Chapter 1193: Section 1194: The Last Lifeline
“Using the natural-born artifact, to expel the Demon God’s avatar of the Lord of the Flameless, is our only chance of survival…”
The weak and familiar voice, crossing the barriers of space, directly entered Angel’s ears.
Angel looked up and saw Popota lying on the ground in the distance, quietly watching him. Popota’s face, smeared with blood, was expressionless, but a bright light flickered clearly in his eyes.
“Natural-born artifacts are different from man-made ones, they don’t require an overly complicated summoning ceremony. You just need to taint it with your blood and then call the owner’s name with sincere devotion in your heart, and they will respond to you.”
“This is our last chance.”
Popota’s expression held hope, “You must realize that only another Demon God can defeat a Demon God.”
Before, Popota had tried to summon the Lord of the Abyss using the artifact, but alas, he failed. At that moment, he had accepted his fate, allowing his body to slowly collapse and his consciousness to sink into the dark Abyss.
Until, Popota saw the artifact that had fallen from Angel.
A glimmer of hope was ignited in Popota’s heart.
The delicate statue of the cruel scholar wasn’t a man-made artifact but a natural-born one!
Natural-born artifacts could directly contact a Demon God and even invite their will to come forth! Instantly, Popota realized this was their only opportunity!
So, he did not hesitate to reach out to Angel.
In his mind, Angel, having endured endless pain and nearly dying at the hands of the Lord of the Flameless, should be eager to nod and try upon hearing of a chance for survival.
Moreover, Angel’s condition was also dire, bones disjointed, body twisted, it seemed his organs had suffered great damage; if no outside force intervened, he probably wouldn’t live much longer.
So, even for his own sake, Angel should use the artifact.
But what Popota didn’t expect was that, after he made the suggestion, Angel made no movement. In his eyes, expression, and every part of his body, there seemed to be a message of refusal.
“Why do you refuse? It’s our only chance of survival!”
“Don’t you want to save yourself? Or do you wish… for that foolish young fire demon to die here?”
Angel remained silent, looking down.
“Fine, even if the Lord of the Flameless wouldn’t bother with an ant, and perhaps won’t kill you in the end, you have seen that It has taken an interest in you. Even if It doesn’t kill you, It won’t let you go—do you understand? The interests of a Demon God aren’t easily dissipated!”
“Even if you might live by luck, once you fall into Its hands, you’ll realize that perhaps it’s better to be dead than to live like that.”
“Use the artifact, it’s the last and only chance for you, me, and the young fire demon you want to save!”
The speaker was earnest, but the listener was distant.
It wasn’t that Angel wasn’t concerned, but he was well aware that if he used the artifact, his fate might not be any better.
When the cruel scholar gave him the statue, he hinted with profound meaning that it could be used for some sort of exchange with Him. Although it sounded like a trade, it wasn’t an equal exchange, and the terms of this supposed trade were unknown.
An unequal exchange, when one is desperate to initiate it, will inevitably result in exorbitant demands.
Sanders had analyzed for him that using the statue might cost more than just his freedom, even his soul might be at stake.
Angel’s soul was special, preventing the cruel scholar from daring, or even being able to, brand it with His true name.
However, if the rules were invoked, such as using the artifact to initiate unequal terms of exchange, the cruel scholar could circumvent the superficial mechanisms and claim the soul at its core.
Therefore, Sanders’s advice to Angel was: “Never use this artifact! If you do decide to activate it, then you must be prepared for all the consequences and the price of eternal damnation.”
For this reason, even though Angel knew that using the artifact might provide a path to survival, he had no plan to activate it.
Even as Angel was filled with refusal, Popota never gave up persuading him.
“My body is already falling apart; I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. I might not even persist long enough to meet Hua Que… But I hope you don’t die, at least you need to live and leave this place, to go see Hua Que for me…”
“Besides, don’t you want to see your family, your friends again? They are also waiting for you, and there’s your mentor Sanders… Flora…”
When Popota mentioned family and friends, Angel was momentarily stunned, with images of Jon, Lyon, Nausicaa, Serum… and many others flickering through his mind.
It was as if he could also hear their voices calling out his name, one after another.
In that moment, Angel’s expression suddenly wavered.
…
“It’s over. The mischievous child must receive his deserved punishment.”
The calm and unrippled voice came from the mouth of the Lord of the Flameless.
As soon as the words fell, a cluster of flames kindled in His hand and pressed against Aoluxiya’s brow.
In the distance, Greerwu’s tear-stained face was already drenched with tears, her eyes wide open, murmuring unconsciously, “Don’t, please don’t…”
Even though Greerwu prayed countless times in her heart, the inevitable end still arrived.
When the pale fire fell, Aoluxiya turned her head, giving Greerwu one final look. There seemed to be much she wanted to convey in that look, but in the end, Aoluxiya just slightly curved her brows, smiling at Greerwu.
Following the smile, before Greerwu could even discern its meaning, she saw the flame cover Aoluxiya’s head.
The fierce blaze completely obscured Greerwu’s vision.
Greerwu’s sobbing suddenly ceased, staring blankly at the fire that had ignited in the distance, seemingly still not expecting what had transpired at that moment.
It wasn’t until Aoluxiya’s soul consciousness turned into a fist-sized orb of light, held in the hand of the Lord of the Flameless, that Greerwu snapped out of her daze.
No longer crying or murmuring, she just silently let the tears flow.
Perhaps, she didn’t even know she was crying herself, she just felt a sourness in her eyes, and a kind of indescribable pressure began to sprout in her heart.
The Lord of the Flameless did not immediately destroy Aoluxiya’s soul consciousness, but instead took out a pale blue ice flame from the burning husk on the ground, which emitted an intense white frost aura.
This was the Fire Relic.
An otherworldly fire that the Lord of the Flameless never imagined someone could make recognize them as its master.
The Lord of the Flameless gazed upon the pale blue ice flame, a nearly imperceptible glint flashed in His eyes, and slowly, He placed it into the soul consciousness of Aoluxiya.
The reason the Lord of the Flameless had not yet destroyed Aoluxiya’s soul consciousness was precisely because He needed it to carry the Fire Relic.
Within the orb of light in His palm, there now flickered a pale blue ice flame.
The Lord of the Flameless looked somewhat captivated by the object in His palm, which, after the Fusion with the Fire Relic, looked like an Eyes of Light with blue flame pupils.
Dreamlike and beautiful.
The Lord of the Flameless admired it for a while, then took the Primordial Fire, which had taken Aoluxiya considerable effort to obtain, from the lifeless husk that now lay without a soul on the ground.
The Lord of the Flameless lightly tossed the Primeval Flame into the air, and as if turning into two fishes of different colors, swam around the “Eyes of Light,” tracing a circular path.
The Lord of the Flameless released the constraints on the “Eyes of Light”; it did not fall to the ground but floated beside Him. The Primordial Firefish were both the source of its buoyancy and also marked by the Lord of the Flameless; wherever He went, the Firefish would follow.
The Lord of the Flameless, satisfied, glanced at the Eyes of Light by His side, then slowly shifted His gaze elsewhere.
The business here was finished; it was time to leave.
This world bore an aura that made Him uncomfortable.
However, before leaving, the Lord of the Flameless intended to study that somewhat peculiar human.
Step by step, the Lord of the Flameless walked toward Angel.
Popota was the first to notice the actions of the Lord of the Flameless. He had said a lot using telepathy earlier, and Angel had not responded. Only when he mentioned Angel’s family and friends did a hesitant expression finally appear on Angel’s face. Thinking there might be a chance, Popota continued speaking, but no matter what he said next, Angel gave no further response.
Popota even felt that Angel might have blocked his telepathy.
Seeing that the Lord of the Flameless had begun to walk towards Angel, Popota clenched his teeth and, forsaking the art of telepathy, bellowed, “Angel, using the artifact is our only way out! Stop hesitating!”
Popota’s shout made even the Lord of the Flameless pause for a moment.
His gaze turned towards the human in the distance, or rather, the statue beside the human.
It was because He had pinched the human with the Flameless Hand that the statue had fallen, but the human’s body was so fragile that even such a gentle pinch had caused significant injury and a gush of blood.
Some of that blood had splattered onto the statue.
According to the rules of summoning through artifacts, that meant that the human merely had to call upon the Cruel Scholar with sincere intent in his heart, to directly summon the Scholar’s consciousness.
At such a level of thought speed, even the Lord of the Flameless could not stop it now.
Would he do it? The Lord of the Flameless watched Angel.
Although He didn’t know why the Cruel Scholar had not branded the human, leaving the artifact with him instead, the Lord of the Flameless had a hunch that maybe the Scholar was impeded by something, temporarily unable to brand the human, so He left the artifact with the human, who could use it to bypass that impediment and be branded.
This sort of impediment, though very rare, was not non-existent.
Certain objects, abilities, and even Mysterious Objects could cause such impediments.
The Lord of the Flameless saw through this at a glance; hence, He was rather curious—would this human use the artifact?