Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1387: Section 1388: The Woman in the Painting

It wasn’t long before Angel felt a spatial fluctuation at the node.

As the halo flickered, a silhouette with bizarre proportions elegantly stepped out from it.

Previously, Angel had wondered why there were “heavy-headed” and “light-footed” strange curves within the light and shadow; it became clear when the figure emerged.

This was a woman whose age was indiscernible, with makeup done exquisitely, dressed in extremely graceful and luxurious attire.

Setting aside the finely embroidered dress adorned with magic patterns, what really caught Angel’s eye was probably her headdress.

Her hair was dark brown, very long, but not let down. Instead, it was tied atop her head in an extremely exaggerated style, matched with gemstone magic decorations, resembling a mountainous magical forest.

Yes, she had fashioned a mountain forest with her hair.

The size of the hair forest was at least three times larger than her face, which explained the strange proportions in the light and shadow.

Moreover, in this hair forest, various Flower Demons were fluttering around, and vibrant butterflies were flapping their wings as if it were a real forest.

As the lady walked elegantly towards them, a fragrance with the scent of a forest after rain rushed over them.

“Are you the Illusion Master?” Those meticulously groomed eyebrows slightly raised, an air of authority slowly began to encroach upon Sanders, but before it could reach him, it was dispersed by a gust of cold wind.

“Indeed, very strong,” she murmured softly.

Turning her head, she then looked towards Angel, sizing him up from head to toe for quite some time, “Are you the Alchemist that Natasha mentioned? What is your name?”

From the clash of presence with Sanders just now, Angel could sense that this woman was incredibly powerful.

Even, she might have already stepped onto the path of True Knowledge!

Faced with such a powerful witch, Angel couldn’t dodge the question and bowed slightly, reporting his own name.

“Angel… That name does sound familiar,” she said, a flash of insight in her eyes. How could she not recognize the name, spoken by the Twilight King Isabella herself?

Moreover, according to Isabella, this Angel had come into contact with the mysterious domain. Had it not been for Isabella’s interruption, perhaps Angel would already be a mysterious Alchemist!

“So it’s you.” She recalled what Natasha had said before, she had been somewhat skeptical, but now that skepticism seemed to dissipate.

If it was this Angel, then Natasha’s claim that he possessed an Alchemy Weapon that could clear the undead, that could indeed be possible.

Angel: “Your Grace, you know of me?”

“I have heard of you. I am now also somewhat of an Alchemist, and I hope to have the opportunity to exchange ideas with you,” she said, nodding slightly to Angel, her tone a bit more relaxed than when facing Sanders.

Upon hearing her introduce herself as an Alchemist, a name immediately surfaced in Angel’s mind.

“Are you Kimberly?” Sanders inquired, looking at her.

She nodded, “Yes, I am Kimberly.”

“It is slightly different from the portrait I saw in the House of Lilith,” Sanders commented indifferently.

Upon hearing the name ‘House of Lilith,’ a complex and dark light flickered through Kimberly’s eyes, but she quickly furrowed her brows and looked down, concealing her emotions.

Kimberly: “I’ve long heard that the House of Lilith has a deep connection with Illusion Demon Island, but I never expected that Kanter would go so far as to hang my portrait for all to see.”

Sanders: “Kanter simply hung your portrait in his room, visible to anyone who enters.”

Kimberly’s pupils contracted slightly, she paused for a moment, then turned her head and exhaled lightly: “Let’s not talk about irrelevant topics now. I am somewhat aware of your trespass into Black Castle, now let’s discuss your intentions.”

Trespassing was a fact, although there were reasons for it, Sanders didn’t intend to argue and simply asked, “Can you make decisions on behalf of the castle?”

Kimberly: “Lady Isabella is currently indisposed, so, for now, I can fully represent the will of Black Castle.”

“What about Isabella?”

At the mention of the name Isabella, a trace of disdain flashed across Kimberly’s eyes, but considering that Isabella was the true person in power at Black Castle, she only replied after a long pause, “She is also currently with Lady Isabella.”

With the conversation progressing to this point, Sanders didn’t inquire further, stating directly, “We are here at Black Castle to find Greya.”

“And then?”

“Greya doesn’t belong to Black Castle, so I don’t think we need to explain our business with her to you,” Sanders paused, “Of course, if you must know, you can. But it concerns some of Greya’s secrets, are you sure you want to hear them?”

They had come to find Greya for only two reasons: one was about Toby, and the other was Sanders’s promise to help her recover her physical body.

Toby’s matter was not taboo to discuss. However, the matter of recovering her physical body, which involved Greya’s greatest secret, Sanders was unsure what the consequences would be if it was truly revealed; Black Castle must have had a reason to seek Greya’s help, and if doing so soured their relationship with her, it would be Black Castle that stood to lose.

Indeed, after Sanders had spoken thus, Kimberly did not dare inquire further.

Prying into Greya’s secret, if it caused her to leave Black Castle out of persistence, would certainly be a loss not worth the gains.

Kimberly and Sanders suddenly fell silent, facing each other. Just when the atmosphere had gradually turned awkward, the node behind them fluctuated once again.

A lady in a simple and elegant long dress stepped through the node.

The newcomer, after stepping out, stood beside Kimberly and curtsied to Angel and Sanders.

They were familiar with this woman, it was Natasha, who had left earlier. However, Natasha was previously wearing tattered clothes that exposed parts that should not have been, while now she had changed into a new dress and even her synthetic skin on the right half of her body had been properly fixed; apparently, she had gone back not just to change her dress, but also to replace her power source.

Natasha let her hair down. What had been a professional-looking bun was now giving off an air of a lady.

“Mrs. Kimberly, I have already sent someone to notify the Queen, but I have yet to receive a reply,” Natasha spoke softly.

“What about Greya?” Kimberly asked.

“They’re in the ice cave on the negative sixth floor, and it’s still not possible to deliver the message,” Natasha replied.

Kimberly pondered for a moment, then raised her head to look at Sanders, “Greya is currently conducting an experiment with Felicia and can’t be contacted for the time being.”

Sanders: “I don’t mind waiting.”

Kimberly looked deep into Sanders’ eyes, her gaze slowly shifting towards Angel, as if having made up her mind, “In that case, let’s rest at Black Castle for the time being.”

With Kimberly’s decision, Natasha immediately stepped back to the node to communicate with the opposite node and to enable multiple people to teleport.

After confirming that there were no issues, she activated the node instantly.

Kimberly stepped into the node first and disappeared, followed by Natasha, who bowed to Sanders and Angel and said, “Please follow me.”

Natasha, leading Angel and Sanders, stepped into the spatial node.

As the glow of the node flickered and vanished, they emerged in a bright cavern. In one corner of the cavern, two Apprentice Witches in wizard robes were engrossed in monitoring the situation of nodes in various areas of Black Castle. Upon seeing Sanders and the others, they stood up to greet them before returning to their tasks.

“Mrs. Kimberly is waiting in the front hall,” Natasha informed them.

As she spoke, Natasha walked forward. Each time her gaze fell upon Angel, she specifically skipped over it, bewildered by the persistent and prickly sensation of being watched, which after observing covertly, she realized was due to Angel’s gaze upon her.

Moreover, this scrutiny had yet to cease.

Natasha felt a mix of embarrassment and annoyance but didn’t know how to react, especially since the other party was just looking at her without any other actions.

Frustrated, she decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed, but the more she tried to ignore it, the more her thoughts gravitated towards it. Why was he looking at her? Was it because of her change in attire, or did he have other intentions?

The more Natasha thought about it, the stiffer her movements became.

Eventually, even Sanders noticed the situation. Casting a disparaging glance at Angel, a Psychic Branch quietly connected with him.

“So, she’s your type, huh?” Sanders’ voice was calm. Angel turned his head and saw Sanders was serious, but inexplicably, through Sanders’ slight teasing look, Angel read a hint of ribbing.

“Not at all,” Angel replied through the Psychic Branch.

“With such an overt gaze, yet you say not at all?”

Angel shook his head, “I have no hidden intentions, I just think she looks somewhat familiar… Mentor, don’t you think that she resembles the woman in the painting?”

The woman in the painting? Sanders glanced at Natasha and immediately understood to whom Angel was referring.

Indeed, it was the woman who appeared on the last page of the record book, drawn by Hua Que.

They had already confirmed that Hua Que had chosen to leave the deep well on her own, but the person who took Hua Que away was a woman in a dress.

When they first met Natasha, her appearance was quite disheveled, her clothes torn, and her mechanical half body sparking, causing Angel not even to consider that possibility.

But after grooming and changing into a new dress, Natasha looked strikingly familiar to Angel.

Thus, he had been observing Natasha, realizing that her silhouette aligned incredibly well with the one Hua Que had drawn.

But Angel dared not be sure, after all, Hua Que’s drawings were still too naive, and also being flat, they did not mesh with the three-dimensional world.