Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2879: Chapter 2880: Eliminator

After all, it’s a new ”Wilderness of Dreams,” and Angel’s control over the authority wasn’t as precise and thorough as before.

This resulted in Angel and Laplace being placed near the coordinates of ”Slough in the Bottle,” but all three had some distance deviation.

However, the deviation wasn’t much, all within two hundred meters.

Soon, Angel and Laplace found the Slough.

When Laplace approached the Slough, it seemed to sense the presence of its ”Master” and slowly floated up from the Crystal Origin.

Through the transparent glass body, the whale-shaped Slough in the bottle could be clearly seen, emitting a faint glow.

This anomaly made Angel pause for a moment. It should be noted that the first thing he did upon arrival was to search for the Slough. After ensuring it was unharmed, Angel went to find Laplace.

But at that time, when Angel encountered the Slough, it showed no reaction at all, as if it were nothing more than an ordinary inanimate object.

Yet now, when Laplace meets the Slough, such an anomaly occurs.

It could only be said, unsurprisingly, that it recognizes its own, even if Laplace had entered as a mere consciousness, the Slough could identify her instantly.

Looking at the glowing and levitating Slough, Angel whispered, ”Can you activate it?”

Laplace glanced at Angel and nodded, ”Yes.”

After speaking, Laplace gently extended her hand, muttering some indistinguishable syllables. As the syllables fell, the glass bottle not far away suddenly shattered into countless fragments.

And the Slough within the glass bottle emitted a brilliant silver light.

Immediately after, in Angel’s astonished gaze, the Slough scattered into countless silver stars, and these silver lights transformed into a silver ribbon, enveloping Laplace...

This scene seemed oddly familiar.

Angel had watched some animations on the Holographic Tablet from Earth; one of them was an animation with a female perspective as the main character. This animation’s themes involved past lives, cute pets, female group portraits, counterattacks, campus life, and superpower battles against crime. In every episode, there was an indispensable ”transformation” phase, where the protagonist could only gain superhuman powers after transforming.

In the animation, at the moment of transformation, a band of light wrapped around, revealing the protagonist’s body curves without reservation, although further details were obscured by ”holy light.” Once the band of light enveloped the protagonist fully, it gave the protagonist a new outfit and a cute pose, completing the transformation.

And now, countless silver bands of light enveloped Laplace, lifting her into the air, making everything under the illumination of the divine light impossible to view directly...

This scene was so much like the transformations in the animation.

Angel thought it couldn’t be more alike, yet what was even more similar lay ahead.

In the animation, to highlight the ”change,” the protagonist’s clothes would change first, with the camera showing parts of the transformed clothing until the protagonist struck a cute pose, fully displaying the transformed outfit.

Angel wasn’t sure if Laplace was transforming, but after the bands of light surrounded Laplace for several seconds, they began to disappear bit by bit.

The order of disappearance was from bottom to top, starting from the feet.

Earlier, Laplace had used her hair to make a cushion on her feet, and now, as the bands of light vanished, the first thing Angel saw was a pair of cloven hooves.

An odd cloven hoof of the ungulates.

The cloven hoof divided front and back, somewhat resembling special high heels, except the hoof tips were quite sharp, with a shape slightly akin to demon hooves.

After displaying the ”cloven hoof feet,” the bands of light continued to rise, and the transformation proceeded.

The legs above the cloven hooves, previously concealed by a skirt and occasionally glimpsed revealing smooth, unadorned skin beneath, were now exposed.

But now, the legs above the cloven hooves not only sported prominent and developed muscles, but were also covered with numerous silver scales, maintaining a streamlined shape, elegantly yet threateningly.

The bands of light soon skimmed over the scale-covered waist, rising further to the upper body.

The holy light gathered inward, finally allowing the upper body’s spectacle to be seen.

Laplace’s upper body underwent a significant change as well, although it didn’t transform entirely into a beast form, it was covered with many silver scales, and a huge pair of wings made of silver scales emerged from the back.

Laplace might have previously worried about slipping on the Crystal Origin, but now there was no such concern at all. With enormous wings spanning six meters wide, Laplace could easily fly in mid-air, unbound by the earth.

As for Laplace’s head, the changes were minor, with only a circle of silver scales growing at the hairline on the forehead, while the rest remained the same.

The hair color hadn’t changed, the hair length hadn’t changed, the face hadn’t changed—the scornful gaze that came with its own filter to view everyone with was unchanged as well.

At this point, the bands of light finally disappeared, and Laplace’s ”transformation” was fully completed.

Unlike the animation where the transformation merely changed clothing, Laplace’s transformation altered not just clothing but her body shape as well.

What was once a girl not even two meters tall was now twice Angel’s height.

The cold temperament, combined with the huge stature, broad wings, and the whole silvery radiance, exuded an indescribably powerful deterrent force.

Previously when Angel met Laplace, he didn’t feel much, as everyone was just an ordinary person on this newly formed Crystal Origin.

But now, seeing Laplace again, Angel instantly felt an overpowering sense of insignificance, like dust.

This intense sensory gap wasn’t only due to the disparity in size but also because of the warning radar deep within his heart conveying.

The real combat power of Laplace after transformation was unknown, but just the aura she emitted definitely exceeded Wizard Level.

This was why ”mortal” Angel felt a sense of inferiority.

The gap was simply too immense.

Even in the Wizard-Level Wilderness of Dreams, those possessing Wizard-Level combat power were extremely few, and Angel had not expected, in this newly birthed world, that Laplace, relying on the past’s Slough, had reached Wizard Level or even higher.

Despite Angel also being able to use a Dream Conch to bring in powerful weapons and Magic Rune Scrolls, with his current physical condition in the new world, he couldn’t unleash the power of these weapons. Even possessing a True Knowledge level weapon was of no use.

But Laplace was different. She now seemed to have reclaimed her past physical form, not only able to fully control the Slough but also to use all the power it bestowed.

Angel looked on with envy, jealousy, and resentment, but there was nothing he could do.

This was a racial talent that couldn’t be made up for.

...

Angel: ”How do you feel now?”

Having activated the Slough, Laplace said blandly, ”It’s interesting, it feels as if I’ve returned to the state right after I was born.”

After a pause, Laplace added, ”When will the crisis you’ve mentioned come?”

”I don’t know, it might not even come,” replied Angel, looking at Laplace, ”Is there any limitation to you activating the Slough?”

The reason Angel asked was that he sensed a hint of urgency in Laplace’s previous question.

”There are no restrictions,” Laplace said calmly.

Angel instinctively wanted to ask, if there are no restrictions, why are you so urgent in your tone? However, before he could open his mouth, Laplace spoke first: ”I just want to resolve the crisis you mentioned as soon as possible and then wait for you to give me an explanation.”

”Whether it’s the shedding scales, my current state, or this so-called interstice world, I need you to give me an explanation.”

Laplace, having lived for so many years, was feeling such a strong curiosity and so many doubts for the first time. If Angel hadn’t clearly said the top priority now was to resolve the crisis and put other matters aside, Laplace might have resorted to coercion.

”I will explain, but how much I can say depends on whether this crisis can be resolved,” Angel said softly.

Laplace’s gaze turned slightly cold: ”What do you mean?”

With Laplace’s gaze turning cold, Angel could clearly feel a tightness and pricking illusion on his skin.

If they were in reality, Angel would not have felt this way. It’s just that, at this time and place, Laplace’s abilities far exceeded Angel’s.

Like an authority over ordinary people, even a change in tone can make ordinary people tremble with fear.

”I can’t explain to you now. Once the crisis is resolved, everything will have an answer; if the crisis can’t be resolved, then no matter how much I say, it’s all an illusory bubble.”

As long as the crisis can be resolved, or if the crisis doesn’t appear, then Angel’s ’big gamble’ would have been a win.

By leveraging the competition between the Dream Realm and the Mirror World, using Laplace, the favored child of the Dream Realm, as an intermediary, to gain the benefits of survival in the interstitial gaps, letting the new Wilderness of Dreams hover in the world.

This is an unexpected big gamble.

If it succeeds, then Laplace, as the exploited one and as a participant, defender, and witness of this new Wilderness of Dreams, Angel would surely owe her an explanation.

If everything fails, then whether to explain or not doesn’t matter. He could just gloss over it.

Laplace gave Angel a deep look: ”Glaipnir once said, the secrets you hold are much deeper than those of The Sage. I didn’t pay attention before, but now I think Glaipnir was not wrong.”

Angel neither admitted nor did he bother denying it; instead, he followed Laplace’s words with a question: ”Speaking of which, I also have a question.”

”Now, the Lady Laplace standing before me, can you still say that Glaipnir and Luigi are you?”

Laplace: ”The fact that you’re asking this question shows your lack of understanding of Temporal Bodies. Whenever and wherever, they are me, even though I can’t perceive their current location, they are still me.”

Angel frowned: ”Even if they exist and survive with independent consciousnesses, this still counts as you?”

Laplace nodded: ”Of course.”

As he saw Laplace nod, Angel couldn’t be sure whether Laplace was telling the truth or just being stubborn.

Before, Angel felt Laplace was being stubborn, but now, perhaps he misunderstood?

What exactly is the difference between Laplace’s Temporal Body, You Nu’s Temporal Body, and Black Earl’s Avatar?

Being the same entity, but expressing individually?

As Angel was lost in thought, suddenly, his expression shifted, and he abruptly looked up.

Laplace also noticed the change in Angel’s expression and turned her gaze towards him.

Angel quietly gazed at the sky and, after a moment, softly said: ”...They’re here.”

Laplace: ”What is here?”

”The Eliminators.”

...

Although Angel was always talking with Laplace, his mind, ever since entering this new world, had left a part of itself, observing the void outside the new world from a God’s View.

The first thing he sensed was the Nightmare Realm Portal; however, just like when constructing the Wilderness of Dreams in the Abyss, this Nightmare Realm Portal only emitted a faint Nightmare Realm aura, with no traces of any Nightmare Realm creatures coming or going.

Besides the Nightmare Realm Portal, what Angel saw was an endless void.

This void is actually the void in the gap between the Dream Realm and the Mirror World.

Generally speaking, nothing would appear here, but if a new uncontrolled world births here, and it possesses a part of the Dream Realm’s rules.

Then, the Dream Realm will actively open a portal, allowing some powerful Dream Realm creatures to inadvertently pass through.

These Dream Realm creatures, are what Angel calls: the Eliminators.

Since he came to the new world, Angel has silently observed the void, searching for traces of the Eliminators.

When constructing the Wilderness of Dreams in the Abyss, the Eliminators arrived very quickly, but this time, Angel waited for a long time without seeing any Eliminators.

Just when he thought the Dream Realm had really compromised and was willing to maintain the connection with the Mirror World this way... the Eliminators appeared.

Perceiving the surging energy deep within the void, Angel’s mood sank.

Although he had Laplace bring ’weapons,’ he still wasn’t sure if they could deal with the Eliminators.

”We have to give it a try,” Angel murmured softly, seeming to make a decision.

He looked up at Laplace: ”The Eliminators are about to appear, and to prevent them from destroying this nascent world, our only option now is to intercept them.”

Laplace didn’t inquire about the terms Angel used that she couldn’t understand, instead directly asking the main point: ”How do we intercept them?”

Angel didn’t answer, but looked up at the sky.

Laplace followed his gaze.

The sky, dull and gray, suddenly split with a rift, and at the same time, a great number of bizarre creatures emerged from it.

There were so many strange creatures, like a swarm of locusts, dense and overwhelming.

Seeing this, Laplace also felt a sense of difficulty.

Without Angel’s explanation, she knew they should intercept them by exterminating these invading magic monsters.

But with so many magic monsters, could they possibly kill them all?

Laplace looked back at Angel, wanting to ask to what extent they should kill. But upon looking, Laplace was taken aback.

She expected Angel to be as troubled by these magic monsters as she was; even if not anxious, at least he should look serious.

However, Angel’s expression now was not remotely related to seriousness.

Was it... surprise?