Warlock Apprentice

Angel nodded, as he himself was filled with curiosity about this live line, so he took it over without hesitation.

Regarding Sanders’ decision, neither Tree Spirit nor Rhein had any comment. Sanders had previously hinted that Angel’s Nightmare Soul Body level is stronger than his, so perhaps Angel could discover something.

Angel carefully observed the white thread placed on the leaf, which looked just like an ordinary yarn, continuously struggling and twisting.

The more he observed, the stranger Angel felt.

He was still full of doubts now. Did this really originate from a Nightmare Realm creature?

So far, he still hadn’t perceived any Nightmare Realm aura.

”What do you think of this live line?” After Angel had almost finished his observation, Sanders asked. Others also turned their gaze towards Angel, wanting to see if he had discovered anything.

Angel’s expression was almost the same as Sanders earlier, his brows furrowed deeply, eyes filled with confusion: ”A bit strange, the parasites that wreaked havoc in Night Demon City also needed Nightmare Realm aura to maintain their activity, but this live line seems not to need it.”

As far as Angel knew, the Nightmare Realm creatures he encountered, whether it was the parasites, Colorful Dragonflies, Joker Cards, or Frog Crooner Floog and Fox the violin player...and so on, they all heavily relied on the aura given by the Nightmare Realm, also known as the Nightmare Realm aura.

If they departed from the scope of the Nightmare Realm aura, their power would slowly decline, eventually leading to death.

But the live line doesn’t seem to have this characteristic.

Precisely because of this, Angel strongly doubts whether this live line really comes from a Nightmare Realm creature.

Moreover, Angel doesn’t like the various deeds of Nightmare Realm creatures, but he must admit, he has a natural affinity for Nightmare Realm creatures. Perhaps it’s due to his constitution, or perhaps influenced by Shava, the Nightmare Realm creatures generally hold no malice towards him.

Yet this live line, Angel doesn’t sense any kinship at all. Thus, Angel’s suspicion deepens.

Of course, it’s also possible that this live line truly originated from Yorkshire, the only Nightmare Realm creature to show malice towards Angel so far. So, it’s possible Angel can’t perceive proximity with the live line made by Yorkshire.

Sanders: ”Do you have any other discoveries?”

Angel: ”Nothing can be observed with the naked eye. But if I could sense it deeply or make contact, perhaps there would be new discoveries.”

However, Angel’s idea did not receive support from anyone for the time being. The live line is extremely dangerous; if touched without a Defense Spell, even an Official Wizard could be infected. Other Official Wizards wishing to touch it would be stopped by Rhein, let alone Angel.

”Then I haven’t discovered anything.” Angel shook his head, as it’s his first time seeing a live line, and this live line can survive without the Nightmare Realm aura, which is already beyond his knowledge.

Angel’s statement actually conveyed one meaning at the moment: he suspects the live line is not from the Nightmare Realm.

Sanders pondered: ”Your doubt still lies in its origin. Actually, I think you can temporarily set this aside and compare this live line with the parasites at that time, as they have quite a few commonalities.”

Firstly, both the live line and parasites have transmissibility. One relies on parasitism, while the other on infection. Secondly, neither can be detected by the Exorcism Technique, which senses negative energy in the body; since it’s undetectable, it means in a certain sense, the positive impacts of the live line and parasites on the human body outweigh the negative. Thirdly, based on the second premise, parasites can give back to the host, making their physique stronger, and those infected by the live line can possess a perception unattainable by ordinary people.

”These are the three commonalities on the surface, and also, Nightmare Realm creatures more or less carry a kind of incomprehensible... grotesque nature.” Sanders didn’t explain what grotesque nature meant, but Angel understood immediately.

Whether it was the Rabbit Gentleman and playing card soldiers he saw when testing his talent or the various Nightmare Realm creatures he encountered later, they all made Angel often feel dazed, as if he was watching an absurd fantasy drama.

”Look, the people parasitized by parasites and those infected by the live line, you will find they also possess a strange grotesque nature.”

Sanders’s words involuntarily reminded Angel of the situation back in Night Demon City—

Amidst the fog, various people parasitized in Night Demon City singing praises of moonlight, the Queen, and Shava on the street, twisting their bodies like comical clowns.

Think again about those people they saw infected by the live line previously, their expressions varied, completely like puppets controlled by a Puppet Master, acting out bizarreness on the stage built by the Puppet Master.

Indeed, live line infectees also possess a sense of grotesqueness.

Those things mentioned by Sanders, although not proofs, were persuasive to Angel in terms of heart evidence.

Could it be that the live line truly comes from a Nightmare Realm creature?

Sanders: ”Given the premise that it comes from the Nightmare Realm creatures, the possibilities that they can maintain activity without Nightmare Realm aura boil down to three: improvement, evolution, and adaptation.”

Nightmare Realm creatures can’t remain unchanged; perhaps they’ve improved the live line, allowing it to not rely on Nightmare Realm aura. Or perhaps the creatures themselves evolved or adapted to the Wizards’ Realm environment.

Regardless of which, it’s not good news for them.

...

As Angel found nothing, he prepared to return the leaf to Sanders, but Sanders didn’t take it, instead gesturing him to hand it directly to Tree Spirit.

However, just when Angel handed the leaf back to Tree Spirit, Greya suddenly exclaimed.

”Wait.” Greya stepped forward, carefully examining the leaf held by Tree Spirit.

While the others were puzzled, Greya said, ”Tree Spirit, could you give this live line back to Angel once more?”

Greya’s words were strange, and the others didn’t understand what he meant. Tree Spirit narrowed his eyes, noticing something, and nodded, ”Okay.”

Angel took the leaf again, puzzled.

Greya observed the live line on the leaf again, her brows furrowed: ”Hmm, that’s odd. It wasn’t like this just now...”

Angel looked at the live line in his hand, finding nothing peculiar. Just as he was about to ask Greya, Tree Spirit suddenly said, ”Try holding it with your right hand.”

Now Angel was holding the leaf with his left hand; after Tree Spirit’s suggestion, he moved the leaf to his right hand.

Then, Greya’s eyes lit up immediately: ”Sure enough!”

”Isn’t the movement of this live line slowing down?”

With Greya’s reminder, everyone’s gaze shifted to the live line. Previously, whether in Sanders’ or Tree Spirit’s hands, the live line kept twisting, seemingly struggling to escape the constraints of the leaf.

But now, when the live line was on Angel’s right hand, its twisting noticeably slowed, and sometimes it didn’t move for a long time.

This is clearly abnormal!

Angel himself noticed it at that time.

However, compared to the anomaly posed by the live line, Angel was more concerned about Greya, or rather impressed. He had been holding the leaf with his left hand all the time, only at the last moment when Sanders instructed him to hand it to Tree Spirit, did he first shift the leaf from his left hand to his right hand, then handed it to Tree Spirit. This process took just one or two seconds, yet Greya captured the live line’s abnormality smoothly.

Angel sighed inwardly; although his power was starting to approach, even surpass Greya without a physical body, in many detailed observations, he was still far behind.