells released by Gruz De Weld are.
However, even though Angel received punishment, he harbored no resentment in his heart because the moment he saw Gruz De Weld casting the spell, it was as if he saw… Truth.
Even now, reminiscing about it is so wonderfully intoxicating.
However, just as Angel was intoxicated by that glimpse of “light of truth,” a cool power suddenly invaded his forehead.
The chilly sensation instantly disrupted his thoughts.
A bit confused, he looked up to see the Enforcer looking at him with a complex gaze.
“Lord Enforcer, what… what’s happening to me?”
“Nothing, it’s just that your perception and comprehension abilities are quite high, and you’ve fallen into a high level trap.”
The so-called high level trap is not a trap set by a high level wizard, but rather the chaos that ensues when a low level wizard attempts to pry into or understand the words, phrases, or notes left by a high level wizard, leading to their own confusion.
This is not the fault of the high level wizards; it is the low level wizards who are overestimating their abilities.
However, Angel’s situation was somewhat different from other high level traps. Other wizards, upon seeing Gruz De Weld casting spells, would hardly fall into such traps, whereas Angel, with his exceptionally keen perception and comprehension, did so, resulting in this high level trap.
It can be said that the punishment Angel encountered is unreplicable by others.
This is a matter of talent.
Nevertheless, the Enforcer, having lived for so long and seen many geniuses, only felt a complex emotion momentarily before quickly regaining composure and even had the patience to caution Angel.
“Do not be deceived by the false truth. If the truth were so easy to come by, would it still be worth the pursuit of wizards?”
Angel was quick to grasp the meaning of the Enforcer’s words.
The feeling he had been indulging in was like poisoned honey, utterly worthless in hindsight. With this realization, Angel refocused his mind, relegating this memory to the depths of his thought.
On the other hand, after Gruz De Weld had enclosed the two wizards in air shields, with a gentle flick, he expelled them from the Domain of Distortion.
The two air shields, like bubbles floating in the sunlight, shimmered with iridescent brilliance, slowly drifting towards the fruit.
By then, Angel had already learned from the Enforcer that the air shields enveloping the two wizards were a fourth level spell called “Levitating Wall.” It could block nearly all types of energy attacks and was categorized as a defensive spell, though how it was applied was up to the wizard.
With the realm of Gruz De Weld, the release of the Levitating Wall far exceeded the constraints of fourth level, reaching at least the peak of fifth level.
Such an unprecedented terrifying spell, which enveloped two wizards, was only to test the disorderly effects of the Mysterious Fruit.
From this, it can actually be seen that disorderly objects, such as this Mysterious Fruit, are not something junior wizards can peep at.
“Shiuro~ The Levitating Wall can’t stop the attraction, huh.” Magnificus De Pawel suddenly spoke.
Angel also looked up, and sure enough, the two wizards within the Levitating Wall had become obsessed, meaning the attraction of the Mysterious Fruit was not within the energy blocked by the Levitating Wall.
“However, although the Levitating Wall cannot stop the attraction, it is also not affected by the disorderly rhythm,” the Enforcer added at this time. Before this, including living beings, matter, and energy could all be attracted by the Mysterious Fruit, and logically, the Levitating Wall should also fall within the energy framework to be attracted by the Mysterious Fruit. But now it’s not affected, indicating…
“At least before it is completely out of control, its pulling power cannot have too much impact on the energy of spells above level five.”
Of course, excluding the attraction.
Since the Levitating Wall can be temporarily controlled, this gave Gruz De Weld space to operate. He let the two Levitating Walls slowly float towards the Mysterious Fruit.
Finally, hovering above the Mysterious Fruit.
Waiting for the moment the Mysterious Fruit matures is the time for the two Levitating Walls to test the disorderly effects. One directly shatters to let the wizards inside fall, to see the effects of disorder; the other keeps the Levitating Wall, to see if the complete disorder can affect the Levitating Wall.
Such an experimental control group, although simple, is still quite useful at the moment.
Even the Enforcer was curious about the outcome at this time.
——Of course, the premise is that he must be alive. The Enforcer was already prepared to enter the spatial rift at the moment before the complete disorder, as it would be too late after complete disorder.
This was actually the thought of the others as well. They are probing the edge of disorder. They won’t leave easily before complete disorder.
Others doing so would mostly result in certain death. But with Gruz De Weld in charge, they believed there should be ample consideration, and major problems wouldn’t occur.
However, accidents often happen in trivial details.
For example, a drowning drama queen puppy that they overlooked.
…
Number 03 could no longer howl at this time; her flesh, her blood, her bones, her brain pulp, all were turning into sacrificial light particles.
If she still had emotions, she might regret swallowing that Mysterious Fruit core.
She later regretted trusting the mysterious person who sold her the seed.
But she had already lost her emotions, yes, The Final Sacrifice, which was not just the offering of the flesh but also the mental space, the sea of consciousness… and the ultimate land of soul.
The mental space silently shattered, without any manifestation in the material world.
The sea of consciousness also began to crack, turning into a gust of light wind, which made the blood mist of the Mysterious Fruit above lighter, revealing the metallic mesh-like “flesh” structure beneath.
When everything else had shattered, it came to the last part of the ceremony.
——The sacrifice of the soul.
The land of soul, this pitch-black space, finally broke under an unknown formidable power.
Leaving behind a seemingly lonely soul.
That was the soul of Number 03.
Her soul maintained the appearance of her most beautiful moment, dressed in a splendid gown, her hair done up in a bun, adorned with dazzling accessories.
Her figure was graceful, and her appearance exceptionally lovely.
The only thing somewhat out of place was the mark of the number 03 on the soul’s face.
This was a method jointly used by the River Legacy Society and the Qwest World, and also a symbol of Number 03, although she herself did not like it and always wanted to get rid of it. But one doesn’t have control over oneself within an organization.
Once, this mark was her obsession, but at this moment, all obsessions seemed meaningless.
Because her end had already been written by the inevitable brush of destiny.
Number 03 herself was aware that her future had been cut off, her life had ended, and her soul would become nourishment for the Mysterious Fruit above.
She provided the final nourishment.
As for who the Mysterious Fruit ultimately belongs to? Perhaps it’s the distant Enforcer, perhaps it’s the Lord of the City of Phantasm, or perhaps… it’s that mysterious person with ill intentions who handed the Mysterious Fruit core to her.
This is no longer important.
After her death, what does this have to do with her?
As for whether she harbors hatred… she probably does, but the power representing her emotions has also been absorbed by the Mysterious Fruit, and she doesn’t know.
She is just waiting now, waiting for the sacrifice of her soul.
Her wait wasn’t too long; soon, her soul began to ascend slowly. At this moment, for some reason, Number 03 was not only not afraid, she even wanted to enter the Mysterious Fruit more quickly.
This urgency, if expressed in emotions, should probably be called anticipation, right?
She doesn’t know why she anticipates, maybe because it could let her be… liberated earlier.
It’s worth mentioning that she thought her soul would, like other parts of her body, shatter into particles of light and merge into the Mysterious Fruit. But in fact, her soul did not break, she approached the Mysterious Fruit with a complete soul.
Just as her soul, touched the blood-red mist of the Mysterious Fruit.
An indescribable power suddenly surged into her soul.
Before her consciousness and underlying logic were completely overturned, she faintly discerned the source of this power.
This is, the power of the mysterious.