Chapter 89: A Certain Type of Person (1)

“Hey, buddy, stop this…” Faced with the fifteen puppet demons summoned by Cain, Allen couldn’t help but back away. Though he didn’t understand what was happening, the approaching puppets made him sense a sense of danger.
With his hands spread out, Allen kept retreating, his gaze fixed in shock on the silent boy not far away. He said softly, “What’s wrong? Buddy, it’s me, Allen!”
“Stop it, Cain!” the boy whispered.
“Yes, master!” Cain, the puppet demon, nodded slightly. Then, the fifteen auras gradually faded, and the summoned puppets disappeared into thin air.
“Hey, buddy, what’s the joke? This isn’t funny at all—surely you don’t even recognize me?” Allen shrugged with a smile, but soon his expression froze.
“I certainly know who you are,” Jiang Zhe said calmly, scratching his head lazily before adding, “So what?”
“…” Hearing that utterly unfamiliar tone, Allen was stunned and watched as the boy turned and walked alone toward the other side of the library.
After hesitating for a moment, Ravia stepped forward and called, “Thos, where are you going?”
The boy paused slightly without turning around, responding in a lazy tone, “Does it matter?”
“You!” Ravia instinctively clenched her right hand, which was injured, though the pain there paled compared to the pain in her heart.
“Thos, you’re going too far!” Lisa, clearly unable to stand by, said angrily, “Aren’t we companions? Why say such hurtful things?”
“Companions?” The boy turned to look at them and said indifferently, “Maybe, but only before.”
“Thos!” For the first time, Allen called his friend by name. Usually cheerful and optimistic, he now wore a serious, angry expression as he said firmly, “I can’t believe these words coming from my best friend—what’s wrong with you?”
But the boy merely glanced at him briefly before turning and walking ahead.
“Damn you, stop right there!” Unable to contain his anger, Allen rushed forward, but before he could get close to the boy, he suddenly sensed a crisis.

A flash of black light appeared, and Allen was shocked to see a one-yard-wide deep trench right in front of him. It was pitch black and seemed bottomless at a glance.
“You… do you want to kill me?” Allen stared at his once closest friend in both shock and anger.
“Just a warning!” The boy glanced at Allen and whispered, “Stop following us!” With that, he and Cain left toward the other side of the library.
Watching the boy walk away, Allen pounded the ground furiously with his fist, filled with frustration and a hint of concern. “What the hell is wrong with that bastard?” he cursed.
“It might be because of that dark power he has,” Scott said, wiping his glasses carefully with a silk cloth. “I sensed something was off right away. After using that terrifying power, Thors seemed like a completely different person…”
“Will he be okay, Thors…?” Lisa asked timidly, worried.
Scott shook his head and put on his glasses, speaking calmly, “He should be fine—you’ve seen his power now. It far exceeds that of a lich… Strange, can demons from the abyss grant such great power?”
“Of course not!” Reid, who had been watching, said firmly. “Maybe demons seem terrifying to you kids, but in reality, ordinary demons don’t have much power. Of course, they can’t grant great power to humans who make deals with them either…”
“What about Thors…?”
“I’m not sure,” Reid said, shaking his head. “After all, few humans make deals with demons, and the records aren’t very complete. If we could know the name of the demon he dealt with, we might be able to guess its rank… Judging from his terrifying power, which completely overwhelms that of a lich, it must be an ancient demon… Hmm, it would be great if we could know its name…”
“Stop talking about him!” Lavia interrupted Reid harshly. “That bastard… Let him do whatever he wants. I… I’ll never…” As she spoke, her eyes gradually reddened, her voice choked up. She covered her mouth, tears of distress welling up.
“Avi…” Lisa looked at her friend, who was crying silently, biting her lip and murmuring, “It’s the first time I’ve seen Avi cry so sadly…”

“It’s the second time…” Lelira let out a soft sigh. Then, she glanced at the others and asked, “What should we do now? Keep moving forward? Or…” Before she could finish, Bernie interrupted her.
“Let’s leave this place first,” Bernie said earnestly, looking at the children ahead. “I’m sorry for bringing you unimaginable misfortune. Listen to me, kids—let’s get out of here. No one can guarantee that there’s only one lich here…”
“What about Thos?” Lisa asked hesitantly.
Glancing at Ravia, who instinctively turned to look at her, Bernie said casually, “Hey, you all saw it too—that little brat has terrifying power. An lich, who’s usually so formidable to us, is almost helpless in his hands. What’s there to worry about?”
Perhaps noticing Bernie’s teasing look, Ravia’s cheeks turned red as she stammered angrily, “Who… who would worry about that jerk! If you’re so capable, never come back!”
“Hehe,” Lisa teased in a playful tone, “I’m all too familiar with that line. I used to hear my mom say it to my dad all the time…”
“Haha!”
“Lisa!” Ravia glared at her in embarrassment, while Lisa playfully stuck out her tongue.
“Kids these days are really… sigh!” Bernie shook his head helplessly with a smile. Then, as if noticing something, he looked around and said strangely, “Hm? Where’s that girl with blue hair?”
“Blue hair… Senior Dia?” Lelira instinctively scanned the surroundings but saw no sign of Dia.
“Huh? She was here just a moment ago…”
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhe was walking alone in the dim passage, followed by his puppet pawn, King Cain.
As he walked, Jiang Zhe suddenly stopped and said in a lazy tone, “How long do you plan to follow me?”
“Are you asking me? Thos?” A gentle voice came from behind him.
Shaking his head as if amused, the boy turned around and said firmly, “Do you think there’s anyone else here?”
With a few soft footsteps, Dia stepped out of the dim passage and said gently to the boy, “No one else—I thought you wouldn’t mind me following…”
Glancing at Dia briefly, the boy replied succinctly, “Actually, I do mind!”

“Well, then I’ll just leave…” With that, Dia turned and left, which surprised the boy.
“Wait!”
“Hm?” Dia turned her head again, tilting it slightly with a hint of confusion. “Is there anything else?”
Frowning at the girl in front of him, the boy thought for a moment before whispering, “Why are you following me?”
Dia blinked and smiled lightly. “Haven’t I always been like this? It was you who said you wanted… you wanted…” Her cheeks flushed slightly as she instinctively lowered her head.
“Yes, I seem to have said that…” The boy sighed helplessly, shook his head, and studied Dia, who was looking at her feet. Then he said calmly, “But that was before. Go back!”
Seeming to grasp the deeper meaning in the boy’s words, Dia’s face turned pale. She looked at him in disbelief, lowered her head, and said softly, “I don’t understand what you mean…”
“That’s exactly what I mean…” The boy paused, his expression hesitant. After a half-minute of silence, he asked hesitantly, “Why did you follow me? I remember warning you!”
With her head slightly lowered, Dia bit her lip and said softly, “I feel I should follow you… because you’re the only one who’s ever said he needs me, and you’re the only one I don’t dislike…”
“What a complicated reason…”
“Yes,” Dia said with a smile, lifting her head gently. “So, until you send me away, I’ll keep following you. Though I don’t understand why you’ve changed like this…”
The boy stared at Dia for a moment before whispering, “Aren’t you afraid?” As he spoke, he raised his right hand, and black flames burst forth from it.
“Why should I be afraid?” Dia asked, looking at the boy with a mix of cunning and playfulness, smiling lightly. “Will you hurt me?”
“That’s hard to say…”
“But I don’t think so!” Shaking her head firmly, Dia looked straight at the boy and said softly, “Maybe this dark power has changed your personality, but to me, you haven’t really changed. Your eyes are still gentle, only more cold, more lonely, more sad…”
Just then, the wall of the passage collapsed with a loud crash. A shadow flew out from the room behind the wall and crashed hard on the other side of the passage.
“Yah!” Dia couldn’t help but let out a soft cry.

With just two clicks, the shadow crawled out from among the piles of broken stones. Its pale complexion, sharp teeth, pointed ears, along with that familiar attire of an ancient noble, clearly identified it as one of the vampires they had encountered before. Upon seeing Dia standing in front of it, the vampire was momentarily stunned. Then, perhaps attracted by the fragrant blood of a virgin within Dia, it instinctively licked its lips and rushed at her with gleaming eyes. But before its claws could touch Dia’s body, its arm was grabbed by a hand—coming from what seemed to be a human child around twelve or thirteen years old. Glancing at the little boy who had appeared beside him somehow, the vampire let out a fierce growl, maybe because it was injured or because it urgently needed fresh blood. But to the vampire’s surprise, no matter how it struggled, the hand holding it remained immovable—a strange phenomenon it found hard to accept. Indeed, in the vampire’s eyes, the owner of the hand holding its arm was just a human child of twelve or thirteen. Not to mention such a young child; even an adult could not possibly surpass a vampire in strength—even the lowest-ranking vampires possessed strength far beyond that of humans! Confident in its own power, the vampire opened its fanged mouth and bit down fiercely on the little boy’s neck. Yet, as if with ease, the boy simply threw it aside, sending it flying against the wall. Before it could react, a beam of black with a red core pierced through its heart… “Stupid!” Staring in shock at the human child, the vampire looked down at its chest, where black, thread-like patterns gradually spread. Then its body began to crack, and from the cracks, faint black lights could be seen… “Bang!” Just like the lich Amos Hallwell, this vampire turned into a pile of tiny black crystal fragments in just a few seconds. Glancing at Dia, who was instinctively patting her chest, the boy said calmly, “Are you scared?” “Mm!” Dia shook her head and smiled with narrowed eyes. “I was really startled. I didn’t expect the walls to collapse, nor did I expect a monster like a vampire to appear. But didn’t you protect me?” “Protect…”

“Yes,” Dia said gently and seriously, looking at the boy in front of her. “Although your gaze has become a bit cold, you’re still very kind. I’m curious—why did you leave? Alan, Scott, and Raviya are your best friends, aren’t they?”
“I’ve said it before… it’s just that…” The boy sighed slightly, shook his head, and murmured, “I’m different from you guys…”
“Why?” Dia asked curiously.
The boy didn’t say anything else, only giving Dia a brief glance.
“Alright, I won’t ask then…”
“Are you angry?”
“No,” Dia said sincerely, shaking her head. “Even if I were angry, it wouldn’t be over this…”
“Then why?”
Dia’s cheeks turned slightly red as she lowered her head slightly and said softly, “If I’m angry, it’s probably because… I finally made up my mind, but you… If that’s the case, why did you… why say those things in the first place…”
The boy fell silent. He gazed deeply at the girl before him, hesitantly reaching out to gently touch her delicate, smooth cheeks.
Feeling that tenderness on her face, Dia shuddered slightly, her breathing becoming a bit rapid. She raised her head slightly, looking at the boy in confusion.
After about a minute, perhaps awakened by the sounds of fighting coming from the collapsed walls, the boy withdrew his hand and said softly, “Follow me…”
“Mm!” Dia smiled gently.
Gazing deeply at Dia once more, the boy turned and passed through the wall into a room where faint light could be seen in the distance. He called out, “Kane!”
“Yes, master!” Kane nodded, seemingly understanding what his master meant. He bowed slightly to Dia and said respectfully, “This place isn’t very safe—please don’t stay too far away from me!”
“Mm, okay!”
The three of them passed through the collapsed walls and entered another huge room.
It seemed the underground of the ancient castle was like a huge maze, filled with dark passages and broadly similar spacious rooms everywhere.
“Huh?” Seemingly noticing something, Dia pointed ahead and said softly, “There seems to be someone over there…”
In the distance ahead of them, faint blue lights could be seen from time to time, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, along with faint voices of people talking.

Suddenly, Jiang Zhe and his puppet Kane both stopped in their tracks, for at some point, pairs of blood-red eyes appeared in the darkness around them.
“Humans… it’s humans!”
“Kill all the humans…”
With a few faint footsteps, the owners of those eyes emerged from the shadows—wearing large black cloaks, seemingly ancient garments, with pale skin and sharp teeth. They were clearly the same kind as those who had attacked Dia earlier: vampires!
Trying to suppress her fear, Dia secretly observed the hostile figures around them. She realized there were over twenty vampires surrounding the three of them. Strangely, these vampires seemed injured, and a scent of blood could be faintly detected from them.
Looking at those repulsive creatures, Dia instinctively leaned closer to the boy.
Seeming to sense the warmth beside him, the boy whispered, “Are you scared?”
“Ah,” Dia nodded and forced a smile. “I never knew vampires really existed in the world. I thought it was just an ancient legend…” As she spoke, her lips moved slightly, as if reciting some spell. But before she could finish, the boy’s voice came again.
“There’s no need!” The boy raised his right hand, and a fierce dark energy surged like a storm, trapping all the vampires in a web-like force of darkness.
“Ugh…” The vampires struggled desperately but still couldn’t escape the grip of that dark force.
The boy’s right hand tightened, and the dark force surrounding the vampires contracted as well. The suffering vampires struggled hard but couldn’t break free from that powerful force.
“Pfft!”
The twenty-some vampires vanished completely into the darkness, their very existence erased.
“…” Watching this scene in silence, Dia couldn’t help covering her mouth. Then, she heard the boy’s voice.
“Is it cruel?”
“No, they’re evil vampires who wanted to attack us,” Dia said calmly and sincerely, shaking her head. “I’m just amazed by your strength. You’re already so powerful. Now…” Her face showed a hint of melancholy as she sighed softly and said, “With such great power, maybe I can’t help you at all…”
“Great power… Don’t you think this power is too evil?”

“Will it?” Dia blinked and said with a smile, “I’ve always thought it’s not power that’s evil, but the person who wields it—even if you have great power, you still don’t change, do you?”
“No, you’re wrong. It’s just that you haven’t realized it yet…”
“You mean my personality? I’ve also found it strange. Sos, you seem to have suddenly matured a lot—so much so that I can hardly recognize you anymore. In your eyes, I see loneliness, indifference, and sorrow… Why is this? Can you tell me?”
“Sorrow…” The boy was stunned for a moment, lowering his head in thought. Suddenly, he covered his forehead, his face showing pain.
“Sos?!”
“It’s fine,” he said, shaking his head. He took a deep breath, tapped his forehead with his finger, and frowned. “I don’t know what’s going on. Whenever I try to recall the past, I feel sharp pains here…”
“Huh? How is that possible…”
“It must be the seal…” Glancing at the hexagram magic array on the back of his left hand, the boy frowned. “I can feel that part of my memory is missing, but I just can’t remember. The person who placed this seal on me seems to have sealed some of my personality as well. If I could, I really want to meet that person!”
“Sealed some of your personality too?” As if thinking of something, Dia looked at the boy in surprise. “So you mean…”
“That’s right,” the boy said calmly, glancing at Dia. “It’s not what you think. My personality hasn’t changed at all. On the contrary, this is the real me!”
“Huh,” Dia exhaled softly and smiled. “It seems you have many secrets too, Sos!”
“Do you want to ask?”
“No,” she shook her head lightly. “When a man wants to hide the secrets in his heart, a smart woman will never ask. She’ll wait for the right moment, when the man will tell her on his own… That’s what my mother told me!”
“Oh?”

With her hands intertwined behind her back, Dia whispered, “My mother was a very gentle woman. It’s a pity…” She sighed, shook her head, and said bitterly, “Ever since I can remember, my father has been stubborn and irritable. Though he was excellent, he also had many flaws. I often felt sorry for my mother… I always thought she was a gentle woman who tolerated everything—whether it was my father who wasn’t good to her or me, who committed unforgivable mistakes… I tried my best to make amends, but… When I went home last time, all those bonds were broken in an instant, yet I couldn’t feel relieved. All my efforts turned to nothing…”
“Is it about your dream of becoming a Royal Mage?”
“So you remember!” Dia looked at the boy with a hint of reproach, then smiled bitterly and said self-mockingly, “Yes. I’m not really interested in magic. I just wanted to replace my brother and give my mother a better life… The benefits of being a Royal Mage are very generous, but it’s unnecessary now… What about you, Thos?”
“I’ve never had any dreams or such…”
“Huh? How is that possible?” Dia looked at the boy in surprise. “No things you want to do? No places you want to go?”
“Maybe I did once, but I can’t remember now…” The boy pointed at his forehead.
“Giggle…” Dia couldn’t help but laugh, which puzzled the boy. He asked, “Why are you laughing?”
“Nothing. I just think that whether it’s the Thos I knew before or you now, you haven’t really changed much. You still seem lazy. I heard from Ravia that you never had any lofty ideals or ambitions from the start… You just became less talkative and a bit more mature. You can no longer be seen as a junior student two grades below me!”
“Oh? You used to consider me a junior?”
“Of course not…” Biting her lip, Dia’s pale cheeks flushed slightly as she lowered her head and said softly, “It’s just that before… and now… who asked you to be like that back then…” Her voice grew quieter as she spoke.
“I see…” Looking at Dia’s shy expression, Jiang Zhe smiled slightly. The coldness in his eyes lessened a bit. Among them, perhaps he was the only one who felt differently toward Dia.
“You’re… fifteen, right?”

“Huh? Yeah…” Nodding instinctively, Dia suddenly remembered something, glared at the boy feigningly annoyed, and complained, “What’s that tone of yours? You’re actually two years younger than me!”
“Heh, is that so?” The boy smiled slightly.
Staring straight at the boy’s eyes and his smile, Dia’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she whispered, “Actually, you’re still so gentle… I’ll wait, just as my mother said… until the right time, you’ll tell me everything, right?”
The boy was stunned for a moment, looking into Dia’s expectant eyes, scratched his head, and said in a somewhat lazy tone, “Maybe.”
Just then, a loud boom came from afar, causing the entire room to shake violently. Some small pieces of rock from the ceiling seemed to fall due to the shock.
“What… what’s going on?” Dia said in surprise at this sudden change.
The boy glanced into the distance and frowned, saying, “It’s caused by the collision of four powerful forces…”
“Huh?” Dia’s beautiful face showed surprise as she asked curiously, “Could there be someone else here besides us? Do you want to go there, Thos?”
The boy shook his head slightly and said calmly, “I’m just looking for a way out!”
“Huh?” Dia was even more surprised and asked doubtfully, “If it’s a way out, why not leave with Allen and the others the same way?” As she spoke, it seemed she saw the boy’s expression, so she lowered her head and said, “Well, you probably don’t want to stay with them… for some reason I don’t know…” After saying that, she raised her head slightly, staring at the strange black flames on the boy’s body, lost in thought.
As if reading Dia’s thoughts, the boy said calmly, “Don’t guess randomly. These black flames are just a combination of dark energy and fire elements. There’s no force that can disturb the mind. As for the reason… it’s simply that I don’t want to stay with them right now, that’s all!”
“Oh,” Dia nodded obediently, then raised her head and glanced at the boy secretly, saying gently, “If you want to go and see what’s happening, then go— I’ll follow you, always…”
The boy gave Dia a deep look and nodded, as if explaining, “There seems to be someone I know there. I want to go take a look!”
“Mm!”

With that, the three of them headed toward the distant area where flashes of light could be seen. As they got closer, the sounds of fighting from afar grew clearer, until it was possible to see with the naked eye. The chaos here was beyond description; the air was thick with the smell of blood, and darkness and death intertwined like two fierce beasts gnawing at each other. Streams of black and beige energy burst in the air, occasionally accompanied by faint blue arcs of electricity, along with countless strands of frost, flames, wind blades, and bones. Fierce energy filled the entire battlefield. At first glance, the most prominent figures were the liches Jiang Zhe and his group had encountered before—three of them—floating in midair, casting one terrifying spell after another, as if they desperately needed to expend their magic. However, these liches didn’t seem to be in good condition. The lich in the middle had most of his ribs missing from his chest, the one on the left had lost his right arm, and the only one still intact had a faintly glowing green flame in his eye sockets, clearly also suffering severe injuries. Besides the liches, there were hundreds of vampires Jiang Zhe and his group had encountered before. Throughout the underground of this castle, there were similar ancient, bloodthirsty dark creatures. They screamed and roared, charging at their enemies like mad, but unfortunately, their enemies seemed far too powerful. The vampires, once a source of terror for ordinary humans, could only serve as cannon fodder here. Black shadows rushed toward the center of the battlefield, only to be flung away by countless black, tentacle-like strands of dark energy within seconds. Those lucky enough might hit a wall and barely survive, while those unlucky were torn into pieces by those rapidly swinging dark tendrils. Who was their opponent? Someone that even three liches and hundreds of vampires couldn’t handle? “Huh, just one person?” Dia murmured in surprise. Yes, whether it was the liches or these vampires, their opponent was just one person—a seemingly ordinary human. He wore a familiar black long coat, surrounded by intense dark energy. His condition wasn’t good either; his right forehead seemed to have been hit by something, looking horrific, with bright blood streaming down his cheek. Besides his forehead, his body was covered in wounds, and even his old coat was torn to shreds. The blood flowing from these wounds not only stained the coat but also the ground beneath his feet.

But even in such a desperate situation, there was still a hint of his usual mocking smile on his face, as if mocking his opponent. In Jiang Zhe’s memory, there was only one such crazy guy!
“Argus!”
“Hm?” Perhaps hearing Jiang Zhe’s voice, the man surrounded by countless dark creatures turned his head, glanced at Jiang Zhe and Dia beside him, whistled, and said mockingly, “Well! Kid, this isn’t a good place for a rendezvous!”
After saying that, he narrowed his eyes slightly as if seeing something incredible, then said with a laugh, “Hey, no wonder I always feel an inexplicable fondness for you, kid—turns out we’re the same kind of person!”
Frowning, Jiang Zhe said indifferently, “Stop presuming to categorize me, Argus!”
“Huh?” Argus was momentarily stunned. Even he felt the boy before him was somewhat unfamiliar. In his memory, although the boy seemed cold, he was actually a fun kid with many similarities to himself, like a version of himself from decades ago.
But now, Argus could no longer see him as just an ordinary, fun kid. Not only because of the terrifying dark power emanating from him, which was no less than his own, but also because of his tone of voice—kind yet cold. Argus had never imagined he would meet someone with such similar traits. Their ideals and pursuits were astonishingly alike.
The battle seemed to pause for a moment. After all, Argus’s opponent was the great lich Craig Hardlor—a renowned and distinguished necromancer. Even as a lich, he was by no means comparable to Amos Halwell, who was easily defeated by Jiang Zhe.
The great lich Craig Hardlor felt somewhat frustrated. In past eras, liches were synonymous with fear. Werewolves and vampires paled in comparison. But after sleeping for a hundred years, not only could his powerful self not even kill a mere human, but even with the help of two of his compatriots and several vampire servants, he still couldn’t defeat this annoying human. In the past, such power could easily destroy a city, but now… he could only gain a slight advantage…

What’s even worse is that just as that damned human was about to be killed, another human brat appeared. What’s deadly is that this suddenly appearing human brat also possesses an unfathomable dark power within him…
Dealing with one of them is already extremely difficult; what if there’s another one too?
The Archlich Craig Hardlor frowned as he pondered a strategy, so the battle paused temporarily, giving Argus a hard-earned chance to catch his breath.
“Incredible…” Argus stared intently at Jiang Zhe, sensing the dark aura emanating from him. Wiping the blood streaming into his eyes with the back of his hand, he said mockingly, “I thought it was just an ordinary dark power. Who would have thought… Hey, brat, are you just going to stand here and watch? Watching me get utterly defeated by them?”
“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea!”
“Hey hey,” Argus couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. In the past, it was only he who mocked others. When did it become someone else’s turn to mock him? But for various reasons, he wasn’t annoyed at all. Shrugging, he said, “Aren’t we friends? At most, I’ll agree not to call you a brat from now on… Alright, alright, consider it a favor I owe you. Is that okay?”
Before Jiang Zhe could speak, the Archlich Craig Hardlor suddenly raised his hand, pointing at Jiang Zhe and saying in a deep voice, “Human child, are you sure you want to go against a powerful archlich? I can promise to let you leave here safely. I guarantee you won’t suffer any harm, as long as you never come back to disturb our slumber again—I just want to kill that damned guy!”
In response to the Archlich Craig Hardlor’s words, Argus said cheerfully, “Is an archlich’s promise trustworthy? If I’m guessing correctly, you must have encountered an archlich before—did you kill him?”
Before Jiang Zhe could speak, the Archlich Craig Hardlor focused on sensing the presence of his companion and then exclaimed in shock, “Amos… I can no longer sense Amos’s presence. Did you kill him?”
Feeling the faint murderous intent from those three archliches, Jiang Zhe scratched his head and said lazily, “There seems to be such a guy… Are you really going to let us leave?”

Suppressing his anger, Jiang Zhe stared at Jiang Zhe for a long time before the great lich Craig Hardlor said viciously, “Very well, I’ll let you leave safely—right now… Turn around and leave this ancient castle now, and never return here again!”
“Oh my, what a heartless guy,” Argus said helplessly, waving his hands. “It seems my plans have failed!” As he spoke, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, and he looked at the three liches and said in a low voice, “If we’re going to leave, we should do it now. If we wait until I fall, you won’t be able to leave no matter what—hopefully, we might meet again in the future!”
Frowning, Jiang Zhe said softly, “Are you threatening me?”
“How could I!” Argus laughed and waved his finger casually. “I really admire you…” He glanced at Dia beside Jiang Zhe and said in a strange tone, “Indeed, you should leave—don’t worry, I won’t die—as long as I, Argus, don’t want to die, no one can kill me!”
“What arrogance…” Jiang Zhe sneered lightly before turning to look at Dia and saying in a peculiar tone, “Don’t you want to say something?”
Dia shook her head and said gently with a smile, “I’ve always been this indecisive since I was young—Be careful, Thors!”
Looking deeply at Dia, Jiang Zhe said softly, “Kain, step back!”
“Yes, master!” As if understanding the meaning behind Jiang Zhe’s words, Kain patted Dia’s shoulder, signaling her to stay by his side.
“Hm?” Argus’s eyes showed a hint of amusement as he said mockingly, “Oh! Kid, it seems you have a good impression of me!”
“Bear!” The black flames on Jiang Zhe’s body burned more fiercely. Ignoring the vampires around him, he walked straight toward Argus and said calmly, “Don’t get too proud. I’m just afraid you don’t have the strength to buy us time right now!”
“That’s true!” Argus smiled mockingly and shrugged. “But anyway, I like you more and more…” As he spoke, he seemed to take something out of his pocket and gently threw it at Jiang Zhe.
“Catch it!”
Jiang Zhe instinctively caught it. When he opened his hand, he saw a shiny silver coin, which left him puzzled.
Seeming to notice the confusion in Jiang Zhe’s eyes, Argus said softly, “Let me use half of my wealth to repay this favor—keep it well for me. If you lose it by accident, I won’t forgive you!”

“Half of my wealth? Just one silver coin?” Jiang Zhe’s expression was indescribably strange.
“Ah!” With a slight sigh, Argus said melancholically, “That’s my most precious thing… more important than my life! So please take good care of it for me!”
“Such a troublesome thing…”
Glancing at Argus skeptically, Jiang Zhe suddenly remembered that when he first met this guy near Asher Village, he already had those two silver coins, looking destitute, and was being pursued by Father Andrew and other Church priests and inquisitors. Although he joked about exchanging those coins for bread, in the end… he still didn’t choose to exchange them…
Well, it should be said that those little girls at the time couldn’t bear to see him suffer, so they voluntarily gave him bread to eat…
This bastard is really good at winning others’ sympathy. I wonder if he’s used the same trick to deceive many people… Tch!
“Such a troublesome thing… I won’t be responsible if it gets lost!”
“Hey—go ahead and try!”
Watching the two talk carelessly as if no one else was around, the Archlich Craig Hadlor’s anger grew increasingly intense. He finally couldn’t hold back and pointed at Jiang Zhe, saying hatefully, “Human brat, I’ve already forgiven you for exiling Amos and promised to let you leave here safely… Do you really want to turn against the great Archlich?”
“Huh?” Looking at Hadlor with a lazy expression, the boy said indolently, “I hate it when people treat me like an ignorant child—Do you really think I’d believe your words? Would you really let me go after killing one of your own? All you’re thinking is to deal with that guy first and then come after me, right? The passages here are so complicated. If that guy can’t hold on long, I guess we’ll be killed by you guys before we even get out.”
“…” Archlich Craig Hadlor was speechless. Perhaps he had been struck by truth. After a moment of silence, the greenish flames of hatred kept flickering in his empty eye sockets.
“Damn! Damn! You all are going to die! All humans must die here! In the name of Craig Hadlor, I’ll make you die in the cruelest way possible, so your souls can never be freed, never!”

“Oho!” With a smirk, Argus flicked his finger teasingly. “You can give it a try—I think I should break all the bones on your other side. I’m curious if you can still stay alive with all your bones shattered… Hey! Ghosts belong where ghosts should be!” Saying this, he took a deep breath, and instantly, the dark power within him surged violently. A shadow of a two-headed bird, clearer than ever before, enveloped him.

At the same time, the dark power within Jiang Zhe also surged forth, forming a shadow of a bear that seemed quiet yet fierce.

When the shadow of the two-headed bird and the shadow of the dark bear opened their pale red eyes, the entire room was instantly swallowed by endless darkness. Light, sound—everything—was devoured by the merciless darkness.

This overwhelming pressure even shocked the demons. Somehow, a sense of powerlessness arose in their hearts…

Although they were looking down on their opponent, the demons instead felt their own insignificance, as if they were looking up at them…

To make demons experience such an illusion…

It could only be a god or a demon!

A great demon!