Chapter 1106: Section 1107: Blending into a Wisp of Wind
His attire was still that of a traditional noble gentleman, meticulous in every detail from his hat to his boots, from his waistcoat to his cane.
The only difference was that Sanders’ complexion was paler than usual.
Could he be injured? Angel wondered silently.
Nevertheless, whatever the case, seeing Sanders indeed atop the iceberg, a weight in his heart lifted slightly.
“Whom do you hate? The stars and moon after a fervent kiss, the night after parting, or the watchmen who have betrayed you?”
The eerie tone, like absurd music, spread all around.
Earlier, while searching for Sanders, Angel had not paid any attention to the stage. Now, drawn by the strange intonation, he shifted his gaze toward the puppet show stage.
His expression instantly froze.
The peculiar white doll’s Phantom Shadows, the nearly invisible silk threads, the illusory stage, and the eye-piercing performance on it.
Everything was so bizarre, even absurd.
As Angel continued to investigate, upon clearly seeing the performers on the stage, he somewhat understood what Fafnir meant by ‘three have already fallen’.
On the stage, three great Demons were furiously battling each other. Two of them already bore numerous wounds, while another, a horned Demon wrapped in golden light—Canaan called it Urdixinos—had few injuries. But as the chase and struggle continued, its wounds visibly grew in number at an alarming rate.
Previously, Angel had speculated that the battle atop the iceberg would probably be fierce.
Thinking back, even when Sinafa wasn’t a great Demon, it had almost caused Angel’s downfall; all the more so when those assaulting the iceberg were great Demons themselves.
Angel had even thought that perhaps there would be significant losses to the humans’ camp without the need for a Void shockwave, just because of those few great Demons.
However, what he did not expect was that the humans’ camp seemed fine, while the three great Demons, who came to besiege them, were trapped in such a ludicrous and bizarre stage.
“Where is the recorded illusion you spoke of?”
While Angel was still reflecting, the cold voice of Fafnir came to his ear.
He quickly withdrew his bifurcated consciousness from the breeze, returning it to the courtyard: “Very well, as per your wish, my lord.”
Silently, the surroundings of the courtyard morphed into a stage in the sky. The three great Demons, controlled by silk threads, made their horrifying entrance on the stage.
The Crystal Ball was also glowing, recording the Illusionary Realm in painstaking detail.
Neither Angel nor Fafnir showed any emotional reaction to the scenes within the Illusionary Realm. It was Canaan, resting nearby, who covered her mouth in surprise, exclaiming, “The Minotaur, Barfiment, and Urdixinos? How did they all end up like this?”
Angel accurately reproduced the scene in the sky. The Minotaur was contorted as almost every bone in its body was dislocated, and it was being manipulated by silk threads, looking much like the Mutants Angel had seen infested in Night Demon City.
Barfiment’s condition wasn’t any better, with an eye missing from its socket and several holes in its body; its organs were nearly pulverized into pieces. It, too, like the Minotaur, had completely given up resisting, letting itself be controlled by the silk threads like some bizarre creature.
Only Urdixinos was still struggling, clearly not yet accustomed to the transition from “spectator” to “actor.”
“Is this the power of human Wizards? Even the three strongest physical Demons from Lassudral have fallen to their current plight?” Canaan said, somewhat dazed as she watched the Illusionary Realm.
Fafnir glanced at Canaan and said indifferently, “Their current condition only seems terrible, but it hasn’t affected their vital parts. The situation is merely them not wanting to waste energy on healing their wounds. Should the silk threads break, or if something happens to the puppeteer, they could instantly return to their original state.”
As Fafnir spoke, Angel timely shifted the view within the Illusionary Realm to focus on the puppeteer.
This was his first time splitting his consciousness in two—one in the sky, one on the ground—while also controlling the transitions of the Illusionary Realm’s scenes. Had it been before his entry into the Purification Garden, even if Angel had managed to do it, he likely would have felt his spirit tearing apart; but now, he found the process surprisingly easy, demonstrating his significant progression within just a little over a year.
Regarding the puppeteer, Canaan was not surprised, but it was Angel who raised an eyebrow.
The instigator of this stage turn out to be Mu Ying from the Extinguished Torch Academy.
In the past, that guy had incessantly pestered him, wanting him to leave the Barbarian Cave and, preferably, to be admitted to the Extinguished Torch Academy, which had prompted Angel to finally seek refuge in Brufen’s Alchemy workshop.
Angel remembered Madeline once introducing Mu Ying as a first-level Wizard who had not yet entered True Knowledge. Yet he alone had disabled three of the top forces from the Void Tower?
What exactly was going on?
In the face of Angel’s astonishment, Fafnir clarified his confusion.
“This puppeteer is merely using another spellcaster’s tool, unleashing this peculiar and powerful Spell Technique. The real enabler of the stage, in fact, is him.” Fafnir controlled the breeze in the sky, fixing the view on Sanders.
“This is a powerful wizard…” Fafnir was explaining the situation that had just occurred.
As Angel was listening, he gazed at Sanders. His feelings were complex at this moment, a mixture of emotion and a kind of pride in being connected with greatness. At the same time, he was contemplating how to convey the human extermination plan to Sanders.
Perhaps it was the intensity of his thoughts that gave Sanders a strange sensation.
Sanders lifted his head, his profound eyes looking in a certain direction, twinkling with confusion.
“Lord Illusion Demon, what’s wrong?” asked Maher, who happened to be retrieving a magic potion from behind the iceberg to help Sanders recover from his injury.
“It’s nothing, just the feeling that someone seems to be watching.” Although he felt scrutinized, he did not sense any malice, which he found odd.
Maher handed the magic potion to Sanders, “Maybe it’s just an illusion.”
“It’s not an illusion. When we arrived in Lassudral, countless eyes were fixated on us. I thought Lord Illusion Demon would be accustomed to being watched. It seems you are still not quite comfortable with it. Is it because your wounds have made the defenses of your Spirit Sea weaker?” The voice, pleasing to the ear yet filled with unmasked spiteful mockery, came from behind Maher.
Maher turned around, his expression noticeably stiffer: “Lord Nereus.”
The newcomer was the almost flawlessly perfect Nereus, a complete contrast to Sanders. Sanders gave off an aura of alienation and indifference, while Nereus was like a blazing sun drawing all gazes.
Sanders looked deeply at Nereus and smiled slightly, “It turns out you enjoy and immerse yourself in being watched. In that case, why not have Mu Ying arrange a supporting role for you on stage? For instance—”
“—The Disqualified One wallowing in desire?”
The words of Sanders made all the surrounding wizards startle. They recalled a scandalous rumor that had once spread wildly in the Wizards’ Realm, a piece of gossip that came from the circle of Transcendents around the Endless Sea, allegedly originating from the inhabitants of the Song of the Deep Sea: Winter’s most outstanding disciple seemed to have unusual predilections, frequently visiting areas where dolphins congregated, always during their mating season.
This rumor, initially confined to a small circle, spread to Flourish Continent one day when a witch spurned by Nereus in love, with spite, implied it quite explicitly.
In the Wizards’ Realm, aside from authoritative magazines, most others chased topicality and sales, so upon obtaining this story, they treasured it like gold.
In the year 7100 of the Southern New Calendar, the gossip revolved around this topic for the entire year. Some “informants” even claimed with certainty that they witnessed Nereus interacting with both male and female dolphins in certain seas.
This further pushed Nereus into the pinnacle of public discourse.
Until one day, several magazine offices that reported on Nereus were suddenly razed to the ground, and many editors and writers either disappeared or were warned, gradually quelling the rumors.
Now, Sanders’s deliberate mention of “The Disqualified One wallowing in desire” was clearly using that past incident to mock Nereus.
Regardless of whether the rumor was true or fabricated, it had indeed become Nereus’s taboo.
A trace of resentment flashed through Nereus’s eyes, and he smiled chillingly, stepping towards Sanders. Meanwhile, on the ice floe, a few wizards wearing green robes with bark-like skin glanced at each other and seemed to move casually, but were slowly edging closer to where Sanders stood.
Sanders looked down, seemingly noticing the oddity around him, but he just coldly smiled, showing no concern for those undercurrents.
Suddenly, between Sanders and Nereus, there appeared a figure in Chinese robes wearing a mask.
“Lord Monty,” Maher’s eyes brightened as he called out.
“I do not wish to see anything that might disrupt my plan in Lassudral,” said Monty, his gaze slowly sweeping over Nereus and then toward the wizards in the crowd who were subtly lowering their heads.
Although Monty didn’t utter any threats, the warning look visible through his mask silenced everyone.
Finally, Monty turned to Nereus: “This new grand demon is now your responsibility.”
Nereus looked towards the outside of the ice floe, where a large demon with bone wings and black bone armor had appeared. He nodded nonchalantly and flew out towards the ice floe.
Once Nereus had left, Monty’s gaze suddenly turned towards Angel, or to be precise, towards the direction where Fafnir’s breeze was located.
Angel was startled by the unexpected attention.
However, Monty merely gave a quiet glance and then withdrew his gaze, without saying or doing anything else.
“Lord Fafnir, did he discover us?”
Fafnir pondered for a moment, “He is a powerful spellcaster. He noticed me before, but made no indication… However, his deliberate turning of head earlier contains some implication; if he’s not warning, he is probing.”
As Fafnir spoke, he raised an eyebrow, “Could it be that he recognizes you?”
Angel quickly shook his head, “I know who he is, but he probably doesn’t know me… But even if he did, I’m just a consciousness merged into the wind. He couldn’t see who I am, could he?”