Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1397: Section 1398 Different

Although I didn’t know what this so-called “Feast” actually entailed, one thing was for sure, Greya and Felicia were indeed here because of the incident at Black Castle.

“Black Castle has harbored undead for a thousand years, its own aura has also changed. Even if we completely eliminate the undead here, as long as this gloomy and resentful atmosphere lingers, more undead will accumulate,” Sanders lamented through the Mind Ribbon, “What Greya and the others want to do is to fundamentally change Black Castle from its roots. From this point of view, Isabel is indeed prepared to overturn Isabella’s thousand-year Blood Plan.”

In other words, while Angel’s cleansing of the undead was a cure, what Greya and the others were doing was rooting out the cause of the disease.

Hearing this provided some consolation to Angel.

Just as Sanders said, Isabel was determined to change the status quo of Black Castle. This matter might be a painful transition in the short term, because the existence of the undead was also a factor that made Black Castle dreaded before. But in the long run, it was obviously beneficial for the development of Black Castle.

Although Angel’s elimination of the undead served his own interests, if Black Castle could be completely changed, preventing innocent women from being tortured and killed, that too would be a good thing.

Initially, because of Isabella, helping Black Castle eliminate the undead made Angel feel somewhat conflicted, but now he had come to terms with it.

“Master and apprentice yet so different,” Angel mused, for Isabel truly lived up to her reputation as the most brilliant witch of a millennium ago, far surpassing Isabella in decisiveness and foresight.

Isabella, faced with Black Castle’s chronic issues, sought not to heal it, but instead turned to seek a potential wizard—Bogura, who had the opportunity to break through True Knowledge, hoping to give Black Castle a breather by this backwards chase, which was clearly not addressing the root of the problem.

Moreover, placing all one’s hopes in someone else’s hands was never a wise thing to do.

Of course, Angel also knew that his current thoughts were made by contrasting with Isabel, which made Isabella seem inferior. But if he were to put himself in Isabella’s shoes, he would probably think differently, because Isabella’s own potential had been exhausted, and at the time, there were no signs of Isabel’s return to the Southern Domain, and Black Castle was in a precarious state; there wasn’t much she could do indeed.

However, no matter from which perspective, all these troubles still originated from Isabella. If she hadn’t initiated the so-called “Blood Plan,” there wouldn’t be so many subsequent problems.

While Angel was reflecting, after a while, Sanders also sent a message: “You’re right, though master and apprentice, they are two different kinds.”

Angel nodded, but he froze as soon as he did: “…”

Although Sanders said the exact same words, not a single word different, why did Angel feel something was off?

Were you really talking about Isabel and Isabella?

Angel turned to look at Sanders, who was as stern and indifferent as ever, moving with elegant strides.

Maybe I misunderstood? Angel thought, turning his head back.

Guided by Natasha, they navigated the complex corridors of the Soul Realm and eventually arrived at a very opulent hall.

The hall was more like a chapel, with rows of seats visible upon opening the door. At the moment, the seats were nearly full, all filled with witches in wizard robes, but in this setting, they somewhat resembled nuns.

A red carpet with dark patterns ran along the passageway between the two rows of seats, extending all the way to the stage at the front.

On the stage was a space node, exceptionally well-protected, surrounded by a large number of witches maintaining and repairing it.

“The platform above is for teleportation to the Black Forest node,” Natasha pointed toward the front stage and said, “Because the exit from the Black Forest node is near the undead army, to be on the safe side, the most witches are guarding here.”

Natasha explained as she led them forward.

As they walked down the aisle, the witches on both sides fixed their gaze on them. They obviously knew the identities of Angel and Sanders and when they saw them, their eyes sparkled with light.

Sanders, with his naturally cold and alienating aura, wasn’t someone many witches dared to look at directly, but the glances that landed on Angel were much more frequent, filled with curious probing and more abundantly, seductive charm.

Angel kept his eyes straight ahead, thinking to himself that it would be nice if he could one day be like Sanders, commanding such an aura that even those nearby wouldn’t dare to cast their gaze upon him.

Under watchful eyes, they reached the steps of the stage.

They had just steadied themselves when they felt a surge of energy fluctuation, which came from… the space node.

Did that mean someone was coming from the other side of the space node? According to what Natasha had said earlier, the other side of the space node was near the undead army, so could it be an attack from the undead?

Angel quickly dismissed this guess because everyone present, whether the witches sitting down or Natasha and Sanders on stage, looked very calm. Clearly, the incoming visitor was a friend, not a foe.

Indeed, after a halo of light, there emerged a silhouette, top-heavy and lightweight.

Kimberly, with a forest of hair, walked out of the glow.

“Lady Kimberly, how’s the situation outside?” asked an elderly witch from the node-maintenance crew as she stood up.

Kimberly’s expression was grave, “The situation is somewhat serious. As we had learned from the previous reports, she has already noticed our presence. The number of undead near the node has further increased, including several conglomerates of undead.”

Kimberly’s words instantly transformed the quiet hall into a place of noisy tumult. The witches below were whispering to each other. Even though they were speaking in hushed tones, as more people arrived in the hall, the volume of noise increased significantly.

“Silence,” an Official Wizard stood up, chastising the crowd.

As the air quieted down, Kimberly turned to Angel and said, “To prevent any accidents, it’s best to activate your bloodline and enhance your defensive capabilities when going out. Because once we leave, we may face a series of suicidal attacks.”

It was only after Kimberly’s explanation that Angel understood what she meant.

The undead were only part of it, but outside there were also conglomerates of undead. These conglomerates are the Origin of Chaos—created by King Gumman’s thirteenth daughter. The underlying principle is quite simple; it is to overload the negative energy within the undead by aggregating different undead, creating a false balance.

Any slight movement could cause an energy imbalance in the undead, leading to a series of energy disasters.

Hearing this, Angel’s expression also turned grave. He had never paid much attention to the undead because their power was mostly effective at the soul level, and Angel’s own soul was quite unique, immune to most undead attacks. That’s why Angel wasn’t that afraid to face them.

However, these undead conglomerates were different. They caused disasters not only at the energy level but also on the material level.

Even if Angel’s soul was unique, it wouldn’t grant him immunity. Therefore, Angel also became cautious.

“Apart from the undead conglomerates, the Origin of Chaos has various levels and types of undead. Do not take them lightly, try to eliminate them from a distance,” Kimberly paused for a moment. “I’ve already informed Lady Isabella, and she should be arriving soon. Let’s wait here for her.”

As they waited, Angel reflected on Kimberly’s reminder.

It made sense—if it were only the undead, even with disasters, the impact wouldn’t be as broad.

Nevertheless, this made Angel even more curious about the so-called Origin of Chaos.

King Gumman’s thirteenth daughter was harmless to humans and animals while she lived, yet her posthumous creations thoroughly surprised everyone. She never delved deeply into the Wizards’ Realm, but the undead conglomerates and other types of undead she created were stunning, demonstrating her profound understanding of the soul, not just superficially, but down to its inner layers.

Moreover, her strategic planning and coordinating abilities were also astounding; otherwise, the people of Black Castle wouldn’t be forced to stay inside the Soul Realm, afraid to leave.

Such a talented individual was born in an inopportune time.

“What are you thinking about?” Sanders inquired through the Mind Ribbon.

Angel briefly shared his thoughts, then added, “I still find it strange though. She was hit by a White Light Bullet, so why didn’t she dissipate?”

Angel couldn’t help but recall the first time he experimented with the Samsara Overture at Black Castle, when he shot at King Gumman’s thirteenth daughter.

At the time, nothing seemed amiss, but now, as he reviewed his memories, he noticed some unusual discrepancies.

Back at Black Castle, Angel had been harvesting undead outside for a while until he finally gathered a White Light Bullet. Curious about the bullet’s purpose, he prepared to shoot a random undead by the roadside.

Although Angel’s choice was random, the undead behaved peculiarly before he could fire.

While other undead merely wandered and moaned near their own bones, this one glared at Black Castle with vehemence, her eyes filled with hatred…

Looking back, perhaps at that time, King Gumman’s thirteenth daughter had already possessed a special ability and was consumed with a grudge against Black Castle for the torment that led to her death.

It was only after Angel fired the shot that he recognized the identity of the undead.

She was struck by the White Light Bullet and her face became half ferocious and half shocked. Angel had attempted to communicate with her, but received no response; instead, she eventually flew off and escaped.

This process seemed unproblematic, but when compared to the experiments he had conducted on the Samsara Overture before…

Angel pulled out a notebook from his bracelet, flipping to the records of the Samsara Overture experiments.

He scrutinized his experimental notes carefully and, after finishing, immediately spotted something amiss.

The time was different.

When Angel’s first bullet hit her, she instantly turned into a ‘Semi-Undead’ with a face half ferocious and half calm; yet in another entry in the notebook, when Angel had hit Archie with a White Light Bullet, Archie had struggled on the ground for a good ten minutes before the chaotic energy and stable energy inside him gradually found equilibrium and turned him into a Semi-Undead.

If you compare this point, it’s quite different.