Everything happened so fast.
Dave felt as if he was still teasing with Angor in the previous minute, and now he saw both Angor and Toby drawing their last breath on the floor.
“What should I do??” Dave panicked. He had no idea how he could possibly help Angor in such a situation.
He looked at Prome desperately.
Prome closed his eyes and shook his head. “The gap between real wizards and apprentices is like the difference between the vast sea and a glass of water. There’s nothing I can do.”
…
While desperate with sadness, Angor heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
He lifted his head weakly and saw Twilight standing not far from him.
“Now tell me, why did you attack the Twilight Auction House?”
Angor said nothing. It was true that he was the intruder. But he did not really have a reason for it. He was simply trying to save Toby.
And he had his own rashness to blame.
Twilight stared at Angor’s silent in disdain.
Angor looked back at Toby, when Toby returned his own gaze, trying to enjoy the last moment with his young master.
“It doesn’t matter. Something to do with that eyeless man, I assume? I don’t care if you wanted to save him of what. The result is clear, you’ll be executed.”
Twilight turned back to the auction stage. One of her hands was still pointed at Angor, which was about to unleash that light beam again.
“So cruel, Twilight,” Lydia’s teasing voice echoed in the hall again. “Aw look at the beautiful friendship between the bird and young gentleman… I’m crying now. You know what, this is more beautiful than the Phantom of Festivity tomorrow.”
“Lady Lotus… I believe you quite enjoy grinding such beauty under your heel, am I right?” Twilight responded in her plain tone.
“You know me well!” Lydia’s gentle voice suddenly became that of a maniacal witch. “Yes, be cruel! I like it! Cruelty is beauty, heehahaha!”
Twilight did not mind her. She was only doing her job, and those who dared to oppose Twilight Well had to pay, whoever they might be.
Angor was going to accept his death willingly, but he then remembered his promise to Jon.
“I… can’t die yet!”
Jon was still waiting for his return!
He wished he could go home and attend his brother’s wedding. He wanted to see the Padt Family rise and achieve glory. He still had not seen the flame of lion heart burned bright. He had so much to do!
But how to get out of here?
A level-1 apprentice, in the face of a mighty wizard.
“Calling for help” was the first idea that came to Angor’s mind.
But who would help?
Flora? Angor tried to look at Chamber 35. He was sure Flora had seen all. But… she did not do anything. There was only dead silence.
He knew Flora chose to stay out of this.
He had already determined to always rely on himself instead of others before. Angor felt a bit ashamed at how he needed someone’s help so soon.
No one helped strangers in this world without a good reason. Just like how Gabriel was disregarded by everyone. Even willing slavery was not enough.
Angor saw Twilight’s beam about to come and grimaced.
He only had himself now. With the magic array around, he could not use spells, and even if he could, he did not believe he had a spell to help him escape from a real wizard. Twilight was not the only wizard here.
Angor desperately stressed his brain, trying to grasp at least a tiny hope of survival.
Spells wouldn’t work here, but… maybe illusions could? The music box displayed its illusion in the hall just fine.
He did not have time to consider whether an illusion was helpful. He decided to deploy one first.
There were a lot of noises around, which meant it was a good time to use Melodious Illusion. But when he tried to create illusion nodes nearby, he found himself unable to unleash any mana at all.
So the magic array was still a problem.
The music box showed its illusion probably because it was not a harmful one, so the magic array allowed it to pass through.
Using illusion was a no-go.
Then what?
Angor grew more panicked when he saw Twilight’s attack fully prepared, which somehow strengthened his heartbeat despite his wounds.
He suddenly got another idea when listening to his own heart beating madly.
Sunders once used his heartbeat to construct a Melodious Illusion. Illusion nodes did not have to be in the environment. He could place them inside his body! He could create an illusion by using his own brain as a medium.
A new idea meant he would get to it immediately. Angor quickly tried to create illusion nodes inside him.
The nodes running on his organs brought him pain, but it was nothing compared to what he went through just now.
First, it was his forehead. Then his body… more sweat and blood came flowing out due to the great pressure inflicted by magic.
Twilight, as well as every wizard in the hall, noticed Angor’s movement.
And Twilight immediately saw what Angor was doing. However, a Melodious Illusion made by a weak apprentice was not worth her attention at all.
Inside Chamber 19, the man in gentleman suit slightly opened his eyes.
“Such folly.”
Twilight stopped her attack. She was getting curious about what would happen when an apprentice fought for his last breath. Maybe it would prove to be something childishly fun.
Angor did not care what people were thinking about.
During these days, he learned how to trick people’s senses. However, he was sure it would not work on real wizards. He had to think of something else.
Lady Mirror once mentioned something about his illusion carrying the trace of the Nightmare Realm. Angor thought it was because he was referring to the scenery of that place when making his music box, but he later denied that idea.
Besides, an illusion like that would not help him escape from wizards. Something from the Nightmare Realm might affect people’s emotions, yet that was not going to save him from someone as strong as Twilight.
Speaking of strong… someone else flashed through Angor’s mind.
Or was it “something”? He was not sure.
Angor wondered whether he could buy enough time if he managed to create the illusion of “that being”.
There was no choice anyway. Angor tried his best to deploy the illusion while thinking about a certain woman who left a deep scar on his back.
…
“Using his own body to support an illusion? Dear me. Angor is such a fast learner when it comes to micro illusions. But… isn’t using one’s body like that kinda foolish?” Flora chuckled. “Yes, you can make your illusion happen that way. But what next?”
Flora floated into the air and observed the situation happily.
The Red Reaper behind her back suddenly let go of Flora’s back. Its bony hands grabbed its skull as if having a headache.
“What’s wrong, Little Red?”
“Save… him…” The flames in the skeleton’s eye sockets blinked as if they were about to vanish.
“Save Angor?” Flora pouted. “Why me? My professor never helped me when I was the one being hunted down.”
Little Red did not answer. It kept holding its skull in pain.
“What’s happening to you??”
Inside the hall, people saw white smoke coming from Angor’s body. As the smoke covered the place, they began to see strange scenes of forest, then strange animals, before the reality returned again. It felt like some beginner apprentice was trying to practice illusions in a really bad way.
“Tsk. That’s the worst illusion I’ve ever seen yet,” Lydia sneered at the scenes around her. After witnessing the perfect illusion created by the music box, this one was total junk.
Twilight also shook her head in disdain.
The man inside Chamber 19 frowned and grew puzzled a little.
“The child’s play ends here,” Twilight glanced at the terrible illusion and unleashed her finishing blow at Angor.
Before the light beam reached Angor’s forehead, the illusion shifted again, as a thick mist came rushing out from Angor.
Unlike the thin smoke earlier, the mist instantly blocked people’s sight. The beam used by Twilight simply disappeared in it.
Twilight was shocked now. What just happened? A bad illusion blocked her beam attack?
They suddenly heard something coming from the white mist. There were drum beats, ringing gongs, trumpets…
People all lost their sight of the auction hall for a moment. When they could see again, they found themselves inside an exquisite hall of an ancient castle.