Chapter 382 Isabella <TOC> Chapter 384 Selection?
Translator: SumTLMan
In a desolate corner of the vast, barren middle world, there is a mountain range hidden in the shadows.
A solitary wizard’s tower stands here, dark and gloomy, with the cold moon hanging behind it.
Inside the top floor of the tower.
Contrary to the chilly atmosphere outside, it is warm and cozy inside.
The fire in the fireplace blazes, and the newly born intelligent Big-eyed Fire Elementals huddle together, playing within the flames. They occasionally poke their heads out, but upon seeing the girl in a black dress standing on the flowing carpet, they retreat back into the fireplace in fear.
“How come? Does my beauty not ignite your creative desires?” The girl in black dress, with her dual-tone voice, addresses the tall man who is busy at the workbench.
After quite a while, the man still has not responded.
The girl in black dress approaches and looks at him with her crimson eyes.
She sees the man tilting his head, his long, narrow tongue flicking back and forth along his lips like a snake’s. His eyes shine brilliantly, fixated on the “masterpiece” on the workbench.
His masterpiece is a snake-woman puppet with sultry curves. However, compared to other snake-women, the puppet he created has two snake tails, one platinum and one turquoise. The colors of the twin tails correspond to the snake-woman’s hair and eye colors: golden white curls and blue-green vertical pupils.
A surge of magical energy emanates from the man’s hands. Upon being activated by the magic, the snake-woman’s delicate face reveals a gentle smile: “Master.”
The man’s tongue flicks faster and faster, and he emits strange cackles from his mouth.
The girl in black dress looks at the snake-woman puppet with disgust: “How can you fancy such a hideous, inhuman thing?”
“Hehehe, don’t you think she’s beautiful? These colors, like sharp arrows, pierce my heart.” the man replies without turning his head.
“Am I not beautiful?” The girl in black dress brings her red lips close to the man’s ear, and her soft, fragrant tongue gently licks his earlobe.
The wet licking, along with her breathy voice and panting, would be irresistible to any man.
However, there are exceptions.
The man pushes the girl in black dress away: “Get away from me; the stench of blood on you is nauseating.”
The girl in black dress falls onto the carpet, a trace of resentment flashing in her eyes. She emits a cold, fishy smell and stands up, walking towards the snake-woman puppet. The background laughter continues: “Didn’t you say she’s pretty? What about now?”
As she speaks, the girl in black dress extends her hand with black nails, and with a swift motion, gouges out the snake-woman’s blue-green vertical pupils, which resemble precious gems. Then, with a gentle squeeze, they crumble into debris and pus.
The snake-woman screams in agony, collapsing onto the workbench. She lifts her blood-drenched face, revealing the dark, empty eye sockets: “Master, it hurts!”
The man gazed at the serpent woman’s miserable face, slowly retracting his extended tongue, and straightened his tilted head.
After a while, the man spat out some saliva, and a faint light flashed in his hand, dismembering the serpent woman into countless pieces.
In the end, the man exclaimed angrily: “So ugly!”
The girl in black dress witnessed the man’s capriciousness without any disgust. Instead, she curled her red lips: “That’s right, such an ugly person can’t compare to my beauty.” The background laughter in her dual tone voice showed how delighted she was.
After killing the serpent woman, the man stared at the girl in black dress with a gloomy face: “Isabella, are you provoking me?”
Isabella, the girl in black dress, sneered: “I’m just making you face reality. As my future partner, your aesthetic standards need to be rebuilt.”
The man laughed as if he had heard a joke: “I have no interest in ugly women, especially… hehehe, a woman who admires her mentor but ultimately drives her away in the name of love.”
The man’s words made Isabella’s face turn cold instantly.
A bloody aura slowly emerged from Isabella, and as the blood boiled, countless blood-colored illusions suddenly appeared in the warm room.
The man was not afraid at all: “Actually, I’ve been wanting to kill you for a long time.”
As he spoke, a pair of blonde, blue-eyed sisters appeared behind him. The sisters’ expressions were indifferent, and a strange aura emanated from them, directly suppressing Isabella’s bloody illusions.
Seeing the pair of sisters, Isabella clenched her fists, but eventually retracted the blood aura that had spread out. Although they were both second-level wizards, she was well aware that her strength was not greater than his. Moreover, he seemed to have touched the edge of true knowledge, while she was still wandering aimlessly on that path.
Seeing Isabella voluntarily retract her killing intent, the man also withdrew his beloved sister puppet duo back into the void.
The man turned and sat back at the workbench, casually wiping away the serpent woman’s remains, then took out another beautiful undead from the void and resumed refining his magic puppet.
“Isabella, you should leave.” Facing the new beauty, the man’s face once again revealed a twisted expression, but this time he decided to drive away the unstable factors first.
Isabella’s face turned cold: “You invited me to Silent Hill, and now you want me to return to Black Castle?”
The man waved his hand: “Whatever you want, just don’t disturb me.”
Just as Isabella was about to say something, she suddenly froze. A strange ripple came from outside, and Isabella looked at the familiar ripple that had crossed time and space with a strange expression on her face.
The man, who was originally working on the beautiful puppet, also looked up, feeling the sudden ripple appearing outside the Wizard Tower.
“Allow it to enter; it’s a strand of consciousness I left in the Living Soul Garden.” Isabella said.
The man waved his hand nonchalantly, and the fluctuation rushed into the room, merging with Isabella.
After Isabella digested the information contained within that strand of consciousness, the corner of her mouth curled slightly: “It seems I really have to return to Black Castle. Your apprentice has reached the Living Soul Garden. He’s not far from entering Black Castle.”
The man laughed mockingly: “Diavolo is in the Living Soul Garden now? The passage shouldn’t have opened yet, should it?”
Isabella: “It has opened. This time, the festival of the Living Soul Garden has been brought forward. If nothing unexpected happens, Diavolo should be preparing to enter Black Castle.”
“Advanced? Why?”
Isabella sat down at the experiment table, her bare feet resting between the man’s legs: “Let me stay here tonight, and I’ll tell you.”
The man grabbed Isabella’s leg and threw her to the ground: “I’ve told you many times, you’re too ugly, and I can’t stand it.”
The man’s words didn’t anger Isabella, as she had been rejected many times before, and one more time didn’t make a difference. She didn’t like him either; she was only clinging to him for another purpose.
Isabella straightened her slightly wrinkled clothes and turned to fly out of the tower.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to Black Castle!”
The man waved his hand, and the twin beautiful magic puppets blocked Isabella’s path: “Don’t forget our agreement.”
“Didn’t you say it’s up to me whether I go back or not? Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to Diavolo. I’m going back to Black Castle just to deal with someone else.” A blond, blue-eyed youth appeared in Isabella’s mind.
“Is there another person who has entered the Living Soul Garden?” the man asked with interest.
“He came in with your cowardly apprentice, but his character is much stronger than your Diavolo.” Isabella finished speaking and tried to bypass the twins.
But no matter where she went, the twin magic puppets blocked her path tightly.
“What do you mean?” Isabella asked with a dark expression.
“Our agreement is that no matter what method Diavolo uses, you cannot obstruct him.” The man’s meaning was clear: seeking external help was also part of Diavolo’s ability.
Isabella wanted to argue, but her eyes suddenly shifted, and she thought of the guest who had come to Black Castle. She smiled slightly and sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace: “Alright, I won’t go back then. But I must remind you that if I were to return to Black Castle, Diavolo might succeed in obtaining Naga. If I don’t go back, the consequences will be unpredictable.”
Isabella hinted at something, but the man in front of the experimental table had no intention of inquiring, continuing to display a twisted smile while working on the enchanting puppet.
Isabella, who was being ignored, let out a cold laugh.
That person was not one to be trifled with, especially at this time. If Diavolo encountered her, it could only be said that he was courting disaster.
“What a pity. You were given several years, yet you chose to act during this year’s grand festival.” Isabella whispered with a low laugh: “Such is fate.”
…
“Such is fate! Just accept it!” Shadow laughed out loud.
In front of him lay a stunningly beautiful woman, her expression still frozen at the moment before she lost consciousness—shock and confusion.
This woman was none other than the one who descended from Black Castle.
—”Forgiving Witch” Fiona.
As for why Fiona had fainted, the story began with the grand festival celebration.
According to Gami, the grand festival would last for three days, during which Fiona would stay in Ciporak.
In addition, Gami provided specific information: the visitors from the Holy Castle would reside in a palace located in the southern plain of Ciporak. It was a large palace built by the Kulakuka tribe over nearly a century, designed to accommodate the Holy Castle’s visitors.
Knowing Fiona’s whereabouts and the duration of her stay provided Shadow with an opportunity. He didn’t need to take risks at the altar; he only needed to set a trap in advance along Fiona’s path, waiting for her to step into it herself.
Even if Fiona was a peak wizard like him, it would be difficult to mount a powerful resistance when caught off guard by a surprise attack.
Initially, Shadow thought he would have to fight Fiona. But Angel’s illusion made it unnecessary, trapping Fiona directly in the mist while she was unconscious.
—Illusionist wizards were undoubtedly the strongest when it came to ambushing and lying in wait!
After Fiona entered the mist, she was quickly knocked out by Shadow.
He was surprised by how easily he succeeded.
Looking at the unconscious Fiona, Shadow extended his puppet strings from his fingers, inserting them into her limbs. After the threads entered her body, Fiona slowly opened her eyes, but her gaze was dull and her expression wooden, transforming her into a puppet under someone else’s control.
“Control successful, now we can proceed with the next step of the plan.”