Chapter 15: Second Meeting
Evening.
Angelica took a carriage away from the academy, heading alone towards the Yore Bridge district in the northern part of the Royal Capital.
There stood a landmark building of the northern district, no less impressive than the Judgment Tower—the Mage Tower, a place of faith for the God of Elements.
The tower had a classical design, with countless symbols and patterns representing various magical knowledge carved into the reliefs. Its height was astonishing, requiring one to look up to barely catch a glimpse of the divine mark on its tip, which radiated a mysterious glow.
It was a triangular symbol, faintly visible even from the vast plains far away from the Royal Capital.
Looking up at the cloudless night sky and the exceptionally bright moon, Angelica smiled slightly and walked towards the ancient spire towering before her.
As usual, she wore a rose-colored knee-length Mage Robe, paired with calf-high boots, revealing her slender white calves, walking briskly.
After passing the gatekeeper’s identity verification at the base of the tower, Angelica traced a triangle clockwise over her chest.
“May you be blessed with knowledge.”
The gatekeeper, dressed in thick robes, had a solemn expression and made the same gesture as her.
The triangle symbolized the God of Elements, also known as the Trinity God, the master of wisdom, magic, and elemental authority. Almost all magical scholars were followers of this deity, firmly believing that all knowledge in the world came from this divine being.
As one of the most outstanding magic prodigies in the Royal Capital, Angelica’s faith was, of course, in this deity.
Entering the interior of the tower, the first floor was mostly populated with low-level mages; for them, this place felt more like a well-structured guild.
After reporting at the reception, Angelica used the teleportation array to arrive at the thirty-eighth floor, which was a space solely for her teacher’s daily practice after she was promoted to Sorcerer.
The space before her was far larger than it appeared from outside, seemingly covered by a pitch-black curtain that faintly shimmered with countless specks of light, deep and mysterious, as vast as the starry sky.
Taking a deep breath, Angelica spoke solemnly, “Teacher, the matter you requested has been conveyed, but he seems unwilling to accept the conditions I proposed.”
“I understand.”
Without a figure in sight, a gentle and tranquil female voice echoed from the depths of the boundless starry sky, as if an angel’s blessing enveloped Angelica.
After a moment of hesitation, she lowered her head and continued, “Should we use coercive measures?”
“Don’t worry about him; he may very well disappear mysteriously by tomorrow.”
The ethereal voice came again.
Startled, she quickly lowered her head, her golden hair falling to her ears, obscuring her profile.
The coercive measures she referred to were limited to violent threats or signing a betting agreement at the arena, but judging by her teacher’s tone, it seemed there were other arrangements.
Angelica was reluctant to dwell on it.
“Should I inform Naya about this?”
After a moment of silence, Angelica asked once more.
“Not necessary; she is currently in a critical ‘transformation’ phase and shouldn’t be too emotionally stimulated.” The voice paused, “By the way, remember to retrieve the grant of title.”
“Understood.”
Angelica nodded in acknowledgment.
The process of inheriting a hereditary title was straightforward. After court officials confirmed that you were the current first heir, they would reclaim the previous grant from the last titleholder and issue you a new one.
In other words, without the grant from the former Viscount Adelaide, even if Naya were qualified to inherit the title, she would not receive royal recognition.
…
After seeing off Xivista in the afternoon, Shaya didn’t delay. Through his secret channels, he acquired the urgently needed Void Stone Powder.
Then, he set off without pause from the Royal Capital, heading towards the outpost in the lower city under the cover of night.
The security situation in the lower city was terrible; wandering the streets at night as a well-dressed upper city person posed a high chance of encountering robbery or murder.
With over ten thousand gold coins in his dimensional ring, along with ritual materials worth more than eight thousand gold coins, Shaya knocked out no less than three groups of thugs who were plotting against him along the way, tossing them into the nearby filthy ditch.
He didn’t intend to use that sum of money, only withdrawing the bare minimum he currently needed.
Upon returning to the outpost in the lower city and locking the door, Shaya entered the basement.
Looking at the remnants of the ritual materials and creepy smiling patterns on the floor, he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. It had only been a few days, yet it seemed so much had happened since he last returned here.
After preparing, Shaya skillfully initiated the ritual.
Soon, a silver flame portal surged in the small room, engulfing Shaya entirely.
After a dizzying spin, a sense of falling struck him. This time, Shaya was prepared and adjusted his center of gravity in advance, landing steadily on the ground. Aside from a slight discomfort from spatial transfer, he was otherwise unharmed.
Seeing the familiar hall and stone pillars before him, Shaya breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn’t rush inside but instead opened the system to try and set this place as a respawn point.
[Due to unknown forces, this location cannot be used as a respawn point.]
The system’s notification surprised him for a moment, but he soon understood.
After all, this was a place sealed by multiple deities, trapping an entity as high-ranking as the Extremely Evil Demoness. How could it be easily exploited?
However, he couldn’t fathom why he was able to use the ritual to transfer here.
Could it be that it only restricts the demoness’s entry and exit?
Shaya shook his head and quickly walked towards the main hall of the palace. Before long, the familiar scene appeared before him.
The demoness hadn’t created any new scenes today; she sat quietly, just as before, at the top of the steps in a slightly worn black gauze dress, her white feet and long legs bare, holding a thick book in silence.
Seeing this, he remained silent, standing quietly to the side, waiting for the demoness to finish her reading.
While waiting, his gaze unconsciously drifted towards the stone pillars outside the hall, observing the sights he hadn’t paid attention to during his last visit.
Outside the palace, there were mostly dark and deep stone walls and rugged stone pillars, with no hint of light, and faint black mist permeated the air, filling everything with an atmosphere of despair; the overall tone felt overwhelmingly oppressive.
If a normal person were to reside here, they would likely go mad within a day.
It was hard to imagine how many countless years the Witch Miss had been sealed in this place.
The black mist seemed to possess its own wisdom, spreading and coiling like a cold serpent; even a slight touch would completely strip away life.
After staring for too long, Shaya began to feel dizzy, his body heating up, his mood irritable, and he faintly heard eerie whispers in his ears.
He quickly averted his gaze.
Suddenly, the black-dressed demoness, sitting high above, waved her hand.
The scene before Shaya rippled like the surface of water, and the interior of the palace vanished in an instant, replaced by a vast room filled with countless books on the walls, with a red carpet on the floor and stacks of various exquisitely packaged books everywhere.
Spatial transfer? Or was it a direct creation?
Indeed, the methods of a deity are beyond comprehension.
The demoness tiptoed to return a book to its empty place, her tender white skin on her feet, her slender and straight ankles and calves, with her long black hair cascading down her back, combined with a slightly worn black gauze dress, rendered her appearance in pure black and white.
From afar, she looked like the goddess of night stepping out from a painting, breathtakingly beautiful.
A cold beauty with an abstinent disposition.
Shaya discreetly diverted his gaze, feeling his actions were somewhat inappropriate.
It was said that one should not look directly at the deities; however, after coming twice, although the demoness’s attitude was aloof and inscrutable, she didn’t seem to actively harm him beyond his own recklessness.
On the contrary, the various churches, mainly led by the Church of Light, had all mentioned in their classics that looking directly at a deity was a blasphemous act.
After doing all this, the demoness’s body slightly levitated, and she took another book from above before slowly descending.
Turning around with the book in her arms, the demoness finally directed her gaze towards Shaya, who had been standing motionless.
Feeling the icy stare, Shaya bowed respectfully: “Good evening, esteemed Lady Agnes, it’s nice to see you again.”
“……”
The demoness silently gazed at him, seemingly just recognizing Shaya’s identity.
After a moment, she suddenly spoke, “Who exactly are you?”
Shaya was taken aback, then quickly understood.
She was asking him why he appeared before her again with this face, despite having already died from the curse.
To the demoness, the lethality of the curse was absolute; no one could survive it.
So, she instinctively believed that the person before her and the boy who had broken the seal were not the same.
It was a reasonable assumption.
Thus, he slowly unveiled the prepared statement, a sincere expression on his face: “Your Excellency, what I am about to say may sound unbelievable, but please trust me, I do not understand the reasons behind this.”
“At that time, I truly lost my life because death belongs only to your authority, of that there is no doubt.”
“However, after being killed by the curse, I… resurrected!”
