Chapter 2520 Stairway Test <TOC> Chapter 2522 The So-Called Art
Translator: SumTLMan
Ms. Melo looked around; the glass room was not large, almost the same size as the log cabin they had encountered in the previous illusion. It was enclosed by transparent glass on all sides, beyond which floated nebulous rainbow mists.
“Is it just us here?” Ms. Melo asked. “Where are the others?”
Angel pointed outside: “They are still out there, let’s keep them in the illusion for a bit longer.”
“Does the lord intend to use this to train their temperament?” Ms. Melo inquired.
“Do you think, if I were to use illusions to train them, I would employ such illusions?” Although Angel did not openly criticize the rainbow illusion outside, Ms. Melo detected a hint of disdain in his tone.
Ms. Melo thought for a moment and agreed; such illusions, apart from stirring some inner figments, served only to frighten. Anyone with normal reasoning could easily discern that what lay before them was not reality.
“So, the lord expects them to find their own way out?”
Seeing the illusion and escaping from it were two different matters. Even Ms. Melo had not figured out how to leave the illusion yet; she had been abruptly pulled out by Angel.
“No, just want them to stay inside a little longer,” Angel clarified.
Ms. Melo, recalling the tricks played near the staircase not long ago, had an epiphany.
So, this is another spectacle?
Seeing Ms. Melo’s realization, Angel felt a wave of helplessness and explained irritably: “I’m keeping them in the illusion because the scenes that follow might not be suitable for them to witness.”
Ms. Melo was startled: “What do you mean?”
Angel snapped his fingers gently, and suddenly, a crystal-like spiral staircase appeared in the center of the glass room, extending upwards.
Looking up from below, one could vaguely see a door to a room.
“Is that the princess’ room?” Ms. Melo wondered aloud.
“I don’t know if it’s the princess’ room, but the two talents you’re looking for are in there,” Angel paused: “Don’t worry, they are alive, but the scenes inside might be quite unsightly, hence it’s best not to let the other talents go there.”
“Of course, if you wish, I can let the others in. However, those two inside, even if alive, might wish they weren’t.”
Angel’s insinuation made Ms. Melo immediately recall the ordeal of Amesa.
The missing talents, Gloshi and Blazer, regardless of other aspects, were at least more aesthetically pleasing than the three men outside.
And with the princess being a deviant, what would she do after capturing two handsome men?
Ms. Melo seemed to vaguely understand.
“Let’s let them stay out a bit longer then. Although the illusion isn’t high-end, it can still serve to temper,” Ms. Melo paused: “Shall we go up now, or will the lord go up alone first?”
Ms. Melo’s etiquette taught her not to see what should not be seen. Previously, Amesa being a woman was tolerable, but with those two men, she might also damage their pride if she went.
Angel raised an eyebrow: “So, I am their guide? I didn’t pull you out of the illusion just to switch roles.”
Ms. Melo quickly replied: “I just, I just…”
“No need to explain further, let’s go up together. While the scenes may be unsightly, Daus was right; they do have a sort of artistic flair.”
As Angel spoke, he began ascending the crystal spiral staircase.
Ms. Melo immediately followed. Etiquette was important, but her duty as a guide clearly took precedence.
Soon, they reached the top of the staircase.
There, they encountered a large door adorned with colorful gems, exuding an aura of enchantment. The door lacked a traditional latch, replaced instead by a hole.
Rustling sounds emanated from within the hole, suggesting something was about to emerge. Ms. Melo tensed in anticipation.
Before long, an object slid out from the hole… a snake’s head.
This was a snake’s head, covered in pink scales that twinkled with stardust, crowned with a fairytale princess’ dreamy tiara. Unlike typical serpents, its large eyes bore pink heart-shaped pupils, not the cold vertical slits of its kin.
It appeared utterly fantastical, as if lifted straight from a storybook.
However, Angel could see through the poor illusion to the creature’s true form, ugly and filthy.
“Has our darling little princess returned? What delightful treats might the princess bring for her most loyal servant Surekha today? Let me guess, the hand of that maid who was cleaning the greenhouse, or perhaps the head of your favorite male servant? I’d prefer the maid’s hand. If my guess is right, after our snack, I will report something important to your highness. Of course, even if it’s the male servant’s head, I would still report, as Surekha is your most faithful servant, never hiding anything from you.”
The pink snake head swung its head as it spoke sycophantically, oblivious to the fact that the usual princess was not who stood before it.
After it finished flattering, the pink snake head blinked its pretty eyelashes forward.
Upon realizing the newcomers were not the princess but an unknown man and woman, the previously obsequious expression shifted instantly to a venomous and fierce glare: “Intruders! You dare come here seeking death!”
With no hesitation, the snake attacked.
It raised its head high, a pink poisonous mist sprayed from its mouth, revealing sharp fangs aimed directly at Angel’s neck like a swiftly launched arrow.
To Angel, however, this attack lacked any spectacle.
With a lazy wave of his hand, the accompanying Speedling dispersed the toxic fog, and Angel nonchalantly stuffed a magically infused loaf into the gaping maw of the pink snake head.
Hmm, he had just cast it, still warm and quite delicious, albeit a tad overdone this time, nearly as hard as diamond.
Stunned by these rapid actions, the snake found the taste in its mouth unprecedentedly vile, the loaf lodged firmly in its throat, difficult to swallow or spit out.
It faltered, unable to move.
At that moment, Angel also subtly released some wizard level pressure, causing the snake’s heart-shaped pupils to shrink to slits!
“What… uh, blargh… another wizard…”
Angel smiled warmly: “I’ve heard about you from Daus. He found you too filthy to touch and simply silenced you for a while. It seems that seal has expired.”
Hearing that Angel knew the previous visitor, the pink snake head immediately cowered. That red-haired Daus, perhaps manageable by Gray Crow, but now, not just one wizard but two had entered the castle!
Facing two wizards was an entirely different ordeal.
And this wizard seemed even more formidable and terrifying than Daus, who had merely silenced it, but Angel’s gaze hinted at lethal intentions!
Was he planning to kill the adorable Surekha? Oh no, I’m not ready to die yet. I can’t die now; I’m not yet the legendary World Serpent!
With this thought, the pink snake head swiftly changed its demeanor, conveying a “I surrender” look with its eyes, resembling less a snake and more some breed of sled dog.
Surekha continued to speak intermittently: “I, I can, uh, tell the lord, all the secrets here. I can stand by the lord’s side at any time!”
Angel responded: “Since you know what’s good for you, I’ll spare you for now. I’ll ask about the secrets later; first, open the door for me.”
This pink snake was not a pet, but a spirit similar to Tree Spirit Lord and Mirror Lady. Of course, when talking about power, it couldn’t even defeat a single hair of Mirror Lady.
The Spirit of the Snake was integrated into this door, becoming the spirit of the door.
To enter the inner room, one had to either kill this snake spirit or let it open the door itself.
It’s common in the Wizarding World for many spirits to guard doors and homes. For example, the Two-Faced Stone Spirit Taros of Silent Hill, Guardian Zibert of Western Demos, and even Mirror Lady is considered a door spirit.
It’s not that spirits prefer doors, but that wizards want them to be doors.
After all, spirits are appendages to wizards, so many are born according to the wizards’ wishes. Of course, except for spirits like Book Ancestor.
Because in the Wizarding World, the status of Book Ancestor is perhaps even higher than that of Rhine.
Since the snake spirit had already conceded, it dared not disobey Angel’s words, and the door was gently opened.
As the door opened, even before Ms. Melo could look inside, she already heard a series of familiar screams.
“Ah, ah, ah, ah! Damn it!”
“That despicable human ant! To treat the demon lord who walks upon the world like this is an unforgivable desecration. She will surely suffer the divine punishment of the Demon Plane!”
This roar made Angel stop in his tracks at the doorway.
Ms. Melo, however, showed a slightly embarrassed expression: “Blazer is a very energetic child, and he has a rich imagination.”
After Ms. Melo finished speaking, a somewhat calm but still breathless young voice came out: “Are you really the dark demon lord’s representative in the world?”
“No! No! No! How many times do I have to say it, Gloshi, do you have a fish brain? I am not a representative! I am the demon lord himself!”
Gloshi wondered: “Then why were you captured by that madman?”
“I am the young demon lord. Do you understand what that means? It means the demon lord’s power is still dormant within me. It will grow over time, and eventually, I will ascend to the dark throne once again!”
Gloshi seemed to really believe it: “I see… So, young demon lord, you don’t have any way to use it? You’ve been with Ms. Melo longer than I have. Hasn’t she taught you how to unlock the demon lord’s power?”
The previously boisterous voice suddenly became weaker: “Of course, I have a way. Haven’t you noticed my right hand?”
“I noticed before that your hand is wrapped in bandages.”
“Foolish mortal, this is not ordinary bandage. It is a special form of energy, designed to seal the vast dark power within me. Just by slightly uncovering it, the revealed dark power would be enough to resolve our current crisis.”
Blazer spoke fervently, but his speech took a turn midway: “But as you can see, I’m tied up like this, completely unable to uncover the seal that binds the dark power. So…”
Gloshi: “So, you also have no way to use it, right? Young demon lord.”
Blazer: “…”
Gloshi: “Right, you just said the power dormant inside you is the demon lord’s power, so why did the bandage’s seal suddenly change to dark power? Are these two powers different?”
Blazer was stunned; in his boasting, he had forgotten to refine this detail, damn it, why did Gloshi have to remember it so clearly!
However, Gloshi hadn’t finished asking his question: “Before we were tied up, your hands were completely free, weren’t you? Why didn’t you remove the bindings then?”
Blazer’s voice became somber: “…That’s because I forgot. You might not know, but as a young demon lord, my memory is extremely chaotic, sometimes even worse than that of ordinary people.”
Gloshi continued to play the curious child: “I can understand memory lapses, but we’ve been locked in this dungeon for such a long time. Didn’t you ever think about unsealing yourself?”
Blazer really wanted to curse in his heart.
Gloshi, who seemed to have deeply believed that he was the young demon lord, was overly fixated on details. Or perhaps, although Gloshi appeared clean and believed on the surface, if you were to cut open his belly, it would be full of black pus.
At that moment, standing at the doorway, Angel said to Ms. Melo: “You see, they indeed have a lot of vitality. They won’t die, at least not anytime soon.”
Ms. Melo’s lips twitched slightly: “Indeed.”
“Let’s go and see the so-called ‘true art’ that Daus speaks of.”
Angel stepped forward, entering through the big door. Alongside, a long-necked snake appeared, it was Surekha, whose current persona was ‘rebellious’, yet also ‘subservient’, always staying close to Angel.
The sudden appearance of Angel and Ms. Melo provided a distraction for Blazer. After all, he had racked his brains but hadn’t come up with a good response to Gloshi’s questioning.
But though they provided a distraction, their appearance was fully scrutinized.
For a moment, the air turned dense and silent.
At that moment, Ms. Melo finally realized why Angel had instructed the other talents to stay in the illusion below. Because the scene before them was truly an eye-sore.
They had seen two naked men hanging upside-down from a tree at the door when they had left the dungeon.
That scene had already been a direct hit to the senses.
But the current scene was probably countless times more unbearable than before.
Gloshi and Blazer were not only naked and suspended mid-air by ropes, but they were also tied up in extremely indecent and shameful positions that humans could hardly achieve on their own.
The positions were so bizarre that they were beyond verbal description and only highlighted the flexibility of the human body to reach such extremes.
Due to the strangeness of the positions, they even ignored the mysteriously swollen objects that were constricted.
Of course, what was most exquisite was the rope art, referred to as ‘true art’ by Daus.
This rope art, orderly, rhythmic, and aesthetically pleasing, in combination with their poses, was truly exceptional.
Chapter 2520 Stairway Test <TOC> Chapter 2522 The So-Called Art