Rescue
“How is he outside?” Robin lifted his head and asked Leylin, hope in his eyes.
Leylin was silent for a moment but still ended up speaking, “He has advanced to the peak of the Crystal Phase, and the curse marks have taken up over 60% of his face. He doesn’t seem to be in a good state of mind.”
“The initial phase has ended. He is now undergoing ‘Flesh Immolation’, but is still quite a distance from the final ‘Gluttony’s Monarch’.”
Robin sighed, “Can you let me out or bring me before him? There are some things that I want to tell him.”
“I’m sorry, but the situation is very dangerous...” Leylin’s expression was grim, “Shouldn’t you give me an answer now?”
“What answer? Haven’t you guessed everything already?”
“Just a part of it. Why are you here?” Leylin asked.
Robin glanced at Leylin and began to speak unhurriedly. “Hehe... our ancestors once obtained some information regarding the ‘gluttony imprint’ and knew that it was within the ancient Quicksand Castle in the Forgotten Land. That was why we were so eager in inviting you all there...”
The gluttony imprint was a fragment of the consciousness of the sin of gluttony, Beelzebub that remained in Verdant City. It was said that Magi who obtained the gluttony imprint would awaken with a terrifying appetite, but at the same time gain several unique abilities.
This gluttony imprint had once brought great suffering upon the regions surrounding Verdant City. There had even been a situation where a whole city had been devoured.
Only with the work of numerous Magi was this chaos suppressed. Countless imprints were destroyed, leaving behind a few to be used as samples in research.
“My ancestor was one of the lower class members of Quicksand, and there are records in his notes. The gluttony imprint was once collected by Quicksand and improved using large amounts of devouring-type bloodlines, achieving the effect of improving and purifying one’s own bloodline.”
The history of Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks was of course long, and extended to the ancient era. However, the Ouroboros Clan had yet to be established then, which was why entering a Warlock organisation like Quicksand was very common.
Only after the end of the ancient era did the remaining Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks set up the Ouroboros Clan, which had then lasted up to date.
“So you set your sights on that gluttony imprint?” Leylin’s voice was cold.
“Yes. As long as I have it, I’m confident that I can purify our bloodline till it is comparable to the ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent, and even reach the Morning Star realm!” Robin’s eyes blazed for a moment before turning dulled once more.
“Looks like the one who initially obtained the gluttony imprint was indeed you, and the one who went up on the airship with us was you. If not, Mentor would definitely have noticed. The sudden change must have happened after our return...” Leylin continued on from Robin’s words.
“Yes. The spiritual contamination from the gluttony imprint is much too terrifying. In just a few short months, I could no longer control myself. I lost control of my emotions quite a few times...” Robin smiled wryly.
“So you decided to strip it off and look for a guinea pig to reduce this property, And you picked Noah.”
“No, Noah requested that I do that!” Robin roared, and collapsed spinelessly.
“He was such a good child! I still remember his gaze when we spoke, full of hope and resolution... At that moment, I’d thought that only Warlocks like him would be able to subdue the gluttony imprint...
“I now know the consequences.”
Leylin nodded. Whether it was the large change in personality after receiving the imprint or some hatred originally inside Noah, Leylin had no wish to pursue this further. The situation was clear.
Noah imprisoned his own uncle and many elders, holding his family in his grasp. He had even arrested high-grade pure-blood Warlocks and, by devouring their bloodline, purified his own.
Recently, he had even set his sights on Miranda, and was met with a fierce counterattack from her.
“The remains of high-energy beings like that all cause a lot of trouble!” Leylin knew this well. Whether it was the original spirit of the Lamia bone or the spiritual force contamination from his interplanar experiments, this was always the case.
Thankfully, Leylin’s will was strong and decisive, and he could thus eliminate these dangers. If not, he’d be no better off than Noah.
“Using the sin of gluttony to improve his own bloodline?” Leylin touched his chin. This was a rather interesting topic, and the fact that the Noah outside had, from a newly-advanced rank 3 Warlock, broken through both the Vapour Phase and the Hydro Phase to arrive at the Crystal Phase in one go, it was obvious that this had a high possibility of working. All he needed to do was settle the issue of the spiritual force contamination.
“The situation now is very complicated. I can only save you first and see what headquarters says...” Even Leylin found this difficult to handle. Only the three Morning Star elders had the qualifications to make the final decision.
“A.I. Chip, open the core restriction room.” Leylin ordered.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* The blood-red electricity of the cage died out, and the binding runes in the room dimmed.
The A.I. Chip suddenly sent a warning. [Beep! Discovered foreign spiritual force, determined to be the remains of a spirit genie.]
“He actually set up a second spirit genie to mobilise only if the core restriction room is closed?” Leylin was shocked. Evidently, Noah had not completely lost his mind and was meticulous.
[Beginning eradication of spirit genie. Another party is forcefully interfering with transmission of data and sending out cries for help. Beginning interception.]
The A.I. Chip worked quickly, but with the preparations the opponent had made, it could not intercept the data successfully.
[Interception failed. Data has been transmitted.] The A.I. Chip’s robotic voice sounded.
“Shit!” Leylin cursed, and quickly left with Robin.
Meanwhile, the face of ‘Robin’ in the reception hall of the castle warped.
“What’s going on?” Leylin, who was holding his wine cup, smiled gently.
“Die!” Noah, who had received the information, could obviously tell that Leylin in front of him was just a puppet, and that he had been duped.
He instantly reddened in fury. Gauntlets of black crystal appeared on his hands as they were struck into the smiling Leylin’s chest.
*Clatter!* The glass cup fell to the ground, creating a clear sound. Scarlet wine flew everywhere.
The hall immediately turned quiet. The guests all looked in this direction, full of disbelief. Lord Robin had dared attack the enforcer at a banquet? Was this a rebellion?
“Ah!” An urgent, panicky female shriek sounded, and the time which seemed to have stopped in the hall moved once more.
The Magi present immediately moved. The Warlocks of Robin’s family gathered, while Parker protected Snoopy as he transferred his men over.
Two waves of Warlocks gathered amidst the stream of people like two giant reefs, unmoving in the confusion.
Contrary to their behaviour, the musicians, waiters, dancers, clowns, and others were startled. They fled in their alarm, occasionally letting out piercing screams.
Based on this situation, it was obvious the Warlocks on both ends had not let down their guard and were prepared to become hostile.
*Tss tss!* Noah expressionlessly watched the Leylin in his hands. Now, this Leylin who was in front of him, had completely turned black. Droplets of black liquid flowed from the wound and onto the ground, producing white gas.
“I’m going out for a while. Kill all of Leylin’s subordinates!” Noah carelessly dumped the shadow puppet in his hands and turned into a black phantom that disappeared.
By the time Noah had left, the Warlocks confronting each other in the hall first quietened down, and then great amounts of spell rays lit up.
The flood of chaotic elemental particles drowned the hall...
“I wouldn’t be so stupid as to fight with an opponent in their nest, which they’ve operated in for thousands of years!” With one hand on Robin, Leylin crushed a few armoured knights blocking his path into bits.
Under the silver knight armours was only air. These armours, that were meant to just be ornamental, seemed to have received some order and suddenly began attacking Leylin.
Adding to his troubles, many long ash-black tongues filled the passageway behind him, sweeping forwards.
“These knights are ‘Silent Guards.’ Without attacking the core, it’s impossible to destroy them.” Robin, who was pressed against Leylin’s side, served well as a guide yet did nothing else.
Not only was he gravely injured, his spiritual force was in ruins. A large amount seemed to have been devoured, and his strength had fallen to that of a rank 1 Warlock. If not, Leylin wouldn’t be so at ease in bringing him along.
“Rather than the silent guards, you need to be careful of the tongues behind you!” Seeing the forces behind them, Robin’s expression changed. “This is a passageway our family found by accident. It seems to have mutated and made a connection with a majestic existence above. The ash-black tongues are parts of that existence.
“Even a Crystal Phase rank 3 Warlock would find it troublesome if caught, and might even be devoured. A few seniors in the family have died from it.”
Due to the terrifying radiation, a few ancient Magus castles would mutate, giving rise to situations that even Magi couldn’t make head or tails of.
These strange phenomena were taken advantage of by their descendants, who used them as defences.