Chapter 1210: Section 1211: The Redeemer
Angel looked at Aoluxiya’s shell, the porcelain-white body was covered in wounds, and the armor once inscribed with Abyssal Inscriptions had been completely scrapped. The most severely injured part was Aoluxiya’s head, so badly burned by the flames of the Lord of the Flameless that even the brain matter inside was giving off a charred smell.
In the pouring rain, Aoluxiya’s body was emitting a pungent white smoke.
Angel squatted down and was about to touch the shell when a hoarse plea sounded in his ears.
“Don’t… proprietor…”
Angel’s reaching hand paused midair and then slowly lowered.
He glanced from the corner of his eye to see Greerwu looking over with a face full of entreaty.
“Its body is already dead,” Angel whispered with a sigh.
At that moment when Angel spoke, Greerwu was taken aback. With that tone of voice… could it be…
Greerwu immediately realized that the proprietor was still the proprietor and hadn’t been possessed!
With this thought, the gloom in Greerwu’s heart slightly cleared.
If the proprietor really had been replaced, Greerwu didn’t even know what to do.
Although Greerwu still had some doubts, since the proprietor hadn’t been replaced, was that previous Phantom Shadow and Eyes of Light just an illusion? Greerwu just had this thought flash through its mind but didn’t dwell on it further: “But, Lord Aoluxiya needs a host.”
Even if this body was dead, as long as Aoluxiya’s soul could return, there would always be a solution. That was what Greerwu believed.
However, Angel shook his head: “No.”
The light in Greerwu’s eyes dimmed abruptly, and it opened its mouth but didn’t know what to say. It couldn’t move right now; all its hopes could only be pinned on the proprietor. But the proprietor had refused…
Tears started to accumulate in Greerwu’s eyes, and its chubby face deflated.
Seeing this, Angel frowned and murmured to himself: As expected, I still detest brats the most.
Greerwu sobbed, muttering short phrases like “Lord Aoluxiya was so good to it,” “I don’t want the adult to die,” “The adult never had a grudge with the proprietor”…
Angel ignored Greerwu’s crying and squatted down silently to roughly check Aoluxiya’s shell, just as he did with the Demon God’s avatar, ensuring there was no remaining consciousness. Then he constructed a second ice coffin and placed Aoluxiya inside.
After all was done, Angel turned and walked towards Greerwu.
Greerwu was still immersed in its emotions when suddenly, a brilliance fell in front of it.
Greerwu paused before realizing that floating in front of it was the “Eyes of Light” sealed by the purple-white Primeval Flame.
It looked up to see Angel looking down at it from above.
Golden fragmented hair obscured Angel’s right eye, but Greerwu still felt a palpitation that made it unconsciously lower its head.
“You’re right, Aoluxiya and I have no grudge. To you, Aoluxiya is a friendly, close being, so you would advocate saving it. But to me, while it bears no enmity towards me, its strength is too formidable; it could crush me with a single finger. So, I can’t risk letting it out, nor can I return its shell to it,” Angel said.
Angel paused to make sure Greerwu’s thoughts were following his words before he continued.
“Aoluxiya’s soul is right in front of you, I can hand it over to you. However, before we part ways for good, I don’t want you to break the Primeval Flame seal on it; it would cause trouble for me.”
Giving Aoluxiya’s soul to Greerwu was a decision Angel had considered deeply. There were many factors involved, such as having no particular use for the soul himself since he had no research on it; also, Aoluxiya’s soul was a bomb full of uncertainties.
However, all these considerations could be resolved, but what ultimately made him decide to give the soul to Greerwu was because it had once saved Toby in the Void.
Greerwu and he, as well as Toby, didn’t have a very deep relationship. In fact, Angel had once expelled Greerwu from the shop because it was too mischievous. But Greerwu was willing to extend his hand without hesitation to catch Toby at that time.
That was enough.
Angel couldn’t imagine what would have happened to Toby if Greerwu hadn’t reached out for him then. So, for that one reason alone was the basis of all other considerations.
As for not letting Greerwu release the Primeval Flame seal on the “Eyes of Light,” it was also just to be safe.
Although he had methods like “Samsara Overture” for dealing with souls, Angel still couldn’t guarantee that he could truly eliminate Aoluxiya’s soul.
That’s why he placed a constraint as he handed it back to Greerwu.
After hearing the proprietor’s words, Greerwu understood his concerns a bit. From the proprietor’s perspective, he wasn’t wrong, but…
Greerwu was very familiar with Aoluxiya and naturally sided with it.
“Lord Aoluxiya will not harm the proprietor,” Greerwu asserted confidently, “Moreover, the proprietor also helped Lord Aoluxiya kill the True Spirit of the Lord of the Flameless, the adult has even less reason to act against the proprietor.”
Angel fell silent for a long time before softly saying, “You are not it.”
You are not Aoluxiya; you cannot guess the actions of others.
Greerwu was taken aback and seemed to want to say more, but just then, a voice suddenly rang out.
“Greerwu, agree to his terms,” a voice said, exceptionally weak, but its tone was calm and gentle.
Angel raised his eyebrows, his gaze slowly shifting toward the Eyes of Light that exuded a faint glow. This voice was not unfamiliar to Angel; it was indeed Aoluxiya’s cadence.
“Lord Aoluxiya, is that you?!” Greerwu’s eyes brightened, his gaze fervently fixed on the Eyes of Light, “Are you alright?”
“I am fine,” Aoluxiya replied.
Though saying he was fine, Aoluxiya’s voice was extremely feeble, causing Greerwu’s eyes to redden again. His nose twitched several times before he spoke in a hurried tone, “Lord, the Lord of the Flameless has been killed. He will no longer trouble you…”
“I know, I…” Aoluxiya paused, “I saw everything.”
Its tone remained calm, but one could feel that its voice had become much softer than before, and it even trembled at certain syllables.
Even though Aoluxiya was trapped within the seal of the Primeval Flame, its consciousness had not dissipated. It could still see everything happening outside.
It had not only witnessed the death of the Lord of the Flameless, but even when the Lord of the Flameless fell into chaos and darkness, observed by the eyes from the far reaches of space and time, Aoluxiya had seen it, too.
For this reason, Aoluxiya was very wary of Angel because Angel was the one who summoned that Phantom Shadow. And just a shadow had annihilated the Lord of the Flameless in an instant.
“Lord…”
“Agree to the shopkeeper’s conditions. My body died before my soul was extracted. So, it doesn’t matter whether I have it or not,” Aoluxiya said after a long silence, “Moreover, that shell has actually been a constraint to me. Using that body, no matter where I went, I could never escape His… shadow. I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes, so perhaps it’s best this way.”
Hearing Aoluxiya speak thus, Greerwu finally nodded his head.
Angel did not know whether Aoluxiya was sincere or just putting on an act, but that did not matter. The important thing was that the matter was resolved.
Greerwu retrieved the “Eyes of Light” and turned to Angel, saying one word: Thank you.
Angel nodded indifferently, his gaze turning toward Popota—it was time to deal with his situation.
Just as Angel was about to approach Popota, the voice of Aoluxiya came from the Eyes of Light once again.
“When I first saw the shopkeeper in Lassudral, I had a premonition. I never believe in coincidences; I thought you would play a role in that drama in Lassudral. I even suspected that your role was indispensable, and with Fafnir by your side, it was possible that your role might lead to my downfall.”
“However, what I didn’t expect was that your stage wasn’t in that dissolving city of doom.”
“I do not know the ultimate outcome of this stage, but I do know that, at least in my life, you have played the role of my redeemer.”
“Regardless, thank you.”
Angel paused for a moment, as Aoluxiya’s words made him recall his experiences over this period. Eventually, in his mind, a picture came to rest.
It was a painting called “Night.”
Author: Mirafer. Feng.
Angel turned his head, his eyes shimmering with inscrutable light, “The stage has its limits, and the drama has its script; you and I, indeed, are both just characters.”
After speaking, Angel did not wait for Aoluxiya’s response and walked toward Popota.
Popota lay in a crater hundreds of meters away. Angel could smell a foul stench that not even the rain could wash away before he got close.
Angel stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at the heap of rotten flesh.
To be precise, among that rotten flesh oozing with putrid green liquid, there remained an oddly twisted humanoid figure—that was Popota.
Under the indiscriminate healing of True Spirit Force, Popota had survived the destruction of his physical body.
However, all the things that did not belong to him had been expelled, leaving only an emaciated figure, a barely-fleshed skeletal form.
While the situation looked dire, Angel could tell that there was a flicker of life within Popota, which at least was better than being completely dead.
“Popota,” Angel called out softly.
…
Popota felt incredibly weak.
The oppressive force of the Abyssal Will made him unable to move, while the relentless rain washed over his filthy body. Inside his Mind Space, the Magical Core was cracked, all its energy drained away.
Popota gave a bitter smile.
The power he had felt before was like a vacuous dream that lasted for days.
And upon awakening, the cruel reality confronted him.