Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1097: Section 1098: An Old Friend Appears  

Hua Queque? Angel suddenly froze, although the other party was speaking in Demon Language, an inexplicable, indistinct petite figure flashed through his mind. However, that was just a fleeting inspiration; when he tried to capture it again for a closer reflection, he couldn’t recall his previous thought.

Was this Hua Queque a name, or some sort of exclamation?

Angel temporarily set aside the sudden suspicion in his heart and controlled the Scouting Puppet to stealthily approach the side of the mountain wall, slowly shifting the viewpoint towards the location of the furnace.

He wanted to see what exactly had happened.

Listening to it, it seemed that his previous guess was not right. The situation here was not a battle between humans and demons, but rather a conflict within the demons, where one of the demons had killed all the others of its kind?

With doubt, Angel turned his gaze to see—

“Rebirth? You think of obtaining rebirth after being devoured by that insatiable old thing? Impossible! Yi hahaha… Just obediently become the kindling for the rebirth of our race!”

When Angel shifted his viewpoint, the first scene he saw was a demon pressing its palm against its face, laughing uproariously towards the sky.

This demon was enveloped in flames, and it seemed to have a red light flickering on its hand, like a serpent or a ribbon.

After the red light flashed, another demon behind the furnace immediately let out agonizing screams of living hell. Angel’s viewpoint didn’t allow him to see the other demon’s condition and couldn’t discern what had happened; he tried adjusting his position, hoping to move to the other side for a better view of the specific situation.

In the process of moving, Angel’s viewpoint began to widen.

Looking at the demon that stood beside the furnace and continued to laugh arrogantly, for some reason, the more he looked, the more familiar that demon’s silhouette seemed to him.

“Why do I feel like I have seen this silhouette somewhere before?” Angel frowned, opening his Memory Casket. The number of demons he had seen was actually quite considerable, yet a demon with a body inflamed in fire and of such a shape, it seemed there was none?

While Angel was pondering, a misstep occurred on the other side with the control of the Scouting Puppet.

He was supposed to move the Scouting Puppet along the periphery of the wall, stealthily shifting its position to find the most suitable viewing angle. Because of his previous contemplation, Angel accidentally made a mistake and, during the movement, the spherical edge of the Scouting Puppet scraped against the wall.

Instantly, a hiss of metal friction echoed.

Although the sound was extremely faint, it did not escape the demon’s sensitive Spiritual Sense.

“Who?!” The demon, burning with flames, turned its head without hesitation and glared malevolently toward the source of the sound.

The Scouting Puppet had no time to hide and was immediately exposed to the demon’s sight.

But at the same time, Angel also saw the demon’s appearance. A flicker of doubt flashed in his pupils; this demon’s face seemed kinda familiar?

The image of a youth in a white robe flashed across his mind, but that youth gave Angel a sense of sunshine; this one, from its expression to the aura it exuded, was suffused with a dense darkness.

“A Scouting Puppet!” The demon’s eyes had a flash of ferocity, “To think it found its way here?!”

The demon’s brooding murmur was accompanied by a casual gesture, and along with another demon’s scream, Angel just sensed a flash of red light before him—

With a snap, the transmission of the image was cut off, and the spectacle vanished from sight.

The demon by the pool of magma no longer bore the arrogant expression from before as it looked down at the metallic fragments shattered on the ground.

“It seems someone else has discovered me.” The demon whispered to itself, but this time it wasn’t in Demon Language, but standard human language, “Who could it be? My form has completely changed now; they shouldn’t recognize me… but even if they did, with dawn approaching, no one can stop me…”

Alongside the demon’s whisper and the strange clicking sounds, a flicker of red light revealed a hooked sickle on the ground, next to which there was a spread of blood turning black.

The other demon who had been cursing him had already disappeared without a trace.

Meanwhile, the demon looked at its own arm; underneath the pale skin, something like a little mouse seemed to be scurrying, pushing up the skin into a small “mound.” This mound darted about chaotically before finally reaching the palm of the hand, where it slowly merged and vanished. As the mound disappeared, the demon’s hand suddenly increased in size, and its originally pale hand began to darken, even its nails turned into sharp blades, reflecting a chilling light.

“The time must be hastened… With so many delicious corpses outside, I must enhance my power before the throne descends…” The demon muttered to itself, then disappeared into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Angel stood in the yard, his expression complex and peculiar after the image transmitted by the Scouting Puppet had been forcibly interrupted.

The reason for his peculiar expression was that the final image transmitted before the Scouting Puppet was smashed allowed him to see many details he hadn’t noticed before.

The information contained within these details was what made his feelings exceedingly complicated.

“`

The means by which the demon shattered the Scouting Puppet was a beam of red light. More precisely, it was a crimson chain emitting a strong blood-red glow, with flames continuously burning along it.

At the end of this chain, a demon that had been mostly digested was bound, only its chest and above, along with a head of utter despair, remained.

Furthermore, as the chain tightened, this demon continued to be consumed. In the end, it was likely that nothing would be left, at most a pool of bloodstains.

If nothing unexpected happened, this was probably the same process that had “digested” the legion of swords Angel had seen strewn about the floor while the master had mysteriously disappeared.

All of this seemed like an internal struggle among demons, at most a somewhat horrifying method. What Angel found absurd, however, was that the chain… was forged by him.

After becoming an Alchemy Apprentice, the first alchemy work he had custom-made for someone else was this chain.

Although the chain had undergone earth-shattering changes, with curious patterns added and being continuously scorched by flames, as the creator of the chain, how could Angel not recognize his own handiwork?

Indeed, back when Lassudral was still tranquil, Angel had sensed the fluctuations of the chain and also spotted a shadow of red light, but at that time, he didn’t pay it any mind, thinking it was just an illusion.

After all, the chain was made for Popota and had also undergone a Blood Soul Sacrifice by Popota. Given Popota’s strength, it was highly unlikely to appear in Lassudral.

As a result, Angel hadn’t given it another thought back then.

But now, seeing that chain again and recalling the demon’s familiar face, Angel was almost certain that the chain was his creation, and there was a very good chance that the demon was Popota!

Although that demon’s appearance was fierce, the contours of its face bore a vague resemblance to Popota. Perhaps, it was Popota who had deliberately disguised himself in that manner.

Thinking of Popota, Angel recalled that not long ago, he had seen him at Watchguard Fortress. At that time, Popota was with a short and chubby apprentice named Dasqi, as well as a kid with braids. Originally, it was they who had informed Angel of Toby’s whereabouts.

After that, Angel had not seen Popota again, but something occurred to him. When personnel were being transferred from Watchguard Fortress and passed through Twilight Mountains, there had been a minor accident. Angel had just returned from exploring Toby’s dreams when he awoke to find someone crying on a distant flight vehicle, drawing the attention of the Frostmoon Guard Squad.

The ones crying urgently were none other than Dasqi and the kid with the braids.

According to Sanders, someone had disappeared during a battle with demons.

At the time, Angel had not thought much of it, but thinking back now, since Dasqi and the kid with braids were friends of Popota and both were crying together, the one who had disappeared… could that not be Popota?

The Twilight Mountains are not far from Niming Lake, and Niming Lake is the main entrance to Lassudral.

Therefore, it seemed not impossible for Popota to appear in Lassudral.

However, Angel still found it very strange and was puzzled. If that demon really was Popota in disguise, why would he, a human, come to Lassudral?

And then there was the chain.

Angel remembered clearly that when Popota approached him to forge the chain in Barbarian Cave, Popota’s requirements for the chain were extremely simplistic, even crude.

Yet it was this very crude chain that Popota had chosen to sacrifice on the Blood Soul Altar.

The Blood Soul Sacrifice was devised by the Unparalleled Great Demon God of the Abyss, ‘The Lord of the Profound.’ Through the Blood Soul Sacrifice, a wizard could fuse oneself with their weapon, allowing the object to move at will and be beyond the reach of others. They would also gain special effects and a considerable enhancement in combat strength.

However, Blood Soul Sacrifice had its drawbacks: one could only perform a limited number of Blood Soul Sacrifices in their lifetime, and once the sacrifice was used, one would become bound with the Lord of the Profound. That was equivalent to placing one’s name right before the Lord of the Profound, who, generally speaking, would not take notice of those who conducted such sacrifices due to the omnipresence of his true name’s gospel. But should he take notice, one would end up in a dire predicament.

For this reason, Angel was also quite surprised back then; why would Popota choose a Blood Soul Sacrifice for a chain that was simple in effect and crude in construction?

Now, upon closer inspection, the chain, while indeed the one Angel had once crafted, had undergone a radical transformation. Though it was hard to get a sense of the specifics through the image, the fearsome aura could be felt from the way it devoured fellow demons and the sinister, dazzling flames.

With Popota’s transformation and the chain undergoing an astonishing transmutation, what kind of trickery was at play here?

What exactly was Popota’s purpose?

Full of doubts, Angel arranged for another Scouting Puppet to continue the investigation at the edge of the Magma Pool. If possible, he wanted to have a direct conversation with Popota.

But when the Scouting Puppet returned to the Magma Pool, the place was already deserted.

Compared to before, the only change was the presence of a scythe attached to a chain next to the great furnace, beside which lay a puddle of not-yet-dried black blood…

“`