Chapter 282 Resentful Puppet <TOC> Chapter 284 The Mysterious Phenomenon
Translator: SumTLMan
Ever since Sanders severed that Nightmare Plane and integrated it into Angel’s body, he had been in a peculiar state.
Before Angel Undertook the Nightmare Domain, Sanders had told him that he would fall into various illusory and false visions. These visions might be what he most desired in his heart, and he must not indulge in them, or he might never wake up.
However, the visions that Sanders earnestly warned about never appeared.
Instead, he fell into a very shallow semi-comatose state, where he could hear everything happening outside, but he couldn’t wake up.
He heard Sanders say that Felicia had gone to the Radiant Realm and that Gloria might not be dead. Although he didn’t know what these two events had to do with each other, it was undoubtedly good news.
He also heard Flora talking behind his back.
He even heard that Sanders had tried to bid on the No Eyed man…… But unfortunately, he didn’t win, and the man was taken by Lady Red Lotus.
Angel heard many things from the outside world, but he still couldn’t move.
At some point, Angel suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable all over his body. His blood flow accelerated, and his mental strength was rapidly consumed.
In particular, the area near the butterfly bone on his back alternated between scorching pain and unbearable itching.
Under such circumstances, Angel couldn’t care less about what the outside world was saying. He focused all his attention on the peculiar reactions within his body.
Angel curled his mind up in the thought space, quietly waiting for a vision to arrive, waiting to be drawn into a real illusion, and waiting for him to break free from the illusion and inherit the newly-born Nightmare Plane.
However, even after the Nightmare Domain had merged into his body, the “addictive illusion” he had been waiting for never arrived.
Other than the constant itching and pain in the shoulder blade area of his back, he had no other sensations.
“Today’s auction is now over!”
It was only when the Nightmare Domain had completely merged that Angel emerged from his state of readiness. Just in time, Twilight’s voice reached his ears.
Angel heard the sound of Twilight’s hammer confirming the last auction item: Was it already over? What was the last item? He hoped it was a weapon to restrain the undead.
Angel still couldn’t wake up and remained in that half-awake, half-dreaming state.
He heard Sanders conversing with Twilight, seemingly trading something. Later, a coarse male voice had a lively conversation with Sanders, inviting him to drink at some place…… And then, Angel found himself in a quiet and empty space.
He heard the sounds of birds and beasts.
He smelled the fragrance of plants and flowers.
He felt a trembling deep within his soul.
Angrily excited, he wondered if all these signs indicated that the long-awaited illusion realm had finally graced him with its presence.
But in the end, Angel was disappointed, as the “Nightmare Plane” did not take any action against him.
……
An indeterminate amount of time later, Angel stretched lazily and sat up with a drowsy expression.
Upon opening his eyes, he immediately sensed that something was amiss.
He lay on a stone bed surrounded by a forest filled with the sounds of birds and the scent of flowers. There was a bookshelf, a desk, and a pile of miscellaneous items beside the stone bed.
“An open-air desk and bookshelf? Isn’t it vulnerable to wind and rain?” Angel muttered as he approached the desk.
On the desk lay a stack of documents, with an opened letter on top and the pristine stationery placed to one side.
“Lord Mengke has arrived at xxx, inviting the Phantom Master to xxx…”
There were several special symbols that Angel could not decipher, as they were entwined with magical power and constituted a coded script.
Angel extended his spiritual tendrils to feel the lines of magical power in the coded script, attempting to decipher the code based on the lines.
However, before he could decipher the code, his surroundings changed abruptly.
He found himself…hundreds of meters up in the air.
But he did not fall. Instead, someone gripped the collar of his neck, holding him like a kitten being carried by its mother, limbs limp and eyes lifeless.
The “mother cat” holding him—Angel slowly turned his head to face a handsome yet expressionless cold countenance, smiling awkwardly:
“Men…tor.”
The person holding him was none other than Sanders.
Sanders raised an eyebrow: “You woke up quite early.”
He didn’t ask if Angel had successfully merged, as the unique aura emanating from him already revealed everything.
Angel looked around and then glanced at the ground beneath his feet.
Time: Night.
Location: Seemingly above the Twilight Deep Well.
Angel approached with a pleasing smile, “Mentor, how long was I unconscious? Was I just in… your magical garden?”
Sanders grunted in affirmation.
“You were only unconscious for three hours. I am about to return to the Savage Grottoes.” Sanders paused, “Since you’re awake, you can go back on your own.”
With that, Sanders released his grip and waved goodbye to Angel with a smile in mid-air.
“Wait… Mentor! Ah! Help! I can’t fly yet!”
Angel initially wanted to ask Sanders some questions, about the auction, Gloria, and the matters related to the Nightmare Plane. But Sanders didn’t give him a chance to speak, and after leaving him behind, he turned away and quickly disappeared into the dark night sky.
With a tearful yet tearless heart, Angel plunged from hundreds of meters in the air.
“Sigh… I just saved the world, and I’m treated like this.” Angel muttered resentfully.
Sanders was hiding nearby, ready to lend a hand if Angel was truly in dAngel. But when he heard Angel’s self-talk, a vein on Sanders’ forehead throbbed, and he cursed, “Serves you right if you die from the fall,” before turning away without hesitation.
As he fell through the troposphere, his descent accelerated rapidly.
With the ground approaching fast, Angel’s expression remained largely unchanged.
He hadn’t learned to fly, but he had experienced falling from high altitudes twice, though one of those times was in a sonic illusion created by Sanders. Regardless, after these two near-death experiences, Angel had developed a perfect self-rescue method for high-altitude falls.
A few meters from the ground, a whirlwind formed.
Angel took advantage of the upward force, effortlessly completing an aerial somersault and landing safely.
After landing, Angel took a moment to feel smug, then began searching up and down. His bone card had been returned by Sanders, with the balance predictably reduced to three digits.
An additional spatial capsule was in his waist pouch, and after briefly sensing its contents, he found that the items he had won at the auction were all inside.
Toby was still curled up in his breast pocket, and judging by his vital signs, he was not seriously harmed.
Angel gently stroked Toby’s feathers, his lips curved into a smile of relief after a narrow escape, whispering, “We can’t be so impulsive in the future…”
Some time later, Angel returned to the Dusk Well.
The night market for wizards was even more bustling than during the day.
Due to his “heroic performance” at the auction earlier that day, Angel pulled his collar up to cover half his face to avoid unnecessary trouble before making his way towards the Savage Grottoes’ station.
……
When Angel pushed open the door, the living room was brightly lit. David and Promi were sitting in the living room, looking serious.
The sound of Angel entering the room caught David’s attention.
He turned his head and saw Angel, his eyes immediately lighting up with joy: “Angel! Thank goodness, you’re alright!”
“How did you escape?”
“Angel, why did you rush out at that time? Twilight’s gaze was so terrifying, I thought I would never see you again.”
Upon seeing Angel, David began to chatter incessantly. However, Angel did not find it annoying; instead, he felt a hint of warmth in his heart.
After babbling for a while, David suddenly showed a trace of guilt: “Angel, I’m sorry, I didn’t take good care of Toby… Toby’s gone… He might have been taken by Twilight.”
Angel looked bewildered. Wasn’t Toby in his pocket? How could he have been taken by Twilight again?
At this point, Promi finally sighed softly: “Let me explain. At that time, David brought Toby out of the white mist for me to heal. I had just stopped Toby’s bleeding when I was knocked unconscious by the terrifying pressure. When we woke up, Toby was gone.”
With a look of remorse, Promi bowed his head in apology to Angel.
Angel then remembered that after closing the portal between the two realms, all the apprentices in the Nightmare Plane had fainted, including Promi and David. In his haste to tend to Toby’s injuries, he found Toby from the unconscious David and went to seek Sanders’ help.
He had planned to wake them up later, but in the end, he completely forgot about it.
Angel waved his hands slightly awkwardly at them: “No need to apologize. Thank you for helping me today… Also, Toby wasn’t actually taken by Twilight; he’s still sleeping in my pocket.”
Angel glossed over the events in the Nightmare Plane and recounted what had happened after they had fainted.
“…Later, when the No Eyed man was being auctioned off, I also fainted and didn’t know what the last item was. I only woke up a short while ago.”
“It’s good that Toby is fine.” David breathed a sigh of relief and then suddenly feigned realization: “So, it was Lord Sanders who saved you. No wonder Lady Guren was calling for Lord Sanders at the auction. He was the owner of Box 19!”
“Anyway, it’s good that you’re safe.” Promi did not inquire further about the No Eyed man, but spoke softly with a hint of emotion.
Angel also had many feelings about this, and he looked at Promi: “Mentor, I will definitely fulfill my promise. When I return to the Savage Grottoes, I will start attempting to inscribe the Prelude of Death. Barring any accidents, I should be able to complete it.”
Promi didn’t really believe that Angel could inscribe the Prelude of Death, but he didn’t show any doubt and only nodded with a kind smile: “It’s alright if you can’t inscribe it. I’m planning to go to the Sky Mechanical City in a few days. They’ll definitely have it there.”
Enchanting with runes was evidently not something a novice alchemy apprentice could achieve. It was normal for Promi to be skeptical, but Angel didn’t mind; everyone could make grand claims, but ultimately, the final product would speak for itself.
As for Promi, Angel sought to exchange benefits, so he put forth a promise.
However, Angel didn’t express any words of gratitude to David, merely patting him on the shoulder. Yet, deep in his heart, he firmly remembered this favor.
With the topic of gratitude casually brushed aside, the rare gathering of people took advantage of the warm flames of the hearth to engage in some off-topic conversations.
Chapter 282 Resentful Puppet <TOC> Chapter 284 The Mysterious Phenomenon