Chapter 321 Rescue <TOC> Chapter 323 Returning to Twilight
Translator: SumTLMan
As the sack was slowly untied, a tightly bound middle-aged man appeared before him.
Perhaps it was because Duke Tepicchio was immediately restrained by Lydia upon being parasitized, his attire remained within the normal range. However, his twisted arm and frenzied eyes clearly indicated that he had already mutated.
Tepicchio struggled fiercely, and even bound, it was difficult for the two guards to completely subdue him.
As Angel approached, Tepicchio’s struggle intensified.
However, when Angel stood beside Tepicchio, the latter suddenly stopped struggling, lowering his head and not daring to look at Angel.
The guards exchanged glances, and Domino, too, was surprised by the scene, wondering if the young wizard before him had used some spell.
During Tepicchio’s moment of calm, Domino signaled the physician to administer a sedative to him. Tepicchio did not move as the sedative was slowly injected into his arm.
“Lift his head,” Angel commanded.
The guard slowly raised Tepicchio’s head, and his eyes met Angel’s. At that moment, Tepicchio’s eyes contained less madness and more reverence.
Everyone noticed the mingling of respect and fear in Tepicchio’s eyes. Upon seeing this, Domino suddenly regretted his earlier gamble. He didn’t know if Angel was sent by Red Lotus, and he had believed his word and wagered everything on it.
Now, seeing his father’s gaze, he felt a bit frightened.
His father had never displayed such a reverent look when facing Red Lotus’s avatar puppet. But now, looking at the young wizard, he was afraid. Could it be that the young wizard’s power exceeded that of Lady Red Lotus? Impossible. Domino clearly remembered that when the young man first entered, he called her “Red Lotus,” not by her name directly. In the world of wizards, one’s manner of address could reveal a lot. Since the young wizard used a respectful title, he must be inferior to Red Lotus.
This made the current situation somewhat peculiar.
Shadow Demon Castle was already full of strangeness, and every peculiarity made Domino feel fearful. So now, he was feeling a bit regretful. However, with the arrow on the string, he didn’t have the courage to retreat.
After Tepicchio and Angel locked eyes for a few seconds, Angel tore off Tepicchio’s gag.
With his mouth free to speak, Tepicchio began singing softly. The others found the song eerie, but Angel could hear the emotion of “praising Shava” in his song.
“Shava, again it’s Shava,” Angel muttered silently to himself.
“Lord Wizard, shall we leave now?” Domino looked at the mist outside, and although he couldn’t hear the singing of the other mutants, he still felt some dread. He feared that the next moment, the guards or himself might suddenly mutate and become infected.
“Wait a moment, everyone step back,” Angel instructed as everyone retreated. The magical power from his thinking space began to squeeze out, and an illusion model was constructed at an extremely fast speed.
As Angel opened his eyes, the surrounding environment changed abruptly.
One moment, he was outside a dimly lit study, and the next, Angel found himself in an extremely luxurious hall.
The opulent hall illusion only included Angel and Tepicchio, with everyone else excluded.
When Tepicchio realized he was in another place, he showed no surprise. In fact, his eyes revealed a hint of delight, as if he genuinely enjoyed this environment.
At this moment, a row of Teacups playing a bizarre tune emerged from a corner of the opulent hall.
Simultaneously, Red Wooden Toy Soldiers, beating drums and gongs, formed two lines and marched towards Angel, stopping in front of him. Their display resembled that of a welcoming ceremony for a triumphant general, although these greeters were only palm-sized.
Indeed, this was not an illusion, but the Nightmare Domain that Sanders had severed.
The Domain of Opulence.
Angel recalled Sanders’ words:
“How can they be awakened?” Angel asked curiously upon learning that the parasitized citizens could be reawakened.
Sanders remained silent for a moment, “Do you know what they are parasitized by?”
Angel shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“You should be well aware of the number of creatures that emerged when you accidentally opened a semi-passage to the Nightmare Plane during Twilight Auction,” Sanders said. “Just as wizards have their specialties, each creature has its own expertise. For example, the Teacup Band can be immune and reflect attacks, and the Red Wooden Toy Soldiers can absorb and deflect energy. Among the creatures you released, one type caused the current situation.”
Which creature? Angel pondered, recalling the creatures that had escaped from the Nightmare Plane.
Frog vocalist Frogg, fox lute player Fox’s, ghostly poker cards, and… a colorful light suddenly flashed through Angel’s mind. He looked up abruptly, “Is it the Colorful Dragonflies?”
“Exactly, it’s them,” Sanders sighed. “Because most of these dragonflies are only half-step wizards, we never thought they would have such a significant impact. Our attention was focused on the frog, fox, and poker cards hiding in Twilight Auction Hall. Ironically, the unassuming dragonflies ultimately caused the drastic mutations in Twilight and Shadow Demon City.”
Back then, nearly a hundred dragonflies escaped the Nightmare Plane, and no one expected that in just half a month, they would bring about such a disaster.
“Those dragonflies built nests at two energy sources deep within Twilight Deep Well. Within just half a month, they produced countless parasitic creatures of faint light…”
“These parasites proliferate rapidly, and even formal wizards cannot escape their grasp,” Sanders said, pausing before continuing, “However, these parasites pose little threat to those of us who possess Nightmare Domains and can manipulate them. The real threat lies in the passage within the nest that releases the mist.”
Sanders’ purpose for bringing him to Twilight was to close the passage. As for expelling the parasites, those were trivial matters. Sanders even said, “The longer the parasites stay in their hosts, the greater the benefits they gain, so you don’t need to worry about them for now.”
Because Sanders had said this, Angel didn’t make a special effort to pursue the parasitized individuals he encountered along the way.
However, faced with a stationary parasitized individual, he couldn’t help but want to practice the method Sanders had taught him.
The method Sanders mentioned for expelling the parasites involved utilizing the unique properties of the Nightmare Domain to lure the parasites out of the host.
One of the main reasons Sanders claimed the parasites posed little threat was that they couldn’t survive in the energy of the wizarding world, unlike the initial Colorful Dragonflies.
These parasites were entirely incapable of coming into contact with the wizarding world’s energy. Once exposed, they would inevitably die. Thus, their spread could only occur within the range of the enveloping mist.
The mist enveloping Shadow Demon Castle and Twilight Deep Well originated from a special passage from the Nightmare Plane, containing a trace of the Nightmare Plane’s aura.
The parasites could only survive within the aura of the Nightmare Plane.
For this reason, these parasites weren’t difficult to deal with.
Of course, it wasn’t as simple as saying, “Just take the mutated person out of the mist’s range, and the problem is solved.”
When a mutated person left the range of the mist, only one outcome would occur: the parasite would stop absorbing external energy and instead maintain its life using the host’s energy. The energy absorbed by these parasites was minimal, even less than the energy required by a bodie’s organs, which allowed them to maintain their vitality for a long time. As a result, they still wouldn’t die and couldn’t be expelled by exorcism.
However, if the mutated person was killed at that point, the parasite wouldn’t be able to infest another person since it couldn’t survive even a second in the energy of the wizarding world. This method eradicated the parasite, but at the cost of the host’s life, making it an unprofitable approach.
The parasites’ inability to leave the Nightmare Plane’s aura allowed Sanders to easily find a solution to eliminate them: while the external mist was merely a fabricated Nightmare Plane environment, the Nightmare Domain was a genuine Nightmare Plane environment.
Once a parasite entered the Nightmare Domain, its vitality would increase significantly, and it would begin absorbing a large amount of energy scattered within the Nightmare Domain. All the energy in the Nightmare Domain was controlled by the Nightmare Domain’s owner. Once the parasite absorbed this energy, the owner could force it out of the host.
Angel didn’t know this rule for controlling Nightmare Domain energy two hours ago because he had been busy with alchemy for the past half-month to repay his debts and hadn’t delved into —The Mystery of the Nightmare Domain—.
In order to quickly master energy manipulation, he relied on Sanders’ guidance and his own exploration during the journey to the Duke’s mansion, and now he finally had some insights.
…
Tepicchio’s eyes were filled with delight, just as Sanders had said, he began to absorb a large amount of energy from the Nightmare Domain.
Angel sensed the flow of the nightmare energy, which was absorbed into an active sphere within Tepicchio’s body.
Angel chuckled silently, and with a gentle flick according to the energy manipulation taught by Sanders, the active sphere crawled out of Tepicchio’s mouth.
Finally, it landed in Angel’s hand.
At the same time, Tepicchio collapsed unconscious.
Angel looked at the parasite in his palm, a small, glowing orb with many peculiar swirls on it, resembling multiple eyes. Upon closer examination, it was a bit unsettling.
The parasite remained motionless in Angel’s hand, and even if it tried to fly away, Angel could control it with the nightmare energy within it.
“According to Mentor’s words, parasites originally belong to the Nightmare Plane, so they can be incorporated into the Nightmare Domain,” Angel didn’t have time to study it further, so he casually handed it over to the Teacup Band.
After all, they were both creatures of the Nightmare Domain, so they should be able to coexist harmoniously.
In the next moment, Angel grabbed Tepicchio and dispelled the Nightmare Domain.
Previously, Angel had pulled Tepicchio into the Nightmare Domain. To others, it appeared as if Angel had suddenly disappeared with Tepicchio. Upon witnessing this, Domino panicked and wanted to run into the underground chamber.
It was too dangerous in the mist, and who knew if he would be “infected.”
However, before Domino could run far, he heard the old servant beside him say, “Young Master, the wizard and the master have reappeared.”
Domino turned around and indeed saw the young wizard appear in the same spot. By then, the ropes on Tepicchio had also been untied.
Just as Domino was about to speak, Angel pushed Tepicchio towards him.
“He’s fine now.”