Chapter 2522 The So-Called Art <TOC> Chapter 2524 The Princess
Translator: SumTLMan
“The true form of the young demon lord… yes, the true form, is still far across the sea; what you see here is just an illusory bubble.”
“This is an illusion created by that little demon, haha, scared you, didn’t it?”
A young man with his right hand wrapped in bandages suddenly began to shout loudly and laugh boisterously from time to time, looking indeed like a clown playing a prank.
If 10 points were the maximum, ignoring the young man’s flushed face, Angel would give this young man’s acting and adaptability an 8, deducting points for a stuttering start.
But now, probably about a 2.
Why not 0 points? Naturally, because despite the performance being full of flaws, oddly, it has pleased a certain point in Angel’s heart.
“Oh, so it’s an illusion created by the princess.”
Everyone else stared open-mouthed at Blazer, while Angel appeared indifferent, even chuckling in amusement.
“Of course! That little demon’s character is the worst, she created this illusion specifically to scare you. Right, right, right?” Blazer said ‘right’ three times in a row, all directed at Angel. Clearly, being on the verge of collapse, Blazer desperately needed the acknowledgement of others, even though he still didn’t know who Angel was.
“It’s indeed something the princess would do,” Angel seriously affirmed.
As soon as he spoke, Blazer seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, while calling out even more emphatically: Don’t believe it, what’s in front of you is an illusion.
“However, since you’re an illusion set up by the princess, why would you speak against her? If it’s an illusion, shouldn’t you respectfully refer to the princess and try your best to scare people?”
Blazer instantly became speechless, his face turning pale: “I, I…”
Angel: “So, the Dark Demon Lord also has moments when he can’t speak.”
Angel said this not to discuss Blazer’s feelings at the moment; meanwhile, Ms. Melo once again confirmed Shalem’s words, despite Angel’s usual gentle, harmless demeanor, he could also be mischievous.
At such times, what Ms. Melo needed to do was to keep quiet, bow her head, and pretend to know nothing.
Angel’s target of mischief was Blazer now, but if he became interested, and it affected her, that wouldn’t be good.
However, Ms. Melo was overthinking; Angel was quite respectful towards women and, as he would say himself, he didn’t think he was being mischievous.
He just simply found Blazer, the young man, quite interesting.
This group of talents were all quite boring, and Blazer was truly a unique flower among them, standing out from the crowd and naturally attracting Angel’s attention.
However, observing Blazer’s suddenly dispirited expression, Angel kindly refrained from teasing him further.
Instead, he lent Blazer a hand.
Angel casually cast several illusion nodes, and a faint white mist enveloped Blazer, concealing the “true art” referred to by Daus and also blocking the glorious visuals.
As for Gloshi, Angel hadn’t forgotten him either, though this character hadn’t shown any amusing reactions, but just as a matter of convenience, he covered him up as well.
Angel’s maneuver, what reactions it would invoke from Blazer and Gloshi was something he did not yet know, as the white mist illusion also obscured any sound.
The purpose of muffling the sound was not because he found Blazer noisy, but rather, he wanted to create a quiet space, which would be more conducive to understanding the matter that piqued his interest even more.
Thinking this, Angel turned to look at Sybil.
At that moment, Sybil was squatting on the ground, head buried, muttering to herself.
Angel listened for a moment and realized Sybil was repeatedly saying: “This is also an illusion, an illusion, an illusion…”
Angel could confirm that Sybil hadn’t actually listened to Blazer’s nonsense. Strangely enough, this man and woman had somehow ended up on the same wavelength.
Young man, you are not fighting alone.
Angel silently mused in his heart, then walked over to Sybil.
Sybil felt someone approaching but did not lift her head, still buried in silence.
“It seems that Ms. Melo’s etiquette instruction has yet to truly reach your heart,” Angel murmured softly, then extended a finger to gently touch Sybil’s forehead, casting a calming illusion directly into her mind.
The tumultuous emotions, under the effect of the calming illusion, gradually began to stabilize.
Sybil seemed to snap back to reality then, raising her head to see standing before her a wizard whom even Ms. Melo respected; she quickly stood up and gave a respectful bow.
“My lord, please forgive my rudeness, I was just a bit too…” Sybil began, her mind momentarily flashing back to the glorious images, though her emotions were much more stable than before.
Angel: “No need for more words, I am curious about one thing.”
“How did you manage to come out from the Rainbow Illusion House below?”
…
After a pause, Angel listened to Sybil’s account.
Sybil herself didn’t know how she had managed to come out; after entering the rainbow mist, she had seen some scenes from years ago in Red Sand Church on Thin Horse Island.
The scenes and memories were quite different and became very eerie. The preacher, who was once as cold as ice, seemed like a ghost, constantly shuttling back and forth. Every time he shuttled to someone, that person would be punished in the name of God, punishment through decapitation.
At first, Sybil was also frightened by such scenes and kept running away, fearing that the ghost preacher might appear in front of her the next second. But gradually, she noticed something wrong.
She saw some rainbow mist.
Originally, after she entered the Red Sand Church, the rainbow mist had disappeared, but strangely, she occasionally saw faint mist drifting out again.
Moreover, the places where the rainbow mist was most concentrated were precisely where the preacher and those who had been killed were located.
At this point, Sybil had realized that this place might not be real but a hallucination. Once she started seeing the rainbow mist, she understood that she and the rainbow mist were completely separate; the rainbow mist couldn’t merge into her body but simply hovered around her. This led her to another conclusion: the ghost preacher, composed of the rainbow mist, likely couldn’t blend with her either, so the ghost preacher couldn’t kill her.
This hypothesis seemed a bit of a leap in logic, but it was not so in reality. It was because Sybil was certain it was an illusion, and she also recalled what Angel had said before entering——
“Go ahead, there’s no danger inside, only some surprises… or shocks.”
The absence of danger was the key point.
Once Sybil confirmed it was an illusion, she was no longer afraid of the ghost preacher. But she didn’t want to stay there anymore, because even as an illusion, those images made her physically uncomfortable.
She began to look for a way to leave the Red Sand Church, and her method was straightforward.
She firmly believed that the rainbow mist was key to creating the illusions, and since she could occasionally see the drifting rainbow mist, she thought that if she walked towards areas where the rainbow mist was sparser, she might be able to get out.
And indeed, it worked just as she had thought.
She left the Red Sand Church and found the glass house, which she felt was even more unbearable than the illusions of the Red Sand Church.
“Seeing the rainbow mist.” Angel squinted, seemingly coming to a realization.
Angel pondered for a moment, then turned to Ms. Melo and asked: “Did you see any rainbow mist inside the Rainbow Illusion House when you entered into the illusion?”
Ms. Melo shook her head: “I saw it before entering, but not after stepping into that glass house.”
Even Ms. Melo didn’t see any rainbow mist inside the illusion, yet Sybil did, which was quite interesting.
Angel was very aware that the so-called rainbow mist was actually just a fake appearance created by illusion nodes, which could appear rainbow-colored, but also as white or gray mist.
The fact that Sybil could occasionally see rainbow mist within the illusion meant that she could see the positions of the illusion nodes.
Even an occasional sighting suggests that Sybil possesses an exceptional talent in observing illusion nodes.
This type of talent typically manifests in one of two types of individuals.
The first type has a talent for deep insight, usually found in those with mysterious or hidden bloodline propensities towards prophecy or illusion. The second type are those talented in illusions, who, even without formal training in illusion arts, show a pronounced resonance with illusion nodes.
Regardless of which type it is, there’s a necessary precondition: the illusion must be minor, roughly between 0 and first level tricks. The rainbow illusion that Angel observes, indeed, appears to be a low level trick. If it were slightly more advanced, even a talent in illusions wouldn’t be able to detect its nodes.
So, which scenario fits Sybil?
Angel could simply ask Ms. Melo about what the talent sphere test showed regarding Sybil’s abilities to get a rough idea of her situation.
But Angel doesn’t do this.
Because if Sybil truly has a talent for illusions, she would have no other choice but to join the lineage of Phantom Island.
Perhaps, then, they might meet on Phantom Island.
So, perhaps it’s best to leave some mystery.
…
Angel didn’t continue to engage much with Sybil, asking her a few casual questions before letting her stand aside like a vase.
Meanwhile, Ms. Melo was busy dismantling the trap.
It took about ten minutes to completely disassemble the intricate device. The two individuals, previously suspended in mid-air, were gently lowered to the ground by Ms. Melo’s magic.
Though Blazer and Gloshi were now on the ground and Freed from the ropes, Angel didn’t dispel the white mist.
There was still one issue to address: their clothes.
Ms. Melo indeed had some women’s clothing and some gender-neutral wizard robes, all stored in a one-time use spatial capsule. She had already used one for Amesa and didn’t want to use another one. For her, a peak apprentice, while affordable, spatial capsules were expensive to use, and it was best to conserve them when possible.
Moreover, there was a wardrobe in the room, along with some carpets and curtains for decor; it would have to suffice for the two men.
After Ms. Melo made the suggestion, Blazer and Gloshi silently approached the wardrobe and opened it.
Unsurprisingly, it was filled with dresses fit for a princess.
The men could perhaps make do with women’s clothing, but the items were not exactly conventional. For instance, there was a pile of black belts adorned with various buckles; or skirts patched together from human hair and skin.
Standing before the wardrobe, they simply didn’t have the courage to take anything out.
Just then, they heard a series of rumbling noises coming from outside.
In their confusion, Angel began: “The noise outside was caused by Daus.”
Ms. Melo asked: “Does this mean that our intrusion has been discovered?”
Angel nodded lazily: “It has been discovered long ago. When you were dismantling the trap, the princess and her entourage of guards had already made their way to the second level.”
Ms. Melo’s heart skipped a beat; it took her considerable time to dismantle the trap, and it didn’t take long to go from the second level to the third, could the princess already be on the third level?
Angel’s words caused Ms. Melo and the other talents to worry, while nearby, the snake spirit Surekha appeared concerned but was secretly thrilled inside.
Angel glanced at Surekha, then continued: “I’ve set up a small obstacle on the second level; they’re temporarily trapped.”
“How long can they be held?” Ms. Melo asked urgently, as this concerned the safety of the talents below.
“I don’t know, maybe two to three minutes, or maybe five to six minutes,” Angel said, then looked at the two young men still standing by the wardrobe: “So, there isn’t much time left for you to get dressed, though you can choose to continue as you are. I will coordinate with you and remove the illusions around you.”
Angel’s words made Blazer and Gloshi even more anxious, and finally, they began to choose their outfits.
Meanwhile, Ms. Melo, following Angel’s directions, went downstairs to find the remaining talents still trapped in illusions.
During Ms. Melo’s search, Angel turned his head back to Surekha: “Are you looking forward to the princess’ arrival?”
Surekha quickly shook his head, using a sycophantic tone: “How could that be? I’m now on your side, lord. If the princess sees me, she will surely kill me. Lord, please believe me.”
Angel raised an eyebrow: “Is that so? So, you’re planning to come with me?”
Surekha paused for half a second, then nodded immediately: “It’s my honor to be taken with you, lord!”
Angel smiled and did not continue on this topic but brought up another matter: “Do you know why I said that it could take the princess two to three minutes, or even five to six minutes, to break through the illusion I set?”
This abrupt question made Surekha pause, then shake his head: “I don’t know.”
“Actually, just a few minutes ago, Gray Crow could have broken the illusion. But he didn’t do it, instead he busied himself with trivial matters.” Angel continued: “However, Gray Crow’s slacking off won’t stay hidden for long. It just depends on when the princess realizes it and when she reacts. So, it could be very soon or it might take a while.”
Angel looked at Surekha: “Your judgment seems quite accurate; this Gray Crow Wizard isn’t loyal to the princess.”
Surekha nodded obsequiously on the surface and said: “So that’s how it is,” but internally he was already planning how to report this to the princess.
“I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for the princess now; her guard, Gray Crow Wizard, is rebellious, and even the gatekeeper has betrayed her. It’s really pitiable.”
“Yes, pitiable…” Surekha followed suit subconsciously, and after speaking, he realized there was a problem with what he had said, and quickly added: “But, the princess deserves it; someone as brutal as her doesn’t deserve to live in this world!”
Angel looked deeply at Surekha: “It seems you’re really prepared to break with the princess and are ready to join me.”
Surekha: “That’s what I should do.”
Angel said no more, instead looking towards the door. Ms. Melo was already coming up with the others.
Chapter 2522 The So-Called Art <TOC> Chapter 2524 The Princess