A naked maid, only clad in a white apron, stood by the Tower of Souls.
As they approached, the maid brought her legs together, knelt to the ground, and deeply bowed her head to the floor, exposing her smooth, polished back full of curves.
âLord Sanders, the master is already in the Tower of Soulsâ underground laboratory, waiting for your arrival,â the maid said, attempting to kiss Sandersâ boots, but he didnât give her the chance and walked on with his foot raised.
As an old friend of Nis, Sanders was not unfamiliar with Soul Valley. Knowing where Nis was, he didnât wait for the maid to lead the way and went straight to the main gate of the Tower of Souls.
Angel followed him.
Once inside the tower, they followed the spiraling staircase downward.
Soon, they arrived at an underground laboratory. A grey-haired old man was at an experiment table, dissecting the body of a male feathered being, while the dead soul of that male feathered being sat cross-legged above its body.
All over the laboratory, there were many busy souls which, aided by the Soul Soothing Stones, were now capable of influencing the Material Realm and thus were assisting with operating various experimental instruments.
However, even with the help of souls, upon entering the laboratory, Angel still heard the old man muttering angrily: âThat damn kid, runs off in the middle of it! Angel is not as scary as a man-eating tiger, timid as a dog! Indeed, shouldâve followed in Hook Dickâs footsteps.â
This grey-haired old man was Nis, and it was rare for Angel to see Nis not immersed in âpleasuresâ when he visited Soul Valley.
Angel didnât understand what he was muttering about, but his mention of Hook Dick caused Angel some embarrassment.
After all, it was Angel who had killed Hook Dick.
As Nis saw Sanders and his disciple enter, he instructed the hovering feathered undead soul: âKeep an eye on your body, and call me if thereâs any issue.â
The feathered undead soul nodded to Nis, watching its own body unblinkingly.
Only then did Nis let go and approached them. Rather than greeting Sanders first, he scrutinized Angel from head to toe. After a while, with some surprise in his voice, he said, âThe vital blood power in your body is a bit strange. It seems to be better than even mineâŠâ
As Nis spoke, his gaze turned toward Sanders, as if he was looking for an answer from him.
Sanders merely nodded slightly. Though he didnât explain, his nod acknowledged the strength of Angelâs vital energy.
A gleam of desire flashed continuously in Nisâs eyes as he spoke with a hint of eagerness: âWhat a superb body.â
This tone made Angel shiver. During his first visit to Soul Valley, Nis had spoken in this tone, and Angel had almost been persuaded to inject himself with Charm Demon bloodline. His tone now might just be harboring ill intentions!
And indeed, as Angel suspected, the more Nis looked at Angel, the more he saw him as an excellent test subject, contemplating a minor dissection⊠While Nis was engrossed in his thoughts, Sandersâ tall figure suddenly blocked his view.
Though Sanders didnât say a word, the chill emanating from his body clearly showed his stance.
Nis gave a sheepish smile: âI was just admiring, purely admiring.â
Sanders didnât exchange pleasantries with Nis and went straight to the point, inquiring whether Nis had found anything when he broke into the Heart of the Swarmâs research institute.
Nis: âThere were some finds, a few manuscripts left by Insercott. But as you know, Iâm not versed in the Summoning System and have even less interest in swarms, so if you have any questions about the swarm, I probably canât answer.â
âCan I take a look at those manuscripts?â
Nis didnât mind and nodded: âSure, follow me.â
Having said that, Nis took the lead and guided them to an even more secluded chamber. While walking, he muttered, âAh, speaking of which, I was in the middle of an experiment, and Saka was my assistant. But as soon as he heard Angel was coming, he ran off without a word. It really pissed me off.â
âBut on second thought, it makes sense. Angel could beat him back then, and now his vital energy has grown so much stronger; I bet Saka would turn into minced meat with just one punch.â
With that, Nis curiously looked at Angel: âHow exactly did you enhance your flesh? Did you, perhaps, fuse with some powerful bloodline?â
âIndeed, it was a bloodline. However, the specifics of which bloodline it is remains a confidential research topic, for now, I cannot disclose,â Angel replied.
Nis shrugged: âFine, pretend I didnât ask.â
Mechanical noises sounded from within the chamber. In a moment, the lionâs mouth opened wide, and several books glowing with a faint light flew out, landing in Nisâs hands.
Nis waved gently, and the few volumes of books landed on a desk not far away.
âEverything is here, you can look for yourself,â Nis pointed to the books on the desk, âYou can check them out for yourself, the core content has already been encrypted. If thereâs anything you want to read, just pay the corresponding price to me.â
Angel understood how valuable knowledge was to a Wizard, so he was prepared to pay the price. Despite Nisâs seemingly nonchalant attitude about the books, they were, after all, left by a legendary great Wizard, probably the only copy in the Southern Domain, and their value was immeasurable. Nis was willing to trade these things mainly out of consideration for Sanders.
He nodded to Sanders, then sat down at the desk and began to flip through the first book.
âA Brief Introduction to Mysterious Magical Creaturesâ
âThe Third-Order Fire Setting Reaction of the Karon Protozoaâ
âMysterious Magical Creatures?â As Angel turned to the first page title, he immediately thought of Lucas. Lucas was the bearer of a Mysterious Object, a âMysterious Human.â Could this âMysterious Magical Creatureâ be a type of insect with mysterious properties?
Angel was indeed curious, but it wasnât what he was looking for, so he had to keep flipping through.
The sound of flipping pages slowly became the only noise in the room, and Angelâs attention became more focused.
Meanwhile, Nis gave Sanders a signal with his eyes, and they temporarily left the room, leaving Angel alone to peruse the books.
Leaning by the door, Nis said to Sanders, âI also saw what happened in the Spirit Tree Hall before. Thereâs more to what Angel said, isnât there?â
âDonât you all understand?â Sanders was aware that the vague parts of Angelâs story would certainly raise suspicions. But even with suspicions, it was of no use, as nobody would guess that the death of a Demon Godâs True Spirit was connected to Angel.
âArenât we old friends? Canât you give me a hint?â Nis glanced in Angelâs direction, âIs his bodyâs transformation related to this matter? Could it be that he has received the bloodline of a descendant of a Demon God?â
Immediately after Nis finished speaking, Sanders scoffed, âNot to mention the likelihood of that happening, do you think Angel could withstand a bloodline of that caliber?â
Nis: âThat may be true, but I canât think of any other answer.â
After a moment of contemplation, Sanders said, âHis bodyâs transformation has nothing to do with the fall of the Demon Godâs True Spirit. However, you might want to think about his constitution.â
âConstitution?â Nis hesitated for a moment, âYou mean⊠a Nightmare Soul Body? Could it be related to the Nightmare Realm?â
Sanders did not respond further, but Nis seemed to have an epiphany. If it really was related to the Nightmare Realm, that made sense, since its perilous and mysterious nature was well-known; but so were its chances and treasures!
Nis wanted to inquire further, but Sanders was not inclined to say more. With no choice, Nis had to let it rest.
Nis then talked about the Lassudral issue that Angel had mentioned earlier. He did learn some secrets from Sanders, though they were of no real importance.
As the conversation went on, the topic somehow shifted to the relic on the Pamiji Plateau.
âWhat do you think about that newly discovered relic?â asked Sanders.
After pondering for a moment, Nis said, âSpeaking of which, Lord Rhein summoned me recently to go near that relic to sense for some Undead. Although I didnât sense any, I feel thereâs something odd about that relic.â
âOdd? In what way?â Sanders inquired with curiosity, he had been provided with verified information, or in other words, âofficial news.â Authoritative as it was, it lacked perspective. He wanted to hear if Nis, from his personal point of view, had any new discoveries.
âNo one can penetrate the relic, so I canât determine whatâs going on inside. But I just donât understand why those numerous Colorful Dragonflies coming from the Eternal Night Country are gathering near that relic,â Nis recalled the situation, âPeople outside are spreading rumors, worried that these Magical Creatures and parasites will encroach deeper into the Pamiji Plateau, eventually causing disaster to the Mirror World. But after taking a closer look, although I canât exclude the possibility that they might advance into the depths of the plateau, their current behavior doesnât seem like they have any plans to expand.â
Sanders frowned, âNot planning to expand? You meanâŠâ
Nis: âIn my opinion, there may be something special inside the relic, attracting them.â
Something that could attract creatures of the Nightmare Realm? If so, itâs probably the essence of the Nightmare Realm, because those Magical Creatures, having come to the Wizardsâ Realm, would gradually weaken if they didnât replenish the Nightmare Essence soon, but the Eternal Night Country has numerous Interlayer Spaces, so itâs not lacking in Nightmare Essence.
What could it be, then?
Could it be that, like with Poclades, there was a passage leading to the Nightmare Realm inside that relic?
That didnât seem right either. If there really was such a passage, those creatures from the Nightmare Realm wouldnât need to migrate from the Eternal Night Country; they could just come directly through the passage.
Sanders thought for a long time but found no answer.
âLord Rhein has already written to Lapuye. If Lapuye can make a judgment, Lord Rhein may personally enter the relic to investigate after some time, and then we will have the answer.â
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