Bogula narrowed his eyes. “Oh, it looks like you’re a good friend of Diablo. Well, of course, he won’t offend Isabella like this otherwise. He even sacrificed Naga... Oh man, how terrible.”
Bogula didn’t mean to hide his intention since Shadow already told Angor enough.
“Correct, I will turn you into a puppet,” the man said while his tongue moved around his mouth like a real snake, “but what’s on your mind might be a little different than the actual puppet I use. Did you see Naga’s intelligence? I can allow you to retain your own consciousness, and it will be easier for you to become a wizard as I’d be making adjustments and upgrades to your body. What do you say? Will you follow me?”
Bogula stared at Angor with pure greed.
Now that Bogula revealed everything in the open, Angor wasn’t sure how to react. If Bogula didn’t lie, then the man really gave him a choice that would determine whether he survived this day.
However, Angor didn’t believe that everything Bogula said was truthful. Rather, it would be weird if a wizard didn’t use word tricks at all. Besides, Angor’s nature told him to steer away from being someone’s underling. Bogula’s promises didn’t compensate for what he would lose.
But... what if “becoming a puppet” and “death” were the only two options?
In other words, he either lived on like someone’s dog or disappeared from this world right here, right this moment.
As he struggled with the choices, a young man appeared from the woods, limping.
It was Shadow.
The two ends of Kurna’s Pact met each other in such an extreme situation. Angor nodded to Shadow and said “thanks” using his lips. No matter what the final outcome would be, he would not forget Shadow’s help.
Shadow saw Angor’s gratitude and didn’t say anything in return. The man only shook his head helplessly.
And Angor felt puzzled at Shadow’s response. There was no way Shadow would say “no need to thank me” in this situation. This man was never the one to use such courtesy.
So what did he mean?
Angor looked up again and noticed Bogula was giving him a strange look.
Is Shadow telling me to NOT accept Bogula’s offer?
But why? Isn’t Bogula Shadow’s teacher?
Maybe something else is off...
Shadow wasn’t displaying any more movement. He only stood at the edge of the forest and waited for Angor’s choice—whatever Angor chose, he had fulfilled his responsibility as a friend.
Bogula’s blond puppets had stopped harassing Isabella. They now stood quietly behind Bogula.
Isabella was grinning again. Her hands were glowing again. At the same time, Angor felt something changing in his blood.
It didn’t hurt this time. His blood was changing as it followed an unknown rhythm...
“Jajaja... She’s injecting her curse in the root of your bloodline. Once it’s done, you’ll suffer from her curse for eternity, whether dead or alive.” Bogula chuckled and said, “You have 30 seconds. Make up your mind.”
The terrible feeling in his blood told Angor that Bogula didn’t lie about this one.
Bogula is forcing me to submit. He even uses Isabella as a tool?
Instead of worrying about Bogula’s offer, Angor was wondering why a powerful wizard like this gave him a choice in the first place. Why didn’t the man simply knock him out or something and directly process him into a puppet?
Angor had no hope of escaping from Bogula, that much was certain. Angor couldn’t understand why a perverted wizard like Bogula was actually allowing him to decide his own fate.
“Twenty seconds,” Bogula reminded. “Once the curse sets in, I’ll not care about you even if you agree. This is your only chance.”
Angor quickly returned to the more pressing matter.
He closed his eyes and used mind overdrive to think about all possible factors.
Time was too short. Using mind overdrive was the only thing possible for him to get an answer. Also, he kept thinking about Shadow’s previous signal.
As far as he could see, rejecting Bogula’s offer meant death. Of course, Angor didn’t want to live on as a slave. He had promises to fulfill. Jon’s life, Nausica’s mechanical arm, Toby, the Eyeless Man, and the last hope of Krakoks... If he had to choose, he would become someone’s slave, which at least would allow him to continue fulfilling his vows.
“Ten seconds to go. So, will you follow me or will you accept your end?”
Isabella didn’t speak in the meantime. She was busy casting her curse. On the first look, she seemed to be assisting Bogula. But in fact, she secretly hid another stream of power in her spell that was meant to kill Angor right away.
Angor noticed none of that. He was still thinking about what he could deduce from the environment so that he could make the best choice.
“Even if my professor gets you, I can find a way to get you out.” Shadow’s words flashed through his mind.
Shadow had no reason to lie back then. So could Shadow help him get away from Bogula’s control? But why did Shadow shook his head just now?
Angor glanced at Shadow again.
The man stood there completely still without presenting any emotions; it was as if his previous gesture didn’t exist.
Angor’s “mind overdrive” allowed him to catch every single detail he could see. Shadow was trying to conceal his mind as best as he could, yet Angor managed to notice something; Shadow wasn’t looking at him or Bogula. The man had his attention fixed on Isabella instead.
Angor had been interpreting Shadow’s signal in a straightforward manner, but what if he were wrong?
Shadow wasn’t trying to tell me whether I should accept Bogula’s idea. Maybe I should not choose at all?
That explained why Shadow was looking at Isabella. Maybe there was a way to stop Isabella’s harm.
This seemed impossible, but Angor decided to scan around Isabella for more details.
“Five seconds,” Bogula said as he wanted to put more pressure on Angor’s mind, “four, three, two...”
Before he could finish the countdown though, Isabella suddenly interrupted him with another hearty laugh.
“Now, DIE! Forget about my bloodline curse. What I have for you is... Ritual of Blood!”
Bogula’s body shook upon hearing Isabella’s words.
Angor sensed that the strange ripples invading his blood had gone. There was no cursing power in his body.
But the looming sense of death still arrived just in time.
“Ritual of Blood?!” Bogula had put away his dramatic expression and replaced it with a serious look. “You’ve been planning this all along?”
Ritual of Blood was a very powerful level-2 blood spell. Under normal circumstances, Bogula would avoid getting affected by it at all costs, but now, he was completely defenseless in front of Isabella.
Bogula no longer cared about Angor’s choice. He had to leave the area of the spell first.
The man stepped into a rift. As he disappeared, the Hand of Spell that supported Angor also vanished, dropping Angor on the ground.
Away from them, the Dual Sprite, Talos, also watched in shock at what just happened. Talos knew about Isabella’s mad character from rumors and stories, but this was the first time for Talos to witness the woman’s hysterical nature up close.
A level-2 wizard was going to use a large-scale spell just to murder an apprentice. This was an outrage!
Isabella never intended to mind the strength gap between her and Angor. She was simply using her best shot to kill an insect. There was not another wizard out there who would do such a thing. For one, it was an unnecessary waste of stamina. And secondly, it would be a joke that would stain one’s name.
However, Isabella cared for neither.
Angor lay still on the ground and watched as the overwhelming spell sealed his fate.