Chapter 387: We Will Meet Again Where There Is No Darkness

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In the hours that followed, every single second was packed tight.

After all, 【Astral Exile】 was a Beyond 9th Circle magic that had never been used in actual combat, so it naturally required a short-range simulation to test the waters.

Once everything was confirmed to be correct and all preparations were complete,

Celia cast 【Astral Exile】 on Professor Duncan, Elder Barnes, Elder Scott, Bill, and Elder Martin one by one.

Soon, the breathing of the elderly men on the hospital beds gradually stabilized, with no anomalies appearing for the time being.

Valger, who had been guarding them by their side, raised his hand to check the time. It was exactly eleven o'clock.

Professor Duncan's original time of death had already passed.

The heart he had held in his throat for so long finally settled, and he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

After that, Celia's laboratory fell so silent that only the sound of breathing remained.

With all the preliminary preparations wrapped up, the moment had finally come for the two of them to say goodbye.

Celia could faintly sense that cold, peering gaze. The will of the God of Clamor and Filth still hovered at the edge of her perception, refusing to recede.

Time was as tight as a string stretched to its absolute limit, making her chest feel tight. But compared to this crisis, a different, bitter emotion weighed even heavier on her heart.

She gazed deeply at Ansu before her, the beloved person standing right within her reach.

They had already laid their hearts bare to each other and knew all of each other's deepest secrets. She had finally popped that bubble she had never dared to dream of before...

The happiest, sweetest life should have been right at their fingertips.

Yet, they had to be separated by worlds.

She had an inexplicable premonition that this time, they might truly be separated for a very, very long time...

Celia's eyes slowly welled with red. She just stared at him fixedly, her lips moving several times, but she couldn't squeeze out a single word.

After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice carrying a hint of petulant complaint. “If you had just listened to me back then and didn't get involved in this stupid business of saving the world... would there not be so much trouble?”

“You're so disobedient...” She paused, choking up. “Ansu, when I get back, I am definitely going to punish you! I must punish you thoroughly...”

Ansu's heart also felt incredibly heavy, but he still put on a strong front before her. He smiled.

“Isn't Miss Witch's punishment actually a reward?”

“...Hmph.” Celia pouted, remembering the "punishments" she used to devise every time she hypnotized him in the past, only for them to turn into "rewards" in his eyes.

The smile slowly faded from Ansu's face. He looked at her and said seriously, “If I return first, I will go to fetch you.”

Celia could no longer hold back her tears. She lunged forward, hugging Ansu tightly.

“You must come to get me...”

Her cheek was buried in the crook of his shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around him, as if trying to brand the warmth of this moment into her very bones.

“Even though I said so much and comforted everyone, I'm still really scared... scared that this is the last time I'll see you.”

Ansu held her close, wrapping his arms around her back and gently patting her, stroke by stroke.

“Go with an easy mind. We will both succeed.”

He caressed her hair, then lowered his head to greedily inhale the faint scent of roses on her. “Didn't we agree on this before? Our story hasn't reached its end yet.”

Celia suddenly raised her hands to wrap them around his neck, her beautiful face drawing closer and closer.

The moment their breaths mingled, their lips gently touched.

The kiss was not lingering, but filled with an overflowing, deep attachment, as if trying to advance-draw all the warmth of their long future separation into this single kiss.

They kissed for a long time.

So long that both of their breaths lost their rhythm before they slowly parted.

“What if I get lost in the Astral Realm, or if I wander off?” Celia looked up at him, unshed tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, her tone carrying a forced lightheartedness. “Will you come to the Astral Realm to find me?”

“If you really get lost,” Ansu stared into her eyes, “even if I have to tear through the entire Astral Realm, I will drag you back.”

Celia broke into a smile through her tears.

Time slipped away silently. Both of them seemed to realize that they had been embracing for a bit too long.

Celia slowly let go first, and Ansu also gradually withdrew his arms.

Yet, their hands were still resting on each other's waists, neither of them being the first to completely pull away.

Looking at her own reflection in his eyes, Celia suddenly asked, “Aren't you going to say goodbye to them? They're still in the South, right? Did you notify them?”

“No goodbyes. Time is too tight.” Ansu paused, then added, “But... I left a letter for everyone. Everything I wanted to say is written inside.”

There was one for Vera, one for Freya, and Vera's letter even came with a birthday present.

Actually, there was another psychological reason for not saying goodbye in person. Ansu truly lacked the courage to face Vera at this time. It was her birthday... He had made so many promises back then, but now that her birthday had arrived, her older brother couldn't even return.

But writing letters allowed him to be calm. He could even joke with her between the lines, making it seem as though he was merely going on a long trip.

Besides the two of them, there was also a joint letter for Matthew, Valger, and Danielle.

This letter was of vital importance to the future of the cult.

If he and Celia could not return in a short time, the Filthy Heart had to be properly contained. Once the source of the South's mana plague was resolved in this manner, the battle mage regiment would need to withdraw in an orderly fashion. As for the longer term, he had also made arrangements for the development direction of both the cult and the Magic Mutual Aid Association.

With him and Celia leaving, it was equivalent to the cult losing both its "external brain" and its strongest combatant at the same time. Going up against an old fox like Barcas, they would likely suffer quite a few losses.

Fortunately, the blackened Miss Witch had made a grand contribution. The Saint Tier mages in the City of a Thousand Stars had been mostly torn apart by her hands, leaving Barcas directly short of a powerful foreign aid. The situation wasn't too terrible.

Celia finally withdrew her hands and took a step back.

She was truly leaving.

She tried her best to hold back her tears, waving at him with a smile. “Alright, alright. If we keep hugging, I really won't be able to bring myself to leave. Ansu, I'll take the first step!”

Ansu stood in place, watching her walk away from him step by step.

A long, obscure incantation echoed in the laboratory, and space began to distort violently.

The terrifying mana of the Beyond 9th Circle magic continuously gathered, bending the light around her into bizarre angles.

【Astral Exile】

Celia's figure grew fainter and fainter, as if she were slowly dissolving into the air.

In the final split second before she departed, she spoke softly, her voice piercing through the buzzing hum of surging mana to land in Ansu's ears.

“We will meet again where there is no darkness.”

The light dispersed, and her figure completely vanished from his sight.

Ansu stood in place blankly, feeling a profound sense of loss.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he lowered his head and took a deep breath.

He still had important things to do.

It was also time for him to depart.

Returning to the archives at the end of the corridor, the stack of manuscripts on the shelf was still neatly arranged. Because of Celia, a layer of fine, shimmering light was currently floating on its surface.

Ansu without the slightest hesitation, raised his hand, and a pure, deep blue ring silently manifested in his palm.

【Ring of Pure Protection】

Soon, the ground trembled slightly.

Two light sources faced each other across the air, flashing at the exact same frequency, their resonance frequency matching perfectly without a single discrepancy.

In the next moment, a system prompt popped up.

【Triggered 'Time Beacon'】

【Connecting to unknown historical memory node】

【Status: Unknown...】

【Retention Time: Unknown...】

In an instant, the world before his eyes suddenly lost focus and blurred.

He felt everything around him begin to change. The texture of space became distorted, and the flow of time fluctuated, as if he were placed in a river of interlacing light and shadow.

Right at the split second when his figure was about to completely dissipate within the archives, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from deep within the corridor.

The steps were heavy and rushed, filled with a flustered urgency, heading straight in this direction.

“Ansu!!”

Ansu looked toward the sound, trying his best to see the newcomer clearly, his brow furrowing slightly.

The light gradually swallowed his vision.

In the next instant, his figure vanished into thin air.

...

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