Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2018: Chapter 2019: The Shadow Around the Corner

Iffy stared with pallid eyes, raging madly, while the sprouts of tentacles emerged from his severed limbs. Although they hadn’t fully formed, they began to intertwine swiftly, like multiple strands of muscle twisting into a braid, trying to fend off the invisible, silent slaughter by increasing their density.

But even if he could fend off one or two attacks, what good would it do?

No matter how incredibly fast Iffy’s regenerative ability had become, under Rhein’s absolute power, his resistance did not cause any ripples.

With a thunderous roar, the sphere atop Iffy’s head shattered into fragments, and his head traced a parabolic path through the air, bouncing three times before finally landing in front of Rhein.

His mouth was still agape, revealing sharp teeth; from his pallid eyes dribbled a foul-smelling green liquid.

Though the visage was fierce, in this final moment, to Rhein and Sanders, there appeared a sense of transcendence.

Sanders faintly remembered that the man with azure hair and eyes as beautiful as gems had once displayed a proud expression. But now, Iffy had lost all his proud bearings, pitifully reduced to an eternally restless remnant.

As Iffy’s head slowly dissolved into dim specks of light, like dissipating black smoke merging into the darkness, an inexplicable sense of a ceremony completed lingered in the air.

Perhaps, for Iffy, this was the best release.

With Iffy’s disappearance, the air fell into a ten-second silence. After a long while, Rhein heaved a deep sigh.

”Iffy was an unusual Wizard from Song of the Deep Sea, rare for not being tainted by the common grudges of the Otherworld, though he was of a cold temperament, a person I could associate with. It’s a pity,” Rhein muttered, a hint of pity in his eyes as he gazed at the spot where Iffy’s head had vanished. ”On this venture, before even achieving our aim, the first intelligence we gleaned was a tragedy.”

”I seem not to sense his Soul?” Sanders queried.

Rhein nodded, ”His Soul was likely bound when he was refined into the stitched Corpse Demon; it is probably in the hands of the puppeteer sewing this Corpse Demon together.”

At the mention of the puppeteer, both Rhein and Sanders’ expressions turned sour. Anyone capable of crafting a stitched Corpse Demon was certainly not of low intelligence, and those with wit in the Nightmare Realm are no easy foes.

Now, they could only hope that this puppeteer would not make an appearance.

Thinking of this, Rhein glanced back at the relic’s great Door. Behind the Door, the visible ten-meter corridor was undisturbed. The flames atop the candlesticks on either side burned as calmly as ever.

This tranquility allowed Rhein to breathe a little easier.

However, the overwhelming calmness left Rhein with an unsettling feeling. Could an interior remain peaceful when so many Magical Creatures gathered outside the passage?

Rhein set aside this concern for now, unwilling to dwell on it further. Then, he took a few steps forward. Although Iffy, the stitched Corpse Demon, had vanished, remnants from the spherical demon lingered on the ground.

The spherical demon didn’t seem to be consumed by the dark.

Rhein left the why unexplored, and with a mere gesture toward the ground, the spherical demon’s remnants floated into the air.

The unreasonable amplification exhibited by the spherical demon piqued Rhein’s curiosity about this strange creature. But now was not the time for its study. He planned on collecting some remnants to share with Dumatin for study later.

Of course, capturing a live spherical demon would be ideal.

Rhein looked ahead into the darkness... wondering if another live spherical demon might appear soon?

As Rhein pondered the spherical demon, he suddenly snapped his head around as if sensing something.

Sanders, too, sensed a dangerous signal, one that caused every inch of his skin to tense and the hair on his arms to rise, an unprecedented warning of danger closing in on him!

”... It’s that feeling!” Sanders’ expression changed abruptly. The last time, observing the corridor, upon seeing those shoes, it was the same feeling!

A sense of danger, a warning, as if a great terror was imminent.

Sanders glanced at Rhein, intending to warn him. But Rhein had already noticed, his expression severe and grave as he concentrated on the Door behind the relic.

Upon confirming Rhein’s awareness of the anomaly, Sanders turned his gaze to the relic Door.

Within remained as serene as before; the short ten-meter stretch showed no change. Yet, the flames on either side began to waver.

As though a wind blew in from the sharp-angled turning passageway.

”Take Angel out,” Rhein instructed, though speaking to Sanders, his gaze remained locked onto the corridor behind the Door.

Though there was no visible sign of danger, Sanders understood that by the time they truly saw the danger, it’d be too late.

Resolute, Sanders grabbed Angel by the shoulder, ”Open the Door, retreat!”

Angel had been engrossed in his manipulation of spiritual power, unaware of the external events. Due to his operations’ concentration, he’d reached behind the Door a full minute earlier than expected, even witnessing the Magic Pattern’s imagery behind it.

As Angel searched the Magic Pattern for any sign resembling a ”map,” Sanders’ voice suddenly pierced his focus.

Angel hesitated for just half a second before coming to. He understood clearly that when Sanders spoke of ”opening the Door,” he wasn’t meant to push open the relic Door, but to use The Gate of Void to retreat to the corridor’s entrance, exiting the relic.

Though Angel felt regret, as he’d need just half a minute more to discern the Magic Pattern, he had no intention to counter.

Because he understood, surviving mattered above all else.

Thinking thus, Angel didn’t pause, quickly withdrawing his Spirit Tentacle from inside the Door while preparing to activate the Gate Model on Psychic Model.

But just then, a voice suddenly emerged.

”My, oh my, humans truly lack appreciation, even killing my adorable little pet, truly heartbreaking~” The voice was sharp, speaking Universal Language with a strange accent.

As the voice delivered, shadows elongated by firelight slowly manifested at the corner of the ten-meter corridor behind the Door.

Simultaneously, a pair of shoes stepped out from the corner.

Just like the pair Sanders had seen before, appearing plain yet extraordinarily eerie.