Chapter 576: The Night Awakens

Chapter 576: Chapter 226: The Night Awakens

“Strange,” Anenep called out, his voice a dry clatter. “Boras, what’s going on? Has the Red Moon’s pollution decreased?”

“How much has it decreased?”

“By a fifth. It’s slowly rising again, but something isn’t right about this.”

A red glow flickered faintly deep within Boras’s hollow eye sockets. “Something must have happened that we’re unaware of. It’s just…”

He paused. “Have the intelligence department contact the Spiritual Mystery School. See if their Legendary Mages of the Fate path have discovered anything.”

“Alright, I’ll inform Amiditch right away.” Anenep agreed, but he didn’t move. Instead, he continued to ask, “And what about the matter with the Shadow School?”

“Let’s wait a little longer. They’ve clearly come to probe us this time. Perhaps they’ve sensed the Chief is absent and want to get their hands on something… It could be within the school, or it could be in some forbidden place on the Northern Continent…”

“Then, should we still have our Shadows make a move?”

“Mobilize them. We’ve nurtured them for so many years; it’s time to put them to use. Remember to tell Amiditch that even if all their identities are exposed, we must find out the Shadow School’s purpose for coming this time!”

“Understood.”

After Anenep left, Boras glanced at the observation instrument. After a few seconds of silence, he reached out and pressed a switch hidden beneath the device.

HUMMM,

Following the dull sound, a crimson fluid flowed over the instrument built from white bones, dyeing the entire device red as if with blood.

Under the light of the Red Moon outside the castle, the red glow and the crimson color gradually merged, and strangely, a hint of obscure blackness appeared…

‘As I thought…’

Boras sighed. He waved his staff, carefully gathering the wisp of black aura, then flipped the switch off and turned to leave.

‘The source of darkness…’

…

…

[You are being watched by an otherplanar avatar of Orpheus, the Lord of Dawn. Orpheus’s attention toward you has increased. Current Rank: 45. Evaluation: Hmm, so there was another rat hiding off to the side, spying? How… Special Reward: Origin +10.]

The black Gonzalez script, carrying an ominous aura, appeared in his mind, breaking Wei’en from his looping memories. He glanced at the message’s content. The tentacles obscuring his face loosened a few coils, revealing crimson eyes that swept over his surroundings.

The quiet white-haired girl holding his hand, Mr. Arnold relentlessly kicking the Grave Digger, the raging waterspout and churning waves of the storm, and the figurehead on the ship, the *Leonard*…

Seeing this, Wei’en deactivated the effects of “Taboo Item 2-77, Karel’s Whisper” and stored it in his Space Ring.

[You have used “Taboo Item 2-77, Karel’s Whisper” for ten minutes. Your fate trajectory has been slightly altered. Current encounter progress: 97/100. Evaluation: Did you hear that? Karel is already calling. Wine, wine… Special Rewards: 200 Survival Points, Origin +10, Spirit Level +10, Resilience Level +10.]

As the Taboo Item disappeared, the mutations on Wei’en’s body gradually reverted. The tentacles retracted into his mouth, flesh grew to form a new, full jaw, and the limbs that resembled withered vines once again formed into muscle covered by fair skin. His eyes also became bright again.

However, hidden in the depths of his eyes were traces of grief, sorrow, and killing intent…

“Sorry for making you worry.” Wei’en patted Tina’s head, then turned his hand to hold her small one, a smile appearing on his face.

“Tina was late,” the white-haired girl said, looking up at him. She stood on her tiptoes and placed a hand on his cheek, as if to comfort him.

“It’s not your fault. On the contrary, you were just in time.”

‘If you hadn’t appeared when you did, I might have died under that bolt of lightning.’

With this thought, Wei’en took her hand and walked toward the center of the nearby storm.

Ferocious heads of Water Elemental Spirits emerged from the churning seawater beneath his feet, coordinating to carry him to the clown’s side.

“…Now you can go meet your great ‘Master of True Slaughter’!”

“Guhh…”

The Grave Digger was in despair. Bowl-sized holes had appeared on his head and body, and the ashes flowing from them were slowly dissipating, causing his power to plummet.

“Wait a moment, Mr. Leonard.”

The clown paused his foot, which had been about to poke the Grave Digger into dust, and tilted his head to look at Wei’en. He chuckled, “You’ve recovered?”

“Sorry,” Wei’en said with a strained laugh.

He knew he hadn’t truly moved on from the scene of Clelia’s departure. The power of the Master of True Slaughter was not something he could resist at his current level.

If he wanted to kill the “false god” the system panel spoke of, he had to force himself to face reality.

‘Rescuing Clelia and killing McCarthy… they aren’t mutually exclusive…’

“I have a few questions for him. Can you wait a moment?”

‘Besides the questions, he also needed the Grave Digger to maintain this apocalyptic storm. After all, it contained countless deep-sea species and deep-sea aberrations—a rare “delicacy” for increasing his power.’

“Of course.”

Arnold glanced at Little White Fur, a grin spreading across his face. He stepped back to the side, waiting for the show to unfold.

“Thank you.”

Wei’en expressed his thanks and walked up to the Grave Digger. He sized up the man’s broken body and asked calmly, “I’m curious. What’s the difference between the real world and the Illusion World you mentioned?”

The Grave Digger struggled to lift his head. As tattered strips of cloth fell away, they revealed one intact eye, as cloudy as an old man’s, which stared at Wei’en.

“Heh heh… You… you don’t know? He…” He pointed at the clown standing to the side. “He… he knows. Ask…”