Chapter 176: Chapter 157 And the Sword Maiden
In the study on the second floor of the villa, Ash had nearly turned into a treant, resembling a tombstone of a forest. Each branch was as hard as steel, and each leaf was draining his magic power.
This was a very powerful Senluo faction miracle. It is known that the Senluo faction primarily focuses on creation and production; however, this miracle was ferociously exceptional, and one could hardly imagine how many Technique Spirits had been combined to bring about the effects of imprisonment, slaughter, and weakening all in one.
Over two hundred years old, Selin was a Two-winged Mage, which was not unusual. The faction realm is the most heartless assessment, like a chasm that blocks all those with insufficient talent and luck from advancing—the so-called ‘mediocrities.’ Effort means nothing to a mage, for effort is already a basic requirement for mages. However, without talent, no matter how long one lives, how hard one works, or how desperately one tries, they simply cannot touch the higher vistas.
Although he couldn’t see the higher vistas, because he had ample time, Selin could still appreciate the grandeur of the towering ancient trees beside him, the venom of the bees, the secrecy of the spiders, and the hidden menace of the plants.
All resources would be converted into the strength of a mage, including time.
Actually, Ash had never underestimated Selin for being a Two-winged Mage—not now, nor ever before. But time was not on his side. As time passed, it would become easier for the Crime Hunting Hall to find him; he had discovered in the Veil that they had already started large-scale searches in the lower district and the Pig District.
Although Freyja’s home was a place of tenderness, it was also the tomb where he might meet his fate.
He had to obtain the necessary intelligence as soon as possible, and Professor Selin was his only choice. He knew he was gambling with his life even before he came here; after all, life is just a more important chip that must be bet when the time comes.
And how important was the chip of life to him, really?
This wasn’t the familiar gamble he knew, nor were the gamblers those he was acquainted with. Were it not for fear of it being taken by others, perhaps he would have already wished to discard this chip.
Ash lowered his eyelids, squinting his eyes as if he were in deep slumber.
His voice became high-pitched and steady, as if he were the master of this place: “So have you made your decision, Professor Selin?”
Selin walked around him, muttering: “Since Heath is no longer here, I naturally do not need to remain loyal to him or execute his commands. I am a free elf of the Blood Moon.”
“But your existence is still a tremendous threat. No one can guarantee that Heath will not come back to life again, return like lightning amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.”
“But you won’t kill me,” Ash said calmly. “Once you knew I was not Heath, not only did you not want to kill me, but you even had to protect my life.”
After careful thought, Ash knew he was in no danger whatsoever.
If he were truly Heath, Selin would indeed have to follow orders to assassinate him, but Heath would also have ways to control Selin; whereas he was not Heath, and Selin had been freed from his shackles, naturally there was no need to kill him.
Some might wonder, wouldn’t Selin, enslaved and controlled by Heath, hate the associated and want to eradicate all traces, destroying Ash, the substitute, as well?
Of course not, if Selin had only revenge on his mind, he would have squashed him like a peach earlier.
But Selin was terrified.
“Yes,” Selin stopped behind Ash, his voice trembling: “Since Heath wants you dead, then you must stay alive, no matter if it’s a struggling existence or a life worse than death!”
Ash asked, “Do you know why Heath wants to kill me?”
“I don’t know, but your weakness, your ignorance, your insignificance can only mean one thing…”
Selin walked in front of Ash, pointing his index finger at Ash’s forehead: “The ritual is not yet complete, you’re not the complete ‘sense of touch,’ you are only half-formed.”
“Only by killing you can the ritual be completed, and Heath’s fantasy descend upon this world.”
Ash looked at Selin’s finger, “‘Sense of touch’—what is that? What will happen after I die?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know!”
Selin pulled at his hair hysterically: “It’s the secret of The Gods of Four Pillars, a ritual that only Heath could fully comprehend! Heath told his followers he was not yet the complete ‘sense of touch.’ When the ritual is completed, he would return from suffering, be liberated from glory, fall from the sky, rise from the grave, to become the ‘sense of touch’ that transcends all. Then… he would smear the world as he pleases!”
“It sounds like, after the ritual, I should be able to transcend what are called Four-winged Mages,” Ash’s lips curved ever so slightly upward. “So, if you kill me, will I become an existence that can be compared to the Extreme Master of Blood Moon?”
Heath’s gaze bore into Ash with icy intensity, “You won’t have that chance.”
Ash spoke softly, “Then, are you planning to hand me over to the Crime Hunting Hall?”
“No, absolutely not. Gerard might kill you, and the Blood Moon Judgement would certainly take your life… You must not be handed over!” Selin shook his head vigorously, as if trying to rid himself of a fly. “The arrogant Blood Saint Clan just wants to study you, and the stubborn Moon Shadow Clan doesn’t care about you at all!”
“Only I understand the seriousness of you; this is something only I can do… Only me…”
Selin whispered the words like a demon, “To sever your limbs, to confine you in a puppet box, to place you in the deepest cellar on the third underground level, maintaining your most basic life only with an IV tube…”
Exactly, that was it.
Ash felt no ripple in his heart; he was quite pleased with Selin’s determination. If Selin truly turned him over to the Crime Hunting Hall, Ash would have no chance to stage another jailbreak – the prison would be foolish not to guard against his Purification Miracle.
To not even mention else, adjusting the frequency at which Ash’s life signs were sent out from once every ten minutes to once every second, meant as soon as Ash removed the chip, Gerard would be right there at Shattered Lake.
Even if Selin added countless obstacles in the outside world, it wasn’t as decisive as the restraint of the chip. Ash didn’t care about bodily harm; as long as he could enter the Void Realm, he would eventually possess the strength to break through.
Moreover, Ash had not truly lost all ability to resist.
Substitute, Heart Sword, the Miracle of Severing – these were skills fully mastered by Ash, which he could trigger without Magic Power.
It was only that this tree had completely restrained his ability to move; resisting now was futile.
When Selin prepared to transfer him, that would be his best chance to break free. Having followed Gesass all the way here, observing the surrounding security, if Selin attempted to pursue him, he would strike down nearby guards and lure the Hunters over.
The Hunters want to kill me, while Selin wants to preserve my life. If managed properly, it could even spark conflict between Selin and the Hunters. If it led to mass casualties, I could use the speech Fernand gave the other day to ignite racial tensions and class contradictions and then… One thought after another swirled and extinguished in Ash’s mind, soon forming an embryonic conspiracy.
At worst, he would be imprisoned in a basement, become an immobile doll in a box, in a world where only the sound of a heartbeat remained.
Ash felt no ripple toward the miserable fate he was about to face, no anxiety, no fear, no excitement.
He seemed to have detached himself from his body, quietly observing the fate of ‘Ash Heath’ from the side.
Pain, loneliness, and torture could not shake his will because in his world…
…was there still the Sword Maiden?
His thoughts snapped there, and Ash jolted, his eyes regaining their sparkle.
It was hard to describe the feeling, like Ash was about to fly and transcend this world when suddenly a thread pulled him down, causing a harsh landing on the ground, and then the sound of air flowing, the fragrance of soil, the pulse of a heartbeat, all sensations rushed into his mind at once.
It was as if Ash had just been asleep, and now he had finally awoken.
At that moment, Selin emitted a strange sound.
“Selin Dor, you can’t run away,” he murmured to himself quietly. “You are free now; you can’t run away anymore.”
The Elf took out an ebony dagger from a drawer, walked up to Ash, held the dagger upside down, and with a gentle push—
Stabbed it into their own throat.