Chapter 1186: Section 1187: Bureau
After finishing the story of Hua Que, Popota turned to look at Angel.
“Is she alright?”
It was the second time Popota asked the same question, but this time, the core of his question was “Is her soul still alright?”
“She was fine when I left,” Angel replied guardedly. Whether Hua Que was really fine, he could not rightfully say, as an outsider. He had only met her once, and even then, he had been drawn by her mournful crying. Just that alone was enough to suggest that her life down in the crypt was far from good.
However, before Angel left, he had set up an illusionary realm for her and left behind a few magic crystals. Compared to before they met, Hua Que was indeed somewhat better, but to say she was truly well would not be accurate. Perhaps the books and trinkets within the realm could alleviate her boredom, but they could definitely not dispel her loneliness.
And these were the things Angel could not tell Popota, at least not without upsetting him.
But Popota was no fool; he had his suspicions. “This room, it’s an illusion created by you, right?”
Angel nodded in acknowledgment.
“Thank you.” For the first time, Popota looked at Angel with a little less hostility in his eyes.
“There’s no need for thanks. If you really want to know how Hua Que is doing, you can go see her yourself. After all, she must be very lonely,” Angel hinted subtly about Hua Que’s current situation.
Popota, however, remained silent, with his head lowered.
He did indeed long to see his sister, but… he did not have much time left. The side effects from forcibly elevating his power already began to reveal themselves.
Moreover, Popota looked at his own body with a flash of discomfort in his eyes. With his current grotesque appearance, how could he face his sister?
“Where did you see her?” suddenly, Popota thought of a crucial question. His sister was dead, so who killed her?
Seeing the hatred flickering in Popota’s eyes, Angel knew what he was getting at. All of Angel’s previous statements were intentionally phrased to avoid provoking Popota, but now it seemed he had no choice but to answer…
Angel’s silence made Popota’s expression grow even darker. To prevent Popota from falling into madness again, Angel still said, “I can take you to see her, she is in—”
“Black Castle.”
Black Castle? Hearing this answer, Popota abruptly raised his head!
As someone who had struggled in the Wizards’ Realm for so many years, how could Popota not be familiar with Black Castle? It’s affiliated with the Witchers’ Alliance in Fairy Tale Town, currently ruled by the ‘Twilight Queen’ Isabella.
Even more, Popota knew that not too long ago, there were two major events at Black Castle. One was the return of Isabella’s mentor, the ‘Twilight King’ Isabel to the Wizards’ Realm; the other involved Angel—he was said to have almost reached a mysterious realm within Black Castle.
Considering the timeline, it was indeed possible for Angel to have met his sister there.
Moreover, Popota actually had a similar hunch. He and his sister were born on the Kashmar Plateau in the Fairy Tale World, later moving near the Fuxu Royal Court, so Popota always speculated that it might have been one of the Witcher Organizations from Fairy Tale World that took his sister away. Fairy Tale World, being Fairy Tale Town’s headquarters, has several Witcher Organizations, like Silent Hill, Heavenly Tree, Rainbow Forest…
And, of course, Black Castle.
Although Popota had his suspicions, he wasn’t powerful enough to investigate these organizations and so he had let it be.
“So, the people from Black Castle were the ones who took Hua Que away?” Popota’s voice was thick with resentment.
“I don’t know. I just met Hua Que there,” Angel said, deliberately turning his head away, not looking directly at Popota. Indeed, he did not know whether the wizards from Black Castle had taken Hua Que, but he had suspicions, especially after meeting King Gumman’s thirteenth daughter, who was bled to death in the castle, providing a cryptic clue.
The women captured for the castle’s wizards to bathe in their blood were often brought in by slave traders.
So, it was highly probable that Hua Que was also taken by slave traders.
Of course, this was just a suspicion of Angel’s, and the true circumstances were unclear to anyone. Thus, what he said was not entirely false.
“Moreover, when I met Hua Que, she had lost much of her memory, nearly forgetting everything from her life except that she had a brother who was kind to her and a beloved companion, Hua Que.”
“Yes, my sister had a Hua Que that she loved very much, it had always been with her ever since the Kashmar Plateau, staying by her side. It liked to perch on her shoulder just like your seagull, but… after she disappeared, it became depressed and died not long after,” Popota said with a tinge of sadness, “Is she still in Black Castle now?”
“She is,” Angel perceived the anxiety in Popota’s eyes and added, “There are many souls in Black Castle, some even wandering for hundreds or thousands of years. Hua Que is in a safe place, waiting for you to find her.”
“I failed her,” Popota turned away despondently, slowly making his way toward the makeshift altar. “If you have the chance to return alive, could you please visit her for me, tell her that I’m doing well?”
“Can you bear to lie to her? You can go see her yourself.”
“It’s no longer possible,” Popota shook her head.
“As long as you’re willing, nothing is impossible,” Angel said lightly, “Just like this time, you’ve even managed to make a Demon God’s standing city fall, and even the esteemed Monty of the ‘Endless Frost Cold’ took a fall before you. These feats, if done by anyone else, would be impossible.”
Popota turned her head, looking deep into Angel’s eyes, “These are just parts of my sister’s Prophecy. I am merely a planner.”
Having planned everything and leveraging the power of the Lord of the Depths, she had reached this point.
“Speaking of which, I have a question. In my sister’s Prophecy, I saw many things. For instance, where Aoluxiya would appear, the end of Lassudral, and even that the Primeval Flame is one purple and one white, but uniquely…” Popota’s gaze was sharp as a lance, thrusting towards Angel.
“Uniquely, I did not see you.”
In her sister’s Prophecy, there was neither the light yellow Primeval Flame nor Angel’s presence. Popota was curious, why was that?
“I can’t say what Hua Que’s Prophecy foretold, but from the beginning to the end, I haven’t taken part in the strife over Lassudral. Because I have always been an observer, until that Primeval Flame emerged and pulled me into this vortex. So, isn’t it perfectly normal that I’m not in Hua Que’s Prophecy?” Angel said resignedly.
What Angel said did make some sense. Hua Que could only see certain scenes, and couldn’t cover everything.
But Popota was very clear about one thing, from the beginning to the end, Angel seemed to be the center of the Lassudral vortex. Even if she did not participate, how could such a focal position not appear in the Prophecy?
Popota frowned, as if there were two scripts for the whole play. The script planned by Popota was normally unfolding. Yet, Angel was not a character in her script but belonged to another script that was affecting the deduction of the Prophecy.
After some thought, Popota put it aside, not delving too deeply into it. After all, the ultimate goal had been achieved, what use was there in pondering these things?
On the other hand, Angel started contemplating in her heart.
The Prophecy of Hua Que, even with the wisdom of the Baiyuan Clan’s ancestors to help, seemed to see too much. It always felt like it was part of a scheme.
Just like how Angel now felt that she was in a trap set by Feng. And Hua Que could be another scheme.
But after all, these were just speculations, and Angel could not ascertain the truth. Now, the most important thing was to focus on the current problem.
From the tone revealed in Popota’s words earlier, it seemed like there was an intention to spare Angel. After all, she said, giving Angel the opportunity to go see Hua Que, the intention was quite clear.
This gave Angel a slight sigh of relief. With her own safety not in jeopardy, other matters could be considered, such as how to leave.
However, while Angel was considering leaving, Greerwu lying on the ground behind her was in a state of extreme anxiety, because Popota had once again come before the altar.
If Aoluxiya was really sacrificed to the Lord of the Depths, then everything would be over!
Being unable to move by himself, Greerwu silently called out to Angel.
Angel turned her head and saw Greerwu’s anxious plea for help.
Truth be told, Greerwu had greatly helped Angel before. Had it not been for Greerwu, Toby would have likely dissipated into the Void. Thus, seeing Greerwu’s plea for help, Angel actually did consider it in her heart.
But could Angel now persuade Popota to stop?
The answer, of course, was negative.
Moreover, Angel had also weighed in her heart that, perhaps the disappearance of Aoluxiya would be better for the current situation.
Although Angel’s inner desire was for Aoluxiya to disappear, thinking of Greerwu’s earlier help, no matter what she personally thought, she decided to speak up.
As for the outcome, that was not for her to decide.
However, what Angel did not anticipate was that, just when she spoke up, an unexpected change occurred.
…
Initially, Popota wanted to talk to Angel about Hua Que’s matters, but… for some reason, Popota always had a feeling of palpitations. Even though she had escaped from Lassudral, why had this uneasy feeling not disappeared?
Therefore, Popota decided to temporarily halt the conversation, to sacrifice Aoluxiya and to acquire information about the world from the Lord of the Depths, and then… to request an extension of her own body’s disintegration.
But just as Popota was preparing to enter the sacrifice Ceremony,
A light suddenly appeared in the dark sky.